Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

by **Galnius** » Mon Jan 06, 2020 7:05 pm

Mika

"Yeah yeah whatever." Mika sighed as her fun was shut down the moment she had offered it. However, she didn't exactly have anywhere wise to sit, and she was basically stuck here for a whole period. Thus, she stayed there and simply looked around, trying to keep some semblance of conversation going on.

However, it was clearly only half interested, as her gaze fell on the quickly filling up table with the newest star of the school. One of the people flocking over was the previous Queen of the school with her posse. Mika watched as all but Aleta were dismissed. With a quite obvious look of entertainment, she returned to her current compatriot.

"Heh, I wonder how it must feel to go from number one to at the mercy of some pop culture starlet. That's gotta hurt."

Bentus wrote:The Mystifying Ashen Moth!
San Diego

Stepping into his classroom just as the bell sounded through the halls, Steven slammed his textbook on his desk loud enough to draw the eyes of chattering students. Scanning his eyes across the room, he cleared his throat to make it clear to the last few lingering stragglers that class was in session. “Alright everyone, as much as it must pain you to bring those riveting conversations of yours to a close, we have a lot to cover this semester.” The sound of a few chairs being repositioned accompanied the students shifting their attention towards the whiteboard. Near the front row, some of his more attentive pupils flicked open their books to where they’d left off the day before. Grinning at the sight, Steven was about to begin when the door suddenly burst open to reveal a breathless figure.

“I am sorry for being late!” Ash called out, a pair of her arms cradling a chaotic stack of books, pencils and papers that she’d struggled to find her new class’ location. Blinking, she realized that all the eyes in the room had turned in unison towards her. Feeling a rush of embarrassment, she nervously stepped towards the one remaining desk in the front row. “It will not be happening again.”

“Ash, right? So glad that you could join us today. I understand that…other commitments…meant you couldn’t attend our first class of the year.” Steven stated. A part of him shifted uneasily at the presence of the confirmed Young Blood, but he forced himself to push his concern with the young team to one side. For now, Ash was just a new student. And one who he’d been informed might need some special considerations. “Ms. Charlie?”

The girl sitting beside Ash immediately perked up. A pair of circular spectacles rested on her nose, and she held herself confidently right at the front of the room. “Yes, Mr. Baker?”

“We don’t have time to go back over the material, but could you share your notes with Ash after class?”

“Yes, of course.” Rebecca Charlie, one of the better performing students in her grade, offered the mutant a friendly smile.

A look of relief seemed to spread across Ash’s face at the prospect of some support. Steven offered the bespectacled girl an appreciative expression of his own. She was a reliable student, and it took a weight off his shoulders to know that the Young Blood would have a helpful role model to lean on as she got used to her new environment.

“Good. In that case, let’s get back to quadratic equations.” Removing the lid from his marker, the maths teacher proceeded to draw out a simple plot on the board. “Can anyone remind me of the form that all quadratics take?”

Rebecca’s hand shot up immediately. “It’s y equals ax squared, plus bx, plus c.”

“Perfect. And what do each of those terms mean?”

Ash offered the other girl a quizzical glance, noticing the pleased grin on her face as she answered correctly. The lecture continued unabated as the mutant began to slowly catch on with how the class worked. The teacher would talk about something, and then at some point ask a question on it to the students. Everyone would then race to put up their hands and be chosen to try and answer. Ash realized that it had to be a game, like hide and seek or tag. Games were fun, and if she’d managed to figure out the rules, that meant that she should be able to play. Leaning noticeably past the side of her table, Ash drew a few curious glances as she peered at the textbook page that the student beside her had open. Cautiously, she flicked through her own copy until she landed on the same page. Met with a sea of organized text, Ash was undeterred as she scanned through the notes. There were a lot of words, many of them ones that she couldn’t even pronounce. But there were also pictures, and pictures were something that Ash could understand.

As Ash silently grinned at the prospect of playing her first game of maths class, Steven had continued with his lecture. By this point the board was pretty much filled with his handwriting, but now it was time to start introducing more of the exciting topics. “How about we take our quadratic – x squared – and multiplied it by a number. How should I draw the new graph?”

Wearing a cocky smile, Rebecca calmly started to raise her hand to reply. But another voice stole her chance before she’d even risen her arm above her shoulder.

“It gets stretched!” Ash replied breathlessly, throwing one of her hands up as she spoke. Surprised by the eager response, Steven raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right. Every value would get multiplied by 2.” To emphasize his point, Steven drew a narrower curve on his plot. “Nicely done, Ash.”

Grinning at the praise, Ash was too busy enjoying herself to notice the irritated scowl from the student beside her. Rebecca didn’t know what the new girl’s problem was, but she hated being shown up like that – especially since she’d just yelled out the answer like that. Irritated, the nerdy girl shifted in her seat as she redoubled her focus while their teacher continued. But the first upset would prove to not be an isolated event. Rebecca would get a few questions, but Ash’s hand would always shoot up at every opportunity. The mutant would wave her hand around eagerly to try and get Mr. Baker’s attention, a glimmer in her eye as the class wore on. Rebecca found herself having to race the superhuman, her frustration increasing as it seemed like the other girl was enjoying hogging all the attention. It got to the point that she was putting up her hand before she was even sure of the answer, desperate to get a split-second advantage as she continued to solve the problem.

“Not quite, Ms. Charlie.” Rebecca blinked in surprise, the teacher’s response like a punch to the gut. She…got something wrong? Sitting in silence as Mr. Baker scanned the room for any other takers, the girl struggled to recall the last time she’d been wrong in class. It…it wasn’t fair! “Anyone else want to give it a try?” Steven queried, seemingly oblivious to the frustration emanating from his top student. “There’s no harm in giving it a go.”

Slowly, a seta-covered hand gingerly rose from the front row. “Yes, Ash?”

The girl frowned as she focused on the board. She didn’t actually know the answer to this one, but the teacher had asked them to try anyway. “Um, well I do not really know.” She admitted. “But, when we only had the x, the graph was a line, yes? And then when there was a square x, the line became bent. So I suppose that this cube x would make it bend again?”

Steven’s face lit up as the girl explained her reasoning. “And you would be completely right, Ash – well done. And good job. It’s fine to not know something, nobody knows everything. But the best lesson I could teach you is to be willing to go out on a limb and try to figure it out yourself.” Just then, the bell sounded once again. Glancing at his watch, Steven sighed as he realized that he didn’t get through quite as much material as he’d hoped. Immediately, he had to raise his voice over the sound of closing books and students pushing themselves onto their feet. “We’ll look at cubic functions in more detail next lesson, but for now – dismissed.”

Moving through the cafeteria was like pushing through a swarm of locusts. Gripping her tray, Ash forced herself to smile as she nervously made her way through the thronging crowd of students. Everyone seemed to walk purposefully through the melting pot of the campus, with all the students congregating around the rows of tables during their break. Everyone had somewhere to be or somewhere to go, leaving Ash standing helplessly in a daze as she struggled to figure out what she was supposed to do.

She watched as a few boys clasped each others’ hands in an intricate series of motions, culminating with a firm contact between their fists. To her right, a table erupted into laughter after a girl told a joke, but not before Ash was able to overhear a separate group of friends debating the latest NASL rankings. It was nearly overwhelming for the mutant, and her wings fluttered uneasily as she struggled to even hear herself think amidst the constant conversation. Looking around the room as if hoping to spot a friendly face to come to her rescue, Ash’s face lit up as she saw a group of her teammates gathered together. Raising a free hand and about to call out a greeting, the girl froze as she remembered her earlier encounter with Yoshiro. She hesitated. What if her friends didn’t want to be exposed?

Realising her near-mistake, Ash lowered her hand. Besides, it didn’t look like they were expecting her anyway, and it would be rude for her to just interrupt their conversations. Looking left and right again as her smile slowly wavered, Ash finally spotted someone else that she recognized. “Rebecca!” She called out, not wasting a second before she began to approach the girl and her friends.

Sitting at a table, Rebecca glanced up from a conversation to see the mutant striding towards her. Her eyes widened at the sight, and she glanced around desperately. Ash didn’t notice the girl’s discomfort at her appearance, Ash was just about to take the seat beside her when Rebecca suddenly planted her bag there instead. The mutant stopped herself in her tracks.

“Oh hi, Ash!” The girl said, offering Ash a sweet smile. “It’s good to see you, I missed you after class. Sorry though, seat’s taken already.”

Stealing a quick glance at Rebecca’s bag, Ash felt a nagging suspicion at her words. She wasn’t sure if the seat really had been taken, but why would Rebecca lie? She’d lie if she didn’t want you to sit with her. Offering the other girl a weak smile, Ash shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, my mistake. I shall have my lunch elsewhere in that case. I will see you in the next class.”

As she turned away from the table, the mutant’s smile fell almost immediately. Her first lunch was not going how she had expected. If she couldn’t sit with her teammates, and her classmates didn’t want to be with her, what was she supposed to do? By this point during the break, nearly every school clique and group had claimed their table, leaving the mutant standing around awkwardly with her untouched food. Trying not to let the uncomfortable feeling in her chest from drawing all her attention, Ash looked around for any free seat, any free seat at all. And eventually, she was lucky enough to find one. Not wanting to waste a second more, she pushed aside any hesitation she might have had and walked straight up to the pair of girls who were already there. They were sitting a bit towards the edge of the cafeteria, slightly separate from the real hustle and bustle, but Ash was just pleased to have found a table.

“Hello, I am sorry to interrupt – but can I sit with you?” She asked, trying not to let a hint of desperation creep into her tone. “Oh, and my name is Ash. I am new.”

Mika was soon interrupted, however, by a moth girl without a place to go. Mika raised an eyebrow at this, as she'd have to be stupid to not recognize the hero. "I mean, if you want to join us losers go ahead. There's definitely enough room. Why though? You should have enough friends. Hell, the suckers in the anime club would be all over you, the poor sad blokes."

Tapping the empty bench right next to her, she waited for Ash to sit. "Probably a good choice though Ashy. They'd tear apart us poor maidens. I'll keep you safe. Just don't bring your other friends over. I don't want to get swamped. I'm a mean ogre."

Andrew

Once he was shown to his room, Andrew quickly dropped off his stuff and turned back to Kabuto. "So, you never quite told me your name. If we're going to be teammates, that'll probably help."

He considered a shower right away, but decided to put it off for now. "Mind showing me where everything else is? The gym, or perhaps the kitchen would be places to start. On second thought, let's just go with the kitchen. I'm famished."

Dan

Looking over the television station Marionette was holed up in was a man in a purple suit, with a matching top hat and a cane with an intricate set of grooves throughout it. In his hand was a phone, set to stream live to anyone who may tune in to the pages covering the incident. The tall male grinned to it, and gave a slight wink.

"Hello world, it's the Spectre here. Today it seems I'm getting that big city stage break I've been looking for in the hero business. Turns out the Marionette, my personally second favorite villain, is pulling a crime in my territory. I think she finally noticed who her true nemesis shall be. My men and I are going in now, so stay tuned to the news to see more amazing instances by yours truly."

Down below, a guard who had been watching turned his head up, unable to locate the hero. Soon, tough, he felt two sharp stabs in his calves. As he fell, two more smiles grinned at him. Two more Daniels had loaded him with knock out darts and turned towards the glass doors.

"Well Dan, shall we crash the party?"

"Indisputably my handsome friend. Let's start this show with a bang." Pressing their thumbs on another groove, the doors were shattered as a volley of bullets filled the air. Stepping through now, five Dan's became one, and were the first heroes on the scene.

by **Finland SSR** » Tue Jan 07, 2020 4:05 am

The Great Floyd Tolson!

"Hello world, it's the Spectre here. Today it seems I'm getting that big city stage break I've been looking for in the hero business. Turns out the Marionette, my personally second favorite villain, is pulling a crime in my territory..."

It wasn't exactly easy to catch every single word coming from the livestream when an entire noisy police blockade was unfolding right before you - not that watching videos while sitting on the roof of a building the middle of rather windy weather was a good idea in the first place. It did give Floyd a good glimpse into what is going on in the TV station, however - and right as the quintuple hero who looked like a reject from a Broadway musical knocked out the guards by the front door, he opened the door with a bang - a bang which Floyd couldn't miss while watching on the other side of the street from the station.

That's where the action is taking place. Floyd locked his phone and shoved it back into his pocket, cracking his knuckles as he watched the ground floor of the station get showered with bullets, explosions and screams. It's about time.

There are a lot of things you can say about Marionette, most of them not really good, but Floyd had to concede that she at least knew how to put up a good show and thus summon a crowd. And where there's a crowd, there's superheroes, and where there's superheroes, there's fun times for everybody! Of course, if you define "everybody" as "Floyd and hardly anyone else"... Last time she pulled off a move as ballsy as this and got the entirety of San Diego uppity, he was on her side and, unless you count losing his sword, had plenty of fun times throughout. So, for the sake of balance, why not lend his help to the other side, this time?

Marionette can consider it a practical exercise after all the training she's done under him. And Weatherman will be able to prove whether he is really more than just talk.

Floyd backed off from the edge of the roof, giving himself some room to accelerate, then suddenly ran forward and leapt into the sky. Several bullets flew his way from below instantly, striking nothing but air, and after making his way over the entire street in a single bound, he crashed into the ground floor of the TV station. Straight into the jaw of a poor grunt who probably thought getting hired by a comical villain means you have less of a chance to get hurt.

"HEY, DIPSHIT!" he yelled, standing up from the mangled corpse underneath his feet, and turned towards Spectre.

"I just ruined your livestream."

by **North America Inc** » Tue Jan 07, 2020 2:52 pm

Outside the Cafeteria
"Get the hell out of my way!" An overweight sophomore shouted as he pushed through a tight crowd. A barrage of students hurtled toward the door, as Devon's increasingly loud tirades started to significantly escalate. Luckily with Jason's timely catch no one had been injured just yet, a few bruises at most as others shoved them out of the way. As they congregated in the surrounding fields and classrooms, more sensible heads called for facility and the police. Yet, a larger minority decided to make the most of it; within seconds, social media was flooded with streams, tweets, thoughts and prayers. After all, isn't this what you secretly hope for at a superhero high school?

The most venturous ventured back into the fray, standing outside the building with his signature fade and phone in hand. "What up Insta.... its your boy Matte Diamond." Looking off to the distance to really highlight his jawline, he flung up a few hand signs for the bois back home he was representing. That's all we have after all. "Surprise upload, I know...but look at this." The shaky camera caught a glimpse of Sludge swinging in the air before Devon's ground smash scared Diamond back against the outside wall. "A few pussies are hitting my terf, out here disrespecting like that."

"Outfit's back at home, but all I need is my Letterman." He kissed the school logo that rested over his heart. "Yea YB gang had to pull me out of fifth to deal with this. No surprise, I'm kind of a legend here in the OC." Looking around and behind him, "Not to get all political but they're all secretly kind of bitches, not gonna to lie." He began to bob and weave erratically, his camera still in hand. "After I deal with these fuckbois myself, kickback back at my place. No baby mama shit either. Calling you out Kyle. We only getting lit and making those fat stacks. " A splash of Sludge's mush flew out of the cafeteria, almost smacking the dumb-ass side kick. His eyes stared in shock at the congealed mass before him, but he quickly recovered and went back to his usual self. Aiming the camera directly at the mush, "I know some of you punk bitches aren't use to being on this level. But what can I say, I fuck with that daily."

"Watch this." He pulled out his phone stand and displayed a few off his signature poses, "We definitely putting this on the highlight tape. Straight to Arizona." Psyching himself up again, he ran out the camera frame only to catch a streak of fire roar inside. "Hol' Up..." He ran back and grabbed the camera, "I need some of that Gucci Gang play'in to activate beast mode." Scrolling through his phone, "Yea...I already would be 110% but my mom was being a bitch yesterday and took away my Juul. Out there not understanding the homies. I think she its because she's Cancer or some shit. "

Aidannadia wrote:

The Republic of Atria wrote:Jason

"Guy's...I feel much better now." Liane said as the pain slowly subsided and she regained her composure. Too out of it to really contemplate the gravity of the situation, the former cheerleader turned monster slowly climbed out of her self propagating mush and stood on her own two feet. Slowly sinking into the ground if she stood in place too long, she did her best to walk forward. Unaware that her appearance had been replaced by a thick mucus like substance that covered her entire body, she aimlessly watched as Devon's thrown table was caught by some black monster. "Stop that...stop fighting." She moaned under her breath.

April watched over the ensuing fight from the relative safety of the above support beam. As Squad Four rushed into the thick of it, April paid special attention to Ava. While Jason without any hesitation took a stand against Devon, Ava was a little different; she clung to the side of Shi as she went back and forth staring at her ring and the emulsion girl. "You really should do something about your hair." April joked under her breath as she pulled out a few strands of Ava's hair. Pulling a vial from her outfit, she slipped the loose strands without anyone being the wiser. "One down...three more to go.", Her eyes locked onto the increasingly on the defensive Sludge.

"Than I thought..." Jason uttered before seeing his adversary jump from one side of the room onto him.

Devon grappled the recovering Jason, pulling him down towards the floor. "I don't want to hurt you." His fist smashed against his face, the blow softened by slime. Afterwards though as Jason's ear rung and Devon held him, there was an eerie calm between them. Devon was able to think for a second. None of them moved to attack the other; Devon's mind slowly realizing the gravity of his actions. He dropped Jason onto the floor as the high schooler tried to think of the right words to apologize. None of this was right, whatever he was doing. Towering over Sludge and obscuring him from view, he slowly reached out to get him back on his feet, "I shouldn't have..."

Right before he could finish his sentence, Shi could be heard shouting, "Ava! Brute now."

"Right!" Ava without any hesitation rushed forward towards her target. A bright light shined all around her before muting slightly to reveal her usual combat armor; conjuring a few constructs, they smashed against Devon's back. "Jason! Get up!"

Devon winced in pain, his anger quickly returning. Instinctively, he unleashed a flurry of blows on Jason's abdomen and chest before the wise cracking hero was able to disengage and meet up with Ava. As Devon rushed towards them, brass knuckles quickly formed and shot right under his chin launching him back to where he originally was. Now it was his turn to get pummeled, Ava slammed back and forth with successive hits to his jaw, taking the momentum. Then he caught it, crushing the weapon between his fist. He gnawed his teeth, a bullish expression on his face. Despite his brown skin, he was visibly red. Veins visibly protruded from his body, his skin looking uncomfortably tight with how large his muscles were. "This is it!"

Aleta's tirade ended with the phrase, "I'm Paragon, bitch. I can take whatever you throw at me."

"Yea, Yea I don't care and I don't think I will." JamJam said as etched ever closer to Aleta but far enough that their little encounter might got lost in the heat in the moment. Smirking to himself, he focused in on the branding sensation, trying to circle in on the best place to truly leave his mark. After a few seconds, the pain decreased slightly as Aleta traced her hands over her lower back. As she rubbed the none existent damage, he gloated, "Gave you a little tramp stamp. My initials. I'm sure if I leave this on hot long enough it'll..."
his turn to
Aleta jumped towards him only to convulse as the pain resumed. "I'm the Paragon Bitch! I can take whatever you throw at me." James replied verbatim but in a dismissive and shrill voice. "Okay then in that case how about I throw..." Out of nowhere, a flame smacked against his face, knocking him on his back. Aleta's pain immediately subsided as his concentration disappeared. As he laid on his back, he looked up to see the Red Princess ten feet away from him, smoke coming from her hands. "You'll regret that! How about you're the one burned for a change!" He focused in on her, her form, her nerves. With an inkling of his power, he'll have both of them shrieking his name for mercy. He concentrated and closed his eyes, a sizzling sensation slowly enshrouding his target. "Take this!"

James immediately screamed in pain, 'Ah! What the hell!" In his ignorance, he did on himself. He tried again,this time, nothing happened. "How the hell do these powers work!"

by **Tomia** » Tue Jan 07, 2020 8:17 pm

Wonder Tower
"Good idea Kabuto, that should help us track them down." Roy said, complimenting his teammate when he offered a solution.

"You'll need to be careful when you find them." Fiona added to the conversation. "We don't know whether it will be simple criminals or something far more dangerous waiting for you."

Roy nodded, "We'll be careful Fiona. I have full confidence in my team here. Thank you again for the information. I appreciate your trust in us." With that the two said goodbye and Roy turned off the television.

"Alright, Cas, you should start working on tracking the substance. We'll see what your bugs can come up with. Everyone else, you're off duty for now. Get some rest if you need it. We may need to be active again sooner rather than later. Keep your phones on you just in case we need you. Beyond that... Anyone want some food? That bank robbery really sapped my energy. I'm thinking Tacos..." He said to his team before heading into the kitchen.

by **Absolon-7** » Wed Jan 08, 2020 12:45 am

Finland SSR wrote:Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

Viviana Couture October 2nd
Once Mizu picked her weapon of choice Viviana followed her along to the next stage of their plan which was to ambush Quinn to get her phone back. Viviana nodded along to the second stage of Mizu's plan and hid herself behind the hallway's corner as Puppy Mizu ran out to get Quinn to their cross-hairs. She quickly pulled up some looping barking video on Mizu's phone and then slowly pulled the pump back to prepare the water gun attack. Now she just had to wait and hope her aim was good enough to hit one of two small fluffy things running at high speeds. Well a white spaniel looked pretty different from a husky puppy so it couldn't be that hard could it? The sudden high pitched barking of Quinn slowly getting louder and the soft yet numerous paw-steps from Mizu and Quinn where ll she needed to hear to get into action.

"Showtime!" yelped Viviana as she swiveled around to face the incoming duo, "Sorry Quinny!"

The water gun let out a quick stream of water that hit the husky dead in the forehead and the puppy immediately let out a yelp thus releasing Viviana's phone from its maw. The puppy pawed at his forehead in an attempt to dry itself which left a perfect opportunity for Viviana to quickly walk by and snatch it up. Although she picked it up carefully by the corner as the covering was loaded with puppy drool.

"Mission success! Thanks a lot for the help Mizu. If it wasn't for your prank my phone would Quinn's new chew toy," cheerfully said Viviana as she pumped her fist into the air. Quinn had seemingly forgotten the watery transgression and was now yapping up at Viviana with his tail wagging like a helicopter blade. The brunette now awkwardly rubbed the back of her head as she waited for Mizu to poof back to human form, "So yeah I'm sorry I took you away from doing your homework since its pretty tough. And then this Quinn had to go get drive by kidnapper mode. Just thought playing some basketball again would be nice." Her face was then occupied by cheery smile as he made finger guns at Mizu, "So I'll check in before draggin ya away again, okay?"

Galnius wrote:Andrew

Casimir Herman October 2nd
The newcomer now wanted to know his name but also couldn't decide on where he wanted to go next. If giving a tour was going to be this annoying maybe he should've dumped the job on Roy or something. Well at least he decided on the kitchen which was as good of a place as any. Casimir crossed his arms as he once again began walking back to the elevator.

"Name's Casimir. Coolest hero on the team by nine out of ten critics. With the last guy having a phobia of insects," said Casimir casually ignoring his own stomach growling, "Now, our kitchen is on the same floor as the living room and it has like a cafeteria area where you can walk to and from the living room. Pretty nifty if you ask me."

Tomia wrote:Wonder Tower

Casimir Herman, One Hour Later
Casimir smugly leaned further back on the couch stretching his arms out as his plan was perfectly accepted by the fearless leader. The rest of the meeting wasn't that long to wait through and the other two where dismissed from duty. Casimir took out the vial from his pocket and popped off the lid keeping the glass vial sealed and he then ordered a small beetle hidden in a cranny of the room to fly towards his hand clasped around the vial. He'd smell it himself but he didn't want to risk any adverse effects so smelling by proxy would have to do. The beetle slowly crawled to the edge of the vial and lowered its antennae down to the strange liquid.

A repugnant yet also sanitized smell filled Casimir's senses as he started to memorize the scent. With that step over with it was not time to turn his attention to his greater swarm and match up the scent. Over such a large area and with a specific scent rather then visual cues meant it would tale more then just a few minutes and once he did he'd be able to exactly pinpoint someone selling it in the best case scenario. However, the sudden call from Roy for food broke his attention.

"I'll take six of a serving of tacos Roy. Lots of meat on them," said Casimir shaking his head to refocus.

by **Charmera** » Wed Jan 08, 2020 11:35 pm

Galnius wrote:
Charmera wrote:
"With my morals?" Makenzie scoffed. She allowed her clone to disappear into ash, allowing her to re-absorb the magically energy that went into creating it. "You really think you have the moral high ground? Mister stab happy, threaten a woman, voice changer. You're a wolf just like them, except you've taken to cannibalism to get your rocks off."

"You know, we've been talking a lot about me and my decisions. What about you?" She asked,

Suddenly Makenzie splits into three clones, each of them heading in a different direction to overwhelm her opponent.

Keone
Keone couldn't tell if it the hero in front of him had stopped holding back or if she still had more tricks to pull, but even this Keone was unprepared for. Finding himself more disappointed in his own ignorance now than the fight, he hurriedly dodged what he could.

He barely evaded the trip, knowing that failing to would cause him to be overwhelmed, but couldn't quite bring his blade down in time to dodge the blow to the ribs. He did however manage to use his arm to block the medium strikes. It was the next attack that was a problem.

As the third Asp's fist was suddenly charged with an unknown energy, Keone lifted his blades to block. Even then, he was unsure if he could take the hit, so he dropped back releasing them a split second before. Or so he thought. The blow would strike the blades, but he could still feel the strength behind hit. Soon after Asp seemed to step back, and Keone was left bladeless.

She's fast! Keone was stunned not by the attack, but by the speed off the onslaught and the clones. I won't be able to do this for much longer. I better make this quick.

Flashing forward once more, Keone appeared directly in front of the previous attacker and dived low for an uppercut into the lungs. That however was a feint, as it was followed by a knee that would extend to a full kick when she hopefully dodged back. He just needed one blow on her shirt or blade, it didn't matter to him which. If he could just use his psychometry. "Don't worry miss, my reasoning here is all for you right now."

Keone was quite lucky. There was a 1/3 chance that the target he attacked would be the real Makenzie, given that the shadow clones looked exactly like her. It annoyed Makenzie when that happened, though she supposed it was just the luck of the draw. She hadn't done anything to expose herself and he hadn't shown an ability to detect her, so she supposed this was just her own misfortune. She sighed and prepared to defend herself.

Makenzie blocked the uppercut, and instantly her brain told her she should have dodged that one. Luckily it was a mistake that she was going to live to regret, as the knee of the vigilante slammed into her. Unfortunately, this lesson in keeping one's attention on an opponent's strategy was complemented by a harsh blunt pain and the wind that was suddenly knocked out of her. Her clones retreated back to her as she stepped backward, the two of them moving to intercept any follow-up blows with their bodies.

"Asshole." She muttered to herself, straitening up. The bad news was that he was fast. Not as consistently fast as Makenzie, she had proven that she could overwhelm him. But his speed in bursts was deadly. Not to mention his knives.

If he ran there's not much I could do to stop him. As fast as I am, he has too much speed with his weird flashing forward thing. But if I can hold him here until the rest of the team is done we might be able to corner him. If I overextend myself I'll get sliced to ribbons, but as soon as I have someone else helping me he's toast.

She decided, then to take on a subtly more defensive stance. Her usual tactic was not going to work. Instead, she was going to have to play for time.

"No more moral debates? I was just starting to enjoy pounding you both mentally and physically." Trash Talk, her specialty, would help here.

New Finnish Republic wrote:
Red

"Let's keep things simple. Keeps things more interesting that way," Red responded as he remained in his stance. He watched as she seemed to be warily eyeing him, likely trying to discover any notable weaknesses to exploit as she did. Based on her expression, she seemed disappointed to find none, much to Red's content. Unfortunately he wasn't able to feel too good about this, as he was also unable to note anything that seemed exploitable based on her own stance. She's probably going to play it safe in the beginning and try to feel me out, Red thought to himself. Well, better not keep her waiting then.

Without warning, Red stepped forwards and immediately opened up with a feint jab with his right hand, only to bring the actual strike with the other as he sent a left cross directed at her jaw. While he wasn't going full force with these punches, as doing so was a taboo in most sparring situations, his fist went flying forwards with blistering speed. Makenzie was quick to counter this easily seen through opening move, however, as she used her palm to misdirect the strike away from her and used the momentum to throw a quick jab towards his throat. Bobbing his head to the side, Red narrowly avoided the strike but used the opportunity to grab a hold of her arm as well as her opposite hip, checking his hips against her groin before letting out a grunt as he tossed her over his back. This was known as a tsuri goshi, one of the most basic yet effective moves in judo used to get an opponent onto their back.

His throw was somewhat successful, indeed managing to toss Makenzie onto the padded ground below with a loud thump as she landed. However before Red could capitalize upon this further, he suddenly felt an ankle hook onto his own as she swept his legs. Crashing onto the ground next to her, Red let out a groan as the impact briefly took the wind out of him. In that split second, he felt Makenzie attempt to close in the distance, and thus out of instinct Red went into a butterfly guard in an attempt to hold her at bay. He managed to lock his legs in place in time to avoid further assault, but he knew this would only keep the girl at bay for only so long.

Surely enough, he saw Makenzie cocked her arm backwards and send down a punch at lightning speed towards him on the ground. Red's eyes widened as he barely managed to move his head in time, feeling the heavy impact land mere inches away from his right ear. A small curse escaped his lips as he reached over with his right hand to wrap around the now lowered arm of Makenzie, and before the girl could react he abandoned his butterfly guard and transitioned into an arm bar, wrapping his left leg around her back as his right leg swung upwards to trap her arm within.

Red immediately brought his weight backwards as he set the submission hold in, a battle of strength between him and Makenzie as it now was a matter of whether he could settle into position before Makenzie could slip away. The two struggled for a few moments until Red suddenly felt his body begin to rise in the air. He didn't even have enough time to let out a curse before he felt his back slam against the mat, causing his grip to falter. Surely enough this provided Makenzie with enough room to escape from, quickly back peddling away from Red as a means to get distance.

Damnit, there goes probably my best chance, Red thought with frustration as he too got onto his feet and got back into a stance. She seems to be competent both on her feet and on the mat. And for as light as she looks, she's damn strong. Red bounced on his feet a few times, waiting for Makenzie to make the opening move this time. He knew she'd be watching out for another throw, so he decided he'd switch to a more conventional style of staying on his feet. He planned on reverting back into a standing game, using rapid crosses and jabs combined with leg kicks and knees that would overwhelm her defense. It was one of his more favored styles of attack, the concept known as retzev in the Israeli martial art of krav maga.

As he waited for her to come at him, Red took several deep breaths as sweat tricked down the side of his face. "You're pretty damn good, I'll admit that," he spoke out to her, no hint of sarcasm in his voice as he was being truthful with the complement. This was going to be a tough sparring match, but the thought of that managed to bring a sense of excitement into him. Martial arts was a means of escape for Red, ironically enough, as it made it impossible to think of anything else besides his opponent. And right now, Makenzie was tough enough to warrant his full and undivided attention.

"Let's see what you've got, now," Red taunted towards her, once more motioning towards her with his hand as he got into his stance.

Well class, what have we learned? Makenzie thought to herself.

He used throws and locks with considerable competence, likely trying to use a difference in strength to force out an early concession. The fact that this was a chosen strategy and not his whole game plan was signaled when he slipped into a different stance after he grabbed her the second time. This revealed not only that she was fighting someone who was by no means a one-trick pony but also that this guy was also a strategist.

"Well, you've led this dance for a little while." Makenzie remarked with a cocky smile as she cracked her knuckles. "Let's see if you can keep up as well as you can lead."

Offensive stance, strong footing. This motherfucker is looking to do some old fashioned beating. Makenzie thought. Well, if he wants offense. We'll give him offense.

Makenzie unleashed an onslaught of blows, that was met by a complementing onslaught from Red. Punches, jabs, kicks, feints, and chops were exchanged, each was blocked, sidestepped, or deflected by whoever was throwing them. Though Makenzie had the edge in speed and agility, and might eventually overwhelm Red, or Red might eventually use his edge in strength and durability to overpower Makenzie. However, this wasn't how Makenzie was angling to end this fight.

Instead, she was testing his defense. seeing what the range of his stance was.

Suddenly Red's eyes flashed and Makenzie knew her window of opportunity had shortened to a razor's edge. She hadn't mapped out his stance fully yet and he looked like he was going to go for the coup-de-grace. Fortunately, Makenzie didn't need to get in a great blow. Just a good enough blow, good enough to stagger her opponent.

There She thought, and launched a swift jab at her opponent's jaw. It wasn't very hard, but it was swift enough to contain a jarring force. In the grand scheme of Red's body, it was little more than a playground shove.

However, it did, for a heartbeat, disrupt Red's stance and his attack. His head turned slightly enough to put him off his rhythm.

Makenzie exploded forward then, unleashing a forward kick that hit her opponent. It was a sparring level kick, but it was a good hit.

She moved in to lay the decisive blow. Finally, we can-

Makenzie had been too greedy. If she had been a little more conservative she might have noticed that Red was back in his stance a little earlier than she thought he would. And that his arm was in her way.

Like a Spartan warrior, Red bashed forward with his arm held like a sheild. He didn't have the space to extend it, but it still pushed his opponent backwards. This wouldn't be enough to knock Makenzie off her feet, but he followed up with a sharp jab. She was knocked off her balance and began to toppled backwards.

However, thanks to skillfull ninja training, she turned a backwards slide into a roll, rolling over briefly and then springing back up. She fended off Red from following up his blow by kicking outwards, pushing her opponent back. She grunted in annoyance.

"Shitty teacher my ass," Makenzie muttered, a wolfish grin on her face.

by **New Finnish Republic** » Thu Jan 09, 2020 12:40 pm

Red

Red's chest rose up and down in massive breaths as he stared down Makenzie. His forearms, shins, shoulders, and practically every other part of his body were notably sore thanks to the constant deflections and blocks he had to endure during Makenzie's onslaught. She too looked like she was beginning to feel the effects of their sparring match which at this point had been going on for several minutes. Sweat stained the mats below them, a testament to how much effort both of them were putting into what began as a simple sparring session.

She's quicker than me, that much is for sure. I can't manage to land any solid hits with that agility of hers, and all I can really do is avoid taking any harsh hits myself, Red thought to himself as he slowly circled around to his right, Makenzie warily mirroring him as the two slowly closed the distance between one another. Both of them were eyeing each other's movements, looking for an opportunity to strike but finding no obvious weaknesses in the other. I have the strength and size advantage on her, but she's made it clear she knows how to defend against it. If I could get in another throw and mount from there I feel like I could finish this, but she's going to be watching out for just that. Red's eyebrows furrowed as the two became just out of reach of one another, a slight hesitation coming from both of them as they waited for the other to strike.

Guess I'll have to do it that way, then, Red thought to himself as he suddenly dipped below Makenzie's chest, barreling forward as he went for a double legged takedown. Makenzie, seeing this coming, immediately leaned forwards to sprawl on top of him to counteract the attack. However this action didn't concern Red, as this had been exactly what he had been counting on. Before Makenzie realized she had fallen for the feint attack, Red changed the direction of his forward motion, reaching with both hands as one gripped onto her forearm while the other grasped a hold on her right shoulder. Using the forward momentum that Makenzie was in the process of with her sprawl, Red let out a grunt as tossed her over his shoulder using a ippon seoinage throw.

The girl landed with a hard thud as her back landed against the mat, with Red already in the process of going for a mount as he straddled above her, taking care to avoid another ankle sweep as he had fallen for before. He managed to successfully pass her guard, preparing to strike when suddenly he felt a small shift in her posture. Red's eyes widened as he tried to brace himself, but Makenzie was already in motion as she shifted her hips to the side and grabbed a hold of Red's left arm, rolling the two so that now she was in the mount past his guard. With no other option left, Red opted to push his hips upwards as he used his arms braced against the ground to give him extra leverage. Against a larger opponent this escape method almost never worked, but Red's size advantage allowed Red to successfully buck Makenzie off of him enough that he could push her off the rest of the way and allow him to roll away.

Not wasting a single moment, Red stepped forwards towards Makenzie who herself was getting up from her back as well. Red lunged forwards with a lightning fast cross punch, only to stop mere inches away from a now standing Makenzie's nose as the two locked eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Red saw that the top of her foot was likewise mere inches away from the side of his head, the girl having thrown what would've been a devastating high kick had she not stopped where she had. For a few moments the two remained where they were, breathing heavily as neither of them flinched. Sweat dripped down from Red's face, landing on the mat with such volume that the impacts against the mat were audible to the both of them.

"Alright, I think we'll call it a draw," Red finally said in between breaths, lowering his arm as he stepped back away from Makenzie.

by **Auropa** » Fri Jan 10, 2020 8:55 pm

Mike Mathews
October 2nd
Dodgeball incident

‘From bad to worse’ Mike thought as he watched Frostbite get flung across the room and harshly slammed against the wall. Though she had gotten close, the unstable winds turned against her in full force and had sent her careening back with little defence against the barrage of flying debris. At the same time, whether intentional or not, Coleen’s powers had shifted focus leaving Mike with a somewhat clearer path forward and towards her. In the space of a moment, Mike made his choice and rushed out from his makeshift cover.

Even with its focuse elsewhere he still felt the impact of the torrential winds slamming against him as if it were trying to squeeze the air from his lungs. Forcing his body forward and resisting the urge to crumple there and then, he pushed off the ground and darted further into the maelstrom of debris and air. He weaved between the larger, slower obstacles and slid under the major threats that came his way but quickly found himself being steadily overwhelmed by the sheer number of objects around him. He narrowly dodged a section of wall, only to feel a sharp sting as several fragments slashed across his side. Next came a full locker torn from the ground, but as he twisted to avoid it, his run was nearly cut short when a chunk of concrete impacted the side of his head, leaving a free flowing crimson trail from where it impacted. It wasn’t until being faced with a practically shredded table did salvation arrive. Between him and the enclosing wall of seemingly inevitable suffering came an opportunity in the form of a torn locker door. Unwilling to lose the chance, Mike leapt towards the thin metal sheet, reaching it moments before the table shards would’ve cut through him and with just enough time to pool his focus. When the shards did hit, they slammed against the reinforced metal and either shattered under the impact or bounced harmlessly off to its side.

Now armed with a makeshift shield, Mike charged through the last few meters and towards his target. The continually changing forces against him threatened to topple him at every step but the fear of being flung back paired with his determination to get his job done right, kept him moving forward, until finally, he had reached his goal. Turning on the spot, he slammed the door against the ground placing it between him and the prone Frostbite behind him. The dash to his fallen teammate couldn’t have been more than a few meters across, but under the constant barrage and impacts, he could already feel his body aching and begging for rest, and while his powers had strengthened the metal sheet, it couldn’t do anything to alleviate the work done by his arms simply holding it in place. Gritting his teeth and focusing his mind, Mike forced himself once more to shrug off the pain and hold on for dear life. He had made the choice to cover his teammate the moment he broke cover and he wasn’t about to let his own body of all thing be the reason he failed.

“Coleen!” He tried to call out from beneath the windstorm “I understand you’re scared but you need to take control of your powers!” He added before his voice was overpowered by several more impacts ringing out across his temporary shield. “None of this is your fault! We know that! But we need you to calm down and breathe before you take down the celing!”

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

Much later
Wonder Tower

Turning on the news had been a bad idea.
After the mess at school, Mike had dropped his reunion plans and had made his way back to his room before promptly collapsing onto his bed. At some point after, he managed to scrape together enough willpower to flick on the TV, where of all the things that could’ve greeted him, he was met with the image of a somewhat familiar sadistic, blonde-haired villain. Marionette. Immediately shooting upright to see what could’ve been happening, the news report went over her and weatherman’s newest scheme as well as her own recent threat against the citizens of San Diego. To his somewhat relief however, the report also went into detail about how several heroes had already been dispatched, with the mayor stating that the situation was well under control and how that the city would not back down.

At that, Mike flicked off the TV and prepared to lie back down. If they were needed, then Naja would’ve told them well in advance. Plus, while they were technically heroes, they were still new to the scene and something like this was better handled calmly by professionals. ‘Calmly by professionals…’ For some reason the phrasing of that left him uncomfortable and after a few seconds of thought, he figured out why.
“He wouldn’t.” Mike muttered to himself as he got to his feet and left his room.

Red was one of the team members that Mike had been a bit more… distant to, since the team’s founding. Sure, he was capable, but he was also more than a little reckless and aggressive at times, throwing himself into danger with seemingly little regard for things like his own safety or escape routes. But from what he had heard, he seemed to be steadily calming down and collecting himself ever since getting into a relationship with Yoshi. Of course, with the whole scarab thing he could understand Red slipping back into his old ways a bit. ‘But come one, the guy’s an experienced hero. I’m sure that I’m just being paranoid about this’ he told himself as he walked up to the other Young Blood's door. Finally, and after a noticeable delay, he gently knocked on it and waited for a response. After getting none, he knocked again a bit harder. Still nothing. Then, with a cold sweat starting to form at his brow, he went for the handle only to find it locked. ‘I’m going to get so much shit for this.’ He decided as he concentrated his powers and practically ‘dusted’ the inside of the lock. He knew that the Tower’s sensors would’ve picked up the damage to the door, meaning that Naja, Cass and probably Wendy would easily figure out what he had done, but he needed to know.

As he pushed the now lockless door open, Mike quickly confirmed his doubts. While being met with a large and scattered mess, paired with a thick, undeniably alcoholic smell in the air, it was clear to see that Red had recently departed in a hurry with his uniform and some equipment. ‘Really!?!’ Mike nearly shouted before he darted back to his room not even bothering to shut the door on his way out. Once there, he scrambled through his things before grabbing his own suit and equipment, stuffing them in a bag and running back out the door and towards the lower floors.

As he went, he instinctively reached for his communicator and was halfway through typing a message to Naja when he found himself stopping. Red probably had a huge lead over him and could already be at the scene for all he knew. Meanwhile, if Naja knew what he was doing, then she’d have to order him to stop since other heroes were in charge of the operation. In the end, if he wanted to get Red out of danger, then that meant that through a twisted sense of logic, he couldn’t call it in. Breathing out a frustrated sigh, Mike finished typing the message and stuffed the communicator in his pocket. He would go to the news building Marionette was holding hostage, then send the message before looking for Red. At that point, he could alert the others without letting them call him back.

‘…No wonder people say I over think things.’ He thought to himself as he left the tower and like the true hero he was, called a cab.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:53 pm

Jason

The fight had subverted his expectations to say the least. Not only did he get caught off guard by someone that was supposed to be slower than him, but when the jock had grappled him... He released him moments later and tried to apologize. "Shouldn't have what? Buddy, are you-" He didn't get a chance to finish before Devon visibly grimaced, winced and went right back to trying to hit him. Jason was a bit more prepared for Devon's speed, this time deflecting the blows and backpedaling, a bit more concerned about trying to hurt Devon. Clearly the guy wasn't wholly in control of his actions.

"Alright buddy!" Jason said, grabbing Devon's wrist with one hand, placing his hand on his chest, and flung him to the side of the cafeteria opposite the students. Devon landed on his feet with his inhuman balance. "I'm gonna try to help you, but you're gonna have to cooperate with me. I'm going to make it as painless as possible alright? So just focus on me, okay?" He spoke, putting his hands up. "Just relax. We're gonna get through this."

"Alright brain. Let's work this out. Punching his lights out isn't the best plan. He's almost as fast as me, and probably just as tough. Plus the whole thing with him not really being in the one in control. So the next best option is restraining him." He thought as Devon bolted at him. Jason shot a tendril at the ceiling and flung himself to it, placing himself well out of Devon's reach. "...That's a great idea brain!"

Devon looked as if he was about to jump when Jason flung himself off the ceiling. Jason readied himself for combat. "Let's go man. Like I said, I'm going to make every effort-" Already Devon had launched himself at Jason. His footsteps shattering the tile as he steamrolled his way over to the slimy hero.

Jason met him by grabbing his arms. "S'okay!" Though even with his own superhuman strength, Devon quickly began to push him back. Jason falling to one, and then both knees. "Damn... someone's been working out..." He muttered and then rolled onto his back, freeing his legs to let him press both against Devon's chest and thrusting him into the air. Without a moment of hesitation, Jason sprang to his feet, shot a tendril at the ceiling, and another at Devon's now slime covered hands.

Devon fell but the ooze kept him from hitting the ground. He glanced back up and Saw Jason reeling him in a few more feet and then shooting another to his free hand, leaving him hanging about halfway between the floor and ceiling. "Hang tight guy, I'll get you down once we're all settled and your brain is working normally."

by **Finland SSR** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 3:16 am

Auropa wrote:Mike Mathews
Much later
Wonder Tower

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

October 2nd

After the finale of Mizu and Viv's chase for Quinn and the phone he held in the hostage of his maws, the rest of the day went rather uneventful. The teammates who were enrolled in school were trickling back into the Tower, and while she occasionally heard something about some things which happened back in Thomsen High, the purple-haired girl didn't pay much attention to them, instead opting to keep her attention on her video-conference lessons and take notes. Oh, and there was also some stuff happening in the city, too... Of course, the Young Bloods made headlines again - a team led by Roy went down to bust a rather major drug operation and rescued several hostages while at it. In less reassuring news, Marionette and Weatherman, two dastardly villains whom the YB had had to stop before, took over a TV station and announced an ultimatum. If the Weatherman's demands are not fulfilled, then a stage five hurricane will tear through the city without remorse.

That... That was worrying. The news report assured that several heroes were already on the case and that the citizens of San Diego can rest assured that the two villains will be stopped, but still... There was no message from either Naja or Roy to call a team assembly, but this was still taking place on Young Bloods turf, so Mizu was sure that they're gonna get called up sooner rather than later. So, she prepared in advance - quickly went through the rest of her recorded lessons, packed up her laptop and study material and went back to her room.

She left the door open as she stashed everything back in the shelf next to her desk - just in time to hear someone run past. It instantly got the girl to raise her head. That sounds like someone in trouble, or in a hurry. Mizu peeked out to the corridor, and the armored back she saw making its way away from her was impossible to mistake for anyone else.

Mike?

Wait... what? Since when is he back? He vanished during the NASL Tournament all of a sudden, Mizu was worried that something bad happened and he got in trouble somewhere... Now, apparently, not only was he back in the Tower, but acting like nothing happened? Yeah, no, she definitely needs to investigate this. With the snap of her fingers, she cast an invisibility illusion on herself and ran after him.

By the time she caught up to Mike, he was already outside, fiddling with the team communicator while calling a cab. That gave more of a hint than anything on what this was about - he was off to fight Marionette. Without informing the team or even his squad. That...

...but why? Guess she'll have to make sure he doesn't actually get into trouble all by himself this time...

While still invisible, Mizu transformed into a small kitty to inconspicuously jump into Mike's cab without alarming anyone, and shape-shifted back to her usual form on the seat next to her teammate. Alright, is everything ready? One, two, three...

The invisibility illusion faded.

"Whatcha dooooin'?" Mizu immediately spoke up, drawing out her last word to make it a little more playful.

by **Zarkenis Ultima** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 4:27 am

October 2nd

Galnius wrote:---

Tomia wrote:---

Auropa wrote:---

After the locker room had emptied, just as suddenly as she had left, Alexis arrived. Just in a new outfit.

"Alright! Makeshift on the scene! What seems to be the problem?" The bubbly blonde asked as she flew inside with the aid of her rocket boots, only to be harshly thrown against the wall by the sheer force of the winds inside the locker room. "Ouchie. Don't answer that." She said afterwards. The winds suddenly seemed to focus on her, as if Coleen was able to recognize her voice, consciously or not. That's not good at all, but even if she seems to recognize me, it's just a frenzied girl's testimony, I should be fine. The genius girl mused as she looked at the improvised barrier behind which Mike and Angelica were hiding. After he had spoken, the winds seemed to calm down marginally, but now they were in full force again. They weren't, however, directed at them for the moment.

"So how'd you get into this pickle anyway Frosty? Did the girl forget to take her meds or- WOAH!" She began, trying to keep up appearances, only to panic as a whole locker was sent flying through the air straight towards her. Bringing up her hand, she sent out a pulse of kinetic energy from her palm, slowing down the deadly projectile just enough to rocket out of the way. Holy shit that could have killed me! I don't actually have most of my gear on me right now! She thought. Despite looking just the same as on any mission, she only had her rocket sneakers - which presently looked like boots - and her old bracelets, which she kept on hand for emergencies like this one. The only reason she looked any different was the currently invisible holowatch she wore.

"You're making fun of me too!" Coleen cried out in anger.

"No I'm not! Do I sound like someone who wants to die to you, girl?!" Makeshift retorted while struggling to dodge more deadly projectiles that were flung her way. Despite being able to fly, it was difficult to maneuver amidst the deafening gusts in the locker room. "Hey Frosty, kids I don't know, maybe you guys should try doing something while she's busy trying to murder the heck out of me?"

Bentus wrote:---

Galnius wrote:---

Once the short Rick Morrison wannabe eased up on the interview angle, Astrid relaxed and went back to what she was doing before. Mika was clearly only minimally interested in conversing, so for the most part she continue chatting with Icarus on the phone, idly picking away at her food now and then. She had to admit that it was somewhat nice not to be alone as usual, even though the table was quiet for the most part.

Things soon changed as a certain mutant girl approached the table at the end of the world. Astrid of course recognized her, even if the girl wouldn't - after all, outside of school, the Young Bloods had only ever seen her masked or in armor, and she intended to keep it that way. Her gut reaction was to reject the girl's approach, a bitter memory of the Cabal's last encounter resurfacing. But she also knew better than most what it was like to be spurned on the basis of association alone. School was a cruel and unforgiving place, perhaps she could at least let the moth girl catch a break while in here.

It's not like she was the one who set her man on fire, after all.

"Bonjour, Ash." The raven-haired girl greeted her. "Go ahead and sit down. There's plenty of space here in my little corner."

No sooner had Ash sat down, it seemed that all hell broke loose in the cafeteria, with the four souped up students facing off against a small contingent of the Young Bloods, plus a new addition. A psychic broadcasted his lascivious thoughts on Shi, someone else was mentally torturing Aleta, a girl was melting into a puddle, the whole nine yards. Safe in the corner away from everyone else, Astrid had a great view of the events unfolding.

"This." She said as she pulled a bag of doritos from her backpack. "This is what makes school worth it."

by **Auropa** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 6:08 pm

Mike Mathews
October 2nd
Dodgeball drama

Zarkenis Ultima wrote:---

Tomia wrote:---

With Alexis re-entering the mess, Mike couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh. ‘She’s probably already got this whole thing figured out’ he thought to himself right before the winds twisted and flung her against a nearby wall. ‘Or none of us have any idea how to handle this’ he admitted to himself as he winced at the girl’s impact.

Whatever was happening to Coleen, it was putting her and everyone around her in danger. Doing his best to calm down and focus, Mike tried to accept what they needed to do. If Coleen wasn’t calming down and couldn’t get her powers under control, then they needed to restrain her as quickly as possible. That meant getting close and potentially hurting the already traumatised girl ‘This really sucks’ he thought to himself as he settled on a plan.

“Frosty, we’re not going to calm her down at this rate.” He said as he offered a hand to the fallen girl behind him. “If you get close, can you hold her down? Because if you can, then I’ve got a very bad idea in the works.” He added as he nodded to his now heavily dented door shield. “I think I can give you enough cover to get near her, after that though, it'd be up to you.”

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

Later on
Near League News SD

Finland SSR wrote:Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

“Trying to stop Red from doing something stu-OH MY GOD MIZU WHAT?! HOW? WHEN DID Y-WHY? I-um I mean. *Cough*…Hi?”
Caught beyond completely off guard, Mike’s mind was torn between panicking over the girl’s sudden appearance and panicking over him immediately spilling his plan. Trying to find something to help confirm reality for him, he risked a glance at the cab driver who, much to his credit, seemed more absorbed with some music rather than anything his passenger(s) was up to. ‘Probably not the safest way to drive but I’m actually kind of glad he didn’t see that…’

Not being much help in figuring out his sanity though, Mike went to the next best option and lightly poked the cheek of the girl sitting beside him. ‘Yup, that’s a squishy face. I’m not hallucinating and I’m poking a face. In fact, I’m still poking a face. I’ve probably been poking a face for too long now. I’ve definitely been poking it for too long now. WHY AM I STILL POKING! DAMIT ME MOVE YOUR GOD DAMN HAND!’ and like a startled cat, Mike’s hand shot back to his side.

“Uhhhh, hi.” He said only slightly more confident this time.

“And we’re here.” The cab driver called out turning around and raising an eyebrow at the newcomer in his cab before quickly brushing it off.

“Th-thanks for the lift.” Mike said still struggling to process everything as he passed over a few small notes and made his way out of the car with Mizu in tow.

“Well…” He began as the car drove away. “I, am… Going for a walk… In the city… and not the island because-“He started to say before turning to properly face the girl beside him and finally putting two and two together. ‘I’m doing the exact same thing Red did… And she must have caught on.’ Breathing out a pent-up lungful of air, Mike gave up and came clean to Mizu and himself. “I’m here to fight Marionette.” He stated.

“I mean, I’ll avoid it if I can, but I don’t think things are going to turn out that way... Red and his uniform weren’t at the tower and he’s got a bit of an unpleasant history with her. I figured, if he was going to be anywhere, he was going to be on his way here and probably planning something stupidly dangerous. So I thought, if I couldn’t stop him, then at the very least I could give him some backup.” Looking down the street and towards the not so distant police barricade, Mike paused for a moment to think before pulling out his communicator and continuing.

“I know its reckless and stupid, but he shouldn’t be doing this stuff alone.” He said as he swallowed his doubts and sent his message to Naja. “And besides, I’ve just sent Naja everything. So if I don’t get completely murderised trying to help Red, then I’m pretty sure she’ll take care of that just fine.” He added with a clearly faked smile and strained laugh as he tried to at least feign some confidence.

“Anyways, I can give you the money for a cab ride back to the tower but Red had a headstart, so I should probably get going.”

by **Finland SSR** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 7:42 am

Auropa wrote:Mike Mathews
Later on
Near League News SD

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

October 2nd

The sly smile on Mizu's face from having pulled a prank on Mike quickly vanished and her carefree attitude dissipated when her peer suddenly began to yell in fright. Her usual happy go lucky attitude was immediately replaced with regret - Mike was likely off to do something important and she just butted in out of nowhere because of curiosity alone. The purple-haired girl flailed her hands, trying to somehow express that she wasn't here to do any harm and calm Mike down - thankfully, the situation settled down before something really bad happened, such as the driver getting the wrong idea and smashing the taxi into the nearest lamppost.

Mizu took an easier breath and was about to explain why and how she ended up here, but had to halt.

"Eh?" she mumbled as she watched Mike poke her in the cheek, carefully, as if he was expecting her to bite him in the neck at any moment. Then he poked again, and again... and what seemed innocent at first was now turning more than a little awkward. A faint flush of red formed on Mizu's cheeks by the end.

"...hi!.." she responded to Mike's greeting with one her own - energetic as always, though clearly more hesitant than before. And yet the driver still didn't notice anything weird - he stopped by the tower, accepted the payment and drove off, without considering even for a moment that the purplehead now sitting next to his passenger was anything out of the ordinary. And here Mizu thought that blind people couldn't drive...

Mike began trying to explain himself in the worst way he possibly could - that he was apparently off for a walk, out here in the city and not on the island, having taken a taxi instead of walking... Mizu stared at him with narrowed judging eyes until the teen finally yielded and explained that he was here to fight Marionette, guessing that Red must have run off all by himself to confront her and thus decided to run off all by himself to confront him. Something in Mizu's mind made her guess that this was the case from the get-go - not necessarily the part with chasing after Red, but the part where he was going after Marionette, for sure...

The girl grinned, slightly.

"Silly Mike, I could say the exact same thing about you, just replace Red's name with yours - and that's not very reassuring of your safety!" she replied after all was said and done. "And we're a team, y'know, not a conga line of lone wolves going after one another. So, hey, that makes three of us in this scene, that's almost a squad!"

Mizu suddenly spun in place, shapeshifting as she went, replacing her dark jacket with the dress costume of her Selene persona.

"And, besides, if you're here to infiltrate that tower, then I suppose someone who can make the two of us invisible would come in handy, hm?"

by **Tomia** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 4:01 pm

Angelica
"I can try!" Angelica shouted out to Mike, at this point she was clinging to the nearby locker to stay standing after the wind picked up around her. She pushed forward behind his makeshift shield, trying to get closer to their out of control class mate. It was working inch by inch, but it was clear Mike was starting to struggle moving forward. They were still about ten feet away from her, and they needed to get closer. "Sorry Mike! I'm on my own now!" She shouted, grabbing the shield out of his hand and rolling forward towards her target. Now she was in reach and Angelica reached out and grabbed Coleen's leg.

"Get off of me!" The out of the control teen shouted. As the wind started to die down on the outside of the room because of its source was distracted. However the wind around Angelica only intensified as she now had the girl's attention. She wasn't sure how much more she could hold on when she faintly heard the flapping of wings on her left. Suddenly the wind was redirected away from Angelica and seemed to die out entirely. Coleen was no longer being supported by the wind and fell to the ground next to Angelica. The Young Blood turned around to see who was the cause of this and she saw a woman with large red bird wings standing over them. She was now surrounded by a swirling wind that with a hard flap of her wings dispersed. The woman was clearly a hero, as she wore a red and yellow costume and a mask that was shaped in the form of a bird, beak and all. Angelica realized he had recognized her...

"I am Cardinal. I am here to give a presentation this afternoon, but it seems I was lucky to have arrived early." The hero announced. The now terrified looking Coleen had suddenly burst into tears. "I'm so sorry... I don't know what happened to me...." She said sobbing. Angelica looked pretty uncomfortable as she pushed herself to her feet. She had no idea what to say. Luckily Cardinal seemed willing to step in.

"You're not in trouble friend. What happened wasn't your fault." Cardinal said, as she stepped towards the girl, who immediately pulled her into a hug. Cardinal held Coleen gracefully. Angelica started to realize that part of a hero's job was to be able to comfort people and make them feel better, and she wasn't sure how good she would be at that. Her thoughts weren't able to linger there however as Cardinal spoke to the room.

"Everyone should head to their next class. There's nothing to see here anymore." With that Angelica started to file out with the others, feeling bad for Coleen but also not liking how powerless she had been to stop the drug riddled teen.

Later That Day
Instead of their last class of the day, all the students in the high school were herded into the auditorium. The room was filled with excited and even potentially nervous chatter with all that had happened that day. The Young Bloods were all spread out, sitting with whoever happened to be in their last class. Angelica was sitting around people she didn't know, and was sitting in silence, trying to ignore the chatter around her. After a few minutes of sitting idle the principal stepped up to the podium at the front of the large auditorium. He was a middle aged who was of moderate height with thinning brown hair. For someone in charge of a very peculiar school he didn't stand out much. The principle cleared his throat before speaking into the mic.

"Hello everyone. Today we have had two unfortunate incidents here that require immediate attention. As you are all aware a new drug has entered our school. One that promises super powers. Well this power drug is far from the super hero maker that you might think. It is dangerous and reckless. However, I know how much superheroes mean to all of you so I thought this message would be more persuasive coming from someone who lives with super powers. So let me introduce from the San Francisco Rising Suns, Cardi...." The principle was drowned out by applause as the hero took the stage. Cardinal was wearing her mask, which was one of the most notable parts of her hero persona. She was famous for not taking it off in public. In San Diego that didn't have a league team of their own the Suns were very popular and Cardinal was considered the second greatest hero on that team. She shook the principle's hand and stepped towards the mic, waiting for things to quite down before she started speaking.

"Thank you, I am honored to have the opportunity to speak to you today. Earlier this afternoon I was coming into the school and I came upon an incident where someone suffering from the effects of this power drug had lost control. This person was not a monster or criminal. They were just like you, a student. I know that those of you here who attend this school and seek out this drug are not bad people. You likely want to be a hero, or be better at sports, or to popular. These desires aren't wrong. In part, I realize that it is us heroes who are responsible for this. You see us on television, the applause, fame, and riches that come with it. It's natural for you want to think that with powers all that can be yours. But I am here to tell you, what you see on TV is not worth risking your life. Powers don't make you a hero, and you don't need super powers to be a hero. Millions of people across the world save and help others everyday without superpowers. Besides, what you don't see on TV is the cost of powers." The hero paused before gently lifting off her mask to an audible gasp from the students. Cardinal's human face was marked with a beak like nose.

"Trust me, there's nothing wrong with being normal." As Cardinal received a massive round of applause, Angelica was stirred to action. She pulled out her phone and put together a group chat of every YB in school.

"Meeting spot, ten minutes, ask to go to the bathroom." The message said. The meeting spot, referred to an old abandoned teachers lounge Wendy had found on the second floor of the school.

After about six minutes Angelica asked to go to the bathroom and headed out of the auditorium. No one seemed to notice her leaving as everyone was captivated by their guest. She saw Mars leaving as well and nodded to him as they both made their way to the exit.

by **Aidannadia** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 8:30 pm

North America Inc wrote:[…] "How the hell do these powers work!"

Sweating beneath her suit, Aleta managed to get to her feet as the pain subsided. She smiled confidently, realizing that James was still woefully out of control.

She cracked her knuckles. "You've had your turn. Now time to give it back." She slung over to him, stomping on his chest with a thud as she landed. The black ooze that surrounded her began to grow and convulse, spreading over his body and pinning him to the floor. Then, she began to lay into him, punching him in the face over and over, until he spit blood onto the floor. "Had enough, JamJam?" She smugly said as she began to stand once more.

by **Bentus** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:42 pm

The Nefarious Marionette!
San Diego

A flash of light quickly illuminated the huddle of captured newsroom staff, their night vision ruined as they desperately tried to plead and mumble through their gags. Tied up and strapped to explosives, the prisoners were understandably frantic as their captor assessed the photo on her phone. Rolling her eyes, she pouted at the gathered men and women as she waved an accusatory finger towards them.

“You know, you could’ve at least tried to smile when I said cheese. Sheesh, no wonder the other networks are getting better ratings when you’re all so lousy in front of a camera.” Still, it was better than nothing. Throwing herself into one of the wheeled office chairs that were strewn about the recording set, Lisette leaned backwards lazily as she lifted her phone up to her face. Flicking open her messages with Weatherman, she waited for the image to upload before allowing her fingers to fly across the screen to type out an accompanying message.

Everything’s still going fine over here, boss! Just lmk if there’s anything else I can do to help, k?

Pressing send, Lisette’s smile wavered slightly as she was met by steady one-sided history of her past messages to the villain. Scrolling back up through the chat, it was all a series of pictures, messages and emojis that she’d been sending Weatherman throughout the night - with not a single peep from him in response. Forcing herself to close the app before she allowed it to feed her nerves, Lisette scowled as she put away her phone. What was she thinking, bothering him in the middle of such an important mission? Of course he wouldn’t be checking his messages at a time like this! Though a part of Lisette couldn’t help but crave desperately for Weatherman’s approval of her handiwork. She knew he was still upset for what she’d done at the tournament, and she wanted so badly to make up for it.

Sighing as her train of thought threatened to lead her straight back to neurotically checking her phone for any new messages, Lisette was interrupted by the sound of a nearby explosion. Craning her neck to look behind her, she narrowed her eyes at a pair of the hired help who were just standing around, frozen at the indication of an actual attack. Seeing the villainess glaring towards them, they quickly regained their faculties however and immediately began to race towards the source of the commotion.

Spinning herself around in her chair to face a bank of security monitors, Lisette wore a wide grin at the prospect of the heroes having finally arrived. She wondered who it was going to be. The Young Bloods most likely, but last she’d heard they’d started using squads so it might not even be the whole team. Though maybe they’d sent one of the more established teams against her this time! It could be the Rising Suns, or the LA Stars, or...someone who just broke that poor goon’s back? Blinking in confusion, Lisette squinted at the grainy figure on her screen. Hey, what gave!? Heroes weren’t meant to just crack peoples’ spines like that! And now it looked like the intruder was bickering with another hero who had arrived on the scene. Well, their teamwork’s about what I’d have expected from the Young Bloods. Lisette thought bitterly. She could swear that something about the two figures was familiar, especially the tall, brooding one who just stood there with that quaint sword of -

Lisette froze as the realisation struck her like a freight train. Immediately, she clicked on the station’s intercom and angrily pulled the microphone to her lips. Feedback echoed out from the speakers as she turned on the speakers, but it was swiftly replaced by the voice of a clearly infuriated teenager.

“Hey, dipshit - this is my mission! I was here first, so beat it.” Lisette scowled as the two men in her feed seemed to glance around at the source of her voice. “I’m talking to you Floyd. If you think you can just waltz in here and take all the glory, then you’ve got another thing coming buster.” There was a brief pause. “Also, who’s the new guy? Is he your boyfriend or something?”

by **Auropa** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:31 pm

Mike Mathews
October 2nd
School

“What do you mean by-?” Mike began to ask as Frostbite pulled the shield from his grasp and took off towards their out of control classmate. ‘Did she just-‘ he thought to himself right as the ever-spinning wall of wind hit him once more and sent him spinning back towards the far wall. ‘Yup… Yup she did.’ He decided as he made painful contact and fell to the ground, but while still surprised and more than a little annoyed, he could see his teammate’s unhindered progress.

“Come on frost! Just a little bit more!” he tried to call out from above the winds. It looked like the girl was inches from her target but even from where he was, Mike could practically see the wind picking up strength as it pushed back against the encroaching heroine. When it looked like both sides were on the cusp of failing, a new face entered the situation. A pro-hero. Almost immediately, Coleen’s winds dispersed as she fell to her knees before the stoic Cardinal. ‘Well that’s just great’ Mike thought to himself as he finally got back to his feet and Cardinal moved to embrace the scared girl ‘I bet this means we’re all going to get a ‘oh I’m such a humble, great person and you’re all the real heroes’ speech for the assembly now.’

In full honesty, Mike didn’t have much against the hero, in truth, he didn’t really know much about her. Sure, she seemed competent, but he couldn’t help feeling like he was being belittled whenever she talked. Suffice to say, he wasn’t enjoying the assembly that the student body was made to sit through afterwards. It was to the extent that when the message for a secret team meeting came through, he was more than happy to oblige, practically throwing up his hand to be excused the moment he finished reading the text.

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

Operation saving private Red
Near League News SD

For a little while, Mike honestly didn’t know how to respond to Mizu. He figured she would either give him and ear full about being careless, or just straight up leave to get back to her own work. Despite everything, he wasn't expecting her to decide to come with him and he definitely wasn't prepared for her to do it so determinedly or cheerfully. Finally, a smile broke out across Mike's face before turning into an honest laugh at the whole situation and what he had been doing.

“You know, I hadn’t even thought about how I was going to sneak in!” He said between chuckles as began to collect himself.
“Thanks Mizu.” He eventually said as he straightened up “After everything, I think I needed someone to remind me how a team is meant to work. Alrighty then, let’s go sneak into a crime zone, beat up the bad guys, save Red, then probably get chewed up together by Naja.” He added somewhat more confidently.

“…Though uhh. First, I’m going to find a bathroom or something… Since I can’t really -you know- spin change or anything... Yeah, I’ll be right back. Gotta get changed, then heroing.” He added as he backed away with his face steadily turning a brighter shade of red.

by **Galnius** » Tue Jan 14, 2020 1:24 pm

Daniel McHarris
As Daniel entered the news tower, he was quickly reminded that he did not have his powers activated. He was also reminded of that one time his mother had tried to cook a meal herself. "Oh that poor carpet..."

Daniel looked at the man who had caused the scene, as he yelled about ruining his stream. Raising an eyebrow, the real brunette looked around. "Umm...I don't have my phone out. The stream ended before I entered. Are you...okay in the head?"

As he was about to continue, however, a voice started yelling about some guy named Floyd. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it...he swore he had heard it recently, and not through a speaker. Had he slept with this voice recently? Or maybe fought them? Could've been one of his fangirls....

Suddenly, the answers to both questions hit him at once. Floyd was the guy in front of him. That was a dumb name, but not everyone could win the name lottery. As for the voice, it was Marionette. Obviously. "Well, it was nice talking to you Pink Floyd. I have a date with the villainess on the speaker. Now be careful with the big sword of compensation, you could poke your eye out. I'll go save these people for you."

With a twirl of his cane, two more Daniel's appeared at his side. With another, it reached the full four duplicates. With one more, and a hop back, all five vanished, hiding from the senses.

"Alright gang, let's split up and search for clues. I'll find the kitchen."

"I'll also find the kitchen."

"I'll figure out where that hot weatherman is being held."

"I'll tail edgelord with a sword. So that leaves..."

"Me....searching randomly for Marionette. Alriiiight."

"Break!" With all five splitting in unison, they went in their separate directions.

Mika

As Astrid had begun to accept this new person's arrival, a fight suddenly broke out in the middle of the lunchroom. Mika, who was seated as far away from the middle as possible right now, felt quite safe, and pulled out her camera.

"Hey Ashy, you're my friend right? Stay and protect me, I need these shots. For payment, I'll get you a pizza sometime." Immediately taking out her camera, she began capturing photo after photo of the event. "Oh and...thanks for tolerating me today you two. I'll get those interviews yet, but let's keep them off the record."

by **Finland SSR** » Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:14 pm

Auropa wrote:Mike Mathews
Operation saving private Red
Near League News SD

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

October 2nd

Mike flustered, fumbled around with his words, and ultimately tried to feign confidence even as he assured the two of them that Naja was going to skin the three of them alive for going all out on their own. It turned his little bit of bravado comical and got Mizu to crack a giggle. At least she got him to remember who is supposed to be on his side.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. We're still out here to help people, after all - she'll understand if we explain ourselves." the girl tried to defend their actions. Well, they need to explain themselves and come out in one piece, but she figured that the latter was a given. "Besides, heroes in comic books go off to fight villains by themselves all the time."

She was about to jump and hop away towards the crime scene, only to stop when Mike brought up something else. He still wasn't in his costume, was he? Mizu stopped, stared at Mike, looking him up and down, then stepped back to hide her blush.

"Y-yeah... of course... gotta look appropriate when fighting villains and all..."

Bentus wrote:The Nefarious Marionette!
San Diego

Galnius wrote:Daniel McHarris

The Great Floyd Tolson!

October 2nd

Floyd pulled out his sword from its pouch and spun it in his hands, only offering a brief glance to Spectre as he shot back about how his livestream was already over and that he didn't ruin anything, even going as far as to imply that Floyd wasn't okay in the head. The swordsman merely scoffed, wiped a small splash of his victim's blood onto his cheek, and spoke right back:

"Hey, you're the one who fell for it."

Alright, he's in the heat of battle, what's the plan now? Storm the building before the police or the competent heroes finally pull their faces out of their asses, should be fairly obvious. Floyd only got to make a few steps forward before he stopped again, this time because of a furious voice resonating across the entire ground floor.

The very first words and the voice yelling them dictated everything which the swordsman needed to know.

Hello, Liz.

Marionette was, understandably, furious. Her demands were clear - Floyd should get out and stop trying to steal all of her glory when she came here first, and maybe pick up his boyfriend while he's at it. Boyfriend, eh?.. Really low expectations you have for me there. Floyd casually rested the blade of his sword on his shoulder and continued walking, yelling to nobody in particular:

"Look, the maths here are simple, Marionette. A villain always gets the hero they deserve. And someone with a villain record like yours... gets someone like me." He was going to leave to her to decide whether that was an insult or a compliment - for now, however, he had to listen to Spectre speak again. The hero was pretty much oozing with confidence, dismissing the greatest swordsman alive as merely "Pink Floyd" and expressing that he's sure he'll be able to save everyone and face off against Marionette. At least, he hoped it was only a joke and he wasn't actually here for a date, as amusing as that would be...

"I'd be less optimistic if I were you. Knowing who she's teamed up with today, I can state with confidence that she likes 'em older." Floyd commented as he made his way towards the staircase to the next floor. The plan was, as always, simple - make his way through floor after floor until someone, hopefully Marionette, decides to try smashing his face in. Without bothering to turn towards the multiplicative hero over his shoulder, the swordsman continued speaking:

"If ya actually gonna tag along, then I'mma make you a list of three simple rules you must follow while under my wing. One, don't be bloody annoying, two, don't steal my bloody kills, and three, don't be bloody useless in a fight. Failure to comply means I get to test how well your endurance stacks up against a drop from five stories."

Ah, yes, and one more...

"Oh, and don't confront Marionette without me. Either she wipes the floor with you, or I wipe the floor with you after you wipe the floor with her. Loss-loss scenario, and..."

He finally decided to turn over his shoulder, and immediately yanked his face back forward.

"...yeah, now I just look like an idiot talking to myself, I guess."

by **Galnius** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:14 am

Keone

Keone smiled with satisfaction as Asp fell back. Not only had the blow connected, but he immediately got a rush of minor information. It was mostly useless, of course, as there was no face or place that he could see, but he got what he called a 'scent.' He knew how to identify this person now, and got a feeling for them. From there, he could learn more at a later date.

However, there was still the pressing manner of the current situation. The hero had taken a step back, but hadn't retreated and hadn't fallen. If she started another onslaught, Keone wasn't sure he could keep up. Thus, there was but one thing to do.

"You know, I have to retract my previous dissatisfaction. I'll admit it, you didn't well. However, I've gotten everything I want with that last hit, so with that..."

Turning around quickly, he flashed to his fallen blade and picked it up, going into a full sprint. "So long, unless you'd like to try and follow." He felt it was best to keep her wondering what he was doing for now. He knew these alleyways well, but her speed from before could make it difficult to escape.

Angelica Dalin
Taking a back seat in the locker room fight, Angelica watched with wide eyes at the teamwork and power displayed by the heroes in front of her. She felt like she would only get in the way with how they meshed together, knowing the ins and outs of the other's strengths and weaknesses. Sure, she had seen heroes fight on television, and had a single memory of seeing them fall, but this was something else entirely.

The experience was soon cut off, however, by the arrival of the Cardinal, who informed the students that there would be an assembly nearby. Usually she would be all for these, but she had something else on her mind.

Angelica Dalin, Later
Angelica did try to keep her focus on the assembly. She truly did. However, she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering to the heroes who identities she knew. Angelica Simmons, Frostbite, seemed a bit distracted, and the boy she saw from earlier (Was Mike his name?) Just seemed downright bored. He couldn't really gauge anything from Shi, or from Wendy, but she assumed that they must be thinking about what was said to have happened in the locker room after gym and the lunch room.

Soon, however, Angelica Simmons suddenly rose. It seemed most people didn't notice, but her expression seemed troubled. So, the flame manipulator did what only seemed logical. She followed after her.

"W-wait! Fros-....Angelica!" After finally catching up, Angelica Dalin caught her breathe. "You were-you seemed like you were hurt earlier. Are you alright? I can help." Pausing for a moment, she looked around uneasily. "And uh...if you don't mind, I'd....I'd like to be a young blood!" She said the last part with a conviction she didn't know she had. Staring directly into the other Angelica's witted, she continued with her 'application'. "I can fly, use fire, and heal people. I've done some small hero work. And was in one....big event, but I think I would do better if I learned to do what you did earlier."

by **Charmera** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:23 pm

Galnius wrote:Keone

Keone smiled with satisfaction as Asp fell back. Not only had the blow connected, but he immediately got a rush of minor information. It was mostly useless, of course, as there was no face or place that he could see, but he got what he called a 'scent.' He knew how to identify this person now, and got a feeling for them. From there, he could learn more at a later date.

However, there was still the pressing manner of the current situation. The hero had taken a step back, but hadn't retreated and hadn't fallen. If she started another onslaught, Keone wasn't sure he could keep up. Thus, there was but one thing to do.

"You know, I have to retract my previous dissatisfaction. I'll admit it, you didn't well. However, I've gotten everything I want with that last hit, so with that..."

Turning around quickly, he flashed to his fallen blade and picked it up, going into a full sprint. "So long, unless you'd like to try and follow." He felt it was best to keep her wondering what he was doing for now. He knew these alleyways well, but her speed from before could make it difficult to escape.

"...Shit."

Makenzie sighed, turning away from the fight. His final words about what he got from her were certainly cryptic and this stranger chose a hell of a time to turn tail and run. Again, she wasn't confident that she could follow him or that he couldn't use that to spring a trap on her. All things considered, he seemed dangerous.

"Well. I guess we'll call that one a draw." Makenzie muttered to herself as she walked off.

New Finnish Republic wrote:
Red

Red's chest rose up and down in massive breaths as he stared down Makenzie. His forearms, shins, shoulders, and practically every other part of his body were notably sore thanks to the constant deflections and blocks he had to endure during Makenzie's onslaught. She too looked like she was beginning to feel the effects of their sparring match which at this point had been going on for several minutes. Sweat stained the mats below them, a testament to how much effort both of them were putting into what began as a simple sparring session.

She's quicker than me, that much is for sure. I can't manage to land any solid hits with that agility of hers, and all I can really do is avoid taking any harsh hits myself, Red thought to himself as he slowly circled around to his right, Makenzie warily mirroring him as the two slowly closed the distance between one another. Both of them were eyeing each other's movements, looking for an opportunity to strike but finding no obvious weaknesses in the other. I have the strength and size advantage on her, but she's made it clear she knows how to defend against it. If I could get in another throw and mount from there I feel like I could finish this, but she's going to be watching out for just that. Red's eyebrows furrowed as the two became just out of reach of one another, a slight hesitation coming from both of them as they waited for the other to strike.

Guess I'll have to do it that way, then, Red thought to himself as he suddenly dipped below Makenzie's chest, barreling forward as he went for a double legged takedown. Makenzie, seeing this coming, immediately leaned forwards to sprawl on top of him to counteract the attack. However this action didn't concern Red, as this had been exactly what he had been counting on. Before Makenzie realized she had fallen for the feint attack, Red changed the direction of his forward motion, reaching with both hands as one gripped onto her forearm while the other grasped a hold on her right shoulder. Using the forward momentum that Makenzie was in the process of with her sprawl, Red let out a grunt as tossed her over his shoulder using a ippon seoinage throw.

The girl landed with a hard thud as her back landed against the mat, with Red already in the process of going for a mount as he straddled above her, taking care to avoid another ankle sweep as he had fallen for before. He managed to successfully pass her guard, preparing to strike when suddenly he felt a small shift in her posture. Red's eyes widened as he tried to brace himself, but Makenzie was already in motion as she shifted her hips to the side and grabbed a hold of Red's left arm, rolling the two so that now she was in the mount past his guard. With no other option left, Red opted to push his hips upwards as he used his arms braced against the ground to give him extra leverage. Against a larger opponent this escape method almost never worked, but Red's size advantage allowed Red to successfully buck Makenzie off of him enough that he could push her off the rest of the way and allow him to roll away.

Not wasting a single moment, Red stepped forwards towards Makenzie who herself was getting up from her back as well. Red lunged forwards with a lightning fast cross punch, only to stop mere inches away from a now standing Makenzie's nose as the two locked eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Red saw that the top of her foot was likewise mere inches away from the side of his head, the girl having thrown what would've been a devastating high kick had she not stopped where she had. For a few moments the two remained where they were, breathing heavily as neither of them flinched. Sweat dripped down from Red's face, landing on the mat with such volume that the impacts against the mat were audible to the both of them.

"Alright, I think we'll call it a draw," Red finally said in between breaths, lowering his arm as he stepped back away from Makenzie.

Call it a draw? Hell no I'm just getting star- It was at this point that Makenzie felt a series of aches and pains across her body, and she heard the loud panting of her breath as her sweat dripped down her face. She exhaled, both as a sigh, but one too ragged and out of breath.

"Yep. Yep. Okay. You're right." She muttered to herself, rolling her shoulder slightly. Well she now knew he was one tough bastard, with good form and a flexible martial arts mind. She wouldn't be surprised if his mysterious teacher taught him a good amount in a suite of martial arts, but he never really specialized in any one of them. It was also equally likely that he didn't nessacarilly take to martial arts for the sake of self-discovery. The sense Makenzie got was that he was trained to leave people a lot worse than bruised.

But why? She wondered. He doesn't seem like he was trained by a mystic or anything like me. His range of skills seems to indicate that he was trained for a definite purpose. Most teachers try to instill some sort of philosophy in their students, but all I can get from this guy is utilitarianism when it comes to the art of fighting. So who trained him that way and why?

Makenzie sighed and extended her hand. "You're not half bad." She remarked casually, with a small snarky smirk. "We should make this a regular thing, but maybe not quite so intense."

by **Absolon-7** » Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:38 am

Casimir and Viviana October 2nd
Casimir was wearing his full costume minus the helmet which was off to the floor as he sat on the main couch of the living room with his eyes snapped shut as his senses connected and went through the insects throughout the city for any concentration of the drug larger than a user would have as that would indicate a dealer instead. Mission Beach and Pacific Valley were already cleared of any dealer presence and now there was just the rest of the vast concrete jungle. Casimir sighed and rubbed his face with both hands murmuring curses under breath. This large scale sweep was getting on his nerves and nowhere near as fun as focusing on a small area or controlling insects directly.

Tiptoeing around the couch was a certain short brunette who was holding a cold bottle of water in both hands. After the whole ordeal with Quinn Viviana had walked Mizu back to her room for her homework and sent her off with a big hug but now the girl had decided to track down her boyfriend. The goofball was meditating or something on the living room main couch and a conniving smirk filled her face as she leaned down towards him. She carefully aligned her face right next to his and closed her eyes as well. Slowly she leaned forward to plant a strong kiss on his lips in which she found herself holding for more time then she thought she would've which was pleasant all the same.

"Hmmmmmgh," mumbled Casimir as his eyes shot open as if they were splayed apart by a mantis but he also failed to depart from the kiss.

"Mua! Bet you didn't expect that now did you," said Viviana quickly retreating with a wink and a spin before she plopped down next to him, "Now watcha doing?"

"Just doing some hardcore recon for the team with my swarm. Jeez this is the biggest pain in the ass since that time in middle school a 10th grader threw me off his pick up truck," grumbled Casimir as he wrapped an arm around Viviana's shoulders and Viviana wrapping her own arm around his should although her hand dropped down like a rubber band behind the couch.

"Oh I remember that story. Didn't you beat up his little brother tho," said Viviana turning her head slightly.

"Of course. Bastard was throwing rocks at the neighbors kittens. Vile scum couldn't even look me in the eye next day in class," snorted Casimir triumphantly, "Anyways I got a duty to do. A duty that's as annoying as picking lice..."

"Oh is that so~" giggled Viviana as her ultimate plan was coming to fruition.

Like a cobra her arm twisted itself in an S-shape behind Casimir's neck as he closed his eyes to scan through the swarm again however the hand was holding the ice cold water bottle from earlier. Without warning the hand flicked forward and stopped the water bottle right on the nape of Casimir's neck. The cold nipped at Casimir just like a cobra's venom would and him jump up to his feet with a yelp.

"Got you! Now sit back down and tell me with a cherry on top," pleaded Viviana fluttering her eyelashes in an exaggerated manner.

"Are you sure you can handle it. Its a top Young Blood brass information. Not even all the founders know," said Casimir with a grin as she sat back down with the warmth of being next to Viviana quickly making the ice water to the neck a forgotten visage, "If I say a word I might get offed by Roy. Wouldn't want that would you."

"Oh no! Anything but that! Now tell me," said Viviana unwavering.

"Jeez, You'd throw to the wolves that quickly. This recon deal has to do with some superpower drug from the bank robbery earlier today and the team had the good fortune of having me and my bugs to find dealers for them," said Casimir as he crossed his arms to concentrate again.

"You're right. As long as you're here there's no need to worry about getting stuff done," said Viviana looking at him with full eyes.

Casimir gulped as he looked straight into her eyes, "So since Roy's bringing food. Want half my tacos?"

by **Zarkenis Ultima** » Fri Jan 17, 2020 10:45 pm

October 2nd

Tomia wrote:---

Things didn't seem to be going well at all for the Young Bloods. Despite three of them attempting to subdue an out of control girl with wind powers - who had never manifested them prior to that incident - they weren't having much luck, due in part to a lack of preparation. Alexis' eyes widened as she watched her girlfriend holding onto Coleen's leg for dear life, about to be swept away by the hurricane winds that surrounded the brunette.

It's a long shot, but... if I aim just right... The genius girl thought as she dropped into a crouch, as if she was about to take off in a full sprint. If she darted straight towards Coleen with the aid of her rocket boots, then perhaps...

She didn't have the time to test her idea. The winds died down completely as a bird woman walked into the locker room. Alexis' mouth went agape as she instantly recognized the second most famous heroine in all of San Francisco, Cardinal. Holy shit, Mars isn't gonna believe this!

Her attention was quickly brought back to Coleen, and for a moment she felt bad for the girl - as if it wasn't enough that they had barely managed to stay out of harm's way through the event, they hadn't done anything to calm or comfort the brunette, who was clearly scared and out of control. She wished she could do something, but for the time being, it seemed, Cardinal had everything covered.

"Well, uh, I guess that's that, then." Alexis spoke a bit awkwardly. This seemed to draw Cardinal's attention.

"You have my gratitude for coming here and making sure no one was harmed. You and the Young Bloods." The bird woman spoke with a solemn tone, earning a smile from the short blonde.

"Thank you, Cardinal! That means a lot to me coming from one of the biggest pro heroes on the West Coast, the other guys on the team aren't gonna believe this!" She spoke hastily, her pace betraying her excitement. "It's really great to meet you, especially since I didn't get the chance at the tournament. Hey, do you think I can take a photo with you?" She asked, prompting the heroine to raise an eyebrow.

"Um, I don't believe that would be optimal. There is someone who requires my aid right now." Cardinal pointed out. Alexis physically winced, mentally berating herself for forgetting about the delicate student that the Suns second-in-command was currently comforting. "And don't you have classes as well?"

"Me? Classes? Pffft. Please, I don't go to school." Alexis replied almost immediately, shrugging with casual indifference. The less people were able to associate her with Thomsen High, the better. In response, Cardinal simply stared at her for several moments.

"...That is an incredible lack of responsibility on your parents' part." She observed.

"Parents? What parents? I don't have any parents." The blonde girl blurted out. A moment of uneasy silence followed. "You know, this got weird really fast, I'm gonna go now. I saw this girl running to the bathroom and she sounded like she needed help, she was crying and looked like a real dork. It was nice to meet you. Bye!"

With that, Alexis flew out of the room, leaving a confused Cardinal behind.

Some time later, a short blonde girl attended the assembly called by the principal. Now simply in the guise of Alexis Callaghan, student extraordinaire, she clapped wildly as Cardinal took the mic and listened to every word, surprised by the wisdom displayed by someone who essentially sat at the pinnacle of American superhero culture. Unfortunately, however, she would not be able to sit through the entire assembly. Duty called, and so did her girlfriend.

A few minutes later, the young inventor slipped out of the school's auditorium mostly unseen. She began making her way to the second floor when someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder, causing her to jump in fright.

"Woah what the- oh it's just Coleen. What's up?" Alexis asked as she turned around, coming face to face with the same brunette from the locker room incident, who seemed a lot calmer, a lot healthier, and also quite regretful over her actions. Or at least, that's the way she looked before the blonde's completely nonchalant response put a look of confusion on her face instead.

"I, um, I wanted to apologize... for trying to hurt you, and for the mean stuff I said..." She spoke with sincerity, and Alexis blinked as the epiphany slowly dawned on her.

"...Oh, right. Um..." The blonde mumbled. Compared to being held at knifepoint by a madwoman in a military uniform, the incident with Coleen was honestly easy to brush aside, but getting over it so quickly would undoubtedly look very suspicious for a simple high school girl.

Oh well. I screwed up. Let's try to do at least one thing right today.

With that thought in mind, Alexis placed a hand on Coleen's shoulder. "Listen, I was really scared back then, but so were you, and I can't be mad at you when you were under the influence of that junk, can I?" She said, offering the brunette a reassuring smile. "Besides I should also apologize if I ever made you feel bad during practice, I know you've been in track since before I came to Thomsen and-"

"N-no, no, it's not your fault." Coleen quickly interrupted her. "We don't talk much but you've been never mean to me, I was just jealous..."

Alexis frowned at this. "So... why did you take that thing, Coleen?"

The brunette seemed surprised at this, and looked off to the side in shame. "I... well... things haven't been going great for me lately and..." She trailed off after her cryptic words, seemingly trying to get her thoughts in order. "You know the Young Bloods right? Like, they're my age but they're doing amazing things and they look like they're on top of everything. I just... I guess I wanted to feel like I had that kind of power, and feel like there was something under my control... but, I guess I ended up out of control instead..."

Hearing her classmate's explanation, Alexis fell silent, a thoughtful expression on her face. An awkward silence set in for several seconds before she noticed Coleen staring at her with a look of worry. Snapping out of her contemplation, she put on a friendly smile again.

"Well, it's all good now right? I mean, no one was hurt in the end and I want to think that a school with this many supers in it is insured against exactly that sort of thing so you don't have to worry about that. Just... try to get better okay? And don't do that again." She advised.

"So we're good then?" Coleen asked, a hopeful look on her face. Alexis offered her a nod and a grin.

"We're good." She said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really gotta go to the bathroom. Fill me in on the assembly later okay? See you!"

"But you never-" Coleen started, but it was too late. Alexis had already run off.

A bit later, the genius girl arrived at the designated meeting spot within the school, quickly spotting her teammates in the room. She made a beeline towards Angelica and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Hey cutie, why'd you- uh, hey there Dalin! What's up?" She said, only now noticing the stranger in the room. "Why is Dalin here?" She whispered into Angelica's ear.

by **New Finnish Republic** » Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:45 pm

Red

Later That Day...

Walking out of his bathroom with a towel around his waist, a freshly showered Red grimaced slightly as he tried to stretch out his still aching muscles from his sparring session with Makenzie. Glancing over at one of the mirrors placed against his wall, he gingerly reached with his right hand and touched the growing bruises that covered his body. He reacted with an immediate wince as he placed a small amount of pressure on the tender regions, a small string of curses escaping his lips as he was quick to retract his hand.

She really gave me a run for my money there, he thought to himself as he stared at the exposed areas of his body. Several scars permeated across his shoulders and chest, new ones accrued from his fights as a Young Blood mixed in with those having came from his years of fighting prior to then. Reaching up slowly towards his face, Red ran his fingers down the latest of these, a small fresh scar running beside his left eye. It was the end result of his last encounter with Marionette, a wound that easily could have left him blind at best had it not been for the protection his suit had offered at the time.

Upon thinking of the villain, a sour expression appeared on Red's face, prompting him to let out another string of muttered curses as he placed his hand back to his side and walked over towards his nightstand. Opening up the cabinet within, Red retrieved a small metallic flask from within. Unscrewing the top of the cap, Red tipped his head back as he took a swallow of the bitter liquid within, his throat burning from the harsh whiskey as it made its way down into his stomach. Letting out a small groan, he screwed the lid back into place, slamming the drawer shut as he went over to change into the underlayer of his suit.

He had plans to go out on patrol for the remainder of the day, wanting to follow up on the leads he had obtained thanks to the work of Isabella. As promised, he had received an unmarked yellow package which contained more than enough information for him to use to further track down the movements of the power enhancement drug. He was also given some vague yet potentially useful information in his promise to Casimir in regards to Ash's prior history, although until he could verify it he'd abstain from telling Casimir about the news.

In addition to all of this intel, Red also found one final item that completely and utterly astounded him.

Sealed carefully inside a plastic bag, a printed out photograph was stashed away in the bottom of the pile of paperwork. After pulling out the photograph to get a look at what was on it, Red had felt his heart stop as he saw himself and Isabella posed together with the breathtaking view of the Cordillera Paine mountains behind them. The two held wearied looks on their faces, but both of them seemed to be managing a small attempt at grins as they pulled down the cloth masks that rested on the bottom half of their faces. Written on the back of the photograph was a small note, the handwriting clearing belonging to Isabella. One foot in front of the other, Red, it read, the simple phrase having stemmed a stream of memories back into him that he had long since having thought had been buried in his subconscious.
Walking over to his work desk where he had the remainder of the paperwork resting, Red couldn't help but pick up and stare at the photograph in amazement. While this hadn't been the only time Isabella had attempted to take a photograph of their entire group, the fact that she still was in possession of this astounded him. Lycan was always protective of their secrecy, having confiscated any sort of photographic or otherwise identifying evidence of their existence for as long as he could remember. How she had managed to keep this after all of these years was something Red thought would be impossible.
Staring at the photograph for several more moments, Red began to retrace his memories, the details of what had occurred that day seeming to have unearthed themselves in broad view.

Two Years Prior...

The sound of heavy breathing and crumbling rocks below was all that could be heard as a pair of figures traversed over the steep mountainside path that was barely wide enough for a single foot to be placed down at a time. From time to time the group would halt in their progress as the helmeted figure leading the pair would take a step back after the path below them crumbled underneath their weight. A tense moment would fall as the other would grab a hold of the back straps of the leading figure's pack to keep them from falling several hundred feet to the rocky canyon below them. After a few moments to recollect, the pair would move on once more, taking extra precaution not to further cause the collapse of their already treacherous path.

After hours of this, the path before them finally began to open up until eventually the two reached the edge of a massive spanning plateau. The sun above them shone brightly against the clear blue sky, the two having already reached above the layers of clouds the day prior. Having reached their destination, the two figures plopped down onto the rocky ground below, taking deep breaths as they struggled in the low oxygen environment.
"Red, I'm fucking exhausted. How the hell are you even doing that with the rifle on your back?"

Sitting next to Isabella, Red responded with a small nod, still struggling to get enough air into his lungs as they recovered. "One foot in front of the other," Red replied with a strained voice that held a small amount of sarcasm within it. Even with the frigid temperatures, Red's face mask was soaked in sweat, causing him to finally pull the thing down so he could breathe a little better. His body was aching from the two days worth of climbing they had done, all while carrying sixty pounds worth of gear as well as their weapons. Isabella had already made it clear she was also feeling the fatigue, likely even at a worse state considering the physical strain this operation had placed on them.

Pulling down her own face mask, Isabella let out a loud exhausted groan as she plopped down onto her back, her pack acting as a makeshift pillow while she did. Red decided to join her in this, likewise laying down in the uncomfortable position. After a few minutes of this, he glanced down at the watch on his wrist, letting out a sigh of relief as he read the digits displayed.

"We're here early. Vasquez shouldn't be reaching the next part of the mountain for the next three hours. I'll go set up the rifle now, but you don't have to worry about setting up with the spotter for some time," he said over to Isabella, who gave a content nod as she let herself enjoy the much needed rest.

Seeing this, Red let out a groan as he reluctantly unclipped the pack from his back, turning it over and taking out a large black case. Setting it on the ground and opening it, he began to assemble a large rifle from the parts within, his motions smooth and quick as this was something he was more than accustomed to doing. After a few moments, the rifle was assembled and set up on the edge of the bluff the two were on, facing the path that their target would soon be following within the next few hours.

As he was finishing securing the bipods into place, he felt a small kick to his side, prompting him to look up to see Isabella with a small camera in her right hand and an ornery smile on her face. Red's expression immediately turned into one of disapproval as he stared at Isabella. "You realize we're only supposed to use that to confirm the elimination of the target, right?" Red said, his voice filled with a warning tone.

Isabella shrugged nonchalantly in response. "Well we better make sure it works before then, right?" Isabella said with a small mischievous smile, which did little to throw off Red's disapproving look. Seeing this, a small annoyed frown appeared on Isabella's face as she realized she needed to do much more to convince the redhead. "Come on, just one little photo Red. I don't know if you've noticed or not, but it's sort of breathtaking here with these mountains." As if to prove her point she turned around and pointed towards the various snow covered mountains around them. To further nail in her pleading, she clasped her hands as best as she could and made a begging hand shake while looking over a Red with a saddened look. Red's eyebrows scrunched downwards as he watched her do this, before finally he let out a small groan.

"Fine, one photo. But you better get that off of the camera before we turn it in or else Reaper's going to kick our asses," he said reluctantly, which caused a small happy squeal to come out from Isabella before she pulled Red up from the ground. Red could only shake his head at her outburst, him never having been able to understand how someone who acted this way could instantly turn into a cold-blooded killer at a moment's notice.

Holding the camera up high so that it would get both of them into the frame as well as the mountains behind them, Isabella seemed about to take the photograph when she suddenly paused. Looking over to Red, she gave him an exasperated look as she reached around with her other hand and pulled Red in so that the two were pushed together. "Smile, Red, or I'm kicking you off the side of this mountain," she said in a half joking, half threatening tone of voice.

Red rolled his eyes before reluctantly attempting to smile. His efforts didn't seem to be quite enough, as he felt a small kick at the side of his leg followed by a threatening gaze from Isabella. Letting out a small sigh, Red did everything within his power to conjure up a smile. Isabella seemed to be content enough with his efforts as he watched her slowly squeeze the camera button on top.

With the photo taken, Isabella turned the camera around to look at how the picture turned out. She studied the picture for some time, before finally nodding her head and letting out a content sounding hum as she placed the camera back into her pocket. Looking back up to Red, she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Not too shabby, team leader. Maybe after Lycan gets tired of us you can get into the modeling industry. Hell, I could even be your personal photographer," she said in a mocking tone while giving him a wink.

Red rolled his eyes at her teasing before going back down onto his stomach so that he was behind the rifle once more. "Yeah, I'm sure Lycan will give me a wonderful reference when I send in my resume," Red replied sarcastically as he adjusted the dials on his scope. "Now, Ms. Photographer, if you wouldn't mind using your sharp eye to start giving me range indicators, that would be much appreciated."

Isabella let out a frustrated sigh, shaking her head as she went over to her pack to retrieve the rangefinder device. "Already back to work, I see," she said in a somewhat annoyed tone. A small smirk appeared on Red's voice as he stared at the scenery through the confines of his magnified rifle scope.

“Ain’t no rest for the wicked.”

bzzz...bzzz...bzzz…

The sound of something vibrating on his bed caused Red to snap out of his thoughts as he looked over to see his phone’s screen was lit up. Shaking his head to clear his mind of the past memories that had been dug up, Red tucked the photograph underneath one of his pillows for temporary safekeeping as he looked to see what the commotion was about. As his eyes scanned the news bulletin message that was displayed, Red’s heart seemed to stop as his eyes rested on top of the name of the villain involved in the latest incident.

“Marionette…” Red growled, a deep burning sense of hatred within him swelling up as he saw that the villain had taken several hostages at a local news station. It’s her fault for what happened to Yoshi. If it weren’t for her… Red’s thoughts raced as he finished reading the last bit of information on the incident. His eyebrows furrowed as he noted the image of the hostages being tied down with what appeared to be explosive devices wrapped around their torsos. Are those...fake? Red had seen enough explosive devices in his life to recognize the odd look that they displayed. However, he knew that he couldn’t take his chances on mere intuition, which meant he’d need to account for this in his plans to take down Marionette once more, this time with the intent of throwing her down the deepest hole he could find and throwing away the keys once he captured her.

Heading over to his equipment storage, he quickly got into his exosuit which had been quickly repaired by Alexis the previous night. Red felt a tinge of guilt for the girl, as his frequent damage to the thing as well as the constant requests for upgrades must have likely kept her busy. Red made a small note to get her some food to show his gratitude next time he had the chance, a small gift for her efforts.

After putting his equipment onto their allocated spaces on his waist and torso, Red quickly made his way down towards the garage area. Starting up his motorcycle, he tore out of the parking area the moment the doors opened up high enough, his motorcycle roaring loudly from the effort as he did. He took a small glance backwards towards the Tower before he made it clear of the island, a small voice in the back of his mind telling him that he should ask for help from the others. This small voice was ignored, however, as a much stronger sensation was felt once Red remembered the sight of a possessed Yoshiro. A desire for revenge filled him, and he was hell bent on taking that evil girl down with his own hands.

Glancing through the air vents to the room below, Red watched as a single burly looking man leaned back in his office chair, a loaded rifle resting on the table next to him. The armed goon seemed to be bored with his assigned role of watching over the power station room, the man swiping through his phone and looking over at various social media sites in search of something entertaining.

Using the audio enhancement ability of his helmet, Red listened in to ensure that no one else was in the room. The audio enhancement was powerful enough that Red could hear sounds as subtle as softing breathing and the innate fidgeting people often did, which made it useful in situations such as these where obtaining visual confirmation was impossible. After listening for a few moments, Red turned off the enhancement, having confirmed that the man below was the only person in the room.

Pointing his wrist so that it lined up between the metal slats of the vent, a thick wire suddenly shot out towards the goon, wrapping itself around his neck in a split second. The man, having been caught unaware, desperately struggled to free himself, but Red’s height and leverage advantage was too much to overcome as his feet slowly lifted off the ground. The man’s legs kicked for a few more moments before eventually going limp. The second Red felt this, he cut the wire, letting the now unconscious man fall face first onto the ground below.

With the man dispatched, Red wasted no time in kicking down the vent, landing next to the thin piece of metal onto the ground below. Walking over to the sprawled out man, Red retrieved a pair of zip ties, tying them around the man’s hands and feet before checking the man’s pulse with his two fingers. After ensuring the man was still breathing, Red moved on towards the control panel. Taking out a pair of disc shaped metal devices, Red placed the devices on top of the control panels, the devices securely latching onto the metal panel via the magnets on the back of them. Pressing the buttons located on the top of them, the devices began to let out a small blinking red light, indicating they were ready to completely fry the systems the moment Red activated them.

As he turned around in preparation to begin making his way towards the area in which the hostages were being held, Red suddenly froze in place as he noticed the door leading into the power control room had been opened. If someone had walked in, he should have heard, which immediately caused Red to go into high alert as he reached for a pair of rederangs from his waist. Narrowing his eyes, Red looked for any sign of someone else being in the room, but no one besides him and the unconscious next to him was in the relatively cramped room.

After several moments of tense waiting, Red finally took a few steps forward, walking towards where the door was cracked open. Pausing to look outside to see if anyone was waiting on the other side, he didn’t notice anyone there so he slowly closed the door. As he turned around, he suddenly felt his chest bump into something, causing Red to instinctively swing forwards with one of his rederangs, the edge of the blade stopping a hair’s distance away from the throat of a young man, one that Red immediately recognized.

“Spectre? What the fuck are you doing here?” Red’s eyes narrowed as he realized what this Outrider’s appearance meant. “Where’s everyone else?” he asked, referring to the remainder of the team Red had once interacted with.

by **Bentus** » Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:35 am

The Mystifying Ashen Moth!
San Diego

A grin leapt onto Ash’s features as the two girls made room for her to squeeze onto their nearly empty table. Part of her mind lingered on the reference to this ‘anime club’, and she made a mental note to heed the warning and stay away from what sounded like a scary place. Though Ash didn’t let that stop her from planting her tray of food firmly onto the table in front of her. She was about to dig in when Mika casually mentioned that she’d be better off keeping the rest of her friends away. Almost immediately, Ash began to choke on a piece of her food.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the implied association, and the mutant’s mind quickly tried to come up with a way to deflect the attention. She felt a stab of horror at the thought that she might have somehow given away the identities of the rest of her team, despite having promised Yoshiro not too long ago to never do such a thing. Coughing as she forced an amused smile onto her features, Ash simply laughed at the question.

“Oh, you are very funny. That will not be a problem at all because I…” Ash paused for a moment as she tried to come grasp for a believable excuse. “...because I definitely do not have any friends.” She declared, content with the response. But as soon as the words left her mouth, the mutant felt a strange twist in her chest. It was an uncomfortable feeling that she couldn’t quite pinpoint, but she did her best to push it aside with a smile. “Although I also do not think that you are a mean ogre. You have both been very nice.”

That was when the room suddenly erupted into chaos, cutting the impromptu conversation short as all three girls’ attention was stolen to the rapidly escalating brawl. Ash’s new friends seemed to take the violent scene in their stride, even appearing to enjoy watching the fight unfold. Shifting uneasily as some of her teammates got involved, while others were clearly being hurt, the mutant’s gaze flitted between her two new friends. She supposed that maybe this was a normal thing to happen at school? In which case would it be better for her to not interfere in case she drew more attention to herself?

Turning towards her new friends, Ash offered them a nervous smile - her discomfort at sitting out the fight palpable in her expression. “Um, is it correct for us to sit here and watch? I was told that it is a heroic thing to go and help others when they’re in trouble…” But Mika did say that she needed protection, which was something that a hero would do. Frowning at her internal doubt, Ash supposed that it was better to stick back if that’s what her new friends wanted. Especially - she had to selfishly admit - if there was a pizza on offer for her trouble.

Ash’s train of thought trailed off as her two antennae seemed to perk up. Pausing for a moment as the two appendages waved from the top of her head towards Astrid, Ash leaned across the table as if to get a better look at the other girl. Staring at her with a curious expression, the mutant tilted her head. “You...smell familiar?” She stated innocently, trying to recall where she could have possibly met the other girl. It was then that the obvious struck her. “Oh, we must have been in the same class, yes?”

When she received the message to meet after the assembly, Ash hadn’t wasted a second before racing down the corridor. Yelling out warnings for anybody unfortunate enough to be in her way as she half-ran, half-flew down the halls, Ash brushed passed the few meandering students that were slowly making their way back to class. A few frustrated glances were shot in the mutant’s direction in response, but they did little to mute her excitement. After so long sitting at desks and listening to teachers, she couldn’t believe how much she was looking forward to going out and being a hero again. Grinning as she quickly approached the room, Ash decided that this was the perfect time to practice one of the hero entrances that Casimir had been teaching her. He’d said that she needed to perfect them if she wanted to be a real hero like him, so she was determined to practice with every opportunity. Bursting through the door, Ash practically skidded into the room with her four arms splayed outwards, stretching her wings as far out as she could to add to the effect.

“Nobody fear, the Ashen Moth has arrived to save - !” Ash blinked in surprise at the stranger who was also in the room. "Umm, hello?" She offered the other Young Bloods a confused expression. "This is a friend of one of you?"

Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

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