Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

by **Absolon-7** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:35 pm

Tomia wrote:Roy

Casimir Herman October 3rd
Casimir was at the forefront of the group assembled to hear about Roy's condition. He had crossed his arms and was tapping his foot repeatedly against the ground as his hands tightly clenched his forearms. How the hell did that mission go so wrong when it was going so smoothly at the start? To throw salt in the wound when rescue had arrived Casimir had gone into the building's office for information but all the paperwork had been burned and the computers had been wiped. A complete scorched earth tactic from this drug ring. The shimmer of hope in this situation was that one branch of their investigation did produce results on the form of Jason having found out the production zone. But really there was no way this was his fault but at the same time how could he as the spear of the operation could've let this happen?

With Jacob's analysis complete and Angelica pointing out that they had no quarterback for this mission a sly smirk filled his face.

"I'll take his place!" brazenly declared Casimir pointing at himself with his thumb, "Seeing as I got one of the longest hero tenures I'd say I'll fill his shoes nicely for a mission that's all about hitting them hard."

by **The Republic of Atria** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:38 pm

The Tower Meeting

Bael and Jason arrived at the meeting that was called. Bael arrived first, having spent most of the day at the Tower and Jason arriving with Mars. During a raid, Roy got injected with some of the crappy superpower serum that was being made and it was making him violently ill. As a result he was going to be unable to lead the next mission and the sooner they raided the manufacturing place, the better. But first they all wanted to talk about who was going to more or less be leading the operation, and so far Casimir was the only one who spoke up. Even Jason kept quiet, but Bael figured it was because Jason had told him several times that he didn't care for the responsibility of leadership, which he could understand.

He was kind of surprised that Renata of all people didn't speak up, and there was the fact that Roy got injured under Casimir's "watch" that probably had everyone a bit iffy on his leadership. Even if he did have quite a bit of experience under his belt. If for no other reason than to spare Casimir some of the snarky remarks, Bael opted to volunteer as well. "So it's not a one person race, I'd like to volunteer too. I might not have the same amount of experience as Casimir, but I like to think I've done at least a decent job so far with my squad."

by **Absolon-7** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:31 am

Absolon-7 wrote:Part 2

Jerome Blitzer and the Stranger in a Strange Land
Jerome pushed a hand into the interior of his jacket and pulled out a revolver to shoot at the gas mask wearing man clamping onto his ankles. A yelp escaped Karzełek's mouth as he let go and dived in under the dirt again. Jerome looked up at the collapsed tree that dented in the perimeter fence and it looked like if he ran upwards and leaped off the last second he could catch the rim of one of the barrack's windows. He could go out back to the forest but that would just mean once the alarm was set these psychos would have set up better defenses. This meant hiding from them inside the compound would be his best bet. As the alarm began to cry for the blood of intruders he jumped up on the tree and ran up its slanted length to jump where it trunk split.

With only about a meter between it and the edge of a window he barely clung onto the edge. Without time for even taking a breath he lifted himself up into the opening and collapsed onto the floor like a wet blanket. He tried to slow his breathing to listen in on the shuffling of boots behind outside the building and the angry shouts of men but he couldn't control it and just coughed into his hands. He slowly got up to look around and he happened to end up in one of the bedrooms. Strangely the door was seemingly bolted shut as some large nails punctured through the wall just outside the door. With this opportunity for respite he now just had to wait for nightfall where he could really get into his stride but now he huddled to himself into a corner and let the exhaustion take him to sleep.

A few hours later
Once nightfall had overtaken the camp Jerome quickly got to work escaping the room and tracking down any room where an esteemed guest would stay at. To his surprise and pleasure the place was practically deserted for seemingly having such an important function as he was told. The distant rumbling of engines and screeching tires signaled him to run towards one of the windows to peek through the curtains. Outside the armed men that made this organization were packing up their things into armored trucks and transport vehicles. He slapped his hand onto his forehead, the porcelain fox mask only making it louder, at his sheer carelessness. Apparently, this place was important enough that even a single intruder meant they had to leave the entire compound.

He found a staircase and slid down the railing as he had to find Bogatyr before the whole damn place left. Jerome was running down the hallway to a side exit when suddenly a crater of cracks formed in front of him. In a shower of splinters Karzełek catapulted himself at Jerome yodeling like a madman. Jerome reeled back his fist and punched the diminutive man in the stomach midair. Karzełek collapsed on the ground and hobbled away as he made all manner of disgusting grunts of sniveling pain. Jerome could finally take a good look at his enemy and he was far more miserable then he first thought. He was a squat hunched over figure covered in a dust caked greatcoat and military boots that seemed slightly over-sized. His hands were enormous with fittingly enormous claws and his face was obscured completely by a steel military hardhat and a gasmask.

"Listen Krapsack I don't get how you're related to this bunch of nuts but I can make it a lot easier for you if you just step aside," threatened Jerome.

"HAH! You must be a fool-retard if you think the infamous Karzełek will be intimidated by a man wearing a flowery-dopey mask," shot back Karzełek, "Now die!"

Jerome stamped down his foot one one of the loosened floorboards from the hole the moleman had created and he grabbed it by the top and swung it upwards. It caught Karzełek by the neck and slammed him into the wall where he then borrowed into the wood and plaster.

"What the fuck!" shouted Jerome as he back away.

He could almost hear whereever the man dug and he had to get away as any more time with the freak was just time lost. He made a break for it to the exit but it swung open and in came an enormous seven foot tall giant of a man dressed in worn down coats. He stared at Jerome in the same way he would stare down a cockroach in the kitchen. Where do these freaks keep coming from?

"I am the spirit of Slavic people made man. I am the will of millions of my people turned flesh," began chanting the man as he took heavy steps forward to Jerome, "I am Ilya Muromets. The Bogatyr! Now who are you to be intruding upon my like minded allies?"

This was the exact booming voice that he had heard earlier in the day that could somehow deafen an entire crowd of Polish, Belarussian, and other Slavic militiamen shouting at the top of their lungs. Jerome took a step back feeling as if he had somehow shrunk to the size of a mouse. This was a man of complete and utter power and strength in every sense of the word.

"SPEAK! I shall show you mercy and let you give your last and only thoughts interloper," said Ilya.

"Heh," chuckled Jerome, "So, you wouldn't happen to want to kill a certain hero by the name of Kabuto would you?"

by **Auropa** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:06 am

Mike Mathews
Team Meeting

Absolon-7 wrote:---

The Republic of Atria wrote:---

Funnily enough, things had been going pretty well up until now. Mizu had agreed to help him deal with his outbursts, the team was working towards a clear gloal and Mike was getting back into the swing of things at school without much issue. But like just about everything involving the Young Bloods, things had quickly and suddenly turned sour.

Despite hearing about Roy’s injuries, learning that the team had no clear second in command and having to try and process the disaster that was Casimir’s brilliant distraction, Mike was uncharacteristically silent. His usually chaotic thoughts seemed to fold and shrink back as a cold and steady rage shifted and flowed through his mind. It was a sickeningly familiar feeling that up until now, only Mars had been able to drag out of him. Though this time Mike knew that more than a bit of the frustration was aimed at himself. Casimir had been this way since they first met, self-centered, short sighted and aggressive. The fact that nothing like this had happened up until now was nothing short of pure luck and he had to admit that him not seeing this coming was his own fault. But that wasn't even the worst part. It wasn't even that Casimir had betrayed Roy’s trust, injured a team-mate or had even risked the whole operation, it was the fact that despite everything, he still looked proud. Smirking like some dumb kid expecting a prize rather than a 'hero' that had backstabbed his team.

After Bael cautiously volunteered himself for the position of temporary leader, Mike finally spoke up.
“I’ve got nothing against Bael taking point. So if anyone thinks they or someone else can do better, then they’d best say so now." He said coldly before shifting his gaze "But Casimir. If you so much as ask to lead anything again, then I will gladly make sure you spend the next few days knocked out in a bed right next to the one you put Roy in.”

Kross Mathews
Joint Research/Containment site TXC-17c: “The Mostly Sown Veil”

Sitting in an isolated, rust covered shed like container, Kross watched his counterpart work tirelessly and with nigh-on inhuman expertise as he set about adjusting and modifying a dimly lit, semi-corporeal orb sharing the interior with them.

“All I’m saying is that you need to get out more.” He eventually stated.

“I am out right now.” The other man replied unphased.

“No. Absolutely not. This mess, and all the other pandoran crap we deal with, none of it counts as ‘out’.” The blonde agent stated as he raised a tin flask to his mouth.

“…You cannot be serious.” The other man stated as he watched his colleague with abject horror.

“About this counting as out?”
After an understandably disappointed sigh, the other man decided against fighting the unstoppable and shifted his focus back to his work.

“What’s our time?”

“6 minutes 30. Don’t think you can change the subject by the way.”

“Our teams on the left were meant to ping us several seconds ago.”

“How about this? Thursday night, we go get some drinks, play some cards and throw peanuts at the anomalies. My treat. We can invite the other agent heads too, maybe even get Mel to bring along what’s-her-face from intelligence.”

After letting out a significantly more audible sigh, the man finally paused from his work to face Kross. He had a youthful face, an unplacable accent and a simple identification tag labelling him as Kenji Settan, current head agent for the PL R&D Sector. “Kross... I think you’re an exceptional agent with remarkable insight and determination. But you hate the other heads, and over the last several years we’ve worked together, I have never seen you invite anyone to anything without a significant amount of the world being in danger. So, at risk to this operation and my sanity, what’s wrong?”

Thankfully interrupting any chance for a response, a small ping rung out from Kross’ comm device.
“Left side?” Kenji asked as he went back into operation mode.

“Rear guard. Looks like the locals know we’re here and aren’t too happy about it. I’m getting team 3 to prep the exit portal and team 4 to fall back to us. You’ve got 3 minutes tops.” Kross said as he calmly thumbed orders and routes to his teams. Before long the omnipresent stillness of the area began to break under the gradually closing sounds of precise gunfire and the occaisional plasma burst being let loose. “And I don’t only invite people during an apocalypse.“ Kross eventually stated as he stowed his gear and tried unsuccessfully to think of an example.

by **Aidannadia** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 10:24 am

The Templar High Council wrote:The red-haired heroine looked away for a moment at the other battle going on, Andrew performing some high-flying maneuvers and Wyatt doing his bruiser's best. She nodded, to no one in particular, letting her mind get a little distracted from the fighting and the planning before she snapped back to the moment to resume her thoughts.

Aleta took each blow, surprised about the force behind each hit; it wasn't damaging in any way, but she still felt the force behind it get distributed through her body by her armor, and it was better than most people. She began to notice the light stomps that seemed to be a pattern for the heroine; right before a hit, she would stomp to increase power most of the time. "We're not even in the same league, ginger." Aleta said, predicting a stomp and noticing a moment of hesitation from her opponent, and in an instant her armor feel from her body, revealing her skintight Pitch suit beneath it. She didn't waste time sweeping the leg and moving in to cover important joints with pitch to subdue her. "Is that all you got?"

by **United Kingdom of Poland** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:43 pm

Wendy knew something was wrong when she spotted both Naja and Jacob waiting for her at the towers front steps. “What’s wrong?” She asked, stopping in her tracks.

“Wendy…” Naja began, her voice that practiced calm that really clued Wendy in on something being wrong. “There was an incident during a mission today, and Roy was injured…”
Wendy didn’t hear the rest of what she said, her mind shutting down as Jacob and Naja led her to the medical wing. Roy was laying in a gurney comatose, hooked up to what seemed like every single piece of medical equipment in the room. Wendy went to run to him when Jacob grabbed her. “I’m sorry Wendy, but until the drug wears off we can’t risk you being in the room.”

“I… I understand.” Wendy replied, doing her best to keep calm before turning back towards the door. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

“Wendy, I know it can’t be easy seeing Roy like this. If you need someone to talk too.”

“I know Naja and thank you. I just a little alone time to think.”
---
Later

“I’ll second Bael’s nomination.” Wendy said from the back of the room, glaring daggers at Cas as she did so. The rational part of her brain would have told her it wasn’t his fault, but that part brain wasn’t working at full capacity at the moment.

by **Tomia** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:22 pm

Hannah
"Recruit me?" Hannah asked back to Jan, that was certainly not what she had expected. "What danger exactly, you're saying some kind of demon army is actually about to attack the city? And if they are, what makes you think I can help you?" Her eyes went a bit wide as he summoned a weapon out of seemingly nowhere. "Neat trick, I'll give you that. But no weapons in here. You're going to make people nervous." She scolded, looking around to make sure no one had noticed and was freaking out. "Alright, so you're putting together some kind of team then? Why you, what's your stake in this?"

Team Meeting
"Well, I think both Cas and Wyatt would make good choices..." Mars said, not wanting to make either of his friends think he was siding against them. He then heard Mike's comment which made him more than a bit angry. "But we can't bicker about this. Roy is fighting for his life right now, we owe him more than petty insults or playing the blame game." He said, looking around at all his teammates.

"What happened wasn't Casimir's fault, Roy was attacked by a criminal and Cas did his best to help. But no offense to either of you, Cas or Wyatt, but coordinating a mission isn't just about strength or leadership, its about being able to see the big picture and plan for everything. I think Alexis is honestly the best person for the job."

by **Absolon-7** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:24 am

Absolon-7 wrote:Part 3

Jerome Blitzer and the Stranger in a Strange Land October 3rd
"Choose your words carefully sly fox and I may let you survive this night," spoke the deep and booming voice of Muromets.

Jerome put his hands up to hopefully turn some support beams into styrofoam to then have the building collapse on the giant hobo looking man that was called some incomprehensible string of letters. Then there was that sniveling mole man chuckling to himself behind Ilya having crawled out of another hole in the ground. While the sounds of boots clashing against the ground and roar of engines hung from outside the atmosphere inside the hallway was a dead as it could be. The sheer discrepancy in might was just suffocating like an entire truck crushing his ribcage.

"Yeah, yeah. I hate that insect weirdo too! Hell he even thwarted some of my plans the past year. I got hired to look for you by someone else who hates him. We're uh interested in a partnership to get back at Bug Boy," said Jerome trying to remember anything else that could help.

"Bah! I might get pleasure from the idea of snapping that child's neck but I have much grander plans already set in motion," scoffed Muromets, "My defeat at his hands might have been a humiliation of the highest order but it was nothing compared to my fight with Mammoth in St. Petersburg many years ago. Now, if you have nothing else to say I shall smite you here and now. The goals of the Sons of Svyatogor is far too important to let an interloper leave."

"Fuck," cursed Jerome trying to remember anything at all until a light-bulb hit, "So our acquaintance in common, Apotheosis, you know how he made a deal with you yes?"

"Oh, so that bizarre bandaged man sent you. Well why did you not say so sooner you son of a whore," said Muromets, "So what did he have offer my cause?"

"Forget the creep-man! Let's just kill-slay the bastard and be over with it!," shrieked Karzełek, "We don't need the help of some Americans!"

"Silence, hunched one! Your presence is already tolerated at the least. Now, go on fox," said Muromets crossing his arms.

"So Apotheosis sent me information that he'll give you the Axe of Perun if you join us to kill Kabuto," said Jerome in a shaky voice barely remembering the files he had read over while waiting for nightfall. He really had no clue what it was but the mummy guy was confident enough of its importance to give it to this hobo freakshow. "So yeah, that thing is all yours if you join our little venture."

Ilya Muromets failed to respond but simply stood in awe with his mouth agape in sheer awe. Could this Axe of Perro really be that important to draw out such a contrasting emotion? The giant soon regained his composure to stroke his thick beard in contemplation.

"This artifact shall be an invaluable boon to my cause. So much so it may sway me to your cause but my dealing with the Sons of Svyatogor are not over yet. But I shall reach out to Apotheosis once I am ready."

"Sweet! Finally I can get back home. Can you believe that guy sent me here just an hour after we met?" said Jerome trying to be cordial.

"He is a man that always keeps his words in the underground world of villains, child. You may do well to keep that the promises he makes benefit you. But I must ask are you two desperate enough to recruit someone halfway across the globe? Apotheosis himself is a very dangerous man," asked Muromets.

"Well he got pretty fucked up last time he an Kabuto fought. And Bug Boy would turn my spine into a pretzel if I tried anything." said Jerome.

"I see. Of course the mighty manifestation of the Slavic Rodina made incarnate would be in your interests. Now I must leave you be, fox. My plight is never finished." So were the last words of Ilya Muromets as he turned back around to go outside and awkwardly bending down the doorframe to do so. Karzełek stood there for a few more moments enough to take a few more deadly glances at Jerome before coughing into his gas mask and diving down to dig a tunnel away from the building. In that moment Jerome felt like he was finally allowed to breath even if he was doing so before but he could actually feel invigorated now.

Jerome flipped out his phone to and dialed the most recent number, "Hey there Apathycyst! Guess who got one of the strongest and craziest villains in Eastern Europe on our side?"

"Yes, child. All according to plan. The old fool is so zealous for his little cause a little carrot is all it takes to corral him in. How very greedy."

"So, uuuh, what's with that whole Axe of Perun thing? Dude seemed like it was his first PS4 or something," observed Jerome as he begun to walk out of the building and into the woods.

"It's just the legendary ax of a slavic god. I simply told him he could have the real thing if he cooperated. How very slothful."

"What?"

"Oh don't worry, my child. It's not the real thing just an imitation. Now I know what you're thinking. And it's a lot easier then you'd think. Just need the right knowledge. As all knowledge is power."

"My signal is breaking. Uhm I can't hear you right now. Sorry got to go," said Jerome bringing the phone away slightly from his head.

"Ohoho what a joker you are. But nevertheless don't forget why we're doing this. For the sake of the world's happiness."

And just like that he hung up again. What the hell is this shit about world happiness? I only got involved with these psychos to get a chance at that loudmouth hero. Jerome found himself back to the semi collapsed tree that had let him get inside the building in the first place. He saw how its precarious situation was somehow contradictory to its immense weight and the powerful collapse that would ensue if its roots gave out. He breathed in deeply before turning his head up at the night sky with the multitude of stars glistening off the stark whiteness of his porcelain fox mask.

"What did I get myself into...."

by **Finland SSR** » Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:05 pm

Sina As'tari, sponsored by the Desert Sandstorms!

A sandstorm rolled across the Sahara Desert. Two dragons stormed through the sky above the sands and rocky plains, looping around wind-carved formations, decaying trees and enormous boulders, one blur constantly trying to catch up to the other - and yet, no matter how much effort she put in, only ending up as a distant second in the end.

As the past months of training and practice have showed, Aegi was clearly holding back against both Sina and Bael - now that she's become a member of their racing team, it's been no holds barred training since then. There were a lot of things he had to drill into the young recruit's head - that flight is more than just flying really really fast, for one. Your body needs to be trained for the strenuous pressure, which means very specific exercise and a calculated training regime, and no ifs or buts on trying to excuse yourself out of it. You need to factor in a lot of things while you're flying, too. How much strain is your body able to take as it does increasingly sharp turns and stunts, what's the wind level, and how does the racing field affect wind movement. Lots and lots of math, but in practice, you just need to be on the lookout for wind masses to accelerate you, and learn to tell how to find them.

Sina's flying skills were unrefined, she pushed herself through with nothing but pure force. And yet, just from that force alone, Aegi could tell that there was potential in this kid. Heaps and mounds of potential which just needs to be refined into something, as much as Sina would try to resist that. Especially for an eighteen year old - hell, that made it even more shocking. A teen who shows up basically out of nowhere and shows flying abilities competent enough to put any and all starting competitive fliers to shame?

The leading blur - Aegi - finally began to slow down and landed atop a tall, desolate plateau. Moments later, the second blur - Sina - stumbled into landing next to him, rolling for several meters before finally coming to a stop.

"Need to work on your landing, desperately. You don't ever slow down enough to land properly." Aegi calmly dictated, turning towards his student, who was now lying face-up on the ground and gasping for air.

"Yeah... yeah... head's kinda not in the right place... when you're flying at... gazillion miles an hour..."

"Well it should be in the right place. Not everything can be solved with just instinct."

Sina lifted her head off the floor, spat out a tiny piece of sand from her jaws and spoke up again:

"Alright, so, trying again next week then?"

"Can't." was the response she received, however - that instantly puzzled her.

"Why not?"

"What do you mean why not? The Festival's taking place next week, can't miss it."

Sina pulled herself off the ground, staring at Aegi for a few seconds, before finally muttering. "Ah, that thing..."

"Been to one before?" Aegi asked. The girl folded her arms and shot back:

"Of course not. Like your friend M'zan said, I'm a 'country bumpkin' or something. Dad would always decorate the front of the cabin with a few flowers whenever the time came, though." After reminiscing at her life back in the Rockies for a minute, she turned back at Aegi. "Is it fun? Wouldn't mind crashing in."

"Ehh... I don't think you'll enjoy it."

"Really now? Come on, it can't be that bad..."

Maybe she should have listened to Aegi's warnings when she had the chance...

Stuck in a room full of costumed Dra'Quinni, put into a dress she could only barely push to move, Sina awkwardly made her way through with the most pained grimace on her face and a glass of something intoxicating in her hand which she picked up from the nearest table. Aegi, M'zan and the rest of the Desert Sandstorms pretty much vanished somewhere, mingling among the crowd and getting into chat - they were among the upper class of the city, after all, so they had things to chat about. Sina had nothing, she was lost and had absolutely nothing to do.

And she couldn't even get out of here! Maybe if she sneaked out somehow...

Wait a minute.

Sina stopped for a second, staring into the distance. Did she just saw someone-

Her eyes certainly didn't lie to her. Bael was there, talking to a girl, dressed in a costume just as comical as the one Aegi picked out for her. First thing's first - why is Bael here? He didn't inform her he was coming... Second thing's first - gotta check up on him. Sina began pushing herself through, ignoring a few of the festival-goers whom she rather rudely brushed by the side, and stopped behind her peer. She leaned forward and whispered:

"Don't tell me you put that on willingly."

by **Zarkenis Ultima** » Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:44 pm

October 3rd

Tomia wrote:---

Absolon-7 wrote:---

The Republic of Atria wrote:---

Auropa wrote:---

United Kingdom of Poland wrote:---

Tomia wrote:---

Along with the rest of the team, Alexis attended the meeting in the living room, hearing the news about Roy's status after their raid on the storage facility. It made her feel a little guilty, knowing that while she went to school and spent her time chasing a lead that went nowhere, her teammates had risked their neck and one was in critical condition as a result. She knew that now wasn't the time to feel that way, though. There were more pressing matters at hand - there was a production facility to raid, and perhaps she could analyze the samples the team had acquired earlier to help develop an antidote.

Immersed in her own thoughts, the blonde girl almost didn't notice the discussion about a mission lead, not at first. But Casimir's proud boast was enough to catch her attention, and it wasn't hard to piece together what was going on after that.

Cas and Wyatt, huh? They're not the same as Roy, but...

Her train of thought was diverted as she heard Mike speak up, and though it seemed fine at first, when he started threatening Casimir a scowl appeared on the genius girl's face. Really, Mike? This again? She thought. It didn't help that she noticed Wendy giving the insect boy dirty looks as well. He was getting the same kind of flak Mars got during the Warwolf occupation, and she wasn't about to stand for it.

In fact, she was about to open her mouth to berate anyone who was acting with open hostility, when Mars' words left her speechless for a moment. Sure, she was a squad leader, but she hadn't expected someone else to just up and volunteer her to be the mission lead for this. Still, she had led her team successfully on a good few occasions before, so perhaps it wasn't all that surprising that someone thought of her - even if she wasn't as loud as Casimir or as stoic as Wyatt.

"Er, thanks Mars." She said before turning to face the rest of the team. "If you guys want me to, I'd be happy to play mission lead for this, I'm confident I could do a good job at it." She stated with a resolute nod. "However, whoever ends up being picked, I just want to point out that Mars is totally right. This is a very important mission and the last thing Roy would want is for infighting to get in the way of wiping the drug off the face of San Diego. No matter who leads and who follows, we have to be one hundred percent committed to the mission - and bickering's only gonna mess with that."

by **New Neros** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:24 pm

October 3rd

“I,” Ava began, a rather large bite of a sandwich still in her mouth, chewing intermittently as she spoke. “I often go home and chat online, other than that, I train and attempt to harness my powers for world domination.” She would make use of outlandish presentation to make her hero work seem a bit far-fetched, neglecting to mention that she would indeed train with the superpowered Mark Nemo and his alien tutor, enemy, whatever he was.

“But I’ve been known to catch a good video game or two. You play on the computer or a system?” She took a sip from a can of coke, washing down the last bits of her meal. “I won’t lie, I use a laptop and just throw on some emulators for that nostalgia vibe.”

Astrid chuckled at the other girl’s joke about world domination, raising a skeptical eyebrow but smiling with amusement nonetheless. However, as her new friend continued to talk about her hobbies, gears unseen began to turn inside the villainess’ head. Ava’s casual admission of having powers caused some of her memories to be unearthed, and where the goth girl hadn’t looked at all recognizable, now she seemed eerily familiar.

Where have I seen you before, Ava? She wondered, leaning closer ever so slightly in order to get a better look at the girl. Her intense stare didn’t go unnoticed, however, and a nervous Ava soon spoke up.

“Uh, anything wrong?” She asked.

Brought out of her thoughts by Ava’s reaction, Astrid froze for a moment before simply resting her cheek on one of her hands, adopting a more casual pose. I totally acted like that moth girl yesterday, didn’t I?

“Oh it’s nothing. I was just thinking, you are très belle, Ava. I’m surprised you don’t have any other friends.” She said offhandedly. “But I’m sorry for staring. Where were we? Ah, yes, I have a few consoles, mostly play a PS4 and a last gen Xbox. I also do some PC gaming, but not a lot. Mostly CS:GO and the like.” She answered the question to quickly move on.

Quickly grabbing her phone out, Ava typed away to figure out what Astrid had just called her. “Oh!” She said with a sweet smile, “Thank you, I, um, I don’t speak Spanish.” She let out a nervous chuckle, “I usually type what I hear into translator to see what the other kids are saying, I’m a bit paranoid if they’re saying something about me.” She looked around nervously, feeling a bit dumb for doing that on reflex.

“But anyways! Games, games are good.” She stated, “I get down by replaying tons of older GameCube stuff. Legend of Zelda was my shit as a kid and now it’s my shit as an emotionally charged teen, ya’know?” She took a quick sip of her can of soda, “We should play together sometime. I have a laptop at the house I could bring. I, er…” She started to fall off the conversation as she spoke more about herself, “I don’t really have friends because I’m weird and talk about random stuff. I’ll just blurt out stupid stuff and get embarassed, then leave the conversation and hope to never talk to them again.” She seemed a bit down at the admission, but picked her mood up slightly.

“I got bullied a lot when I was younger, too, and my self-esteem is always abysmally low. I like hanging out with Mark because he says and does stupid shit, too, and it makes me laugh seeing someone else do more outlandish stuff. Like that whole suspended on the first day of school schtick, what an idiot, haha.” She laughed, but was quite willing to encourage his ill-behavior at the time. “He’s always crying about wanting to be known as a hero and then pulls stupid shit like that. Tsk.” She finished with a click, “I’m sorry, I kept blabbering.” With that, Ava yielded the floor to her new-found friend, one she hoped to keep and not push away with awkward chatter.

“Well, he wouldn’t be the only wannabe hero in this awful place who does something stupid.” Astrid remarked with palpable distaste. She had smiled with amusement at the other girl’s joke - or, at least, what she assumed was a joke - and nodded along at her preferences on games, as she herself certainly could appreciate a classic. But as Ava’s words turned to darker places, she could only continue listening in silence while her eyes fixed on the lunch table.

“I’ll give him credit, at least beating up bullies is somewhat consistent.” She continued, while her mind put two and two together. The girl who followed that boy Mark around, a boy she remembered seeing before, on the day Hex was captured. Why was it that members of the Young Bloods seemed to be drawn to her these days?

“I’d do it myself if…” She added, quickly trailing off. If what? She could certainly ruin someone’s day, it wouldn’t even be difficult. People without powers regularly did awful things to each other, there was nothing stopping someone gifted such as her from making things a hundred times worse. But, ultimately, she already knew why she wasn’t doing it. “I could do it myself, I guess, but if I started going after them for revenge or just to feel good, then I wouldn’t be any better than them.” She stated. She knew how painful it was to be on the receiving end of such treatment like she was, like Ava was. She had no sympathy for bullies, of course, but it was in fact her utter disdain for them that made her averse to becoming alike to them.

That, and something else.

“I wouldn’t be any better than… the person everyone thinks I am.” She said before falling silent.

“Well,” Ava said abruptly as Astrid finished, “I really haven’t heard much bad about you.” Trying to cheer up her newfound friend, but then adding on, “I don’t really talk to other people though, so there’s that. I won’t lie, I don’t think Mark is a good fit to be a hero, he’s pretty adamant about doing whatever he wants to do. I just so happen to think that usually aligns with good choices.”

“But he’s suspended for a week, so let’s talk about us a bit more.” She said with a genuine smile, delving into her recent fixations and interests, trading story for story with Astrid as the minutes ticked away in the lunch hour. “...So I got this bar of soap in a sock, right, and just started swinging that motherfucker until my arms got tired because I did not want to play any bullshit games.” She said as she stifled a laugh, “I was probably just as bad as those girls, but you like, feel good standing up for yourself, you know?”

“I believe you” Astrid replied after having patiently listened to the latest of Ava’s stories, her head resting on one hand - not in boredom, but rather showing that she was at ease and interested. “I’ll have to give it a try myself one of these days.” She added with a smirk. Perhaps if she gave the people exactly what they’d wanted, they would go away?

Though she couldn’t help but wonder just how much of her power it was safe to reveal. After hearing a few more of the other girl’s stories, it had become painfully evident that she had wound up befriending another Young Blood - the girl that was hanging by Cosmic’s side while facing off against Hex: Darklight. What is it that makes me popular with your ilk? She wondered.

Suddenly the bell rang, and the students at the cafeteria began slowly filing out of it. Astrid looked around, making sure that there wasn’t anyone waiting to jump her just out in the hallways - she much preferred being late to risking another unsavory encounter. Amidst this, she looked back at Ava.

“Guess I’ll see you around.” She said as she stood up. “You know, you could come over to my place sometime if you want. I’ve got spare controllers.” She offered, before giving the other girl a wave and turning around. “Au revoir.”

by **Absolon-7** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:36 pm

The Republic of Atria wrote:Bael

Auropa wrote:Mike Mathews

United Kingdom of Poland wrote:Wendy

Tomia wrote:Mars

Zarkenis Ultima wrote:Alexis

Casimir Herman October 3rd
Casimir raised an eyebrow when Wyatt was the first to challenge his position and he staked his performance with leading his squad. While Casimir wasn't exactly as dismissive of Wyatt as he once was he still didn't want to go down without a fight for he would be the best. This left the question of what exactly could he say to convince the others that he was the best fit. Perhaps an appeal to force in recalling his past victories towards the strongest of villains or maybe a rousing speech of his fortitude. Maybe some analogy on how well he can coordinate his swarm could do the trick in convincing some of the less certain members. Casimir's delusions of grandeur were quickly interrupted by the spite filled threat from Mike.

"I'll make sure to keep that mind in the next month you peace outta here," coldly shot back Casimir.

Wendy in contrasting to her usual wallflower demeanor was one of the earliest votes and her confidence in voting for Wyatt went along with a piercing daggers of contempt at Casimir. Unlike Mike's vote he couldn't exactly ignore this one as he figure they were on good terms but with how Roy was even he could figure out the meaning in that look. He'd be pissed at whoever let Viv get hurt on a mission but its not like this isn't a risk they all agreed to. It's not like if he had just kept his eyes in the swarm active the entire time it could've easily been averted. Of course it wasn't like all the other times he failed to save someone because he wasn't strong enough. If it was...if it was...Casimir's spiraling thoughts were interrupted by the sudden nomination of Alexis. She wasn't a bad choice either and her points made enough sense.

"Yeah, yeah," sighed Casimir, "Both Mars and Alexis are right. After whoever gets chosen let's just forget this thing during the mission." Casimir confidently crossed his arms as he stood in front of the team, "So let's get it over with and pick the man with the plan!"

by **Tomia** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:01 pm

Team Meeting
"Well, this probably isn't a surprise, but I think Alexis would make a great team leader." Angelica said from her seated position next to her girlfriend. "I mean, think about how important she is to so many parts of the team. She builds people's equipment, helped set up our comms network, and has always proven she is a good leader and friend. I think she'd do a great job filling in for Roy."

"Well, once everyone has said what they want to say, we'll put it to a vote to determine who will lead this mission. Its important that whoever does it has the support of their teammates." Naja added, looking around to see if anyone had anything else to add in their defense or in the defense of others.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:41 pm

Finland SSR wrote:Sina

"So, humans are pink and squishy?" Tahni asked.

"More like tan to brown. But they are pretty squishy." Bael replied. "But other than that, they're not super different. Most of them are perfectly friendly. Some aren't, but I get the feeling that's not exclusive to them."

"They sound interesting. I'd like to meet one at some point. I know that we won't even hold the meetings with humans here. I don't know why."

Bael shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. But maybe-" He trailed off when he thought he saw someone he recognized in the corner of his eye.

"What happened?" Tahni asked, glancing around only to see many others just talking with one another.

"I thought I saw someone I knew. Anyways, like I was saying, I think you'll-" He didn't get to finish before of all people, Sina barged between himself and Tahni. It took a few blinks and a moment to process what had just happened. "...How? Why..." He started before confirming that it was in fact Sina. Not too many others were that oblivious to social cues, and lack a certain degree of self awareness. "First of all. No, I'm not wearing this-" He cut himself off to make sure Yharon wasn't around. "-I'm not wearing this crap willingly. Second of all, you are not allowed to judge. How did someone even get you in that dress? I thought you'd shred it for even being within five feet of you."

Then he remembered that he was talking to someone else. "Tahni. This is Sina. She's a friend of mine who I can't for the life of me understand how or why she's here."

Tahni looked at the red lady who barged between her and Bael. At first she had a mind to tell her off for being so rude, but it appeared that she neither she or Bael expected one another to show up. Bael did introduce her, but when she got a good look at her, she did recognize her. "Oh! You're the newest recruit to the Sandstorms! Bael, you never told me you know members of the Sandstorms!"

"Oh. Yeah. I guess I do. Sina, this is Tahni. I just met her. She's helping me suffer through these awful clothes and social awkwardness."

"I like the bow." Tahni chimed in. "It's not as popular now, but I wish it would return. It's a little old fashioned but I like it."

The Tower Meeting

Mars brought up that coordinating a mission isn't all about strength or leadership, it also had to do with being to to see for every possible outcome. Which he lumped in with leadership, so he wasn't sure what Mars was really talking about. He and Angelica threw their votes in for Alexis. Which meant that the team was about as divided as could be. Mike, Jason and Wendy voted for him, but that seemed to be more because they didn't like Casimir than because they thought he would be a better leader.

But they also brought up that they had to do thiis for Roy, and even Casimir agreed that whatever they chose, they needed to move on. Despite that, no one spoke up, and he was reminded of what Orro told him about leading, and that it occasionally required a firm hand. He took a deep breath and stood up.

"Yes. We all need to do this to help Roy, and honestly we need to choose a leader now. Every minute we spend arguing about who should lead is a minute spent not preparing for what we're actually going to be doing. I'm not one to do this, but we have more pressing issues at hand. I'm taking command because we need a firm hand for the moment. It's about equal with who we want so unless anyone has any true complaints with this, let me do it. I've got a plan. I'm not some tactical genuis, but I'd like to think I've picked a few things up from experience. I want to focus on dealing with the drug and helping Roy. Object now, or hold your peace."

by **Finland SSR** » Sat Mar 07, 2020 1:20 pm

Tomia wrote:Hannah

Jan Sorok, the Champion of Heaven!

"A-ah, sorry, I didn't know that..." Jan muttered right as he dissipated his psionic construct rapier and Hannah scolded him for it. Right, this was a gym for boxing, not for swordfighting arts... The woman at least no longer called him mentally ill - now she was just curious what his stake in this was and how she could help him. The young swordsman stopped, took a breath, and began to explain:

"That's... kind of what I'm saying, yeah. That there's something dangerous brewing under all of our noses and I'm trying to build a team which will be able to put a stop to it. I'm searching for people with powers which would allow them to hold their own in battle - and, well, that's brought me to you. Not... not just you, if you're curious, I've gotten three more people to sign up already... it's not a lot, now that I think about it, but it's a start..."

Once again, Jan's words trailed off to a point where it was a barely sensible mesh of words - the young angel shook his head to cease and calm down, then continued:

"And there's someone in this realm I've been sent here to protect, too, you know! And I believe they might be the key to figuring it all out."

The Republic of Atria wrote:Bael

Sina As'tari, sponsored by the Desert Sandstorms!

Bael did get one thing right - much like him, she really didn't want to put on this dress. Back when Aegi first dragged it out of the team wardrobe, she almost made a spit-take - and it was just as uncomfortable to walk in as it looks like. It felt like she was carrying a massive suit of heavy armor with herself anywhere she went and that something was constantly threatening to tip her over by pulling her dress from behind...

The Dra'Quinni girl scoffed, placed her hands on her hips and shot back:

"I would... but Aegi says that I have to keep up some decency when minglin' around in the public and everything. It goes to the bin as soon as I get out of here, I swear..."

Bael then stood between her and a lady he had apparently been talking to until now, and introduced her as Tahni - while at the same time expressing that he still had no clue why she ended up here of all places. Sina took a long stare at Tahni, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, then leaned towards Bael and said:

"Hey, I actually live here, you should be the one explaining yourself..."

Tahni, meanwhile, suddenly brought up that she was a member of the Desert Sandstorms, which got the Dra'Quinni girl to let out an "ummm" and scratch the back of her head. Aside for some friendly televised matches against one of the Sandstorms' closest partners, the Roaring Thunders, she hasn't had her big debut so far and Aegi wasn't sure whether she was ready for it just yet - though the fresh, young face from far, far away has gotten quite a lot of exposure in promo material already.

"Yeah, ya guessed right. My hands are stuffed in a dress as thick as a wedding cake, though, as you can see, so I ain't got a way how to give you an autograph." Sina explained. "I mean, Bael, if you're worried about appearing socially awkward, you could always think of the most boring topic in the world and then hit one of these people with it. Or try the dance floor."

by **Tomia** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:14 pm

In San Diego
After the team voted, it was determined that Wyatt would be coordinating the attack on the production facility that Jason had unearthed. Once the decision was made the team quickly set off to prepare themselves for the mission. Their target was in the coastal area of the city, it was a large quartered off building complex on the pier. There were a number of large boats docked by its water entrance. Its front entrance on land was blocked by a tall and menacing fence. Beyond the fence stood three armed guards standing watch of the large double door entrance. Inside the complex was three floors. The top floor was very much a living quarters for the guards and laborers that were working in the factory. On the main floor large machines were churning endlessly as people wearing hazmat suits and masks carefully dealt with vats filled of chemicals and packaged them for delivery. On both floors there were another dozen armed guards prepared in case something happened. The basement itself had a very different feel to it. There were no stares to the basement, only a elevator. That elevator led down into a much more furnished and professional setting. It looked very much like a laboratory with people in suits and lab coats walking around different rooms. Some were looking at complex screens, others were deep in conversation with each other. One of the offices held an out of place looking man. He was wearing all black, his chest armored and his back adorned with a pair of long swords.

"What I'm saying is, that we have spent a great deal of money investing in this project of yours. Because of that we need to see some results." He said to the person sitting next to him. "Withdrawals, violent reactions, these are not the things we're looking for. And we're fine if it happens to some kids on the street, but when we put the drugs in our own soldiers, we'll be expecting it to work far better."

Hannah
"Alright, so lets say I believed everything you're saying. Why exactly do you need me to fight some demon army? I'm sure you've seen the videos about me. But all I can do is punch really hard. I don't see how much I can help this little god squad of yours. But I have to admit, I'm sick of being stuck in this gym. So if you can offer some adventure... I might be interested."

by **Galnius** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:17 pm

Andrew

Bael's comment caused Andrew to grin ever so slightly more as he stepped back a touch. "You know, you'd havea point, except with how my power works I can't do much more than you are putting out. That's why I know you aren't going all out."

Moving above him but still keeping his distance, Jackrabbit went to once again pull behind the Dra'Quinni. He had to make sure to avoid the grapple, and his rear seemed like the best bet. However, instead of closing the gap, he changed direction once more. He darted around Wyatt on solid ground, and went to leave him behind for a small time. "Sp, I'll just need to make you! Hey Impulse! Incoming!"

Changing targets, he called out to the other force redirector and charged at her at top speed, just above the ground. He hoped to force Wyatt to move, while also altering the matches flow. Besides, if Quake was right, their powers would cancel each other out, so without help it would just be a street fight. If Wyatt hesistated, it would be a two on one. No one ever said he was taught to fight fair.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:05 pm

The Raid

The team voted him as the leader for the mission, so Bael took the time to explain his plan as everyone prepared to mobilize and get into position. He already had a rough idea of what he was going to have everyone do, but seeing the location help give him some better ideas on how to approach it. It being on the coast meant that there were two ways people could escape in the chaos. Either by boat or by street.

"Alright, I'm going to explain the slightly revised plan. We're going to do this in three parts. First part, if you're bulletproof, or able to otherwise not get shot, you're in the first wave. Your job is to take out as many of the people with guns as you can. Most of them will probably be on the second floor to provide more cover. Second phase will commence roughly thirty seconds after the first to maintain shock and keep them on the backfoot. Here, we aim to deal with the inevitable superhuman enforcers they're definitely going to have as quickly as possible. while this is going on, Kabuto, try to keep your swarm looking out for runners and alert us if you see someone making a break for it. They've got cars and boats, so, if you can fly or have mobility that lets you get in and out of the building quickly, your job will be to focus any potential runners and deal with them." He started. "Subdue them, restrain them, whatever you have to short of killing them. Sludge, this'll be your priority."

"Can do boss." He replied with a nod.

"To finish, once the superpowered goons are dealt with, it's just a matter of mop up. Scour the building for anyone hiding, trash any equipment that they're using to make the stuff. Try to keep radio chatter to a minimum. Unless you've got an emergency or alerting us to a runner, don't use it. I'm sure you're all aware of that already. Obviously this is just a broad plan and no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. Just remember your priorities. Guns first to enable our less durable teammates, work together against their supers while making sure as few, if any, of these guys escape. Radio only for emergencies or runners. If there're no question or comments, lets get started. Give 'em hell." Bael nodded spread his wings and charged.

Tip of the spear. He took a deep breath just before he smashed through a second story widow with as much graces as he could, though he still landed face first in a room with several men armed with pistols and shotguns. In the brief moment of confusion and the untrained men fiddled with the safety on their weapons while Bael jumped back to his feet.

He grabbed the shotgun that one of the men had and flung him aside while still holding the weapon, which he snapped in half. The stone wall briefly came alive and surrounded the man. The stone surrounded his torso and one of his arms completely, leaving only his legs, head, and arm exposed.

The other two recovered, shooting their handguns at Bael, the rounds sparking as they bounced off his hide. Bael's arms glowed as chunks of the wall flung off and encapsulated the men's arms, the weight throwing them off balance and rendering their firearms useless. Once they toppled over, a bit more stone chuinks flew over and surrounded their legs. Ensuring they couldn't run.

by **Finland SSR** » Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:47 pm

Tomia wrote:Hannah

Jan Sorok, the Champion of Heaven!

"I mean... is that supposed to say that you're less able to help?" Jan spoke back, blinking a few times while going through Hannah's response. Of course, there's only so far that supernatural boxing is able to take you - if you were to go up to face high level demons, maybe even spawns of the Princes of Hell... "One of my best friends from back then just punched really hard. Sure, he could do other things, too, but in the end, he would just punch villains really hard and beat them up. And he was one of the best heroes in this city."

Jan folded his arms behind the back of his head. "Besides, there's gonna be a lot of fighting, and there's a mortal human tagging along with this demon incursion who's... pretty talented. So someone with a lot of fighting experience is probably the best chance to take him on..."

The Republic of Atria wrote:The Raid

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Renata and Mizu stood next to one another, both of them in their respective superhero suits, Renata with her arms folded, and watched Wyatt explain the team's plan for one final time before they charged forth. Lacking the endurance to draw fire from everyone, both of them girls were assigned to the second phase of the plan. So, like the rest of their more squishier teammates who nonetheless were able to bring some firepower into the fight, they had to stand back, watch Wyatt lead the charge into the second floor, and wait.

One... two... three...

The pink-haired girl clasped her hands, gathering radiation between her palms. What started out as a tiny spark grew into a ball of plasma, one which grew greater and greater, sucking in air around her like a vacuum and condensing into a swirling sphere. Light filtered from within Renata's fingertips, all the energy building up just begging to be released.

Twenty-eight... twenty-nine... thirty.

"Let's go!" Renata yelled and immediately threw her hands forward, firing off a beam of plasma straight at the front door of the first floor. The explosion blasted the double door and the wall surrounding it, leaving a wide gap in the building, and sending debris and ash across the first floor. Mizu, who had covered up her ears in ancitipation, sprung into action next, snapping her fingers to summon a small band of illusions, storming into the building to turn the chaos and confusion even more chaotic and confusion, before shapeshifting into a small kitten to keep any attention off herself while she was sneaking in.

by **Zarkenis Ultima** » Tue Mar 10, 2020 7:58 pm

October 3rd

The Republic of Atria wrote:---

Finland SSR wrote:---

While Wyatt went over the different aspects of the plan, a towering figure of shining pink approached Kabuto, a metal finger lightly tapping him on the shoulder to grab his attention. "Hey there, bugmeister." The mechanical being greeted with the familiar voice of a young girl. "I just wanted to let you know that I brought my little assistants along for this mission, they can help keep an eye on the sky." At this, the mech pointed at a group of several mechanical fairies of the same type that was usually seen toiling away at Alexis' laboratory, hovering just out of view with their cameras pointed at the streets outside the complex. "If you want, we can split up so you can focus on the pier. Sounds good?"

After speaking to the great Kabuto, Alexis moved on to her squad, which stood together to one side despite the squads being temporarily dissolved for the present mission - it made her proud to think that their great team chemistry was at least in part thanks to her efforts.

"Alright girls, you heard the big guy. Since most of you are going to be heading in during the second wave though, I got a favor to ask: try to gather any documents or samples you can find, I'm going to need them to try and help find a cure for our fearless leader when this is all over." She told the other girls, the towering mechanical armor nodding its head at them before turning back to the building.

When the sign was given and all hell broke loose, Alexis was of course on the first wave, right behind Wyatt himself. The mech crashed shoulder-first into the building, sending shattered glass and debris flying everywhere, before landing and setting down a passenger she had picked up before the charge, Viviana. "Alright girl, let's give 'em hell." She said to her teammate before charging at the remaining guards. After Wyatt's initial offensive, they had quickly reacted and reached for their weapons, so the blonde girl found herself being pelted by handgun bullets and shotgun slugs, the lead harmlessly bouncing away from her energy shields.

"Gonna need more than that to take me down." She said before aiming an arm cannon towards a group of guards clustered together. The ensuing concussive blast didn't seem to knock any of them out, but was enough to distract them from her teammates and allow them to get a better shot in.

However, the dire situation also meant that those that weren't distracted quickly reached for their syringes and injected themselves with power in order to fend off the intruders. Suddenly, Alexis saw a desk flying towards her at breakneck speeds, the mech raising an arm to deflect it. "Looks like we've got some juiced up enforcers coming in, people!"

by **Auropa** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 6:40 am

Mike Mathews
Previous team meeting

“If everyone’s as confused as me then we’re in real trouble” Mike joked after hearing Mizu. Though she made did make some good point, and while it might have been in part from her infectious positivity he couldn’t help but feel motivated by what she was saying. Maybe he really could salvage some sort of relationship with the team he thought to himself as he noticed Mizu staring a bit more intently at him.

He was about to ask her if something was wrong when out of nowhere, she leaned in close, reached towards then past his face and pulled a tarantula from behind his head. In the space of a second Mike’s face went from confused, to beetroot red before finally shifting into glee.

“Webby!” He cried “Oh my god I thought you were dead! Where were you? Were you hiding in my uniform?“ he asked the very lifelike tarantula in Mizu’s hands “I am definitely getting a better lock so you can’t up and disappear… again… huh…” he said trailing off at the end as his hand passed through the spider. “Oh. Its an illusion. Not my… I get it, haha, good one.” He mumbled weekly as he slouched over and unsuccessfully tried to hide his shattering heart from the girl trying to help him.

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

The Raid
Present Day

‘What could go wrong huh?’ Mike thought to himself as he stretched out a crick in his neck and watched Wyatt take the first wave over the wall and towards the building. Letting out a slow breath as he started his count, Mike made his way towards the front gate and waited. Things hadn't been as bad as they could've been, with Wyatt in charge and a relatively weak group of guards defending, he felt good about their chances. But what happened to Roy had left him agitated. He wasn't even all that close to the team leader, it was more like the situation was acting like a catalyst or a realization. Something about it was forming a question he didn't know the answer to and didn't want to think about. ‘Although, now’s not a bad time to vent some anger’ he decided as he poured his powers into the wall and his armour as he waited for the seconds to tick by, until finally…

‘Thirty’

With a thundering clap the gates detonated from his powers as Renata’s energy beam went on to blow through the main doors and tear an entrance into the building. Walking behind the others as they surged forward, Mike crossed through the rubble and into the fight. Most of the regular guards were already knocked out or on their last legs by the time he arrived, but those still standing and firing weapons nearby quickly found their guns jamming and even crumbling to pieces as they fell under his gaze. Two of the guards with particularly bad luck found their ruined gear even starting to glow before erupting into small bursts of blinding light right as Mike closed in and hammered them across the head and chest with a makeshift club newly forged from the nearby rubble. As the second guard fell to the ground unmoving, Mike was already looking around for another soon to be victim. Stopping him was Alexis when she called out to alert the team about another approaching group.

‘Fine by me.’ Mike thought to himself as the crude club began to melt in hands and reshape into an rough shield ‘I wasn’t done anyways’.

by **Absolon-7** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:42 pm

Tomia wrote:The Final Raid

The Republic of Atria wrote:Wyatt

Zarkenis Ultima wrote:Alexis

Casimir and Viviana October 3rd
To his disappointment, Casimir lost the election to Wyatt and even came behind the surprise candidate of Alexis but he shrugged it off rather quickly practically forgetting it by the time the team assembled near their target. Wyatt's plan seemed to be going for a bull's horns approach with the team heavily throwing their weight in two different locations. Naturally, Casimir himself was included in the first wave of Young Bloods that could stand up to bullets in the second floor living quarters. Casimir was eagerly stretching his limbs until the giant finger of the Oberon mech lightly patted his shoulder.

"Wha, oh, yeah sounds good to me," said Casimir before chuckling, "Besides less spread out bugs means more stings per square inch."

Once the final signal for the wave was given lagged a second behind Alexis, who had chosen to carry Viviana, and Wyatt to take a good look at where he could land for the perfect entrance. Once that was over with he ran forward like a speeding car and using his mighty legs he jumped and spun forward like a cannonball at one of the windows on the second floor. The snowstorm of glass was only boosted by his own entrance as he dramatically landed on all fours after rolling some distance.

"The time of your doom has arrived you dumb bitches!," shouted Casimir as he kicked a table into the air and then punched right at a unsuspecting guard in front of him, "DOOOM!"

A squad of four rifle armed guards that had been better prepared took cover behind supportive pillars and began firing en masse at him with a few bullets piercing his leather suit but not quite getting into his skin.

"SONOFBITCH FLY POWER GO!," shouted Casimir gritting his teeth from the pain.

He became like a green and black blur of motion as his body pushed itself to its limits dodging the hailstorm of fire and it was almost like a ritualistic dance as he bent over, leaned, and spun just in the nick of time to dodge each projectile. He had bought enough time for a squadron of wasps to pour in from the gaping holes in the building's side and to zoom over to aid their master. They circled around behind the gunmen and mercilessly stung any exposed area on their bodies. Quickly the gunfire ceased which meant he could rush over to them. He did so and knocked each man out with a single punch before dramatically spinning in place to swoosh his iconic red scarf. The whole scene was like a war between ants invading a termite nest and like in most cases the ants would win.

Meanwhile
"Yeah! Let's wallop em real good!" eagerly said Viviana pumping her fists to Alexis as she hopped off the Oberon mech.

She morphed her arms into to riot shield shapes and kept one to her front and the other to her back as bullets from two guards on each side made their way to her but ending up going into the shields and bouncing right back where they came from. She chose to go after the guard in front first and she twisted her elbow into a spring to tighten it and then fire off the arm to the guard. The riot shield appendage acted like a giant mitten and wrapped around the gunman. She did the same coiling action to her knees and jumped at the man to tackle him to the ground. Instead of falling with him she cartwheeled to get head first on the ground and then sent a free leg to rapidly stretch and kick the guard to the back of her in the forehead.

She rolled back to her feet and remade the riot shields to momentarily take a breath. Just had to take out their guns. And draw their attention to let the non bulletproof members take the lead downstairs. Just had to follow those steps. She just had to follow them. She spotted Casimir a bit of a distance away dealing with some guards and she then bounced over to his side.

"Now surrender you wastes of society! For the Great Kabuto shall show mercy to none who fight!" shouted Casimir dramatically posing.

"And the lovely Chicle will give em a good clobbering," she said standing back to back to him as he hands warped to giant hammers.

"Yes of course!," said Casimir as his head suddenly jerked up, "Hey maybe this can be a thing we do?"

Viviana didn't have time to answer as Alexis had shouted over her mech that powered goons had arrived to save the rest of their comrades butts. One member of the elite squad was already hurling projectile with super strength but that earned nothing but a scoff from Casimir behind her. He spun next to her and cracked his neck as he walked forward to face them. He turned his head to the side to pick the right object that just illicited an ooh sound from Viviana.

'"Watch this!," yelled Casimir as he picked up a giant couch with a single arm and like a baseball pitcher he threw it with great force right above the powered enforcers shattering into a storm of splinters, cloth, and stuffing, before shouting his loudest proclamation his lungs could muster, "And tell the tale of how Kabuto is the strongest of all!"

by **The Templar High Council** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 12:53 am

Zoe Foster - Impulse
Wonder Tower, San Diego
October 2nd

Zoe whipped her arm out at Aleta, but she didn't expect how fast her opponent could be after shedding her armored plates. She grimaced as the tar-like substance wrapped around her arms and legs, restraining her while Aleta antagonized her and she heard Andrew charging towards the two of them. "Alright then... I guess we do get to play hardball..!"

Channeling her inertia control, Zoe buffed up her own ability to resist outside forces, making her that much harder to restrain as she started pulling against the Pitch that bound her. She managed to grab hold of a strand and wrap it around her fist, using it to pull Aleta within range of her fist. Zoe had to work fast to beat Andrew; she wasn't thinking about how much of his power she could negate with her own, only that if they were to collide then she would definitely like to be in top shape and not covered in goo.

by **North America Inc** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 7:35 pm

Tomia wrote:-Man in Black-

As the Man in Black stood over him, Dr. Chen said nothing but shook his head in agreement. Compared to his more eccentric boss, his attire was much more plain: lab coat, crooked tie, portly body. Staring down at his table, he looked over his notes, but nothing beyond a cursory glance; anything to not look directly up. He rubbed his neck, brushing against the still sensitive scar behind his ear, "I apologize..." his mastery of English still weak, "But my team and I are dealing with a few significant hurtles. The rampant physiological changes above all. How do you say... embryos, are much more malleable than adults and adolescents. Even then cybernetics were already in place to help with any transitional..." He paused and looked up. Floyd had no interest in excuses, only results. He needed to consider his words very carefully, for his own sake. Pointing up towards the man, "Compound R237 may have a few issues now..." there was a slight tremble in his fingers, "but its successes have gone much farther than we have originally expected. Your...organization should keep its faith in us. We will continue tinkering with genome for more productive results."

Standing up from his desk, he walked over to the glass wall that hung over the actual lab station. Down there doctors adorned in protective gear got to work synthesizing new compounds and proteins. "Withdrawals, I promise you, will decline with the new modifications we have added. For those who do..." He turned around to face him"...decrease, would it be possible to acquire their remains?" He shook his head, "I mean decease. It would help with my work to have a more thorough examination."

The man was obviously hesitant, so Chen continued to talk. A personality quirk when under a lot of pressure and self induced paranoia, "Please trust me. Is there anything I can say to alleviate your fears? I mean, doubts. When your organization acquired myself, I knew the expectations in place. I have not forgotten." A smile crept over his face, "All the data is secure off site, we have had no leaks, and my team has not failed in its due diligence. We just need more time."

by **Tomia** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:04 pm

Hannah
"Alright so... Demon army, some human mercenary... well, why not. It's not like I'm doing anything important here. I'm in."

The Raid
Mars had gone in with the first wave because of the protection granted to him by Rocket. Once Bael blasted through the second floor and created an opening bullets started flying, some of which bounced off Rocket. Alexis had created the path to the first floor and Mars decided to follow suit and attack the main level of the factory. This was clearly where they were making the drugs, and Mars decided he could take the lead on destroying some of the equipment since he was already in a protective suit. He moved towards the nearest vat of chemicals, which was currently being blocked by a guard. The man fired a number of bullets at Rocket but they mostly bounced off of his armor except for one that grazed the protective glass that encased Mars. Mars activated his rocket arm which wrapped around the attacker. He was forced to drop his weapon and suddenly the fist electrified and shocked the man in its hold. He shouted in pain and fell down seemingly incapacitated. With the guard taken down, Mars turned his attention to the nearby vat of chemicals. He approached cautiously before activating his energy cannon. He made sure the energy level was low as he used his cannon as a torch to seal the vat. It took about a minute but he was confident that he had safely sabotaged the mission. He was about to move to the next nearest machine when suddenly something slammed into his side. He turned to see that one of the guards was now bulking and massive and slammed Rocket against the wall. Mars pressed hard on the controls and smashed Rocket's right arm against the man, who managed to catch it but was forced back by the force of the strike. Next Mars rerouted power into Rocket's left arm which now visibly surged with energy as he struck the now enlarged guard in the jaw. The man staggered back, clearly dazed but charged back towards Rocket and once again had him slammed against the wall.

Meanwhile Angelica had created an ice ramp to bring her across the large fence. She also went to the first floor and amid the chaos of the fighting, noticed the elevator against the far wall. She saw Renata nearby in mid fight and turned to her, making sure to keep her guard up, “Stella, elevator over there! Has to be important right?

Ares
"Unfortunately time is the most precious of commodities in my line of work. But if that is what you need to deliver us the product then perhaps it is time for us to relocate you. No more field work, from now on we'll bring the test subjects to you, and we'll have you moved to a secure facility until you deliver us what we need. As you know our resources are expansive, there you'll have your corpses, fresh subjects and whatever else you need." He then stood, moving closer to the desk and placing his metal arm flat on the surface. "But then there will be no excuses, and we will be expecting results." He said, looking into the doctor's eyes.

Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

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