Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Auropa]

Whole lotta people in the infirmary

Mike Mathews
Wonder Tower Infirmary, August 4th

“Hold up.” Mike said as he moved forward to grab Casimir’s shoulder and stop him from undoing the still mysterious Blackout's straps.
“One arm only.” He said with a quick gesture to the restraints still holding the other boy down. “And lets all make sure to keep sticking to code names, or at least for the people who don’t advertise themselves out there. I know he’s your friend an all but until we’re sure the Cabal aren’t still in his head somehow, then we can’t risk him going on another rampage, especially in the infirmary. Um, no offense Blackout, or do you prefer some other name?” he asked as a thought nagged at the back of his mind.
‘…Why does that name sound so familiar?’

“And, I know you’re still confused but like Bug Boy said, we need you to tell us everything that led up to the Cabal grabbing you as well as how they got you and what they did to you. Not to mention anything you know about them as a group. Locations, plans, members maybe even why they chose you as a target or if there’s anyone else in similar situation. We still don’t know what the Cabal’s main goal was and there might still be people in danger from them.” He knew it was a big ask, especially for someone who just woke up from a combo beat down, but if this guy really was in control of himself again, then they needed to get out every bit of information they could, and they needed to do it before the Cabal could start any failsafe or somehow retake control over him, not to mention there was a good chance the ’pro’ heroes would whisk him away as soon as they returned. As unfair as the situation might’ve been, in Mike’s eyes, they didn’t have time to be polite.

[Union Princes]

Mikaela Mynd

Getting questioned by what she meant made Mika's eyes narrow. By this point she was accustomed to getting what she request with a little prodding, but she couldn't just make this girl be compliant with everything. However, she still wanted to see if she could talk the red he'd into it.

"If you send a picture you'll see. Beyond the uh...project..." She stopped herself for a moment wondering if what she was about to do was wise. With a few seconds of thought, though, she reasoned that 1) the girls room may have her name somewhere, and 2) she could gain interest by demonstrating a piece of her power. "There's just something I wanted to show you. The only other person who knows about it is my mother. It'll be quick, I promise."

Fahcelkel

Color Arin confused. Is Mika talking about the project or is she wanting to meet up again? It feels like she is asking for two different things at once. But Mika does sound eager to meet with her again, especially iif he wants to meet up tonight.

As for the picture of her room, Arin wasn't sure what to include in the frame. Out of all the stuffed animals and pictures of Barney, Arin wan't sure if Mika was interested in them. But her curiosity got the better of her and Arin got off her bed to take a sweeping shot of her room with Barney still on her bed.

"I sent the picture to you." Arin said over the phone. "What do you need it for?"

[Tomia]

Angelica
Viv's laugh proved to be infectious and Angelica, couldn't help but smile a bit. Her bubbly personality was a nice change from the serious and posh heroes she was used to being around. "It's nice to hear you say that. So many heroes I've met in my life have gotten into it because of money, fame, or even just because it's fun. It's refreshing to be around people who actually want to help people for a change." She said, her expression and tone getting a bit bitter until she caught herself a few moments later. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dampen the mood. Anyway, I'm gonna go get myself cleaned up. It's been nice talking to you Viv." With that Angelica took a few steps towards the exit before stopping. She had already taken steps in terms of reaching out and being more friendly, however she felt the urge to take another big one.

"Uh, hey Viv?" She said, turning around and trying not to look nervous. "Maybe we should hangout sometime... You know... as a squad? I'd like that." She said, trying to force herself through the awkwardness.

Mars
Mars frowned a bit when Wyatt brought up Warwolf. After all the pain they caused, especially to Kiris. He couldn't say he would miss them. "I'm usually a turn the other check kind of guy, but I don't think I can ever forgive what they did. Targeting people because they are different than you just feels so... wrong. But you're right. I hope the government can seize their tech, and maybe put it to better use than Warwolf was. Who knows, maybe Wendy can learn a thing or two from the mech she took.

Captain Quake
When the building exploded, Quake's attention immediately turned from hunting down fleeing soldiers. "Damn it! These fucking amateurs are going to get people killed. Alright, everyone except mudslide and armorer with me. We're going in that building. You two keep fighting Warwolf, take out their armor so they don't blow up anymore buildings." He shouted before springing to action. "Red take super speed and check the entire building, no room gets left unchecked. Blue fly up and get the high priorities. Star you're gonna blast any part of that roof that falls to bits." As the team went about executing those orders quake was running towards the building. Soon he started vibrating and jumped into the air, being propelled far farther than a normal jump would allow. He managed to reach the roof and say a young woman still remained however, as the roof became increasingly less stable.

"Stay there, I'm coming to you!" Quake called as he carefully maneuvered the burning floor. Just then a massive crack was heard and the floor gave out from under the civilian. As she screamed, she was suddenly grabbed out of mid air, Quake's hype extended fist clutching the back of her shirt. He carefully pulled her out.

"I got you." He told her calmly as he pulled her up and Blue arrived to bring her to the ground.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

August 4th

---

---

---

That doesn't look good. Douglas thought as he glanced in Sam's direction and then looked up at the apartment building that had caught on fire. Yeah, that definitely doesn't look good.

"You're thinking something painfully obvious, aren't you, archer guy?" Armorer thought as he fired off a bazooka at the armory - if he could collapse the entrance, then that meant no more pesky wolves crawling out of the woodwork with fancy weapons.

"That's Black Arrow, partner, but yes." The shadowy archer admitted as he removed his foot from the chained up Juggernaut lying on the ground next to him, clearly struggling against its restraints but unable to break free. "You know me so well and it's only the first date. I'm so moved!" He joked while carefully looking over the scene at the apartment block, seeing as the LA Stars focused on the fourth floor - though it was clear that the fire was beginning to spread to adjacent ones. Ignoring the strained eye roll that Armorer gave him, Douglas stepped away from the Juggernaut.

"Well, I'm gonna go see what I can do. You make sure this bad boy doesn't go anywhere, alright?" The bow-wielding superhero stated before raising an arm. Suddenly, a chain appeared from out of nowhere and yanked him off the ground in the direction of the apartment building.

"What?! What are you- Dammit!" Armorer barked as he quickly changed his bazooka to a chainsaw and set about crippling the Juggernaut before the chains around it wore off. Meanwhile, Black Arrow quickly reached the scene and surveyed the damage done. So far it was mostly the fourth floor that had suffered, but parts of the collapsing ceiling and the spreading fire had trapped two proud citizens of the United States in a room in the fifth floor: a young boy and his tabby cat.

This. This is the moment that defines my career.

Letting go of his chain, Douglas grossly miscalculated his landing and ended up with his torso smacking into the broken floor, knocking the wind out of him. "Shit!" He exclaimed as he threw the bow onto the floor and quickly scrambled up onto it before looking at the boy. "You did not hear that, alright? I don't want any troubles with your mother."

"I don't have a-" The boy said, but Douglas quickly raised a finger to his face.

"No time for that, kiddo. Grab the kitty and come here, we're getting you out of this mess." He ordered. Moments later they were swinging down towards the ground on a chain of dubious origins, both the boy and the cat holding onto Douglas for dear life. Suddenly, another section of the ceiling collapsed, which just so happened to allow the light of the fire to shine upon the corner where the chain had manifested, resulting in its destruction. Before he realized what was going on, Douglas lost his lifeline and began falling to the ground faster and faster.

It was only a couple stories down at this point, but still.

Shit shit shit I'm so glad this kid can't read thoughts. Douglas cursed in his mind as he did the first thing that popped into his mind to avoid taking too hard a blow upon landing: create a net of chains to cushion his fall, while using his own body to protect the kid and the cat.

He soon found out chains weren't great cushions, though he'd suspected as much already. Doing his best to hide the fact that he was in a world of hurt, he looked at the boy. "Fun ride, eh?"

The boy didn't say anything, though, and the cat quickly ran off, with the child chasing after while shouting "Potato!"

"Pfft. Sure, off you go. I bet if it was her, you'd be asking for an autograph!" He shouted at the kid after sitting up on his bed of chains, jabbing a thumb at the nearby Blue. He quickly turned to look at her afterwards. "No offense. I actually find you quite charming." He added.

---

---

---

"Sure thing." Alexis nodded at Aleta as the girl stalked off, before turning her attention back to her meal, biting into another taco. She savored the taste of the seasoned ground beef for a moment before turning her attention to another person who approached to talk to her, who turned out to be the very same boy she'd asked about a moment earlier.

"Hey." She replied to his greeting with a friendly smile before listening to him continue. As he introduced himself however, the name immediately rang a bell. It would've been terribly impolite to interrupt him, though, so she continued to listen as he related the story of how he ran into Roy's squad and fought the Cabal alongside them. We sure have a lot of luck randomly finding new recruits huh?

"Wait a sec, pal. You're Mark Nemo? The guy who disappeared last year?" She asked. "Talk about coincidences! I heard about you from some of the other students but I didn't think I'd end up meeting you here. Funny, we had another guy who disappeared join us, but he left a few days ago. Anyway... to answer your question, well, I was asked by the National Guard to save the mayor." She smiled slyly - it really did sound a lot more glamorous when spoken out loud. "Granted, I did get taken hostage and Warwolf's boss put a knife to my neck so... that wasn't fun. But we're all back in one piece and that's what matters right?" She said, half to reassure herself.

"So, do you plan to stick around, or is space more interesting than Wonder Island?" She asked the boy, grabbing another taco as she waited for an answer.

---

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---

Icarus didn't know what to make of the situation. The first to speak to him was a cheerful girl with purple hair, a bit younger than him and bearing a striking familiarity, though the blond boy couldn't quite put his finger on it; her smile did help him relax, but he still didn't appreciate being strapped down to a gurney. Fortunately, Casimir quickly set about to undoing the restraints, ignoring the explicit orders of a brown-haired boy who seemed to hold some sort of authority. And he mentioned the Cabal, too. They all did, and he didn't have the slightest idea why.

"...What are you all talking about?" He asked after Casimir was finished releasing his restraints, sitting up on the bed and taking a better look at his surroundings - he saw various people in the infirmary besides the group currently talking to him, some whom he recognized as Young Bloods, like the pink-haired girl on the next bed over, and some he hadn't seen before, like the black-haired girl currently conversing with the alien. "I don't know anything about the Cabal, I haven't seen them since they kicked Warwolf's ass at the docks." He said, glancing over at Casimir - he didn't know if the other two had been there that night, but he was certain that the bug hero was there.

"I... I can't remember what I was doing before..." The blond boy spoke, seemingly confused by his own lack of memory. "I... I think I was- the hell?" He slowly brought his hand to his head, only to freeze halfway through as he noticed the strange markings all over his arm, which pulsed with a soft purple glow. With his eyes, he traced the branching lines down his arm and quickly spotted the gaping hole in his chest, where the purple glow was the strongest. He visibly paled at the sight, clutching his chest and grimacing, not presently in pain, but clearly in remembrance of some past agony. "I was... out in the mountains. There was no Cabal anywhere, but... there was Warwolf, I was fighting them." He explained before suddenly pausing, mouth agape as if the next few words were difficult to say.

"Then... I was shot. I don't know what happened after that."

---

---

Kirisvala smiled with amusement as she watched Darklight's aborted gesture - she would've laughed if she wasn't currently in pain and still groggy from waking up. Instead, she listened to the black-haired girl explain that they returned to Wonder Tower after Nightshade defeated Hex. The thought gave her a little comfort and some measure of pride, as she had provided some help in Roy's fight, however minute.

As her fellow heroine welcomed her, the Hadrian girl beamed at her. It was true, wasn't it? This was her home now. It was a happy thought for her, and especially after the events of today, she was glad to be home. "Thank ya!" She replied cheerfully, then shook her head at Darklight's latter comment. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's not fair if I ruin their fun, they were out there fightin' the good fight too after all." She said sincerely, doing her best to ignore her headache.

"So who are ya guys? Ya kinda showed up out of nowhere. I'm sorry I couldn't say more when ya arrived, we were kinda busy with those bogans." She added, clearly referring to the Cabal.

[Finland SSR]

August 4th

---

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

August 4th

---

Ignoring Mike's orders, Casimir removed all the restraints on Icarus's body, and the vigilante started to explain himself. Perhaps this should have been expected from someone who had just gotten mind controlled, but he didn't really... reveal much. He didn't even know that the Cabal was in action today, stating that he had only heard of them during some fight in the San Diego Docks. The last thing he remembered was fighting Warwolf, before getting shot and losing consciousness.

That one required some investigation. Though Mizu remained fixed to her bed, her arm stretched out, reaching Icarus's naked torso and poking the vigilante's pecs and abs.

"Well you're clearly not a ghost, so there must have been some magic going on after that shot." Mizu stated, her arm retracting back to normal. "Actually... we can't say for sure that it was the Cabal who did this to you - but, it just so happens that on the same night when they suddenly make a move across the town, you show up clad in purple armor and start doing their bidding. So it was kind of an educated guess, I suppose."

[Solisian Union]

la reformación

Part 2 - Yasha, Catarina, and Mary

---

Disobedience. To Yasha, having to disobey sometimes comes at great costs to herself; to others; to the institutions she served, and to the one she is trying to help by breaking a rule or by disobeying an order. That happened before in the Philippines, when she was forced to ignore the screaming that came from her radio so that she could concentrate on saving a family that was trying to get out of the way during a prolonged firefight with the fucking NPA. For that error, she was not punished; instead, she was given praise by her commanding officer --- as soon as he calmed down from yelling in her face --- and by her men.

Right now, disobedience was a necessity; and right now, Mary spoke to her through the comm link.

The Director said to her: "Marksman, you are aware of what you are doing, correct?"

"Yes, Ma'am." The roaring of her bike was present all throughout the conversation. She was still heading towards Catarina's location. The American sighed.

Then she told her agent: "I'll make it clear to you: You are going to disobey my direct order to return to the headquarters, are you not?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Very well. But only once will I ever tolerate this from you. If you have given the Department of Defense a headache, I don't want to develop a bigger headache over you for this," she told the agent with a clear hint of angry but reasonable authority. "If that man eater is your friend, then I am giving you only this time to make it worth my putting my ass on the line for you. You are valuable, you have the potential that I need to develop, so make this a good one. This will be your mission; I will be supporting you."

"Thank you," she told her boss. The boss chuckled painfully, allowed some silence to return, then allowed her voice to return.

She said: "Be careful, Marksman. Bring her in safely."

"I will," Yasha said, "I will do my very best."

---

The director sighed after the connection with Yasha was temporarily terminated. It wasn't always the best thing for a director when an agent goes off like that; it's disrespectful to their authority, and it often leads to important missions being shut down before any more harm could come out of it. But the director, Mary in particular, trusted in Yasha.

And she had seen everything. The bugs in her room, the fiber optic cameras hidden in the ceiling and the corner of the walls, and the tiny trackers installed in Yasha's things helped her determine what she was doing, what really happened, and why she was doing this. And for a metahuman as dangerous but as useful as Catarina?

She read the files already. Catarina was a vigilante, and it wouldn't be easy handling a vigilante in order to release them so that if they are, indeed, a part of the Outrider group, then the DMI would be able to monitor their activities. The only problem with that method is that the group might figure it out and cast Catarina away; worse groups would have disappeared her or murdered her, leaving her body to rot on the hot streets of this city.

A voice broke the monotony of keyboards, cold calls, and printers. "I thought you'd give this one a hard time, Mary," her brother told her as he entered the temporary shelter for Mary's team. "I mean, she is a foreigner after all. You could easily cut her off or hand her back to the Philippines."

"Nah," said Mary as she leaned on her chair and glanced up at the monitor that showed to them where she was heading to. "She's a good girl; she will be useful to us as much as she will be troublesome. Maybe it's just in being Filipino. Maybe it's just me and my love for taking care of my agents, be they mischievous or not. Anyway," she nodded at the monitor as the blue marker that represented Yasha stopped moving. "Let's focus on her getting the target."

The brother gave a grunt as he sat by Mary's side. He tapped her shoulder with the back of her hand, Mary looked at him, and she saw that in his hand, he had Arby's Curly Fries. Mary stared at him for a good minute and then told him: "Are you fucking kidding me, that's not what I ordered, man."

Laughter. The man then told his sister: "Suck it up, sis."

"Fuck you."

---

The Filipino agent bit her lip as she kicked the bike's kickstand down and hopped off of it. She was looking down the alley that Catarina was supposed to be in, and she found nobody there. The ground, of course, was muddy and filthy. Warm air was flowing out of the alley towards Yasha, making her cringe a little until she put on a mask. The rank air no longer intruded into her nostrils, but it left a taste on her mouth that reminded her of bad places. And on her mind, she did want to get out of this place, but she had a job to do. Catarina was on her mind, and so was that angel that came into her room. And it made her wonder: Was there a demon out here too?

Yasha reported in before she did anything else. She told her director: "Marksman at the target's location. No sign of the target. I'm going to enter the alley that she was supposed to be in. I'm coming in armed. Permission to proceed?"

"You may proceed." Then the connection was cut short. The Filipino now pushed herself forward, leaving her bike behind as she moved out of the dim brightness of the street lights.

As she found herself in the alley, she made sure to scan the area before her. She looked left, then she looked right, then she stopped and turned around to see what was behind her. Rinse and repeat. She took slow steps, careful not to step on anything nasty.

She had equipped herself with the M11, and she left her other pistol in a holster that she attached to her right thigh. She kept her current weapon on safety and always kept her trigger finger off, the gun pointed forwards. One hand held the gun while another carried a small flashlight that guided her through the alley.

She continued to proceed until she found vomit. When she crouched down to look at it more carefully, she suddenly heard an increasingly loud shriek from behind. Yasha looked over her shoulder and found Catarina in the middle of pouncing at her.

Instantly, the Filipino dodged her, jumping out of the way into a puddle of filthy water. She growled at the mess as she tried to point her gun at the monster. Instead, she felt the gun being taken out of her fingers by virtue of Catarina's foot kicking it away. The Filipino now reached for her second gun while getting up. As the first gun clattered to the ground, the Colombian hissed and kicked the Filipino's legs from under her, forcing her to hit the ground again. This time, she fell flat on her left arm, shattering her wrist, causing her to cry loudly because of the pain.

At once, the cannibal pounced on her, pinning her prey down as Yasha finally freed her second gun and used the butt to great effect, smashing it in the small of her back, causing the offender to bend backwards and release the Filipino. Without a second to waste, the Filipino pushed her off, got up again, and swung the pistol at her face, making contact with her skull and causing some of Catarina's skin to tear. Blood stained her face. All that did was provoke a growl out of her throat.

The retaliation came in the form of Catarina embracing Yasha's right leg, tearing the holster off her pants, and biting deep into the Filipino's lower leg, again causing the Filipino to scream out loudly, right before the monster tore her mouth away from the Filipino's wound, deliberately pulling out a few muscles and flesh. The damaged leg twitched and trashed as Yasha fought back tears, took deep, rapid breaths, and aimed as much as she could despite the whiteness of the pain coming over her sight. She fired.

A round tore into Catarina's elbow, almost tearing off her forearm. It caused her to retreat but Yasha prevented her from doing so; she had wrapped her arms around Catarina's abdomen and pushed her down on the ground. Despite their injuries, the two women struggled against each other.

Punches were thrown. Kicks made contact. Biting and spitting, the two ladies hammered at each other's bodies while either Catarina or Yasha used their teeth and nails. Yasha, of course, suffered the most from this fight. Catarina had bitten her right hand, rendering it useless for shooting. She was forced, then, to use her left hand. Then her shoulder was bitten. She thought she could see bone sticking out, getting into her line of sight.

They continued to fight each other even as agents started pouring into the alley with flashlights, shouting as they approached the two ladies, keeping their distance as they found Catarina and Yasha bleeding and cursing in Spanish at each other, still hammering at each other until finally, Yasha ended the fight by breaking Catarina's hands and forcing her to stop moving and to stop fighting.

The agent found herself arresting Catarina, slapping handcuffs on her hands with her shaking left hand despite the staring that the rest of the agents around her committed themselves to. Some snapped out of it and focused on getting the area under control, on getting a route clear, and on guiding Mary towards their location.

When Mary got there, she found Yasha with a heaving chest as a bone stuck out of her shoulder, her leg bled, and her right hand almost destroyed. She had done well.

"Let's take it from here, fellas."

As soon as Mary turned her head away, she heard a thud. The kind of thud that bodies make. She looked at them again and found Yasha on top of Catarina. Both of them had lost consciousness from the intense fight they committed themselves to. At once, Mary shouted: "Let's get a medic! NOW!"

[Bentus]

Voice
Midtown, San Diego

---

As Steven planted the glass of mineral water on the table in front of her, Voice’s features twisted into a frown as she appraised the drink in distaste. Her old friend knew full well what type of drink she’d wanted - that ‘brilliant’ mind of his would have been able to figure it out in an instant. He could take his holier-than-thou high road where it was appreciated, as far as she was concerned. Whatever he thought was in her best interest be damned. But it was what he said next that really pushed her the wrong way. Looking up, Beverly offered the math teacher a scowl.

I always hated it when you did that, Steven. Is reducing peoples’ lives to calculations how you feel good about yourself these days? She stated bluntly, almost protectively. That girl’s entitled to her privacy at the very least, and you didn’t need to figure out her secrets to help her. There was venom in Voice’s mental tone, and a part of her knew that her scathing comments were unfounded. But she was frustrated, and tired, and in no mood to apologise. I’ll tell you what I know, but I need to know that you’re going to help me first.

---

Lisette
Midtown, San Diego

---

Rolling her eyes at Daniel’s defensive reply, Lisette wasn’t surprised to see the idiot stamping his foot at her accusations. Honestly, was anyone ever so childish? And yet apparently he thought that he could claim to be a hero, please. She nearly laughed when Daniel asked her what a hero was supposed to be like, the no-brainer question only confirming her opinion of her host. Everyone knew what really made a hero: bravery, selflessness, a heart of gold and...and other stuff too! The important thing was just that it was everything that Daniel was definitely not. However, before she had a chance to verbally berate the man, a sly smirk crept onto his features.

As a second Daniel split off from the first, Lisette’s jaw dropped. It seemed that the girl had finally been stunned into a shocked silence as she suddenly found herself staring not at one of the insufferable socialites, but two. It was like she was living in the midst of some kind of horrific nightmare. Clearly noticing that he had been able to strike a nerve, Daniel went on to pour salt in the wound by taking the high road by adopting a caring, paternal tone. Bristling at the unwanted attention, Lisette shot the man a scowl as she hissed under her breath.

“Hey, I’m not some kid you know!” She retorted. “I’m old enough to look after myself, and I definitely don’t need you of all people looking out for me. I bet you can’t even figure out how to get dressed in the morning.” Folding her arms across her chest, Lisette was fuming at the treatment, but she also knew that she was backed into a corner. She needed to get out of there in case the Outriders caught onto her again, and Daniel’s offer was her best chance. Ergh, but why did it have to be him? Swallowing her pride, the girl let out a resigned sigh. “Fine, just take me home already. This party was totally lame.”

---

The Amazing Ashen Moth!
Wonder Tower, San Diego

---

After the mission, Ash couldn’t help but feel buoyed by the team’s success. It had been a tough victory, but somehow that made it feel all the more satisfying. Fighting the Cabal alongside the rest of the Young Bloods, Ash finally felt like she had earned her place with them. She’d acted like a hero and had refused to allow her friends to stand alone, even though she was scared. A sheepish grin was etched onto her expression as she scoured the table for the meatiest tacos she could find, wasting no time in shovelling the rewards into her gullet to satiate her formidable appetite. It was nice to hear the background din of all the different conversations, confirmation of the firm bonds that held the team together, although Ash herself was far too preoccupied with her meal and the growling in her stomach to go out of her way to be social right away. Either way, she didn’t want the moment to end, with the warm feeling of belonging in her chest all that she could have asked for in the aftermath of a mission.

“Hi Ash, pretty hungry after all that, huh?” Turning to look towards the feminine voice, Ash’s initial look of surprise changed into a friendly smile as she saw Yoshiro standing nearby. “You know you’re giving Casimir a run for his money in the food-disposal race.”

The mutant’s smile crept upwards at the comparison. “Yes, I am most hungry - but the tacos are very good, too.” Trying to recall her manners, Ash turned and grabbed a taco in each hand before turning to offer all four of them to the telepath. “Would you like to have some?”

Brushing aside the offer, Yoshiro kept up the outward appearance of friendliness. In reality, the Scarab couldn’t help but study the mutant with a removed curiosity. The creature’s thoughts tended to shine in a room, glowing with a simplicity and innocence that the Scarab had first found woefully boring. There was no detail or nuance in Ash’s emotions, causing her to initially discard the moth as the least interesting of the team members. But after a while she’d started to pick up on something else - something that had piqued her curiosity. The bright, pure emotions that initially radiated from the girl’s mind did hold a few imperfections, nuggets of doubt that were just begging to be picked at. And what’s more, if she squinted her eyes and looked at Ash’s aura just right, the Scarab could swear that she felt something darker roiling underneath. It was almost like the aura that she displayed to the world was a sheen that had been pulled over another, more primal set of emotions that lay just beneath the surface.

And knowing that, could anyone really blame the Scarab for wanting to have a little bit of fun?

“No thanks, Ash. I just wanted to congratulate you on the mission, you know? I heard you did really well back there.”

The mutant seemed to be taken aback by the praise, a look of surprise flashing across her features. “Th-thank you! But I did not really do very much. Kiris and Roy did most of the work, and Jason was the one who really fought the stone monster and -”

“Oh come on, you’ve got to be able to take a compliment when you deserve it.” Yoshi interrupted, laughing as she offered Ash a friendly pat on the shoulder. “It was all a team effort, right? And you’re part of the team. So you did as much as anyone.” A hint of red touched Ash’s cheeks.

“Y-yes, I do suppose that you are right. It was very nice to be able to work with the rest of the team.”

There was a slight twinkle in Yoshi’s eye as Ash seemed to agree with her, the set up having gone perfectly. “Definitely. And you need to know that we all trust you entirely, Ash. I bet Casimir would want to congratulate you too, if Viv hadn’t got to him first.”

That caused Ash to blink in confusion, although she hastily tried to hide her discomfort with a smile. Once again the memory of seeing the rubber heroine embrace Casimir in a warm hug surface in the back of Ash’s mind. “She...got to him first?”

These kids make it almost too easy. Yoshi offered the mutant a sympathetic shrug. “Oh yeah, I mean she went to see him in the infirmary first. He got pretty beat up in the mission - as usual - so she went to check up on him. It’s what friends do, I guess.”

A look of concern began to creep onto Ash’s features. “Y-yeah, I guess.” She managed weakly, lost in her own thoughts at Yoshiro’s words. She didn’t know that Casimir was in the infirmary, the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. A cold feeling gripped the girl’s heart as she felt doubt begin to creep into her thoughts. Did that make her a bad friend? She was here feeling happy and eating while Casimir could have used her support...and while she did nothing Viviana was right there with him. The other heroine was really being a good friend to him, but Ash and he were best friends. Didn’t that mean something more?

Seeing the look of self-doubt creep onto Ash’s face, Yoshiro noted happily that her work here seemed to be done. Removing her hand from the mutant’s shoulder, the telepath pulled the other girl out of her reverie. “Well, I’m probably going to go see how the other’s are doing. Nice work again, though!” And with a friendly wave, she left the mutant standing alone with her thoughts, wearing a satisfied smirk as she walked away.

Not really looking at the back of the retreating telepath, Ash offered the other girl a half-hearted wave as she tried to force a smile back onto her face. But it felt different somehow, fake. “Ok, yes. I shall also speak with the others too. Thank you very much, Yoshiro.”

Glancing around, the mutant scanned the room for someone she could talk to. Suddenly, the din of conversations from all the different groups throughout the room had become more intimidating rather than comforting. Trying to find someone she could walk up to, Ash’s gaze fell on Alexis. Trying to push aside the strange, unwanted feeling she had after Yoshi had mentioned Casimir, Ash tried to smile as she walked over towards the pair.

“Hello Alexis, I am sorry to interrupt, but do you know if Casimir is alright? I heard that he got hurt during the mission.” Looking over towards the boy that the tech wizard was talking to, Ash felt embarrassed as she realised that she may have just been cutting him off. “I am sorry, we have not been introduced! My name is Ash, you were amazing against the Cabal.”

[United Kingdom of Poland]

After helping to clean up the last of the Warwolf soldiers at City Hall, Wendy boarded the jet with her new pet. The former killer robot had caused a bit of a stir before Wendy had managed to convince the others it was safe things finally quieted down. Alexis had even agreed to let her keep him in her workshop for the time being in exchange for a quick look through her circuitry.

Rushing out of the hanger as soon as they’d landed, she made her way to the day room in hopes of finding Roy before the other heroes got back. She found Naja had set up a taco bar that some of the team were already sampling, but no boyfriend in sight. “Hey Naja?” SHe asked there mentor. “I haven’t found Roy anywhere. Did everything go alright with the other mission?”

“Oh Wendy.” Naja replied. “Everyones alright, they just had some trouble with Cabal. Roy’s probably in the infirmary with the others getting patched up.

“Okay.” Wendy said as her body relaxed in relief. “Oh… and… we also got a new robo-wolf I reprogramed over at city hall…”

Wendy was already heading down the hall to the infirmary by the time Naja realized what she had said. Finding Roy just as Jacob had finished healing him, She ran over and gave him a hug.

“Hey” Roy said with a smile, hugging his girlfriend back. “I’m glad you’re okay. Rather and friends didn’t give you too much trouble did they?”

“Well other than one of them being a mad scientist who brought his toys out to play.” Wendy replied. “Mars got banged up a bit saving the rest of us, but we took them down and saved the mayor. We also have a new robo-wolf pet for me to take on missions.”

“Wow, seems like an adventure. Mars ended up being the hero huh? I’m glad, I knew he had it in him. And good work leading your first mission Wendy, I’m proud of you.” He said his smile growing a bit. “So, about what we talked about this morning… Feeling any better about it?”

Wendy nodded. “Still a little on edge. I’m sure my picture on the front page being thanked by the mayor will smooth things over a little, but I’m not sure we’re out of the woods yet. It might not be a bad idea if I didn’t leave the island by myself for a little bit.”

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to come along to protect you won’t I?” He replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Wendy returned the kiss. “Sounds like a plan.”

[New Neros]

August 4th
Darklight and Cosmic

-Alexis-

"Uh... Oh!" Mark said suddenly, feeling a quick wash of embarrassment as he had honestly felt like his disappearance was more or less unnoticed, rubbing the back of his head slightly. He was glad deep down that he was't forgotten, but rather than focus on his own feelings, he listened intently to Alexis tell her tale of what she had done tonight. "Yeah, I was off in space for a while, but I have some time off. It sounds like you had a hell of a time with Warwolf, awesome to see you made it out all right.

"Funny thing about sticking around, I don't exactly have a place to sta-" As Cosmic spoke, the moth girl he had seen in the Land of Ash and Shadows fighting the second gargoyle appeared, and injected herself in the conversation to ask about another member. Turning to look at her, Mark gazed at her body up and down quickly in that boyish glance. He wasn't wide-eyed or shocked, though, as the aliens he had met in his months abroad were much more displeasing to the eye. As a matter of fact, Cosmic seemed to take a liking to the mutant.

-Ash-

"H-hey there, Ash." Cosmic spat quickly, offering out his hand and shaking one of the girl's four hands, gaining a slick coat of grease in the process. "Nice to meet you as well, I really liked how you came in against that other monster thing, poison, huh? Smart thinking, you must have worked really hard to do so well." He said, lopping on some praise for the mutant and giving her a genuine smile. "All I could do was punch the thing, and they are way tougher without acid, haha."

"But!" He exclaimed suddenly moving his hand to include both Ash and Alexis, "I know my friend Darklight is in the infirmary, Nightshade took her and Kiris there. I imagine Casimir is there too, right?" Though Cosmic looked a bit beat up and injured, he seemed no worse for wear, and in fact, seemed to be healing nicely with the influx of food he had devoured moments ago. "I don't know where it's at, do you mind if we go together, Ash? Maybe you can help me learn some of these peoples' names." He said with a laugh, "Because I feel like this is a place where I can have friends and belong, you know?"

"One of you lead the way, please." He said with a friendly smile. "Unless you have somewhere else to be, Alexis. Hey, you may know Darklight, she went to Thomsen High, too. Ava's her name, but she doesn't really make a lot of friends. Kind of girl that eats lunch in the bathroom, if you know what I mean."

-Alexis-

To see Kiris beam so much at her words actually put a warm fuzzy feeling inside Darklight, who was more used to being callous and unforgiving in her comments. In regards to others talking and focusing on a now-awakening Blackout, Ava nodded in agreement. "You're right." She stated, "There was a lot more going on out there tonight than what we got ourselves into. Just hard to step into someone elses' mindset without knowing what they went through." As she spoke, she somewhat listened in to the others peoples' conversations, but was just as lost as when she was ignoring it.

"Oh!" She said quickly forgetting Kiris' question but answering it quickly. "I'm Darklight, and my pal is Cosmic. We said that a couple times, but anyways, I usually go on small time patrols in my area. Nothing major, stop some muggings, chase some robbers, save some people from fires or car wrecks, usually. Tonight though, Cosmic has been gone for months at this point and just sorta showed up at the same time the rioters started invading." She explained, taking a quick breath, "We fought a group of powered thugs and went to the next street, you guys happened to be there getting ready for the final show-down."

She smirked, "I wanted to hang back and see how things progressed before moving in to help. Cosmic had other plans and just rushed in head-first. Maybe it was for the better, though, because he did keep Hex distracted long enough for your fight with that beast-looking guy to wind down. Great job in that one, by the way, I'm a big fan of the biting." Ava said with a laugh, barring her teeth and giving a fake chomp. "I felt that all the way where I was."

[Galnius]

Mikaela Mynd

Mikaela Mynd

Getting questioned by what she meant made Mika's eyes narrow. By this point she was accustomed to getting what she request with a little prodding, but she couldn't just make this girl be compliant with everything. However, she still wanted to see if she could talk the red he'd into it.

"If you send a picture you'll see. Beyond the uh...project..." She stopped herself for a moment wondering if what she was about to do was wise. With a few seconds of thought, though, she reasoned that 1) the girls room may have her name somewhere, and 2) she could gain interest by demonstrating a piece of her power. "There's just something I wanted to show you. The only other person who knows about it is my mother. It'll be quick, I promise."

Fahcelkel

Color Arin confused. Is Mika talking about the project or is she wanting to meet up again? It feels like she is asking for two different things at once. But Mika does sound eager to meet with her again, especially iif he wants to meet up tonight.

As for the picture of her room, Arin wasn't sure what to include in the frame. Out of all the stuffed animals and pictures of Barney, Arin wan't sure if Mika was interested in them. But her curiosity got the better of her and Arin got off her bed to take a sweeping shot of her room with Barney still on her bed.

"I sent the picture to you." Arin said over the phone. "What do you need it for?"

After waiting for a moment, Mika's impatience was finally placated. A picture of a room, though with a dog and slightly more childlike than she expected, was sent to her phone. She responded with nothing more than a "just wait and see" and hung up.

Moving quickly, the brunettes excitement got the best of her. She uploaded the picture to her computer as fast as she could, and fumbled with the keyboard as the pictures slowly printed out. Agonizingly slow, really. When it was halfway out, she had to stop herself from ripping it from the machine. When it was three quarters of the way it, Mika remembered she had to do something before anything else.

Taking a picture with her camera of her room, she quickly used itself printing. Her photo she put in her back pocket, whilst she placed Arin's against her head and closed her eyes.

A thrumming sounded in her ears as it always did. She was unsure if she was hearing her heartbeat or just the sounds of her moving through space. When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking at the same scene in Arin's picture, the red haired girl right beside her. "Ta-da."

Angelica Dalin

The blond superhero became nervous as her outfit was inspected. It was clearly not meant for combat, and perhaps was a little short, but she wasn't planning on fighting anyone. The latter fact made her feel like there was a slight misunderstanding. "Oh, no no no no no." replied Angelica shaking her head rapidly and moving her hands back and forth. Beyond her generally peaceful nature, she wasn't sure she had the physicals for it.

"I...uh....I was just wondering if you knew how to find out what's going on. I...I get that you might not. I just thought with how you destroyed with them and the uh..." She pointed at the garbage can where the other girl had easily disposed of her milk. "You seem like you'd be good at it anyway. Is there...is there a reason you don't?"

For a moment, worst case scenarios flitted through her mind. Perhaps the girl was some kind of criminal, or perhaps mentally unwell? She shook those thoughts out of her mind, blaming her recent memories for such paranoia.

Well there goes an opportunity to make a quick buck. Still, the dojo idea stuck in her head. It was definitely a financial move she could make if she saved enough money and got a cheap-ish dojo. She could teach people martial arts. It would be almost definitely better than the relentless boredom of Starbucks. it'd probably pay better too.

The blond girl then asked a question which gave Makenzie paused, her assured expression became slightly sorrowful. "You fight criminals for no pay and barely any thanks. Then at the end of it all, you get killed by some asshole with a grudge or just someone with a gun who gets a lucky shot." She remarked then shrugged. "And then, in the end, it's all been pointless and meaningless because, for every person who uses their powers for good, there are two who use it to hurt people. You'll always be outnumbered."

Makenzie shook her head. "If you want my advice. Let the cops and the pros do their jobs. Go make youtube vlogs or whatever us kids do nowadays."

She paused, then looked at her again. "What made you get into this whole hero business anyway?"

Angelic's fury rose up from within her, not because she though Makenzie was wrong, but because she used the same logic just days ago. In fact, it was that same logic that decided that she would be better being a hero in other ways.

Then came a question that caught her off guard. The Abbas, of close, was easy, but she was unsure how to articulate it. She was sure that the only living person she was doing this for may even scold her, but even then she simply could not avoid doing this, because..."I-uh...I owe it some friends", she said, leaving it at nothing but that. "I'm sorry I pestered you tonight. Is there anything I can help you with, then, since I'm already here?"

Lisette
Midtown, San Diego

---

Rolling her eyes at Daniel’s defensive reply, Lisette wasn’t surprised to see the idiot stamping his foot at her accusations. Honestly, was anyone ever so childish? And yet apparently he thought that he could claim to be a hero, please. She nearly laughed when Daniel asked her what a hero was supposed to be like, the no-brainer question only confirming her opinion of her host. Everyone knew what really made a hero: bravery, selflessness, a heart of gold and...and other stuff too! The important thing was just that it was everything that Daniel was definitely not. However, before she had a chance to verbally berate the man, a sly smirk crept onto his features.

As a second Daniel split off from the first, Lisette’s jaw dropped. It seemed that the girl had finally been stunned into a shocked silence as she suddenly found herself staring not at one of the insufferable socialites, but two. It was like she was living in the midst of some kind of horrific nightmare. Clearly noticing that he had been able to strike a nerve, Daniel went on to pour salt in the wound by taking the high road by adopting a caring, paternal tone. Bristling at the unwanted attention, Lisette shot the man a scowl as she hissed under her breath.

“Hey, I’m not some kid you know!” She retorted. “I’m old enough to look after myself, and I definitely don’t need you of all people looking out for me. I bet you can’t even figure out how to get dressed in the morning.” Folding her arms across her chest, Lisette was fuming at the treatment, but she also knew that she was backed into a corner. She needed to get out of there in case the Outriders caught onto her again, and Daniel’s offer was her best chance. Ergh, but why did it have to be him? Swallowing her pride, the girl let out a resigned sigh. “Fine, just take me home already. This party was totally lame.”

---

Daniel
Seeing not only her surprise but also that he struck a nerve, the rich playboy grinned. He had, in one fell swoop, seemed to have won this battle. However, there was still the details of his request. He'd get what he wanted, he was sure, but he hoped it was just as easy.

"Well then, right this way Lady Aveline", using the title mockingly. Daniel led her toward the garage, where a car waited with an intense driver. "Lizzy, this is Roland, my chaeffeur for all of my activities. Roland, Lizzy."

The driver, a 53 year old hardened man with steely eyes, glanced coldly at Lisette then returned to Daniel with a kind gaze. "A little younger than usual", he said to the rich boy, "but I take it you are going to the usual place?"

Daniel became momentarily flushed. However, this did not last long as it was replaced with raucous laughter. "Oh no, I'm bringing her home. This is Lisette Aveline, the heiress. Go on Lisette, get in, we can trust him." Roland opened the door, waiting for the heiress to enter.

[Absolon-7]

Mike Mathews

Icarus

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

Rondy

Casimir Herman August 4th
Casimir turned away from Mike as he told to just unstrap one arm on Icarus and he proceeded to undo all of them. As if he'd let his friend just be tied down there like a mental patient. As Icarus sat himself up Casimir kept a hand behind his back in case some sort of fainting spell hit him. It turned out Icarus knew even less about what happened then the Young Bloods did as he was genuinely surprised. This didn't make that much sense especially since his last foes were Warwolf. Casimir crossed his arms as if deep in thought but he couldn't help stare at the wound on Icarus chest where he said he was shot or that's what Casimir took away from his hazy explanation. He tentatively raised a hand to his own chest where he had received that phantom wound from that incident but he crossed it back down soon after. He raised his eyebrow at Mizu poking poking his friend's abs off all places as she talked to him.

"Mizu's right. We're pretty much throwing educated darts at a board when it comes to what happened to you. Good news is you'll be all safe and sound here," bluntly said Casimir at first but his mood lightened up the more he spoke. He noticed Wendy coming to check on Roy and the wallflower seemed a lot more chipper then usual which was good news. Casimir leaned slightly forward at Icarus snickering under his helmet with a big grin, "Anyway, since it looks like you got a blank slate for what happened feel hungry by any chance? We're having a taco bar and I'm guessing you're hungrier then a bear from all the stuff you've got into. Selene and Forge can give ya company while I get some for ya."

Angelica

Viviana Couture August 4th
Viviana gave a closed smile at Angelica as the frosty blond took well to her answer for being a hero. Truth be told seeing her accepting the answer was relieving. She wasn't too sure if it was as corny as Iowa to be taken seriously but thank goodness it was especially by her squadmate. Having a squadmate who thought you're motives were a joke would've been dead awful. Viviana nodded along as Angelica attempted to excuse herself as she could relate to any girl wanting to pamper herself up after a long exhausting day. The brunette gave her a small wave with her fingers as Angelica took a few steps out. I should check on Casi after I'm done eating. He texted me he was fine but knowing how hes like... A pleasant surprise met her when Angelica suddenly turned around for an invite to hang out as a squad.

"Oh you betcha!," radiantly inflected Viviana bringing up her arms together in glee, "We should get the other two together and do something like get a mani-pedi or go a bowling alley sometime! Trust me, I got a killer arm for that sport," Viviana smugly winked at Angelica with the last statement before seeing her off, "See you later tho, bye-bye."

[Northwest Slobovia]

Sam Croft/Bizzard
4 August, Warwolf HQ
LA Stars/Old Bloods Play Kick the Wolfie

Sam reversed course, picking up speed as he headed for the apartment building. The voice on the radio was unexpectedly reasonable. The primo don does know his business, when he's not showing off or posing for the cameras.

Quaker's approach seemed like it would work, but might be a bit slow for the number of people trapped. But how can I help? Oh, SHIT! The sight of Black Arrow falling interrupted his thinking, and he bent into a speed-skater's crouch as he sped up to try to catch him. But it seemed the archer had more tricks up his sleeve, and Sam was surprised to see him up and talking after that landing. The kid seemed unhurt too, so Sam just gave Doug a big thumbs up as he raced past, returning to look up at the burning building.

The fire seems to be mostly on that side, so I can work back here. Ah, well, Quaker will get the glory, but I'll get the job done. Sam skated a half-block down the cross street – down to the first intersection -- sped up again, and slowly raised a ramp up to roof level. The ramp wouldn't last long, especially not if the fire spread, but another route off the roof would help the Stars evacuate everyone. He spoke into his radio. “I've got a ramp up to the roof from the back. Another escape route. Anybody you guys can't get down, send back here.”

He pointed to the ramp and waved over the nearest group of people. “This way! This way! There's a ramp down to the street here!” The guy who reached Sam first looked dubiously at the long slide down, but Sam helped him onto the ramp, and he slid off. The young woman who followed seemed much more confident, and Sam could have sworn he heard a distant “Wheeeeee!” as she neared ground level.

[Union Princes]

Fahcelkel

Arin wasn't sure who reacted first, her dog or herself. The sudden voice of Mika occurring right next to her ear gave quite a fright to Arin as she jumped back. Her German Shepard immediately jumped off the bed with a large growl and his teeth bared. Mika's scent was unfamiliar to the dog and since she didn't enter through the front door like most strangers, first instinct demanded action against the intruder.

"Barney! NO!" Arin ordered as she quickly jumped between Mika and Barney in order to prevent her friend's throat getting ripped. Barney lunged to the side to get to Mika before Arin blocked his path. She wrapped her arms around his neck in order to hold him back. Barney then went on into a mad barking frenzy that echoed throughout Arin's room and the hallway that led up to it.

"Bad dog!" Arin scolded, "No barking!"

After barking to exhaustion, Barney settled down and rested on the floor. "Sorry about that." Arin apologized to Mika, "He's just doing his job...how did you do that? Is your powers teleportation?"

[Finland SSR]

Daniel McHarris

The Outriders, San Diego's first line of (lethal) defense!

August 6th

---

Everything was just... going so damn terrible. The team got tricked into a false alarm when they could be doing a million better things right now, Sina was somehow being even more of an airhead idiot than she usually is, they had to deal with this big chonker of a marine, Nick went bonkers for some god damn reason and, what's worse, they had to deal with that Dan guy too! Out of nowhere, he popped up, kicked Nick in the balls and stated that this must be one of Marionette's goons.

Isaac had dealt with a lot of shit before, but there has to be a breaking point.

"You know what?" the Bolivian vigilante muttered after clenching his head, trying to stave off the migraine which everything that happened today was trying to induce, and turned towards Dan. "Fuck off."

"Isaac! You can't say that!"

"Why?"

"Because you're talking to a powerful reality warper! Didn't you notice? If you make him mad, who knows what he will do to you!"

"..."

The migraine was going to turn to a deep depression one day. Isaac clenched his head with his hand yet again, sighing, then turned his eyes towards Dan. "If you say anything to confirm what she says, I'm blowing your damn brains out, I swear."

---

Voice
Midtown, San Diego

---

Steven Baker.

August

---

What Steven saw as a largely mundane comment sparked unexpected hostility from Beverly - the telepath suddenly lashed out at him, accusing him of prying into people's lives and reducing them to mere math equations. The attack instantly soured his mood - meeting a friend he hadn't seen in years was one thing, but having their first words be so hostile was completely different. And after all of that, Beverly had the audacity to request help from him.

Steven finished his glass of mineral water, placed it on the desk, and replied:

"Why should I help you?"

Perhaps responding to hostility with hostility was not a great idea... but Steven, as calm and collected as he tried to appear, was far from the best mental state either. Receiving two gut punches in a row during the last few weeks, first finding out about the Young Bloods, then meeting Angelica again, can do a lot to a man.

"She's your pupil, isn't she?" Steven continued, subconsciousnly revealing a yet another likely guess calculated by his powers. "You had all the chance to tell her to quit before this happened - this is what happens in the superhero business and it's no place for a child. You and me figured that out two god damn decades ago."

[High Buzz]

Riiight. So this guy was not a Summer Marine, he was a Summus Marine, and apparently the word "Summus" there stood for "supreme" in Latin. Honestly though, Isaac would have been more confused if it somehow turned out he was right and this guy was actually a Summer Marine. Wouldn't that just be a lifeguard?

"Wait, but I thought "sum" meant like a collection of everything in scaleless language." Sina suddenly offered her... brilliant insight.

"No, that's only in English," Isaac replied and holstered his pistol after having fired it before. "I presume it's different in Latin."

"Wait... You scaleless have more than one language? What for?!"

Meanwhile, Solirlus had moved on to something else, ordering all the civilians to form a line and start departing from the room, while also stating that the three of them should find Daniel and regroup on the top floor, in search of the villain terrorizing them. Wait... Did he actually believe that Marionette was hiding somewhere among their midst? Isaac would have ripped off his own face at this point. Was he the only person with even a shred of logic in this entire damn complex?

"Alright, Summa Summarum Marine or whatever - your plan sucks, so let's do the complete opposite and then we might actually get somewhere." Isaac bluntly stated, staring Solirlus square in the face. "Let's not try to find that dumb rich asshole. Let's not reorganize on the top floor when we could be leaving this sham alone. And, most importantly, let's not pick up random people off the street and start teaming up with them for reasons unknown!"

"You got picked up off the street to join our team too, though." Sina suddenly added, only to receive a rash response from her teammate:

"SINA, I WILL LITERALLY DECK YOU THROUGH A WALL! YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!"

Daniel was not one to get easily insulted, especially by the truth. However, Lisette's (accurate) accusations dug deep and hit home. "I can assure you Miss Aveline that I am definitely Spectre!" He said stomping his foot for punctuation. "Why just today I took out another criminal. Anyway, what is a hero supposed to act like, hmm?"

He breathed deep, calming himself. Lisette must be punished for the transgression, but force was not the key. No, he had a far better idea.

A second Daniel Mcharris detached from the first, moving toward the now yelling Outriders. The other gave the heiress a sly smirk for just a moment, before turning into an almost parntal level of caring. "You know, I think you are quite right", he said, patting her head. "There's been a bit too much excitement for you kid. How about this, I'll drive you home, see you off, and make sure your parents know that you came home nice. And. Safe. On the way, we can talk about what I was going to ask before being interrupted. That's fine, right? Unless you'd rather stay here and discuss it now...."

Meanwhile, the second Daniel slid behind Isaac and put his hand on Sina's shoulder, revealing himselves and Lisette to the pair. "So, villainess extraordinaire at my party, eh? Did you take care of them?" He kicked the unconscious body of Nick to take out some stress, hurting his and the first's foot in the process. Pretending (poorly) that that hadn't happened, Daniel continued. "I take it this is one of Marionette's goons?"

Seeing not only her surprise but also that he struck a nerve, the rich playboy grinned. He had, in one fell swoop, seemed to have won this battle. However, there was still the details of his request. He'd get what he wanted, he was sure, but he hoped it was just as easy.

"Well then, right this way Lady Aveline", using the title mockingly. Daniel led her toward the garage, where a car waited with an intense driver. "Lizzy, this is Roland, my chaeffeur for all of my activities. Roland, Lizzy."

The driver, a 53 year old hardened man with steely eyes, glanced coldly at Lisette then returned to Daniel with a kind gaze. "A little younger than usual", he said to the rich boy, "but I take it you are going to the usual place?"

Daniel became momentarily flushed. However, this did not last long as it was replaced with raucous laughter. "Oh no, I'm bringing her home. This is Lisette Aveline, the heiress. Go on Lisette, get in, we can trust him." Roland opened the door, waiting for the heiress to enter.

Everything was just... going so damn terrible. The team got tricked into a false alarm when they could be doing a million better things right now, Sina was somehow being even more of an airhead idiot than she usually is, they had to deal with this big chonker of a marine, Nick went bonkers for some god damn reason and, what's worse, they had to deal with that Dan guy too! Out of nowhere, he popped up, kicked Nick in the balls and stated that this must be one of Marionette's goons.

Isaac had dealt with a lot of shit before, but there has to be a breaking point.

"You know what?" the Bolivian vigilante muttered after clenching his head, trying to stave off the migraine which everything that happened today was trying to induce, and turned towards Dan. "Fuck off."

"Isaac! You can't say that!"

"Why?"

"Because you're talking to a powerful reality warper! Didn't you notice? If you make him mad, who knows what he will do to you!"

"..."

The migraine was going to turn to a deep depression one day. Isaac clenched his head with his hand yet again, sighing, then turned his eyes towards Dan. "If you say anything to confirm what she says, I'm blowing your damn brains out, I swear."

The Outriders, San Diego's first line of (lethal) defense!

August 6th

The giant man in massive power armor growls under his breath as the clearly unintelligent member of the Outriders continues to stubble over the clearly pronounced and easy title of the Summus Marines and just as Sol thought the xeno's female lizard thing poked fun at the title as well. But the moment that the small man began to flip out about how there is no way that the villain Marionette was in the complex, Solirlus had enough of these imbeciles that claim themselves as a group of vigilantee heroes.

Staring back into the eyes of, the one designated as, Issac as he goes on a tirade about how they should leave, Sol then engages with the little man "My plan sucks? Are you NOT heroes? Are you NOT supposed to protect those that can not protect themselves?!? While it may have been a farce used to fool you and your allies into coming here and revealing yourselves, there is still an issue to be resolved! The one who orchistrated this, the 'Dumb rich asshole'... then suddenly Daniel... Daniels?... appeared from out of no where, as if materializing into reality, with the civilain woman he was dancing with, Lisette.

As the frail looking man-child proceeds to kick Nick and ask about Marionette, Solirlus begins to step away from the group of people to make space between himself and the others. By this point, if any villains were here they are either long gone by now or planning an counter attack.. with those options being very valid in their own rights Solirlus determines that it would be wise to space out, and by using his enhanced senses he will be able to listen into the conversation, as if he was standing next to them, even at a decent distance.

While the Issac tells Daniel to "Fuck off.", Solirlus began to scan the room further watching for any signs or threats of enemy presence when Sol notices that the other Daniel was walking the girl known as Lissette out towards the garage. Satisfied that there is no enemies around, Sol approaches the group once again to hear the xeno's designated as Sina making heretical claims that Daniel is a reality warper. Upon hearing this Solirlus unholstered his bolter pistol and barks out a command "What do you know of such heretical knowledge Xeno's scum!". While aiming the pistol as Sina, Sol grabs his chainsword and points it at Daniel with a one-handed grip "You! Daniel, is there truth to the xenos' heretical claim?"

[Tomia]

Wonder Tower
As the teens continued to eat, unwind, and recover, Naja walked into the living room, scanning the room until she found Squad 3 sitting together. "Mars, I'd like you to come to my office." She told him and Mars visibly gulped a little, wondering if he was in trouble. As he went off she then approached Mizu. "Mizu, come over to my office, there's someone who who would like to meet you."

When the three of them arrived, Blue of the Los Angeles Stars was waiting outside the door. Her blonde hair flowing past her shoulders. When she saw them approaching she offered a bright smile.

"Hi, thank you two for coming." She said to Mizu and Mars with a smile, Mars stood in awe.

"You're Blue! From the Star!" He said excitedly. Even with the trouble that had happened earlier, the fanboy in him couldn't resist.

"Please just call me Jenny. Naja told me that the two of you were big fans of the team, and I wanted to apologize for this morning. Dwayne, or Captain Quake, he said some stuff he didn't mean. I'm worried it gave you the wrong impression of him and the team. He's actually not a bad guy. He'll risk his life for a stranger in need no questions asked. But he's flawed... Like all of us. And I want to say on behalf of the me and my brother we're proud of what you all are doing here. You're making a good name for young heroes everywhere. And there are a lot of people rooting for you, including Red and Blue."

[Galnius]

Fahcelkel

Arin wasn't sure who reacted first, her dog or herself. The sudden voice of Mika occurring right next to her ear gave quite a fright to Arin as she jumped back. Her German Shepard immediately jumped off the bed with a large growl and his teeth bared. Mika's scent was unfamiliar to the dog and since she didn't enter through the front door like most strangers, first instinct demanded action against the intruder.

"Barney! NO!" Arin ordered as she quickly jumped between Mika and Barney in order to prevent her friend's throat getting ripped. Barney lunged to the side to get to Mika before Arin blocked his path. She wrapped her arms around his neck in order to hold him back. Barney then went on into a mad barking frenzy that echoed throughout Arin's room and the hallway that led up to it.

"Bad dog!" Arin scolded, "No barking!"

After barking to exhaustion, Barney settled down and rested on the floor. "Sorry about that." Arin apologized to Mika, "He's just doing his job...how did you do that? Is your powers teleportation?"

Mika was taken aback by the sudden barking. Startled, one could say, as she backed into a wall. In retrospect, the petit girl truly should have expected it, having seen the dog in the picture, but she assumed most dogs were just cute and loving to everyone. Not this one, no, and that may become a problem. Could animals be made to like you as well, she wondered?

Once Mika recovered from the sudden shock (and the mad beast stopped trying to eviscerate her), she looked around the room for a sign to her previous dilemma. Finally, a careful gaze fell upon an answer. When asked about her power, she grinned mentally. Oh, if she only knew. "That's part of it, yeah, but I needed a photo." The girl thought momentarily, trying to find a way to explain her reason for revealing this as well as gaining pity. "I...figured it would be best if you knew before we...before we continued anything." With a hand covering her face, she feigned worry, pretending like she had been taught all those years ago. "I know there's people that don't like people with powers, and they're right. I'm...I'm a freak, and my power isn't really any good. Not like those heroes. You don't hate me for it, right?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

August 4th

---

---

---

"...Their bidding, huh..." The young man repeated, raising an eyebrow as the younger girl poked at his chest but otherwise putting up no resistance - it surprised him, but it was harmless. "I don't... think they had anything to do with it. I can't remember anything too well, but I don't think I was brainwashed, just... angry. I was very angry." He paused for a moment and looked up at Mizu and Mike. His memory was still hazy, but he was beginning to see flashes of what he'd done, ruthlessly assaulting the brown-haired boy or nearly turning the Lunarian girl to a red stain on the ground. A crestfallen look appeared on his face as he glanced up at Mizu. "...I'm sorry for everything."

Casimir's intervention did not make him feel much better. Yes, he was safe here, but at what cost? He didn't know if he'd succeeded in whatever it was he was trying to do by fighting against Warwolf alone, and he certainly hadn't done a lot of good the way he was when the Young Bloods found him - he'd become one of the dangers he tried to guard others against, in the end.

At the black-haired boy's question, Icarus simply shook his head. "No, thanks. I don't need tacos, I need to clear my mind." He said before swinging his feet off to the side of the bed and standing up. Ignoring any potential protests from Mike, Jacob and even Casimir himself, Icarus walked straight out of the infirmary, only stopping as he found himself a ways away from there. Not knowing how to navigate Wonder Tower's winding hallways, the blond boy sighed and leaned against the wall, idly placing a hand against his chest, where the lightning marks originated. He could feel power flowing through it even now, but it felt dull, as if there had been something more there before.

What happened to me...?

---

---

---

Alexis just nodded along at Mark's words for a while. "A hell of a time is a good way to put it." She agreed - she wasn't particularly happy that she'd been put through all that, but all things considered a hero's work was not without risk, and things had turned out well in the end. Suddenly, however, someone interrupted the conversation, and the tech wizard turned to look only to notice one of their newest team members, Ash, standing nearby as she asked about Casimir's status and whereabouts. She would've been quick to answer, but Ash turned to address Mark as well, and the boy's response let something shine through that made the blonde girl smile mischievously.

Ohoho, what's this?

Watching as the boy talked to the team's resident insect girl with plenty of praise and a dash of nervousness, Alexis further confirmed her suspicions. Mark soon turned to her as well, as if to keep her a part of the conversation, but it was clear where his interest currently laid, and she knew better than to get in the way of that - if anything, she was happy to help things along. "Oh, yeah, I know what you mean." She nodded at Mark. "But anyways, you two go check on your friends, I'll stay here, doesn't sound like overcrowding the infirmary is a good idea." She said, gesturing for them to get going and discreetly winking at Mark before he turned around.

Left alone once more, the tech wizard returned to her meal, a contemplative look on her face. Watching the tail end of Angelica's brief conversation with Viviana, she smiled a bit, her eyes trailing after the frost heroine as she left the room. The smile quickly faded away, though, leaving only a thoughtful, somewhat troubled look.

What am I going to do about you?

---

---

Kirisvala giggled as she heard Darklight mention the way she had attacked the Cabal's powerhouse when he had Roy against the ropes. "Yeah, we're pretty good at that." She stated proudly, putting on a big grin and intentionally baring her teeth for the other girl to see, a single row of perfectly sharp razors - thankfully, while Hex's strike had hurt like hell, it hadn't actually broken or chipped anything.

"Oh and it was a really good thing that your friend jumped in! I don't think we would've managed to put that meanie down otherwise. He was really tenacious." The girl pointed out. She opted not to mention what he'd done to her to set off her anger, or the way she had retaliated to bring him down, the memory of that enough to momentarily sour her mood. She wasn't proud of the way her emotions had gotten the best of her there, or how destructive it had been - she'd well and truly wrecked that house, and didn't some of her teammates nearly get caught up in the fire, too?

It was easy to see the sudden dent in the usually cheerful Hadrian's mood but, not wanting to worry her new friend, Kiris quickly put on a smile again. "Um, anyways, it was fun to talk to ya Darklight, and you were a big help! It would be great if ya joined up with us." She said genuinely. After a brief pause, she started moving aside the covers in order to get up. "I'm gonna head to my room, it's gettin' a little loud in here." She told the black-haired girl, offering her an apologetic smile before heading for the door. A concerned Jacob stopped her briefly, but was quickly convinced to let her go.

[Tomia]

August 4th

---

Alexis, for the first time in a long while, found herself in her room. Since she didn't need to sleep, she rarely came up here; the first few weeks she spent on the island she went there regularly to change her clothes and the like, but after a while she decided it was a lot more efficient to just install a wardrobe and a shower in the building that housed her lab. Now, however, she had quite a bit on her mind, and didn't quite feel like going underground to ruminate on it while working her tools for whatever short term goal she had left pending.

Quite a thing to have nearly died, huh...

Reminiscing on the scene was not pretty, and though there was a morbid compulsion to relive the moment in her mind, she soon moved onto other things. Things she felt were left pending, things she was fond of, things she wasn't sure about. Amidst her introspective mood, she happened to think of one thing that was all three, and let out a sigh. She was one of the smartest people around, yet she didn't fully trust herself to figure this one out.

Well... maybe it would help if I asked one of the smartest people I know that isn't me?

With that in mind, she pushed herself out of bed and made for the door. Everyone was exhausted after their victory and the celebration that took place afterwards and many had gone to sleep already, so she walked quietly towards the door of one of her teammates so as to not wake the others. She was unsure of whether to knock at first, not wanting to wake up someone that had already gone to sleep - she didn't do it, but knew to respect that others did need it. Fortunately, she quickly heard the unmistakable sounds of someone tinkering, which meant that he was awake.

"Hey, Rocket-boy, you got a moment?" She called out to him from outside after knocking on his door.

The sounds stopped for a few moments before the door in front of Alexis opened. "Hey Alexis, what's up?" Mars said, he had safety goggles above his eyes and looking into his room it was clear he had been working on a circuit board. "You can come in, I'm just doing busy work cause I can't sleep." He said before leading Alexis inside. There was a chair next to his desk that he offered to his friend.

"Something on your mind? You don't usually come around this late."

"Let's be honest Mars, I don't usually come around at any hour." The girl deadpanned before cracking a sheepish smile. "But yeah, I guess you could say that." She said as she walked into the room behind Mars. She cast a glance at the genius boy's room that also served as a workshop, nodding in approval. He's sure keeping himself busy.

Plopping down on a chair not far from her fellow genius' desk, she suddenly felt rather self-conscious. Well, it's going to be hella odd if I just start talking about this out of the blue, isn't it? She realized, thinking of something else to say to kick off some small talk. "I've just been thinking about today's mission I guess. How'd things turn out on your end?"

"It was fine. The mechs weren't expected but Wyatt did a good job leading us through it. Plus I got some what of a souvenir.... But I have a feeling you didn't come here to talk about that right?" Mars said, raising an eyebrow and wondering what was going on.

"C'mon, Mars. Why are you trying to put a girl on the spot? That's not very nice." She told him in a playful tone before leaning back on the chair. "But alright, I guess I shouldn't waste your time too much." She continued, a bit more seriously, before taking a deep breath - unnecessary, but calming all the same. "I've just... had a lot to think about, you know? I'll explain in a bit if you want, but... before you and Kiris started being a thing, how did you feel about her? How did you figure out you wanted to be with her?"

"Uh... wow, I wasn't expecting that." Mars said, scratching his head a bit. "I honestly I've never really thought about it. It just, always felt right you know? She caught my eye immediately when we met and things just kind of happened from there. But if I had to describe it... I guess I'd say I just always liked being around Kiris. I found myself thinking about her even when we weren't together, and when we were together I was never thinking about anyone else. Sometimes I guess your body and mind subconsciously tell you things, and maybe its easier if you just listen." He said before pausing for a moment. "Does that help with... well whatever the reason is you asked?"

Alexis listened to her friend's words carefully and mulled over them afterwards, a little smile having appeared on her face as he spoke only to turn to an uncertain frown as he finished. It's easier if you just listen, huh...

"Er... a little bit I guess. Not sure how much of it is applicable, to be honest." She let out a little chuckle and then a sigh. "Well, you see, the thing is... you remember a couple days ago, when Frosty got exposed on national TV? Well, I went down to try and cool her down before she did anything rash and, eheh, well..." She twiddled her thumbs awkwardly. "She kinda just... dropped the bomb and told me she liked me. Like, in that way. Took me completely by surprise, you know? She didn't want an answer right away, so I've just been thinking about that. Trying to figure out if I feel the same way, because I'm not sure."

Mars went wide eyed for a moment. He had obviously noticed the two of them were very close, but he never imagined Angelica would do something like that. "Well... uh, that must be really hard to deal with. I'm not sure I'm the best person to give advice on this subject, but I'll do my best. You ever think... maybe you're overthinking it? I mean, I only went out with Kiris because you bribed me into a date with her. Before that I kept telling myself she wouldn't like me back, that it would be awkward and ruin our friendship, or that you shouldn't date someone on your team. But I don't know, when we were on our date, none of that seemed to matter. I guess what I'm saying is, maybe give it a try? and if these worries don't go away then you know it won't work. I know that might sound scary, but its better than never knowing I think."

"That's... a bit easier said than done, don't you think? I mean, I don't mind trying it out, I don't hate the idea or anything, but... I'd really rather not lead her on if it turns out I don't feel the same way, you know? Maybe I'd feel a little more certain about it if my body was telling me things like you said, but..." She trailed off, letting out a sigh.

"At any rate, you're probably right, I must be overthinking it. I always thought this sort of thing occurred a lot more naturally than I'm making it seem." She admitted, before straightening up and looking at Mars. "So just... carpe diem? That's your genius advice?"

Mars gave a chuckle at that. "I don't think that's possible for people as smart as us. But I am saying maybe being geniuses makes it hard for us to take risks. I'm not saying you should lead her on, but I am saying that if you wait until you're 100% sure and have no doubts, then you're never going to stop waiting."

"Yeah, that's... pretty sound actually. Should've probably figured that one out on my own." The blonde girl said with a chuckle. "Sorry to bother you with all of this, I just... needed to get it off my chest, I guess? It wasn't stressing me out or anything, but it's pretty tricky and all. Plus talking it out with Angelica is a big no-no, Kiris is asleep and Yoshi's... been acting pretty distant as of late."

She stood up and walked over to where Mars was sitting, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "But you know, for someone who claims he's not the best person to ask about this, you sure seem to have it mostly figured out. Haven't had any issues since I set you up, have you?"

"Well, I'm glad I could help a little." Mars said with a smile. "And don't worry, I get it. Sometimes you need to talk to someone who can relate I guess." He blushed a bit as Alexis walked towards him and complimented him before bringing up Kiris. "Well, if I'm an expert in anything its overthinking things." He said jokingly. "And ya... no problems, well except the kidnapping I guess." He said, his tone going a little darker before lightening again. "Thanks again for that by the way, I really needed that push."

"You're welcome! If there's one thing I can't resist it's pushing along cute couples like you two." She said with a friendly smile on her face. "I'm sorry you two had to go through that, but for what it's worth, it really did help us push Warwolf out of the city. Plus, if anything, it seems like you two are even closer after all that, hm?"

"Ya I guess we are." Mars said, smiling a bit to match Alexis. "Being apart was hard, but Kiris is handling it really well. Still, sometimes I worry that she's just holding it in you know? She just kind of tries to pretend it didn't happen, and I'm not sure if that's healthy. But I don't want to force her to relive it... Anyway, I don't want to bother you with my troubles when you came to talk about yours." He said, seemingly shaking his head out of a cloud.

"Nah, don't sweat it. I don't mind hearing out a friend, and you helped me out a lot already." She told him with a pat on the shoulder. "That... that sounds like something she's going to have to work out on her own to be honest... but, if she's got someone as kind as you supporting her along the way, I'm sure she'll be fine." She assured him.

"Anyways... I guess I heard what I needed to hear. I think I'm going to, you know, sleep on it." She said before making for the door, though she stopped to look back at Mars one last time. "Thanks a lot, Rocket-boy!"

"Anytime Alexis," He said waving as she left. Before she made it out the door he added another thought. "And... I really hope things work out with you and Angelica one way or another. You've been really good for her it seems, and I'd love to see both of you happy."

Alexis simply nodded, a smile on her face as she closed the door behind her.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

August 5th

---

After a long night of thinking and occasionally working on a few projects to clear her mind, Alexis had finally made a choice. That was the reason why, on the morning after the team's final showdown with Warwolf, the blonde girl headed up to the kitchen, her hands holding a little folding stool. Peeking in through the door she saw various teammates of hers having breakfast and occasionally chatting with each other, including the person she wanted to talk to. Smiling, she approached as inconspicuously as she could.

"Hey, Frosty. Can we talk a little?" She said, nodding towards the door to make it apparent that she was hoping for some privacy.

Angelica had been eating a bowl of cereal and occasionally making small talk with her teammates. She was trying to be less cold and silent now that her identity was discovered. When she heard a voice behind her she turned to see Alexis standing there. She asked if they could talk and the ice hero looked a little surprised but nodded. "Hi Alexis, and ya sure." She said, not asking what about because it was clear she wanted to talk in private. Instead she just stood up and followed Alexis out the door.

Angelica's mind started racing a bit, wondering what it was Alexis could want to talk about. Is she mad at me?, the thought ran through her mind as they walked. She quickly dismissed that thought as Alexis had been smiling when she spoke. Still, not knowing what it was about was a bit unnerving. Following Alexis into the elevator, there was an awkward moment of silence as Alexis pressed "R" for the roof and they began to ascend. "So... How are you feeling? I know yesterday got a little rough for you."

"Rough is a bit of an understatement, don'tcha think?" Alexis said with a light chuckle, shaking her head. "But don't worry about me, I'm fine. Happy to be alive, mostly." She assured her friend. Truthfully, even though yesterday had been quite intense, her fear and shock subsided quickly once the situation was resolved.

"Thanks for asking though. I appreciate it." She said sincerely. "How about you? I know yesterday was pretty stressful for you too, although for different reasons. Feel any better about all that?"

"Ya I guess it is. Maybe I'm just getting a little too used to being shot at or attacked. But, you're welcome. I'm happy you're alive too." Angelica added with a small smile before frowning a bit at Alexis' question. "It's fine, I'm glad he's gone. I'm still mad, but I'm used to that." She said before the elevator dinged and the doors opened up to the roof. The sun was lightly shinning and there was a small breeze in the air. "So what did you want to talk about?" Angelica asked as she stepped out.

Alexis stepped out of the elevator right behind her, taking a breath of fresh air before turning to the other girl. She suddenly felt rather self-conscious and shy, something uncharacteristic of her, but she was already here, it was too late to back down.

"Uh, well, I wanted to know... why do you like me?" She asked, opting to get straight to the point instead of beating around the bush. "I mean, I get it, I am pretty awesome but, well..." She leaned back against the doors of the elevator and looking at her feet. "I'm not much to look at, you know? And then look at you, I'm sure quite a few boys would kill to have a girl like you have eyes for them... it's just a little confusing, I guess."

The question threw Angelica off to say the least. After how Alexis had responded to her impromptu confession and the fact that they hadn't spoken about it in days made her think that the other blonde girl had no interest in a relationship. Yet here she was bringing it up again. Was she actually interested? It seemed like it would be cruel to bring this up if not but Angelica wasn't sure. Then Alexis started talking about her looks, and even complimented Angelica which made her blush. Still she couldn't help be confused by what Alexis was saying.

"Alexis, my whole life has been spent around beautiful, smiling, perfect people, and those people hurt me. I'm not interested in beautiful people." She said before realizing what that might imply. "Not that you aren't beautiful." She added quickly. "You really are, your smile your eyes..." She said, blushing as she babbled. "But my point is that matters a lot less to me than who you are as a person. You reached out to me when everyone else avoided me like the plague. You had no agenda, no angle, you just saw someone who needed a friend. You're the kindest, smartest, and prettiest girl I've ever met, and most importantly I trust you." Her words were spilling out now, like when she had first confessed her feelings. "So ya, that's why I like you."

"Wow..." The blonde girl mumbled softly, surprised but at the same time elated. She felt strangely calm - no butterflies in her stomach, no pounding in her chest, no burning in her cheeks - but that didn't mean that she wasn't happy, and she beamed up at Angelica, basking in the compliments. "That's... that's a lot more than I expected to be honest." She said with a chuckle, idly reaching up with one hand to tuck some of her short hair behind her ear. Then again, I'm not sure what I was expecting in the first place... but that doesn't really matter, does it?

"Thanks, Angelica. That means a lot to me." Alexis said after a brief pause, turning to look at the sea beyond San Diego, a thoughtful expression taking over, though her smile remained. "You know, for all I push along other people's relationships and all that, I've never actually been in one. I kind of grew up thinking I'd find a nice boy one day, like most girls. Obviously I didn't expect it to happen right away or anything, but... uh, I guess what I'm getting at is I'm pretty surprised the first person to show interest in me as a girl is, well, another girl."

The techie suddenly turned back to look at Angelica. "But after having thought about it for the past couple days... I don't hate the idea, you know?"

While "not hating it" might not have sounded like a ringing endorsement to most people, for Angelica, Alexis' words were incredible. Not only did Alexis seem to be genuinely flattered by Angelica's affection, but she was open to the idea of a relationship? Still part of the ice hero's mind couldn't help but be cautious. Was Alexis just saying this because she felt guilty? Angelica wanted a relationship with Alexis more than most anything in that moment, but rejection was better than pity.

"Alexis, I'm really surprised by this. This is nice hear, but I guess I have a question too. I've known I've liked girls for a while, and a few weeks ago a switch just kind of flipped in my mind and I knew I had feelings for you, even if I tried to deny it for a while. I really like you, but I need to know, are you sure you like me back? I don't want you to do this if you just feel bad for me. If you just want to be best friends, then that's more than enough for me." Angelica said. Despite her words there was a look of longing in her eyes. Part of her just wanted to throw caution to the wind and pull Alexis into a kiss, but she had to be sure this was real.

"...Huh?" Alexis muttered, tilting her head at the taller girl. Everything went largely as expected until Angelica mentioned she had a question of her own, and then questioned whether or not she really felt something for her. Despite knowing that the frost heroine didn't know better and that she had the right to ask that, she couldn't help but feel a little stung - it had been hard enough to convince herself to make this decision, even after the advice she got the previous night. Still, honesty was probably the best way to go here.

"...Well, no." She said plainly. "Honestly? I'm not doing this out of pity or anything, I decided to do this because I really do want to try this out. But, well, I wasn't sure. I'm not sure now, either. There's no big switch going off in my head, or my body telling me to say yes, I just..." The blonde girl trailed off for a moment. "I'm not sure I like you back, Angie... but I think I do. I want to, because you're really special, and even if I'd never thought about you that way before you confessed your feelings... well, I do now."

Angelica softened at Alexis' confession. It wasn't necessarily a classic romantic speech, but it was honest to a fault just like she was. "Wow, Alexis that means a lot. You're special to me too. So you're sure about this?"

At this point, Alexis pouted. Rather than say anything in response, she finally turned her attention to the stool she'd been holding all along, unfolding it and placing it in front of her, then stepping up onto it, standing a few inches taller than Angelica now. And then, with no warning whatsoever, the genius girl placed her hands on Angelica's waist and pulled her close, giving her a tender kiss on the lips.

After several seconds, Alexis pulled away with a grin on her face. "That sure enough for you?" She asked playfully.

The other girl was wondering what Alexis was up to as she unfolded the stool, until she was pulled into a kiss by her temporarily taller love interest. When their lips met it felt like a pit in Angelica's stomach dissolved. She kissed Alexis back, putting her hands on her waist in return.

"Uh... wow," was all Angelica could manage once the kiss was over. She was a little flustered but was beaming up at Alexis. She offered a hand and helped the other girl off the stool - when she was on the ground, Angelica didn't let get of her hand.

"Hey, you know, I've never had a girlfriend either. So this is a first for me too." Angelica said tenderly.

Alexis giggled at the taller girl's words. "Well, you managed to nab yourself a pretty awesome first girlfriend, so good job there." She joked. A less playful, more serene look appeared on her face shortly afterwards as she gave Angelica's hand a little squeeze, still smiling. It made her very happy that everything turned out well.

"But I guess that means we're both in for an adventure, huh?" The blonde girl said as she looked at the landscape once again. After a few moments, she let go of her new girlfriend's hand and instead leaned on her shoulder, an arm around her waist.

"I guess it does." Angelica said, wrapping her arm around Alexis in return. She had never expected this to be happening, but now that it was she couldn't be happier. "Hey, you want to just hang out here for a little while? I never realized how beautiful it is." Angelica said, looking down into Alexis' eyes.

Alexis grinned at the other girl - she had a feeling Angelica wasn't quite referring to the landscape with that comment. But she felt that to bring that up would simply ruin the special moment they were having, so instead, she simply nodded.

"Sure."

[Finland SSR]

Wonder Tower

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

August 4th

---

Though the shrapnel wound in her thigh had long since been healed and Mizu was released from the infirmary, it was still hardly easy to walk. Ordered to not work her leg too much, Mizu made each step carefully, almost stumbling like a zombie. It was in this condition that Naja found her and informed her that someone wanted to meet her.

"Huh?" At this time of the day, in this part of the world, and in Wonder Tower? Mizu hadn't even done a real mission with all of the team before today, so she couldn't be getting fans or something, and her parents were stuck on the Moon... As soon as she managed to stumble her way to Naja's office, however, her little heart immediately started pumping faster. That was Blue! From the Los Angeles Stars. Oh, and, Mars too, I guess - who yelled out the woman's name before she could.

Blue, however, was not here to witness fanboying and fangirling. Instead, she seemed a little somber, explaining that they should not lose hope in Captain Quake. He may have acted like a complete asshole the first and only time they saw him in person, but she swore that he was not that bad of a person. At the same time, she declared that she and her brother, much like many others, are cheering for what they were doing.

"Uh, thanks..." Mizu wasn't even sure what to say. Getting complimented and cheered on by one of her idols? That's too much... But, if Blue wants to speak to them as friends and equals, then there was something she was sure she had to say.

"Um, Blue- I mean, Ms. Jenny... Since we're here, I have something to ask." the purple-haired girl spoke up. "When all of us got to see Captain Quake before this mission, during his... well, outburst, he said - well, I'll try to rephrase it - that he awaits the next memorial to be built in our honor. That... that's not gonna happen, right? You're sure that we'll do better than the Wonder Warriors?"

[Absolon-7]

Icarus

Casimir Herman August 4th
Casimir stared in disbelief as his friend cast off his invitation for food and instead just began to evacuate out the infirmary. He could understand not being hungry but he was just running away from them. Sure he had attacked but its not like he did out of his own free will. Everyone on his squad would understand. Well maybe not Mike but who cared what that loser said. Right when Icarus was about to exit through the door Casimir sighed and took a step towards him.

"How much can a little taco eatin hu-gahh!" said Casimir holding on to his stomach as he reeled from the almost karmic pain.

He had somehow moved incorrectly which triggered the injury in his stomach to act up once again. It would probably be like that till the next morning. Jacob assertively told him to lay down so he could heal him somewhat and Casimir not wanting to feel like he was going to shit out his lungs all night obliged. The treatment lasted long enough for Kiris and Mizu to both leave in the meantime and Jacob let him go with a pat on the back. He exited the infirmary and began walking to the cafeteria where hopefully tacos awaited him. With a team the size of a classroom he wouldn't be surprised if they ran out already then he be pissed. Oh right! He was still in his Kabuto costume. He'd have to remember to clean off the blood and mend the damage tomorrow.

"Who knew getting yer friend to talk to you would be harder then taking down some hotshot villain with an inflated head," said Casimir under his breath as he continued to the taco bar's location.

[Finland SSR]

August 4th

---

Renata Martinez, the heroic Spectrum!

August 4th

---

As soon as Renata received Aleta's message, she dropped everything and ran. She ran on such emotional impulse that her mind did not even try to stop and raise so many obvious questions.

Why was Icarus here?
Why was Icarus in the infirmary?
Why was Aleta here?
Why did Aleta connect her with Icarus immediately?

None of those questions mattered. Because the only thing which was on Renata's mind, which could be on Renata's mind, was that Icarus was here and something terrible must have happened to him. The girl was storming through Wonder Tower's network of corridors with worry and fright as her drive, speeding past everything on her way, be it fellow Young Bloods or their superhero allies, until finally, she came to a halt and froze.

There he was. Idly resting against one of the walls of the corridor, ten or so meters away. The good news was that he looked healthy and fine, and that might have been enough for Renata to run and happily embrace him, but... he looked different. The top of his costume was missing and replaced with mysterious marks dotting his bare chest - and judging from Icarus's expression, he seemed to be no less confused about it as she was. So, instead, the pink-haired girl kept her distance, muttering only a single word:

"I-Icarus?.."

[Union Princes]

Mika was taken aback by the sudden barking. Startled, one could say, as she backed into a wall. In retrospect, the petite girl truly should have expected it, having seen the dog in the picture, but she assumed most dogs were just cute and loving to everyone. Not this one, no, and that may become a problem. Could animals be made to like you as well, she wondered?

Once Mika recovered from the sudden shock (and the mad beast stopped trying to eviscerate her), she looked around the room for a sign to her previous dilemma. Finally, a careful gaze fell upon an answer. When asked about her power, she grinned mentally. Oh, if she only knew. "That's part of it, yeah, but I needed a photo." The girl thought momentarily, trying to find a way to explain her reason for revealing this as well as gaining pity. "I...figured it would be best if you knew before we...before we continued anything." With a hand covering her face, she feigned worry, pretending like she had been taught all those years ago. "I know there's people that don't like people with powers, and they're right. I'm...I'm a freak, and my power isn't really any good. Not like those heroes. You don't hate me for it, right?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself!" Arin assures as she quickly grabbed Mika's hands and held it tightly with her own. "You're not a freak. You're not the only one with powers. I have powers too! See?" The redhead ripped off a piece of notebook paper and held it in front of Mika's face. For a while, nothing was happening but soon the area where Arin's fingers touch turned black and began to emit smoke. A tiny flash was seen and soon a small fire was ignited. In order to prevent the smoke detector from going off, Arin crumpled the paper and smothered the flame after she restored the burning point of the paper to normal.

"My powers allow me to burn, melt, and boil thing easier." She smiled, "It helps a lot when cooking. So, what about the English project that requires my help?"

[Bentus]

Voice
Midtown, San Diego

---

For a moment, Voice’s eyes shot open at Steven’s retort. Her jaw would have dropped in surprise if she didn’t quickly regain her senses. Narrowing her eyes at the former hero, Beverly’s expression hardened at his defensive response. Biting back an immediate retort, she felt a stab of regret at her initial harsh words, but that didn’t mean that she would apologise for speaking her mind. Had she lashed out a bit, had the long hours and nights caught up to her? Maybe. But that didn’t excuse Steven from casually implying that he’d refuse to help Yoshiro because of it! It was unbelievably petty, and Beverly couldn’t mask the bubbling anger that mixed with the sense of frustration in her chest.

I asked you out of courtesy, Steven. You and I both know that’s not a question that you can say ‘no’ to - no matter how you feel. Taking a firm step forward, the telepath jabbed an accusatory finger towards the teacher. And you don’t think that I tried to talk her out of it? She didn’t give me a choice: it was either send her into danger completely unprepared, or with whatever I could teach her in the time I had. At least I’ve been out there trying to help where I can instead of hiding behind a desk and pretending that we’re the lucky two who get to live normal lives. The voice of restraint was fading into the back of Beverly’s mind, entirely overshadowed by the words that flowed effortlessly from her lips. Within Steven’s thoughts, her telepathic broadcast seemed to grow louder as she continued. Should I have been more forceful? Should I have told Naja exactly what I thought of her little stunt? Yeah, probably. But there’s a lot of things that I regret an awful lot more, and I have no intention of adding the death of a teenage girl to that pile! And I bet that you don’t either.

Ending her tirade, Beverly let out the breath that she had been holding. Blinking, she felt like she had just relieved the pent up anger that she hadn’t even known she’d been building, but a stab of guilt struck as soon as she realised exactly what she’d said. Steven, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean all of that, it’s just…

The telepath’s voice trailed off as something in the teacher’s aura caught her eye. Pausing, her gaze narrowed as she studied the shifting shades of her old friend’s mental state - although there was a softness that was absent from her earlier expression. Steven wasn’t the only one able to make deductions, and something was definitely not quite right. Beverly’s eyes seem to lighten with a look of concern. Steven, what happened?

---

Lisette
Midtown, San Diego

---

Biting back her desire to wipe that smug smirk from Daniel’s face, Lisette took a deep breath and swallowed her pride. Just stay focused on the goal, you’re not out of trouble here yet. Not while the Outriders are still around. However they’d managed to lose sight of her, Lisette knew that Daniel had played a role. No matter how infuriating he may be, she still needed him. It just sucked that he also seemed to have figured that out, and was now making her squirm for the trouble. Following the wealthy heir - or his clone, she wasn’t quite sure which was which - out into some private garage, she was unphased by the appearance of his chauffeur. She had plenty herself, and a private driver was perhaps the most basic of status symbols in San Diego’s upper class. But the elderly man’s words towards Daniel, and her host’s flustered response, did catch her surprise.

Exchanging a glance between the pair, Lisette couldn’t mask her stunned disbelief. Could there have been a more excruciatingly painful example of stranger danger? She felt like she’d suddenly been transported into one of those intolerable safety videos from school. Silently groaning at the incompetence that was on display, Lisette rolled her eyes as she sighed in frustration exasperation.

“Ergh, fucking creep.” She muttered as she strode past both men and planted herself in the waiting seat. Reaching out to pull the door away from the chauffeur, Lisette shot one final pair of daggers towards Daniel.

“Pervert.”

And with that, she slammed the car door shut behind her.

---

The Amazing Ashen Moth!
Wonder Tower, San Diego

---

Ash’s features scrunched up in confusion as she silently listened to Cosmic and Alexis’ conversation. It wasn’t hard to figure out that this ‘Darklight’ must have been the girl who had been accompanying the other hero, but the pair had lost Ash not long after. Her wings shifted slightly, the mutant doing her best to nod along to their words and not give away her puzzlement over what eating one’s food in the bathroom meant. She supposed it didn’t seem that strange of a thing to do, especially if the bathroom had those stalls that one could lock themselves in and someone else was trying to take the food away from you before you had a chance to properly finish it - but it did strike her as being a bit excessive of a response. And wasn’t lunch a great time to socialise? If Darklight was always eating her food in the bathroom by herself, then wouldn’t she be missing out on the chance to hang out with her friends? The more that she tried to make sense of it, the less Ash felt like she understood. Maybe it was one of those metaphors or idioms that Casimir mentioned could be a bit confusing.

"But anyways, you two go check on your friends, I'll stay here, doesn't sound like overcrowding the infirmary is a good idea."

“Hmm?” Ash replied, suddenly pulled from her reverie as Alexis seemed to once again direct the conversation towards her. Quickly catching up to what was being said, a smile burst onto the mutant’s face at the blessing for her to go to the infirmary. She knew that talking to Alexis would help, she still had a chance to be a good friend and check up on Casimir while he was still injured. “Right, yes! You need not worry about us or our friends, Alexis - I shall take Cosmic to the infirmary right away.”

Eager to see their injured teammates as soon as possible, Ash had hardly finished speaking when she reached out to grasp Cosmic’s hands with one of her own. As she turned to race out of the room, the mutant didn’t even give the hero a chance to protest as he was suddenly being dragged along behind her. “Come on, I will show you the way!”

---

I was very sure that it was this way…

Slowing to a halt at the end of yet another of the Tower’s twisting array of halls and corridors, Ash turned her head to look up and down the t-junction. Frowning, she tried to recall where she may have taken a wrong turn outside of the dining room. She could have sworn that the infirmary was past the gym, but she had not expected to emerge into some of the team’s residences like this. Releasing Cosmic’s hand finally, the mutant didn’t seem to be out of breath despite the energetic pace she’d been setting through Wonder Tower.

“I believe that we must take a...left?” Placing a thoughtful hand on her chin, Ash made to follow her own instructions down the left-handed branch of the corridor before her steps slowed to a crawl and an eventual stop. Turning on her heels, she looked back down the other direction doubtfully. “Or maybe it was a right. Or back a little bit…”

Groaning, the girl admitted what she had been loathe to accept: she was lost. She hadn’t really thought about taking the most efficient route, confidently thinking that a short cut would mean that she’d be able to check on Casimir sooner rather than later. Instead, it had just made her lose her bearings all over again. After only a few days, it seemed like she still hadn’t quite mastered the Tower’s layout.

“I am very sorry Cosmic, I am sure that I can figure out where we are - or if I concentrate for a minute I could follow Casimir’s scent.” But you will too late, won’t you? Yoshiro said that Viviana was already there. What kind of a best friend gets lost on her way to check up on her friend? Pushing aside the thought, Ash turned to offer Cosmic a sheepish grin. “You do not happen to have the power of finding infirmaries, do you?”