Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 2nd

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---

"Yeah, too bad. But hey, when I'm done with my ride, I could let Casimir take her out for a spin, maybe. If he asks real nicely with sugar on top." Alexis said with a mischievous grin after hearing her friend's comment on the bug man's bike. For the most part however she tried to keep still and not talk too much so as to make Viviana's job easier, although it wasn't easy by any means - the sponge that she used to apply the makeup caused a tickling sensation upon her skin, and the brush that was used afterwards even more so. Still, the blonde managed to avoid laughing.

"Oh, so I'm that friend you only come see when you're bored or need a guinea pig for something, is that it? You break my heart, Vivi. I thought we had something special!" She said with faux indignation as Viviana stopped to take a sip, letting out a chuckle afterwards to show she was simply joking. "Anyways, if you're hungry maybe we can convince your man and my girl to take us somewhere nice to eat." She suggested, half in jest, part of her idly wondering if Angelica would like this.

"So drama club you say? I actually wanted to join Thomsen High's drama club, but my parents convinced me a sport was the better idea. What are the guys there like?" She asked as she did her best to keep her eyes completely still while Viviana worked her magic.

---

---

As soon as the winged boy began flailing his arms defensively while desperately trying to defuse the situation, Megan's facade broke and she started laughing heartily. Who could have known that angels were so easy to toy with and tease? But as he continued and began talking about Heaven and all that stuff about other dimensions, the girl stopped laughing and paid close attention. While she was by no means an expert in such matters - she was, after all, just a hair stylist with a peculiar power - between the ramblings she heard in her head sometimes and her sister's interest in occultism, she knew more than the average person about the things the angel was mentioning. Enough that she wasn't skeptical, at least.

Not that she was terribly concerned about the threat mentioned either way.

Hearing Jan's last few words, Megan let out another laugh. "Oh, my. That is such a roundabout way of asking a girl out, Mr. Angel. I'm so flattered!" She said playfully.

After a moment however, she leaned back on the door and took a deep breath, as though she was preparing to talk more seriously now. "So you know what I can do, then? And you need my help to deal with some sort of threat?" She asked, albeit rhetorically - he had already said enough for her to answer that on her own. "What's in it for me? Surely there's something, since you're asking me to put myself in harm's way."

[Galnius]

Dan

Red

Dan eyed the hero with confusion as he mentioned this "Floyd Tolson" character. "No, I'm pretty sure nothing was said about any Tolson's. I think you might have the wrong guy."

Still, even if Mask was an idiot, he did at least have a good plan. Use the jammer to shut down the bombs. Take them off. Profit. It as better than his plan of looking for blue wires to cut.

"Alright, as a favor, we'll do it your way. I can get us in and out unseen, so just follow me. I even have the napkin of doom, so we should be good no master what we run into. One condition though....one autograph. Title it "to Lisette Aveline, Dan is the Man. You still owe him."

Dan covered both with his power, but still felt he was forgetting something. Something....important. He figured it didn't matter much if he couldnt remember however, so he shrugged and moved up. Red, though, might be a little lost without being filled in about Dan issuing his power already.

---

Mika

Jan left Mika more than a little disappointed with not only his half answer, but also his refusal to even eat pizza. He seemed to lack a reaction to the question altogether as well. Okay, maybe I should try a different approach...

"Well that was...enlightening", she began. "I of course mean that it was a snooze fest, but who cares. I guess it's time for the next question Angel Boy. Why are you here? You dropped me off, and clearly it isn't to entertain me like I asked. So why'd you come back?"

Pausing, and wearing an impish grin, she pointed accusingly at him. "Oh I see how it is. Small girl with her mom gone? Very slick. Not happening though, I have some tricks up my sleeve. Besides, aren't you christian types more into twelve year old boys? Or is it that I could pass for one..." She tapped her chin in mock deep thought, waiting for some kind of response. Maybe Angel Boy is the type you are supposed to mess with. That's always fun.

[The Republic of Atria]

Jackrabbit

---

"I mean, I pretty much figured that it's nothing compared to what the Stars have. We're a bunch of kids. It's not like we've got millions of dollars worth of sponsorships and the best people working around the clock to ensure we're always in peak condition. We just kinda wing it. Everyone trains in their own way." He explained until Andrew brought up the idea of going outside to train, and loosely explained his powers as having the ability to redirect force. It wasn't too often he had the opportunity to go at someone full steam.

His tail perked up at that prospect. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea, and we do have a healer. You might've seen him floating around around. His name's Jacob. Nice guy, patches up those who don't have healing factors or the more severe wounds on those that do. Thankfully the worst damage I've ever gotten was from getting blasted by... Dark Star." He shuddered a bit as the two got outside. "So I could use more experience going up against guy my own strength. How do you want do this? Firs to uncle or tap out or maybe we make a sort of ring or arena and do a ring out thing..." He trailed off to let Andrew give his input.

[Finland SSR]

Casimir Herman October 2nd

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

---

Ah, so she wasn't seeing things, apparently. If Casimir noticed something was wrong about Red, then something really terrible has happened to the man. He detailed how Red's alcohol addiction has only gotten worse recently, he's lashed out at the person who, by all accounts, was on good terms with him, especially when Yoshi got mentioned, which got the bug themed superhero to assume that something must have happened between the two of them.

Renata retreated to her thoughts and tapped her chin, the slightly frustrated expression on her face vanishing and getting replaced with worry.

"But, but they're so cute together..." she muttered under her breath. Her mind recalled watching the two of them kiss upon the conclusion of the encounter with Marionette, the only one she got to witness herself. That was a while ago, though...

Renata suddenly checked her fist and raised it.

"And that's why we gotta get them back together! Casimir, you wouldn't happen to know where Yoshi is at, right?"

---

October 2nd

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Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

Megan took Jan as a complete joke, laughing at him and his blunders time and time again, and even playing off his statements to make the encounter all that more awkward to him. The young Virgil turned to the side, scratching the back of his head. "I-I'm not Mr. Angel, actually... I have a name, it's Jan..." Not that it was going to make matters any better, but well... what could he do?

He didn't have a knack for jokes. A bit too... straight-faced when dealing with life. If he tried verbally messing Megan up in revenge, the best thing that could happen is him digging himself an even bigger hole...

In the midst of his internal thoughts, Megan brought up something actually somewhat concerning. He's explained what she was needed for and why it was necessary to the forces of Heaven - but what was in it for her? A good question. It was still putting herself in the line of danger.

Jan turned his eyes to the ceiling, lost in thought. "That... Hm... Well... Uh... Well, I mean, this is why it's voluntary, right? I'm not forcing anything on you, it's really up to you to decide whether you're interested or not. But, well... Some people find these things exciting. I used to know some people who did. And, uhhh..." the Virgil tapped his chin. "Sometimes Heaven provides boons to mortals who help them out. Not as often nowadays... but it still happens from time to time."

---

Mika

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

Mika swiftly went from being needlessly interested in his personal life to just... being confusing. Right after she asked why he came here, she suddenly went on a tirade. Apparently, she figured out exactly why he's come here, and even pointed accusingly at him, even though she refused to explain exactly what she uncovered - and then immediately changed the subject to something about twelve year old boys. Is she calling him a twelve year old boy? He... well he does look very young for his age, but he didn't think it made him look twelve...

"What?" Jan blurted out in confusion and scratched his head. "I-I'm not sure what you mean, but it doesn't sound like you figured it out." All of that confidence led to nothing.

"Well, you see... You've heard of a guardian angel, right? They're real, of course, most people have one assigned to watch over them and manifest as their help in critical moments in their life, often in ways they can't even see themselves, or ever realize that they even have someone protecting them. Sometimes, when you get lucky, or survive something you should have died from, it's not just luck that's at play. And, well... I've ended up as your guardian angel."

Jan took a brief glance through the window, his eyebrows furrowing for a second.

"I figured you'd need someone to protect you... but, at the same time, I'm hoping to take the fight to whoever was trying to threaten you."

---

Vince

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

Thankfully, the man he was looking for opened the door - and, not so thankfully, immediately began speaking, and not what Jan wanted to hear. For some reason or another, he assumed that the Virgil was a Girl Scout trying to sell him cookies, or a religious nutjob, or basically anyone except who he actually is, not even the right gender. The man even went as far as to start working out a deal for cookies.

Jan scratched the back of his head. This might be... harder than he thought.

So... let's not knock on the front door ever again, or else the other people I'm recruiting will think I'm trying to sell them a toaster...

"Uh... I-I'm not a girl scout, sir." the Virgil muttered. Alright, how to get past this terrible beginning and actually convince this man that he's not some street peddler... Well, if anything, magic should help change his mind. Jan pulled out a small strip of paper attached to his belt, it suddenly transforming to a long scroll of parchment descending to the ground - he took a few glances through the list before turning his eyes back to the man and speaking:

"You must be Vince-uhhh was that a bomb in your hand just now?!"

[Galnius]

Angelica Dalin
When Steven finally agreed, Angelica found that she could not contagion her excitement. Her eyes grew wider with each word, ending with her giving the teacher a quick hug. "Alright, I don't...really know who Naja is, but I'm sure if we work together I'll be one of them in no time!"

Grabbing her backpack, the blond soon-to-be hero turned back. "Here's my parents number. I'm going to tell them tonight, but it's probably the best way to reach me. I don't think a teacher should have one of the student's numbers, after all."

With that, Angelica headed off with a slight skip in her step. She was going to take the other Angelica's offer later, but for now, she had a stop to make.

Angelica Dalin, later

A familiar blond made her way to a familiar statue, commemorating people she was somehow familiar with. Two stood there that had survived the attack many years ago, but for others, this was the only place they could stand. The blond unpacked her bag and took out a small, pink lunchbox and a blanket, as she had in the days where the weather permitted it for the past few months. Leaning up against the base, she said a quick prayer, and then addressed the people who's stone smiles were etched there.

"Hey again guys. I saw Steven again today. He seemed grumpy, as usual, but I think I might finally be cracking that shell of his. He's going to help me become a fully fledged hero, so I must've done something write. Maybe one day I can see Bev, and perhaps the smile on Steven's face again. Who knows, maybe I can set him up too?"

---

Andrew Donovan

Andrew grinned as Wyatt agreed to take the match outside. Not only was he now able to go all out himself without fear of breaking shit, but he always felt better outdoors. Perhaps it was just the fresh air, or the maneuverability. All he had to do now was avoid the tower and the bridge, which made it easier than even fighting in a city square.

"Definitely to tap out". Andrew answered Wyatt's final question as the pair of newly acquainted heroes made their ways outside. "Ring out is a bit restricting, and with my powers and your flight we'll end up having to give up for go out simultaneously anyway like I had to do with your guys' Chicle. That, and tap out lets me see what kind of punishment you are willing to take."

Finding a decent spot facing the bridge, Andrew stopped. "So...how do you want to start this? Opposite sides of the tower, opposite sides of the lawn, or 100 yards? We'd also need to have someone call the start for us I guess..." Andrew paused, quickly realizing he hadn't thought this far ahead. "Up to you I guess."

---

Mika
Mika's eyebrows raised when Jan imformed her of his current job on earth. It seemed more than laughable to her, but it could also come with some benefits.

"So what you are saying is...you are basically stuck staying around me? See, I'm new to this whole 'Guardian Angel Boy' thing, so I gotta know. Will I be able to see when your around? And how often will you be around? And, most importantly...how can I contact you?"

Inwardly, Mika deliberated the news to herself, unsure whether she should be happy or not. On one hand, he literally has to care, and I don't need to do a thing. Or at least pretend too. That's nice. On the other, there's gotta be a drawback or something he wants from me, and he's pretty tight lipped. Damn, if only I could get him to drink.

[Absolon-7]

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Casimir Herman October 2nd
Casimir watched with a mix of confusion and fascination as Renata seemed to go through half a dozen emotions in a few seconds. Her mumbling on Red and Yoshi's apparent cuteness instigated a raised eyebrow from him but the biggest surprise came at the suggestion of getting them back together. Surely thinking they broke up was jumping to conclusion at this point right? However, the bitter reaction he got this morning from Red over his girlfriend being brought up didn't put the idea out for the count.

"And that's why we gotta get them back together! Casimir, you wouldn't happen to know where Yoshi is at, right?"

"Nope," bluntly said Casimir placing both arms in his jacket's front pockets, "I can try texting her or DMing her on Discord to see where she's at."

Casimir sighed lightly partly that he was going to get dragged into some messy relationship stuff and partly because he really wanted to break his squatting record today. But a friend was in apparent need so that must come first. He quickly got his phone out and scrolled past a stylized dragonfly screensaver to message Yoshi.

"If we're gonna get them back together I can see about getting some Spanish fly for the two," snickered Casimir, "But I'm open to any other ideas, ha."

Alexis

Viviana Couture October 2nd
Viviana could barely hold in her laughter at Alexis joking around but she steeled herself steady to finish her job and by gosh she'd get it done right. A few strokes there and a couple edges here and it was just about perfect. Viviana mouth dropped slightly at the comment about only seeing Alexis when she was bored but sighed in relief at the laughter. She wiped some minute sweat from her brow as she began the final touches with a soft brush. Thankfully she didn't screw up like in the morning with taking Mizu away from her studies.

"Oooh like a double date? Sound like it'd be pretty swell. Sorta like getting an two things for the price of one from a vending machine," said Viv quickly, "Okay just one last thing before the grand finale. Gotta curl dem eyelashes. Now don't blink dear."

Alexis last question caught her off guard and the brunette found herself pausing slightly to recollect the guys she'd seen so far. As her thoughts manifested her hand ever so carefully rolled the instrument up Alexis eyelashes filling out their volume and color to a stunning degree.

"Like a couple just look really greasy tho I guess a few are pretty cute. Well they don't match up to my man but if I'm gonna spend a while putting make up might as well have a nice canvas. Oooh that reminds me. This exactly one time Casi let me practice makeup on him back before we were in San Diego. I'll show you the pictures! But it was less pretty and more for Halloween so he looks spooky," excitedly said Viv as she put away her tools to get her phone and the last piece of the puzzle for the night, "Pucker up buttercup. I got this lipstick all the way from France and it'll have guys and girls swoon for you."

[The Templar High Council]

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

Zoe arrived at the base of Wonder Tower in a taxi, an assortment of luggage piled into the back with her as the cab cruised over the bridge. She had left North Carolina early this morning on a plane, and managed to arrive in San Diego with some time left in the day (and a non-zero amount of jet lag). Though all the time on her own had given Zoe time to think on how she ended up across the country on her own, about to move into a mansion that housed one of the most promising new teams in the country. And how she had to take a break from the Bluejays to do it. It wasn't easy leaving... well, it was easy to want to get away. But LEAVING leaving was another matter.

Zoe shook her head to dismiss the cloudy thoughts. She finished removing her suitcases from the taxi, paid the driver, and watched him putter off to his next fare as she turned to gaze upon Wonder Tower. It certainly was... towering, to say the least. With her bags slung over her shoulder and trailing behind her, Zoe laughed at her own awful joke while she walked towards the front door.

Before she could reach the door, Zoe noticed two people exiting the building and heading for the bridge. She also noticed that she vaguely recognized one of them, from the aftermath of the New York tournament. Seeing this as an opportunity to avoid wandering around the building, looking for someone to show her around, Zoe parked her luggage near the door and followed the two of them, calling out when she got close.

"Hey! You guys live here, right? I'm moving in today!" She wore a hoodie and a pair of jeans, fairly unassuming, all things considered. Her hair was down, as opposed to how it had been throughout most of the proceedings in New York, but she still carried an unmistakable gleam in her eye that betrayed that she was more than she appeared.

[The Republic of Atria]

Jan

Vince

The kids stammered, explaining that he wasn't a girl scout and pulled out a small piece of paper that turned into a much larger one that was so large that part of it unrolled and it hit the ground, still rolling. While weird, he put his wallet back in his pocket and was about to dismiss the kid and go back to his crudely prepared breakfast when he was called by name and then panicked, wondering about the bomb he attempted to kick back into the house. "My name is Vince, and yeah. It's a bomb. Alright kid, you've got some explaining to do. Guessing my name isn't too hard, but I'm assuming that piece'a paper's got something to do with it. Start talkin'."

Hardly a moment later, the female Dra'Qunni came down the downs and peaked over to the two humans talking. "Vince? Who is this?"

"We're about to find out. Hey kiddo, does that thing say anything about her?" He asked, pointing back at her with his prosthetic arm.

Andrew

"Tap out it is." Bael confirmed as Andrew explained that he preferred to have a lot of space to work with. "That makes sense, but ring out rules make it so you have to be a little more thoughtful of where you're fighting. Food for thought." He explained. "As for starting. well, a good few steps back." He said backing up until there was a good 30 feet or so of space between them. "To make sure it's as fair as it can be." He pointed his hand at a rock about the size of a football and floated it. "I'll just toss this into the air, when it lands, we start."

Before he could actually do that, he heard a familiar voice and spun around saw the redheaded girl he met way back in New York. Zoe, he remembered her name. Some sort of telekinetic. "Hi." He waved back "Good to see you again!"

He turned back to Andrew, rock still floating. "I met her when the Reckoning attacked. She helped us take down Killswitch. Anyways, back to the violence." He flicked his hand, sending the rock straight into the air and releasing his control of it and used the few seconds to brace himself by getting into his fighting stance. Even sturdier than the stone he commanded.

The rock hit the ground and shattered, with the Dra'Qunni going for the first move, the rocks around them all lifted and shot at Andrew with intent to simply encase him.

[Aidannadia]

After her eventful day of school, Aleta donned her Paragon persona, hopped on her motorcycle the minute she was out of school, and drove all the way across town. The waves crashed against the shore as she drove to the all too familiar Tower. Auntie, in between the interviews she's had since this whole thing began, had been in talks about a contract between herself, the Yeebs, and The Demeter Project that Paragon is affiliated with to get the best deal possible for Aleta. She hadn't originally been on board with the idea, but it made licensing a fair bit simpler and this whole rebranding process from Pitch needed some compromise if it was going to work. The world just worked that way.

So, today was the day she signed on the dotted line. The final day of being the lone hero in the spotlight, and the first day as a Yeeb. She supposed that she always somehow saw this coming, but perhaps not so soon. If anything, it made her want to go on nightly patrols alone all the moreso, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Aleta skidded to a halt in front of the tower and lifted her Paragon mask to gaze one more time at the Tower before heading inside, but she stopped to see an unassuming redhead pull up and totally steal her killer entrance with her taxi in the way of the nice skid she'd just left on the bridge.

The heroine huffed to herself and kicked her stand out to lean against the bridge, her reactive Pitch armor pulling the white segments of the cycle onto the correct parts of her body to don the full Paragon look-- It was a movement that required some practice, but it was worth it and you never knew what cameras were watching-- leaving the bare motorcycle in her wake. She gave the newcomer a look up and down. "You must be new here. You can call me Paragon while I'm in the suit." Aleta squinted a bit as she outstretched her hand to the ginger. "You look familiar actually. Haven't I seen you somewhere?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 2nd

---

---

Grunting in acknowledgment, Alexis made sure her eyes stayed open as Viviana continued to work on her makeup. As she heard the brunette's answer to her question, however, she had to make an effort not to laugh, instead settling for a broad smile. Oh, that's not what I asked at all, silly girl. She thought. But I guess that's on me for not being clearer. In any case, she wasn't one to say no to some gossip.

It wasn't too long until the brunette was done with the eyelashes, and Alexis blinked a few times, relieved that she no longer had to keep her eyes open. The comment about Casimir allowing her to practice putting makeup on him was completely unexpected, however, and caused her to burst out laughing. "Wow, I have to see that!" She said, amused. "Heck, making Mr. Ant Farm look remotely intimidating must have been a challenge. No wonder you're so good at this." She quipped afterwards, waiting for the brunette to show her the pictures. Before that happened, however, Viviana pulled out a lipstick, giving her pause.

"Huh? Oh, okay." She complied, puckering up her lips to let Viviana apply the rouge. Isn't this a bit much?

"Alrighty, doll, we're done here. Take a look!" The brunette said eagerly as she took a small mirror out of her purse and handed it to Alexis. The genius girl peered into it, looking at her reflection, and her mouth went slightly ajar at the sight. Though she had a very high opinion of herself outside of the physical, she didn't tend to think of herself as the prettiest girl around - she was the bubbly girl, the smart one, sometimes she was even the athlete of the group, but never the pretty one. The image in the mirror seemed to turn that idea on its head, however.

"Wow..." She mumbled softly. "I look like a princess."

Sure, her messy hair and work clothes didn't mesh well with her face at all, but as long as she was here in her domain, both of those issues had easy fixes.

"Wait here a minute, 'kay?" She said. That was all the warning she gave Viviana before running off like a hurricane, headed straight to the back of the laboratory. A few moments later, she returned with a comb in one hand and a red headband in the other. Returning to Viv's side, she quickly worked on her hair with the help of the mirror, and then donned the headband to hold it back.

"That's better." The blonde said, back to her regular self now, albeit in an excellent mood. "Now come here! Time for your part of the bargain." She added, grabbing the rubber girl's hand and practically dragging her to the back of the lab, which looked more like the clothing section of a department store, with dozens of racks full of clothes. It was all due to an incident with a semi-autonomous machine Alexis created to make outfits on-demand. The machine went haywire and had to be shut down, but its creations remained.

"Let's see... oh, here." Alexis spoke as she pulled out a white off-shoulder dress with a mid-thigh hemline and brown stripes near the neckline and the lower edge of the sleeves. "See if this fits you. I'm sure Casi boy will have a hard time keeping his hands off you if he sees you in this." She said with a wink.

---

---

As Jan considered her question, awkwardly mumbling about how this dangerous job was a strictly voluntary affair and that she wouldn't be forced to do anything against her will, Megan stared at him, eyes narrowing. Would anyone blame her for being skeptical? If asking for help was indeed common practice for angels dealing with supernatural threats, and everyone had the right to refuse if they wished, then wouldn't stories of this sort be far more widespread? Yet most of those who claimed to see angelic creatures were dismissed as lunatics. Surely there was something more.

She wasn't planning on refusing, in any case, but it was a shady affair to be sure.

The girl continued listening as the winged boy now moved to say that the thrill of battle was a reward in itself, and that if she was lucky she might even receive a boon from the powers that be for her services. The former was quite on point, but the latter wasn't something that interested her - there were enough people in the world doing whatever they could to earn power, she preferred not to be one of them.

Of course, none of that mattered. Because Megan wasn't interested in a reward and hadn't expected to receive one in the first place. She had simply wanted to mess with Jan a little more and what better way to mess with him than to play with his angelic nature?

"Hmm, all of that sounds very interesting Jan, but that's not really the sort of thing a girl wants, you know?" She displayed mild disappointment, only to suddenly perk up again. "But, I do have an idea of what you could do for me. I'll help you if you do it, it'll just take a second." She said with a bright smile. "I'll let you guess what it is." And without further ado, she closed her eyes, puckered her lips, and waited for the Virgil's reaction to her request.

[Finland SSR]

Casimir Herman October 2nd

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

---

Alright, so, according to Casimir, he had no clue where Yoshi was, either. Thaat's... not good. Hell, neither of them were even sure if the Red and Yoshi relationship was in danger... or if they just had a spat, or if Red was simply going through some hard times and nothing is in danger. Should they not act hasty? But what if their relationship really is in danger? And they need to do something before it can never be salvaged again?

The dilemma left Renata in deep thought, which only got shaken up when Casimir suddenly started talking something about sending Spanish flies for the two teens, and replaced the concern with confusion.

"W-wha?.." the girl muttered. Why a Spanish fly? Does he know something about that species she doesn't? "...How would that help? What, are you proposing to spy on them?"

---

Vince

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

Just as Jan expected, manifesting a list of people in his hand and reading the man's name in front of him got him to change his mind - not in the way the young Virgil expected, however. Vince reacted to him with hostility, and why would he not? They knew nothing about each other, for all Vince knew, this random nobody just showed up on his doorstep and called him out by name. Before Jan got forced to explain himself, however, the other person in the house stepped down from the stairs, just as confused as her partner.

Jan took a glance to his list, upon which a new name slowly materialized, writing itself into the parchment with thick, black ink. Just in time for Vince to turn back him and ask if he knows her name.

"Zayda, right?" the Virgil recanted and stretched his fingertips, the entire scroll folding back into a tiny slip of paper in an instant. After a polite nod, he continued:

"My name is Jan, and... well, I'm not a girl scout, a boy scout, or anything else. I'm an angel, sent from Heaven, and I was searching for the two of you."

---

October 2nd

---

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

"Aw..." Jan muttered under his breath right as Megan shot down all of the ideas he had for enticing her to join, stating that she wasn't interested. Hm, what else could he do... Heaven does not award riches, so that's a lost cause - or was trying to recruit Megan the lost cause here? In the midst of his thoughts, the girl suddenly broke through, announcing that she found a solution, leaned forward and puffed out her lips.

A kiss, she wanted a kiss. Jan's face immediately turned as red as a tomato. There were a million reasons why this would be a bad idea, and about as many questions on how Megan possibly came up with the idea. Haven't they only met today for the first time in their life? Doesn't she dislike him and make fun of him?

"Uhm, are you sure that's the only way, Megan?.." the Virgil stammered out, leaning forward slightly, but keeping the distance of about ten centimeters regardless. "I-I mean, that's pretty hasty... and the Choir might dissolve me into ash if I accept and they find out..."

---

Mika

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

"Um, well..."

Jan scratched his chin. Mika was certainly asking an awful lot, wasn't she? "Well, I won't be around you all the time, no. I-I mean, I can, I wouldn't be here if I couldn't, but... walking among mortals for a long amount of time is rather dangerous for an angel, it tends to draw out forces from Hell. But if something happens to you, something which is a threat to your life - especially if those same forces are involved, well... I'll be there."

The young Virgil leaned forward, reaching towards the pizza. "And, well... I can see you from above, so if you call out to me and it's something important, I'll show up. Unless I'm somewhere else."

The thought of taking a slice of pizza occurred to him, but hesitation won him over at the last moment, so he only ended up pinching a small bit of crust away. But that was a pretty delicious bit of crust.

[Galnius]

Mika
The young photographer listened intently to Jan's explanation of his task. He seemed adept at at least pretending to be genuine, and was (according to him at least) bound to take care of her in a way. That was assist better than her mother. However, Mika couldn't miss the hesitation he seemed to have in regards to both staying nearby and towards the pizza.

"Look, Angel-boy, if you aren't going to eat any of the pizza then I'll have to. In case you haven't noticed, I make sure not to overeat, and you're making it cry difficult. Are you really going to force a small young girl like me to practice the roman art of the gorge and purge?" Picking a particularly large piece up, she held it demandingly in front of the boy. She wasn't I the mood for the reluctancy he held.

"Where else are you going to be anyway? You keep saying something about being somewhere else and bringing the fight to the forces of hell or whatever. Not that I care too much, but a girl gets curious. If you are going to be hunting down demons like you're in Darksiders or Devil May Cry, wouldn't a home base on earth be a good idea? We have an extra room." Mika didn't know why, but she didn't want to have him apart for too long. Perhaps it was the fact that he had to care. Or maybe having him here would make her feel more comfortable in an empty house whenever her mom took her frequent visits away. Regardless, if she could just convince him to stay nearby....

---

Andrew Donovan
Andrew rocked back amd forth on the balls of his feet and waited for the rock to fall. He was, however, soon distracted. One girl showed up that Wyatt said was in New York. Jackrabbit, of course, recognized her right away. His mentor had taught him to keep an eye out for potential rivals, and she definitely fit the bill. "Impulse of the Blue Jays huh? My first day too, I was about t-woah!"

As the rocks closed in from all sides the dark skinned hero jumped to the side. The ones on Andrew's sides seemed to effortlessly break apart like they were made of nothing but weak styrofoam, and he near-glided to land next to the red haired girl as another hero showed up. "So, Impulse and Paragon huh? Hey, Wyatt, has Snake Momma been doing some recruiting or something? Oh, uh, small break in the fight. You wanna include these two? Guys and gals, or perhaps you and Flexo-Suit here against me and the Red head? "

[Tomia]

Mars
"Ugh, really? That's not what I needed to hear." Mars said before a soft face palm. He didn't like the idea of having to be on the same squad as someone who hated his guts. "But I guess I will have to try to talk to him. It won't do any good for us to be at each other's throats all the time. You're lucky with your squad, seems like you all managed to get really close and never really fight. By the way, about what happened in the locker room, are you all right? I heard it got pretty intense with Coleen and all. If, you know, you ever want to talk about anything I'm always down to lend an ear. Besides, its nice to talk about something other than robots sometimes." He added that last part with a smile.

Roy
Quinn nuzzled against Wendy's hand as Roy smiled at his girlfriend, she seemed to be in decent spirits. However he quickly raised an eyebrow when he realized she was wearing makeup. That was not in character for Wendy, particularly not if she was just hanging out around the tower. The makeup was especially heavy around her left eye as well. His mind raced with possibilities, was she hurt at school? Anger filled his mind, but he decided he had to try to play it cool otherwise Wendy would never tell him anything. "Uh, good, ya today went okay. We responded to a bank robbery, which started normal but some of them had that new drug... What about you ? How was your day. Did anyone give you any trouble?"

[Absolon-7]

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Casimir Herman October 2nd
Casimir's expression drooped in disappointment that Renata had not gotten his joke. If anything she seemed to get hysterical over it with even insinuating that they should spy on the two. She was more accusing him of suggesting it but he never meant it that way so she might as well be the one to have done so. Casimir sighed as his arms swung to his sides as he dreaded what was to come in the next few seconds.

"Spanish Fly is a name for a fake aphrodisiac. I was making a joke that a good old romp would get them back together...with an insect thing cause my schtick is insects...never mind," groaned Casimir in despair as rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Did they really need to get involved in this? Casimir wasn't one to care about boundaries usually but getting involved in someone's love life just seemed tedious. Well, at least checking if there wasn't anything seriously bad going on couldn't hurt.

"So we want to get the two lovebirds back together. Surprising them with some date would just get them at each others throats," mused Casimir, "Talking to Red would just have him shit bricks. Maybe you can try having like a girl talk about boys with Yoshi and I can see if anything she says can help with Red."

Alexis

Viviana Couture October 2nd
Viviana crossed her arms and nodded her head with a smug smile at her finished artwork which created a warm feeling in her chest. Hearing Alexis quietly mumble to herself in admiration of how she looked was just the sweetest thing and knowing that she contributed to her friend feeling that way was all she needed to beam a huge grin at her. Viviana sighed in relief that the whole process had gone swimmingly well as she was sure she just had an inkling of a feeling in the back of her mind that something was going to happen. The last thing she wanted was to make someone look like a clown unintentionally.

"Oh wow," was all Viviana could manage to say as she Alexis soon came back to drag her by the arm to the depths of the workshop which just seemed to get stranger as there was a huge line of clothing inside. Viviana gazed in amazement at the sight and cooed upon being given Alexis choice of dress for her. She eagerly received the dress from Alexis before flipping out her phone to show Alexis the ghoulish pictures of Casimir from halloween makeup, "Took a heck a lotta convincing but if you frame it as a challenge the dude's almost up for anything."

"But yeah this dress is sooo pretty. I'm already sure it'll look great. Oh wait I juts got an idea! Like a literal flashbulb idea: after I change into the dress how bout we take a picture together and then send it to our SO's. Wait a minute," paused Viviana as she tried to collect her thoughts, "Maybe just luring Angelica here to get a look at you would be a good idea? Well if you're up for it. We can fish for Casi too if just Angie isn't fair.....So should I change behind one of the racks?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 2nd

---

---

Alexis chuckled at her friend's reaction to the news, amused, albeit not surprised. Come on, it's not the end of the world. She thought, but opted to keep quiet. He was willing to take her advice after all, so surely the issue would get fixed... sooner or later. And if not, at least she could be certain Wyatt would force them to play nice and work together if necessary. As long as neither gets the bright idea to ignore orders, they should be fine.

While continuing to listen to Mars, the genius girl approached the kitchen table and grabbed a few of the tacos left over from Roy's small post-mission celebration and put them on a plate. All the meetings so far had left her hungry, after all. Hearing Mars mention the bond she had with the members of her squad, she smiled, proud of the teamwork they had displayed so far - though she had to admit to herself that she'd had a lucky draw.

At his last comment, Alexis let out another chuckle. "Aw, that's so sweet Mars, but I'm just fine. I know everyone likes worrying about the small girl but I can take care of myself you know?" She said, taking a sip of her soda. "Besides... you remember what happened at the city hall, with Rather? That had me terrified. Compared to that this was honestly not a big deal. We've done much more dangerous stuff." She said with a light shrug, though it was clear that recalling the incident with Rather had put a damper on her mood.

"Anyways, you know I'm happy to chat if you want to. What's up with you, hmm? How are the grans doing?"

---

---

"Glad you like it." Alexis grinned, before glancing at the phone the brunette took out and seeing pictures of the team's resident bug nerd, with dry, pale lips and enough black around his eyes to make an emo band blush. The splatters of blood here and there completed the look, but she paid them little attention - by the time she noticed, she was already caught in riotous laughter. "Oh my god I am never going to let him forget this."

it took her a minute to calm down, but once she did, she nodded along to Viviana's words. "We can bait the two here, I'd love to see both their faces when they take a look at us. And yeah, behind one of the racks is fine if you want some privacy, juuust give me a sec." The blonde stated, briefly running off again only to return with a shiny leather belt, a fancy pair of boots and a black choker. "Here you go, to complete the look. I don't have too many accessories down here but this will do just fine."

With that, Alexis left Viv to her devices and went off in search of an outfit of her own, eventually settling for a white short-sleeved dress, fitted at the top but flowing past the hips, with floral embroidery and a hemline going just past the knees. She grabbed a white sash and a small pair of white open toe heels to complete the look.

Once the blonde was changed, she grabbed her phone and prepared to text her girlfriend, while looking for Viviana through the racks of clothes.

"Vivi, I'm ready! You done yet?"

---

---

Much like she had predicted, the Virgil was more than a little hesitant to comply, not outright refusing her request - he even leaned towards her, something she hadn't expected - but also not going through with it. The girl couldn't help but find herself disappointed despite having foreseen this result, it would have been very interesting to see him man up and take the initiative.

Oh well. If he wasn't going to do it, there was only one thing left to do.

With absolutely no warning, Megan leaned forward, swiftly closing the remaining distance that separated her from Jan, and tenderly kissed him on the lips. The angel was clearly taken by surprise, as it took him a second to react - when he did, he quickly leaned back, away from her, but by then she had already done what she wanted.

"See? That wasn't so hard was it?" She said with a bright smile. "And don't worry about your bosses finding out, we'll just have to keep this our little secret." She added afterwards, raising a finger to her lips and winking at the angel boy. "So now that that's out of the way, I suppose I'm in. What is the first order of business for us, hmm?"

[The Republic of Atria]

Jan

When Jan called Zayda by name, Vince's somewhat interested expression turned a bit more wide eyed. "...Huh. Alright, I was figuring that you getting my name right was a fluke, but there's no way you could'a guessed hers right. Alright then angel boy. Since the big man upstairs was inclined enough to send an angel here. What is it He wants?"

"Vince, what is an angel?" Zayda asked.

"Servant of God. They go around giving messages and what not to mortals. Turns out He wants us for some reason. I've read enough of the Bible to know that it's probably violence related. Dunno why he doesn't just Sodom and Gomorrah it like the old days, but whatever." Vince explained to a still confused Zayda and then turned back to the supposed angel. "So what's the deal here exactly? I want to believe you're telling the truth, and you've given me enough evidence that it at least seems plausible, but if this turns out to be some bullshit, I'm blowing your winged ass to kingdom. We clear?"

Zayda opted to remain silent, though she seemed more curious than Vince did.

Bael

Andrew dodged his initial barrage, but before he could continue the assault, he called a time out and pointed out the two girls, one of which he missed earlier. The girl was probably that paragon girl he'd heard a bit about. Judging from appearance alone, she appeared to have powers similar to Jason. though he had to wonder if hers talked to her like Jason's did. "Uh... Sure I guess." He replied, the rocks all dropping back down to the ground. "You two up for it? We could split the difference, do one guy and girl on each team, or go straight into gender wars and do males versus females. I personally don't care." He said, pulling a boulder over with his powers and sitting on it.

[Finland SSR]

Casimir Herman October 2nd

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

---

"E-eh?.."

Hearing Casimir's explanation of the joke he was trying to make, Renata froze, standing like a statue, her cheeks turned reddish instantly. She just assumed that, whenever the man talked about flies, he actually meant flies - but no, apparently it was a some sort of aphrodisiac... and that was his plan how to get the two back together...

"Uuugh..." the heroine grunted through clenched teeth, covering up her face and clawing at her skin with her fingernails. Every single fiber in her body wanted to lash out at Casimir and throw him out of the nearest window for even suggesting such a plan, it took an unbelievable amount of self control for her to not set the entire corridor on fire. Even then, the air around them would start to turn rather warm from all the radiation her cells were releasing on an emotional trigger.

Renata released an exasperated sigh. "...alright, this one's my fault." It helped that Casimir did not press the issue further and immediately took it back. At least he understood his mistake, that's... not common of him. "Please, please, please never suggest that again. Having a talk with Yoshi is fine, I could figure something out. I, just... haven't actually had that much contact with her before, so I can't guarantee anything..."

---

Mika

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

Jan blinked a few times, staring at the slice of pizza Mika shoved at his nose, then hastily scrambled to pick it up. Turns out it wasn't just a matter of having food together for Mika, she was worried about overeating and thus needed someone to share it with in order to remain healthy. Why didn't she just say so earlier? If it's a matter of helping someone, he cannot let himself say no...

"R-right, on it!" he exclaimed and began eating the slice - it wasn't going to do anything for him, but at least a Virgil could still feel the taste. "I guess you should have just bought a smaller pizza, though..."

Once again, Mika was acting like an inquisitor, delving more and more into the specifics of his mission and how she was involved - and even offered herself to get involved by having Jan use her house as a home base. The Virgil raised his hand to try to deflect the offer, and scratched his cheek in the midst of his struggle to think how to explain the situation most easily.

"Well, I'm going to be in this city, mostly... I hope. That's where I'm expecting to find Beelzebub's agents and the one who kidnapped you, and vanquish them back to Hell..." he muttered. "I don't need a place to be my base back here when I can return to Heaven at will, really. And besides, I won't be alone. Unless your house can support an entire team - and has ways of warding away demons - then I don't think staying here is a good idea..."

---

October 2nd

---

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

Megan went and did something... unbelievable. Faster than Jan could even react, she suddenly leaned forward to complete the distance between them and kissed him on the lips. Not even as a mistake or an accident, either - she was clearly into it and kept on pushing herself into him, at least until Jan suddenly recoiled back. His left hand landed on his face, trying to at least partially cover up the Virgil's flustered and reddish face, and his wings folded around his body, as if covering him up in defense.

And Megan didn't seem bothered at all! To her, this was nothing more than a funny prank and a little private secret. Jan, on the other hand, only managed to mutter:

"...but why?.."

What have I signed myself into...

In the midst of the aftermath, he almost missed Megan asking on what happens now, since she's decided to sign up for their venture. For a few seconds, his mind somehow managed to forget the fluster and scrambled to pick something attached to his belt - a small feather which, once flicked, transformed into a map drawn on a page of parchment. The shape of the coast, the street layout, the surrounding terrain, all immediately betrayed that it was a map of San Diego, albeit drawn in a medieval-like fashion.

There was something peculiar about the map, however - it moved. The border of the sea drawn on the map flickered ever so slightly, following the waves crashing and retreating onto the coast. Two names were written upon it, Jan and Mikaela, and a third, Megan, suddenly materialized right next to the former.

"W-well, for now... y-you just need to follow this..." Jan explained, stammering, and handed the map to Megan. "I'm still gathering volunteers, but... well, when everything's ready, I should light a place up in red where we need to gather. So... just keep tabs on this map from time to time."

Jan stood in place for a few seconds, then began to reach for the window door, waiting for Megan to ask anything else before leaving. And leave he wanted quickly, and desperately.

---

Vince/Zayda

Jan Sorok, Champion of Heaven!

---

"...you don't need to act so hostile, you know." Jan muttered, his eyes glued to the floor, after Vince gave his demands, sprinkling enough threats in to leave the Virgil concerned. Alright, alright, calm down. Maybe that's just his manner of speaking. He sighed, raised his hands ever so slightly and continued:

"Usually, Heaven tries to avoid interfering in the matters of mortals, but there are times when the forces of Hell start to infiltrate the mortal realms and work to cause chaos, which is a responsibility for angels to stop. And yes, Hell is a real place as well. That's what I'm here for... But, well, angels can't do everything by themselves. That's why we recruit the help of strong mortals to fight with us side by side..."

"And, well, San Diego is in danger of demonic forces right now. That's why I'm here, and that's why I'm on your doorstep. To ask if you'd be willing to help."

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Roy
Quinn nuzzled against Wendy's hand as Roy smiled at his girlfriend, she seemed to be in decent spirits. However he quickly raised an eyebrow when he realized she was wearing makeup. That was not in character for Wendy, particularly not if she was just hanging out around the tower. The makeup was especially heavy around her left eye as well. His mind raced with possibilities, was she hurt at school? Anger filled his mind, but he decided he had to try to play it cool otherwise Wendy would never tell him anything. "Uh, good, ya today went okay. We responded to a bank robbery, which started normal but some of them had that new drug... What about you ? How was your day. Did anyone give you any trouble?"

"A little bit of name calling, a few cold stares... and a couple kids taking a new drug that gives you superpowers and trashing the school cafeteria." Wendy replied with a smirk, noticing Roy's attention drifting to her right eye. "Nothing I couldn't handle." Nervously scoffing the floor with the toes of her shoe, her mind raced as she looked for a way to derail his train of thought. "Hey Roy, a couple of us were thinking the drug our classmates took might be connected to your robbery, and we were wondering if you were up for comparing notes. I'd normally hack the schools CCTV system to see if they bought the drugs there, but I rather avoid pushing my look with them right now."

[Absolon-7]

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Casimir Herman October 2nd
As far as Casimir was concerned today had been a success as he could not recall ever seeing Renata this flustered over a half decent joke. A huge grin filled his face as the girl was seemingly shielding her face in embarrassment over such a dumb joke. If she didn't treat him like a scrap of gum at the bottom of her shoe so often he would have even considered the reaction adorable but as it was the feeling was more schadenfreude. His face minimally scrunched up as he began to feel the air around them start feeling stuffier and warmer like a recently lit toaster.

"Fine, fine I won't. Just thought with some of the things Red talks when we hang out about it seemed the most natural thing" said Casimir wiping away his grin with a more contemplative look, "So you'll talk to her? Sweet. Better then nothing. She's sorta timid so I think trying to find some emotion in common could work. I'll try to be more discreet with Red."

It looked like the matter was settled and so Renata would be out of his hair soon but there was still something bugging him. He raised one hand to rub his neck as he thought over stepping away but he failed in that goal.

"So why do you want to help them out anyways? I'm not exactly sure they'd do the same for either of us," commented Casimir.

Alexis

Viviana Couture October 2nd
"Sweet! Good to know someone else is on the USS Dampen His Ego," giggled Viviana as she put her phone away in the middle of Alexis bout of laughter. She returned a smile to Alexis being up for her little plan to get their significant others jaws to drop to the floor. She patiently waited for the last parts of the blonde's planned outfit for her and she stared in amazement at them. Viviana followed her own suggestion and went behind one of the clothes racks to change. She changed out of clothes and threw them on top of the clothes rack to quickly get into the outfit as she didn't want to be unprepared for their little scheme.

"Yessiree! Tada!" chimed Vivina as she spun in circles to get right where Alexis was where she squished her cheeks with her hands in surprise, "That's so pretty! Jeez you've got good taste in dresses."

Viviana looked herself over at the white off-shoulder dress with a mid-thigh hemline and brown stripes near the neckline and the lower edge of the sleeves. She moved her hands to make sure the shiny leather belt and black choker were all secure and just for its own sake she tapped the fancy knee high boots on the ground. It looked like everything was in order she could feel a slight flush in her cheeks. She got her own phone to text Casi to get to the lab as soon as he could and prepared the text.

"Ready when you are to lure the bait Lexi," said Viviana giving a thumb's up at the blonde, "Hmmmm. Yeah, I was gonna make a another naval based joke but two is enough for my quota tonight. Don't want to walk the-Okay noooooo. That was close, sheesh. "

[The Templar High Council]

Before he could actually do that, he heard a familiar voice and spun around saw the redheaded girl he met way back in New York. Zoe, he remembered her name. Some sort of telekinetic. "Hi." He waved back "Good to see you again!"

He turned back to Andrew, rock still floating. "I met her when the Reckoning attacked. She helped us take down Killswitch. Anyways, back to the violence." He flicked his hand, sending the rock straight into the air and releasing his control of it and used the few seconds to brace himself by getting into his fighting stance. Even sturdier than the stone he commanded.

Aleta skidded to a halt in front of the tower and lifted her Paragon mask to gaze one more time at the Tower before heading inside, but she stopped to see an unassuming redhead pull up and totally steal her killer entrance with her taxi in the way of the nice skid she'd just left on the bridge.

The heroine huffed to herself and kicked her stand out to lean against the bridge, her reactive Pitch armor pulling the white segments of the cycle onto the correct parts of her body to don the full Paragon look-- It was a movement that required some practice, but it was worth it and you never knew what cameras were watching-- leaving the bare motorcycle in her wake. She gave the newcomer a look up and down. "You must be new here. You can call me Paragon while I'm in the suit." Aleta squinted a bit as she outstretched her hand to the ginger. "You look familiar actually. Haven't I seen you somewhere?"

Andrew rocked back amd forth on the balls of his feet and waited for the rock to fall. He was, however, soon distracted. One girl showed up that Wyatt said was in New York. Jackrabbit, of course, recognized her right away. His mentor had taught him to keep an eye out for potential rivals, and she definitely fit the bill. "Impulse of the Blue Jays huh? My first day too, I was about t-woah!"

As the rocks closed in from all sides the dark skinned hero jumped to the side. The ones on Andrew's sides seemed to effortlessly break apart like they were made of nothing but weak styrofoam, and he near-glided to land next to the red haired girl as another hero showed up. "So, Impulse and Paragon huh? Hey, Wyatt, has Snake Momma been doing some recruiting or something? Oh, uh, small break in the fight. You wanna include these two? Guys and gals, or perhaps you and Flexo-Suit here against me and the Red head? "

Andrew dodged his initial barrage, but before he could continue the assault, he called a time out and pointed out the two girls, one of which he missed earlier. The girl was probably that Paragon girl he'd heard a bit about. Judging from appearance alone, she appeared to have powers similar to Jason. though he had to wonder if hers talked to her like Jason's did. "Uh... Sure I guess." He replied, the rocks all dropping back down to the ground. "You two up for it? We could split the difference, do one guy and girl on each team, or go straight into gender wars and do males versus females. I personally don't care." He said, pulling a boulder over with his powers and sitting on it.

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

Zoe began to approach the pair, but stopped short because it seemed that they were starting to fight against each other. Also the sound of an engine pulled up behind her, and Zoe turned to be greeted by another hero; a feminine figure covered by a black suit and skeleton motifs. "Hey, I'm Zoe when I'm not in the suit. Less of a suit, more like weird clothes. But when I'm geared up I go by Impulse. You might have seen me at the Nassel tournament last week with the..."

While she spoke, the fight started. Only to quickly have Andrew call a time out and welcome Zoe to the island with her super name and affiliation. "Hey, you know me? You look super familiar, but I don't think we've met..." She listened in while Andrew tried to invite her and Aleta to the training session, and Wyatt let his powers die down after slinging some rocks around at his opponent.

"I'm not opposed to it, I'll admit I'm a little jet-lagged though. Probably wouldn't make for the best showing, buuut~" She looked at the other teens around her with a mischievous grin. "I'd be lying if I didn't want to get a taste of what y'all on the West Coast are cooking. Any team is fine with me, I know me and... Bale? We worked together okay last time we saw each other. But I'm fine with whatever."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 3rd

---

Another day at Thomsen High, another lunch period spent sitting at her cursed palace, the shunned and reviled villain table, dubbed thus precisely because of her association with it. Astrid remembered its inauguration well. It was an entirely normal school day, one of her first at Thomsen High in fact. She hadn't managed to make a lot of friends during middle school due to her introverted nature and tendencies, but high school was her chance to turn over a new leaf, and she had been doing her best to get along with her new classmates. At first, it all went swimmingly, but one day someone found out about her mother, and as the rumor spread like wildfire, the change in the atmosphere was plain to see: hushed voices uttered vile words as people pointed at her when they thought she wasn't looking. Before long, she found herself alone at her table, no one daring to sit with the daughter of a villainess.

It wasn't so bad. If anything, lunch was often calmer compared to the rest of the day, compared to the insults and intimidation she had to put up with on the hallways in the past. And all in all, if there was one thing she could be sure of, it was that she would always have the villain table to use as she saw fit. In the past she had shared it with her sole friend, and on occasion, his friends as well, though he had since left the city.

She thought that she would have to go back to sitting all by herself this year, but she had quickly been proven wrong. Yesterday, she had met the fun-sized photographer and the naive moth girl, and today she was joined by yet another girl who currently sat across from her, one with black hair like her own, who seemed like quite the advocate of goth fashion. Her name was Ava, and she had earned her spot at the villain table just a few minutes ago, as lunch period began...

---

The bell had just rung, signalling the end of her fourth period, and the start of something she had affectionately dubbed the walk of shame, after the hundreds of times she had been insulted and harassed as she made her way to the cafeteria - not that it stopped when she got there, normally it just got worse. Still, Astrid was stubborn to a fault, and to run and hide would’ve been to give up and let the bullies win, and she would have none of that. Thus, she had endured the walk of shame day after day for the past three years, putting up with all the self-righteous hero-wannabe bullies that populated Thomsen High.

With the advent of the Young Bloods and the sheer attention-grabbing effect they had on the school’s student population, however, she had faced much less hardship than usual on her first day of school, and the second was no exception. The raven-haired girl had nearly made it out of the maze of hallways and was actually daring to harbor hopes that today may actually be a good day at school for her, when suddenly, she saw them. A tall blond young man and his small posse of devout followers. They noticed her as well and began making their way towards her, petty sneers on their faces.

Sighing inwardly, she continued walking while pretending not to have seen them, knowing that either they’d let her pass or stop her, and she wouldn’t be able to avoid them without giving her powers away. It was the latter option that ended up happening, of course, with the leader abruptly grabbing her by the shoulder as he walked past.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook just because that Felix bitch is around, freak. We haven’t forgotten about you.” He said to her. She tried to shake herself free of his grip, to no avail. Of course.

The boy’s followers grabbed her backpack and started tossing it around as she watched on with a completely emotionless gaze. She was so used to this by now, she cared little about it. They would eventually get bored of her lack of response and move on, as always. Stoicism is my virtue. They will never get to me if I don’t let them.

A look she had seen before, and felt all the same, Ava felt a deep burning in her chest to reach out and do something for once, knowing she had been in the same position and wanted nothing but another person to see what was going on. “What would Mark do?” She asked herself, wondering if her suspended classmate would actually go and beat the shit out of some random school bullies over something so trivial, but ended up deciding to make her own solution to the problem.

“Hey cock-muncher!” Ava shouted down the halls loud, allowing her voice to travel and be heard by the group, catching the attention of the bullies accosting Astrid, “Go get scraped by a trusted family friend, you sorry sacks of shit.” She yelled, snatching the bag from the hands of a bewildered student. “Fuck off, poser.” She hissed as well, causing the group to back up a bit, knowing the weirdo girl who often ate alone and listened to a bit too many goth albums wasn’t the one to be messed with.

Rumors persisted of her earlier exploits in high school, but Ava kept such a low profile that many thought she was a new transfer. She was a loner, anti-social, but absolutely ruthless when the time came. “Hey,” She said, a bit meek and completely dissociated from her voice when yelling, talking directly to Astrid, “Here’s your bag. Don’t worry about those assholes, they’ll get what’s coming eventually.”

Needless to say, Astrid was very shocked to see someone stand up for her like that. She winced ever so slightly at the harsh insults the girl spit out like flames, surprised at the girl’s foul mouth, but ultimately grateful for her intervention. With the exception of Icarus, who regularly confronted bullies to protect her and himself despite often being outmatched, there was hardly anyone in the school who felt like they could afford to be caught aiding the child of a villain, so Ava’s arrival was a welcome change of pace.

“...Merci.” She said softly after a moment of silence, still somewhat in shock over the whole thing. The least she could do was being polite to her apparent savior, though, so she quickly forced herself to continue. “That was very nice of you. Not a lot of people who would care to step in, especially against a rich kid like him.” She nodded in the retreating bully’s direction, the scowl on her face highlighting the utter disdain she felt for him.

I could give make him have nightmares for the rest of his life. It wouldn’t be hard.

She cast the thought aside as soon as it crossed her mind. Abusing her power to seek revenge like that would just make her as petty and despicable as people like him. Instead, Astrid opted to focus on the newcomer. She didn’t recognize Ava, but the girl looked like she knew her way around school and didn’t give off the impression that she was a freshman. Someone she hadn’t seen before, most likely.

“I’m Astrid.” She said. “You?”

Cracking a quick smile, she introduced herself. “I’m Ava Waldstein.” She extended her hand to shake, “And I won’t lie, if this was anything like the last three years, I wouldn’t have done anything. I’m used to ducking down and keeping a low profile, but a lot happened over the summer and I felt... “ She searched for the word, taking her eyes off Astrid and looking up to the ceiling for a moment, “Obligated? Yeah, like, I would be just as bad as those bastards if I just kept to myself.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you from lunch!” Ava produced a brown paper sack that had her name written on it, straight black sharpie like a machine wrote it out. “I, heh, uh, like to eat just down the hall.” She said with a somewhat embarrassing nod, motioning to the girls restroom just up ahead. When Mark was at school, she’d often go find a place to eat with him, and since he’s not going to be back for a while, she just assumed it was back to bathroom lunches. “W-would you, um, like to eat together?” She blurted out, dropping her head and feeling stupid for asking if someone would want to eat alone in the bathroom with her.

Astrid shook the girl's hand as she listened to her. Ava, huh? She thought, committing the name to memory. Perhaps this year really wouldn't be as bad as the other three after all. Hearing the rowdy girl mention her preferred eating spot and invite her along, however, left Astrid at a loss for words during several seconds, a blank stare on her face. The bathroom? Really?

In the end, she cracked a smile - the first that day - and nodded. "I'll eat with you." She said. "But not 'just down the hall'. Come with me."

---

"So what do you like to do, Ava?" Astrid inquired after a period of awkward silence. She had never been someone who had an easy time with small talk, especially with someone she wasn't already close to, but she figured it wouldn't kill her to try. "I mostly spend my time playing videogames and hanging out with my boyfriend. I don't go outside often, don't really like it." She said. "Too many têtes de noeud out there." She snickered.

[Tomia]

Mars
"Ya I know what you mean. That day was scary for all of us. But you and I had more of a scare than most." Mars said when Alexis mentioned their rescuing of city hall. Then he smiled when she asked about his grand parents. "They're good. I visit them as often as I can. I finally had to tell them about... you know what we're doing here. And they took it better than I expected really. Part of me thinks they had an idea the whole time. What about you? How are your parents doing?"

Roy
Roy knew Wendy well enough to tell that she was trying to change the subject. He was becoming more and more sure about what she was hiding and his mind was racing with anger. He tensed up ever so slightly but tried to focus on her comment about their drug investigation. "Well, the squad leaders had a meeting about it. We're going to call the team together about it later tonight." He paused for a moment, his eyes looking into Wendy's. They had a soft feel to them. "So... Just name calling right? You'd tell me if it got any worse than that?"

Angelica
Having gotten a text message telling her to come to Alexis' lab, the frost hero was curious as to what her girlfriend was up to. "Hey honey, what's u..." She paused as she fully entered the room. Alexis was in a flattering white dress and had clearly been given a make over. "Uh...wow" She said, her jaw hanging down a bit. "What's... the occasion? I clearly didn't come prepared." She said, jokingly, gesturing to her simple jeans and tank top.

Later that Night
Roy had gathered the team in the living room. He stood in the center as he began to address them. "So, Naja and I came up with a plan on how to track down the supply chain of this new drug. While our out of school members will be hunting down where these drugs are being stored, those who are in school are going to search out the dealers and find the supplier. In order to do that, we need someone in the school to go undercover as a buyer. So, any thoughts on who that should be?"

[Bentus]

Yoshiro
Wonder Tower

---

Rapping her knuckles on Red’s door, a frustrated yawn escaped from between Yoshiro’s lips. Wearing an oversized hoodie over her pyjamas, the girl’s eyes were framed by heavy bags. With her hands shoved into her pockets, a scowl seemed to be permanently etched into the exhausted girl’s features as she found herself irritatingly having to ask the last person she wanted for help.

Maybe she wasn’t being fair on Red, but Yoshiro’s thoughts had been jaded by a sleepless night spent working on both her and Aleta’s lab project. Silently, the teenager found herself cursing her luck for being thrown into a group with someone who clearly wasn’t going to pull any weight at all. Normally, she’d have been able to knuckle down and get things done, but she hadn’t even been able to start on the writeup until after she’d finished training for the day. A couple cups of coffee had kept her going despite the fatigue in her limbs, but they’d also only served to deepen her frustration.

Tapping her foot impatiently as there seemed to be no response from inside, Yoshiro knocked on the door again, more aggressively this time. “Red, open up!” The girl was bitter, even more-so since she knew that her reason for having to trek to the boy’s room was infuriatingly stupid. “I left my chemistry notes from last year in there - and I really need them for this lab. So, just open up and I’ll pop in and out.” Still no response.

Increasingly impatient as the seconds ticked by without any sign of life, Yoshiro sighed as she reached out to feel for any presence beyond the door. She couldn’t think of anywhere else that guy was supposed to be at the moment, and the team was meant to let each other know when they headed out in case of an emergency, but leave it to Red to think he’s above the rules. Sure enough, Yoshiro couldn’t see the boy’s aura anywhere nearby - apart from some of it lingering around his belongings. Typical, he’s run off again. Rolling her eyes, Yoshiro turned her attention to the door’s lock. Normally she’d have balked at breaking into her ex’s room, but this was an actual emergency.

Closing her eyes as she mentally felt out the lock’s mechanisms, Yoshiro thought back to when Red taught her some rudimentary picking techniques. She’d been awful with a pin, but had quickly found out that she could concentrate and use her powers to manipulate the lock’s intricate insides instead. And sure enough, after a few seconds of focus…

Click.

Grinning at her success, Yoshiro watched as the door swung open before her. Resisting the urge for a victorious fist-bump at the little success, the girl found herself suddenly hesitating as she looked into the still-familiar room. When she and Red had been dating, she’d hung out here nearly every day, but since the tournament she couldn’t think of a time that she’d even set foot inside. It seemed darker now, with the curtains pulled and growing piles of clutter and rubbish scattered on the floor. Frowning at the clear sight of disrepair, Yoshiro’s gaze paused slightly on a growing pile of empty bottles in the small trash can by Red’s desk. A sympathetic sigh escaped from her lips. Oh Red, what the hell are you doing? Shaking her head, Yoshiro pushed aside the thought and focused instead on what she’d come here for. Scanning the room, her eyes lit up as she spotted her coloured binder half-buried on Red’s desk.

Walking quickly over to where it lay, Yoshiro pried the binder out from the haphazard pile of scraps and papers that had quickly started to cover it. Flicking through her notes, Yoshiro felt a sense of relief wash over her as she risked believing that she might actually be able to get some sleep tonight. She was about ready to leave when something else on Red’s desk caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Pausing, Yoshiro closed her folder as she reached out to pick up the small photo. Almost immediately, her jaw dropped as she noticed the two grinning figures that stared back at her from the paper.

[Aidannadia]

Aleta gave Wyatt a nod of acknowledgement, understanding him to be one of the cooler among the Young Bloods, though she didn't immediately answer him in regards to the spar. After all, the guy was huge and while she'd fought bigger, she didn't exactly come away from it without some scars, but just as she was contemplating turning him down, Zoe piped up that she'd be down for a duel, and Aleta couldn't stand being the chicken that said no after that. Fine. She'll give them a duel after all.

"Yeah, sure. We'll need the handicap of not knowing each other anyway. Give us a minute to get acquainted and we'll tell you when it's time to throw down." She wiped some dust off her pauldrons and walked over to Andrew, huddling with him briefly. "Hey, name's Paragon. My power is sticky stuff and super hard armor." She messed around with a ball of tar in her hand, speaking quietly so as not to alert the other pair as to their plan.

Andrew grinned as the two other girls agreed to the tag-team match idea. The teams were a bit different than he hoped, but this would still do just fine with Paragon. "Andrew Donovan, Jackrabbit. You're the only one I don't know. The ginger has a similar power to me, but targeting others less than herself. The scaly boy is strong as hell and took on Mountain. I use force redirection, targeting myself, with high mobility. The question I have is, can you keep the other girl on her toes?"

"I can take whatever they throw at me. Let me take the hits and you give them a beating, alright. Good." She clapped her hands together. "Alright, amateurs. Let's do this!" Aleta cracked her neck as she pointed at Wyatt. "Come on. What are you waiting for, Spyro?"

[The Republic of Atria]

Mars

Jason

With the team having gathered in the living room of the tower to discuss what their plan was for the new super drug, Roy suggested sending someone undercover in an attempt to buy some. Which seemed like a straightforward plan. Now they just had to figure out who, with Jason being the first to chime in.

"Well. Let's go with process of elimination. Sending Wendy, Angie, Ash, Mark, Renata, or Shi is a really dumb idea. They've all got faces in the public and would be outed pretty damn quick. So lets go with the less known ones. We've got Ava. good bit of power, but you use moonlight or something right? If we're doing it at night you're a good choice, but that mask you wear might have someone with a half decent eye. So I'ma put you down as a maybe."

"Next is Mike. Now, I'm gonna be honest. I know jack diddly about you, but you're pretty hidden, so you're on the definitely maybe list. We'll have to see you act like you're going to look for drugs."

"Uhhh... Alexis? Honestly, since you're a techie and probably one of the toughest on the team up there with Bael, you're probably a really good choice, but without your mech, you'd be in a lot more danger. Plus we're going back to the whole 'being convincing enough that people believe you really wanna buy drugs' thing and you're probably one of the nicest people here... Dunno, I'm open to debate."

"Mars! Same thing as Alexis. I think you're a bit too nice for it and if something goes awry, and it always does because no plan survives first contact with the enemy, last thing we're gonna want is for you to get shot by a buncha gangbangers, or worse, killed by a buncha superpowered gangbangers."

"Last, but not least, myself. Honestly... I think I could probably pull it off. Skinny Hispanic teenager wants to buy drugs versus perfectly shiny and clean looking white kids. That's basically the southern parts of Cali and Texas ANYWAYS... My powers give me plenty of wiggle room if something shit starts looking looks fanwards, and I think I can pull off the doucheiness required. Of course I'm open to suggestions and being told thirty nine different ways why I'm a moron and it'll never work and we should send Ash instead."

"No offense to you at all Ash, but you're too much of an innocent sweetie pie for this particular brand of shenanigans."

Bael

It took her a second, but she agreed and gave a brief rundown of her powers: Sticky stuff and "super hard" armor. So she seemed to basically be Jason though with more defensive ability. Which worked out for him. Though hardly a second after she said she was down for joining in on their sparring, she started taunting him.

"Spyro? That's a new one." He replied. "But hey, you asked for it." With that, he began to walk towards her, thought the rocks and boulders that had survived being shot at Andrew, flung straight at her. He needed to gauge just how tough she was before he opted to increase the amount of force he used. Then again, she was new to the team, so maybe a little hazing wouldn't be too bad...

Vince

Jan

The kid seemed a little dour, mentioning that Vince didn't really need to be so aggressive. "Look. It's a crazy fucked up world out there. And I gotta look out for myself. If that crap you're saying is actually true, then fine. You don't have anything to worry about from me." The kid mentioned that Heaven supposedly doesn't do much more intervening but Hell has been uppity lately or something and Jan is looking for people to help deal with it.

"This sounds awfully like the plot of Doom, but uh. Sure I guess we'll help. Assuming you're tellin' the truth. I do got some questions. How long is thing planning on going on for? We talkin' about me being gone for a day or two, or the better part of a year? Cause if it's the latter, I'm gonna need a workshop. Can't just pull bombs out of my ass."

"Next, are we the only ones you've asked or did you assemble a whole team of jackasses?"