Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Tomia]

"I'm giving you ONE warning. Step back into that little portal of yours, and never come back - or else!"

Dark Star
The villain smirked at the display in front of her. Heroes from legend had supposedly gathered in front of her, in numbers and strength that she couldn't hope to match. Still, she looked far from concerned, if anything she gave off an amused vibe. "I must say, this a clever illusion." She said, speaking to what she saw as Liberty. "But a little bit of advice? Next time make your trick a bit more believable. Any idiot who has read a history book could see through this. She said, causally raising her hand and sending a blast of dark energy towards "Liberty".

Roy
Meanwhile before Roy made his way down to the stage, he saw Wendy standing around with a group of police officers. "Wifi!" He called out to her, running in her direction. "I'm glad you're alright." He said, pulling her into a hug. He then pulled away and realized the back pack filled with explosives. "Holy Shit" He exclaimed, backing up a step or two.

[The Republic of Atria]

Red

Jason was prepared to make some more dodges and them smack her around some more, when Red came from behind and completely clobbered his prey with a brutal blow to the back of her head. Though he remained as nonplussed as ever. "Wow. Y'know, I WANTED to at least knock a couple more teeth out first. Maybe even make her question what she's doing with her life or something." He said, flatly. "Oh well. I guess a trip to the doctor for that concussion you definitely gave her. And probably a trip to the dentist will at least make her think about things. Probably not, but eh. We don't get paid by the villain. Or at all."

As he was talking, his eyes caught sight of her sword a few feet away from her body. He went to pick it up, but before he could, he got quite the sense of foreboding and curled his hand up and away from the magical weapon. "You know what? I think I'm not going to touch that. Gives me the heebie jeebies." He admitted. "But I think I have a work around." He said, grabbing Scarlet's unconscious body and put his right hand over the top of hers. Carefully he picked up the blade and slid it back into it's sheathe. "There we go, no more evil sword. Though, let's make sure she doesn't go anywhere."

Several tendrils crawled out of his back and coiled around Scarlet, restraining her in the event she awoke. Then he got an idea. A really stupid, will probably get him killed but at the same time, it would be awesome, idea. "Hey uh. I'm gonna go track down Dark Star and commence beatings. Wait up or don't!" He said, swinging towards the center of the stadium. Then he grabbed his communicator. "Hey guys. Sludge here. Scarlet's out colder than a politician's heart. I'm gonna go do something to ruin someone's day whose name may or may not rhyme with Tark Bar."

Immediately after, he heard Bael replying. "DO NOT! Are you crazy?! We have to-"

"Sorry bud. You're breakin' up real bad." And with that, he flicked his communicator off and entered the stadium's arena.

[Absolon-7]

Kabuto vs ??? Part 1

Casimir Herman September 27th
Two combatants stood only a few meters apart from each other in the blackness of the night and the shining presence of stadium lights. One was dressed in plain dark clothes with a white mask obscuring his entire face with only two white holes for his eyes and stood like a still mannequin as he observed. The other was shifting side in a boxing stance while his sleeves were frayed, a large hole was burnt on his jacket and shirt to expose a red burn, and several cuts and bruises adorned his body like he was sprayed with flecks of paint. The only indicator that he was a hero would've been his iconic Kabuto helmet that contrasted with his meager civilian clothes.

Casimir crouched forward for the first strike but the masked man has used his super speed to close the distance in less then the blink of an eye. The villain went to strike Casimir's throat but he guided the wrist away in time to deliver a forward elbow strike to the man's chest. The masked man recoiled from the blow and fell to the floor clutching at the site of the strike. Before Casimir could step forward he waved his hand in front of him to swathe the air with a coat of flames that forced Casimir to back flip away. Even from this distance he could feel the hot air stuffing his lungs. He immediately dashed in a semi circle around the arc of flames to a clear spot and without hesitation he jumped forward to land a straight punch at the masked man. With the air rushing by him the fact that his target was gone was bewildering.

The roar of a fireball from above was all the warning he needed to roll out of the way leaving himself covered in grass. The fireball hit the ground and popped like a balloon of flames which made Casimir shield his head. Another came right at him and running to side he finally caught his target floating in the air while they conjured more spheres of flame. Casimir crouched down and rocketed into the air right at the masked man who flew even higher up to avoid the hero. Casimir flicked his arm back as he came crashing down into the ground and shot the back of the man with his webbing. As he hit the floor the masked man was violently yanked downwards only to be the victim of a leaping kick at his side that left him reeling in pain on the ground.

"Is that all you got in you you son of a bitch?," yelled Casimir dramatically pointing at the masked man, "Here I was hoping for the maximum thrill a real villain provides."

The masked man propped himself up with his arms staring at the ground intensely with unblinking eyes. His arms trembled as his hands grasped at the ground clawing up dirt and grass under them. He got up huffing deep breaths and clenching his fists enough for veins to pop up. He shuffled forward and stared at Casimir dead on without wavering.

"Cat got your tongue? Here let me help you find it. By beating that mask open to check your swollen mouth," barked Casimir as he lunged forward.

Unexpectedly the masked man was excelling at blocking and deflecting the dozens of punches Casimir was sending at him. Casimir responded by increasing his speed even more where he was beginning to lose track of where his limbs where. They both broke the bout at the same time and arched away from each other in a breakneck run. They collided once, twice, and again in bouts of high speed combat after running apart for a time. At the fourth stop they were nearly halfway across the field from where they started. Casimir's chest heaved up and down as he struggled for breath with his wounds and cracked ribs from Thunderstruck still fresh. The masked man however seemed as fresh as the fight started.

"How the hell are you even still standing? You were coughing your lungs out the first time I hit you!" spat Casimir.

No answer.

"Very funny you Phantom of the Opera reject," angrily snarled Casimir before he rushed forward yet again, "Reduviidae Finger Spear!"

This time Casimir was able to land a crushing blow with his entwined fingers at the masked man's abdomen but something seemed off. He seemed to be tougher of all things then at the beginning of the fight. Casimir was almost caught off guard by the guttural yell from the man as he jabbed his fist forward to strike Casimir's chest. He was rebuffed roughly by the blow but his footing remained firm. The masked man then clenched his fists together and smashed them against Casimir's shoulders like a sledgehammer. This doesn't make sense! Casimir recoiled from the blow but he was quick to return a roundhouse kick that cracked against his foe's skull and launched them into the air. Casimir flicked both wrists out and yanked the masked man back.

Casimir caught him by the throat and he proceeded to spin in place to smash the masked man against the ground. Casimir raised one fist to pummel his skull in but the masked man grasped Casimir's wrist before he could deliver the final blow. Flames erupted from the grasp which compelled a yell from Casimir at the top of his lungs. He clenched the masked man's throat even harder to drag him across the ground before throwing him into the air. The masked man spun in the air some distance before stopping. He grasped at his throat and coughed heavily into his mask as Casimir gripped his burnt wrist suppressing his urge to scream.

"What are you gonna do now you half cocked leper!," shouted Casimir, "Its not like those clumsy fireballs have any chance of hitting me!"

Hovering in the air the masked man brought his fists to his chest and clenched them in a silent rage. Flames erupted from his palms like firecrackers before he began one last swoop to the ground. As he nosedived for Casimir the bug hero ducked under the attack and rolled forward before quickly grabbing onto the villain's shins and twisting his arms around to smash the masked man into the ground. The masked man was quick to retaliate by kicking Casimir's neck before tackling his stomach. He suddenly rocketed into the air into one of the stadium lights while using Casimir as a shield. The shattered glass splattered onto the ground like snow as the light was snuffed out at once.

The masked man floated back a few feet to recompose himself. He looked into his hands and repeatedly flexed them before floating closer to his fallen foe. Now all he had to do was take off that helmet and-

"Surprise motherfucker!" shouted Casimir as he leaped and grabbed onto the masked man.

The surprise attack was all it took for the masked man to lose his composure and fall to the ground like a meteor with Casimir returning the human shield favor. Both crashed and skidded along the ground before smashing onto the side of the raised platform where the NASL fight took place. Casimir wearily got up to his feet and backflipped away before he raised his fists in challenge.

"Ding! Ding ready for round two!," said Casimir his words trailing off at the end.

[The Republic of Atria]

Bael and Sludge vs Dark Star

Jason sauntered into the arena silently, one of his typical half smiles on his face as he stuck his phone to the wall where it had excellent coverage of the arena. “Oi! Chica!” He called out to the supervillain who seemed to have just finished dealing with some illusions, turned over to him. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sludge, dumb name, I know, but hey. I’m gonna be them one kicking your ass tonight.” Right as he finished, he tossed the unconscious body of Scarlet Sword into the arena and jumped in landing right beside her. “And please tell me you’re going to put a better fight than her. Seriously, it took a few seconds and I’m pretty sure I almost fell asleep. Not the hallmark of someone threatening.”

“So far, you’ve amused me.” Dark Star replied. “Confidence, a good volume. You like being the center of attention.”

“Already you’ve got better banter than whatshernuts.” He pointed a thumb back to Scarlet. “Always nice to see someone who’s not taking themselves super seriously and having fun with it. I get it. Too many people up their own asses. Anyways, let’s go ahead and commence the violence. That’s what everyone’s watching for after all.”

“So quick to throw your life away?” She asked.

“Balls to the walls. Something something guts and glory.” He started his saunter up again and Dark Star, not about to be outperformed began her walk towards the slimy, boastful hero. Once they were within a few feet, they stopped and Dark Star opened with a beam of darkness. It soared through the air, crashing into and ripping apart the wall behind her. She raked the beam across the stadium and into the seats where she thought he retreated.

She stopped and glanced around. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Not sneaking around in the seats, and he wasn’t in the arena based on the full turn she took. He couldn’t have gone far. The only other place he could’ve gone was- “-!” She glanced up just in time to get her head covered in a large glob of gunk. Her reflexes took over and she went to scrape it out of her eyes and nose when a second barrage came, making it more difficult to clear her face.

Jason shot two more tendrils down and slingshot himself down at an angle, crashing his feet into her face and knocking her down and using her face as a springboard to flip backwards.

A pair of beams erupted from her eyes, raking randomly across the arena. Jason managed to avoid it, but so far he’d have to say that his plan was working. Even though he knew it was all downhill from here. “You cocky little brat…” She hissed.

“Sorry Karen. Do you wanna talk to the manager? I actually don’t know where she’s at right now.” He replied.

Jason barely had time to blink before the villain had crashed into him and crashed into the seats using him as a cushion. He was certain several of his bones had shattered from the impact, but he made sure not to let out any sign that he was hurt. He couldn’t. “Is it too late to say that I think you look great- Ack!” He grunted as he placed one of her hands around his neck and lifted him off the ground, despite the coating it felt like the fingers were the tiniest bit away from shattering his neck.

“I suppose you thought that would do something more?”

“Lil’ bit.” He admitted, still with the grin on his face. “Still having some fun…” He managed before trying to suck in another breath, however limited it was. “Fight’s been… Informative though.” The grip loosened just the tiniest bit.

“In what way?” She asked. “Learning how outmatched you are?” To her slight annoyance, his smile only grew a little wider.

“Few things… First and foremost?” He took another tiny breath. “You’re awful at looking up.”

Before she could react, a blue brute smashed into her, causing her to release Jason who scurried away as fast as his oxygen deprived state would let him. He saw the woman flung from the cloud of dust and into the arena.

“‘Bout time you showed.” Jason coughed.

“I’ve got half a mind to just let her kill you.” Bael replied.

“Aw, I love you too.” He replied. “Come on. Let’s kick her sorry ass!”

The pair looked towards where Dark Star was. Even from there, they could see that she looked quite frustrated. She lifted her arm and shot another blast of darkness at the two heroes. Jason ducked and avoided most of the blast, Bael was less fortunate and was smashed against the back wall. The woman floated up slowly, a scowl present on her face. “The novelty of this little spat has now worn off.”

“Aww, and we were just starting to get along!” Jason mused and flung away to the center of the arena. Dark Star saw as Bael had started to recover from her blast. The loud one came first. She shot at Jason, just barely missing the hero as he jumped over her.

Jason retaliated with shooting another tendril at her. Which Dark Star caught and used to yank him towards her. He was prepared for such a scenario and fired several more blobs at her. She pulled up her arm to block them, which let Jason use it as a stepping stone to flip over her.

So she swung her arm backwards and swatted the slimy hero into the ground near Scarlet, where he crashed and seemed to stay. Her attention shot back to Bael who was flying straight at her. The pair collided in the air and fell to the ground.

Bael threw a punch at her with his right arm. She caught it without too much trouble. Then came his left, which she also caught. Then came his head which slammed directly into her nose. She released her grip and staggered back a full step. A single drop of blood trickled down onto her lip.

The scowl went from that to a death glare. She struck the Dra’Qunni before he had a chance to react. He flew back and impacted the edge of the arena, where she followed up by blasting him with a powerful blast of darkness from both of her hands. As far as she could tell, the dragon was out of the fight.

Finally, she turned her attention over to Jason who had propped himself up against the wall, clearly hurt. She floated over, determined to break his smug attitude and be done with it. “I have to know, boy.” She spoke in a more serious tone. “What were you hoping to accomplish here? Other than getting your friends and allies hurt?”

Jason let out a small laugh, doing his damndest to hide the fact that the only thing keeping him alive was Sludge acting a glue to physically hold his body together and heal it. “Ah, ah… It hurts to laugh. Heh. Well. If I told you, that would ruin you trying to figure it out for yourself. Maybe I was trying to beat you and fluff my ego. Maybe you played straight into my hand.”

“I find that extraordinarily difficult to believe.” She replied, less than amused.

“Alright. Hint time. Yeah. I came into here pretty confident that I couldn’t beat you. Even with my best bud helping out, didn’t seem to last long and now he’s probably gonna be pissed at me for doing this. I mean, all we managed with our best shot was get a drop of blood. Poor Bael’s probably out like a light and well. Me too probably within the next few moments.”

“Enlighten me. What absurd plan did you have coming into here? Was it to die?”

“No. Maybe. Got a ton of shit I don’t feel like going back to. But I am a man of many mysteries, plots, plans and self loathing.”

“I’d hardly call you a man.” She mused, ready to strike the hero down, when her eyes caught the glint of metal: Scarlet’s sword. The metal blade slicing through the air aimed at the left side of her neck. In the tiniest fraction of a second, she thrust her arm up to block the blade. And it did, the blade cutting her skin, but stopping when it her the bones in her forearm.

She saw the smug look on his face and readied her hand to tear him in half when the blade glowed and erupted with a force that blew them both away. Jason flew up and backwards, landing in the seats somewhere whereas the magic merely knocked on her back for a second or so. She floated back up, seeing the cut on her arm and looked around to spot the soon to be dead hero. No immediate results, and she wasn’t sure if she was willing to waste her time searching for a shadow in darkness. He was clearly badly injured and seemed to have retreated. She waited several moments, even checking the ceiling a few times just to be sure, but the hero had escaped. Then she dashed over to where she blasted Bael through a wall. She saw the imprint of the wall he collided with, a storage room of sorts, but he was nowhere to be seen. Both had escaped. They had been bested and had only inflicted minor injuries that had already begun to heal.

She put it out of her mind. The heroes were simply overconfident and thought they could win and were smacked down for that arrogance.

Right?

[Finland SSR]

Zoe Foster - Impulse
NASL Arena, New York
September 27th

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

September 27th

---

The rather tense standoff in the aftermath of the explosion was suddenly broken by the ginger haired girl from earlier, who introduced herself as Impulse and immediately employed a some sort of vibration power to blast away the fog, smoke and rubble which set in across the corridor. One for one, then - and while Renata wasn't sure how this newcomer would compare to Bael' usual reliable self, she definitely wasn't going to say no to additional help.

As long as they don't get in the way.

The cleared out smoke unveiled that Killswitch was no longer alone. The corridor he picked to run into was not one he stumbled onto by accident - it was an ambush. From the rubble and behind the broken walls, over a dozen masked goons stepped out, moving from several directions and aiming to surround the three heroes. While they didn't appear to be super-powered themselves, each one of them was equipped with a weapon, be it crowbars or tasers, while Killswitch himself watched the situation unfold with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.

Renata stepped closer to Impulse, pressing her back against her newfound ally's, and began tracking the goons surrounding them with her eyes. Her fingertips crackled with energy and brief flashes of plasma, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Alright, I'll have to ask you why and how you know Icarus when we're done... but for now, I'll take the right and you take the left. And Bael can take the... center, I guess? I'm kinda running out of cardinal directions here, sorry."

[New Neros]

Darklight and Cosmic
The Ties That Bind, Part I

September 27th

Sweat soaked them as their bodies collided once more. They were simply relentless and restless, two teens in the primes of their life giving in to animalistic instinct, refining their skill and talent down to their most basal nature. Running a bruised hand through his hair, Mark slicked it back with blood and sweat, staring down Ava, who spat to the side, blood and spit hitting the floor as she rose her hands once more. Mark lowered his chin and did the same, the two friends throwing hands, feet, elbows, knees, and foreheads at the other, aiming to inflict pain, opting for defense only if it put them in a better position to attack immediately after.

Observant and callous, their squad leader had the eyes of hawk when she watched the two spar, Shi calling out corrections to their form and tactics in the middle of their bout, both Darklight and Cosmic heeding her advice on the fly and soaking in all the knowledge and ability they could. Eventually, a timer buzzed loudly, and the pair stepped out of their fighting mindset, and shook hands as equals as Shi looked on. Exiting the training session and allowing the endorphins to course through their minds, the pair both recovered relatively quickly, and discussed the upcoming bout at the tournament.

Though Shi preferred to attend to other things during the Bluejays and the Suns’ matchup, Ava and Mark made an appearance and headed for the VIP section that Kylie had reserved for the Young Bloods. As the pair neared the door of the booth, a beefy bodyguard stopped them both from entering. “This area is reserved for Young Bloods only, sir, I’m going to have to ask you to find somewhere else to watch the match.” Looking up at Darklight, he gave a quick smile. “Miss Darklight, you are free to enter, but you will need to clear your guest first.”

“The fuck?” Cosmic asked, “I’m a Young Blood, too!” He looked floored, “I fought in two squad matches, two exhibition matches, my name and team was announced in all of them! I’m Cosmic, that guy, space dude, invisible man that no one gives a shit about, ring any bells? Squad Five, for gods’ sake.”

“Erm, no, I don’t recall anyone like that. If you’re going to cause a problem, I can alert the proper authorities and have you removed if you continue to disturb our guests.” He leaned close to Cosmic, who held a deep scowl, and whispered closely, “We are surrounded by heroes, after all.” As he spoke, commotion was going on behind the doors, lights began to flicker, and the bouncers’ phone began to buzz. “Oh shit, oh shit…” He said quickly, “You two stay here, something just happened. Do not move.”

As the man hurried away, Ava and Mark exchanged a look with each other and bolted, running through the hallways until they were in the general seating area and able to see the arena below. Swarms of people were moving haphazardly, all in a frenzy to escape the stadium as explosions went off in various parts of the building. “I wouldn’t think anyone was stupid enough to attack the literal epicenter of superheroism.” Ava stated bluntly, grabbing a random man trying his best to get out of the building. “Hey, buddy, what the fuck happened out there?”

“It got all dark and then some villains showed up.” An explosion caused him to wince and duck down, itching to bolt as soon as Ava stopped prodding him.

“Darklight to team, Cosmic and I are at the southeast sections.” Her announcement wasn’t met with a reply, “Darklight to team, anyone out there?” Others began to talk without regard to her, causing the teen to flip her communicator over. “Fuckin’ shit.” She said, showing the device to Cosmic, the small screen flashing a warning “Voice Input Malfunction; Service Immediately”, which meant she could hear but not talk back. “We can get a reading of what’s going on by their chatter,” She reasoned, Cosmic nodding and looking out over the sea of people. “Whacha thinkin’, Mark?”

“We need to get these people out of here.” He looked around as people were confused and scared, trying their best to push their way through to safety. “Darklight, here’s my plan. I’m going to blast a big fucking hole in the wall all the way outside. I need you to form a big barrier to block out the shockwave and debris, and after that, make a construct of stairs to help them down.” Ava stared at Cosmic for a moment, the man wondering if his idea sounded dumb, “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just so eerie seeing you come up with a good, reasonable plan that still somehow involves you blowing shit up.” Waving her hand in front of her body, Darklight erected a giant bubble shield over a large section of the wall in front of them, nodding at Cosmic when it was ready to blow. Cosmic removed his hoodie and stood in his tank top, clenching his fist and swirling energy around it as he stared intently at the wall, finding the imperfections to shatter. Walking closer, Cosmic reared his fist back and slammed it against the wall, flooding the entire surface with energy and forcing it all out, blowing a house-sized hole as daylight poured in against the artificial light.

Though many people were instantly frightened and ducked for cover, Darklight was quick to reform her bubble shield into a large flight of stairs leading down to the street level, and began to form flashing signs pointing towards the new exit. Both heroes rose into the air and loudly announced themselves. “Safely exit the stadium! Follow the signs, watch your step, be careful! We’re here to help!”

The evacuation took some time, but several hundred, if not thousands, of people were safely removed from the stadium as the other Young Bloods fought Thudnerstruck, Scarlett Sword, and Killswitch collectively. As the last women and children left the area, Darklight recalled the energy of the stairs and stored it in her Moon Ring, satisfied at the upgrade to conserve her moonlit energy by recycling constructs. “Cosmic!” She shouted suddenly, the teen hero flying close to her to report. “Sludge and Bael are going to fight Dark Star. It’s her and another villain still left, Kabuto is fighting the other villain. I’m not too sure about anyone else right now.”

“Well,” Cosmic thought for a moment, “Since our evacuation was a success, I think we should go help in the arena.” Ava nodded, and followed Cosmic back down to the center. The pair saw the very tail end of Jason and Bael’s short yet satisfying bout with Darkstar, leaving the villainess with minor injuries, Mark and Ava having two different reactions to the events. Ava was reserved and concerned, thinking of strategies and tactics to employ against the supervillain herself, “She could handle Bael and Jason at the same time, that’s no easy task and she did it easily. We’re going to have a bad time, and need to play our cards exactly in order to have a chance. I wish Shi were here to help, she would know what to do immediately.”

A smirk curled the corners of Mark’s lips, “Finally.”

[The Republic of Atria]

Renata

He barely had time to completely process what just happened. Killswitch had lured him into a trap, but some quick thinking on Renata's part he was wrested free of the explosion. Unfortunately, Renata grabbed the closest thing she could, which just so happened to be his tail. He grit his teeth and flew back, using every ounce of his fortitude to avoid instinctively kicking her like a angry horse.

After he smacked onto his back, the flames and sound of falling debris from Killswitch's attack still audible, he blinked a few times getting the rest of himself up to speed. The good news was that he was very much alive and not dealing with the effects of getting exploded and left alone with a supervillain. The bad news is he didn't know what to say to Renata about it or how to tell her what she did. How do you even bring something up like that? Sure, she obviously had no way of knowing that touching one's tail is a big no-go so it wasn't malice.

Not that it made it easier to tell her... What did he tell her? He stood back up, his face burning with a more intense look than he'd intended. "...Thank you." He spoke, his tone calm despite the grimace. Zoe stepped up next using what appeared to be some form of telekinesis to clear the debris. "Hey." He turned his attention to the red head. "He's obviously waiting for us down there. You think if I distract him, you can hold him down for long enough for R-Stella to get a clean shot?"

He thought about just tearing the ground apart and flattening him with a mountain of concrete. Regretting that maybe he should have just broke his back since the bastard was an assassin. It wouldn't have killed him. And even if it did, would anyone give him anything but praise for it?

Bael shook his head to get rid of the darker thoughts. "Let me go first. I can take his explosions without having to worry about getting seriously hurt." He said and jumped down into the now ruined hallway seeing Killswitch looking at a wristwatch he obviously didn't have.

"Took you long enough. And here I was thinking about turning you into a new pair of boots and a wallet."

Bael opted not to reply, instead, flinging his arm to the side which sent large chunks of stone at the assassin. Killswitch had little difficulty dodging the debris. The dark thoughts creeped up again, and he sent a slightly sharper hunk of stone with a bit more power than he'd intended.

Killswitch detonated an explosion which obliterated the stone shard, but flung him to the ground.

[Bentus]

Lisette Aveline - The Nefarious Marionette!
Freedom’s Nest, New York

---

As the finals drew closer and closer, Lisette could hardly contain her excitement. From the arrival of the Young Bloods and their incredible debut onto the NASL stage, to the whirlwind of special treatment and access that Daniel’s ticket had granted her, this was shaping up to be the heiress’ favourite tournament yet! Every match felt like it was being balanced on a knife’s edge, with the drama and interplay between the heroes steadily building up to a nail-biting conclusion that was keeping the villain on the edge of her seat. With the semi-finals promising to be the greatest match-up of the contest so far, Lisette had spent the night preparing herself with all the latest rumours and details on the competitors. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that even Daniel’s presence at the stadium couldn’t detract from the incredible experience - and she was certain that there was nothing that could have ruined it.

Or at least that’s what she thought, until the explosions tore through grounds and interrupted the festivities.

The attack had caused the stadium to descend into chaos, with heroes and the authorities desperately trying to manage the situation as civilians struggled to find the exits through collapsed corridors and panicked crowds. In the hectic madness that had gripped the crowds, it was difficult to figure out what was really going on, and that fact left Lisette frustrated to no end. She’d deliberately pulled herself away from the thronging masses, moving away from the exits as she tried to piece things together.

There had clearly been some kind of attack - the collapsed corridors and fire alarms were evidence enough of that. But who would have dared to risk the wrath of so many heroes when they were all in the same place? And what could they have been hoping to gain? Frowning, Lisette was finding herself with more questions than answers as she tried to navigate her way from the now empty halls - piecing together a path through the ruins and debris as best she could. With the distant sounds of a fight and shouts being overwhelmed by the constant wailing of alarms, the pounding in Lisette’s head certainly didn’t help her situation. But her ears suddenly perked up when she picked up on a faint buzzing sound, like when a mosquito flies too close to your ear, except...larger?

Turning towards the source of the sound, Lisette was surprised to see the sight of Ashen Moth darting through the corridors. The heroine had her head on a swivel as she quickly maneuvered herself through the air, looking around for any signs of trapped civilians in the rubble or injured people who could use her help. The girl’s brow was furrowed in concern as she glanced around her surroundings, and the thin layer of soot and dust that coated her seta betrayed her time spent in the thick smoke of the fires near the source of the explosions. After so long of not using her wings, putting them through their paces so suddenly was quickly causing Ash to tire. The exertion was only exacerbated by the weight of the unconscious man that she cradled in her arms.
At first it didn’t look like the heroine noticed her, with her attention entirely focused on the wounded civilian in her arms. But that didn’t stop an idea from dawning in Lisette’s mind. Doing her best to put on a frightened, vulnerable expression, the villainess began waving her hands frantically in the air to get the Young’s Blood’s attention. “Ashen Moth, over here! Oh thank God, I’m so glad to see you - I was so scared!”

Immediately turning towards the sound of distress, Ash’s eyes widened at the sight of the terrified civilian so far within the stadium. She could’ve sworn that she’d already passed through this area, but at least the girl appeared to be mostly unharmed. Doing her best to mask her tiredness and put on a brave - hopefully comforting - smile, Ash quickly approached Lisette. “Do not worry, everything is ok now that the Young Bloods are here to help! You are unharmed, yes?”

Feigning a weakness in her legs, Lisette rested her weight against the wall. “Y-yes, I think so. One moment I was watching the presenters, and then the next - oh my God - there was an explosion, and everyone was screaming, it was horrible!” As she held back a sob, Lisette silently applauded herself for her acting abilities. “What...what’s happening?”

Offering the woman a sympathetic expression, Ash felt a pang of guilt for what the girl must have been going through. She was a hero, and it was part of her job to protect people from experiencing pain and sadness. “There was an attack by villains. Thunderstruck, a lady with some shadowy-tentacles who looks very mean, and some others - but Kabuto is fighting them with the rest of the team, so they will be defeated soon.” Looking over the girl, Ash had to admit that she did seem to be completely uninjured. Biting her lip, the mutant glanced down at the unconscious figure that she still cradled in her arms. She had passed by so many people that needed help, but she could only carry one at a time. Maybe this would be a good time to...how would Casimir say it...think on her feet?

“You are able to walk, so I must ask you to also be a hero too, yes? Can you please help this boy get to the exit?”

Lisette had been busy mulling over the new information about the attackers when Ash’s words blindsided her. “Oh, um...yeah, I suppose I could -” Her words suddenly got stuck in her throat as she looked down to see that the unconscious figure was decked out in a clearly amateurish Mask cosplay attempt. A look of annoyance flashed across Lisette features, but she quickly buried the thought as she instead saw an opportunity. “I mean, yes. Definitely. Anything to help.”

Having missed Lisette’s momentary lapse of character, a look of relief washed over Ash’s face as she carefully lowered the civilian so that the girl could bear his weight. Part of her knew that she should have really brought the young boy to the exit herself, and that dropping such a weight of responsibility on an innocent bystander was unheroic, but she had to try and save as many people as she could. With that in mind, Ash didn’t wait to exchange any pleasantries before she turned to race back into the ruined part of the stadium, confident that she was doing the right thing. “You have many of my thanks, friend. You are doing a very good thing!”

Smiling widely, Lisette held the boy across her shoulders as she offered the departing mutant a confident nod. “I won’t let you down Ashen Moth, I’m a huge fan!” As soon as the heroine’s figure disappeared around the corner though, she let out an exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes. Tossing the unconscious body gracelessly onto the ground, Lisette scowled as she brushed some of the dust off of her hands. It turns out that it hadn’t been hard to play along with the Young Bloods’ pet, but it was almost too easy sometimes. Still, it got her what she needed.

Looking down at the figure, Lisette prodded him with her foot. “Hey, you’re out cold, right? No creepy surprises or anything, right?” The lack of any response was exactly what she’d wanted to hear. Grinning, the girl crouched down next to the man and plucked the cheap cosplayer mask from his head and pulled the leather jacket from his shoulders. Part of her was disgusted at the thought of dressing up like Red of all people, but the ends justified the means. This wasn’t a small-time group of villains, and it was clear that they were after the Young Bloods in particular for some reason. And that wouldn’t do. They were her heroes, and she’d kill anyone who tried to take them away from her.

[Tomia]

September 27th, NASL Tournament
As Dark Star battled with Jason and Wyatt, and the mysterious meta fought Yoshi and Casimir, more and more heroes started pouring into the stadium. Dozens of heroes from across the league had returned to the stadium to join in the fight against Dark Star. Many of them were working on damage control, between fighting back the fires and making sure the crowds got out safely. The others were now surrounding Dark Star, who looked around with a cruel smile.

"I would love to stay, and embarrass all of you on live television. But I believe it is time we said farewell. Let this be a warning however, your time in the spotlight is over. You so called heroes have enjoyed your days of comfort for far too long. The darkness is coming, and when it does there be nowhere for you to hide."

With that black holes open up around the stadium as Scarlet Sword, Thunderstruck, and Killswitch disappeared just as they appeared. The still conscious power stealing villain walked back next to Dark Star and together they vanished into the darkness. With the villains gone they left behind the wailing sounds of ambulance and police sirens as paramedics stormed the playing field to care for injured heroes.The stadium had been evacuated, but predictably the press were waiting outside, trying to get a sense of what happened. It hadn't gone unnoticed that among the few still standing against Darkstar by the end were mostly from the upstart team the Young Bloods.

All across the internet, cell phone footage of the various fights against the villains began to flood the internet. Heroes had been attacked on live television, and while the country was shocked and horrified, the narrative quickly began to form that the silver lining was the meteoric rise of the Young Bloods.

September 29th, New York City
"Now our next guest might be one of the most popular guys in the country right now. After the horrible attack on the NASL tournament earlier two days ago, he and his team heroically defeated the so called 'Legion of Darkness'. Without further ado, lets welcome NIGHTSHADE!"

The large studio audience roared in applause as a somewhat timid Roy walked onto the stage. He managed a smile and a wave however as he walked towards the nearby guest chair. Sitting across from him was late night talk show host Jim Sullivan. Sullivan was a popular comedian and talk show host, whose show "Tonight Talk" dominated late night television ratings. He was a charming and attractive looking man in his late thirties, with a bright smile and well kept short brown hair. Roy was hesitant to come onto the show, but Naja insisted it was in the best interest of the team for him to appear. He wasn't in his classic Nightshade suit(though the show had asked multiple times) but instead he was in a button down shirt and blue suit jacket. After shaking Jim's hand Roy sat down in the guest chair as he tried not to squint due to the bright stage lights around him.

"So, Nightshade, its great to have you on the show."

"Thank you Jim, you can call me Roy by the way. I'm really excited to be here."

"Alright Roy, so first I have to ask. Are you still seeing double from that hit surge laid on you during the tournament?" The crowd laughed, and Roy managed a polite smile,

"Well, I guess I was seeing cartoon birds for a little while, but ya I got over it. Surge is a great competitor and I really hope people enjoyed the competition."

"You know, even though you lost in the quarterfinals, it really is incredible what the Young Bloods managed right? I mean quarterfinals as a first year team? That's unheard of right?" Jim turned to the crowd. "Can we get a round of applause for the Young Bloods real quick?" The crowd roared in applause and Roy smiled and offered a wave in thanks.

"Ya I mean, it was incredible really. We uh, didn't know what to expect going in, but competing in the tournament turned out to be a really positive experience for us. But I also want to say that, its bittersweet because we can't forget about the attack that happened during the semifinals."

"Yes of course, I wanted to ask you about that as well. There's been a lot of news reported about the talks, and people have been saying that there have been heroes who have seemingly lost their powers as a result of the attack. Do you have anything you could share about that?"

"Well, I can't really comment on an ongoing investigation Jim, but I want people to know that heroes across the country are working on figuring out what happened. And for those who were injured in the attack, I'm going to do everything I can to set things right." There was another round of applause as the host smiled into the camera.

"Roy, you know I have to tell you you are a charming young man. I want to ask now a bit more about your team. The Young Bloods have captivated the entire country, you've got kids all across the country wanting to grow up and join. Is this what you and the others had in mind when you started?"

"You know to be a role model, its an incredible thing. The fact that people think we are something to look up to is a great honor. But really when it started we were just a bunch of kids trying to help people. And I like to think that's what we still are, fame or no fame."

"Well, I think that's what has made you so popular in a lot of ways. And I hate to do this to you, but I think my fans would kill me if I didn't ask about these." Jim said, holding up a few magazines with Roy on the cover. They had titles like "Most Eligible Hero" "Hottest Hero of the Year" and so on.

Roy's smile tightened a bit but he kept his composure as he waited for Jim to speak. The crowd was really roaring now.

"So, clearly there are a lot of people who like you for more than your good deeds. So, what's Nightshade's nightlife like?"

"I'm flattered, but I'm a bit of a private guy if I'm being honest. But well, there is someone I'm seeing and she's... well she's great, and I'm really happy." There were some awes and cheers at that.

"I'm really glad to hear that Roy, really, thanks again for coming onto the show. Let's here it one more time for NIGHTSHADE!" The audience erupted once more as Roy stood up and shook Jim's hand before heading off the set.

October 2nd, San Diego
With the tournament over, most of the Young Bloods headed back to school. For most it was business as usual. But for those whose secrets had been revealed, things were going to be very different. A clear example of this was Angelica, whose identity had been exposed earlier that summer. Alexis and Mars had offered to make her a disguise but Angelica refused. She had been hiding long enough, it was time she finally faced the world as who she was. However that was easier said and done and she was dreading heading back to school.

That morning she and Alexis walked to school together(Angelica had said she'd go alone but Alexis wasn't having any of that), and once they got within a few dozen yards of the school doors kids swarmed around Angelica.

"Angelica! Can you introduce me to the other Young Bloods!" One kid shouted. "Can you make us an ice rink?!" Another shouted. The ice hero was clearly overwhelmed, but Alexis had a plan. Suddenly a voice interrupted the crowd, "Hey head to class!" It was the voice of the vice principle and the kids quickly scattered to their first period class. However the vice principle was nowhere to be seen as the voice had originated from Alexis' watch.

"Thanks" Angelica said softly as they walked into school in peace.

Alexis flashed a bright smile and got up on her tip toes to kiss Angelica on the cheek. "No problem, cutie."

With that school started as normal, and Angelica and Alexis made their way to their English class.

[New Neros]

Darklight and Cosmic
The Ties That Bind, Part II

September 27th

Dark Star felt a surge of heat and saw a flash as she tilted her head to the side, the small window of time occupied by Cosmic and his opponent sharing a brief eye contact, each one following the other, as the hero narrowly missed kicking the villainess in the head. She began to turn her body and pursue, but another joined the fight, pitting her two on one once again, a small framed girl surrounded by white energy armor shoulder checking Dark Star dead center. She slid back maybe a few feet, looking down on the teenage heroine who looked positively wide-eyed that a full-speed blow like that barely moved Dark Star.

Forming a swirling ball of darkness in her palm, “More examples to be made, I see.” Dark Star said quietly, reaching out and grabbing Darklight’s upper arm to ensure she couldn’t escape. “Show me what good you can do when you’re dead.” At that moment, Cosmic landed his second kick, a full spin kick that absolutely slammed into the side of Dark Star’s head, the hero motionless for a moment as he grew a concerned look, his blow not even causing the villainess to flinch despite the air surging to the side from Cosmic’s force. Dark Star shifted her eyes to look at Cosmic’s leg, and instead of putting her dark energy to use against Darklight, she slammed the ground with it faster than either of the teens could react to.

The result was a torrential out-pour of pitch black energy in the shape of a vortex, quickly covering the three in darkness. Dark Star let out a laugh, echoing in the expanse she created. “I am so far beyond both of you. I imagine they will remember you both, but memories will fade. You will die twice, once fighting me, and again when no one remembers you ever existed.” Cosmic felt a hand clutch his throat and throw him several feet away, his entire body grabbed by unseen, disembodied hands as even his screams were muffled by the pitch black darkness. “You could say I’ve died once, long ago.”

Cosmic began to flood his body with energy, screaming loud enough to rip through his surroundings and cut the darkness back, becoming a bright beacon in the endless sea of nothing. In the far distance, he could see a dim white light, and rushed towards it instinctively, wanting desperately to free himself from the trap. Instead of finding an exit, he found Darklight, who had surrounded herself with a bubble of moonlit energy. The darkness swirled into tiny drills and arrows, attempting to pierce her barrier and put her into bondage, but Ava’s quick thinking kept her free as Cosmic came barreling toward her, erasing the darkness as he arrived. “We’re nothing like regular teenage heroes.” Cosmic declared, clenching his fist. “We’re the ones who’ll put you in the fucking ground.”

“Cosmic,” Ava said as the darkness left the arena, coming together at a center point and forming itself in the shape of a humanoid. “We can’t touch her normally, we have to get concentrated.” Both heroes knew the routine, taking a deep, lung-filling breath, expanding their blood vessels to pump more oxygen through their bodies, reaching every cell in their body, increasing their blood circulation and heart rate. In order to overcome their own power discrepancy to train better, both Mark and Ava focused on training their base forms as harshly as possible, figuring that the higher their base, the more power they would be able to utilize when their modifiers kicked in.

Dark Star formed in an instant, and moved in that same moment, but this time, both Cosmic and Ava were able to keep track of her movements. She formed her hand into dark claws and lunged forward at Darklight, the girl jumping back quickly while Cosmic swung forward, colliding his fist with the villainness’ face, this time, the attack actually having impact as he sent her flat on her back and busted her nose and lip. “You are full of surprises.” She noted while on her back, feeling her bloodied face with her hand, harshly frowning. “I despise surprises.” Leaping up to her feet, Dark Star opened her palm at Cosmic and instantly launched a jet black beam of energy, Cosmic reacting by catching the attack and sliding back on his heels. Digging in didn’t help, it only tore up more of the arena, even throwing his own energy into his palms to help combat the attack just led to it being snuffed out. Dark Star poured a sizable amount of power into the attack, waiting for the right moment to either overwhelm her opponent, or...

Just as expected, Darklight attacked to let the pressure off of her teammate, and Dark Star responded harshly by avoiding Darklight’s energy construct spear and driving her fist deep into the girls’ abdomen, cracking her hardlight armor and sending her flying back towards the stadium seats. Quick to respond to the next attack, Dark Star reached out her hand and deflected a punch by Cosmic, stepping close to him and hitting him twice in the ribs and once in the chin, placing her foot behind his and ripping it out from under him by sliding her own foot back, dropping her head and driving the top of her skull forward into Cosmic’s chin, the physical blow strong enough to knock his entire body back the same distance Darklight was blasted.

Simultaneously, the pair of heroes launched from their precarious positions and came barreling towards Dark Star, the duo working in tandem to land hard-hitting blows on Dark Star’s body. Being more durable and sturdy, Cosmic acted as a tank and sledgehammer while Darklight, more agile and faster, acted as a scalpel to weave through Dark Star’s defenses and strike her undefended areas. Locking one of her legs around Dark Star’s neck and spinning around it, the villainess tossed the heroine off of her while Cosmic punched her unguarded stomach hard enough to make her cough blood, but as the teens continued their combined assault, they found themselves fighting a regenerative foe who was more than a match for either of them, even together.

Despite that realization, Dark Star felt herself pushed into a corner, and it pissed her off to see these kids acting high and mighty because they can land a few kicks and punches. Darklight slid at her quickly and leapt up with a spin, aiming to kick the side of her head, Dark Star dodging the strike by leaning back extremely far, her eyes locked on Darklight for a moment before refocusing on right above her, learning from her fight with Bael and Jason, and seeing Cosmic’s heel driving down onto her body. Twisting herself, Dark Star spun and pushed her body off of the ground with her foot, smashing Cosmic’s midsection with an angled uppercut, and audibly breaking four of his lower ribs in the process.

Landing some ways away, Cosmic slapped the ground on his back hard enough to bounce, and almost as if he were ignoring the pain and severity of the assault, leapt right back into the action. Charging his body with energy, Cosmic came back with increased power and durability, flashing his plethora of reserve each time he landed a hit, forcing Dark Star back more and more as he slowly took over the battle, Darklight pulling back to keep her moonlight reserved, as each hit from Dark Star broke her armor, and she had to expend energy to fix it every time. Dark Star realized this as well, and formed two balls of darkness in her hands. She launched both at Cosmic like a pair of laser beams, Cosmic positioning himself between them and racing down the middle to punch Dark Star, exploding his own energy directly on her face and knocking her back into the stands for once.

Black tendrils grew from the villainess’ body without warning as she seethed, “This has gone on for long enough. My amusement is over, and my rage is all that remains. This was going to be easy, but I clearly need to put out some effort.” Launching herself forward, Cosmic swatted away at the tendrils attacking him, Darklight doing the same. Dark Star blasted Mark with more dark energy, the hero being hit square in the gut by the blast and crumbling from the force. Dark Star then pointed her finger at Darklight, shooting a pin-point blast of energy at her calf, piercing it through without effort, the beam continuing down through the stadium. Yelling out in agony, Darklight dropped to one knee.

Gritting her teeth, the young heroine flashed her ring and formed white light tendrils of her own, fighting the masses of darkness that pried at her, weakly rising to stand once more as her ring continued to glow brighter. While focused on the tentacles, Dark Star pointed her finger once more, a little higher, aiming right for Darklight’s power source in the daytime. Pinpointing her jewelry like a laser, the direct energy blast impacted the ring abruptly, Darklight gasping as it was struck, trying to recoil her hand away as the laser cut off the rest of her finger. Like a small grenade, the ring exploded, removing her hand and half of her lower forearm as well, throwing Darklight back harshly.

Her powers faded immediately, her constructs no longer protecting her, Dark Star flashed a quick smile as she opened her palm to where Cosmic was, sending another beam towards him before he could interfere. Darklight opened her eyes and looked at her bleeding stump, growing pale as she entered shock from the sight and from sudden loss of blood pressure. Her eyes wandered back to the black tendrils Dark Star controlled, and slowly, methodically, they skewered her body with little effort as she lacked her usual hardlight armor. She tried to scream out, but a tendril stabbed through her neck and voice box, a laugh sounding in Darklight’s head. “Oh how you tried so valiantly, so wonderfully, to fail all the same. Your friend will join you soon enough.”

More tendrils stabbed into her body abruptly, ripping apart her organs and just steadily draining her blood, Dark Star removing her appendages and returning them to her side as Ava lay motionless on the floor. “Darklight,” Cosmic began as he emerged from the hole Dark Star had put him. “Darklight, we need to coordinate again and put the pressure back… On…” Cosmic trailed off as he caught sight of a lifeless body where Darklight once was. Thoughts ended, his body moved and he didn’t think, didn’t will it to do so. He simply went and knelt, unphased by Dark Star’s taunts and harassment, his ears simply not hearing them as he stared at the corpse that was once his friend. Eyes that were once fierce and wild, full of adventure and life, were simply blank and emotionless. His aura had flickered off at some point, and he slowly began to stand, his chest heaving as tears flooded his eyes and blurred his vision. Choking back, every muscle tightened in his body suddenly, the force of it creating a sonic boom across the battered arena. A slow aura began to bleed from his body, pieces of rubble and rocks floating up as Cosmic borrowed more and more energy from the Ultra Force.

“What?” Dark Star taunted, his ears now open to sounds once more, “No words?” She said with a chuckle. “Are you finally ready to fight me?”

“Fight you?” Cosmic asked, opening his eyes and unleashing a roaring aura of energy that engulfed the arena and physically pushed Dark Star back. “No, I want to kill you.”

[Absolon-7]

The Great Kabuto!
Freedom’s Nest, New York
September 27th

---

Round Two was definitely not going as well as Casimir had planned.

Letting out a cry of frustration at the masked figure’s increasing ability to parry and deflect each of his strikes, Casimir decided to simply try tearing his way through the man’s defences instead. Swinging his fist low and hard with the intention of ploughing it into the superhuman’s stomach, he felt a firm grip ensnare his wrist. Acting still without saying a word, the villain had moved with the same relentless speed that had left Casimir increasingly bloodied and bruised. Twisting the hero’s arm to elicit a sharp cry of pain, the man held Casimir in place as he delivered a retaliatory elbow straight into the side of his helmet. The impact was like a sledgehammer had collided with Casimir’s skull, and he felt his head reverberate like a bell as the world seemed to spin around him. Stumbling backwards in a daze from the strike, he scowled as he felt himself press up against one of the field’s walls.

Looking out from the cracked visor of his mask, Casimir felt a growing anger at his opponent’s audacity. What the hell was the deal with this guy’s power? The thought that he’d been holding out at the start of the fight was as insulting as it was infuriating for the hero, and he was determined to show this silent freak the cost of underestimating the Young Blood’s strongest fighter! However, before he had a chance, a harsh cough rose up from his lungs. Grimacing at the sensation of blood coming up his throat, Casimir’s scowl only deepened. Great, now I’m going to have to clean up the inside of the helmet. Despite his own internal confidence, he knew that this fight was pushing him to his limits. He’d already been worn out from his bout with Thunderstruck, and this guy felt like he was on a different level to that wannabe. But that just meant that his inevitable victory would be all the more satisfying when he pummelled his ass into next week.

Grinning beneath his helm, Casimir blinked away the mixture of blood and sweat that threatened to drip into his eyes. “That...all you got...chump?” When he spoke, it was between a few heavy pants as his body cried out for breath. Casimir’s voice betrayed a bit of the sharp pains in his torso, and he knew that at least one of his ribs had been annoyingly broken. “I can,” another stolen breath, “keep doing this all week. But I’d be willing to let you off easy, if you gave up now.”

The stoic villain didn’t seem to respond in the slightest to Casimir’s overconfident taunt. Despite the fatigue and exhaustion weighing down his limbs, the hero was in no mood to ever give up. Even if he got pushed to the edge of his body’s limits, he knew that he would just push through them and find some new limits to his abilities. The thought of the Great Kabuto losing was something that he didn’t even deign to entertain. Which was why the sudden arm movement from his opponent caught Casimir by surprise, as did the pillar of searing flames that erupted towards him. Maybe it was because he was trying to catch his breath, or that he’d expected his taunts to elicit some kind of a response, or maybe the endless punishment of constant fighting had finally taken its toll, but Casimir found himself frozen like a deer in the path of the lethal attack.

Reacting instinctively, and knowing that he had no time to dodge the attack, Casimir lifted his arms in front of his face in an effort to take the brunt of the blow. Fine, if I can’t avoid it - I’ll just take it like a champ! But the blaze felt hotter than before, and it hadn’t even reached him yet. He could feel his skin beginning to burn, the pain shooting up his arms even as the heart of the firestorm still barreled toward him and the villain gave no signs of letting up. I...I can take this, damn it! I am the Great Kabuto!

And then suddenly, a tight pressure constricted itself around Casimir’s waist. Immediately, his eyes shot open in surprise. “What the fu - ahhh!” He called out in surprise as he was torn from the ground in a single fluid motion, his body accelerating rapidly through the air as he flailed his arms around helplessly. The movement seemed to catch the villain by surprise as well, and it succeeded in pulling Casimir clear of the over-committed attack just as it was about to overwhelm him. With his eyes furrowing into a scowl, the masked villain looked up to see his opponent vanishing above him towards the stadium’s upper stands, a thick thread having coiled itself around his torso.

---

Grimacing with effort as she retracted her threads to accelerate the hero towards her, Lisette looked down towards the field with a relieved sigh as she saw that she’d grabbed him in time. But at this distance, and with the short time she’d had to act, she quickly realised that she might have also overdone it a little bit. Looking up in horror to see Kabuto’s battered figure careening straight towards her, she only had time to let out a surprised yelp before the armoured hero slammed into her. The impact sent them both tumbling backwards in a mess of limbs, painfully rolling a good few feet backwards before coming to a graceless stop. Groaning at the pain, Lisette scowled in irritation as she felt a weight pressing down on her chest. Blinking open her eyes, her expression quickly changed into one of anger as she saw how they had landed.

“Hey, get the hell off of me you creep!”

“W...what! What!” shouted Casimir as he realized he’d been saved from turning to a roasted cricket. At the sounds of an angry girl daring to insult him he immediately rolled off her before getting up to his feet. His eyes darted to that thread that had saved him made his hidden face flash in anger as he pointed at Marionette, “You! The hell do you think you are doing here! Is Cowtits Bundy here for the hotdogs or something?”

Standing back up onto her feet herself, Marionette scowled at the hero. Opening her mouth to instinctively fire back a retort, she paused as her lips twisted into a slightly confused frown. “Cow-tits?” Bundy? “What the hell is that supposed to even mean, you illiterate plebeian?!” Planting her hands on her hips, the unmistakable Marionette scowled at Kabuto through her commandeered cosplay mask. “And uh, you’re welcome by the way, in case you didn’t realise that I just saved you!”

“Illiterate! I’ll have you know I aced a book report on The Outsiders...which was the first and last time I ever aced in English...nevermind!” barked back Casimir not wanting to say more on his grades. “Anyways, the Spectacular Kabuto condones you saving his life even if you are of a certain ilk.”

Casimir brushed off the last remains of his sleeves before turning back to the stadium but he stopped just before running down again, “And don’t think you’ll get away. I may be the only one in the stadium right now but the rest of the team isn’t far behind.”

Marionette’s jaw dropped. “A certain ilk?! Oh that is rich coming from someone like you. If only you knew who I was, you wouldn’t be speaking like -” Before she could finish, the girl’s gaze shifted to look over Casimir’s shoulder. “LOOK OUT!” She cried out, leaping aside just as the masked villain rocketed into the stands, slamming into where the two teenagers had just been bickering.

Skidding backwards from the force of the impact, Marionette looked up in fury at the unwelcome interruption. Glaring at the silent villain as he calmly looked over his newest opponent, she was momentarily surprised to find that she didn’t recognise him at all. Weird, is he a new villain? Grinning, Lisette readied herself into a defensive posture. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m the Young Bloods’ arch-nemesis, got it? It’s super rude to barge in and try to kill another villain’s - eek!”

Cut off by a sudden burst of flame flying toward her, Lisette managed to pull herself to safety with her threads, but felt her anger deepen at having her introductory monologue get so rudely cut short. Deftly landing on her feet with a practiced ease, Marionette swung herself around just in time to deflect a blow from the villain as he used his superspeed to immediately catch up with her. Blinking in surprise at the unexpected power, Lisette found herself immediately forced onto the backfoot as she had to dodge and parry the masked figure’s blows. Seeing an opening, she twisted around to slam an elbow into the man’s face. The superhuman strike sent his neck twisted round with a violent crack, but he seemed to take the impact in his stride and redoubled his efforts. Wha - what the hell?!

Looking to try something different, Lisette ducked under an attempt to grab onto her torso only to extend her threads to ensnare her opponent. Knowing that his superstrength would allow him to break free from the bindings, she resolved not to give him the opportunity as she heaved her arm with all of her might to fling him into the stadium walls. The collision kicked up a cloud of dust and debris, but Lisette refused to let up as she continued to batter the villain’s vody from floor, to wall, to floor and back until eventually slamming him into a row of seats. The girl’s mouth twisted into a satisfied smirk as the dust began to settle, but her self-assured smile quickly vanished as she was suddenly pulled from her feet as something yanked on her threads.
Letting out a cry of pain as the thin bundle was forcefully wrenched through the air, Lisette was swung around into a wall beside Casimir before she was able to separate the strings from her fingertips. Sliding onto the ground with a pained oomph, the girl rubbed the back of her head as she scowled at the hero. “Hey, on the off-chance that you’re not completely braindead, how about you stop standing around like a statue and give me a hand, huh buster? Because in case it hadn’t gotten through that thick skull of yours, we can’t deal with him alone.”

“I’ll give you more than a hand! I’ll give you ten-thousand!” overdramatically yelled Casimir as he pointed at the villain and then snapped his fingers.

Immediately an amorphous swarm of wasps he had been gathering flew in from a broken window and spun around the masked man as he braced himself against the stadium wall. His flames would make quick work of them but it was just what he needed. And of course he could take the villain on himself as he was just using Marionette as an additional source of attrition. He ripped up a seat from the stadium and flung it with his superhuman might at the masked man. It shattered to pieces as he was blown back against the wall. Casimir kept moving along the row of seats ripping them up and throwing them mightily at the vilain.

By the time he had gotten a good amount of seats he leaped into the air and flicked his wrists out to shoot webbing next to the masked man. He pulled the strands upwards and like a slingshot he was sent downwards like a jackhammer at the masked man. The sounds of some cracking bones were all Casimir needed to know it was a success as he backflipped onto some other seats. Casimir lunged forward yet again and threw a left hook at the man’s side but the villain’s palms started sparking in flames again. The masked man threw both arms upwards but Casimir slid his hands under the arms to grip the wrists. Giant cones of flames erupted from the palms like twin volcanic blasts but they harmlessly bypassed Casimir underneath.

Casimir growled as he increased his iron grip on the wrists to indent the flesh forcing the man to yelp in pain. The flames sputtered out pathetically over time and Casimir swiftly yanked the man upwards. Before he could regain the sense to fly Casimir flipped backwards to kick the man’s chest like a football. He was sent crashing through rows upon rows of the stadium until finally crashing into the steel rail that outlined the inner field. Casimir dramatically spun to face the field to give a thumbs up, however, he was met with the dreadful sight of Jason and Wyatt fighting Darkstar. The fight quickly ending with Darkstar unleashing a powerful beam that sent Wyatt flying halfway across the entire stadium and crashing onto the other side.

“Bael NO!,” yelled Casimir but he saw the masked man slowly get up so it wasn’t like he could go off an avenge him yet, “Listen you bastard! You made a big mistake walking into Freedom’s Nest instead of mime school!”

Casimir ripped up another seat from the stadium before reaching as far back as he could and he then threw the projectile at the masked man with his colossal might. But the seat was just burnt to a harmless crisp before it made contact simply flying over the villain’s head.
The masked figure’s expression was becoming increasingly frustrated with the incessant attacks from the pair of teenagers, but as he redirected his arm to renew his attacks on Casimir, a thread wrapped around his wrist and threw off his aim. Growling in frustration at the interference, the villain turned to his side just in time to see Marionette’s foot as it slammed into the side of his head. Knocked backwards, the masked figure slammed into one of the viewing gallery’s supporting pillars with a solid crash, but the girl refused to let up her attack. Using her threads to pull herself toward the column, Marionette made to crush her foe’s head with both of her outstretched feet, but the man ducked at the last moment. Impacting the concrete pillar with enough force to cause it to crack and splinter, Lisette scowled as she missed her target, but she quickly pushed herself back off of the column and backflipped back onto her feet.

Risking a quick glance over her shoulder to the field below, the girl’s gaze narrowed as she saw how badly the Young Bloods’ battle with Darkstar was going. This is bad. They aren’t ready to deal with a top tier villain like her, not for a few more seasons of build up at least! Thinking quickly, Lisette growled as she realised that she’d have to start doing everything herself. Extending her threads, she launched a flurry of attacks at the masked villain. Doing her best to ensnare him with as many of her threads as she could, she concentrated on creating more of the strings faster than he could tear and burn them. With the man distracted, she saw her opening and snaked a thread around his neck. As soon as she felt a solid purchase, she constricted the rope and used it to pull herself up onto the villain’s shoulders. Almost immediately, his eyes shot open as he moved around to try and shake the teen from his shoulders. Using her threads to keep his arms at bay, Marionette nevertheless grimaced as she struggled to keep the tight pressure around his windpipe.

“Go, bugboy!” She called out to Kabuto. “I’ll keep him busy while you help the rest of the team. There’s no way I saved the lame Young Blood just for the cool ones to die!”

“Lame? I’m the coolest Young Blood in the entire team! Half of them wish they were me!,” yelled back Casimir but really he had to go check how Wyatt was and hopefully he wasn’t…”Bahh! Fine!”

Casimir racing along the rows of seats to the crater Drakstar had created with her attack on the stadium’s side ever resentful he couldn’t finish off the mystery villain.

Ignoring any response from the Young Blood as her concentration was entirely on her own personal struggles, Lisette fought to keep the man’s arms from ripping her from his shoulders while manipulating her threads to steadily suffocate him. She could feel his flailing gradually becoming weaker as his lungs increasingly screamed out for air, and she felt like her victory was tantalisingly close. But at the same time, using so many threads was taking its own toll. She could feel the energy rapidly draining from her body, and she knew that it would have to be now or never, or else she’d be a sitting duck. Before she could finish off the masked man though, he let out a furious cry. Immediately, smoke and heat began to lift from his shoulders and Lisette’s eyes shot open in realization of his next move.

Reacting as quickly as she could, the girl released her grip on the villain and tried to jump clear just as the pillar of flame erupted beneath her. She wasn’t quite fast enough as she felt the searing heat begin to burn. Landing in a roll on the ground, Lisette wasted no time in tearing the now-flaming jacket from her shoulders and tossing it aside. Grimacing as she realised that she’d just played her last card, Lisette felt her legs shaking uneasily beneath her as the last of her energy reserves ran empty. Scowling, she turned to glower at her opponent only to see that his attention was entirely somewhere else.

What? Stunned, the villainess could only watch as the masked figure seemed to have forgotten about her completely as he responded to Darkstar’s hail. And like that, the battle ended in a brief instant - officially inconclusively even though all of the heroes there knew how close they had come to the ultimate defeat. Shadows enveloped Dark Star and the masked man before they vanished to thin air the only evidence of their existence was the destruction and about a dozen unconscious heroes. Trying to make sense of what had just happened, and struggling to place all of the swirling questions in her head, Lisette didn’t have the luxury of time. Hearing the sound of approaching sirens and knowing that it wouldn’t take long for Kabuto to spill the beans about her presence, she turned to race towards the stadium’s exit - entirely forgetting about the half-burned jacket that she’d tossed aside in her rush.

[New Finnish Republic]

Red and Yoshi
A few days earlier…

---

It was all that Yoshiro could do to make it back to her room without collapsing from exhaustion. Her arms and legs felt like lead weights by her side, the countless cuts and pains from her injuries all long-since have merged into a single overarching ache that permeated through her body. Closing the door behind her, Yoshiro allowed a sigh to escape from her lips as her shoulders slumped from fatigue. Zombie-like, she forced herself to go through the motions of painfully removing her shoes. She knew that she’d regret waking up in the morning if she didn’t take the time to deal with her injuries first, so she did her best to push any thought of crawling into bed from her mind. Instead, she ran through this last night’s training once more in her head.

Since she’d met Comet at the gym, Yoshiro had continued to push herself as hard as she could. Each night she crept out from the team’s dorms and sunk every free moment she could into sparring with the practice robots or working on her exercises until she could hardly even stand on her own two legs. She knew that she wasn’t running the dummies at the settings that she was supposed to, but she also knew that she didn’t have the luxury of going easy on herself anymore. Not when she needed to prove to everyone how much she was able to improve.

Stepping barefoot into her bathroom, Yoshiro limped slightly on one of her legs - grimacing as she realized that she must have twisted an ankle at some point during the night. Cautiously, she made to remove her jacket while trying not to move her arms any more than was necessary. Looking up into the mirror, the heroine scowled in frustration as she saw the bruised expression staring at her. Even if she had been pushing the settings of the sparring robots, tonight had been stupid. She’d thought that she was ready to step things up a little bit further now that she wasn’t going to be taking part in anymore matches, but instead had found herself beaten nearly to a pulp by the relentless automaton. Twisting the tap to allow for chilled water to run freely into the sink, Yoshiro let out a relieved sigh as she began to wash her raw hands. Blood from her still-healing wounds mixed with the water as it filled the basin, but the girl was far too tired to wipe herself down completely. If it came to it, she could have a more thorough shower in the morning.

Offering her painfully obvious black-eye one final passing glance in the mirror, Yoshiro turned off the tap with a shake of her head. Heading to grab an ice pack to nurse herself into at least some semblance of health, the girl still felt like she could take away a lesson from the botched night of training: she still wasn’t good enough. Not yet.

A small knock on the door suddenly interrupted Yoshiro’s thoughts, causing a small amount of confusion for the girl as she glanced over to see what time it was. At this point in the night most of the residents of the dorms were either fast asleep or otherwise preoccupied within their own rooms, which made the sudden call at her door all the more surprising. Yoshiro paused for a few moments before walking up to the door and opening it.
Standing in the doorway with his fist still held in the air in preparation for yet another knock, Red’s mouth began to move as he was about to give a somewhat nervous greeting to his girlfriend, only for his words to fall silent as his eyes glanced over at the bruised and swollen face of Yoshiro. Immediately his reluctant expression turned into concern as he reached out towards her face.

“Yoshi, what in the hell-”

Before his hand could touch her cheek, however, it was quickly swatted away by Yoshiro, causing a brief yet crushing air of tension to form between the two. Red eyed Yoshiro warily, unsure of what to say. This had been the first time the two had spoken to one another since what had occured in those subway tunnels days ago, and already things had turned immensely sour between them.

After letting out a small sigh, Red returned his hand back into the pockets of his jeans. “Look, I get it. You don’t want to talk. I understand what you’re feeling right now, but for now can I at least just come in?” His gaze wandered to his left down the hallway where the rest of the bedrooms of the girls were. “I’d rather not wake the neighbors,” he said softly, his gaze wandering back towards Yoshiro.

For a few moments, Yoshiro continued to simply glare at Red in silence. A part of her wanted to just slam the door in his face, the anger and hurt she had felt when he’d simply sat by during the team meeting once again resurfacing in her chest. But she knew that she couldn’t just avoid talking with him forever, and that coming here to talk couldn’t have been easy for him either. She also couldn’t deny the part of her that just wanted to jump forward and embrace him, to just pour out how she was feeling and lean on him for support like she used to.

But for now, all she did was step aside to allow Red to enter through the doorway.

“Fine. But I need to get some sleep and it’s already pretty late.” Replying with a coldness in her tone, Yoshiro turned away from Red as she returned to sit on the side of her bed. Returning the ice pack to her head, she looked over the boy. “What’s so important that it can’t wait for the morning, Red?”

Closing the door behind him, Red stopped in his tracks, unsure whether to remain standing or go sit next to Yoshiro. Given the cold attitude Yoshiro provided him, however, he chose the former option and decided to remain where he was. Rubbing the side of his chin where the prickly strands of facial hair rested, he finally opened up with what he had to say.

“Look, Yoshi, I’m worried. Ever since...that, you’ve been distant. I understand that the last few weeks must have been unbelievably difficult.” Red’s gaze fell towards the floor as he began to think back to the past. “It’s still a blur to me, but I can still remember how it felt to not be in control of your own mind. It was fucking terrifying, and I only had to experience it for a few minutes. The fact that you were able to bear that weight for so long by yourself, well,” Red paused before turning his gaze up to Yoshiro, “it shows how tough you are.”

Red’s attention turned towards the cuts and bruises that filled practically every visible portion of skin on her body. His expression softened as a look of genuine concern filled him from within. “I know you’ve been training a lot more since we’ve gotten here, and I can tell you’re going overboard with it Yoshiro. I’m just worried you’re trying to prove something to yourself that everyone on the team already knows.”

He hesitated before speaking once more. “It’s something I especially know, Yoshi,” he spoke softly.

If Red had meant for his words to across as encouraging, Yoshiro’s reaction couldn’t have been further than what he could have hoped for. Rather than lifting her up and comforting her, his words slammed into her stomach like an underhanded punch. For a moment, Yoshiro was stunned that Red would have the nerve to say something like that after what had happened. The wounds from the meeting were still fresh, the memory of all her friends and teammates looking at her like she was some kind of burden, each of them taking their turn to explain why she was weak and incapable. And yet here Red was claiming that it hadn’t really been about that, that she didn’t actually have anything to prove despite all the evidence to the contrary.

“Oh yeah? I don’t remember a team meeting that was called to tell you that you weren’t able to a hero, or that you were just putting your friends in danger by trying.” There was venom in Yoshiro’s voice, betraying the hurt that she’d been keeping tight to her chest. “When you messed up, everyone thought it was fine to just slap you on the wrist. Sure, Kiris laid into you a bit for the Hilton, but nobody said anything about you needing to take a break from the team, Red. And you know what, if they had, I would have supported you no matter what. I wouldn’t have just stood there and watched.”

Red’s gaze narrowed as he crossed his arms while listening to Yoshiro’s outburst. “And what do you think I could have done, Yoshi?” Red replied, his tone of voice edging into anger as he struggled to contain his emotions in response to Yoshiro’s claims. “Do you really think my opinions on anything is going to change the minds of half the team? Last time I checked there was more than a few opinions that my ass should’ve still been rotting away in that prison cell.” Red’s voice began to increase in intensity as he continued. “Hell, there’s probably still people who think I’d be better off there now, even after I’ve done all I could to show them otherwise!”

Unable to control his anger, Red smashed his fist behind him on the wall. “Damnit Yoshi, we’re lucky you even survived that. If it hadn’t been for-”


Red’s angered response suddenly fell silent, as the memory of a certain boy entered his mind. “If...if it hadn’t been for Jan, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t even be able to have this conversation, Yoshi. And don’t think for a damn second I’m not thankful for that.”

Red took a deep breath, the whirlpool of emotion within him beginning to settle into a more controllable state. Reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose, Red’s eyes met Yoshiro’s and the two stared in silence for a few moments before he spoke up once more, his tone having returned to the much softer form it had been before.

“So yeah, I’m not all that upset about what happened. The team was, in the most objective way, worried about you Yoshi. It’s partially my fault that I kept things hidden from them as well, but what’s happened has happened.” Red’s eyes wandered away from Yoshiro’s, him being unable to meet her gaze. “Trust me, I haven’t been able to wash away that guilt yet, and I doubt it’s going to be a long time until I’m going to be able to.”

Tentatively, Red reached out to gently grab onto Yoshiro’s hand. “Everyone’s just wanting to make sure you’re okay, Yoshi. What you went through was so damn scary, I just think we all think it was for the best for you to take a small rest. That’s all.”

The mention of Jan caused Yoshiro’s anger to waiver, and she felt a painful guilt grip her chest as she thought about the boy’s sacrifice. Hesitating, her gaze seemed to drop as she recalled when she woke up, when they told her what a complete stranger had done to help her and everybody else, but the touch of Red’s hand pulled her back to the present. Looking up towards the boy, Yoshiro was instead reminded of him standing silently by, saying nothing as the rest of the team accused her and berated her for something that she couldn’t possibly have understood at the time. She remembered how she’d felt, how she still felt, and she was reminded of how little Red seemed to care.

Yoshiro pulled her hand away. When she spoke, her voice was low and cutting. “I didn’t want you to convince them Red, I know that you couldn’t have anyway. If you’d spoken up, nothing would have changed, I know that. But at least I would have known that someone was willing to stand up for me.” The venom had returned as Yoshiro felt unable to contain the pain and anger in her chest. “Maybe it was stupid of me, but I never once thought even for a second that you would just sit there like that. Not you, Red.” Angry, Yoshiro continued to speak without really thinking, simply saying whatever came to the tip of her tongue. She wanted to lash out, to hurt Red like he’d hurt her. “And maybe they were right about you, too! If I’m in danger all the time, then what use is a hero without any powers!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Yoshiro regretted them, but there was no way to take them back now. Looking away from her boyfriend, she instead chose to continue. “I think we should take a break. I...I can’t deal with any distractions right now, not when I need to focus on my training.” Taking a breath, she continued. “Especially not from people who won’t support me when I need it.”
Red stood there, frozen for some time. A mixture of emotions filled him. Some of them were feelings of guilt for all the things Yoshiro had mentioned. Some of them were feelings of anger at the complete and utter insult Yoshiro had lobbed at him, especially considering that these sentiments that Red himself felt the most. But the one emotion that struck out to him the most was the feeling of surprise he felt when Yoshiro’s final words left her mouth.

“Yoshi...I…”

Red’s next words escaped him, as he was unable to find anything to say that could remedy this situation. A battle between his heart and his mind waged on in frantic desperation as he tried to comprehend what had just been said to him. The former half wanted to deny what had just been heard, to continue the battle and try to convince Yoshiro that things didn’t need to end like this. However, the latter half laid out in clear detail what the correct choice of action was.

Without saying anything more, Red turned around and opened the door behind him, slamming it as he went past. He didn’t care if anyone heard. He didn’t care about anything at that moment, besides getting the hell away from that room. Not once did he try and look back, as he knew that the moment he did he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from going back to where Yoshiro was and try to talk to her. Apologize to her. Plead with her. Anything it would take for Red to try and fix this mess. But he knew that no matter what he had said, both he and Yoshiro had said things that couldn’t be unsaid or forgotten. So instead he marched back to his room, slamming the door behind him once more.

As the door slammed shut behind Red, Yoshiro was left alone in her room. For a few moments she just sat there, staring at the door as she tried to process what had happened and what she’d just done. Part of her wanted to jump up, ignoring the pain in her limbs, and chase him. That part of her wanted to take it all back and apologize before going back to how things had been, but another part of her knew that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, she simply turned over to lie down in her bed, finally burying her head in her pillow for the night. Sniffling, Yoshiro felt the silent tears begin to run down her cheeks.

Meanwhile in his room, several pieces of furniture and items within were tossed aside onto the floor as a result of the pool of emotions that had built inside Red finally erupted. He cursed at himself, for what a failure he had become, not only to Yoshiro but to himself. The words she had said to him repeated over and over inside his head, the meaning behind them imprinting deep within his conscious.

Through everything that had happened over the course of the last few months, Yoshiro had been there for him. When everyone doubted whether or not he could be trusted, she had been the one to voice her support for him. Yet when she had needed him the most, he had held his words back in an stupid effort to try and not make things worse, yet that was all he had done. And he knew that she was right about his weaknesses. He was surrounded by people who could stand toe to toe with villains capable of destroying entire city blocks, meanwhile he was little more than a common street thug armed with a few gadgets that did little to even the playing field even an ounce.

After some countless time of rampaging, the energy given to him by his feelings eventually faded away, leaving Red standing in the middle of his destroyed room breathing heavily, sweat dripping down his face as he stared back at himself in a mirror now tilted heavily to the side. All he could feel when he saw himself was a loathing sense of disgust that only escalated as memories from all of his failures, both as a Young Blood and as a member of the Five filled him.

Reaching into one of his bags, Red’s fingers found the only thing he felt could make these feelings go away. A large glass bottle, filled to the brim with a brownish-liquid that slogged back and forth inside, made its way out of the bag and into Red’s grasp. Ripping off the cap that sealed it shut, a strong familiar odor filled Red’s nose as he wasted no time in pouring its contents into his mouth, only stopping when his lungs burned with lack of oxygen. Letting out a groan, Red wiped the remnants of the liquid now splattered across his facial hair and stared once more at the figure in the mirror.

“Some fucking hero you are,” Red muttered quietly to the mirror, taking one final pull before throwing the now empty container at the mirror, shattering it into pieces.

[Absolon-7]

The Darkness of Things to Come

Casimir and Viviana October 1st
In contrast to the serious uptick to the Young Bloods reputation following the tournament Casimir's mood had been plummeting downwards the longer he stayed bedridden. While his burns had healed rather quickly during medical examination some ribs had been found to be broken no thanks to Thunderstruck's newest upgrade. On the orders of the team's medic Jacob he had been ordered to stay and rest until his body was fully healed which meant no strength training at Dunkmaster's Gym.

Casimir laid in bed with loads of pillows behind him forming a makeshift reclined seat with his bed sheet over his legs and a plain checkered shirt obscuring the bandages wrapped around his chest. The boy was listless as he scrolled through his laptop's screen not really paying attention to anything around him. Suddenly there was a knock at the door which prompted Casimir to pull out his headphones but he didn't have a chance to speak as Viviana kicked the door open with a plate full of breakfast food in her hands.

"Morning nerd!," proclaimed Viviana taking care not spill anything as the door slammed behind her, "Guess who took time out of their morning to feed you!"

"Er, you did. Just like the past few days," said Casimir putting away his laptop, "Do I really have to stay here any longer? My ribs always heal about now."

"Doctor's orders are doctor's orders. Don't even think of slipping away or you're getting bonked by the chicle hammer," said Viviana as she laid the tray on Casimir's lap.

"Jacob's not even a real doctor," grumbled Casimir but his dissatisfaction was soon tossed aside in favor of devouring his food.

Viviana plopped herself down on the side of his bed to look at her phone and she was dressed in a maroon long sleeve shirt and baggy gray pants that hid her figure or well at least the pants did. Casimir noticed she had painted her nails red and by this time he realized he may have been looking at her for too long as she returned a wave with her fingers. He then busied himself with finishing the breakfast before him but he found himself looking at the bandage on her forehead. It wasn't the worst thing in the world but he couldn't help frustration at himself that he didn't get up in time to help her. Then again he could feel some sense of pride in her for standing up against Thunderstruck and just her performance in general in the tournament.

"Say, Casi can we be honest for a second?" she suddenly said turning to him with a worried expression.

"What...yeah of course!," eagerly said Casimir before a sense of dread filled him, "If its about me landing face first into Marionette's boobs I had nothing to do with that! It was gravity's fault!"

"Excusemewhatnow," said Viviana with a stone cold expression before her mouth moved to a insincere smile, "So Casimir. When did this happen? I don't think I quite caught what you said?"

"Well it just happened when she rescued me from burning to a crisp. Didn't exactly plan where I'd land," said Casimir trying to play if off with a laugh.

"We'll talk about that later....Okay back to what I was saying," said Viviana sighing before looking at Casimir in the eyes, "Do you think I sucked back at the stadium?"

"Hell no. I think you did great against that leapord lady. And you put helluva a fight against Angelica and the Vixens," eagerly said Casimir.

"Really? Even if Thunderstruck clobbered me like cat in a hamster shop?" muttered Viviana.

"Sure. You pretty made his main power useless," said Casimir, "So where's this coming from?"

"I don't really know myself," admitted Viviana, "But I do know I don't like not knowing."

Viviana twirled a finger around one braid of hair on her shoulders before she just laid down next to Casimir. She sighed heavily as she looked up at the ceiling but without focusing on any spot in particular. She suddenly felt the weight on the bed get lighter and turning she saw Casimir had rolled out to the other side.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said incredulously.

"Gonna take you outside for some fresh air. How does playing some basketball sound?" eagerly said Casimir.

"Oh nu uh. You're not using my emotional indecisiveness to get out of bed!," said Vivina quickly rolling out of Casimir's bed.

[Bentus]

The Mystifying Ashen Moth!
Wonder Tower, San Diego
October 2nd

---

Outside of Thompsen High, the morning hustle and bustle of friend groups and classmates thronging into the campus had already reached its peak. It was a few minutes before the first classes of the year were supposed to start, and the voices of friends greeting each other for the first time in weeks, exchanging stories about their vacations and updating one another on the latest gossip, filled the air. It wasn’t until the bell rang and the Vice Principal’s voice echoed through the courtyard that the crowd finally began to flow in a single direction, thinning out as students began their near-daily migration to the classroom. Except one figure stood nervously still as she stared at the intimidating structure before her.

Ash had been looking forward to her first day of school - or at least the first day that she could remember. Everything her friends had told her about it made it seem like an incredible place: she could learn new things, meet new people, and make even more friends than she already had! The mutant had been picturing what it would be like to attend her first class from the moment that Naja had pulled her aside and told her that she was being enrolled in the prestigious high school. But, now that she was finally here, Ash’s legs had turned to stone as her stomach felt like it had melted into jelly. Nerves and doubts had crept into her mind during the drive to the school. She’d brushed them aside at first, recalling her earlier excitement, but now they’d struck back with a vengeance. What was her class going to be like? What if the teachers didn’t like her? Or what if it turned out she was actually a bad student - she’d never had the chance to try being a student before, and she wasn’t too sure exactly what she was supposed to do.

Swallowing nervously, Ash looked up at the school’s entrance with a growing feeling of dread. No! You are working yourself up. Even if things are hard at first, your friends are already there, remember? New things are always a little bit scary, but I am sure that I will definitely enjoy my first day of school! Hardening her determination, Ash’s back straightened as she puffed out her chest with forced confidence. She was a Young Blood, a hero, she would face the challenge of school and she knew that she would be victorious - as long as she believed in herself. Buoyed by her own thoughts, Ash took her first step forward towards her new life, pushing aside her doubts as she faced her fears. Only to suddenly jump in surprise as a car horn blared out across the courtyard.

Practically shrieking at the unexpected noise, Ash wheeled around to look for its source. Immediately, her eyes fell widened at the sight of none other than the team’s van resting with half its wheels on the curb and a single figure leaning out of the driver’s seat’s window.

“Get in! There’s no time to explain!” shouted Casimir who was in full costume.

Blinking, Ash looked at Casimir with her mouth agape. To say that she was surprised to see him at the school would be an understatement, considering how much he’d made it clear to have been done with the place. For a moment she hesitated, recalling how important Naja had made her first day sound, but Casimir wouldn’t have come to pick her up if it wasn’t something serious. Furrowing her brow, the girl nodded firmly. “Right!”

Beating her wings, she zipped around the van and into the passenger side door just as Casimir kicked it open for her. She’d hardly sat down and reached to close the door before the hero had already floored the gas to send the intrepid duo screeching away from the curbside. Looking around, Ash surveyed the inside of the van to see that her friend appeared to have thought of her before he’d departed.

As the van drove away, Casimir rolled up the windows on and turned up the heater so it would be nice and toasty inside. Thankfully there wasn’t that much traffic so the ride to their destination that wouldn’t be long. There was also a bag full of food in the footspace in the shotgun seat Ash would’ve taken. Finally at a stop light Casimir cleared his throat before finally explaining himself.

“Alrighty, Ash, since Viv’s busy going to a community college and I’m bored I figured now’s as good as time as any to start on investigating your past,” said Casimir smugly but his expression turned more hesitant, “Also it was like time for your first break right?”

As soon as she’d seen the bag of food at her feet, Ash’s eyes had lit up and she’d begun to gorge herself on an oversized bag of chips. She was happily munching on her snack when Casimir revealed the reason for his sudden appearance. Pausing in her chewing, the mutant frowned slightly at his question.

“Umm, I do not think so? I was about to go to my first class, actually.” She answered honestly, but her thoughts were already drifting to the prospect of finally finding out more about her past. Slowly a wide grin began to spread across her face. “Wait, you are telling the truth, yes? We are going to go and find my family?” Making no effort to disguise her excitement, Ash continued. “How? What is the plan? I want to help you with the investigating!”

“Well fuck,” muttered Casimir under breath. He guessed his clock at home was somehow wrong for him to have messed up his timing this badly but whatever. “Well don’t worry about it. First days are pretty useless since teachers just read their syllabuses. Worst case scenario we get you back before fourth period.”

“Right.” Ash replied, happy with Casimir’s explanation and putting her minor concerns to rest. However, she soon paused as a thought crossed her mind. “Fourth period...that is a type of class, yes?”

A little while later
“Well I don’t think we have enough to go on to actually find them so I figured som Q & A would be a good start,” explained Casimir as he sat down at the beachside bench, “I don’t think we’ll be interrupted here since only weirdos go to the beach this early in the morning.”

Casimir had driven the two to a section of San Diego’s beach which hopefully provided a relaxing atmosphere as he figured certain questions would be quite taxing. Casimir had certain suspicions all the way from when he controlled her movements to save Renata that there was a certain similarity between Ash’s mind and a bug mutant he had fought before but two big arthropod people being similar wasn’t that far fetched was it? Casimir rubbed his helmet’s chin as a flock of seagulls flew overhead.

“Okay so I need you to dig deep here. What’s the earliest memory you have that’s easy to understand and what’s the earliest in general?”

Frowning in concentration, Ash tried to step back through her memories. But it was difficult. From before Casimir had removed her collar, things felt hazy, with her recollections becoming increasingly opaque the further back she went. “I...I do not know what my earliest memory is. It is hard to remember.” She admitted, but hastily added. “But I also have these feelings of things that I know are true. I know that I was once human, definitely. And I know that I was not always with the Foundation, either.” Frowning, Ash remembered what she could about her time in captivity. “When they were testing me too, they would always be running all these experiments, as if they did not really know what I was, either. I think they did not make me like this, so something must have happened when I was still human, yes?”

Ash paused for a moment, scowling at the effort as she tried to remember any details that might be helpful for them. “I, I think I had a lot of friends!” She stated, her eyes widening at the realisation as she remembered being in rooms with lots of other people, all of them talking together. “And...and I lived in a house. A big one! That means my family must have been very rich and important!” She stated, speaking quickly as it felt like the revelations were pouring out like a flood. “That has to be it. I also definitely loved my parents very much, I thought about them a lot.” Grinning, Ash turned to Casimir with a twinkle in her eye. “Does any of that help?”

“The description of the house certainly is helpful. Being rich and with a big house narrows it down a lot,” said Casimir as he leaned back, “Say do you remember any stuff around that house? Like the type of trees or if it was near the ocean?”

Squinting, Ash closed her eyes as she tried to remember more. It was hard, like she was walking through a thick soup in her head that was pushing her in the other direction, but if Casimir was willing to help her, then she had to put in the effort too. “I remember a beach. I do not know if it was close to my house.” Her house. Her family’s house. The thought sent a chill down her spine. “The trees were...big? They were always green.” She stated, her voice wavering and uncertain as she wasn’t sure how the new information could possibly help. “I do not think there were as many people as in the San Diego.”
“Alright so it was near the beach and there looked to be evergreens. Smaller than San Diego too. Could be anywhere from Washington to San Francisco...,” said Casimir rubbing the back of his neck. Casimir suddenly got up from the bench and pumped his fists in victory, “I can work with this! Just gotta ask Wendy or Red to help me look for missing person’s report. I think we got a pretty good lead to this investigation Ash if I do say so myself. Now let’s get you back to Thomsen High. One of the most important parts for your first day is to get to the lunchline first.”

Watching Casimir, Ash couldn’t help but have her smile widen. They were making progress, actual, real progress! Wendy and Red were both very smart, and they’d definitely be able to find this ‘missing persons report’ - and she was definitely a missing person. Her parents would have noticed that she was lost, and she was sure that they would have done everything to try and find her. But I am going to be the one to find them.

“Really, the lunchline?” The female voice was cold and stern, the deep anger buried in its undertones being masked by a calm facade. It was also unmistakable to the two Young Bloods. Naja stood with her arms folded across her chest, a scowl etched into her features as she tapped her fingers impatiently. “I would have thought that the chance to meet one’s classmates for the first time, or to get on the good side of your teachers, would have been higher up on the list of priorities. But then again, what do I know. I thought Ash was in good hands after I’d dropped her off, until I got a strange call from an old friend of mine: the school principal.” The woman’s gaze hardenned. “In the car. Both of you.”

“Oh hey Naja,” awkwardly said Casimir banding both arms behind his neck.

Casimir’s eyes widened at the surprise visit from Naja and understandably so. This is what I get for not taking my swarm with me today... And upon reflection taking Ash out one of her most important moments might not have been the wisest ideas.

“Well you heard her Ash. Into the car we go,” said Casimir trying to play it cool as he climbed into the back.

“I think Cassandra would appreciate some help in her chores at the Tower, Cas,” said Naja sternly.

Looking nervously up at Naja’s angered face, Ash had instinctively recoiled away. Leaning over slowly, as if doing so would mean that the team’s leader wouldn’t see her, she whispered to Casimir. Or at least, she did her best attempt at a whisper, which really meant that her hushed voice was painfully audible to the fuming reptilian heroine looming over them. “This is what it means to be ‘busted’, yes?”

[Tomia]

Angelica, October 2nd
After getting through a few periods of class, Angelica was doing her best to get used to the staring. Usually people in school mostly ignored her, and she had been happy that they did, but now with her identity being revealed all eyes seemed to be on her. Still, she had friends for the first school year in a while and she had Alexis, and if the price of that was some unwanted attention then she was willing to pay it. During 4th period of class she had gym, which she knew some of her teammates had with her. She headed down into the girl's locker room and changed into a pair of red basketball shorts and a black tank top and headed back upstairs to the gym. It was a very large complex, with walls separating the different areas of the gym. There were also various weight rooms, yoga rooms, and other specialized room on the second floor that overlooked the main gym.

Her teacher this year was Mrs. Rodgers, she was a short but muscular woman who was holding a bag full of dodge balls as the class slowly filed into the room. "Welcome back everyone. Today, we're going to start year off with a simple game of dodge ball." She said, some kids seemed excited while others did not seem as enthused. A boy Angelica's age raised his hand. "Are you going to let her play?" He asked pointing at Angelica. "I mean, isn't that unfair or even dangerous?" What if she freezes someone?"

"Shut up Brent, Angelica having ice powers doesn't change the fact that you were born with two left feet and the hand eye coordination of a hamster." Alexis said from Angelica's side as the room filled with a mix of "ooo's" and laughter. Angelica shot her girlfriend a grateful look as Mrs. Rodgers continued.

"Look, nothings changed. Some people here might have powers, others don't. The rules are still the rules. No unsanctioned use of powers during regular school activities. Now, Can I get two volunteers to be captains and pick teams?"

Roy, October 2nd
While others were at school, Roy was at the tower. After a few days of interviews, talk shows, and other media nonsense he was finally free to start looking into this new mysterious "Legion of Darkness". He had already visited some of the injured heroes in the hospital, and it seemed like their powers really were gone. This was startling news, and Roy intended to get to the bottom of it. The biggest question was who their ring leader was. The other three were mostly small market criminals, but this woman had been different. She was clearly some kind of dark energy manipulator, with enhanced strength and the ability to teleport using some strange portals. Roy had been reaching out to some contacts but so far no one had any solid information. He had even reached out to Craig Thomsen, to see if the United Champions had ever had dealings with someone like this. In the meantime however, he was investigating something else. There was news of a new drug spreading across the country, particularly targeting teens. It was a new superpower drug, but this one was having extremely volatile results. There had been no known incidents in San Diego yet, but it felt like it was just a matter of time.

As he looked at his computer screen he reached for his team communicator. "Anyone in the mood for some patrolling?"

United Champions Headquarters, New York City
"We have a problem." A man was standing in a very large window filled room, with a fancy glass table sitting at its center. The room looked like a mix between a living room and a command center. The man was in a blue suit, and looked like he was in his 30's with short brown hair and a clean shaven face. The voice had come from behind him, it came from a younger blonde woman, who was dressed in a dark purple costume that had a hood that was currently down.

"Well, that's business as usual so no reason to be alarmed." The man said sarcastically, still looking out at the New York City skyline.

"I'm serious John. This attack on the NASL was different. We have verified reports of people losing their powers. It's not like anything we've seen before. And this other figure, this "Dark Star" she took out half a dozen of the best heroes in America."

"You know, I've always appreciated your zeal for crime fighting Fiona. It's what separates you from a lot of the other so called heroes in America. Professional athletes playing superhero, no wonder they didn't stand a chance against Dark Star. Look, I'm not saying this isn't something we need to deal with. But you need to see the whole picture here. Dark Star attacked the NASL Semi Finals. She kicked the proverbial hornet's nest. Why? Because she wanted us to be paying attention to her."

"What are you getting at?" Fiona asked and John turned and handed her his cell phone with a video playing on it. It was security camera footage and while some of it was difficult to make out, what was happening was clear. A man in full combat armor dual wielding two swords was mowing down a dozens guards in a underground facility. Fiona recognized the man instantly.

"Ares"

"Yup, at a top secret underground facility in Zurich. He kidnapped one of the top minds in the field of superhuman research. We're tracking his whereabouts but unsurprisingly he has disappeared off the map. That's not all, we're tracking a heavy uptick in arms deals, particularly in the area of super tech. Somebody is shopping heavily on the black market for things like jet packs, power armor, experimental weapons and anything else these scumbags can cook up."

Fiona didn't know what to say and so just looked up expectantly.

"There's a war coming Fiona, I can feel it. So yes, I'm worried about Dark Star, but she is just one of many pieces on the board right now."

"Well, what about the Young Bloods? Nightshade has been asking around about her. Why don't we bring them in on this?"

John looked at her skeptically.

"Look John I know you have doubts but if we're really spread thing, maybe they can help. They have some techies that are pretty talented, one in particular that is good at finding out information."

"Fine, reach out if you want, but be careful what you share. They aren't exactly discreet."

[Finland SSR]

Roy, October 2nd
"Anyone in the mood for some patrolling?"

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

October 2nd

---

"Why don't you GO TO SCHOOL?!!"

Squeking and yelling, a horde of twenty seven Mizus ran across the meadow, getting blasted one after the other by a pink-haired terror descending across the island. Instead of getting blasted to pieces, however, the Mizus would stop and frown - they got tagged and thus lost, after all - untill all of them suddenly turned around and yelled in unison:

"I DO GO TO SCHOOL!! I have to watch eight hours of recorded lessons every day!"

Renata stopped for a second, as everything around her turned pitch black, and then transformed into a sight from a some sort of aging horror flash game. It didn't dissuade her from advancing forward, however - it was just yet another one of Mizu's illusions. No matter what she could possibly throw at her, she knew to ignore it.

"Well why are you not in THOMSEN HIGH?!"

Gathering a heap of plasma in her right hand, Renata slammed it at the ground, releasing a shockwave across the meadow. The surprise was enough to startle Mizu, wherever she was hiding, and broke the illusion, allowing her to continue attacking. For which, the pink-haired heroine raised her hand and pinched her index finger and thumb.

For the longest time, Renata fought as if she believed that her powers can only be expressed in two polar opposites. Lasers fired from her finger or any other body part with enough cutting power to detach limbs and cleave open holes, and thus dangerous to use... or heating up the air between her cupped palms to create plasma and slam it into people with concussive force. The thing is... there was an entire spectrum of powers between these two extremes which she can tap into with enough precision and training. What says she has to heat up air between her palms? Why can't it be within her fingertips, or, for example, between two of her pressed fingers - which also gives the building up plasma additional pressure to consolidate and heat up. All you need to do then is to release your fingers and...

A narrow beam of plasma shot out from Renata's fingertips, piercing through one of the Mizu illusions and blasting the ground behind it, getting the illusion to frown, throw her hands to the air and walk away.

"Well I can't-" One Mizu gets blasted. "I tried changing schools, but-" Another Mizu gets blasted. "Well the curriculum doesn't let me-" Two more Mizu get blasted. A smirk slowly creeps up on Renata's face. "The school on Luna is a lot more technical, well-" One more Mizu throws her hands to the air and leaves. "It's there to train engineers and stuff for the base, so-" Only a few Mizu left! "And it doesn't have age segregated classes, so-" Just a little bit more... "I wasn't allowed to enroll here."

"Victory!"

"Eh?"

Renata stood in front of the last illusionary Mizu, her hand outstretched and a plasma blast aiming at the smaller purple-haired girl's nose. The illusion sighed, dissipated, and the real girl poked out from behind one of the trees surrounding the meadow.

"And you got released from lessons early, so you have nothing to complain about..." she added just to finish her point, but Renata's thoughts were no longer concerned with school.

"Ye-heah! ¡Hurra!" Renata yelled, jumping to the air and throwing her fist at the sky. Before she and Mizu could rendezvous and go back to the Tower in the distance, however, her communicator suddenly beeped. It was Roy, suddenly reaching out to the team and asking if anyone was up for patrolling. This must be something related to that new super powered drug on the streets she heard mentioned off-handedly on the news a few days ago... Renata's mind was in a good mood and the training exercise left her pumped for action, so she pressed to respond immediately:

"I'm more in the mood for beating you up in that spar I'm gonna drag you into one day, but a patrol is a good second choice."

[The Republic of Atria]

On the way back home

Bael slowly trudged his way onto the jet and flopped into a chair, his arms wrapped around his throbbing chest. He wanted so badly to yell at Jason for doing something so stupid and dangerous, but he also at least understood what he was trying to do. He wasn't trying to beat Dark Star, just make a scene and prove a point. He couldn't tell if it was stupid or brave or some combination of the two. Contemplating that was the only thing keeping his mind off of what he hoped wasn't anything worse than cracked ribs. Those would heal relatively quickly, but if they had actually broken, he might have to see a doctor.

Before he had a chance to get anxious about going to a Dra'Qunni hospital, his inky friend came in, looking not much better than him. He sat down in the row behind Bael the ooze retracting from his head, the only uninjured part of his body. "Ooooh boy. Yeah, full admission: That was my bad. I know you're gonna tell me what I did was dumb and dangerous and we probably should have died, but I'm not letting that hoity toity, up her own ass bitch leave unscathed." He spoke. "Even if she broke at least 12 of my bones. I drew some blood. Gotta let those jackasses know that if and when they come for us, we're gonna make them bleed for every goddamn inch, and if we're lucky, wipe them out. Alright. I've explained myself, so while I get pulled back together, go ahead. Lemme have it."

"Well, you kind of took the little enjoyment I'd get out of it." Bael replied. "Plus, everything kinda hurts. Especially deep breaths. Can't muster enough air to my lungs to scold you appropriately. On top of that, I'm not your boss. Wendy is. You're her problem child, not mine."

"Right. You still gotta yell at Laser Tits for blasting that dude's tail off."

The small thud of Bael's head hitting the chair was heard a few moments before he started speaking again. "Dammit. I forgot about that. Ugh."

"Ah, the wonders of management. Glad I don't have to deal with that crap. Say, if she kills you, can I keep your loincloth?"

Bael made a small laugh and then hissed at the pain in his chest. "Sure, you can put it on and gain my powers. Be the next ruler."

"I'll be fair, but firmly cruel."

"Heh." Bael hissed again. "How're you still going at it like this? She hit you way more than me."

"Oh, make no mistake, Sludge here is the only thing keeping me alive right now. Apparently, my insides are turbo fucked and he's keeping me from hemorrhaging and suffering from major organ failure. Like a super-super glue. Also he numbs the pain. That being said, he's not letting me move much." He replied and they went silent for a minute. "Hey. Thanks for showing up man. Unfortunately, I'm expected to be right as rain within the next few hours, so I guess that means I gotta go do that thing."

"What thing?"

"Ugggh. I... May or may not have ran away from home. I also may or may not have decided to go make some attempt at fixing things. I got powers so worst case scenario is a lot of yelling and things going back to how they've been going. Best case is we make up, but I don't know."

"You want me to tag along?"

"As much as I'd like that, I think this is something I gotta do alone. Can't have you saving my ass the entire time."

"Alright. Good luck."

"Thanks."

The Tower, Oct 2

With the others having gone off to school, Bael took in a deep breath, cherishing not having to wince every time. The weather had begun to cool, and Onu was nice enough to enchant some robes and loincloths for him so he didn't have to worry about the cold weather as much. He had taken the last few days off to fully recover from his injuries, there was some minor soreness left, but other than that, he felt as good as he ever was.

That being said, he knew he needed to double down. The Reckoning... The dread clung to like a wet shirt, and it irritated him. Sure, they dealt with their cronies easily enough, but the Reckoning themselves were going to be far more dangerous than the losers they hired. He needed to double down on his practice, expand his repertoire, get Orro to increase the speed of their sparring sessions... And talk about the amount of force he should be using. Killswitch might have been some D-lister, but he had a point. There were at least two times where he could've ended the fight immediately had he not held back so much.

Was he holding back too much? How did the others deal with this sort of thing? Did they have to worry about maiming someone, or since they were supervillains, was that perfectly acceptable so long as you didn't kill them? He needed to talk with someone more experienced than him about that. So he got up and made his way to where Roy was, where Renata was already there as Roy was talking about patrolling.

He'd been cooped up for a few days so getting back into things would be nice. "I'm down for some patrolling." He spoke up. "Also, Roy. Later on, can we talk? I have some questions that need answering and I don't really know who else to go to." As he finished, he turned over to Renata, finally having to do the thing he dreaded. "Speaking of having a talk, you and I do need to talk about what happened in the tournament last week at some point." He tried to hide the fact that he was nervous, but the way his tail was flicking around made it obvious that he didn't want to say it, despite the commanding, but calm tone he took.

[Auropa]

Young Bloods
Mike Mathews
September 15th (after the first tournament fight)

“And we’re live in 3, 2...“

“Hello and welcome to Heroic Headlines my name is Madeline O’Riley and today I’m joined by none other than Forge of the Youngbloods and today, we’re here to talk about his win in the first team round of the tournament. Quite the spectacle out there huh Forge?” The seasoned reporter asked him with just a little too much enthusiasm.

“Uhh, yeah. You could definitely call it that.” Forge said in response.

“Truly outstanding! Now then, even with the recent media attention and a few recent victories under your team’s belt, I have to say that your group was quite the underdogs in this. So tell me, how did you earn yourselves this win.”

“We went up against some seasoned fighters who gave their best." He began to say "If there’s any reason we won its because we trained, planned and had plenty of footage to study.”

“Oh?” The talk show host asked with a raised eyebrow

“Its actually something I wanted to discuss, with so much footage of most modern hero teams being so freely available, well, I mean it was actually really easy to just sit down and study the other fighters. Hell, we even found the estimates for rhino’s weight online.”

“Brilliant detective work indeed Mr.Forge and a true mark of intellect-”
‘it was barely even a google search’ Mike thought to himself as he bit back the urge to go on and waited for the next question
“-But speaking of which” the host added “Not all that much is known about you. As things are, you’ve made a habit of either ducking out of interviews or giving textbook diplomat answers. So tell us, who are you? What’s going on under the mask? Is there anyone special? Maybe a certain someone on the team?”

As well as causing a slight reddening to his covered face, Mike found himself taken a bit aback by the question “You, um, you sure you wouldn’t rather talk about the battle? Maybe my thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of our and our opponent’s tactics? Talk about what we could do better and why?” Forge asked, trying to shift the conversation away from the precarious fall into tabloid gossip.

“Oh no I’m certain when I say we all very much want to know the real details of what’s going on.” She answered with a wryly grin across her face.

Letting out a painfully clear sigh Mike gave a reluctant answer “My private life is exactly that, private. And my team and I work together as professionals, I respect them and trust them. Anything more or anything that could compromise our ability to operate is strictly off limits.”

“Well what about-” The interviewer said as she followed up her line of questions.

And so it went on. Mike trying to keep things focused and professional only for the much more experienced host to bring it back to relationships, gossips, costumes and merchandise. By the time it finally ended Mike rose to his feet, handed in his microphone and left without a word. He wasn’t entirely sure where he was heading but after that mess, he needed some space and some air.

The issue wasn’t how hard it was to keep on topic but how easy it would have been to just give in and go with the flow and how not matter what was going on, it always seemed that way. The team was an icon, and everyone wanted to know about them, folding and just being a celebrity riding the popularity wave seemed dozens of times easier than trying to be the hero he should. But the thought of giving up like that, of being like Casimir was enough to send waves of anger coursing through him.

The team was at the centre of attention, gathering a huge following and finally, for a moment he had thought that he could make his voice heard and yet here he was. Slugging other powered up ‘heroes’ in front of a camera for a chance at fame and glory. Everything, every little detail he had seen since arriving had reeked of narcissism and he had maanged to do nothing about it. It all left him feeling empty and powerless. At least until an all to familiar and irritating voice reached his ears.

“Ever think of drawing a face on that mask? A big frown or scowl maybe? I mean it would really help with the whole emotioning thing when you’re in costume, otherwise I honest to god can’t tell if you’re angry or dealing with backpain.” Kross called out from the shadows

“Not now Kross.” Mike muttered back as he removed his helmet.

“So I take it the interview didn’t go well.” he asked.

“That’s an understatement, the whole thing was a complete and utter joke. I couldn’t even get a word in about what I came to say.”

“Welcome to the news kid.”

“It’s just, why am I even doing this?! I feel like I’m playing dress up, getting into fights and making the whole thing worse as I go.”

“Well, for starters-“

“I mean sure, usually I’m fighting bad people and it feels good to put them away and be part of something but what’s the point if every bit of good we do just ends up encouraging more of the same.”

“I get that, but the situation is more-”

“I really wanted to make a difference here. I told myself that if we won, even if it was just a little then someone would listen and then maybe I could use some of that attention to bring up the issues. At the very least start a discussion about some of the real problems going on, and yet… What’s the point of trying to do something impossible that no one wanted done in the first place. “

“Alright. We’re leaving.” Kross eventually stated as he pulled out his phone.

“What?” An understandably confused Mike asked.

“Exactly that, we’re leaving. I got a job I need to get done and you’re going to help.”

“Kross, I’m uhh, I’m sort of in the middle of something here.” Mike said gesturing to the nearby stadium.

“Yup, and I don’t care. Look Mike, you’re trying to do something good. It can seem impossible and you can bet its thankless work, but its still the right thing to do. People might not get that and from time to time you’re going to have to deal with shitty setbacks but that doesn’t have to be the end of it. If you believe in what you’re doing and keep working towards it then eventually, others are going to notice, and people will begin to pay attention. But that’s still a long way off, until then you just keep saving lives and making tomorrow a bit brighter however you can. Now come on, this whole place smells like burnt popcorn and if someone tries to sell me one more dumb shirt then I’m actually going to try and burn this place down.” Kross said as he thumbed a few keys on his phone and refused to make even a moment of eye contact.

“…Yeah. Okay yeah, doing something actually useful sounds great right about now.” Mike said looking at the helmet in his hands. “Though I’ll need to tell-“

“Just finished a message to Naja, don’t worry I’ve explained everything and she’ll understand perfectly.” Kross said with an evil smile as he turned off a clearly vibrating phone.

“Uh-huh…” Mike said with more than a hint of scepticism as he put the helmet back on and followed after his uncle “Hey Kross, than-“

“Don’t mention it kid. Seriously. Especially to Naja. Besides, lord knows I can’t have you and your dead beat dad going down the route of fame hungry hero. Think of what would happen to my reputation.”

Message sent to Naja
I’m taking Mike for a job. Water my plants for me.
K thanks.
-Kross M

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 2nd

‘Okay Mike. Late on the first day isn’t too bad, I mean its certainly not as bad as ghosting your team and being sucked into a nightmarish battle against horrible fog monsters for a few weeks. But come on, these sorts of things happen to everyone and I’m sure its fine. Its probably fine. Christ, I hope its going to be fine.’ Mike thought to himself as he handed in his late note, went off to put away his things and finally headed off to class.

After everything that had happened over the holiday; the prison break, the team’s founding, the zoo, Red’s debacle, the whole Warwolf situation and more. Walking around the school’s halls was feeling a lot like some surreal thrust back into sanity and normalcy. One that while welcome, was beyond disconcerting.

‘Okayyy 4th period gym… Shit.’ Of all the classes to start with it had to be gym. He had hoped he’d get something like science or history or anything where people had to sit down, not talk and stay out of arm’s length of one another. Instead, his first class would be the one with by far the most Youngblood members. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see them or anything but after leaving without so much as a goodbye he didn’t expect the most pleasant of reunions. Being at school though, he could at the very least know they wouldn’t use their powers or call him out directly about the team. ‘I mean, there’s no one dumb enough to do that. Right?’ he asked himself as he tried to remember whether Casimir or Renata were enrolled.

‘Okay. Moment of truth.’ He thought to himself as he pushed open the doors to the gym.
‘Oh no…’ He thought as he saw the unmistakable signs of a dodgeball field ‘I am so fu-‘

“Mr Mathews! You are late!”

“Sorry, sorry! I just got back from the airport, I’ve got a note.” He said as he pulled out and handed over a single slip of paper without risking so much as a glance at the other assorted students.

“Mhhm” Mrs.Rodgers breathed out as she read over the paper “Nothing for it then, in line with the rest. You’re just in time for dodgeball.”

“Great.” Mike said with as much enthusiasm as one would expect from someone sentenced to death.

[Absolon-7]

Roydor Calls for Aid

The Great Kabuto!
The Covert Mask!
October 2nd

---

As his door slid behind him, Red let out a low groan as he shuffled over towards his desk in the corner of the room. Along the way he slid his finger on the lighting control display, causing the lights inside to turn on, albeit dimly. Slumping down into his chair, he reached towards one of the coffee mugs scattered across the desk, a dark stain lining the rim as it had yet to be washed since its last use. Reaching over to the pot of coffee he had brewed hours ago, he poured himself a mug of the dark liquid, wincing slightly at the stale and bitter taste it provided.

Glancing up to his powered-off computer screen, Red saw the darkened reflection of himself and immediately frowned. Dark circles ran underneath his eyes, a result of the practically non-existent sleep he had gotten over the last few days. The hair around his chin had grown even further, still untouched by a razor, reaching the point that he could run his fingers through it. He looked like shit, but right now he didn’t care.

Ever since the attack on the stadium several days ago, Red and other members of the Young Bloods had been hard at work trying to find clues that would lead to any kind of information on the group known as the Dark Legion. The fact that the group had reared its ugly head into the public eye in such a dramatic manner was a bad omen, one that would undoubtedly lead to further chaos if it wasn’t stopped. Unfortunately no such leads had came up, even as many members of the teenage team and countless other heroes and law enforcement personnel scanned every nook and cranny there was in hopes of finding something that would point them in the right direction.

Red himself had been caught up immensely in the task, being one of the few members of the team who did not have academic, or in Roy’s case publicity, commitments to attend to. The only time he was present in the Tower was only to sleep for a few hours before heading out into the streets once more. While he would attend to any petty crimes in need of his assistance while there, his main focus was set upon intelligence gathering, a task that was currently leading to no gains, much to his frustration.

Taking another large gulp from the coffee mug before him, Red was prepared to start up his computer when he suddenly heard a small knock coming from outside. The moment he heard it he froze, his eyes being the only source of movement as he gazed over towards the door. Could it be…?

Taking a small gulp, Red’s body moved out of his chair and headed towards the door. A sudden surge of energy seemed to course through his body as a small glimmer of hope returned to him, erasing the crushing feeling of fatigue he had previously been feeling. Pressing the unlock button on his door, Red held his breath as the metal door slid open.

“Yos-”

Red’s words stopped short, however, as he saw who was standing in the doorway. Like a punch to the gut, Red felt all the previously gained energy drain out of him, as his shoulders slumped downwards and an annoyed expression filled his face.

“What do you want, Cas? I’m busy,” Red asked, his eyes wandering behind Casimir in a vain attempt to see if anyone else was with him.

“Hey there ya bastard,” gleefully said Casimir patting one of Red’s shoulders, “Was wondering if you could do me a favor. It involves searching through missing persons reports along the coastlines of two and a half states. The missing person being Ash.”

Red’s eyebrows furrowed as he listened to Casimir’s request. “Ash? Why the hell would I do that? Last I checked she’s still here at the Tower stealing light bulbs from all of the lamps in the living room.”

“Yeah but the thing is she’s amnesiac to anything from a bit over a year ago when Wonder Foundation kidnapped her and i figured now was a good of a time as any to find out her past. Plus I managed to find out that she didn’t always look like the way she does now,” said Casimir ignoring the hostility by stretching both hands behind his neck, “She also used to live in some place that was a big building with lots of people so she thinks she came from a rich family. Although I have my own suspicions…”

Red stared at Casimir for a few moments, contemplating on what to do next. After some deliberation, Red finally let out a defeated sigh and turned around towards his computer. “Fine, I’ll do it. God knows what sort of trouble you’ll get in if I let you do this by yourself,” Red replied before plopping down into his seat and turning back to face Casimir. Pointing a thumb towards the nearby couch, Red waited for Casimir to come in.

Once they were seated, Red took a small sip from his mug of coffee. The caffeinated beverage was starting to slowly but surely bring him back to his senses, much to his relief. Rubbing his chin for a few moments, Red’s gaze fell on Casimir intently, appearing as if he was studying Casimir as a work of art. After a few moments of silence, Red finally spoke up once more.

“Casimir, be honest here with me here.” Red said to Casimir before pausing to reach for his door control, shutting the door so that no prying ears could hear what their conversation was about to turn to. “What’s your deal with Ash anyways? I get looking out for your teammates, but I’m not stupid enough to notice that you too seem to be...close.” Red raised a suspicious eyebrow at the dark haired boy sitting across from him. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed either. In fact, it seems like everyone besides Viv seems to share the same opinion as me.”

Red paused as he cocked his head to the side before shrugging. “Not like I care all that much. Live your life, all that jazz.” His gaze returned to Casimir as he expresion turned into that of concern. “Sorry if that’s a bit too much of an asshole question to ask, Bug Boy. Just want to know if there’s some extra motivation behind this request besides being,” Red reached up with his free hand and bent him fingers with his next words to emphasise them, “a ‘Good Teammate’ or whatever.”

Casimir stared at his friend with blank eyes like a katydid on a leaf stalk before nonchalantly taking a sip of coke he had in one had.

“It’s really quite simple, Red my man. I as the Great Kabuto am her mentor and rescuer so her well being is my responsibility. And as a hero to my bones and seeing as I roped her into this gig it’s my duty to help her to the full extent of what I can do. And to be honest I think I see her as my little sister considering how she acts,” said Casimir before pausing and taking another sip of his coke, “I only ever had an older sister and she hated my guts for half my life and practically ignored me when she was old enough to move out of the orphanage. So I just think it’d be nice to be there for her.”

Red sat in silence for a few moments before nodding. “I can respect that, at least. I’ve known a lot of kids that have come out of that environment and came out as much shittier, albeit probably less annoying guys than you.” A tired, yet still visible grin appeared out of the corner of Red’s mouth. “Just don’t bite off more than you can chew, Lady Killer.” Glancing over at the bottle of coke in his hands, Red rolled his eyes slightly. “Here Bug Boy, let me get you some coffee. Promise you it’s my best batch yet.”

Turning around, Red was about to reach over for what was the last clean mug of coffee still left on his desk when his foot accidently kicked the side of a trash can that had been nestled underneath his desk out of view. Before he had a chance to stop it from tipping over, the contents within spilled out across the floor. While the majority of what came out was a series of scribbled notes and other non-essential paperwork Red had previously read through, the notable sound of clinking glass could be heard as several large empty bottles of alcohol rolled across the room in the direction of Casimir.

Cursing, Red scrambled to the floor to try and retrieve the bottles, but before he could grab the last bottle, he saw that Casimir had already picked it up. Upon a quick inspection, it was clear that this bottle had been emptied out very recently as there was still a considerable amount of moisture stuck to the lip of the glass bottle. If Casimir were to have inspected the other bottles, he would have found that they too showed signs of very recent use.

Staring up at Casimir, Red swore under his breath before reaching out to grab the bottle from Casimir. “Sorry about that. Looks like this coffee still hasn’t gotten me all the way awake yet,” Red said, the tone in his voice clearly attempting to mitigate what Casimir had just witnessed.

Casimir stared in shock at first before his expression transitioned to a more hawk-eyed one. He usually wouldn’t bat an eye at some drinking from Red but this amount was just on another level. Come to think of it Red’s breath smelled strongly like alcohol too when he walked into the room. Casimir didn’t protest grabbing the bottle he had picked up and instead placed both hands inside his jacket’s pockets.

“Say you feeling okay, pal?” said Casimir with half a smile, “I know you got good taste in beer but this seems off. Like the past few days you’ve just been off.”

Red's eyes narrowed as he stared back at Casimir. "It's nothing you need to be worried about, Casimir. I'm fine," he replied, his tone immediately turning defensive.

“Having a little scotch is fine,” said Casimir before he leaned forward from the couch, “But I don’t think turning yourself into your own brewery means you're fine. You can tell me if there is a problem, hell maybe we just need to bring Yoshi over to cheer you up.”

Upon hearing Yoshiro's name, Red suddenly felt a surge of anger swell within his chest as he got up from his seat and looked down at Casimir with an enraged expression. "I just told you there's not a problem. Are you deaf or just fucking stupid?"

Upon saying this, Red felt a small drop off guilt fill his conscious. He knew that Casimir was just trying to look out for him, but the mention of Yoshiro resulted in the logical side of his brain being drowned out by his emotions. He knew the alcohol was likely a large factor in this as well, but there was no way Red was going to admit that to anyone but himself. His feelings were so overwhelming that Red began to clench his fists tightly together, the urge to strike the one person on the team that was arguably his only true friend beginning to fill his thoughts. Luckily this urge was numbed down by what little remained of the logical side of his mind, but this didn't stop him from continuing to verbally lash out at Casimir.

"You know though, there is one problem I do have Casimir, and it's you."

Red's mouth curled into a sneer as he recalled reading the after-action reports of the attack on the stadium. In them was the startling revelation that none other than Marionette had been present, and Casimir had chosen to allow the one villain Red despised the most to escape.

"How the hell could you let Marionette get out of that place free? Do you not realize everything she's done, not only to our team but San Diego as a whole? Hell, she could've been a part of the attack, and now she's fucking roaming the streets free once more!"

At this point Casimir stood up from the couch unable to just sit there from the indignation of the sudden verbal assault. However, there was a tinge of anger at himself as beneath the surprise outrage Red did have a point. Marionette was a vile murderous scourge that needed to be put away or put down as soon as possible and he had just let her go. But it's not like he didn’t have his reasons for doing so.

“I didn’t just let her go. I left her to fight that power stealer by herself so hopefully either would take the other out. And I did that to go check if Wyatt was still alive since that weirdo with the black energy blasted him to kingdom come. As tough as he is for all I knew he got turned to roasted iguana,” blasted back Casimir before crossing his arms, “That masked man burned up the swarm I took with me so it’s not like I could track Marionette. But hey those are all excuses to you right? And you know what? They’re excuses to me too. I’m not any happier I let that suka go.”

Red paused for a few moments, his hands momentarily momentarily relaxing before they eventually squeezed tight together once more. Anger still filled his voice, however this time it was not directed at Casimir but instead at the subject of their discussion.

"I…I understand that. But still, it doesn't change the fact that she's back out on the streets once more, even after all she's done to us. I don't want that bitch to see the light of day ever again, even if it means I have to be the one to toss the key of the deepest hole in the ground out there. I'm not going to rest until that day, no matter what it takes or what I have to sacrifice in the process."

Red's eyes crawled up to Casimir's as he locked gazes for a few moments, before eventually Red let out a small, almost pitiful, sigh. "Look Cas, I'm sorry for being an ass. I'm fine, I'm just a little sleep deprived right now, and I'm just having a small glass to help me get some sleep. Those are all bottles that were pretty much gone anyways and I needed to get rid of," he eventually said as he reached out to place a hand on his teammate's shoulder. While his tone sounded honest enough, Red knew that he was lying when he said this. However he didn't want Casimir to worry any further and trusted that Casimir would believe him, even if there were doubts.

"I promise I'll get to work on tracking down Ash as soon as possible. Whatever info you have from her send my way, and I'll see what I can do. Just do me a favor, that's all I ask." Red paused, his grip on Casimir's shoulder tightening slightly as he leaned in to speak into Casimir's ear in a low voice.

"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to."

And with that, Red walked past Casimir, giving his friend a light slap on the back as he left him alone in his own room.

“Did he just leave me in his own room?,” said a bewildered Casimir.

He quickly left Red’s room and suddenly his team comm started beeping with Roy’s voice. He had already spent the past few hours since Naja brought him back cleaning all around the tower so some non boring work would do just fine. Although a stop in the kitchen for some food wouldn’t go amiss.

“You can sign me right up, Roy,” responded Casimir, “So when and where are we heading to?”

[Tomia]

Roy
Roy had seemingly gotten three volunteers, which certainly wasn't bad. He rolled his eyes to himself when Renata preceded her agreement with a spar challenge before he heard Wyatt ask if they could talk at some point. "Glad, you're willing to take a minute to stop dreaming about beating me up to fight crime Renata, and sure thing Wyatt, we can talk when we get back. Everyone, lets meet in a half an hour outside the garage." When the time came Roy was there, starting up the van Naja had bought them for smaller patrols. It was a large black van and so it wasn't the essence of stealth but it was at least a bit more subtle than the jet. The four Young Bloods began their descent into the city. Roy had his police scanner active and was listening for anything they could deal with as they drove off the island and closer to downtown San Deigo. After about ten minutes of driving a voice spoke over the scanner.

"Active robbery, Bank of San Deigo, hostage situation likely in progress, all available officers respond."

"Sounds like we're up team. We're a few blocks away." He said as he drove towards the bank. He pulled into a nearby empty parking lot near the bank and turned back to his team. "Alright, first things first we need reconnaissance, figure out what we're dealing with. Kabuto, can you take care of that? I need to know where the hostiles are and whether or not they have any hostages. Once we have that information, Stella, Bael, you two are going to come in from the top. I want you drawing fire and attention to yourselves. Then Kabuto and I will focus on securing the hostages. Everyone on board?"

Thomson High, October 2nd
Angelica noticed Mike come in and get reprimanded by the teacher. She felt a little and so offered him a small wave in greeting. Meanwhile, two of the taller and stronger boys volunteered to team captains. Joey, Tim, John... Angelica didn't really remember their names. As they started picking teams, Boy #2 picked Mike pretty early on, meanwhile more and more picks went by and Angelica and Alexis had still not been selected. Angelica wasn't surprised, she was the new freak on the block and Alexis was well... vertically challenged. Eventually it came down to the two of them and after thinking about it for a moment Boy #2 selected Alexis, leaving Angelica to join the team of the reluctant Boy #1. Angelica initially recoiled at this.

"Wait, no way, we have to be on the same team."

Alexis gave a grin in return. "What's the matter, scared you're going to lose Frosty?"

"What? No... Okay fine, you're so on." Angelica said in response and she headed over to her team's side of the court and Alexis joined Mike.

[Finland SSR]

The Tower, Oct 2

Roy

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

October 2nd

---

Renata stormed through the tower with the speed of a raging tornado and reached Roy in time to see that there were going to be four of them in the mission - alongside the two of them, Wyatt and Casimir were tagging along tonight. So they weren't going to do it by squad or anything except volunteering, then. Presumably, everyone else was still at school, since she managed to slip out of lessons early and spent her time training... The pink-haired girl responded to Roy's comment with a scoff and a turn to the side, instead listening to what Wyatt had to say. The Dra'Quinni awkwardly brought up something which happened back in the tournament, while at the same time refusing to point out what. As if she was supposed to guess what was nagging his mind.

"Eh?" Renata muttered, placing her hands on her hips and wincing in confusion. Her thoughts went back to the events of the tournament and she quickly realized what the squad leader meant.

"Yeah, I know, that wasn't really the right thing for me to do..." the girl continued and folded her arms instead. "I mean, I thought that tail was tougher than it actually looked, and it was the first thing which slipped by my hands when I was trying to grab on, so... Yeah, I wasn't expecting it to get cleaved off, and when it happened, I really had no other option but just move on, thinking he could regenerate or something... which he couldn't..."

---

"Recon sucks."

Renata pulled herself off the bench inside the van, folding and unfolding her fist while fixing the shock absorber on her left upper arm. It's been a few days since she got to participate in a patrol this high profile, school duties were taking up a lot of her time and training ate up much of the rest, but she didn't take long to get used to her costume yet again. Roy wanted her and Wyatt to distract everyone from the top while he and Casimir rescue the hostages in the meantime. A rather simple plan which worked while they weren't sure precisely what they were going to face inside.

"Sure, that works." the girl responded.

[Absolon-7]

Roy

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Casimir Herman October 2nd
Casimir had gotten into the van first to retrieve the bag of food he had left in it earlier in the morning when he went to Ash. He sat in the shotgun seat with his helmet slightly tilted up so he could stuff his face with roasted sausages he had recovered from the kitchen. The plastic tub of food sat in his lap while Roy started up the van so their venture could start. Thankfully it was only a few minutes until the police transceiver picked up major activity that being an armed bank heist of all things.

"...Alright, first things first we need reconnaissance, figure out what we're dealing with. Kabuto, can you take care of that?..."

"Got it, Dark Lord," nonchalantly muttered Casimir as he focused in on insects in the area.

His mind traced a group of flies in dumpsters near the bank and they immediately moved to his whims. The gaggle of flies zipped through the air like a squadron of helicopters and they were soon upon the front of the bank. The door of the bank was blocked by an armored truck with a two in the driver and shotgun seat. The flies swooped under through an open window and from there they could see the lobby of the bank with the sterile smell filling Casimir's senses. In the back where the tellers where a line of would be bank customers were flat against the ground while two goons with a rifle were constantly sweeping their sights for any threats but it looked like the front of the bank was clear of people. The flies moved past the group in a more dispersed formation and flew into the confines of the bank. There they found the main vault open were two guards stood in the hallway leading to the vault while the last six where pillaging the bank's entrails whether it be money or valuables.

"Alright looked at the poor fucks," said Casimir refocusing himself to the van, "They have their armored car blocking the door with two dudes in the front. Another two are in the lobby with about ten hostages at the front including the teller. No one is in the front though. Two more are guarding the hallway and the last six are throughout the bank's interior like kids in a candy shop."

With this many people it certainly looked like a high stakes job for these cretins. Those hostages would also make the situation trickier. Dammit, I should've brought one of my wasp nests...Casimir stopped his recon delivery to tighten his gloves before he turned to Wyatt and Renata in the back, "Everyone ready to rumble?"

[The Republic of Atria]

Roy

Renata

Well, she managed to guess what it was that was nagging his mind. "Yes. That. We can talk about the use of excessive force later on." He admitted, relief washing over him. At least she seemed open to discussion and not hostile about it. That would make things much easier.

After that, he made his way towards the van, where Casimir had already arrived sitting in the front passenger seat. Roy was obviously going to be the one driving, so Bael sat down in the back. It wasn't like he could've fit very well in the front anyways. "Hey Kabuto." Bael waved a bit. It just now dawned on him that he'd likely have to share space with Renata in close proximity. Hopefully it wouldn't be too awkward.

Roy got in and started up the police scanner, listening to for any crimes in progress. Nothing much came up, a few car chases, domestic disturbances, but nothing that called for a superhuman to show up and put a stop to it. Not what he expected from a patrol, and he'd honestly would've rather just flown around the city, but then they got a hit: A bank robbery. Though he had to wonder why the hell would anyone even bother to rob a bank? They were basically fortresses to begin with, and most of the money was in credit. Which could be tracked, and the money often had ink bombs in them to ruin the currency. "A bank robbery?" Bael started. "...Are they stupid? Who would be so stupid as to unironically rob a bank?"

Regardless Roy came up with a simple plan, he and Renata were to jump in, quite literally, from above and ambush them and draw their fire. He hoped the bank didn't mind some broken glass, since there was likely no other way to get in from above. "Unless the place has skylights, stuff is getting broken. Hopefully they got superhero insurance..." He mused, half as a joke. He hopped out of the van. "Can you get to the roof on your own, or do you need me to drop you off?" He asked.

Jason

School remained unchanged from his previous year. Other than the fact that he was now a senior, and thus had the privilege of dunking on the lower grades and pulling a massive prank at the end of the year. That and he had superpowers now. Now that he ever planned on revealing that little bit of info. Though the school's spirits seemed high, he couldn't go two words without hearing something about the Young Bloods and their exploits at the Tournament. He even managed to hear that some people were watching the video he recorded of himself and Bael fighting Dark Star.

Most of them got the idea. They took a stand against the Reckoning, and despite the loss, they had garnered the people's faith and trust. The warm fuzzy feeling of it elevated his already usually cheerful demeanor. Most of the classes were just the standard starting bits. Barely worth paying any attention to. He was a C Student and PROUD. Though while he had no problem with the class work, he now recalled the thing he hated about school the most: Homework. But, he would do just enough to get by.

Not like English was going to be able to help him fight villains much. Gym required almost no effort. Geometry would be something he probably didn't pay much attention to. History was always a hoot and reminded him that humans were crazy. There was a class he opted into, Superpower Studies. That would potentially be incredibly useful. He just pick the other classes based on what he read was the easiest. More time spent writing papers was time spent not planting his foot between a criminal's lungs and colon.

But then the bell rang and it came time for the only part of school he liked: Lunch. He brought his own and made his way over to the cafeteria, now grossly aware of his limited number of friends. Bael had graduated. He wasn't sure where Wendy, Mark, Ava or-his eyes locked onto Shi sitting among a few other girls. "Really? She has more friends than me?"

Well, he didn't feel like sitting alone so he slid into the seat across from her. "Hey Shi and company. How goes the day?"

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

---

Leaning up against the balcony railing of an old and decrepit abandoned warehouse, Red tapped on the side of his helmet, causing the heads-up display to magnify his view several times and present a much clearer image of what he was observing through the window of a similar building a few blocks away. Roughly a dozen armed men stood waiting around the building, and while just this alone was enough to cause concern, the real issue at hand was what was occurring inside and was what Red had been waiting for the entire evening.

Two men, dressed in suits and ties, approached a large unmarked wooden box that had been hauled in by several of the armed men previously. They seemed to eye each other warily, likely looking for any signs of a potential betrayal or otherwise any other concerning behavior. One didn't have to be well-versed in the ways of crime to understand that these two men were in the process of making a large-scale illicit deal, one that Red was here to stop.

Seeing that the two men had relaxed in their body posture ever so slightly, Red reached down towards his wrist and began to press on the display located there. After a few swipes and turns with his fingers on the interactive controls, the crisp sound of audio from within the large open room began to pour into Red's ears through his earpieces.

"You sure you weren't followed?" one of the men, his black hair slicked back in a manner that reminded Red of the stereotypical Italian mobsters of several prominent movies. He appeared to be in his later forties and had clearly been running around the crime-ridden streets for some time based on his crinkled skin that was dotted with several scars.

"Yeah, my boys checked the whole block. There ain't nobody around except for some bums who are too drunk to even tell what day it is," the other man replied. He was fairly young for someone in his current position, appearing to only be in his mid twenties from the looks of his appearance. His dirty blonde hair hung messily from his head, complimented with a scraggly looking attempt of a goatee surrounding his mouth. Looking around nervously for a few moments, he pointed with his thumb towards the wooden box below. "This the stuff?" he asked, uncertainty in his voice.

The older man nodded, patting the box with his right hand. "You bet your ass it is. Power-enhancement formulas, all manufactured to be taken in liquid form and stored in vials big enough to for a solid dose each. 'Superhero Steroids', as I like to call 'em. They're in hot demand right now all across the U.S, so much that I doubt even this batch will last you more than a week," he replied in a gravely voice that denoted the man was likely a smoker. Surely enough, the man reached into one of his pockets with his left hand, a movement that made the younger one flinch for a moment before he saw the man was just reaching for a pack of cigarettes.

"Do they work?" the younger one asked as the other placed one of the cigarettes in his mouth, which caused him to let out a low chuckle as he pointed his finger towards the end of the cigarette. In an instant, a large bout of flame erupted from the end, which caused the young man to let out a startled yelp as he backed away from the intense heat.

"Oh yeah, they work," the older man replied, smoke pouring from his mouth from the cigarette as he looked down with amusement. "Now, about the price..."

At this point, Red shut off the audio feed via his wrist display, having heard enough already. Stepping back a few paces, Red took a running start towards the balcony, using the railing as a stepping block to leap onto the roof of the adjacent building. His landing was muffled by the tar roof below, and without pause Red continued this process until he was at the building right next to the warehouse in which the drug deal was taking place. Aiming his wrist towards a low-hanging steel beam visible through the large glass windows in front of him, Red sent a grappling hook shooting through the old glass, shattering it into pieces as he swung into the building.

As he swung down, the two men below let out a collection of startled curses as bit and pieces of shattered glass rained down on them from above. Before they could react any further, Red pointed his legs forwards and delivered a crushing kick to the older man, sending him flying several feet into the other man and prompting the both of them to crash into a steel crate several feet away in a crumpled pile.

Releasing the grapping line, Red heard the sounds of shouts coming from outside, followed by the sounds of the metal doors being slammed open as the guards from outside began to pour in to see what the commotion was about. Reaching at his hip, Red pressed on the center of several of the rederang devices within his hands and immediately spun them in the direction of the oncoming threat. Landing at the feet of the group of armed men, a series of loud bangs erupted as the flashbang rederangs went off, disorienting many of those present. For those few who were still coherent, their vision was suddenly obscured as dark smoked billowed out around them, causing them to begin coughing harshly as they struggled to breath with the heavy smoke filling their lungs.

As one of the men tried to stumble his way out of the cloud of smoke, he glanced up to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at him. The frightening image was like something out of a horror movie for the man, as he tried to let loose a terrified scream. Before he could, however, a sharp crack could be heard as Red delivered a crushing punch to the man's face, knocking him unconscious and sprawling towards the floor. Red wasted no time in moving onto the rest of the men, his vision and breathing undisturbed thanks to the internal breather and enhanced vision display provided to him by the exosuit he wore. The armed guards stood little chance against the flurry of punches, kicks, elbows, and other types of blows that were delivered to them by Red who showed no mercy for the helpless men who could do little more than stumble around.

As the smoke cleared, the only person that remained standing was Red, who looked down at the sight below him with a bit of disgust. If these men had at least some semblance of tactical thinking, the outcome could have been much different for them, at least to the point that it would have been an actual fight instead of what was little more the a seal clubbing. I suppose this is what you get when you arm a bunch of gangbangers with AKs and sawed off shotguns. The second they get those things in their hands they think they're unstoppable.

A small groan next to him caused Red to turn his head in the direction of the noise. Below him one of the men, seemingly barely on the edge of consciousness, reached his hand out shakily towards the direction of the rifle that had fallen down onto the floor besides him. Underneath his helmet, Red let out a small tsk as he kicked the rifle away from the man's reach before following up with a kick to the man's ribs. The man shriveled up as the air left his lungs, and soon went still as the last bit of energy maintaining his consciousness faded away.

With this last man dealt with, Red turned around back towards where the two men had initially been speaking. He planned on alerting the police and sending them this way to deal with both the criminals and the contraband they had attempted to deal, but not before first getting a few samples to bring back to the Tower so that he could get some analysis on them with his own hands. However as his eyes glanced over towards where he had kicked the two men earlier on his arrival, he suddenly realized that one of the men, the older of the two, was missing.

"Looking for me, you little shit?"

Spinning around, Red didn't have time to react as a ball of flame smashed into his chest, the impact sending him sprawling several feet backwards onto the ground. When he finally settled, Red let out a deep gasp as all the air that had been in his lungs had been forced out by the sudden attack. While he didn't feel any substantial pain, his upper torso felt as if he had just got done laying in the hot summer sun. A large red box appeared in the corner of his heads-up display, indicating that that his chest plate had taken severe damage from the surprise attack.

The sound of slowly approaching footsteps caused Red to turn himself around so that he could look back in the direction the attack had came from. Staring up at the figure walking towards him, Red saw the man with slick black hair staring down at him with murderous intent, his right hand filled with burning flame as he appeared to have yet another attack waiting to be launched. A sliver of pink liquid ran down the side of his mouth as he tossed two empty vials onto the ground below him.

"You know, I've always been told it's a bad idea to get high off your own stash," the man said in a rumbling voice as flames began to flicker in his eyes. Realizing what was about to happen, Red forced his body into movement as he rolled backwards to try and attempt to get back on his feet. It was just in time, as the man's eyes opened wide while he cocked his hand back like a pitcher about to sling a baseball. "But I'm starting to think I might just develop an addiction for this kind of stuff!"

As the man screamed out, another fireball was launched from his hand and was sent hurling towards Red, who barely had enough time to dive out of the way of the oncoming flaming projectile. As the fireball impacted into a metal crate behind him, a small explosion erupted causing the affected steel to bend from the sheer intensity of the heat. The fact that the first impact the man had landed on Red hadn't killed him outright was a miracle in itself, one that he could only attribute to sheer luck and the talent of Alexis.

Once more getting back onto his feet, Red's mind began to race as he tried to think of what to do next. There's no way I can take another direct hit like that. Getting in close is probably a no go as well. Glancing over towards the ground where all of the unconscious men were, Red's eyebrows furrowed. If this goes on any longer, odds are some of them are gonna get burnt to a crisp too. Not to mention the building itself. While Red had little in the way for empathy for these drug-dealing criminals, he knew that he couldn't allow them to die thanks to his own negligence.

Looking up at in the corner of his heads-up display, he counted the remaining rederangs indicated. He mostly only had the standard ones remaining, the only special ones being a single disorientation device and the other containing a small explosive pack within. While these two special ones could provide a means in which for Red to escape if needed, he knew that they wouldn't be able to take down this particular opponent unless he got especially creative.

For the time being, Red reached for several of the standard rederangs and tossed them in the direct of the man, hoping to at least buy him a few moments to think up a plan as he began maneuvering away from the direction of the unconscious men. In an astounding feat of reflexes, the drug dealer raised up both of his hands and shot out several small waves of flames towards the oncoming projectiles, sending them flying off course and scattering onto the ground in damaged conditions.

"That's not enough to stop me, hero," the man shouted at Red as he pointed his hands in his direction once more. "Now just stand still and let's get done with this already!"

Ducking underneath the balls of flame, Red tossed another pair of rederangs towards the man as he made his way over in the direction of the far side of the building. This time the man simply dodged out of their way, albeit with one coming dangerously close to his head. The sight of this seemed to cause the man a bit of anger as he decided to close the gap between the two, sprinting full-bore towards Red with a pair of fireballs in his hand waiting to be launched.

Red watched as the man tossed these two flaming spheres flew towards him, barely able to dodge out of the way and coming so close to one that he could feel the heat emanating from it even through his exosuit. Glancing upwards, he realized he had finally gotten to where he needed to be and tossed his last remaining standard rederang towards the charging man. Reaching out with his outstretched hand the man actually caught the flying object in mid-air, the intense heat from his hand having melted the projectile to such a degree that its effect was little more than if Red had thrown a metal marble at him.

However Red had yet another rederang that he sent spiraling through the air, having waited a split second to throw it in order to take advantage of the split-second distraction the first one provided. Indeed it managed to slip past the man's attention until it was too late for him to react, however it had not been aimed towards him. Rather it had been directed at the ground directly below where he was running, releasing a deafening boom and blinding flash of light that caused the man to stop in his tracks, unable to either see nor hear anything.

Pointing upwards with his left wrist, Red's final grappling hook shot upwards towards a bare low-hanging support beam that was not connected to anything else. The moment the grappling hook secured itself, Red was pulled into the air towards it. As he flew upwards, he retrieved his final rederang, pressing the center button and slamming it into the small horizontal cranny within the iron beam and releasing himself from the grappling hook in the same motion.

By the time this happened, the man had somewhat regained consciousness and noticed Red flying helplessly through the air. In a fit of rage the man shot out yet another flaming projectile towards the falling figure. Red, unable to do little more than change the position of his falling body, turned in the air in an attempt to avoid the attack. He was partially successful, with only the trail end of the projectile managing to impact into the undamaged back portion of his armor. Still the impact caused Red to let out a pained scream as he crashed down into the ground below with a harsh thud.

The man would've capitalized on this and finished Red off right then and there, had it not been for the sound of an explosion above him. Still somewhat disoriented from the earlier concussive blast, it took a moment too late for the man to realize a portion of the support beam had been blown off by the exploding rederang placed there moments ago. Before the man could move an inch, the heavy iron metal slammed into his chest, sending his sprawling onto the ground below. For a brief moment flames flickered in his hands as he tried to push the metal support beam off of him, but his vision soon went dark as he fell unconscious, the support beam trapping him onto the ground below.

Meanwhile several feet away, Red too flickered on the verge of unconsciousness as he found every breath to be a pained struggle. The exosuit had mitigated most of the damage of both the impact of the fireball as well as the fall, but even then Red was in a great deal of pain as red warning lights flashed on his display screen. The sound of screaming sirens could be heard in the distance as police had been apparently alerted to the sounds of the fighting going on, there presence no doubt certain to be there within a few minutes.

As he lay there on the ground, Red suddenly felt a pair of hands pull him up from the ground and pull his right arm over a shoulder so that his weight could be supported. His body refused to react, the only movement it providing was his head turning around to see a figure wearing a black mask that covered the lower portion of their face and a hoodie that covered practically everything except the eyes, which shone in a dark and majestic shade of blue. Underneath his helmet Red's gaze hovered over those eyes, something within them telling him he had seen them before.

"Who...are..." Red tried to ask the figure, but his words soon fell to the side as his mind turned into a haze. He was finding difficulty in even keeping his eyes open. Unable to speak, his right hand weakly reached towards the back of the hood of the mysterious figure carrying him towards the exit, the person seemingly too preoccupied with the physical demands of carrying the limp Red on their shoulders. Once the hood fell down, Red's eyes widened as he realized who those eyes had belonged to.

"Is...abella?"

Glancing down towards Red with a concerned look in her eyes, Isabella reached into the pocket of her hoodie and retrieved a small taser gun from within. Before Red could say anything further, she thrust the prongs of the device into an unarmored portion on his right thigh and pressed the activation trigger on the side. Electricity surged through Red's body in an instant, stiffening up his entire body before the trigger was released, leaving Red slumped forward and unconscious.

"Sorry, Red. Just trust me for now," Isabella spoke softly to the now unresponsive Red, pulling the hood back over her face once more as she headed towards the exit.

---

The muffled sounds of a television caused Red's to stir awake from where he was laying. His eyes barely opened, Red's first thoughts were that he had fallen asleep watching television in his room. He attempted to sit up from where he was in an attempt to reach over to where he usually placed the remote, when suddenly a surge of pain caused him to jolt awake as he let out a pained wince and muttered curse as he laid back down onto the bed below him. His eyes now wide open, Red realized the ceiling above him was not that of his own room.

"Finally awake, eh?"

Red's head snapped over in the direction of the voice that rang out from the darkness. Although the lights were dimmed drastically, Red could recognize the blue eyes staring at him through the darkness. Immediately the memories of what had occurred flooded back into him, causing Red to once more attempt to jolt up from where he was laying. He was successful this time, albeit with a pained grimace. Seeing this, Isabella stepped towards him in the darkness and placed a hand on his shoulder as if to stop him from moving any further.

"Calm down, Red. You're going to end up tearing off those bandages if you're not careful," Isabella said in a calming yet firm tone of voice. Looking down at where her hand was placed, Red realized he was bare chested with the exception of a string of bandages that had been wrapped around his torso and upper back diagonally. Reaching down at the blankets that covered him, Red saw that the lower portion of the under suit he wore on his legs were likewise gone, having been replaced with a pair of plan grey shorts.

"I had to remove your clothing so that I could make sure you didn't have anything burnt into your skin. You're lucky, as whatever you were wearing seemed to do the job in keeping you from having anything worse than a first degree burn on the affected areas. Besides those and a few bruises, you came out fairly unscathed given what you were up against," Isabella spoke up, seemingly quick to explain her actions.

Red, however, didn't seemed pleased in the least with the answer. "So let me get this straight," he said, an irritated tone in his voice. "First, you prod me with a taser gun. Next, you kidnap me to...wherever we are. And finally, you strip me naked and dress me up like some aide at a nursing home? Sorry if I'm sounding rude here, but you'd have to excuse me if I said I'm thrilled."

Isabella's mouth turned into a likewise irritated frown as she pointed towards the corner of the room, where Red with his recently adjusted eyes could see the tattered remains of both his exosuit and his undergarments. "Feel free to try them back on once we're done here. In the meantime, however, we need to talk."

Red raised an eyebrow at Isabella's demand. "Talk? Talk about what? On how to get consent before you start ripping off someone's clothes? Because oh boy, do we need to have a talk."

Isabella let out a frustrated groan as she pulled her hand back from Red's shoulder, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she stared down at Red.

"No, that's not why I brought you here," she replied.

Red stared back, a doubtful look on his face as he continued to mock her. "Is it about becoming a Mormon? While I'll give you props for the new strategy, I hate to break it to you that I'm still not interested."

Isabella let out an even louder groan as she facepalmed in irritation at Red's response. "Jesus, you're such an ass Red." Shaking her head for a moment, she seemed to regain her composure as she stared back at Red, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I need your help, Red."

Red's eyes went wide for a brief moment before his expression turned into that of confusion. "You? An agent of Lycan, the same group that tried to kill not only me but my entire team, want me to help you?" Red shook his head in disbelief. "I think I must have hit my head too hard, Isabella, because you're not making any sense to me right now."

Isabella bit the bottom corner of her lip, a nervous habit Red recognized she had. "I know I'm asking for a lot here Red, but it's important. Besides," Isabella paused as she reached into the pockets of the jeans she was wearing, pulling out a pair of vials with the pink liquid that was undoubtedly the superpower-enhancing drug from before. "I have intel on a few things I know you're wanting to know. I'm more than willing to share, that is as long as you help."

Red stared at the two vials for a few moments before turning his gaze back to Isabella.

"No deal. I'll find out on my own. I don't want anything to do with Lycan, which includes you, Isabella."

His response seemed to shock Isabella for a brief moment as she looked at him in disbelief. For a brief moment a sense of anger was visible in her expression, before eventually something seemed to calm her down as her previously balled up fists relaxed. Closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, Isabella's expression turned into something Red never expected to see.

Sadness.

"Frank's dead, Red. And I want to find out who the hell is responsible for it, but I can't do this alone." Reaching out with both of her hands, she placed them on top of the left hand of Red. He could feel the small areas of her otherwise soft hands that were heavily callused, no doubt the result of countless times spent handling weapons. Wrapping her fingers around the top of his hand, she gave him a small squeeze as she looked up at him, her eyes moist as she seemed to struggle to hold back tears.

Red sat there in silence for a few moments, contemplating on what to do. The fact that Isabella was asking him to do this was beyond belief. There was no way of knowing if this wasn't some sort of elaborate trap laid out by Lycan in order to either kill or capture him, and even if it wasn't Red held no desire to help the organization that was the bane of his existence. He also understood that if anyone from the Young Bloods knew he was helping Lycan, there would be no room for understanding. For a brief moment, he considered refusing the request once more.

However as he looked into the pleading eyes of Isabella, he realized that he couldn't do that. He hated Lycan, that fact didn't change. However he also understood that Isabella was asking this because of the loss she must have felt with the death of one of the few people that arguably had been her only family for the majority of her life. Red knew this feeling as it had been something he too had felt for the members of the Five back when that had been part of his life, and it was an emotion that he knew he felt for those a part of the Young Bloods.

"Fine, I'll do it."

Red's reply caused Isabella's eyes to widen in surprise. Evidently she hadn't expected this, even though she had gone to such lengths to try and persuade him. A large smile formed across her lips as she reached forwards and hugged tightly onto Red, only to reel back as Red let out a reflexive wince from the contact. Stepping back, she cleared her throat, clearly attempting to try and regain her composure after her brief moment of overwhelming joy.

"I-I see," she said, stuttering slightly before her face turned into that of a more serious expression. Before she could continue, however, Red raised up a hand to interrupt her.

"Only if you agree to these three conditions. First, no killing. Second, you give me all the information you know, not only about the drug you have there but on anything you know about the attack in New York City. And finally," Red paused for a brief moment before speaking once more, "I want you to help me track down the identity of one of my teammates that was formally in the hands of Warwolf. You meet these three conditions and I'll help you with whatever you need."

Isabella raised a curious eyebrow at the last request, but nonetheless shook her head in agreement. "You've got a deal."

Letting out a small grunt, Red shakily got onto his two feet so that he could stand and face Isabella. Crossing his arms, he let out a small sigh before staring in anticipation at Isabella. "So, what's the plan then?"

A smile once again appeared on Isabella's face, although this one differed greatly from the one from before as this one was filled not with innocent joy but with malicious anticipation.

"We're finding the person who did this, and we're going to make him pay."

Red looked at Isabella for a few moments, before shaking his head slightly. "You'll still be following condition number one, right?"

Isabella nodded, the malicious look on her face seeming to grow even stronger as she cracked her knuckles slowly. "Oh yes, I will. But everything short of that, I'm planning on doing it all."

Red felt a small shiver run up and down his spine as he heard these words.

"You know Isabella, you can be pretty damn scary some times."

Isabella nodded, not denying for even a moment the statement given to her. "Trust me, you haven't even seen the worst of me yet," her tone filled with venom as she spoke.

And at that moment, Red believed her for all it was worth.

[Finland SSR]

Casimir Herman October 2nd

Wyatt

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

October 2nd

---

While Casimir withdrew to his thoughts and scanned the bank up ahead through his bugs, Wyatt let out a blurb where he expressed his confusion that people were still robbing banks in this day and age. True, it might be a classic group crime, but it was no longer as lucrative as it used to be a hundred years ago... Renata folded her arms and blurbed in response herself:

"I dunno, if you were a criminal and had a gang itching to go do crime, what would you rob? An orphanage?"

Casimir reported on the situation soon, listing the locations of all the bank robbers inside - twelve of them in total, plus an armored car at the front. And ten hostages. "That's a lot of room for failure..." They're spread out and likely all of them were armed, and while Renata wasn't concerned with their ability to take all of them out, the fact was that they only need to miss one or two of the robbers for the hostages to get in critical danger.

Hopefully, Roy and Casimir won't make any such mistake while they draw fire...

Speaking of which, right after the team leapt out of the van, Wyatt continued speaking by offering Renata a lift to the roof of the bank, if she was unable to get up there by her own. In response, the girl gave him a furious glare.

"What?! Of course I can get up there!" she exclaimed. After all, she didn't keep practicing propelling herself with plasma blasts just to become a weight for someone else to lift. Gritting her teeth and furrowing her eyebrows, Renata pulled herself onto the roof of the van and then leapt straight towards the truck. A twin set of plasma jets shot out from her palms and ejected her into the sky. Unfortunately, however, she slightly undershot her blasts and, instead of safely landing on the rooftop, ended up in direct trajectory towards the bank's wall.

Flailing, she slammed and clung onto the framing of one of the windows.

"I-I'm okay..."

From there, it was a straightforward, if strenuous and slippery task to climb upwards, until Renata's hands finally grabbed onto the edge of the roof. "See, I did it just fine all by myself!"