Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Tomia]

Angelica/Frostbite
Frostbite sighed, it became clear to her that Alexis wasn't planning on leaving her alone. So either they stayed here together, or Angelica relented and followed the girl outside. Maybe if I go outside she'll leave me alone. She thought, standing up as her cape whooshed behind her. "Fine, I'll go to this party." She said sounding annoyed, walking away from the couch so towards the stars, glancing subtly to see if Alexis was following. Once she stepped outside on the beach, she raised her hand slightly, blocking the sun that was blinding even through her mask. She walked over towards the table Wendy had been sitting at, looking around and studying the group at play. Mars meanwhile and finished with his castle, and looked for something to do. He saw Frost Bite sitting at the table and decided he should try to get to know her, since she was his teammate after all. He hesitated for a moment though before moving, she really scared him.

"Uh hi Frostbite, glad you came outside." He said a bit awkwardly, not being brave enough to sit down next to her. She looked at him, her eyes seemingly peering into him. She then turned back and said nothing. "Uhhh, okay, I'm going to go get something to eat, want something." She again just stared blankly, and this time Mars was grateful. "Well, I'm gonna go now." He said, walking off a bit quicker than normal as he headed toward the grill where Roy and Wendy stood.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

“I’ll have a hamburger” Wendy replied. “Had way to many microwaved hotdogs growing up to ever eat another one of those things again.”

“As to your other question. It’s Les Misérables.” Wendy added with a smile. “And it was a book before it became a musical, so please don’t even start whistling ‘can you hear the people sing’. It was always a favorite of mine growing up, especially over the last couple of years. There’s just something about Jean Valjean’s story, a former thief finding redemption in one of the worst periods of Frances history, that makes me feel good. If he can change, I guess that means others can too.”

Almost immediately she regretted saying that. Maybe others can change too.She thought to herself. God, Wendy it’s like your trying to tell him you’re an ex-bank robber. She still didn’t know how her roles in her parent’s heists hadn’t made its way into the media, but it was a secret she did her best to keep very well hidden. She knew that if word got out about her past activities, she be back out on the streets in no time.

It was then that she noticed Mars walking over to them. “How’s it going Mars.” She said with a faint smile.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Before he could leave the man alone and walk away from the crime scene, the blond boy looked up and saw a hail of bullets headed towards him. His instincts kicked in at that moment, perhaps making the situation seem worse than it actually was, and, knowing that there was no time to reach out to the streetlight and take more power from the city's grid, and that attempting to dash out of the way would lead to nothing, he instead immediately grabbed the criminal he had been punishing by the collar and lifted him in the bullet's direction, using him as a human shield. Fortunately for the two of them, the bullets didn't tear through, instead simply impacting the criminal painfully, likely leaving bruises. The shield groaned and cursed in pain, but Icarus paid him no mind, tossing him aside once the danger was through and instead looking at the person who had tried to attack him.

Much like Violet was shocked to see an unknown vigilante beating up the drug trafficking ring that she was supposed to stop herself, the young man clad in all black was quite surprised to see a girl not much older than him standing there, glaring a hole into him. He had heard rumors of various highschoolers doing some impressive crime-fighting two weeks ago, but he doubted this was one of them; she looked more like a college student, although it was difficult to judge in the middle of the night. Regardless, that was not what was important here. Preparing himself in case another surprise attack came his way, he addressed the stranger.

"That's a bit of a strange order coming from someone who just sent several magazines' worth of bullets towards me, don't you think?" Icarus asked, before gesturing towards the drug dealer he had used as a shield. "You should be glad you weren't any angrier, or you just might have become a killer instead of the goody-two-shoes heroine I assume you're trying to be." He stated, before taking a few steps towards her. "Either way, I think you missed the point of what I'm doing. I won't kill them, but they'll think twice before starting up shit again now. I'm teaching them a lesson, and who are you to stop that?" He stopped. "Or, more importantly, who are you?"

---

---

Alexis continued smiling. She wasn't stupid enough to think that she had miraculously managed to break through the ice queen's shell that easily, but getting her to agree to come outside with the rest of them was a start. Even if the way she said it made her sound more angry or annoyed than anything else. "Really? Great!" The blonde girl exclaimed in response, even doing a fist pump when the other girl wasn't looking. Following Frostbite out of the meeting hall, she stopped briefly to pick up her box and its top-secret contents before heading out onto the beach at last, looking up at the sun and then at the blue waves, smiling. "Those Wonder Warriors sure had it lucky, having their own beach to party in!" She said to her insides, though the cheerfulness of that thought quickly faded away once her mind connected the terms 'Wonder Warriors' and 'party' to something far more somber.

"Stupid Alexis, now's not the time to think about that." She told herself after standing still for several moments, shaking the thoughts out of her head. "Well then, try having fun for once, Frosty girl! Don't feel too out of place either, I'm still in my regular clothes too." She said to the purple-clad girl with a grin. Indeed, she hadn't really bothered changing, since she had gone down to the lab instead of her room, and was still in her oil-stained tank-top and wearing her safety goggles on her head, though she'd left the electronic gauntlet at the lab.

Looking around for a bit to see where everyone was, Alexis walked over to a table close to the grill and placed the box down, leaving it conveniently in the line of sight of most people. She removed two objects from inside and tucked one into the back of her pants, holding the other behind her back in order to conceal it as well. All the while, she heard the conversation going on between Mars and Frostbite, though perhaps describing it as a monologue would've been more fitting. Shaking her head, she watched Mars scurry away and then approached Frostbite with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Jeez, I told you to have fun, not scare away people who approach you, you know?" She said, before taking the second object she'd removed from the box, which was what appeared to be an orange-colored water submachine gun, and training it on her. "I'm afraid you're of no use to me like this." She added, doing her best impression of a creepy mafia voice, before pulling the trigger.

[Anxiety Cafe]

On Wonder Island

The two soon found themselves on the beach of Wonder Island, a little farther away from the main party so as not to cause them any damage. Mike seemed to be looking for something, picking stuff up and dropping it again in his hunt. Nathan stared questioningly, but didn't want to interrupt his focus.

"Hey Nathan. I've been thinking. Why did you join the team? As in, why do you want to be a hero? Truth be told, apart from your power and how you use it, I don’t really know much about you," his voice rang back.

Nathan froze. He wasn't sure how much of his past he wanted to reveal; if he said too much, his parents would find out where he was and would stop at nothing to kill him, or at least erase him from the public eye.

"I've always wanted to be a hero," he said carefully, not wanting to reveal anything too important. Then, throwing in a blatant lie, he continued "I must've gotten it from my parents."

At the end of his words, Mike picked up a small rock from the seashore and stood up, excitement dancing across his eyes.

"Anyway..." Nathan drawled, wanting to change the subject. "How exactly do you plan on creating this explosion?"

---

On Tolaer

Yierneg was soon walking away from the seashore, a stoic expression on his face. He didn't want to ask for help from any of the residents of the magical island, so he had been going up to certain buildings and trying to explore them. His next building was the shack he had gone around before, in order to see the tall cliffs and thundering sea. As he walked towards the door, hand on the doorknob, a voice called out.

"Looking for something?"

He turned around with the same expression, unprepared to see the woman from the cafe smiling at him.

"No," he said, quickly masking his outburst of surprise on his face.

She only rolled her eyes, sighing audibly. "Listen, get rid of the attitude. I don't care what you used to be, but it doesn't matter here. You're just like the rest of us."

Yierneg's nostrils flared, prepared to execute her, when she walked over to him and grabbed his arm.

"I'll bring you to the library." After pausing, she said "This is the part where you say thank you."

Clenching his jaw at the island's ridiculous customs, Yierneg managed to grate out an almost unintelligible thanks. She understood it, however, smiling again and leading him towards the other end of the island.

---

On the San Diego Docks

"That's a bit of a strange order coming from someone who just sent several magazines' worth of bullets towards me, don't you think?" the man asked, pointing at the groaning man on the ground beside him. "You should be glad you weren't any angrier, or you just might have become a killer instead of the goody-two-shoes heroine I assume you're trying to be."

Violet simply glared, not trusting herself to say anything. She quickly walked towards the man, unafraid, and dragged the convict away from him, none too gently. She didn't want him dead, but she didn't want to risk him running away either.

"Either way, I think you missed the point of what I'm doing. I won't kill them, but they'll think twice before starting up shit again now. I'm teaching them a lesson, and who are you to stop that?" He stopped. "Or, more importantly, who are you?"

Having calmed herself down a substantial bit, Violet sighed audibly at the man's comments. "We catch them. We don't teach them lessons. The police and the justice system decide their punishment, not us." She paused for a moment, looking him over. "Although I doubt you subscribe to traditional hero ethics."

She continued rounding up the criminals into a pile by the crates she had been hiding behind before, making sure they were all knocked out and not faking. She notified the police of their presence and their crimes, all the while keeping an eye on the man. After making sure her job was finished, she turned back to him.

"Now, who are you?" she asked, repeating his earlier unanswered questions.

[Bentus]

Yoshiro Namaka
Wonder Island Beacch, San Diego

---

Yoshiro heard the crashing of the waves before they even walked onto the beach. She was carrying the last of the supplies for the barbecue, having offered to help shuttle the last few coolers so that Roy could start grilling. The day was almost perfect, the warm touch of the sun’s rays presenting some of the best that a Californian summer could offer. Although she was looking forward to start working on her summer tan, Yoshiro wore a simple t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the Los Angeles Stars over her swimsuit. She knew from experience that she’d get a nasty burn if she wasn’t too careful, but still couldn’t quite resist the pull of the tempting waves.

“So is this going to be your first 4th of July then?” Yoshiro directed the question towards Kirisvala, the other girl having accompanied her back to the Tower. The alien was carrying her own load effortlessly, even though it was easily twice as heavy as Yoshiro’s own comparatively meagre haul. Silently, Yoshiro bemoaned the growing ache in her arms – not wanting to come across as being unable to contribute. She smiled sheepishly as, hoping that her question hadn’t come across as insensitive.

“We’ll have to make it really special in that case and give you a proper welcoming! You’ll love the fireworks show that the city puts on.” Yoshiro could remember always enjoying Independence Day celebrations, even as a child before she and her family were naturalised. Her father would close the store early, and the whole family would camp out on the beachfront until the fireworks display.

Arriving at the grill, Yoshiro placed her cooler on the ground near where Roy and Wendy were talking. She let out a sigh of relief as soon as the weight was taken off of her arms, admitting that she’d probably tried to carry too much in an effort to compare herself to the strong-armed Kiris. Stretching her limbs as she drank in the warm Sun, Yoshiro offered a triumphant smile towards Wendy and Roy but stopped short of interrupting their conversation. She still couldn’t quite believe that she’d been invited to a barbecue by the Nightshade. It sounded crazy, and yet there he was standing topless with an array of burgers on the hot grill in front of him. The past two weeks had felt just felt like a blur, nothing had really sunk in quite yet. Yoshiro didn’t even think that she’d properly thanked Roy for saving her from that prisoner.

Looking away before her eyes lingered for a bit too long, Yoshiro glanced around to see what the rest of the team were up to. A bunch of the guys looked like they’d just started a game on the volleyball court, while Mike and Nathan were meandering their way further down the beach. Red was readying the opening serve in the match, and Yoshiro wondered if she'd be able to join in with the next game. She smiled as she saw that Frostbite had decided to come out to the party too – although she still seemed to be keeping largely to herself. She couldn’t imagine that the girl was especially comfortable in her full costume though, it was summer in California after all. Inwardly, Yoshiro frowned as she felt Frostbite's emotions sticking out like a sore thumb. Compared to the others talking, laying and generally having a good time, the masked figure struck a discordant note in the telepath's mind. Seeing Alexis making her way over towards their teammate, Yoshiro decided that she'd lend her hand in trying to cheer up the solemn figure.

She hadn't even made it more than halfway to the table when Alexis pulled the trigger on her hidden water pistol, sending a spray heading straight towards the hooded figure sitting before her.

[The Republic of Atria]

Red seemed a bit suspicious or something similar. He couldn't tell exactly what that weird analytical look was. After a moment of thought, it was probably fairly understandable, he did spill the beans about almost everything he knew to them and everyone who cared enough to listen. There was plenty of reason to be wary, even though he meant no harm. Trust was something that he was going to have to earn. He just hoped that no one thought he was planning an invasion, despite the fact that there was no logical reason for him to want that. Then again, people weren't always logical.

"I don't really know how to use my powers much anyways, so I'm perfectly okay with that." He replied and headed to his side with Casimir. "Hello." He greeted a bit more sheepishly than he intended to.

Of course a good place to start was to prove that there was little difference between him and anyone else, physical appearances aside. Humans tended to be wily in their word choices, and while he did agree with Red's 'No Powers' rules, technically his ability to fly wasn't a power. He also didn't know how to play volley ball very well. The ball wasn't supposed to touch the ground on his side of the net or his opponents would get a point. Beyond that the rules were a mystery to him.

When Red served the ball, Wyatt unfurled and flexed his wings, took a stance, leaped into the air, took a swing at the ball, and missed entirely.

[Auropa]

Mike Mathews
Wonder Island Beach

"I've always wanted to be a hero, I must've gotten it from my parents."
"Anyway...How exactly do you plan on creating this explosion?"

For a moment Mike felt tempted to ask more, something about the phrase ‘gotten it from parents’ piqued his curiosity, but the topic seemed personal and he figured prying wouldn’t be the best of starts to the team.
“Well,” he finally said as he began to concentrate on the rock in his hands .
“My whole shtick is messing with matter. I can either put energy into it or reinforce the bonds that hold it together for a bit, so, make something harder or force it to break apart.” As he continued talking the rock in his hand steadily turned from grey to black with thin, dull streaks of orange apreading across the surface.
“Weird thing is, I can do both at once. Harden the outside and fuel the inside. Gives the boom a slight delay and lets me play the world’s most exciting game of hot potato.” As he finished prepping the rock in his hands a few thoughts ran across his mind. As much as he enjoyed testing and learning about these sorts of things, he didn’t want to end up hurting Nathan but at the same time, if they were in a battle, he needed to know the upper limits of his absorption beforehand. ‘But taking risks with others aren’t something we do’ Mike thought to himself, unfortunately choosing to echo the words spoken to him on an all too familiar event.

In an instant, he was thinking about the past, when one slip up had left him in the hands of some madman with a vendetta. Back then he was too young to understand the whys behind everything but wouldn’t forget the phrase he heard his uncle saying to his parents. That was the first time he saw how dangerous the world was and decided how he wanted to be. Ever since then, all the posters, movies, shows and antics of heroes just seemed fake to him. ‘But that’s why I’m doing this’ he thought to himself.
Suddenly remembering where he was he wiped the serious look off his face and passed the rock to Nathan with a slight underhand toss.
“T-minus 10 seconds” he said with a smile, at that same moment, he realised that nearly all of the stone was pulsating a vibrant orange ‘ohhhhhh crap’ he thought to himself.
“Nathan, don’t panic but I got carried away. Let’s just…umm.” turning around on the spot, he looked about for a good place to dump the volatile rock, in doing so however he couldn’t help but notice a slight blur in his vision ‘that’s not good’ he thought.

“Okay, new plan.” He said, deciding that burying or tossing the rock weren’t good ideas “Just. Focus, a lot.”
All things considered, the stone wasn’t much bigger than a ball so the blast wouldn’t be too bad. But the small shards it would send flying could end up hurting someone and for this, Mike figured dumping it seemed like the irresponsible choice ‘or rather an irresponsible end to an irresponsible situation’. Instead he chose to put his trust in his teammate and resist the urge to take a few dozen steps back.

[Indo-pasif archipelago]

Amir Zairi

The meeting concluded with everyone agreed to name ourselves Young Blood. Things were quite tense, but Alexis managed to cool things off with some nice rickrolling. That got the chuckle out of everyone. Naja then dismissed us, telling us to go have some freedom-fest celebration for the rest of the day. I took a cup of coffee from Yoshiro and a plate of Doritos from Yoshiro and Cassandra respectively before I went to prepare my part for the party.

The thought of having another party kind of bugged me for a moment, since the last party we held here were ruined by Batface and Criminals. It still left a source taste in my mouth. Life goes on though, and I told myself not to worry about it too much. I went to one of the basement area where I temporarily placed my stuffs to take some of metal rods and a couple of food container. I rooms the chance to sip the coffee and taste the signature mix of fruitiness and boldness of a Mocha Java. I was delightedly surprised. I thought it was just going to be a general espresso coffee; Not that I think lowly of Yoshi, it's just I didn't know that she knows my choice of drinks. Gotta ask the others if they also got their own preference or that girl just happened to have the same taste as I am and think everyone would like this.

I slipped into a three-quarters and a T-shirt before I joined the others at he beach. There I planted the iron rods at the ungroomed bushes around us and between the large rocks before I went to help Roy manning the grill. Those rods are a replica of the rod I used at that fight night when the team was, in a way, born. I modified it so it would have more colour and patterns so we could have some nice fireworks show. They were all connected through sympathetic magic with the rod I was holding at the moment and when the time comes, I would shoot it at the sky and the fifteen other rods would follow. It would be quite a show I believe.

As I walked towards Roy I saw he was hanging around with some girls and a boy. Moving closer, I could see that they were Mars, Wendy, and Yoshiro. I couldn't help but looked at Wendy for longer than I should. I was lucky no one caught me, or no one that I know at least. It's not impossible that CIA or someone was watching us. Yoshiro also had her fair share of my gaze, but I was wondering more on how she picked the coffee. She had left before I could interrogate her though and I decide not to chase her about it.

"Excuse me Mars," I told him as I put down the food containers beside the grill. "You wouldn't mind if I help, would you Roy?" Asked me between his talk with Wendy. After I got his acknowledgement, I started to stacking up the marinated chicken chunks and seasoned meatballs at the grill, along with some green peppers. I waited for the foods to cook by looking around at what everyone was doing. I looked at the volleyball game and saw how Wyatt failed to return the ball, even with the help of his wings. "Now you looked at that," I said to no one in particular. I shouted to tease Wyatt a little. "Nice try there, Dragon Boy!"

[Tomia]

Roy smiled at Wendy, "One hamburger, coming right up." He told her, taking a burger he had just finished cooking off the grill, and placing it on a plate with a bun. "I had a similar experience with canned fruit." He said about her repulsion towards hot dogs. He handed her the plate with the hamburger, gesturing towards the table with condiments on it as she talked about Les Misérables. Roy had had a fairly classical and rigorous education, so he had read it, but that was a long time ago. He was a little surprised as she started talking about why she liked the book, she seemed very passionate about the promise of redemption. "Ya, I haven't read that book in a long time, but I feel like I could probably relate pretty closely to him." Roy said, considering his past this was a fairly accurate comment, he wondered why Wendy related to it so much as well. Before he could ask though Mars came up to them and Wendy greeted them. "Hey Mars" He said as well, waving his spatula slightly in place of his hand.

"Hey" Mars said, looking a little down, Roy raised an eyebrow. "You alright man?" Mars shrugged a bit, "Ya I'm fine. It's just... I think Frost Bite doesn't like me for some reason." Roy rolled his eyes, "Frost Bite doesn't like anyone Mars, don't take it personally. That girl has a lot of issues, that's why she's here. Naja thinks this team will be good for her, I'm just hoping she doesn't get people hurt in the process." He said as he continued to flip burgers and prepare plates for people that were hungry.

"Sure thing Amir" Roy said, when his teammate showed up with a container of food, moving over to let him use the grill on the left while Roy used the one on the right.

Meanwhile Alexis approached Frost Bite again, and the stoic teen hero wondered what she was up to. She saw her holding a toy gun, realizing it was a water gun as water sprayed out of it towards her. Most might have expected her to freak out, even Frost Bite herself had expected that reaction, but she calmly raised her hand and froze the water in place, leaving pieces of ice that floated in the air for a moment before falling to the ground and shattering. The girl behind Frost Bite's mask started to get quite curious about Alexis, usually people gave up and walked off when she was unfriendly, Alexis seemed to take it as a challenge. "Why the interest in me making friends? I haven't exactly put out a welcome mat for you, yet you seem intent on sticking around, why?" She asked, a hint of suspicion in her tone, but it was overlapped with genuine curiosity.

[Absolon-7]

Casimir eagerly made his way to his side of the court when Red partnered him with Wyatt. It would be a good way to stretch his limbs without the pain that comes with fighting. Awesome, I never played before but this should be fun...I've never...never played...KURWA!, though Casimir suddenly tensing up. He barely heard Wyatt greeting him but he manged to return a friendly sounding hello in time for it to not be awkward. Thinking quickly he remembered back to the only time he had ever seen a volleyball game. It was at a beach near his hometown and his girlfriend was playing a game with her friends and while he was mostly looking for less than innocent reasons he did at least remember that their hands were clasped together when hitting the ball. At least I remember that among other things, he thought with his face glowering.

When Red served the ball, Wyatt unfurled and flexed his wings, took a stance, leaped into the air, took a swing at the ball, and missed entirely. Casimir rushed at the ball currently hurdling towards the ground, his hands clutched into a tight ball. Leaning to the floor his hands barley made contact and next his shoulders powered a powerful upward movement that brought the ball careening upwards, almost perpendicular to the net. In a harsh angle it arched back downwards straight in the middle of Red and Carter's location.

"Try hitting the ball to where you think it's going to be not where it is, okay?" He cheerfully mentioned to Wyatt.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Icarus watched nonchalantly as the brunette that had attacked him walked around the impromptu battlefield that had formed at the docks, retrieving and restraining the mostly unconscious drug traffickers that he had beaten up moments earlier. He could only roll his eyes as the girl went and gave him a little spiel about how the cops and the courts were the only ones with the authority to decide what to do with criminals. Perhaps it was his anger thinking instead of him, but he didn't buy that for one second.

However, it wasn't until she threw his question back at him that he outright scoffed. "I have no time for this crap." He snapped. "You come here, attack me and then pull this? If you don't have even the basic decency of answering a question before asking another, I've nothing more to say to you; I'd have to be an idiot to tell you my real name anyway. If you're really curious, ask bloody face over there, he said something about the media giving me a name. I didn't pay attention. I don't give a damn about that." The black-clad vigilante said before turning around. "Suffice to say, you're right not to lump me with a bunch of idiots who think they're making the world a better place by becoming NASL celebrities." He spoke as he took the first few steps away from the docks, though he was walking slowly enough that she would easily be able to stop him if she so desired.

---

---

The big grin that Alexis was sporting slowly faded away alongside her enthusiasm when she saw the 'ammunition' from her glorified water pistol simply freezing up in the middle of the air and then falling to the ground. After a moment, she pouted. "That's no fun! You're cheating!" She complained, before actually listening to what the other girl was saying. "Jesus, Frosty, is this really the first time you meet an annoying extrovert?" She wondered after hearing Frostbite out, but decided to ponder her answer just a little bit more instead of freely and thoughtlessly speaking her mind, lest she screw up and forfeit whatever minuscule amount of rapport she had earned so far.

"Well," The blonde girl began. "I just want to help you loosen up a little, you know? You honestly look like you could use it, I mean we're about the same age. Besides it's not like I've got anything to lose by trying, right? The worst that can happen is that I'll fail knowing I gave it my best shot." She said, a confident smile now on her face. "Plus, your whole attitude's like one giant 'don't come near me', and you should know that when you tell people not to do something, they'll just want to do it even more." She continued with a chuckle before pausing for a moment. "But, just in case it'll appease you more, I'll give you a more self-centered answer to your question. We're going to be working together on a team and risk our lives to protect the people from whatever comes our way. With that in mind, maybe things might work out better if the bonds between us are of friendship and affection rather than mere convenience, don't you think?"

---

---

As Yoshiro walked out into the sandy beach, Kirisvala trailed right behind, her claws occupied with carrying a pair of coolers completely stocked with ice and sodas. She wore the same yellow sundress she had put on for the meeting with Naja, since she was not very well acquainted with human traditions in regards to swimsuits and beach parties and had figured that it would be good enough for spending an afternoon on the sands, since she had no intention of swimming. She did, however, take some time and effort to brush her hair a little to look nicer for the party.

Looking up at the bright summer sun, the alien girl smiled. The heat was far milder than it was in her home planet, not to mention that the breeze coming from the ocean did wonders to keep everyone refreshed, but even so, it reminded her of her home, in a way. Amidst her reminiscence, though, she heard Yoshi's question and turned her attention to the human. "Oh, yup! More or less. I've been on Earth for a bit more than a year now but for most of it I was livin' in New Adai, so this is my first celebration in any case." She replied with a nod. Looking around a little, she noticed Casimir greeting her, and she merrily lifted one of the coolers effortlessly and waved at him before continuing to follow Yoshiro towards the grills, simply nodding and smiling warmly upon hearing the other girl's intent on making her first 4th of July special.

Before long, the pair of girls arrived at the grill where Roy was already hard at work, and as Yoshiro put down the cooler she was carrying, Kiris did the same, grabbing a can of soda and using one of her claws to break it open before taking a good chug. As she turned around, however, she saw Yoshi advancing in the direction of Alexis and the purple girl. "Oh, um, I'll grab somethin' to eat! See you in a bit!" She shouted at the empath, and then turned around to where Roy, Wendy and Mars were talking. "Hello guys! Havin' fun?" She greeted them, smiling at them and looking at Mars perhaps a little longer than necessary before catching herself and turning away.

"That smells pretty good by the way, I'll have one of whatever's cookin'!" The alien girl told Roy with the same cheerful demeanor as always. However, she then noticed a group of patties that were different than the other ones, a strange object previously unknown to her that was referred to as a 'veggie burger'. Though she didn't know what it was, the smell gave her a powerful hint, and she frowned slightly. "What's that?" She asked, pointing at one of the patties, her voice surprisingly serious.

[Charmera]

---

---

Cassandra suddenly approached the two girls with two glasses of a drink, which she held in a small tray. The others were placed next to the barbecue on a table made from Cassandra's matter transmutation, changing the sand to metal.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but I brought some refreshments. Would either of you like some?" Asked the android butler.

She then listened to whether or not they would take the drinks. After which she did not simply leave as one might expect an android butler like her to do. She quite unexpectandly turned to Frost Bite.

"I am designed, programmed and solely dedicated to the preservation and service of human life, Miss Frostbite." Spoke the butler. Her tone seemed to leave her monotone and now had what might be emotion. A deadly seriousness. She did not seem to possess the tact to speak to Frostbite privately about this, or perhaps she felt it urgent enough to dispense with courtesy. "I mean no offense when I say this, but you are not similarly bound if my files are accurate. Your methods have been known to be extreme. You have been known to hurt others on repeated occasions. I do not trust you for that reason."

"You have, however, mostly hurt dangerous individuals. That is likely why Roy and Naja see you as a good addition to the team. I have been told to have faith in you." She added. "I do not operate on faith. I operate on reason. It is my job to find potential threats to the wellbeing of those under my care. You currently fall under that catagory."

"So, I need a reason to trust you. Can you give me one?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Alexis was more than happy to take one of the glasses offered on the tray, which contained some orange soda that she gladly sipped through a straw as she watched the interaction between CASSANDRA and Frostbite take place. While she could understand the robot butler girl's suspicions, approaching her and talking to her about it like that struck her as a tad much, especially when she had just been trying to get her to come out of her shell. Thus, trying to think of a good way to diffuse the tension in the air a little bit, she did the only thing that occurred to her.

She shot CASSANDRA in the face.

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

Red noted ever single movement by Wyatt, observing the pure power and speed with which he'd launched upwards to hit the ball. Had he managed to hit the ball, Red would've honestly been impressed by the whole thing. However, the previously mentioned missed was so ridiculous to see that Red couldn't help but put a grin on his face.

However, this grin was shortly wiped away, as Casimir managed to make a miraculous save and launch the volleyball right at the middle of Red and Carter's position. Quickly, Red thought of the best way to respond.

"I've got it! Get ready to spike the damn thing!"

Bending at the knees, Red put his hands together and placed his arms exactly where they'd need to be based on the ball's current trajectory. The ball had came in fairly light, so Red made sure to give an extra push with his arms as he launched the ball straight up into the air in front of Carter, perfectly in position for a massive spike.

[Andsed]

Garret Opal

Garret was crouching on a small building overlooking a small alleyway. You see a few days ago he had dealt with a couple of robbers and before had confronted them he heard one of them mention a drug deal. So he was now waiting for the drug deal to go down to intervene.

Now during long waits like this he liked to kind of reflect on his life and current events. He was currently thinking about everything he was doing as the Emerald Titan went behind his adopted family,s back. I mean he was a 17 year old going around fighting armed criminals without his family knowing. I mean at least they don,t suspect anything yet Garret thought. He had done well at making everyone think he was just a normal human so he had that going for me Garret figured.

But another thought occurred to Garret the whole reason he was hiding his powers was because he thought the Dalphs would dislike him since they were not a fan of super powered people. But they let him go to Thomsen High a school that is known for having some super powered students. But before he could further this line of thought he saw the men arrive to the alley way.


There were five men in total. They were all wearing hoodies of course. They talked for a minute before one pulled a bag of crack. That was the drug dealer he guessed the men behind were his body guards seeing as they both had guns. The other two men he figured were some addicted men that came to get their fix.

He quickly dropped down using a gust of air to help slow down his descent and he smacked the bag out of the dealers hand. The dealer drew a knife and attempted to stab him but Garret sidestepped and grabbed the mans arm and punched him and the gut then using his super strength to throw him into a wall knocking him out.

The body guards drawled their guns and got ready to fire but Garret threw two small blast of water at them make them drop the guns. He then threw a blast of fire to scare them and then rushed one punching him in the face knocking him out. He then turned around and made a small little wall of rock to block a knife on of the men threw at him. He then using air to throw him self through the air kicked the man in the gut before then punching him knocking him out as well.

Now with the men knocked out Garret used some rock to make makeshift handcuffs that would hold them if they woke up but it would not take cops long to break it when they found them.

He then turned to the addicted men who were trying to hide and said

"I am not going to hurt you. Here,s what you are going to do you are going to get help for that drug addiction. Go to your friends, hospital, etc and get help understand?"

The men nodded and ran off. Sighing Garret called the police to the location to arrest them then used a bit of air to get back on top of one of the buildings and decided he would continue to patrol for a few more hours and if nothing major happened he would go home.

[Tomia]

Angelica pondered Alexis' response more thoughtfully then usual. "Making friends has never been a strong suit of mine. It always goes wrong. I'm here on this team because I have to be. I don't want to get involved in drama or mess ups if I don't have to." She said firmly, but then hesitated. "You're different though, I've had a hard time reading what kind of person you are, you're not the hero type I'm used to meeting." Angelica meant this as a compliment, but wasn't exactly a master wordsmith.

Then Cassandra approached Angelica, telling her matter of fact like that she didn't trust her, and asked for a reason to trust her. Frost Bite watched as Alexis sprayed Roy's robot companion in the face with water. Then Angelica let out a quite and very rare laugh. It was soft and surprisingly pleasant sounding. She stiffened as she realized she had just done that, she mentally cursed herself but didn't dare react outwardly to it. Instead she went on responding to Cass' question. "I don't need you to trust me. As far as I'm concerned most hero's don't deserve trust, and you certainly shouldn't think that they do just because they don't use force. If you want a reason to trust me, how about this, most heroes are greedy, egotistically children with powers, I'm not. I'm here because I want bad people to get what they deserve and this team is the only way I'm allowed to make that happen. I'm not a threat to the people on this team, not as long as they don't prove themselves to be bad people. I'm good at my job, and right now part of my job is protecting these people. That's why you should trust me."

Meanwhile Roy was a bit confused at Kiris' question and tone. "Uh, they're veggie burgers. They're burgers made of vegetables." He said to her, wondering why she sounded fairly hostile towards the concept. He then handed her one of a plate had held a bun and one of the regular burgers that he had cooked.

[Anxiety Cafe]

On Wonder Island

Mike stayed silent for a moment, concentrating on whatever he was doing. He then explained what exactly he was doing, and how his power related to it. Nathan, relieved he hadn't tried to pry further into his past, simply nodded. He was mesmerized by the rock, watching in curious awe as the dull brown was interrupted by streaks of orange. The orange "cracks", as they looked like, spread, covering the entire rock. Mike's arm was shaking with effort, his eyes unfocused.

Mike looked up with worry in his eyes suddenly, tossing the rock to Nathan. He barely caught it, not expecting the sudden change in events. The rock was pulsating orange, a slight glow attempting to compete with the sun's light. Woah," Nathan thought, sensing the abundant energy in the tiny object. He briefly wondered whether he could absorb the energy before it exploded, not hearing Mike's warnings.

Nathan quickly yelled at his teammate to walk back, knowing there was way too much energy in the rock for things to end well. He happily did, not needing much convincing. Just before exploding, Nathan threw the rock down on the ground in front of him, arms outstretched to absorb as much kinetic energy as possible before the shards hurt someone.

The concussive force of the blast surprised them both, as they tumbled to the ground. At the same instant half a dozen shards of rock shot in different directions. Nathan absorbed the kinetic energy of the shards, feeling it trickle in. The shards closer to him slowed, then dropped to the ground with a dangerous crash. One shard, however, flew towards the party. Nathan pumped energy into his legs and jumped towards it, catching it and crashing to the ground near Mike. He had poured all the energy he had gotten from the explosion into that jump.

Panting on the ground, Nathan smiled with glee. "That...was awesome!"

---

San Diego Docks

Violet rolled her eyes at the dramatic man's spiel, cancelling gravity around him with an outstretched arm.

"Listen, buddy. Be all mad if you want, but I need to know you won't pull shit like this again. The first step towards that is finding out who you are. Now please answer the question," she said to his floating body.

[Segral]

Carter Graystone

Carter was tense and ready. He was glad to have Red as a partner, as he was one of the only people here he had actually teamed up with, even if that teamwork was to stop a shitshow of metahuman inmates. What can you do?

Red launched a perfect serve towards Casimir and Wyatt, beautifully arcing over the net. Wyatt flew up to hit it, and...spectacularly missed. Carter couldn't help but snigger as the ball flew right past Wyatt, and Wyatt's downright goofy expression after. Casimir managed to pull off some kind of Matrix save and knock the ball back over the net.

Soon, however, Carter's attention was distracted by Alexis, Frost Bite, and Cassandra. Cass seemed to be a little pissed or something at Frost Bite, and looked as if she was chewing Frost Bite out. However, Carter was both humored and impressed when Alexis lifted up a Super Soaker, and shot Cassandra in the face with it. Carter giggled slightly. You could never tell what shit these guys were gonna get up to.

However, Red brought him back to reality as Carter noticed the ball falling down right in front of him, while he had been distracted. "Shit!" he yelped. He had promised himself to play a fair game and not use his powers a whole ton, but now, he would have to bend his own rule a bit.

Using a blast of air right under his feet, he pushed himself straight up so that he was high up and perfectly in line for a spike, before slamming the ball with as much force as he could, plus an extra blast of air, straight down to the two of them. "BEAT IT BITCHES!" he yelled before dropping back to the ground...and twisting his ankle. He stumbled back slightly, trying to maintain balance. His ankle was a bit sore, but he wasn't gonna let it get in his way.

[Absolon-7]

Celebrating his save would have to wait, however, as Carter managed to spike the ball from a great height. The ball plunged straight down following a great burst of wind originating from Carter. Did he just use his powers? If that's we're gonna do it then... wondered Casimir formulating his strategy for the following seconds.

Aiming his open palm, Casimir swung his arm with the sheer force of it being fast enough to form its own small guts of air but it definitely was not at Carter's level. Unfortunately, his palm made an uneven impact on the ball and instead of going up, it swerved sharply to the right hitting the rightmost center edge of the net. It viciously hit the metal pole causing it to ricochet across the net, its structure bulging severely from the other side. The ball spun violently in place before making the net bend enough to send it flying straight into Casimir.

The ball hit him square in the face, his body spinning a full three-sixty before dropping to the ground with a soft thud. As for the ball, most of the kinetic energy had transferred into Casimir's forehead so it gently hopped from his face to around a human's arm length away midair in front of Wyatt.

[Auropa]

Mike Mathews
Wonder Island
Quite a few thoughts went through Mike’s mind as the concussive force knocked him to the ground. Worry for his teammate, pangs of guilt, and ‘oh no, not again’. The moment he slammed into the sandy ground, he forced his body into overdrive, ready to throw himself back up and help anyone he might’ve hurt. Yet as he turned around he met an unexpected sight. Specifically, Nathan flying through the air as he made what may have been the most majestic catch Mike had ever seen, before landing back on the beach with a solid ‘thump’.
For a moment they just stared in silence.

"That...was awesome!" Nathan called out between his breaths.
At which point Mike burst out into laughter. The reality of what just happened, the loss of all his worry and the image of Nathan flying through the air hitting him all at once. “Holy crap! I can’t believe that worked.”
As Mike picked himself up off the floor and tried to force some air into lungs, he looked back to the rock’s last location only to lose it again. “Wwe, we made a crater!” he managed to say between breaths.

After a few ragged coughs, Mike straightened himself and finally began to get his breathing under control. “You think anyone noticed?” he said with a grin still plastered on his face, “Come on, I think its time for food.” he added as he began making his way past Nathan and back towards the central group.
“Is that Casamir?” he muttered as a corpse-like figure lying in the sand came into view.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Still staring intently at the patty that was made of vegetables instead of delicious meat, the alien girl turned her head to look at Roy when the situation was explained to her, a disappointed expression appearing on her face. "...I reckon that's one of the silliest things I've heard. Humans just keep surprisin' me." She said quietly as she turned back to look at the veggie burger, shaking her head. However, all of her apparent gloom disappeared and was replaced by her usual upbeat demeanor the instant Roy handed her a regular, honest, meaty burger. Eagerly, Kirisvala grabbed the plate with one claw, taking care not to scratch it much, and placed her soda on a nearby table before lifting the burger with the other, baring her fangs for a moment before taking a good bite out of it.

"Mmf! Delishus!" She exclaimed, half-chewed patty and bun still on her mouth. With little regard for her poor table manners, she swallowed and took another big bite, before opting to take it slower and leisurely enjoy the rest; she couldn't tell if there would be enough for everyone if she got greedy, after all. "These are really good, Roy! Makes me wonder even more why someone would want veggies instead." She said with a chuckle before placing her plate on the table and taking a sip of soda instead.

As she drank, she looked around a little, wanting to see what the others were up to. Naturally, the first thing that caught her eye was the small beach volleyball game that Red, Carter, Wyatt and Casimir were playing. It seemed that they were having quite a bit of fun, which was nice, but more importantly, the way the court was set up reminded her of a similar sport she played on her planet. A more violent one.

"Oh, I know that game!" She said excitedly as she pointed at the volleyball match. Observing for another moment, her erroneous suspicions were 'confirmed' by the sight of Carter whacking Casimir right in the face with the ball. "Good job! Now just get Wyatt!" She cheered him on.

---

---

As he was leaving the bothersome aspiring superheroine behind, Icarus suddenly felt his body begin floating instead of obeying his will. Surprised, he tried to turn around, having some success in doing so in a slow and very limited manner. Clearly, it was the brunette's doing, and since he still had some form of freedom of movement, she wasn't just lifting him with something like telekinesis, which gave him a good clue as to the nature of her power. Hearing out the words with which she addressed him, the young man frowned, already planning how to get out of that bind.

"I told you I have no intention of telling you my name." He told her, pausing to move some of his now floating blond hair out of his face. "Stop insisting."

He was not close enough to the streetlight to draw energy from it now, but he had a backup plan. Drawing electricity from an unknown source, he attempted to flip so that he was positioned more or less parallel to the ground, and then created a thin platform right next to his feet, using it to propel himself out of the gravity-cancelling area and landing right next to the girl. He grabbed the outstretched arm and looked her in the eye.

"I'm not one to threaten people who have done nothing wrong, but if you keep at it, I'll have no choice but to do something." He said sternly.

[The Republic of Atria]

Wyatt felt his stomach drop as he missed the volley ball and hit the sand with a messy thud. Thankfully Casamir was much better than he was and managed to hit the ball back over the net. Casamir didn't seem too angry about it, and even offered some advice. "Thank you. I'll try that next time. I've never played before." He admitted and jumped back to his feet just in time for the other team to hit it back with he swore was with use of powers. As much as he wanted to use his powers in response, they tended to do whatever they wanted rather than what he wanted. He thought about diving towards the ball, but Casamir seemed to have it under control. At least until it smacked him in the face.

Physically fit Wyatt was, coordinated he was not. In a moment of panic he swung at the ball, and it was just out of his reach, however his powers decided that he was in danger for some reason and flared up in response. Wyatt couldn't push it back down in the split second he had to react, and instead, shot a small glowing blade through the ball, popping it, with the red blade traveling into the sky about a hundred meters before exploding.

"...Ooops. Remember when I said I don't exactly have much control of my powers?"

[Indo-pasif archipelago]

I looked at Kiris curiously when she seemed to be dumbfounded by the existence of veggie burgers. I guessed there aren't a lot of plant eating alien out there. After I saw how she devoured that patty Roy gave her, I would not mistake her for vegan. "A meat lover, aren't you Kiris," I teased her. "Do you only eat meat or is it a personal case with the veggie patties?" I shoved the cooked köfte and green peppers to a plate before put more of them on file of the grill.

"I think we got enough to start eating. It also looks like the volleyball match is over." I gestured at the trashed ball. "So, anyone wants to try the peppers?" I offered my plate to the group around the grill.

[Anxiety Cafe]

On San Diego Docks

To her surprise, the man somehow wound up right next to her, clutching her arm tightly. She involuntarily flinched, grabbing her arm and tripping over herself. Disgusted with herself, she propped herself up and quickly brushed the dirt off her outfit.

"I'm not one to threaten people who have done nothing wrong, but if you keep at it, I'll have no choice but to do something," he said condescendingly, as if she were a child.

Fuming, she almost punched him. But she knew at least a little better than that. The man seemed dangerous, a vigilante more than superhero. And she had finally recognized him from the news; he was Blackout, one of the most brutal "good guys" there was. She wasn't going to fight him.

She turned around to walk away, wanting to find better things to spend her time on. She paused as she got to the crates where she had originally witnessed him brutalizing the dealers.

"If I ever see you doing some shit like this again," she said, turning around partially. "You'll end up in prison with the rest of them."

---

On Wonder Island

Shortly after Nathan had whooped out in joy, Mike had burst out in euphoric laughs, hands on his knees. Nathan couldn't help but laugh as well, falling down every time he tried to pick himself up. If Nathan hadn't spent so much energy on that jump, who knows how much energy he could've had. Thinking back to that moment right before the explanation, when he could feel all the energy pent up in the rock. He told himself to ask Mike if they could try again later, so he could see if he could absorb that energy without the messy explosion.

For the moment, he followed Mike towards the irresistible smell of sizzling burgers.

---

On Tolaer

It wasn't long before the two had made it to the university of the city, on its farthest outskirts, the forest bordering just beyond. The woman explained that it was to allow the woodland creatures to access the library easily, somehow talking incessantly between greeting almost every single person they passed with a cheerful "Hello!".

Yierneg's patience waned throughout the walk, as she stopped to converse with what seemed like every single inhabitant of the island. Once they finally got to the library, which was so close to the forest it was basically surrounded by the trees, he had been snorting every two seconds to keep her from talking. She seemed to get the message, smiling every time he did, only to ignore it completely and continue on with her conversations.

She held open the door for him, smiling brightly and mumbling some form of good-bye before leaving back towards the way they had come, not conversing with anyone. Sighing, Yierneg walked in, expecting the worst. Instead, he saw a mansion-like inside, the room he was in at least three times as big as the outside of the building was. Every inch of the three story all wall was covered with bookshelves, except for doorways, which all led to different wings. Some were for spell-casting, others for silent reading. Around the giant room he was in was an assortment of tables and chairs, people and creatures alike reading and murmuring to each other. Some stared as he looked around, offering sympathetic smiles and smirks at his awe of the place. His hoofs thudded against the thick teal carpet as he walked for a large desk, where a librarian of sorts ignored two gigantic computer monitors in favor of some spellbook.

"Hello," he said, still dumbfounded over the library. "I need spellbooks."

She looked up from her book, obviously annoyed at the interruption, before putting a bookmark in and slowly closing it, sighing loudly.

"Well hon, I can't help you if you don't give me more information."

Yierneg stared at her in response, until she dramatically sighed once again, standing up and scrutinizing him. She said some strange words, probably some sort of spell, and he flinched, stepping back.

"Ah!" she said happily. "That dimension! We don't have much from there..."

She opened a drawer from her desk, pulling out a round clay ball and holding out to him. He took it dubiously, surprised to find it weighing at least a solid ten pounds. Without even meaning too he threw it up. She nodded her head happily, so he must've been doing something right. The ball stayed in the air far longer than it should've, then shot through the air and through a doorway at the other end, leaving an orange glowing trail behind it.

Without a word he followed it, going through doorway after doorway and entering deeper and deeper into the library. The orange trail ended abruptly, in a room just as large as the one he had first entered. It was at the top shelf, bumping into a book repeatedly. Yierneg stretched his wings and pushed up, grabbing the book and the ball in one swoop. The title was in a strange language, although he recognized enough of it to know it was an ancient Loshiak book. He sat down on the ground right next to the bookshelf, and started to read.

[New Neros]

Mustafa Gaul
El Paso, Texas

The heat of the summer tended to be tolerable in the west side of the city, where the Mesilla Valley begins and the mountains shield the populace from the scorching temperatures of the Chihuahuan Desert. Gaul found himself here, dressed in a casual white t-shirt and loose fitting pants, specifically because of reports of increased drug and superhuman trafficking. Rather than be a force to solve the problem, he intended to make the heroes and heroines present in the city feel a sense of fear and uncertainty, knowing that he alone held the power to make them yield. Gaul could not see past his own mind or the bigger picture, he only cared about his own reality and sense of righteousness. Sitting alone, casually on a bench, he began to see an incident take shape.

A crowded open-market made for a prime spot to find superheroes in action, as it took less than three hours for not just one to show up, but an entire team. It seems like someone triggered an alarm, and a group responded. Dressed in obvious heroic attire, the leader of the heroes spoke harsh and with vigor, letting all around know that he was in charge. "You can't hide in the civilians, Norte. We've been tracking you since you crossed the border, and we will not allow you to take another victim, either here or back in Mexico."

Met with sinister laughter, an innocuous bystander stepped forward, dressed in casual business attire, he seemed normal enough. However, the made ripped his face off, and revealed it to be a well-made replica, and underneath was a heavily tattoo'd Latino man. "You sure did pick a terrible place to confront me, Red Rider." The villain inhaled sharply and flexed, ripping apart his suit and showcasing his immense, inhuman muscle mass. With a quick motion, the villain, Norte, grabbed a woman by the neck. "Now then, I seem to have a bargaining chip."

"Nice going, Rider." One of the heroes stated bluntly.

"It was either confront him now or wait until he finds a victim, and I'm not going to let that happen again." Rider said, leaping into action against Norte, using his impressive speed and agility to close whatever distance laid between them, and delivered a solid kick to the meathead's jaw. The hit was so hard that it caused Norte to loosen his grip on the woman's throat, the girl collapsing onto the pavement and struggling to catch her breath. Norte was quick to react, though, and punched Red Rider square in the chest, sending him flying far from the plaza. Right on schedule, two of Red Riders' allies stepped forth to fight the bruiser, while a third tended to the woman.

"Blue Bandit and Green Goon," Norte said sarcastically, "Can you not pick better names, one without the color gimmick?"

"We don't need gimmicks to kick your ass." Blue Bandit said, raising a cold steel revolver at the villain, "All I need is a well-placed shot."

"Right." Norte said, charging straight for Blue, "I won't give you that opportunity." Before he could even make it half way to Bandit, the Goon made his move, and quickly increased the size of his body to be an even match for Norte, stopping his tackle and locking him into a pushing match. The two were dead even in strength, Norte giving out actual effort to move the shape-changer, but finding himself unable to. To overcome the villain, Green increased his size once more, and began to dig Norte's heels into the concrete. "Heh..." Norte said through a heavily exhaled breath, "Thanks for covering me from Blue until Red got back." Like a trained professional, Norte side-stepped and dropped his center of gravity, releasing his hold of Green Goon and re-positioning it on his shoulders, directing the massive hero into his leader, who was in mid-jump, ready to launch a surprise attack on Norte.

Green Goon crushed Rider beneath him before size-changing smaller, Red Rider clutching his rib cage and sharply drawing short breaths. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Green said frantically, Rider holding up a hand to calm him down. "I'll get Pink Punk, hang on." Green Goon jumped up and changed into a larger version of himself, easily picking up Rider and stepping over Norte and Bandit, gently placing Red in front of the group's healer, Pink. "Rider's hurt, and Bandit's in trouble. Orange Ogre is helping, but he won't last long." Goon said quickly, glancing over to see his orange-clad comrade duking it out, punch for punch, with Norte, while Blue Bandit picks off shots at the villain. Ogre was large, almost as large as Norte, but he was fatter and slower, just as strong, but not enough agility to keep up. Pink began to heal Rider, who desperately looked on at the fight, itching to get back in the action and help his fellow heroes.

"You know," A voice suddenly announced behind the trio, each one quickly taking their eyes off the fight and placing them on the stranger, "I don't think five on one is such a fair fight."

There was a moment of silence briefly, before Red Rider spat at the man, "You need to get out of here, this is a dangerous situation, we don't need any civilian casualties on our watch."

"Funny," The man replied, "You aren't ordering away the others who just want to get a good video of the smack down. I wonder if your blue friend is having fun shooting at an unarmed man."

"Guy," The Green Goon snapped, "That unarmed man can put me and you through a brick-frickin'-wall in less than a second. Getting shot is the least of his worries. Those people recording... They're idiots anyways, they should have took off with the rest of the crowd."

"I'm just saying, this doesn't seem fair or right."

Pink interjected at this point, "He's a villain, and we're heroes. This is more than fair and we're in the right. You need to leave, now."

"No." The man said, "I'm not going anywhere."

"How about I make you go somewhere?" The Green Goon said, growing in size, enough to tower over the man, "Just who do you think you are anyways, telling us about right and wrong?"

"I am Mustafa Gaul." The stranger said, slamming his fist hard into the Green Goon's stomach, sending him flying toward the battle with Norte. "And I'm putting an end to this concerted theatrics you've got going on." Without waiting for Goon to rise from his spot, Gaul ran and delivered a devastating side kick to his head, planting it firmly against the sidewalk and sending cracks across the pavement. The sound caught the attention of Ogre and Bandit, who took their eyes off Norte for a brief second, just enough time for the villain to get Orange into a vicious headlock. Blue Bandit turned his gun towards Gaul for a moment before training it back on Norte, who wisely placed Ogre's body in front of his own to cover any stray shots.

"Seems like I have a friend waiting on me on the sidelines, how about that." Norte taunted, "Let's see just how powerful my friend here is." The Latino gangster twisted and threw Orange at Bandit to cause a distraction, fleeing in the opposite direction, Gaul following close behind. "You got me out of that jam, kid, what's your -" As Norte spoke, Gaul caught up to him, and stomped hard on the behemoths' knee cap, snapping inwards. "WHAT IN THE -" He said, instinctively slamming his fist into Gaul's still moving body, sending it flying several yards at high speed into a building, breaking through the wall in a brutal manner. "That fucking punk was trying to take the credit from the Rainbow Warriors..." He muttered, kneeling down to feel his shattered knee, glancing up to see Blue Bandit and Orange Ogre approaching casually.

"We won't be interrupted again." Blue Bandit said coldly, aiming his pistol at Norte's head as the giant crouched down. "Give it up, I don't want to be one of those heroes who goes too far." Norte stared hard and long at the hero, and glanced at Ogre as well, who cracked his knuckles and was ready to go another round. He gave the duo a smirk.

"I hit that last kid with damn near everything I had, and I can't do much with this bum leg now. I guess my luck ran out." As the villain seemed defeated, the onlookers moved in closer with cameras and phones, intent on capturing the moment the Rainbow Warriors take in Norte, some having caught the entire fight on film. Bandit kept his gun trained on Norte, but grew wide-eyed suddenly, and whipped his head around to look behind him. Time seemed to slow for a moment as Blue Bandit watched Gaul approach with inhuman speed, clothes ripped to shreds, body bruised and busted up from his last hit. Bandit moved his gun off of Norte and swung towards Gaul, but was attacked from behind.

Using what little strength he had left, Norte lunged at Bandit and rammed the back of the hero as hard as he could. Gaul changed target mid-blitz, crashing the heel of his foot into the back of Orange Ogre's head, carrying it all the way down onto the cement, which immediately cracked and cratered, and began to fill with blood. Jumping off of the fat hero, Gaul looked back at Norte holding Bandit in a bear hug on the ground, squeezing him as hard as possible, cracking several bones and ribs in the process as the blue hero screamed out in pain. "Perfect timing, kid, we make a great team." Gaul walked over to Norte's huge form and did not hesitate, plunging a vicious strike directly on the base of the villain's head and spine, severing it with a loud SNAP.

As Bandit lay in permanent disfigurement, Ogre generally lifeless, and Norte no more, Gaul turned his eyes to Red Rider, Green Goon, and Pink Punk, all of whom held wide eyes of both terror and astonishment. Pink was now healing Goon, though, with Rider crouched beside her. "He's spotted us." He stated, "I need you to take Goon out of here when he's good enough to walk, understand? We need to call in for more support, Norte thrashed us and now this psycho is out to straight kill us." Red Rider stood up and stared down Gaul, clenching his fists and assuming a fighting stance. "Gaul, was it? Well, this goes beyond villainy, seeing what you did to Ogre and even Norte was too far. I won't hold back, not for a single second. Let's go."

Red Rider charged at Gaul, with Gaul walking towards Red with his hands at his sides, harshly staring at the heroic leader. Red crashed into Gaul with a hard fist, clocking his head and sending him stumbling back, the intense strength and speed of the hit surprising the martial artist, enough that he did not counter the blow. Rider kicked Gaul's midsection with wall-breaking force, snapping Gaul back to reality. The anti-hero threw a quick strike to Red Rider's head, dazing him for a split second, with a follow-up palm thrust into his chest, which sent him straight backwards and closer to Green Good and Pink. Realizing that he was thrown close to his allies, Red Rider wasted no time in getting back to his feet and charging at Gaul, wrapping his arms around the man's midsection and pushing off the ground with all of his might. Gaul responded with a well-placed knee to Rider's chin, and a straight downward punch to his head, causing Rider's dome to bounce off the pavement in a grotesque fashion. He laid there for a moment, shaking, struggling to rise up. "Tell me," Gaul said in a clear, almost demonic voice. "What do you feel right now?"

"W-what?!" Rider spat, blood surging from his mouth as his injuries started to mount.

Gaul began walking towards Goon and Pink, still talking at Red Rider. "Do you feel a sense of fear, not for your own life but for the lives of your allies? Or is it rage, anger that you've met a wall you can't overcome. I don't know what you're feeling, but I can tell you from personal experience. That rage, that white-hot anger, is what the strongest of warriors are forged with. That rage will let you get back up. Just decide to not lose." As Pink reached for her side arm, staring intently at Gaul approaching, Goon pried his eyes open. Ignoring whatever injuries he still had left, Green grew into a monstrous size, taking up half of the shopping plaza, Gaul stepping back in shock. He slammed his hand, which was large enough to pick up one or two cars with, directly onto Gaul, ripping up chunks of cement with the shockwave alone.

Deep and thunderous due to his size, Goon bellowed, "How's this..." He said, breathing sharply, "For a fair fight..." Goon laid his hand there for a moment, wanting to keep Gaul pinned down, but a thought crossed his mind, what if this attack was too much? What if Goon had really killed him? As he sat with those thoughts, afraid to lift up his gigantic hand and see the blood splatter and know he was a killer, Goon's hand began to shake. In titanic fashion, a herculean feat of insurmountable strength, Gaul braced his feet firmly on the ground and held his back and hands on Green Goon's palm, and pushed the size-changers hand up off the pavement. Gaul was screaming as his muscles were clearly pushing past their limit, blood was pouring from his entire body from scratches and blunt force wounds, and yet he did not once think about fleeing. To him, it was simple, victory is the only way forward. There is no need to overcome walls when you can keep punching through them, even if you tear yourself apart in the process.

Green Goon's shocked expression and lack of proper reaction was all Gaul needed to free himself fully from the hand, gaining some distance between him and the giant version of the hero. Starting at the end of the plaza, Gaul lowered himself nearly to the ground, supporting himself with one hand in addition to his feet, a his position reminiscent of a rabid animal. Faster than Green Goon could even see, much less react to, Gaul surged forward like a bullet, leaping up in the air and positioning his two feet to slam directly into the nose of Green Goon at subsonic speeds. The hit was brutal and quick, breaking apart Goon's face and sending him falling backwards into the buildings behind him. As he lay unconscious, he shrunk back down to normal size.

Gaul landed gracefully near the destroyed shopping center, his clothing barely covering his manly bits and several gaping wounds trickling blood down his toned physique. One member remained, Pink Punk, and Gaul turned his attention to her. The girl was young, Gaul would guess that she was still in high school, and fear was written all over her. She seemed different than the others, away from the action as the team's healer, but such a position was still unfair, even in the fights Gaul had. Without her, he would have been finished after blitzing Orange Ogre. But, looking at his own wounds, Gaul saw use in her for now. He walked closer, bluntly calling out to her. "You and me. Never thought you'd see your friends defeated, did you? Do not be afraid for now, because right now I want you to heal me. Come with me and heal my wounds, and then I'll let you go."

Pink was about to speak out, when Gaul was grabbed from behind by Red Rider, who latched onto Gaul's neck in a tight chokehold. "She's not going anywhere, you fuckin' psychopath. I'll die before you get to her. Pink! Run! Leave!" Gaul looked indifferent as Rider tried to sink in on his choke, but the immense damage Gaul has suffered has put him in a higher tier of physical power. Gaul reached back and grabbed Red Rider by skull, leaned forward, and flipped him hard onto the concrete, cracking it all directions as Rider's backbone was surely reduced to dust. He groaned slightly, eyes glazed over and staring straight forward. Gaul lifted his foot over the leaders' face, and was prepared to finish the deed.

"Wait!" Punk cried out, "Please, I'll go, just leave him alone, please. I'll heal you, don't do it, please."

Gaul looked directly at Red Rider, and moved his foot away. "His injuries may be fatal, you may have prolonged his suffering." He said callously, walking close to Pink, sizing her up. Gaul stood over six feet tall, while Punk was only around five foot four, even without his powers, he'd easily intimidate anyone he'd come across. "But, I suppose you're hoping that there is an off chance that he survives. That's fine, I won't leave you with the finality." Gaul placed his hand on her shoulder softly, ensuring he didn't accidentally crush it or break it. "Now then, it's time for us to go, the heroes have been dealt their lesson." He said, turning Punk around, and leading her out of the shopping plaza, leaving the chaotic scene as police sirens sounded in the distance.