Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Finland SSR]

Mikaela Mynd, Christmas Morning

Jan Sorok, the champion of Heaven!

---

The rays of the sun eventually broke through into the room, and Jan could immediately tell, not just from his psionic senses, that Mika was starting to stir and wake. A part of him was a little relieved - there was only so long he could lie in one place and wait for her to finish sleeping, after all. On the other hand, though... this felt nice. Mika was warm and soft, and seeing her be so comfortable was a relief for him - after such a long time of having to deal with her hostility and stubbornness. Maybe he'll manage to push her soul to the right place in the end.

What followed was a little... awkward. Mika's hand began tapping on her body, first his chest, then reaching to his face and investigating all of its cavities. Once she pushed her finger into his mouth, she suddenly pulled back in a panic.

"I-uh, sorry, I thought you were still asleep!" Jan yelled right when Mika called out to him to say something, and rose up to sit down on the bed. Her fingers hadn't touched his eyes, so he was fine, if a bit shook. "You know, when someone starts moving in their bed involuntarily, and I didn't want to wake you up..." Granted, though, he was probably going to call out to Mika to wake up if she kept on touching his face.

Clearly, though, this situation was a lot more awkward for her than it was for him. After all that, Jan flashed a warm smile.

"Well, that's... good to hear - don't worry, I didn't mind you on my shoulder," he answered. "Merry Christmas."

[Absolon-7]

---

Casimir Herman January 16th

---

Casimir was deep in thought once Naja admitted that they'd be making an offensive soon against both villains. One one hand Animaster was already a notorious villain and defeating one of the former Justice Queens nemesis would be a great medal on his chest but they're all powerhouses that could get in his way. On the other hand this other villain was a complete unknown and he had no idea if he'd provide adequate combat challenge but the opportunity of besting a brand new foe was a tantalizing meal. The decision for either was agonizingly tempting as he tapped his foot repeatedly on the hard tiled floor but finally the conclusion came to him like a blazing firefly.

"I've made my decision!" proudly proclaimed Casimir thumping his chest, "I'm gonna bust into Alcatraz."

[Tomia]

Mars, Rising Stars' base
Mars could see by the looks that came across Kiris' face that she was in emotional turmoil. He knew last night had been just as hard on her, if not more so, as it had been on him. But even so, she was looking forward to the battle and had decided that she was going after Animaster. Being the sort of de facto leader was he probably shouldn't play favorites, but there was simply no way he was going to let Kiris go into the city without him.

"I'm going after Animaster too." Mars said, conviction in his voice. He did his best to put aside the turmoil the team was feeling and focus. So many people had their lives torn apart. They had to bring the people responsible to justice. Almost instinctually he reached and gently took Kiris' hand as she stood next to him. He wanted her to know she wouldn't be alone in this fight.

Meanwhile Naja turned to Alexis, understanding the dilemma that she faced. "I understand, even if you did have the resources Makeshift, that's too much even for someone as brilliant as you to handle. It'd be better for you to focus on helping one group, and that's probably the Alcatraz team. We have the least information there and so having an eye in the sky there would be very helpful."

Frostbite then took a step forward and spoke up, "I'll be going to Alcatraz too. It's time to get some payback."

With the people who showed up to speak to Naja committed to the plan, Naja instructed Mars to gather the whole team and inform them of the situation and ask them to chose in the way the others already had.

As Angelica was about to leave the building with the others to get ready, she felt someone approach her from behind and touch her shoulder. She reacted quickly and a bit defensively, but soon realized she recognized the person who was hailing her.

"Easy there Tiger." It was her father, holding his hands up apologetically. He was in his uniform as Captain Quake but even so Angelica could tell that he looked better than he had when he had visited in San Diego.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that, we're in a battlefield after all." She responded. The tone wasn't the most friendly but it wasn't hostile either. Seeing her father at rock bottom and learning that his career was coming to an end had blunted the hatred she felt for him.

"Sorry, just wanted to talk to you before things get started. I'll be leading the attack on Animaster, and if I heard correctly you'll be heading the other way. Take care of yourself alright? We don't know a lot about his guy, but the zombies aren't his biggest trick. He gets into people's head, manipulates them. Don't trust anything you see or hear in there."

Angelica merely nodded silently, her father sounded genuinely worried and she had no idea how to feel about that.

Rather than wait for her to reply, Quake merely put his hand on her shoulder briefly before walking away.

"Angelica... You got this, give 'em hell." With that he was gone to prepare for the fight ahead, leaving his daughter to her thoughts.

Young Bloods, Team Animaster
In the matter of a few hours, the teams were mobilized into the city and the battle for San Francisco was set to begin. For Mars, and many of this teammates, that meant a return to the Beta outpost, the hospital turned headquarters. The cafeteria where they had eaten the day before had been transformed into almost like a lecture hall. The room was filled with heroes, with Captain Quake and the Justice Queens standing at the front. But what absolutely caught Mars' eye as the Young Bloods entered was the man seated next to them, handcuffed with a gag in his mouth. It wasn't hard for anyone, let alone him, to notice the similarities in appearance that he shared with Kiris. He turned to see her reaction, certain that he saw what she did but looked away just as quickly. They would have to deal with that later. Right now they had a city to save.

The room was filled with ambient chatter as people found their seats, talked about what was going on, and generally trying to cut the tension.

"Alright listen up!" Quake shouted and the chatter immediately died around him.

"We're splitting our forces here into three teams. First, the escort team. That will be lead by the former members of the Justice Queens, Recharge and Voltra. We're hoping their presence draws Animaster's wrath. They'll be escorting a military convo that will be feigning an attempt to move our prisoner here out of the city. Animaster wants him... really bad and we're going to use that against him. Hardlight and the Bluejays will be leading the second team. Their goal is to ambush the bulk of Animaster's focus and keep his attention on them for as long as possible. That will open things for our third team. That's where I come in. I'll be leading the final team to city hall, his fortress. Once the fight has drawn him out from his defenses, we'll converge on him and the real fight will start. Now, I'll hand it over to Hardlight."

Katie stepped forward to the ground, "Right, so here are the rosters for each team..."

Mars listened as the teams were laid out, it took a while for the Young Bloods to be called, and just when he started to worry they had been left out they were announced as part of team number 3. Soon after that Naja approached the team. "I'll be joining you in the assault as well. There'll be a team meeting, and then we'll have to wait a bit for the other parts of the assault to begin, but we'll get our chance soon.

As the teams were starting to separate into their own groups, the Stars called the Young Bloods over to join them in the far corner of the cafeteria. Mars saw members of the Denver Defenders and it was clear that they were filling out the team's ranks. As they joined the group, Star Queen approached Kiris. "You're Crystalheart right? Captain Quake would like to speak to you." She said, gesturing for Kiris to follow her past the gathering heroes and towards Quake. The hero was sitting in a folding chair, flanked by Red and Blue, sipping on a bottle of water.

When Kiris approached, he looked up at her, as if trying to analyze her character with a single look. "I've been informed you can teleport. That could be a very useful skill for us. We need to drop into this fight as quick as possible so we don't undermine the first team's efforts. So, give me the details. How many can you teleport, how far, are there any limitations we should know about?"

Needless to say the young Hadrian was shocked, moreso than the previous night, to see one of her kind treated like this, a prisoner of the lowest moral quality. There were a lot of unresolved feelings in her chest from the previous night, but this was not a time she could afford to worry about that. They were about to head into one of the toughest battles in their short history, and as a heroine and member of the Young Bloods, Kirisvala had to be focused on her objective of saving the city.

Still, that didn't mean she felt confident when she was called up to speak with Captain Quake. She'd seen him and his team around on occasion, particularly during the Warwolf situation the previous year, but she wasn't familiar with them like some of his teammates were, and the fact that he'd had one of her people chained next to him during the meeting didn't help at all.

Nonetheless, she tried to mask all of these feelings as she listened to the man's questions - all pertaining to the matter at hand thankfully - and kept her voice steady as she answered. "I just need everyone to be near me when we drop in, that's the main thing. Other than that, well, it depends on the size of the group and the distance, but..." She looked around. Her team, plus one or two pro super groups to support them, that'd amount to what, about twenty to thirty people, tops? She'd brought more people along during the Hilton incident, and though that had left her spent, she had grown immensely since then.

"I should be able to bring everyone along... maybe a dozen blocks if I'm pushin' it?" She guessed.

"We can work with that. Alright, thanks for the info, now we have to get to work. We only get one shot at this..."

---

The third team spent the next twenty minutes or so nailing down the details of their attack before it was time for them to head out. they have have to walk a bit in order for Kiris' teleportation to be an option but it was a risk they would have to take. Naja lead the team personally for the first time, which was a strange but welcome feeling for Mars.

They walked through the city streets, moving quietly and carefully as to avoid any attention until suddenly Quake stopped. They were on tight side street obscured from the larger view.

"We wait here, then Crystalheart sends us through once we get the word from Hardlight." He said, and word spread to the back of the group where the Youngbloods were.

Naja turned to the team behind her, "When we arrive through the portal, stay together. We'll move as a unit and push in towards Animaster. No unnecessary risks alright?" She said, her tone firmer than usually before it softened. "I believe in all of you, let's show them what we can do."

Suddenly Quake's hand went to his ear, "Alright Crystalheart, get us to city hall now!"

Soon Kiris' magic came into effect and Mars found himself standing in what felt like a warzone. Car horns blaring, blasts of energy, elements you name it, all around as heroes clashed with all sorts of inanimate objects. He saw Tiger slamming a park bench against the wall with loud crash.

"Focus!" Naja shouted out." They were only a few feet from city hall now, a path in front of them to where Animaster would surely be. However as the look up the steps into the marble building, they heard unnatural roars as two golden lions that were formerly statues started clambering down the stone steps, charging right for the Young Bloods.

---

Young Bloods, Team Necromancer
Meanwhile, the rest of the Young Bloods had traveled to a different place entirely. They were in what seemed like an abandoned warehouse that was more or less directly across from the island of Alcatraz. Much like with Captain Quake, Brain Matter was holding the groups attention in this case. Along with the Young Bloods, the Sea Monster, Rising Suns, and the Vixens were present. Though Angelica saw that Seer was notably absent.

"Alcatraz is an abandoned prison, but a fortress of a prison non the less." Brain Matter addressed the group. "There is no land access, so we will be arriving by boats. Storm Surge will cover our advance with fog, while Mad Manta and Water Raven protect us from any potential attack from the water. Goliath and Fragment will break us a pathway into the prison and then the rest of us will move through together as a team. Makeshift and Seer will be off site, but available to everyone through comms. There are two rules here that you will not violate. First, never turn off your comms, I want constant updates on people's location. Two, never go off alone. The villain we are facing can not only animate the dead but is a master of deception and manipulation. Do not let yourself become a target. Alright, we move in thirty, get yourselves ready to board the boats and then be ready for a fight."

Angelica gave a grim nod and turned to the rest of her teammates who had joined her on the mission. "Hey, I'm not one for speeches and I know things have gotten complicated lately but... I really really want to kick this guy's ass. And I hope you all do too." With that she turned away to suit up for the mission.

Half an hour later and the team was on a speed boat barreling towards the island. Nerves were building as they had no way to truly know what to expect. The deep fog around them mad it difficult to see in front of her but eventually the shore was right in front of them and the towering figure of the prison was before them. Frostbite took her first steps onto land and she was filled with determination. As the sounds of the attack on the walls began, as a horde of zombies poured out of the wall as if it was leaking. Ice started surrounding Angelica's fists, as a look of determination crossed her face.

This ends today

Seer, Rising Suns' Headquarters
The headquarters was as empty as it had been for a days, only a small number of national heroes were left behind, supplemented by a number of local heroes set to guard the place in case of an attack. Seer had spent most of her time at the beta base but for this mission she was best suited to be in a better equipped environment.

"Hey there, mind some company?" She asked Alexis as she approached the room the young hero had commandeered for her own headquarters. "We're going to be working together to try to pinpoint Animaster's location so figured wouldn't be a problem for us to stay close."

[Europa Undivided]

Nandras Varaget
The City Hall

"Focus!" Naja shouted out." They were only a few feet from city hall now, a path in front of them to where Animaster would surely be. However as the look up the steps into the marble building, they heard unnatural roars as two golden lions that were formerly statues started clambering down the stone steps, charging right for the Young Bloods.

When the ezohir saw the golden lions charging towards them, he remembered the tales of his ancestors hunting game animals not dissimilar to these. Fierce creatures they were; some were apex predators the about the size of houses, whose eradication required whole teams of hunters armed with galvanic rifles to kill. Next to them were grazing herbivores with hides so thick, they were used as slow moving weapons of terror during the old days. And most daunting of all were those stalkers that howled throughout the night, and yet were so elusive that few ever dared to even think of hunting them. Of course, all of these creatures died out when the planet froze over.

With old movies appearing in his mind's eye, Nandras instinctively brought his galvanic rifle to bear. The electromagnetic rails of the weapon flared to life, power flowing from his suit's internal mini-reactor. The gun let out an azure flash as a trail of blue energy left its barrel and impacted against one of the golden lions.

Much to his dismay, the bullet was deflected. A horrible pinging nose resounded as the golden lion was struck by the galvanic round, which then flew into a nearby wall.

"Oh, not good," he simply said, readying the mechanical arms in case the lion felt personal spite over getting shot.

---

Joakim Ferro
Alcatraz

Frostbite took her first steps onto land and she was filled with determination. As the sounds of the attack on the walls began, as a horde of zombies poured out of the wall as if it was leaking. Ice started surrounding Angelica's fists, as a look of determination crossed her face.

Joakim followed closely behind the others, all the while quietly telling himself that the undead were nothing to fear as long as you weren't in melee range. They had the firepower to keep them from getting too close for comfort, right?

Either way, as the legion of zombies surged forth from the walls of Alcatraz, Joakim felt that they were familiar, somehow. Was it because his family were all mageborne, and may have dabbled with necromancy at one point or another? Or did they fight zombies sometime before?

He couldn't remember. He could barely do so; so, he did the next best thing.

Eldritch energy gathered within his hands, flowing from whatever dimension he pulled his powers from. Whistling bolts of volatile energies slammed into the horde of zombies as a part of the greater whole of the heroes' assault. The corpses burned and snapped under the furious barrage, but just like any other story with zombies in it, they came in vast numbers.

The worst part of it, however, was the stench. Such a vast legion of undead gathered in one place made the winds reek of their death. Thankfully, he had a gas mask, but he could only imagine how the others dealt with the terrible smell in the air.

As the zombies fell in droves, Joakim wondered if there was still a remnant of who they once were within their corrupted minds. Were they now prisoners in their own dead bodies, their consciousness held hostage as silent witnesses to the horror that the Necromancer had inflicted on them? If so, how aware were they of their grisly fate? Were they fully conscious, well aware of what they were doing but unable to disobey the commands of their master?

Or are these zombies merely sacks of rotten meat, animated by the Necromancer's magicks?

Joakim cast these doubts aside as he opened fire. If these zombies had an echo of their former selves in there, then they would be thankful that they are being granted a final release.

Or were they?

[Absolon-7]

---

Casimir Herman January 16th

---

Casimir stood cross armed at the very bow of the ship taking their strike force to Alcatraz. The sea spray blasted across him as the gales from their speed made his motorist's scarf flutter in the wind. Their group got placed with just two rules which where not turning off comms and not going off alone and he didn't really intend to break them but with the chaos of combat that last one could end up broken by forces outside his control and why bother complaining if it did. The fog suffocating their vehicle blocked the dramatic view he was wanting but its dissipation upon their arrival to the island fortress made up for it. The first horde of zeds lumbered down to meet them in their rotten mass. His swarm, or at least the portion that could reliably fly, had been flying above their boat the entire way and with a flick of his wrist he cast them down where they would begin to devour at the joints of those closest to their group.

"And now for the warm up," said Casimir as he spin jumped off the boat and onto the beach. Casimir quickly ran to the frontlines with his fists and kicks pulverizing the zombies near instantly. If this was the best this villain could throw at them then it was simply a matter of time.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

January 15th

---

The Hadrian girl knocked softly on the door leading into the mostly empty meeting room. She had come here hoping to take some comfort in her best friend's presence, but as she glanced through the glass windows, she found instead that the short blonde was immersed in whatever she was seeing in front of her, in one of her monitors - she couldn't quite tell what it was from this angle. Pursing her lips, Kirisvala hesitated for a moment before raising her hand to knock again, surprised that the sound of her scaly knuckles on the glass door hadn't roused her friend from the profound trance that she seemed to find herself in. A moment afterwards, however, it dawned on her. The usual look on her face during moments like this was one of deep concentration, not unlike the one she could see on her boyfriend's face sometimes, when he was dedicating all of his attention to some project he was working on. The expression on Alexis' face was different than that this time, it was an expression that she had seen before as well... one that she had caught in the mirror sometimes.

After another moment of hesitation, she decided that perhaps some distraction could help them both and knocked again, a bit harder this time.

Alexis looked up with a start, surprised to hear that sound. This wasn't the first visit she received, but it was quite late in the night. Swiveling around in her chair to see who was knocking, she noticed a familiar pink-haired girl standing there, but the usual cheerful smile she wore was missing, replaced by something else. Was that concern? Suddenly, the young genius felt very self-conscious. Her monitors weren't visible from outside, but what about whatever emotions were written on her face? How many people might have passed by the meeting room and seen that without her ever noticing?

Shaking off those thoughts, she forced herself to smile at her friend, waving from her seat. What she saw was a smile, similarly forced, and a wave from just out the door that seemed to lack enthusiasm. At that moment she couldn't help but wonder if that gesture and expression mirrored hers or if there was something else on the other girl's mind - neither was a great option, really. All the same, she stood up from her spot in front of the monitors, walking over to the glass door to unlock and then open it. Now standing face to face with her best friend, she smiled awkwardly.

"Hey Pink Paladin, what's-" She began, only to be cut off as the other girl promptly pulled her into a hug, her heels lifting off the ground as she felt herself pulled slightly up by the hug. Despite being forced to stand on her tiptoes, she felt a more genuine smile appear on her face as she returned the gesture.

"Everythin' okay?" The pink-haired girl asked softly. Alexis' smile faded. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"No... not really." She admitted. Hearing this answer, Kiris hugged the blonde girl even tighter.

"Yeah... same here." The alien heroine said after a brief silence. A few moments later, she let go, clasping her hands together behind her back as she looked down at her friend. "Um, do ya mind if I keep ya some company?" She asked. The truth was that despite being the one to offer, she felt she was the one who needed it most at that moment, but in any case Alexis was content with the situation, nodding and stepping aside to let the pinkhead in.

"Didn't think someone would visit this late." She remarked as she followed Kiris back inside, returning to her seat next to her desk and monitor array while her alien friend grabbed an identical chair from nearby, sitting down and leaning forward a little, glancing at one of the monitors.

"I get what ya mean, it's been a long day, but... I don't really feel like goin' to sleep." Kiris replied, turning back to Alexis. "What were ya lookin' at?"

At this, the blonde glanced at the monitor and back at Kiris before looking down to her lap. "Oh, um... I mean it's nothing, it's probably a silly thing anyways." She said, twiddling her thumbs nervously. Frowning, the Hadrian scooted closer on her wheeled chair and placed her hand on top of Alexis'.

"I don't think it's silly." She said simply, looking into her friend's eyes. Alexis paused, meeting her gaze for a moment before looking back down, biting her lip. She nodded after a moment or two of hesitation, her hands clenching the fabric of her skirt as she seemed to struggle to hold back tears.

"Thanks." The blonde said, very quietly. She tried to continue in a more normal tone, albeit to little avail. "So, um, I've told you how I grew up here right? Well, I mean, how I supposedly grew up here, because you know..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Anyway, I was looking at..." She trailed off again, trying to blink away the tears forming in her eyes. "I know I shouldn't have, but I had to..." She paused, glancing at the monitor. It displayed a variety of pictures and footage from San Francisco, with mostly ruined buildings visible. "I... I looked up a bunch of places that I used to know as a kid. Or, you know, supposedly used to... and... they're all messed up Kiris. They''re all in ruins... and I know I never actually visited these places but I still feel... I... I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it, but I feel so heartbroken..." She said, breaking into quiet sobbing as the tears began to flow freely.

The pain in Alexis' voice and the sight of her crying so desolately caused tears to well up in the alien girl's eyes as well, though she blinked them away and resolved to keep herself together as she stood up and moved closer, reaching out and pulling the young genius into another warm hug. This time there was no surprise, and Alexis immediately threw her arms around her friend, holding on tightly as she cried into her chest for several minutes.

"It's fine, Lexi." Kiris told her softly. "It's okay to be sad. I'm sorry you're goin' through that." She said. There was no response, but the words had to be said.

The sobs and whimpers died as minutes passed, and Alexis eventually recovered her composure enough to pull away, wiping her eyes and looking up at her friend. "Thanks, I... I really needed to get that off my chest. I wanted to talk to Angie, but she's got so much on her plate and I... well, nevermind that. Thanks, Kiris." She said, managing a small, albeit genuine, smile at the end. "I'm really glad you're my friend." She added.

"I'm glad too!" Kiris replied, though despite her enthusiastic manner Alexis couldn't help noticing her watery eyes, now that she got a better look.

"Um, sorry if I got you sad there too. Didn't mean to be such a downer." She apologized awkwardly. Initially confused, Kiris shook her head.

"Oh, no, don't worry about that. I'm just a little emotional myself because of all that's happened tonight, but it's not your fault or anythin'." She stated.

"Tonight? You mean because of the meeting? I heard it got fairly heated." Alexis asked her, to which the pink-haired girl sighed, nodding as she sat down.

"Yeah... a lot of stuff happened. Everyone seemed on a warpath because of the other heroes keepin' stuff from us and we ended up spyin' on Naja with Mars' consent. And then when we were discussin' what to do with that information, a lot of people wanted to just act behind her back without sayin' anythin'. I think I convinced Mars to at least confront her and ask her to come clean, but it wasn't lookin' good at first." She explained, a scowl appearing on her face as the fresh memories came back to her in vivid detail. "And then everyone started callin' into question his leadership, now of all times, like it's somethin' that they were preparin' to bring up at the worst possible moment." She sighed again. "I know I'm biased because I'm his girlfriend and all, but even if I thought he was doin' poorly, that's somethin' that could've been brought up before we were in the middle of a bloody warzone."

Kirisvala took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check as she wrapped her arms around her torso, hugging her sides. "I don't know. We really can't afford to come apart now of all times but it feels like that's exactly what's happenin'. Everyone seems more concerned with being right than anything else... and I know it's naive to think things were goin' to stay the same as when I first joined this team but still... this doesn't feel like the family I found anymore. It feels more like... like the one I ran away from..." She finished, pursing her lips as if to stop herself from saying anything more on the matter.

Alexis was left at a loss for words initially, unsure of where to even start with all of that, but she scooted closer on her chair nonetheless, having returned to her seat at the same time as her friend. Without really knowing what to say yet, she reached out and laid her palm on top of Kiris' scaled hand.

"I'm... I'm really sorry to hear that Kiris. I don't think you're too naive, or that your opinion about the team's leadership doesn't matter just because you're with Mars. I guess it's just that tensions are climbing really high within the team, what with being in a warzone and all." She mused out loud, hoping her reasoning wouldn't further upset her friend, though after a moment that didn't seem to be the case at all. "In any case, I'm sure this will pass. People just need a minute to mellow out once this is all over and they'll come to their senses I'm sure. And I mean... even if that didn't happen for some reason... you'd still have Mars, right?" She added, hoping that the mention of her beloved boyfriend would cheer up the alien girl. "Aaand you'd still have me! You were there for me through probably the hardest part of my life, there's no way I wouldn't do the same for you. Promise you I'm not going to change, okay?"

The blonde's words slowly but surely reassured the Hadrian, and she chuckled a little at the end, smiling at her shorter friend. "Thanks, Lexi. That means a lot to me." She stated. The blonde smiled and nodded, and for the next minute or two, the two girls remained in a pleasant silence.

"Say, do ya mind if I keep ya company some more? I don't really feel like goin' to sleep." Kiris asked. Alexis glanced at her and smiled.

"Sure thing, Pink Paladin."

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Outpost Beta

“Alright.” Wendy told Cora as she finished typing up the last coding instructions into her computer. “Spot’s command module is synced to your vocal commands.” She looked over at the red haired android. “I set the control system to automatic, so you just have to tell him what to attack and it’ll decide on the best way to deal with the threat on its own. Just imagine he’s a one ton german shepherd if that makes it easier.”

“Will do kiddo.” Cora replied as she ruffled Wendy’s hair. “I’ll make sure he gets back to you in one piece. You just try to do the same while you take down Animaster.”

“I’ll try Cora.” Wendy said, before turning back to Spot. “You better be on your best behavior, mister. Don’t want to hear any stories about you chewing on the humvee bumpers when I get back!”

Spots tail tucked between his legs at the scolding, drawing a giggle from Cora. As she walked away, Wendy spotted Naja standing off to the side of the hospital entrance. “Hey Naja.” She called out, walking over to her mentor. “You have a minute. I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier.”

[Zarkenis Ultima]

January 16th

---

Just like that, this dreadful impromptu meeting came to an end. Those present had manifested their desire to go to one of the two fronts outlined in Naja's plan, and after the instruction came to seek out the rest of the members and let them know, the team began filing out of the conference room that the reptile woman had made her office. One of them, however, remained behind, red eyes watching almost impatiently as the last of her teammates dispersed in the hallways of the Rising Suns' headquarters before turning to look at her caretaker, a restless expression on her face.

"Um, I know it's not the best of times after everythin' that got said here and with the upcomin' mission and all, but I was wonderin' if ya got a minute to spare?" Kirisvala asked, the anxiety audible in her voice, which was nonetheless quieter than usual. "I was hopin' to talk to ya."

Naja's face turned to a frown, it was clear that Kiris was very upset about something. "Of course Kiris, I'll always have time if something is bothering you. You don't have to ask." The mentor of the group said kindly. "Is it about what we just talked about or..."

The young Hadrian seemed to perk up a little at Naja's gentle tone, and she nodded. "Yeah... more or less." She admitted, glancing over to the open door and then moving to close it before looking back to the reptile woman, seemingly unsure of how to continue. "Um..." She glanced at the now closed door, her teammates likely out of the building already. A frown came to her face. "...That shouldn't have gone that way. I don't know what some of the team's thinkin'... we shouldn't have been spyin' on anyone in the first place." She shook her head in disappointment and irritation. "I'm sorry that had to happen, I insisted that we had to have this conversation but... that was just because I didn't want everyone to go off on their own instead."

Naja frowned a bit and nodded, "Well, I certainly wish it hadn't come to that. But I understand how they felt. I have certainly been holding out information from all of you. Don't judge them too harshly Kiris. Your teammates want badly to help make things right, sometimes that kind of dedication makes us reckless. But... I do appreciate how much you care dear. Never lose that strong moral compass of yours." She said calmly. Kiris smiled and nodded at her words, feeling a little better already - it still troubled her, the lengths that the others were willing to go, but at least Naja didn't seem hurt by it.

Still, that wasn't the only reason she stayed behind. "I won't, I promise." She assured the her. "Um, that's not all I wanted to say though. I wanted to thank ya, for... well, for everythin' you've done for me really. I can't speak for the others but joinin' the team helped me sort out a lot of things that had been troublin' me for a long time, and you've been nothin' but supportive the whole time. You even gave me a roof and sorted out the paperwork so I could stay. When I had to leave you assured me that you and everyone else would be here for me when I came back, and... just in general you've done a lot for me. More than most other people in this planet - or any other! And, um, I guess after everythin' that's happenin' I just really wanted ya to know that I'm not takin' it for granted. I remember all of it, and I'm really grateful for everythin'." She said, looking straight into the older woman's eyes. "Thanks, Naja."

Naja's gentle smile returned and she placed her hand on Kiris' shoulder. "You're very welcome Kiris. Being able to help those who want to help others, it has meant a lot to me too. And thank you, for being the source of positivity you are." She paused for a moment, "I get the feeling you didn't just stay behind to thank me though." She stated. Rather than concur however, Kirisvala simply smiled and shook her head at those words.

"Actually yeah, that's all I wanted to say. With how both last night's team meeting and the meeting just now went... I just thought it was important, ya know?" The pink-haired girl replied before giving Naja a heartfelt hug. "And we should always tell people when they are important to us."

There was a grim implication in saying such a thing in the midst of a warzone, but Kiris left it unsaid. There was no need to ruin the moment.

After a few seconds, she pulled away, still with a bright smile on her face. "Well, this mission's gonna be a tough one, so I should go and get ready. But thanks for hearin' me out, Naja. I'll see ya in a bit." The young heroine said before turning around and heading out of the room.

[The Republic of Atria]

Bael

So it was settled, the team would split in two and each go after either Necromancer or Animaster. Against his better judgement, he decided to go up against Necromancer who was holed up in Alcatraz. Part of him wondered if he could just use his powers and collapse the prison. Necromancer was supposedly immortal, and he was already in a prison. So it felt like some sort of poetic justice if he wound up entombed there. Then again, he wasn't sure if it would solve the zombie problem. Still, it wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan.

The group was taking a boat to the island, but he decided to fly. For one, the water was probably cold and while the boat was definitely safe, he'd decided that he'd rather not risk it and flew over the water. That, and it'd be easier to see if something was off or if an ambush was being planned. Not that a horde of zombies was particularly threatening to him, but still. As he flew over the prison doing a wide turn around the perimeter of the island, he looked down and didn't see much. A few zombies here and there, but the bulk of it was likely going to be inside. That and the fog obstructed him more than he thought it would.

After a quick pass, he landed close to where the boat docked, and within moments, there were already zombies pouring out of the walls. "Wouldn't it be smarter to ignore them and focus on finding Necromancer so we don't come across him more tired than we'd normally be?"

[Tomia]

Rising Sun's Headquarters
Naja was beginning to head out of the office to get to her own business when she was stopped by Wendy, who like Kiris wanted to talk to her privately. In Wendy's case it seemed the intent was to apologize. Naja gave an understanding smile, "It is alright Wendy. You had reasons to be upset. And I understand why all of you were so eager for information. I just hope that you know that I care about all of you, and would never keep you in the dark if I thought it would put you in danger."

City Hall
The two golden lion statues leapt into action, the stone beneath them chipping away from the weight as they leap over multiple steps until they were standing right in front of the heroes. The lion on the right began charging towards Nandras as it recognized him as the source of bullet that was fired at him. Mars forced himself to take a deep breath and took off into the air, firing an energy blast at the right most lion. The lion recoiled a bit and roared at him leaping in the air and trying to pull him to the ground. Mars continued to blast it with energy, hoping both to distract it and eventually begin to melt the metal creature at least a bit.

Meanwhile Naja suddenly flew threw the air, meeting the animated beast mid jump and slamming her fist into it hard. They both tumbled to the ground as Naja continued striking the beast, cracks starting to appear on its jaw before it suddenly flipped over and managed to throw Naja hard on the stone. As the team continued to battle the lion creatures, a wild cackling could be heard from inside the city hall building.

"BRING HIM TO ME MY CREATIONS!" The voice shouted, as another wave of chairs, benches, trash c\ans, and other monstrous creatures poured out of the building. Soon after loud groaning sounds could be heard as a mob of zombies began to approach the battle. Mars began to fear that they would be overwhelmed but just as the horde of creatures started approaching the vehicle they were swarmed by the zombies who seemed intent on preventing them from reaching the vehicle.

"NECROMANCER YOU PEST! I WILL DESTROY YOU! KUU DEMANDS IT!"

Alcatraz
"Cut a path through!" Goliath shouted as he slammed his fist in a wave of zombie that were swarming around the hole they had created. Angelica heard Bael's comment and had a thought. The main breach was where all the zombies' were currently gathering. If they poked another hole in the side then they would be able to sneak around the main force and scout out the villain's location. She then approached her two teammates that would be most helpful for this, Wyatt and Casimir. "Bael, Kabuto! If I freeze part of the wall think you can help me punch through it? Then we can sneak in and go after the big guy, what do you say?"

[Absolon-7]

---

Casimir Herman, January 16th

---

Casimir was busy sending scores of zombies flying away with palm strikes but he found himself getting agitated. Surely this villain had something else up his sleeve? If not then he'd be competing with the other heroes to do the guy in which could be its own excitement as well. However, that was when he heard Angelica calling over to him and Wyatt for a new plan to expedite the fight. A big flashy entrance right into the villain's lair? Just perfect.

"Way ahead of ya Frostbite asap!," shouted Casimir backflipping to her location, "Do your thing then me and Bael can do a wombo-combo!"

[Finland SSR]

Renata Martinez

January

---

A densely packed ship from Colombia was slowly approaching the harbors of Los Angeles Port, the spires and skyscrapers of the city slowly coming to view from the front of the vessel. Most of the passengers were migrants, workers, moving to the United States after recently getting employed, or joining their families already in the states, for a chance to find a better life there. Most were in their twenties and thirties, and quite talkative, even when Renata made it clear that she wanted to be alone as much as possible.

Not merely because the emotional impact of the past few months was still difficult to bear for her, though it certainly was - she still wasn't certain if she was entirely safe, and so remained on guard constantly. After the confrontation in Pichinha, she finally managed to convince Amadeo's team that she was genuine - so, they offered some help to rescue her out of Ecuador. She had a forged passport and a permit handed out by one of the rebels' contacts in California, that stated that she is coming for long-term work. With a hat, she was covering up her hair to hide their easily recognizable color, and she was in baggy clothes, a hoodie and pants, to further obscure her identity.

A part of her still didn't feel right with her decision. Was it not cowardly, to run away? What if, one day, she wakes up and hears that her father has been killed, too? In spite of everything that happened ever since the attack on her school, she could never possibly wish that for him.

But a decision was a decision, and another part of her knew that this was where she belongs. That here, she can be someone she's always wanted to be. A hero... and an individual, too.

The ship moored in the harbor and the packed passengers gathered by the ramp, immediately faced with officials and document checks. The process took a while, but Renata passed through with little incident, immediately breathing a sigh of relief and stepping foot upon the port. The way there led towards the terminal, already flanked by cars and trucks, and the rest of the city sprawled beyond it. Renata pulled off her hat and briefly shook her head. She had basically gotten used to the short hair cut at this point.

Los Angeles was not as familiar to her as San Diego, but it was still a welcome sight to see, and though her worries did not go away, just the sight of America got her in a slightly lighter mood. It meant that her journey was almost over, after all. The anxiety began to return once she made her way past the terminal and onto the city streets. She was alone and empty-handed - and while she was fairly confident she could protect herself from a thug if push came to shove, what was more concerning was... that she had no way to go.

No money, no cellphone - both were tossed down the sewer by the Anticondoristas when they captured her, and she didn't have a chance to get any replacements. Her bank account is almost certainly frozen at this point, anyway. The Young Bloods would, hopefully, take her in if she makes her way to San Diego - but that was a two hour drive. There's no way she could make the journey on foot.

That's where a memory struck her.

Icarus.

He lived in LA, didn't he? She's visited him before, though the month before the last time they met, on Ecuador, wasn't really interspersed with many chances for them to hang out. There was no telling whether he would actually be home - he was a hero himself, after all - but his apartment was probably the only place she could go in LA and hope for help.

And, beyond all that... she just had to see Icarus. Let him know that she is alright, and she's here.

Navigating the streets of Los Angeles wasn't that easy, but with the aid of tourist maps, Renata figured out her way towards Icarus' apartment, hurrying past crowds and streets towards the address. The hasty walk turned to a run up the stairs and finally up to the apartment door. Without any hesitation, she immediately rang the bell, and waited with anticipation.