Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[The Rebel Alliances]

Alexis Cain/Raven-San Diego Abandoned Cathedral

The scene that had unfolded had given me some comfort, small as it was. To see Marinette completely unravel like she had was very satisfying. But I had this feeling that this would not be over. If these people are who I suspect them of being, that is the teen cohorts of Carter, the Young Bloods. They certainly will not kill her out of some misplaced sense of morality. The pink barbie parasol wielding bitch is insane. Completely detached from any sense of morality at all. She is only surrendering now out of a sense of self preservation. Dogs have that much. But as soon as a chance presents itself, she will take it. Kill anyone around her and escape to continue her crimes. How many graves does she need to fill before someone finally just does what common sense will tell you and put a bullet in her fucking skull? She kills with no discrimination. A warped psychopath who cannot be rehabilitated.

She is too dangerous to be left alive.

But I gave a defeated sigh as my head rolled to the side. There is nothing I can do about that now.

With that being that, my eyes were drawn to Red who now was blatantly the center of attention of Marionette's temper tantrum. I gave a weak smirk to myself. But the smirk faded as Red drew in a young Japanese girl in for a kiss. One that was not like mine from earlier. This was initiated by him, something he wanted to do. Either because he really had something with this girl or just wanted to infuriate Marionette further. I had no idea. But as a realization dawned on me. My faint smile returned in spite of the pit in my stomach.

Well Red, seems you have made your choice.

There was no longer a need to speak to him about my proposition for him to join me and Brianna. Then again, I thought as I shifted my sights on a recovering Sebastian, we have added another number to our little family after all. So, I guess it all worked out in the end, right? Then just like that I heard Neo's voice creep into my ear again.

"Raven, the Police are swarming towards your position. You have maybe five minutes tops to get the hell out of there before your whole act is busted." Well, there is my cue. The attention seemed to be on the couple in the center of the now very wrecked Cathedral. Which meant I was surprised when a red haired girl picked me up and helped me to stand. Asking me if I was a Young Blood. As well as apologizing if she caused any discomfort.

Her comment on me being a Young Blood confused me. Is she not a member? If she is, she must me new. But that kinda confirms my hunch on the others, I mean, who the hell else could they be? Starting with a grunt I answered her.

"N...No, I'm not. The uniform may be dirty, but I am still a cop." Despite appreciating the helping hand, I pushed off of her and stood on my own. "Thank you, but I think I got lucky. Nothing feels broken, just lots of cuts and bruises." I needed to sell the act, and do so quickly so I can get out of here no questions asked. So, I revealed a pair of hand cuffs as I limped over behind Marionette and cuffing her hands behind her back. Reading off her Miranda Rights, which I had memorized watching episodes of Law and Order: SVU. Love that show. What happens if she tries to bust me out as a fake? Tell everyone she hired me as a street gun? I smiled to myself. Just deny it of course. She is insane, she cannot say anything these people will believe. With that handled I limped away a few steps as I addressed the crowd of teen heroes.

"I am Officer Sterling. This man here..." I announced as I pointed at Red. "Is innocent of all charges layed on him. I am sure the courts will handle formalities later but this crazed bitch here confessed to everything. Including framing your friend here for crimes he is entirely innocent of. Then, I turned around to face both him and his asian girlfriend. As a exhausted smile crept on my face.

"The man is a hero...plain and simple. We are glad to have him with all of you, keeping us safe." Exhaling I could see that our new addition was already recovering. Standing on his own. I moved over to Brianna's side with real concern on my face. Her armor vanishing and revealing the tattered police blues underneath.

Officer Gates? Come on Partner, wake up for me." Quickly locking eyes with Sebastian I motioned for him to come over.

Officer...Brown." I said after a moment of hesitation. "Get over here and carry Gates out of here.
I cannot lift her myself." I ordered not oblivious to the fact he had no uniform on, I just hoped everyone would assume he was undercover or something. As he moved over, he picked her up rather easily. And the three of us started to move towards the back of the Cathedral, heading for a back exit before I turned and addressed the teen heroes one last time. Now with police sirens in the distance.

"All of you have been a great help. My fellow officers will be along any moment now, but we have to get Gates some medical attention. Thank you for handling the prisoner for me."I hoped that they bought my act, as we moved out of the back entrance of the church because if they did not then it would not take them long to chase us down with us on foot. I looked over at Sebastian as we were now back in the darkness outside behind the church.

"Thank you for what you did back there. But we need to get the hell out of here. So, we are going to need to acquire a ride." I suggested not so subtly that we steal a ride.

"We need to get her back to our hide out, there is someone I want you to meet."

Mayla Carter/Wonder Warrior-San Diego

It's been quite some time since I have been this far from both the dojo and the family. Normally a visit to another city would mark a family vacation or some other event that carried the usual fluffy tones. But it was a more personnel issue which led Mayla here a thousand miles away from her family back home. A lesser man would think my actions a little suspicious. But my husband knows better than to believe such nonsense. After all, we are nearing our 15th anniversary pretty soon. And it is no lie that we are both looking forward to many more. But this here, is a personnel matter. Even in a marriage, there are some things you just want to take care of yourself. Have to take care of yourself.

Daniel knows this. So when I told him that I needed to go to San Diego suddenly for a few days. Maybe a week. He understood. More than that, he supported me. Taking a leave from his job as a lawyer in order to step in at my Dojo as the new sensei. I gave a slight smile to myself as I thought about it.

I have good students, but I am certain that they would much prefer me instructing them rather than my husband. Daniel can be rather, tense. When it comes to training. My mind started to be flooded with memories from our younger days, crime fighting together. Daniel knows that training can be the difference between life and death and so he does not take it lightly.

As for me, I was now walking down a street in the entertainment district dressed in my full combat gi. I stood out, and I had been dropping rumors and such that I was looking to expand my Dojo. It is a famous institution for teaching superhuman martial arts an so people will talk about it in certain circles. Gaul will likely hear of it eventually and come and find me.

Its why I am making myself so easy to spot wearing this outfit.

So for now, I simply continued doing what I have been in the past couple days. Keeping to populated but open areas and waiting for Gaul to come find me.

We have a lot of catching up to do.

[Absolon-7]

"That should be it, uhm I don't think I caught your name," asked Hope.

"Oh! The name's Casimir. Sorry bout not mentioning it." Casimir felt there was no harm in giving out his name considering Blackout and Stella had left already. He grabbed his helmet and undershirt, which he should just throwaway at this point, and excused himself from Hope's presence. It also looked like Amir was still in the room and didn't he wanted to do something with the Blood Drug?

"Oi, Amir! Can you come pick up the Blood Drug cartridges in a few minutes. Just gotta clean up my room."

Tossing his ruined shirt near the doorway Casimir made his way to his room observing its interior once he reached it. His bed was neatly made albeit a few stray bags of snacks. His superhero suit was strewn all across the floor along with several changes of clothes. Thunderstruck's helmet was located in a back corner on top of a coffee table book which detailed the scientific aspects of insects. With the major centers of clutter identified Casimir decided cleaning up just his costume and stray clothes would be sufficient.

Considering his speed the actual process went quite fast and smooth. Most of his garments were neatly laid on his bed including his costume. By now all the blood on it had dried which just meant it was going to more of a pain cleaning it up. Lamenting his earlier clumsiness he finally put on a shirt and waited outside in his doorway for Amir with the bag in hand.

"Meeting room now"

"What is it this time?," grumbled Casimir.

---

Now this was a development he hadn't thought of before. Red had been broken out and there was something going on at the location they were currently landing on. The team rushed to the site where he allegedly was which was some decrepit cathedral. Roy was the spearhead of the group catching a battered looking Marionette by the collar as the team ran inside. Casimir could have easily been the first to reach the door but this time staying with his team sounded like the best strategy. Fortunately, the situation didn't look as bleak as one would expect since Red and Yoshi kissed of all things embracing each other in an adorable display of affection. It actually made him sort of envious since he hadn't a kiss in a while. He personally enjoyed hugs more than kisses but there was something nice about placing your lips on those of a beloved. He actually hadn't heard a word from his beloved for the past two weeks which worried him. He'd have to worry later however since his attention was needed now and maybe she got a job. She was always more responsible than him so her getting a really busy job wouldn't be out of the question. For this night however his attention was needed on helping Red and, if need be, put a few dents on Marionette's skull if she got some heroic second wind.

"So...uh...how was the trip guys?"

"Yo, Red! If you need any tips on girls just hit me up," said Casimir with a giant grin on his face although his helmet hid it. "I may not look or act like it but I actually know a thing or two about that sort of stuff with girls."

[Tomia]

Roy
When Red spoke to the YB's Roy's angry glare was set onto him instead of Marionette. He tossed the vicious murder roughly onto the ground. "Alexis, Casimir, watch her." Roy said to his teammate before picking up his staff and walking towards Red. He stopped a few feet in front of his troubled teammate and swung his staff so that it rested just under Red's chin. "Explain yourself, right now Red." Roy said, a very serious look in his eyes. He wanted to believe Red, but right now he couldn't be too careful, too much destruction was following Red around for Roy to just carelessly embrace him. He had a responsibility to his team and to the city, if Red's story didn't match up Roy couldn't just let him walk away. Roy didn't take fighting a teammate lightly, but he would never let a criminal go, regardless of his relationship to them.

Naja meanwhile was standing with the others, she wanted to keep near them in case something else happened but she was also watching Roy and Red intently. This interaction would surely be significant to the development of the team. She still hadn't decided how she would deal with Red if he desired to return, but it was important for the team's culture that they make that decision for themselves at first.

Hot Shot
"Oh Shit," Hot shot said as she realized that an entire car was being thrown at her. The car she was beyond wasn't going to protect her from it so she moved away from her protection, standing straight up and facing the coming projectile. "What did these cars ever do to you?!" She shouted before raising up her hands and taking a deep breath. As the car rapidly approached her, her fingertips beginning to glow brightly with energy. Then suddenly beams of pure heat blasted out of them, cutting into the car and eventually slicing it clean in half. Kona came into view as the two massive pieces of cars slammed onto the ground. Hot Shot hadn't wanted to use her energy on that, but letting the car hit the ground on its own would have caused too much damage. She figured she only had enough energy stored for one more blast, so she needed to use it wisely in this fight.

"That's all you got? Think you're the first villain to throw a car? Come on, show me something interesting!" She shouted before drawing another arrow, she had to make sure she had the right one, as this arrow had a special twist to it. Instead of firing she simply kept the arrow notched and pulled back. She wanted force Kona to be the one to react this time.

Mars
Mars nodded when he saw Kiris had started the water. He took out a few books of pasta from the cabinet. "Just throw the pasta into the pot once its boiling." He told his friend. "You know it's boiling when you see little bubbles in the water." He added as he took a package of ground beef from the fridge, washing his hands before he starting to to roll into the shape of meat balls. "So Kiris, how is adjusting to living here going? Being on earth and all, even American has to feel weird compared to the colony right?"

[New Neros]

AWOL | Nile Canaan
Raven Hunting, Pt II

"Information is never free and you both don't look at all like a charity." She remarked, looking at the both of them, first AWOL and then Nile. She prepared to move should they try and attack. "Who are you? Why are you here? And what do you want?"

The cyborg assassin gave a quick smile, quickly deducing that this adversary was not gullible in the slightest. No, she was quite aware that this all seemed too much like a set up, especially with two suspicious men approaching so casually to a murder scene. AWOL thought for a moment, moving his hand to rest on his sword handle as he spoke freely. "Sharp as a fox, maybe as sharp as those feathers." He said with a nod, gesturing to the corpse with a quill jammed in it's eye socket. "But we can briefly answer your questions, we have all the time in the world. They call me AWOL."

Nile stepped forth to stand beside his cyborg partner, folding his arms together and sighing loudly, growing bored with the current events. He'd have to deal with another fight, but ah, he enjoyed the rush it gave. "I am known as Mirage." He quickly added, knowing it wasn't wise to use his real name at time like this, but he would continue to play second fiddle to AWOL for the time being. "We're here on official business, and you might just happen to fit the bill."

AWOL sighed and shook his head, "Well, looks like we don't know anything about the Dragons, do we, Mirage?" AWOL hissed, returning to speak with Nightraven. "Say we're on business, and say it concerns you. It doesn't concern him or what you've been doing, just know that there are higher powers watching. They're always watching." He added, beginning a slow and methodical draw to his blade, adding in extra drama points for no reason other than to appear intimidating. After all, this wasn't a mission to kill this woman, but to test her abilities and update her potential as a recruit. "Since we're already in a stand off," He continued with a chuckle, "Let's just assume we're here to fight."

[United Kingdom of Poland]

“Got to love government work.” Wendy said as she made her way through the prisons firewall. She’d elected to stay back at the tower while the others went to help Red after her disastrous encounter with the vampires. She wasn’t ready to go charging into a prison, but she could at least be their eyes and ears. Getting through the prisons security had been laughably easy considering how out of date the system was, and once inside it hadn’t taken long to find the security system…

And she almost she hadn’t as she saw the destruction occurring inside. Prisoners and guards laid dead in the rooms and hallways of the prison as the surviving guards and outside authorities took control of the situation. Fighting back the urge to puke her guts out, she rewound the footage until she found the start of the riot.

Almost immediately, she noticed something was off. Several of the cameras seemed to go off on their own at seemingly random times, and other stayed running, but with the picture going grainey in spots. Maybe the others would have missed them, or simply dismissed them as system glitches, dirt on the lenses, or something else.

They also hadn’t robbed dozens of banks, using the same trick to cover their tracks. A few more minutes watching the camera footage before the riot fed her suspicions. Someone was using one of her old tricks, a real pro by the looks of it. She didn’t have the time to root around the system to find the proof she needed, but the good new was she didn’t have to do that here.

Routing the information back to the tower and following it back to her body, Wendy reached for her earpiece. “Roy, we may have a problem. I’m looking through the video feeds from the prison. Red had someone in there tampering with the cameras during his escape.”

[New Neros]

Mustafa Gaul | Mayla Carter
Reunion, Part I

-Mayla Carter-

"It can't be."

The words seemed different, almost frightened, but the voice didn't match up at all in Mar's ears. It was Gaul's alright, but the man was made of muscle and literally afraid of nothing, he would routinely challenge entire groups of superhumans to a brawl and beat the living shit out of them, as a regular activity at that. The sense of dread in his voice was so foreign, Punk clutched her fist and straightened her body, staring hard at her comrade, the one she had chosen to follow ever since that fateful day in El Paso. "What is it?" She hissed, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Every muscle was tense in Gaul's body, his tremendous form nearly shaking as he turned to look at Mar, trying his best to keep composure with a smile. "Before things get too complicated, I should explain some things to you." He began, Mar nodding and stepping down from her observation post on the rooftop overlooking a busy street, eyeing her friend up and down as Gaul took a seat briefly on a crate. "You know that I had a rough upbringing in Houston, but one of the things that helped me get out was martial arts, and not just any, but ones tailor-built to take on superhumans. I trained vigorously and relentlessly, improving my form and ability each and every day, destroying myself and re-building myself into a stronger being."

"But martial arts is one part body and one part mind. While my body was a powerhouse, able to adapt and bring victory to any engagement, my mind, ideas, philosophies, all of that, was not the type my instructors would want to progress and further. I took offense, but my sensei, she continued in the hopes that I would change, but we had a falling out and I left, and began pursuing my dream of hunting heroes. I met you in El Paso shortly afterwards, maybe a few months at the most." Gaul explained, Mar listening intently as Gaul revealed more about himself than every before. "The issue I'm having right now is that my own master, instructor, sensei, whatever you want to call her, is walking down the street in plain view, in gi, in a city she knows that I've been hiding out in, clearly trying to look for me."

"So what," Mar began, "Are we going to run up on her?"

"No offense, but she'd take out about anyone who would run up on her. She's a master at fighting superhumans, and taught me almost everything I know about fighting kinetics. Almost, but that's a different story. I can't run from her, though, she wants me to come to her and really, I have no other choice." He looked to the street and back to Punk. "I know Legion wanted us to keep watch on the street below for some high-profile targets, but this is extremely important. He'll understand, hopefully. Can you hang back and observe? Don't engage, but if things go south, I'll give you permission to bail me out."

"Right, right," Mar agreed, breathing in and out automatically for a moment, "Just don't get too reckless out there, okay? Don't go right in with your fists, talk it out some, but ultimately do what you have to do. Get some closure... God, it sounds like I'm coaching you through a break-up." She said quickly, putting her hand on her forehead. "Again, damnit, be careful." Gaul nodded, and turned to jump from the rooftop into a dark, damp alley to the side of the building, landing gracefully and standing erect, taking a deep breath before moving onto the illuminated street.

"Hate to make you come all this way," He hollered, getting some peoples attention, but quickly finding Mayla in the crowd he was approaching, "So I decided to skip the cat and mouse games and come straight to you." The crowd backed away but Mayla remained, narrowing her eyes at her former student. "Had I known you were coming, I'd have suggested we meet half way." He said with a dry laugh, locking eyes with his former teacher. An outside observer would notice the incredible size difference in the two, but the gulf in skill was just as wide as the gulf in size. "Welcome to San Diego, Mayla-sensei."

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

Casimir was the first one to react to Red's rather...overly casual greeting given the situation.

"Yo, Red! If you need any tips on girls just hit me up. I may not look or act like it but I actually know a thing or two about that sort of stuff with girls."

Red let out a weak smile, his arms slightly lowering as Casmir's response gave the impression that perhaps the team was relieved to see him. This impression was soon smashed to bits, as Roy suddenly marched over to him, grabbing his staff as he did. Red tensed up slightly, not knowing what his teammate was about to do. In a blur, Red suddenly felt the tip of the staff being pressed right below his chin, an obvious sign from the teams de-facto leader that Red wasn't going to be able to just walk this off like nothing happened. Not like I expected it would end that way either, as his eyes narrowed at Roy.

"Explain yourself, right now Red."

Red raised an eyebrow at the sight before him, this being the first time he had seen this side of Roy come out. He could tell he was furious, and rightfully so. Red hadn't heard much news during his stay at the prison, but he had no doubts that a vast majority of the world currently saw Red as nothing more than a heartless mass-murderer. Having them stumble into the middle of the cathedral with the smell of gunpowder still being fresh likely did not help his case in the least, nor would him originally pointing a gun at the man standing before him.

Red's mind raced, as a million different replies went through his head. He debated on lying, on telling the truth, and various mixtures of the two. While he would want nothing more than to spill the beans on what all had occurred, he knew doing just that would jeopardize Raven and her teammates. Considering that they had gotten him out of that hellish nightmare scene at the prison as well as nearly died at his own hands, he really didn't feel it would be right to give their identities away. Still, there were too many variables left on the table, and Red was certain he'd trip up somewhere along his story.

He took a deep breath, the spider web of truths and lies spinning together within his mind, and prepared to answer Roy when Raven beat him to the punch.

"I am Officer Sterling. This man here..."

She pointed at a visibly surprised Red.

"...is innocent of all charges layed on him. I am sure the courts will handle formalities later but this crazed bitch here confessed to everything. Including framing your friend here for crimes he is entirely innocent of."

Her eyes traced from Red to Yoshiro, who had yet to move from the spot Red had separated himself from.

"The man is a hero...plain and simple. We are glad to have him with all of you, keeping us safe."

Red stared at Raven, uncertain how to react to what was happening in front of him. While it was still a stretch, it didn't seem as if any of the other Young Bloods had tried to deny their claims of being law enforcement officers. As the trio wearily began to make their way out of the cathedral, Red couldn't help but wonder if she had done that to save her own ass or his. While in the past he would have assumed the former, after all they'd been through, he suspected her reasoning was far from something that selfish.

Before they left, Raven gave the Young Bloods some final parting words, the sound of approaching police sirens becoming noticeable in the background.

"All of you have been a great help. My fellow officers will be along any moment now, but we have to get Gates some medical attention. Thank you for handling the prisoner for me."

And just like that, the trio disappeared into the streets. Red knew this wouldn't be the last he'd hear from Raven, however, as he knew she was the kind of girl that would get what she wanted no matter how many hurdles she had to climb over in the process. Just what exactly she wanted from him was still a mystery to him, but at the current moment that was the least of Red's worries.

Roy's staff hadn't moved from its resting place, a clear sign that further explanation was needed. Red let out a small sigh before he began to detail all that had occurred during his time away from the time, with the expectation of not revealing that it had been Raven in that alley where it seemed like all his troubles seemed to escalate. He merely described her as a helmeted figure with skills that damn near matched his own, a feat he was almost shameful to admit. From there, he detailed his arrest, the quick sentencing that followed, and then his stay in prison. For the sake of his own sanity, he did not go into too much detail on what he experienced, but his words were enough to show that he had been through hell and back throughout the whole process.

His second and quite frankly largest lie within his story was that he had saved the officers from a rabid group of inmates. They then escaped, only for them to have to respond to what they had thought to be a group of escaped inmates roaming around in the neighborhood. It was then when they encountered Marionette, and that she had managed to shove whatever...that had been into his mouth, where he had lost control of himself.

"...so if it hadn't been for you guys, I doubt those officers would have lived through all of this, as well as me being back to normal."

He glanced down at his uniform below him. It was ripped to pieces in several areas, blood that he was unsure of its origin stained all across it. He let out a dry smile to Roy, who seemed unpleased with the response.

"Well, as normal as I can ever be."

The air grew thick with tension for several moments, nobody daring to speak a single word as Roy and the other Young Bloods seemed to process the tale Red had told them. He assured himself that, with telling mostly the truth, any signs of lies would have been swept under the rug. Unsure of what to do, Red tried to open his mouth to reassure Roy that everything was fine, but the sensation of the staff digging into his exposed neck made it clear that things had not gone to plan.

"You're lying, Red. There's more to this story than you're willing to tell, and that quite frankly isn't going to fly. After all, if you're innocent in all of this, then why was someone breaking you out of prison?"

The small smile that had formed on Red's face faded, as he realized the game was up. He glanced over to the other Young Bloods, with the expectation of Yoshiro who he was unable to make eye contact due to the shame of being caught red-handed. He stared back at Roy for a few moments, still trying to decide on what to do. It was clear Roy knew something Red didn't, and continuing to try and beat around the bush was only going to make things worse from here on out. They should have had enough time to get clear of here by now, he grimly thought to himself as he let out a small sigh.

"Okay, so I might have left out a...small detail."

The continued pressure coming from Roy's staff made it clear that more elaboration was needed. Red gritted his teeth for a few seconds, having to force the words he didn't want to utter to come out of his mouth.

"That helmeted vigilante I told you I ran into at the alley all those nights ago...Well, you just met her. Or at least, you met her in disguise."

Red could feel a small change in pressure from the staff, a sign that he was either going in the right direction or that Roy was about to drive it forcefully into his throat and collapse his wind pipe. Considering that he wasn't rolling around in pain, he reasoned that it was the former option. Sorry, Raven. I'll owe you one, he thought to himself as he continued.

"Before you get on my case, I want to make it clear: I've never met this gal before that night, and nor did I ever ask her to do what she did. It might come as a surprise to you, but I was willing to spend the rest of my miserable little existence in that cell. However, what happened with those inmates wasn't her fault. Marionette was the one pulling the strings all along, from the murders, to the fake evidence, and even the riot. Why the fuck she did all of this? Well, I'm no shrink so I can't give you an answer there, but all you have to know is that the fault here lies not only in her but myself for letting myself get caught up in all of this."

He paused before his voice softened.

"Going off on my own was...a mistake."

His fists clenched as he locked eyes with Roy once more, power fueled by emotion returning to his voice.

"But if you think I was just going to disappear off to some island to drink coconuts and sing around a campfire while a potential lead in the death of an entire family rested on my laps, you're crazier than even Marionette over there."

His gaze turned back to the other Young Bloods.

"I'm not saying I'm proud of how this all ended up. But I'm not ashamed to have tried to do the right thing, even if it meant having to go at it by myself."

His eyes returned to Roy, a serious tone filling his voice.

"But I'm not that stupid that I'll make the same twice. Please, Roy, give me a chance to redeem myself here. I'm asking this not as a favor between two heroes. I'm asking you, as a Young Blood, to just believe me when nobody else did."

[Finland SSR]

Alexis Cain/Raven-San Diego Abandoned Cathedral

Roy

Red

Renata Martínez, the heroic Stella!

---

The woman Renata had just pulled out of the battlefield and helped stand up introduced herself not as a heroine, but as a policewoman, Officer Sterling, which immediately made Stella tense. Dealing with the police already? And in this situation, where they were rescuing someone who just escaped a prison? Crap, this is a problem, maybe she shouldn't have pulled that officer out of the field after all... Thankfully, Sterling resolved that problem herself, stating that Red is acquitted of all crimes, that they got out a confession from Marionette that she was ruining his life behind the scenes all along, and proceeded to leave the field with two fellow officers.

Wait...

Those are also officers? They don't look like police at all! In fact, one of them looked like she had just gotten pulled out of a Viking-themes action movie! This immediately alarmed Renata, and after she stopped for a second to think about it, something else made her doubt the believability of this story, too... When the Young Bloods entered the cathedral, the first thing they witnessed was Officer Sterling fighting Marionette, right? And Marionette was clearly battered, indicating that it was not a one-sided battle... As far as Renata remembered, police officers are usually not trained in superhuman combat, usually relying on heroes or special forces to deal with dangerous and powerful villains. And yet here we have someone who looks like an ordinary officer, taking on a villain all by herself, and in close quarters combat no less...

Renata decided to not voice her concerns on the believability of the story, however, instead giving a quick nod after the officer finished her story and, when they started to leave, waved at them and exclaimed:

"Sorry for mistaking you, Miss Sterling, have a good night!"

Everyone's eyes now turned to Red, who was now pinned down and interrogated by Roy with a staff pointed to his chin. As Alexis and Casimir were the ones assigned to watch over Marionette, Renata decided to walk up to the scene of the interrogation and see what the fuss is all about herself. What she received, as a result, was Red's prolonged explanation on how he was saved by a mysterious helmeted figure, who broke him out of prison, and then he proceeded to help a few officers fight against Marionette, where he was put on some form of mind control for a while before being freed by Yoshiro.

Roy did not believe the story, of course, and, to be honest, Renata wasn't exactly swayed by it either. It all just sounded too... perfect. Like it's ripped straight from an action movie, complete with plot conveniences, and that doesn't happen in real life, you know? In addition, even if Red was somehow acquitted of all his previous crimes, this entire story had enough crime breaking to throw him back into jail for a good many years - destruction of government property, assaulting people, breaking out of prison, so on and so forth... If this wasn't done by a Young Blood, nobody would take a second glance towards him and throw him to the police immediately.

So Red tried to make amends, first by confirming that the trio which had just left the Cathedral were not police officers at all, and were only in disguise. While Renata already knew a few hints towards that, this confession confirmed her theory and only worsened Red's case in her eyes. Why? Because this means that "Officer Sterling" was lying when she said that Red is acquitted of all crimes, and that the police coming here were most likely not going to just give them a pat on the back. After some more attempts to convince everyone of his innocence, Red finally made an appeal directly towards Roy, asking him to believe him as a Young Blood.

Renata was still not convinced, but in this place, she decided to not do anything rash and try something she doesn't do as often as she would want to - weigh over the benefits logically.

If we accept Red's confession here, we will resolve this quickly enough that we might escape the area before the police shows up - and if the police sees us with someone who they believe to be a mass murderer, that's game over. After that, we might be able to... I don't know... hide Red somewhere while we try to convince the world that he is innocent...

I really shouldn't have gone here. I really shouldn't have gone with the Young Bloods here. I'm not even supposed to be a part of this drama...

But, darn, I guess I have to participate now that I've thrown my hat into the ring.

"I suggest we should just give it up, Roy," Renata decided to speak up, walking up to the staff-wielding hero. As she wasn't a part of the team, she wasn't sure how much her words weighed in this situation... but it's better than nothing, I guess. "Whether or not Red is innocent, you'll be able to settle more easily on Wonder Island, where there is no threat of police breaking in and labeling all of us as criminals."

[The Rebel Alliances]

Mayla Carter/Wonder Warrior-San Diego

Mustafa Gaul

I heard him before I saw him. But I could feel him nearby even before that. I just could not pin point where. When you are adept with ki, you can sense the general location and direction of people. It is what has kept me from wondering totally aimlessly in an otherwise huge city. As Gaul revealed himself through the street light. He was dressed in very deceptively casual wear for someone of his power. A white t shirt and sweat pants was not what you would expect to see a man who could bring down some of the biggest supers out there to be wearing. But Gaul always was a man who let his actions rather than his appearance speak for him. I looked as unassuming as ever as I met eyes with the self made villain as I addressed him as a old friend.

"Well, what is a sensei to do when she hears some disturbing rumors about one of her own former pupils. Just because you left that day does not mean that I stopped caring about your progress." My mind flashed back to when I had heard news of Gaul's fight with Solar. I had wanted to leave and find him after that day, but there were personnel issues that prevented me from immediately doing so.

I took a step closer to him. But was careful to keep some distance. By now, some onlookers were starting to get a little nosy as they watched the two of us. Some whispering about if there was going to be a fight here in the open. Others commenting on the huge size difference between us. Their eyes are not fooling them. I stand at just 5'5. Gaul was well over six feet and was a mountain of a man and not even in his twenties. The difference was almost comical. But I just ignored the onlookers as I continued with Gaul.

"You know, Sabrina asks about you sometimes. Its nice that I can tell her that you are well." I proceeded with small talk, as I was not eager to cut to the main event. I mean, after all. What do you say to a student that you took in, trained, tried to steer in a positive direction only for him to abandon the Dojo and join up with a League of Villains?

Whats worse is, no matter what the media may say. Gaul is not a bad guy. But he is fast approaching a course from which there will be no turning back. Hell, after the battle with Solar, some say he already is. Even my own husband was worried when I told him that I was leaving for a short while. What I planned to do. We fought about it, but I knew he was only worried for me. After all, who could blame a husband whose wife was going to speak to the man who killed Solar? That was no small thing to do. But, I assured my husband that I would be fine. Gaul would not dare to kill his mentor, especially unprovoked. Back when he was a student, Daniel believed in Gaul's potential. He even confided in me, I never told Gaul this, I never had a chance to...that he believed that Gaul could assume his mantle.

It was on that day, when I had heard that Gaul had battled Solar. That I knew that I had to eventually find him. To try and save him. Even now. That I could no longer just wait and hope that he returned to the dojo seeing he error of his ways. And here we stand. It was time. Time to get to the heart of the matter.

"I have come here to offer you a way out, Gaul. Before some big shot hero tracks you down. Or before someone else gets hurt or killed. Before you go too far. Or any of a million other things happen. Gaul..." I paused. Ignoring the crowds and the back up Gaul had on the roof watching my every move. As if it was just the two of us here.

"This has to end. I have seen men and women go down the path you are walking. I should not have to spoil the ending. But they never end happily. I do not know who you are in League with now and frankly at this moment I do not care. I am not here as some hero trying to save everyone possible. I am here as a friend. If you come back with me willingly me and Daniel can still help you. As you know he is a Defense Attorney. A damn good one. If you just allow us to help you, you can still have a future. Do great things and actually make a true change in society. So there you have it. I have come to here, only to help you." I provided Gaul a few moments to turn my words over in his head. Before I spoke again. This time, with a little more authority.

If you do not allow me to help you willingly....then forgive me and just know that I care enough about your well being and future to do so forcefully. But hopefully, you will not allow it to come to that." There was another silence. Before I met his eyes a final time.

"So Gaul...tell me, am I still your sensei? Or have I become your enemy?" I asked, knowing that if it came to a battle. We would need to take it far away from these streets. As neither me nor Gaul would wish for innocents to get caught in a battle between us.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Kirisvala nodded along at the genius boy's instructions, thinking that some of his clarifications were unnecessary but saying nothing about it. After all, living in a planet as hot as Adai for most of her life, and in the middle of a volcanic area such as Annriven and its surroundings, brimming with boiling lakes and geysers, she was more than acquainted with what water looked like when it reached its boiling point. Not to mention that Hadrians used it too, as boiling stuff was a pretty basic form of cooking. But, again, she said nothing, knowing that Mars had told her all that with only the best intentions in mind; if anything, she found the whole thing a little endearing, what with someone as smart as him failing to consider that.

Grabbing the pasta from Mars' hands and gently setting it aside for now, the Hadrian girl cast a glance at the pot of water on the stove and then walked a little bit closer to the boy, not enough to be intrusive, but enough for him to notice; she knew that water took a little bit to boil, so she had some time to kill. She watched him roll the ground beef into mostly spherical shapes and set them aside to cook them later, raising her gaze to look at him as she heard him ask about how she was adjusting to life at Wonder Island and grinning a little bit at his interest.

"Well, life here is pretty different to Adai and even New Adai, yeah, but I'd say I'm adjustin' well. This place is a lot cooler than where I used to live, for one, so that's pretty nice, and even if there's a lot of stuff I don't understand yet, I don't really mind as long as I have all these good friends helpin' me out." The alien said with affection in her voice, her tail rising from its position and gently poking Mars in the chest, as if to indicate that he was one of the good friends she had mentioned, and perhaps her closest one. If he turned around, he would see her softly smiling at him for a few moments, before her expression turned doubtful.

"I'm... not sure if I'll ever get used to that interview thing we went through the other day at the Zoo, though."

[Tomia]

Roy
Roy was surprised to see a police officer speaking on Red's behalf, it seemed suspicious to him. However the tale she told would in fact exonerate Red, but it really just seemed to convenient. He non-verbally demanded more from Red and he listened when it was provided. After Red's explanation, Roy's staff still didn't move from his chin but the informal leader of the Young Bloods was starting to feel more confident in his decision to trust Red. That confidence was shattered however when a voice spoke into his ear.

"Roy, we may have a problem. I’m looking through the video feeds from the prison. Red had someone in there tampering with the cameras during his escape.”

The voice was Wendy's and the news wasn't good at all. His expression hardened and after demanding an explanation from Red, he listened carefully to the reply.

"Red you just don't get it." Roy said incredulously, lowering his staff. "We weren't sitting around drinking from coconuts, we used that time to become a team! To learn to trust each other and work together. You think you can just rush into things without a second thought, but that's not how it works. You owe us more than that! If you had told us... We could have helped you, but you're too fucking stubborn for that aren't you?!" Roy shouted, his anger getting the best of him." He took a second to compose himself, he didn't want to say the wrong thing and make the situation worse.

"Look, I believe you, okay? You're my teammate, and I believe you didn't do this. That belief isn't unconditional though, I need to protect the team and we're still going to have to deal with the law on all of this." He told him before Renata chimed in that they needed to leave otherwise they would be seen by the authorities.

"Renata's right, we're leaving. You're coming with us Red. We can settle the rest of this on Wonder Island, in private." He said before turning to his team. "Young Bloods we're moving out. Some tie up Marionette, we're leaving her for the police. Let's go!" He shouted as everyone hurried to get on the jet. As Red approached the jet Naja was waiting for him. "I'm disappointed in you Red." The snake hero said bluntly. "Not that you caused the team trouble, that comes natural with young heroes. But that you have insisted on doing things on your own. If you want this team to accept you, you need to be willing to accept them in turn." She told him before joining the team on the jet.

Mars
Mars was cooking when he noticed Kiris move close to him. He didn't say anything about it but he suddenly tensed up a bit and felt a strange heat on his cheek and throat. He pushed that from his mind though and concentrated on her reply to his question. "Well I'm glad you're having a good time Kiris, it's been great having you here." He said with a smile, chuckling when she poked him in the chest with her tail. Sometimes it took getting used to Kiris' alien physiology, but he had mostly come accustomed to her having a tail at this point. "You're my friend too Kiris, one of the best ones I had really."

Then the conversation shifted when Kiris' expressed doubt about being a celebrity. "Ya, I know what you mean. Maybe its good if we don't get used to it you know? If that part of it makes you uncomfortable, then you won't forget what the most important part of being a hero is." He told her as he started to place the meatballs on a tray.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

The Hadrian's expression turned back from doubtful to delighted as she heard Mars state that he also thought of her as one of the best friends he'd ever had, her cheeks reddening slightly while she briefly reflected on how close their relationship had become in the span of just a few weeks after they met. Then, rather than dubitative, her demeanor became thoughtful as she considered the words the genius boy spoke next, claiming that perhaps it was not such a bad thing that they did not grow accustomed to things like media attention and swarming paparazzi. While on some level she agreed, knowing that fame was not the end goal of what they were doing in the Young Bloods and remembering the tragic tale they had extracted their name from, she also couldn't help but wonder about what he said in regards to the important part about being a hero. What did he mean by that? Was it something she already knew? Or was it something else entirely?

In the end, she concluded that whatever it was, she would surely learn sooner or later, and she had plenty of other reasons to fight.

"Well, even if I can't get used to it, I don't think I'll mind it that much as long as I can stay with-" The alien girl began as she watched Mars place the meatballs on a tray, her tail once more starting to swish eagerly from side to side, though it stopped as abruptly as her speech when she heard the distinct sound of bubbling water coming from behind her. Immediately, she realized what was going on and what she had to do next.

"Oh, the water!" She exclaimed as she hurriedly walked back to the stove, grabbing the pasta Mars had handed her earlier and placing it inside the boiling pot, spreading the sticks out for no reason other than aesthetic preference.

More cooking and affectionate small talk ensued as the two teenagers, one from Earth and one from beyond, continued to prepare a hearty meal for their weary teammates. Roy's call reached them like it reached everyone else, but while many others decided to go on the mission to chase after Red, the two of them decided to stay behind for reasons they opted to keep to themselves. In compensation, however, they worked their hardest to make the team's dinner extra-tasty, and not long after they finished their cooking, the team returned, with a surprise visitor in tow.

[Tomia]

Roy
It was a short trip to Wonder Island, and most of the present members were buzzing around Red, wanting to know what happened. Roy and Naja sat in the front, neither speaking very much. The ship landed and everyone started head inside and were greeted with the welcome smell of pasta sauce. "We made dinner!" Roy heard Kiris a say when they entered the main building. Everyone cheered and soon everyone was sitting in the kitchen and the living room, having their fill of pasta and meatballs and generally conversing and having a good time. People seemed pretty relieved to have Red back, but Roy noticed Red sitting alone in the corner of the living room. It didn't seem like he had eaten yet, and say Roy filled a plate and walked over to him.

"You should eat, you've been through a lot." Roy said, sitting down next to him, looking straightforward without really looking at him. "I'm glad you're home Red, the team was worried about you... And I was worried about you." He added that last part a little hesitantly but it was sincere.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Sam Croft/Blizzard
San Diego
July 9th, Morning

Despite the sea breeze, Sam had the rented van's A/C cranked up. He was wearing a break-away disguise over his uniform; it was hot, but it wouldn't do to be seen driving in uniform. Note to self: get a super-car to go with the uniform. Even the Young Bloods have a jet.

Thnking of their jet reminded him that they'd been out late, though nobody knew quite where they and their jet had disappeared to... and if or how that related to Marionette's arrest. If the SDPD got her on their own, that was some good work, though he hadn't had time to contact Russell to see if he knew anything.

He had had time to contact Naja, first by email, then by voice. The new burner phones and a little cagey physics masking where his signal came from were very handy for that. Note to self: map out the area around home for multipath and private cell repeaters.

Naja, at least, had seemed very interested in finding out what he knew of the Blood dealers. Sam wondered about her kids, though. If the teens were shoot first and ask questions later types, turning them loose with the name of a busy, built-up street could end up worse than the zoo: lots of property damage, maybe even civvies killed, and a PR disaster for all supers.

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

---

The ride back to the Tower was a quiet one for the usually talkative Red. A few of the other Young Bloods tried to make light conversations with him, but it soon became clear that he was not in any type of mood to talk. Red didn't mean any harm with his lack of interaction with his teammates, many of whom seemed glad to see that Red was still in one piece. He appreciated the gesture, but the words from both his team leader and mentor continued to circulate within his head.

"We could have helped you, but you're too fucking stubborn for that aren't you?!"

Those words stung the worst, mainly because Red knew that they were true. He had acted out on his own and because of that had ended up not only put himself at risk but jeopardized the reputation of the Young Bloods as a whole. The fact that they had decided to bring him along with them just added to this sense of guilt, as this only further put the Young Bloods in hot water should the authorities find out.

As they arrived back at the Tower, Red rushed past the others, ignoring the smell of freshly cooked food and instead choosing to head straight to his room. He tore off his clothes, still stained with his blood and the blood of countless others. He stared at the piece of laundry for a few seconds, the memories of what had all occurred in the last few hours flashing through his mind. What could I have done differently? What could I have said? He tossed the clothes into the trash disposal, but his thoughts still remained with him as he hopped into the shower to rid himself of the filth that covered him.

Do I even belong here anymore?

Red stared blankly at the wall in front of him, his mind unable to rid itself of that question. With a groan, he slid the water temperature controller to near freezing levels, the shock from the cold water being enough to end his train wreck of a thought process. Stepping out of the shower, he stared at his reflection in the mirror for a few moments. His face and body were covered in bruises and cuts, the pain from them still strongly emanating. He knew he needed to get them treated, as only God knew what kind of diseases would await him if he didn't, but the distant sound of laughter and chatter made it clear that he needed to be elsewhere.

Tossing on a pair of new clothes, he quickly made his way downstairs to where everyone else was eating, his hair in a messy pile as he hadn't bothered to style it in the least. Reaching the main area where everyone was sitting at, Red debated on what to do. After his...dinner date with Marionette, his appetite was practically non-existent, even with the rich aroma that the food gave off. He couldn't bring himself to sit next to the other Young Bloods as well, even as a few offered a seat next to them. However, he also couldn't just leave, which forced him into sitting in the corner of the room by himself. He noted a few worried glances, but to his relief nobody seemed to want to force any interaction with a clearly gloomy Red.

At least, until Roy decided to show up with two plates of food in his hands.

"You should eat, you've been through a lot."[/i
While he kept a neutral expression, Red mentally scoffed at the comment.[i] If only you knew, he thought as he reluctantly accepted the plate of food. Roy chose to sit down next to him, a move that Red would have rather avoided if he chad the choice.

"I'm glad you're home Red, the team was worried about you... And I was worried about you."

Red raised an eyebrow at Roy's words. From what he could tell, Roy was being sincere, even if it came at a bit of reluctance. The change in attitude from before was glaring for Red, so much that he couldn't quite find the right words to say, instead choosing to sit quietly and observe the other Young Bloods enjoying each others company. The sound of laughter and the sight of brimming smiles as they bragged about all that they had done over the last few days slowly whittled away at Red's stoic nature, until finally the emotional barrier that Red had shielded himself with was broken.

Keeping his eyes on the others, Red finally spoke up to Roy, his words only able to be heard between the two.

"It's good to be back Roy. It really is."

He paused, unsure whether or not he wanted the next words to come out. After some time, he finally found the courage to bring them out.

"Roy, there's some stuff about me that you need to know. I know that Naja has kept this secret from you, and for good reason. I won't tell you now, not with the others around, but I'll say this: I've done some pretty fucked up stuff in my life, things so bad that if the rest of the world knew they wouldn't even bother trying to throw me in a jail over and instead hang me up in the middle of town square."

He turned his head to Roy, a somber yet confident look in his eyes.

"But that life is over, and even though I've nearly fucked it up, I've been given a second chance to use what I've learned to actually help people. You guys have been the closest thing I've had to a family in..."

Red paused, the thought of his life as a member of the Five returning to him briefly.

"...a long time. And I'm determined to not lose this family, no matter what happens. If that means they'll lock me up for the rest of my days so that you guys can keep being heroes, I'm fine with that. If by some miracle they cut me loose of all of this, I promise you that I'll never do anything ever again to put the Young Bloods in danger ever again."

A small but noticible smirk emerged on his face.

"Because you know, I wouldn't want the Young Bloods to disappear, or else how else could I find a way to keep you and Wendy together?"

[New Neros]

Mustafa Gaul | Gladiator
Reunion, Part II

-Mayla Carter-

Mustafa turned his head to the side, avoiding the direct gaze of his teacher as she drilled into him with her comments. Perhaps she meant to pull at his emotions, but whether it was purposeful or not, it still stung as Mayla spoke of Sabrina and what she's been able to see of her star pupil just through the eyes of the media. Nostalgia flooded him, with talk of Daniel and the dojo, and even a hint of understanding what type of emotions drove Gaul, what issues were important to him and kept him driving on, it all made him a bit homesick for those days when he had just left Houston.

Their conversation was harsh, but not as bad as Mar thought, able to hear a fair bit of it despite the busy street still raging on. It was like a concerned mother coming to check up on her delinquent son the way Mayla laid into Gaul, but her chest tightened as the final words were spoken, and Gaul sat in silence. Mar had never seen Gaul in such a manner, reduced to a young, bashful student in the presence of a master, his own teacher. In her head, Mar imagined the Gaul she knew would not hesitate to snap back, confirming that anyone in his way is his enemy, but here? Here, he hesitated.

Swallowing, Gaul turned to face his sensei with a determined look, tensing his body, but not giving off an aura that signaled he was ready to fight. "You..." Gaul began, choosing his words carefully, "Are no enemy of mine. You may still have things to teach me, but I have learned enough, and that was all I needed to set out and pursue my own goals and ambitions, no matter how depraved or selfish they might be. I need you to know, you did not fail as a teacher when I left. Our worldviews are incapable for the time being." He further explained, before getting into the meat of their conversation.

"But don't think for a minute that you're going to run this fight. Whatever force you can muster up, I can meet and exceed it. You know some bits of what I'm capable of because you hand-taught me, but I have grown exponentially in the past weeks and months. Enough to show you just how strong a wrought-iron willpower can be, and how powerful my body and technique has become." He looked around for a moment, noticing that people were getting out their cellphones and started to record, getting ready to witness this fight. Some whispers were passing around the crowd as Gaul's identity was revealed, the infamous Solar-Killer and Quake-Crusher, and now he was about to battle it out with a no-name woman in a Jet Lee outfit.

He sighed for a moment, knowing that these streets would see quick intervention from other heroes, villains, and it would put more exposure on Gaul and air out his personal life all to the cameras. Knowing his sensei would suggest the same, as they trained together for the better part of four years, Gaul made a suggestion. "Let's do this somewhere else, somewhere a little more private, with more room and less people." His words were met with boos and sad sighing from the crowd, but he paid them no mind. "I have a place in mind if you're willing to follow me."

[Segral]

Carter Graystone

He didn't want to be with the team right now.

In fact, he didn't even know where they had been. He had fallen asleep after the meeting, he had been so mentally exhausted, he needed a recharge. And the nap was just what the doctor had ordered. Granted, he also discharged in a few other places besides his mind while in his state, but some disharging in those places wouldn't exactly hurt.

So waking up to the delicious smells of home-cooked pasta and sounds of chattering teammates had been quite pleasing for him. Honestly, he felt excited about it. All those negative thoughts from earlier had simply disappeared from his mind, he missed them, as pathetic as that sounded. Maybe he was some sentimental, smothering mother, but he was damn proud sentimental smothering mother. He had a new smile on his face. He was humming some tune he remembered from the back of his head. His street clothes, wrinkled and slightly damp from the discharging didn't even bother him, he felt alive again. Or maybe he was just hungry. Yeah, probably that. Hungry, very hungry.

Flying out of his room with a bit of gusto and a shriek, he grabbed the banister pole on the landing and swung around, landing squarely on the actual banister, legs on either side. Sliding down the long staircase, letting out minor whoops along the way, he leaned over to the left, cupped his hands around his mouth, and prepped his lungs to bellow.

"HEEYYY BITCH--OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" he screamed out, as he leaned too far to the left and ended up tipping right over the side of the banister, landing squarely on his shoulder and arm as he went down all the way to the hard metallic surface of the floor. Luckily, it was too short of a fall to break or even dislocate anything, but it still hurt like hell, his head slightly fuzzy from the impact, his arm also feeling stiff and pained. But that didn't matter, his teammates were here.

He strode through the throng of people with a slowly forming bruise on his arm, somewhat visible under his over-sized DFA 1979 t-shirt, and a wild grin on his face. he made a beeline for the pasta in the kitchen, quickly scooping up a huge plate of whatever was leftover. Yup, he was hungry. Collapsing into a couch in the living room soon after, he began to furiously dig in, shoveling food into his mouth so fast he almost cut himself with his fork a couple times. Barely stopping to wipe sauce off his face, he kept looking around, as if seeing his teammates for the first time after a long trip. There was Kiris and Mars sitting together as always, what a cute couple. And there was Casimir, excitable as ever. And there was Roy, talking to Red...

Wait...Red!?

His breath suddenly sharpened as he clapped eyes on the figure slumped in the corner, his hands beginning to tremble violently. Why....just why...why was that murderer here? That killer, that man who had done so much pain to so many people...why?! Wasn't he supposed to be firmly locked in jail, in a prison?! Wait...no...they didn't...they couldn't have...they broke him out?!

His appetite gone, he slowly set the half-eaten plate down on a nearby table, and began to slowly stumble out, his eyes slowly seeing a blurry red. His stomach was sick with nausea, his head kept churning over the same word. Why, why why why...WHY?! They had broken him out and brought him back, but he would only run off by himself, point a gun at someone else, pull that trigger with no mercy. And the Bloods would bring him back and break him out. And he would do it again, and again, and again. Nobody would trust them anymore, they would be hunted by everyone.

They were going to kill the team. His home, his asylum, his life.

All gone.

Slowly falling to his knees as he reached the room, he began to shake violently. He couldn't comprehend it, he couldn't figure it out. It didn't make any sense to him, he couldn't process it. Sinking his face into the side of his bed, he gripped his dirty-blonde hair, matted and tangled, and began to slam it into the plump mattress, hitting his head repeatedly, his screams muffled by the thick covers.

[Tomia]

Roy, July 8th
Roy couldn't help but chuckle softly when Red confessed he had done terrible things in his past. He then realized that might come off as rude and clarified, "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that, you wouldn't believe that someone else said pretty much the same thing to me today. Look Red, we all have shit we're not proud of. I've done things you couldn't imagine either, believe me. It's not our pasts that matter, its finding the family that's willing to help you get past it." He told his teammate before putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad to hear about your change of heart Red, and don't beat yourself up too much. You were innocent in all that, and we'll make sure the authorities know that. If you really want to be a Young Blood again, you're going to have to be able to forgive yourself too."

Roy then blushed at Red's last comment, gently punching him on the shoulder. "Ya well, you may be a little late on that front. We kind of had a fight today... or something I don't know. All I know is she doesn't seem to want to talk to me right now.

Wonder Island, July 9th
The next day, with Red safely home at the tower, things started to return to normal, or at least as normal as they got for the Young Bloods. Naja was busy dealing with the legal repercussions of having rescued Red. Her discussion with the police was quite intense, at one point telling the District Attorney that if she wanted Red she would have to come and get him herself. But the police had apprehended Marionette and she confessed to framing Red in a unhinged rant. However the police still wanted a statement from Red, and were investigating the prison break. They weren't surrounding the Tower with helicopters though and Naja considered that a victory.

Meanwhile Naja received an email from a local hero who went by the name Blizzard, it included information on the vampires responsible for producing the Blood Drug. She passed that along to Roy, Mars, and Park who were currently working diligently to discover the location of the leaders, Mars having taken some crucial documents from the facility they raided. It included sale receipts, and email communications between people that Mars assumed were involved. The most import thing Mars found was a check book, filled with checks made out to "San Pharmaceuticals". They then did some research on the company and discovered their headquarters was on in the center of the city on El Cajon street, through the information from Blizzard, but there was little else information about the company.

"This is it, this where the heads of the snake are. I'm sure of it." Roy said confidently to the group.

[Turmenista]

Johnny Swift/Brock Spencer

---

The Great Floyd Tolson!

---

Johnny Swift/Brock Spencer

---

Shit was getting very real very quickly, and Brock was getting kind of concerned about it. Nonetheless, he kept his focus — after all, there was no time available for him to use to panic, seeing as how the skinny Brit had just tanked an energy blast that would've otherwise blown up a car. It was astonishing, really, to see him stand like that, otherwise unfazed by the blast.The 300lb quarterback tensed up almost immediately after Floyd began to move, eyeing the man's sword being unsheathed once more.

"You're making a big mistake!" Brock shouted, readying up in a typical stance for bracing up for a tackle whilst Floyd ran at him at frightening speeds. Before they hit, however, Brock saw Floyd suddenly perform a stop slide, grabbing onto the sharp bladed tip of his sword before swinging the flat side of the sword forwards, looking to hit his arm with the blade. Brock's arms lit up emerald, surrounded in a hazy field of green energy as he simply pushed the blade up, allowing it to simply and safely bounce right off his arm. Once this was complete, however, he noticed how much of a dunce he was to fall for a feint — floyd ran into him and slammed his shoulder, causing him to yelp out in pain as he was thrown back towards the wall.

Ah— you goddamn motherfuck...—

Swearing out aloud just as loudly as he was in his head, Brock threw himself to his feet and growled, stomping the ground as he did so. This sent a wave of green energy coursing through the ground and the small cracks in the walls and floor made during the fight, which caused any object that wasn't bolted down to the floor or a human being to suddenly float up into the air before being suspended in motion a few feet above the ground.

Brock shouted out in anger, thrusting an arm towards Floyd in a fashion of someone throwing an invisible javelin. The couch in the room, the table, and several chairs and other things bolted down all converged towards the man like homing missiles which, if they weren't cut down in time, would truly trap Floyd in a cave of some sort, keeping him from moving about.

"Sit your ass down!" Brock shouted, pointing a finger gun at the mass of furniture-turned prison. Right as he fired the beam suddenly curved upwards, arching upwards into the ceiling where it bore straight through the above floors and the roof, before dissipating into a fiery firework-like explosion above the house.

Brock looked down to a sneering brat in some jet black aviators, who'd pushed his arm up into the air, saving Floyd from an otherwise painful ordeal and causing all of the floating furniture in the room to fall. Johnny Swift held onto the arm with a vice grip, sneering as Brock stared back down at him, a mixed look of shock and confusion plastered on his face.

"Remember me, asshole?" Johnny yelled, swiping a leg out at Brock with a powerful kick causing him to flop over onto the ground flat on his chest. The speedster was off well before Brock had a chance to get up, speeding off before slamming right back into him with enough force to take him out of the room - and, for that matter, the building - itself. Brock tumbled outside for a few moments, eventually landing by the pool on his feet as the already existing crowd outside parted way to give the enraged football QB some room.

One of Brock's cronies then slowly stepped into the room, inspecting the man-sized hole outside as well as the glowing blue lights, perplexed. "So... uh... who won?"

Johnny extended a finger out to Brock outside who, to anyone with poor eyesight, was flipping the bird and readying up another energy beam to fire at the scrawny speedster and his companion. "Nobody won just yet," Johnny muttered, stepping by the hole in the wall and narrowing his eyes. He was right, after all. For all he cared, this fight was just getting started..

[Absolon-7]

Casimir was damn near exhaustion on the flight home. With the number of fights he had today, his injuries, and then deploying out yet again to get Red back, Casimir was aching for some well deserved rest. And by god it was going to be a great rest as the "Red-rescue force" returned to a feast of home made pasta. Although he had agonizingly delay joining dinner as he had to change out of his suit. Getting undressed in his room, Casimir spotted the bag of Blood Drug cartridges. He still had yet to give it to Amir for who knows what ritual he was going to do. Whatever it was Casimir hoped it helped the investigation. Getting into his casual clothes, Casimir swiped the bag and headed to dinner grinning like a fool the entire way. He spotted Amir among the team and walking behind his seat, Casimir dropped the bag on Amir's lap.

"Here you go! 100% organic Blood Drug. Also, you better get some pasta before I finish it all," giving a hearty laugh Casimir found a seat nearby and served himself enough pasta for three of his teammates. The rest of dinner was pleasant for Casimir as it seemed to him that the tense atmosphere of the past day had been washed away by the steamy aroma of pasta sauce and merrymaking.

---

Later in the night Casimir sat on the floor of his room busy organizing the clutter. Most of it was done but there still remained one corner. Although that deed was part way finished as the coffee table encyclopedia on insects was put on top of a small bookshelf that was sat below the room's window. Although his room wasn't much to look at as it was quite plain compared to his old room back in his hometown.

Casimir stuck his arm under the bed suddenly remembering important merchandise that he had bought right before joining the team. He pulled out four posters, one for each side of the room. With a bit of tape and patience they were all placed on his room's interior. He stood satisfied before collapsing back first on his bed. He would have gone to sleep then had it not been for Thunderstruck's helmet being next to his face.

"Oh right. That's where I left it." Casimir struggled to imagine a place to put it meanwhile he intensely stared at the helmet's empty eye sockets. He remembered his fight with the villain and how lackluster it went for him. The whole scenario still left a sour taste in his mouth considering the later mutants he faced before were more dangerous than that overrated electrician could ever be. He could have definitely beaten Thunderstruck had he not manged to tackled Casimir but did he not pay attention or was he too worried about his teammates? Whatever the reason was it could wait for the future. He had beat the shit out of goddamn vampires today and that was an amazing feat no toothless hack could boast about. Casimir lazily pushed the helmet off the bed and went softly into the arms of night.

[Finland SSR]

The Great Floyd Tolson!

---

Johnny Swift/Brock Spencer

---

The Great Floyd Tolson!

---

Floyd gave himself a mental pat on the back as he pulled of the feint maneuver without a hitch - the quarterback found himself slammed against the wall by a strong elbow strike. And he didn't look happy about this at all. The swordsman was ready to charge forward again, maintain a small distance between them and keep the opponent on his toes, but Brock responded faster than he could do so, sending a wave of green energy across the room, which lifted up tons of gadgets, furniture and other items not glued to the ground and hurled them at Floyd.

Poor man's version of telekinesis, I see. No problem, this shouldn't be too hard.

The furniture wasn't moving so fast that Floyd couldn't telegraph their position - quite the opposite, actually, they seemed to be trying to create an IKEA prison rather than attack the target directly. In addition, Brock fired a beam of energy to finish off the combination - now that was a little problematic. Floyd lowered his stance, moving his center of mass towards his bent right knee while raising his sword, in preparation for a wide blade sweep to cut down all the incoming objects at once - however, that slash never materialized, as the furniture around him suddenly fell to the ground and the beam was redirected to the ceiling, causing an explosion and disrupting the party a little.

Who was responsible? It was... it was...

"Bloody hell, you're still alive?" Floyd muttered, mostly to himself, as he watched a confident Johnny grip the quarterback's arm. Guess he downplayed the speedster's tenacity back then. And this wasn't even the most surprising part - Johnny then proceeded to open a speed-boosted can of whoopass, slamming Brock through one of the walls of the room and out of the building itself. How bizarre.

That must be what the crony who had just entered the room to check who won the fight thought about this, too. Johnny only gave a laconic explanation that nobody has won - and Floyd, fortunately, had to agree. This was just the beginning of the fight - and by God, it was already exciting.

Okay, strategy. Brock is already aiming to shoot us down and he's a fairly large distance away. I'll need to get closer without getting hit, so...

"I agree with Sugar Rush over here that nobody has won, but I already know who lost," Floyd muttered, then suddenly sped forward, stopping in front of the crony before them and grabbing them by the collar - to immediately toss the poor teen through the hone Johnny had made, directly at Brock. It's got a few advantages - if Brock shoots, he'll only hit the disposable teen, and if he doesn't shoot and gets hit, well, that's a wet time for him.

Floyd lunged through the hole immediately after the thrown guy, aiming to suddenly duck, slide and sweep across the quarterback's feet with his legs.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Alexis Cain/Raven-San Diego, New Outrider Base-July 9th

The enduring pain, numbness and sore areas were constant reminders that last night, really happened. The arms deal, the jailbreak, the riot, that damned ambush, fighting Marionette, almost killing and being killed by Marionette and yes even Brianna passing out. All of that actually happened. Because I have no business waking up in a strange place, this sore and not being hungover. The strange place in which I woke up in used to be a storage closet. Only someone, presumably Nick had taken the liberty of throwing a stained mattress and box spring in the closet which took up a good portion of the space. And after the several boxes of guns and ammo pressed against the wall, there was barely a few feet of floor space left. Light was provided by a lamp which is tun was hooked to a series of extension cords which connected to something connected to a generator. And where was this five star sleeping experience?

In a abandoned section of the Subway tunnel.

The upside? No rent.

And that was a very big upside. Throwing my feet on the cold concrete I picked up a new shirt and threw it on. Climbing to my feet with a pained expression and leaving my closet I walked down the hall which shortly led to the tracks. Making a right and following the tunnel until I came to a larger terminal area I found the security office and opened the door and found what was a makeshift hacker's paradise. Several computers and monitors were set up and all running off of a series of generators. No one was going to come bother Nick down here. Scattered on the floor were various sleeping bags which revealed that I was the last one to wake up.

Again. With both Brianna and Sebastian not doing much of anything as Nick worked away on the computer. It seems like the other two were waiting for me.

"So, tell me again why you threw me in a closet?" I yawned stretching my arms over my head. Nick responded without ever taking his eyes off of the screen.

"You have your own space at least. For the moment I am sharing my pad with these two until they pick another spot down here."

I had never had great sleeping accommodations anyways so I just decided to move on. I pulled up a chair as Nick pointed to Sebastian. "I talked to the new guy this morning. Seems we are plus one." That was good news. We could always use another field member. And his ability was extremely useful. With that said, we needed to know our next move. We should keep an open roster but we can always pick up new talent as we work. So, that begs the question....what is our next move? My head hurt enough for me to screw a bottle off aspirin. So, just as I was about to ask Nick delivered an answer.

"It seems that San Diego has a real problem with organized crime." He left the statement there, as if it spoke for itself. I blinked really hard a couple of times as I responded.

"So? You suggesting we bring down the mob?" Nick spun around in his chair as he lit a cigarette and then tossed me a pack so that I could share in the habit.

"You are thinking too small illustrious leader. Not the mob. All of the mobs. We have several just here in San Diego. The Russian Mafia, the Triads, the Italians and a newer group the Dragons. That being said...-" He paused as his voice grew lower, more serious.

"I am not really sure on how to approach this should we go for it. I mean, the fact is that while the superheros battle the super villains the majority of crime is run by these guys. And for the most part, they are left alone. Either intentionally or just being overlooked but either way that leaves them with no real opposition." I was at this point, wholly involved in the conversation and asked the natural question.

"What about the police?" Nick answered in a very matter of fact way.

"They try, sometimes. Truth is that these gangs have the money and influence to make most police interference a non issue. Not only that, they are starting to get with the times. They are not just gangsters or thugs with guns anymore. More and more they are employing superhuman enforcers. If we go to war with these guys, it's all or nothing. Either we bring them down until they are nothing or we all end up dead and in a back alley. There won't be a middle ground. But given all the power they hold in the city and how much corruption they bring into it. If we really want to help San Diego, the Mafia needs to be our target. Which brings me to the problem." I did not even need to ask him to continue as I took another puff of the cigarette. Nick pressed a hand to his temple.

"I see absolutely no way that we do this and keep it clean. Things will get messy. Bloody. We may not kill any innocents in the cross fire but they sure as hell wont care. People will die, and not just the guilty. In this city, no one fucks with these guys. And they will do whatever it takes to keep it that way. I am not saying this to get anyone here to back out. Not that I think that is even possible, just that we need a plan of attack. And a good one. Because as much as these guys need a bullet, frankly, I am not ready to die quite yet." He let the thought hang in the air and I glanced around the room and made eye contact with both Brianna and Sebastian as I thought about it. He was right. Hell, I grew up in a part of town under the thumb of the Russians. They were certainly not a positive influence. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only way this ended...

Was with us all dead.

I gave a heavy sigh and was just about to ask if Brianna had a idea until one finally came to me. I did not even take a moment to refine it in my head before I just spilled it on the floor.

"What if...instead of hunting us...the gangs were hunting each other?" Nick raised an eyebrow, snuffing out his finished cigarette.

"Are you suggesting we start a gang war? Alexis I should not even have to say that is the one way to ensure innocents get caught in the middle. At least if they are hunting us specifically then-" I cut him off.

"Then we are dead." I then stood up and tried to make my case. Hoping it would gather some support among the team. "Look, these gangs kill people every day, and until they are removed from the equation they will continue to do so. And as far as I can tell, we are the only ones in this city willing to go toe to toe with em. We do no one any good if we get ourselves killed doing so. The only way this gets better is for us to win. That means doing things that we probably don't want to do. That really does make us bad guys. Buts that is the point. We are outlaws. We can make those choices because we are already being hunted by society. We can take this far without taking things too far.Just last night we broke a convicted felon out of prison. This is what we do. So, if you have a better idea...if anyone has a better idea I am all ears. But as they say, divide and conquer seems the only way we actually come out the other end on this. Hit the biggest gang and convince them somehow that it was another gang and repeat the process. And when they are killing each other, we sweep in and clean up." Nick stayed silent. And silence passed over the room as we all waited for someone to speak up. Sitting back down I wondered what Brianna and our new arrival would have to add to this new plan of action.

"This is what we do. We are the Outriders." I closed, finally giving our little family a name as we discussed what could be our last ride together.

Mayla Carter/Wonder Warrior-San Diego

The response was expected. But even so, it was a disappointment. The ideas of simply lecturing Gaul and he abandoning his foolish mission was nothing more than wishful thinking. I still had more to teach him alright, but it seemed such lessons would need to be applied in force. My head dropped ever so slightly at the answer, to visibly show that I was not pleased with the response. Even still, I accepted the offer to find a new area to settle our differences in. "Lead the way. After all, I am the tourist." With that signal Gaul lowered himself and then sprung forth, leaping a great distance with me following in a low flight path as I watched the young villain jump outwards to the edge of the city. Of course, we were not alone. As it seemed that Gaul's partner was following behind us at some distance. As long as they did not interfere it made no difference to me.

At the speed we were moving it took only a few minutes and we were outside of the city. Several miles so in fact as we both landed in the desert outside of San Diego. I cast a gaze at Gaul now that we had some privacy from prying eyes. "You are more powerful. I can sense it. No doubt that you have built and expanded on the foundations that I have bestowed upon you." A confident smile creased across my face, as I gave a bit of honesty. "Truthfully, I look forward to the day that you surpass me. Naturally, without the aid of your special nature." The smile then slowly faded. "But that is not today. Do you believe that I have learned nothing new myself? That because I am a mother and instructor that I have been sitting aside? And there are secrets, that I have not shown even you Gaul. Of course, had you stayed, you may be a master of such arts." It was subtle at first, but Gaul would no doubt notice immediately. That I had already begun to channel my energy as pebbles began to float into the air. Then larger rocks as I took a fighting stance.

"Gaul, I am going to respect the progress you have made thus far. I will not be holding back in this battle. There is too much on the line for that. So now, show your sensei the strength of your convictions." I was now thankful that we took this outside of the city, as it was a mystery as to how powerful Gaul has become. But on the other side, he has also never seen me in a battle where I was fully committed either. His damage empowerment will be my problem. I will need to go all in, and try to defeat him in as few moves as possible. And if that fails, then there is always the hidden technique. One which I had never entrusted to Gaul.

[Anxiety Cafe]

Wonder Island

After getting back from LA, Nathan was more than willing to go on whatever mission the team had for him next. He felt like he hadn't done anything in forever, and the spying he had done, despite his guilt, somehow rejuvenated him more than his attempted naps. The multiple injuries, dirt, and tired faces he received when watching his teammates come back were more than enough to discourage him from pestering them about when the next mission was, or even about how theirs went.

He decided instead to take a shower, and to meet his teammates after they got some R&R. However, after his shower he could only find Mars and Kiris in the kitchen, cooking something. The others had left for yet another mission, unbelievably leaving him behind again. He was more than astonished, he was angry. He had gotten a lot more work done on taking down vicious groups like Lycan as a solo vigilante than he did as part of a team, especially since his timing was horrendous when it came to missions. He didn't even have a clue about what their mission was, yet again, until they came back with the one person Nathan had least expected to see: Red.

Nate's feelings on Red were mixed. He didn't really know the guy that well, and while he had believed throughout the entire ordeal that Red was in fact framed, he certainly knew Red had the capability and lack of moral responsibility to do something similar, if he had enough reasoning. Nathan supposed the others would think the same things about him, if they knew about his adventures as a vigilante, but they just wouldn't understand. Lycan was a terrorist group, and its members and fighters were nothing better than scum. They stood in the way of taking down a large and organized terrorist group! It was a classic hero vs villain fight Nathan had been fighting, similar to one of his idols. He had only been doing what a hero does.

He enjoyed a nice pasta dinner while mulling over his feelings, conversing with Red a little bit but doing little more. If Red's story was true, then Nathan choosing to undertake side jobs against Lycan couldn't possibly go well. He would just have to put his mission, his parents, on a back burner while he worked up his reputation as a hero. Only then could he reveal to the public the truth about Lycan that many were clueless to: just how cruel it was.

After the little relaxation party, Nathan was more than determined to be on time for the team meeting scheduled the next morning, departing and sleeping early and setting an early alarm. There was no way he was going to miss another mission!

---

Algiers

It took half a day to find the prison, but only because the nice man who drove them in his truck was seemingly incapable of going faster than thirty miles per hour. Nonetheless, Asha still had plenty of time on her survival clock for them to somehow infiltrate the prison and find the worst of the worst of the criminals. She hadn't a clue how to get in, though, and she suspected the man/beast beside her had no clue either. Wanting to leave but also reluctantly accepting the responsibility of having to help the man, Asha turned to him.

"Any plans on getting in?" she whispered, crouching down despite the fact that no one else was around. "Or even where the maximum security area is?"

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

Wonder Island, July 9th

Meanwhile Naja received an email from a local hero who went by the name Blizzard, it included information on the vampires responsible for producing the Blood Drug. She passed that along to Roy, Mars, and Park who were currently working diligently to discover the location of the leaders, Mars having taken some crucial documents from the facility they raided. It included sale receipts, and email communications between people that Mars assumed were involved. The most import thing Mars found was a check book, filled with checks made out to "San Pharmaceuticals". They then did some research on the company and discovered their headquarters was on in the center of the city on El Cajon street, through the information from Blizzard, but there was little else information about the company.

"This is it, this where the heads of the snake are. I'm sure of it." Roy said confidently to the group.

Park In-hyun, Wonder Island

It's a miracle that Red was secured. She didn't join, partially because she was involved in investigating the location of the drug dealers and the main production center. Luckily, as soon as the rest of the YB members arrived at the base with Red, Naja received email from a local hero named Blizzard. Information of the Blood Drug, the production, the producers, all of it. Park was happy, beyond relief. "San Pharmaceuticals? That is one of our venture," Park told the rest, as well as to Mars and Roy. "We keep the information closed, but it is basically our honest venture to do pharmaceutical-based research and productions. The technology is state-of-the-art, and we dabbled on supernatural powers, so I guess it is logical for them to produce it at one of our ventures that has the more advanced tech," she concluded.

"I guess I will make a call to my father and asks him to close every exit routes possible for the vampires to make sure we can put all of the bad eggs in one basket and finish them, justice or not justice," she said. She returned to her room to makes the call.

[The Republic of Atria]

When the two arrived home it was to his parents who looked happy to see him, but somewhat less happy to see Naligura with him. "I will be taking my leave, child. Practice what you have learned as much as possible, I will return in a few weeks and we shall work on your more advanced training." She explained firmly and then left as quickly as she arrived.

Once they were sure she was actually gone, his father spoke up. "I can't say that I approve of the two of you spending so much time together." He started. "After everything she's done... She wants to take our son away?"

"Father, she's not taking me away or anything like that. She's providing training in skills I can't get anywhere else. I know you guys really don't like her, I wasn't around for the crap she put everyone through, so I apologize for not considering your perspective."

"It's fine." His mother replied. "We understand that she is the only one who can show you how to use your abilities properly. We are just afraid of what she'll do if you decide that her ideology isn't for you. We love you more than anything in the world. Spirits forbid she do anything to harm you."

Wyatt thought for a moment. Sure, she and him disagreed on a lot but she didn't seems malicious. He wondered if he should tell them that she confessed to not being nearly as powerful as she used to be. It would put their minds at ease at least a bit. They deserved that peace with how much danger he's been in lately. "She... Told me that her powers aren't what they used to be and that she tries to avoid using them more than she has to. Whatever she did to survive that ice bomb thing took it's toll on her. I'll be fine, promise." He replied and hugged the both of them. "I've got backup if she tries any nonsense, benefits of being a superhero!" He boasted. It wasn't the most accurate of one since he wasn't really close to any of the Young Bloods. "Anyways, I should get back to the team. I've already got a habit of leaving them alone for awhile and it's one I should break. Love you guys, see you this evening!" His hugged the both of them one last time before changing into his glamour and heading out the door.

He started his walk towards Wonder Island. Was it just him, or was he seeing more military convoys and soldiers all over the place in the last few days? They didn't look like standard military, the vehicles looked much sleeker and he swore he saw someone with a suit of power armor, or a really large robot with a symbol that he swore he'd seen before. Smartphones were a beautiful invention, he pulled his out and looked up the symbol, what he saw changed his mood from quite good to a bit unnerved. The symbol belonged to that of Warwolf, supposedly just some PMC, but there were rumors floating around that they had it out for supers and non-humans. He never bothered to research it since it never concerned him until now since he was a super non-human. Regardless he decided that he would have to be careful and grateful that his magic kept him hidden. The thought of his parents being in danger crossed his mind, but he relaxed when he remembered that they had Orro with them and he wouldn't let anything happen to them.

He breathed out a sigh of relief as he arrived at Wonder Island. Once the coast looked clear, he dropped his glamour and flew over the water to the base and entered. "Oh... Hey guys. I'm back." He spoke nervously as he entered the main room.

All the power on the planet wouldn't be enough to make him less awkward.