Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

by **Finland SSR** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:32 am

Tomia wrote:July 17th, 2017

The Rebel Alliances wrote:
Scott Green/Spectrum-Wonder Tower-July 17, 2017

Watch out, Julius Caesar. You've got a challenger in multitasking expertise.

This morning, Renata got the chance to do three tasks at once - dry her hair with a towel and a powerful hair dryer, slip into her casual shoes AND press her phone to her ear with her shoulder in order to talk with her father. And that's just the tip of the iceberg - don't forget talking, you know, having a normal conversation, and walking from wall to wall across her small compact room on Wonder Tower in classic Renata fashion.

The hair drying was, to be honest, the most annoying task. Renata's hair, much like the rest of her body, absorbs electromagnetic radiation, including heat, so you can't just warm it up and watch it dry. Towels, lots of towels, and lots of strong dry wind are the only things that work, making the entire process tedious to the bone. Add in the fact that Renata liked to have her hair flowing and long... and you would be correct if you guessed that this process usually takes hours. Trying to slip into her shoes while not looking at the ground had nothing on it. Neither did the phone conversation. Just two people talking to each other in Spanish.

"...so, yeah, as I said, I am a Young Blood now." Renata explained, in a laconic and clear manner. The voice on the other side moved away from the phone for a few seconds, sending a few indescipherable orders to someone nearby before turning back to speak:

"Really, Renata? Last I heard from you, you were adamant that you were going to work alone. What happened?"

Renata twiddled a strand of her hair for a few seconds, thinking how to answer, before trying to get out of the question with "I changed my mind."

Silver was not the type to back down from a question, however, and continued:

"You're not the type to just change your mind like that, Renata, I know. Something must have happened, what was it?"

Renata growled in response. "It's nothing important, Dad. Just changed my mind."

"Are they a some kind of teenage rebel group? The name does sound a little... what do those United Statesians say... 'edgy', right?"

"No, they're not... at least I don't think so..."

"Or is there someone out there you took a particular liking for?"

"What?! No!!"

Renata's angry and flustered reaction drew out a hearty laugh from her father, lasting for a good few seconds and only irritating her even more. However, despite the amusement he got out by poking his daughter like that, Silver decided to not push it, and instead moved on to other matters.

"I got my finance department to take care of your ticket purchases - they got a little frustrated that they have to take care of such minute government purchases, but all was fine in the end. You're bringing your team to Quito, I suppose?"

"It's mid July already and I'd imagine most of them haven't gotten a chance to have a real vacation yet."

"Makes sense. If you don't mind, we'll try meet your plane in the airport, depending on whether we're free on that time, of course. I need to see first hand whether the lot you've thrown yourself into is a good influence."

"What?! Dad, I'm pretty much an adult, you don't need to look after my life so closely!"

"I've already given you plenty of leeway by letting you go to the United States without my supervision - who knows where you might end up out there if left unchecked? I have to keep everyone's interests at heart, you know? Including yours, even if you might think otherwise."

"But-"

"I don't really have much time left to talk, so good luck out there, Renata! If you can, recommend some of your friends to consider Quito after high school. We're always in search of talented youngsters."

"Wait-"

An ever so familiar beeping sound informed the heroine that the call was over. And judging from how he ended it, Silver most likely had no plans to receive a repeat. So, outside of thinking What in the world was that about? to herself, Renata decided to drop the issue, put the phone back in its pocket and began preparing to leave. Her hair was now sufficiently dry and clean - all she needed to do was to take out a few vitamin D pills, drink them down with a nearby glass of water, pick up the pretty pink envelope with her gift and step out of the room.

They said something about gathering in the living room, right? The same one they had pizza in after the San Pharma mission a week ago? Renata remembered either Alexis or Kiris telling her something like that, not sure which. Those two were the brains behind the organization of this surprise party for Mars and Wyatt. And yes, they were preparing for a birthday party. That's what the envelope was for.

Well, no time for waiting around. Starting with a fairly slow stroll, Renata built up momentum until she was running across the corridors and stairs of the tower at breakneck speed, rushing past room after room until reaching the target area, where some of her teammates had already gathered, at which point she came to a sudden halt, taking a deep breath, and exclaimed:

"Heey, sorry I'm late!" Immediately after, her eyes caught the sight of Scott - an another newbie in the team. He was not a part of the San Pharma mission, but rather joined the team during the last few days - and as Renata was new just like him, they quickly got into conversation. Scott was, as far as she could tell, friendly and talkative all around, but oddly not as expressive and open as one might imagine a person like that to be. Maybe she was being a little too suspicious here, but it's almost like his friendliness felt overly standard and stereotypical. Nothing for her to worry too much about, however, especially since they had only talked a few times before. "Hello to you too, Scott!"

Given that this was a day of leisure and party, Renata didn't turn up in her skintight Stella costume, although that should have been obvious. Instead, she was wearing a light yellow blouse with a white shirt underneath, and a long slightly reddish skirt. Even her hairdo was slightly different - instead of forming two ponytails, her hair freely flowed down, reaching up to her waist.

"So, anything left to go over before letting the two in?"

The Great Floyd Tolson!

The last week has been... inconsequential. As it turns out, Warwolf is not just good at fighting supers - they're pretty damn good at avoiding them, too. Always going on their patrols and missions in squads too large for him to take on without anyone calling reinforcements in time, dealing with any villains and thugs so quickly that their footprints are already cold by the time anyone else reaches the scene, so on and so forth... Honestly, Floyd was getting a little irritated. His fists were itching, ready to punch through some power armor, but he just couldn't find the chance to.

Screw it. Cut the bullshit. Instead of hunting down some random units, Floyd opted to just attack the source of the operation. Or, at least, one of the sources of the operation. Sure, it will be risky... but the swordsman was optimistic in his chances. Plus, they can't call in reinforcements if he is attacking the reinforcements. Informants in Red Cape Bar, after a hefty tip, told Floyd that despite replacing San Diego Municipal Police as the law enforcement, Warwolf opted to not house themselves in the police headquarters, instead establishing a bunch of facilities as operation headquarters in and out of town. One of such headquarters - a secondary one, but an important one nonetheless - was established in a former abandoned hospital at the very edge of the town, in an industrial suburb mostly abandoned after much of the jobs there ended up outsourced. No patients - no hospital, and a cheap large building for Warwolf to buy out and establish a base in.

Which is where Floyd was driving towards with his stolen Mercedes, stopping about a block away from the target, next to an abandoned children's playground, and exiting the vehicle. It was the afternoon, at least officially - the sky was cloudy and dark, thus street lights were on despite it being 2 PM. Though there was a bit of a walk left until the first layer of fences and guards separating the base from the rest of the city, the roof and blocky structure of the hospital could already be seen from here. It didn't look as much like an evil military base as Floyd initially though - no anti-aircraft guns or evil banners on the roof, entire legions of soldiers marching around, or over the top constructions surrounding it. Just a large building.

Which, as one might guess, probably means that the real meat is inside. Or that they didn't have the time to do a full renovation of the building yet. Either one could work.

Floyd took out his trusted sword, slashing across the air with a satisfying sound as he did so, then began to walk forward. Not exactly trying to be noticed, keeping the blade close to the rest of his body as he stepped across the sidewalk, but not really trying to hide, either.

It's show time.

by **Segral** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 8:26 am

Carter Graystone
July 9

Just when it couldn't get worse.

They had been through Red's little escapade from prison, and two vampire-filled drug cartel conquests, nearly back-to-back-to-back, and now this??!! Warwolf?! He didn't know who the hell these guys were, as he wasn't exactly known for his amazing researching abilities, but from the look of it from the news, they were pretty goddamn serious. And not only that, they seemed very shady. Why would they need full control over San Diego if it was just a police force? If it was just a police force, why were they given so much power, enough to enact full curfews? And why would their leader be a "General" if they were superhuman cop, wouldn't they just have a regular police chief? These guys seemed more like a military force than an actual police force. And that meant one of two things. Either they were deployed military forces to briefly "protect" San Diego, or it was a coup.

Somehow, the latter seemed more likely.

He needed to go for a walk. Not just because he was feeling sick and didn't want to hear the shit coming out of the TV screen anymore, but also because his forearms were killing him. They were laced with light burns from Inferno, and even though they weren't that bad, they still hurt like hell. At first, he could tough through the pain, but it was baaad now, and he could barely rest his arm on anything without feeling sudden jolts of agony rocketing up his arm.

Time to head to the medbay.

It wasn't long before he reached the expansive, aggressively white room, lost in his own thoughts. Lumbering over to the huge medicine cabinet, he quickly swiped a roll of bandages, before searching for burn ointment. He searched through a few racks of everything from cough meds and aspirins to anesthesia and...pot, for some reason, before finally finding the burn dressings, holding them to the light as if reaffirming that it was, in fact, ointment, not weed. However, he was not alone in the room…

“Alright, now try bending it all the way forward and back. Nice and slowly.” Jacob explained to Yoshiro, his voice full of encouragement.

Nodding determinedly, the girl carefully extended and then folded her right leg, the effort causing a numb pain still to radiate out from her injury. She was standing in the medical bay, steadying herself with one hand on the bed railing as Jacob guided her through the series of simple exercises. The mission earlier in the week and the battle against Inferno, were already beginning to feel like increasingly distant memories. Yoshiro could hardly believe that the person in her memories was really her, that the team had really been able to pull something like that off. With Jacob’s help, the team was recovering quickly from their injuries, with most of them already back on their feet and diving back into their training. Yoshiro hadn’t quite been so lucky, her injuries requiring her to stay bedridden for a few days even despite the team nurse’s abilities – the hero explaining that it was better to limit the use of his powers lest he interfere with her body’s natural ability to heal itself.

“Very good, it looks like you’re getting your range of motion back. Try putting your weight on it and tell me if you feel any pain.”

Gingerly, Yoshiro lowered her foot until it touched the ground. Leaning over so that her weight was once again distributed on her own two legs, Yoshiro cautiously let go of the bed railing. Her right leg was shaking somewhat at the effort, but she also wasn’t falling over into an ignoble pile on the floor either. Without the bandages, Yoshiro’s leg looked like it had been brutalised. A line of stitches stretched across her kneecap, and a horrific bruise stretched from her thigh down to her lower shin, although fortunately most of the swelling had died down. The rest of her wasn’t exactly in pristine condition, and the girl found herself covered in a myriad of cuts and bruises that were still gradually healing with the assistance of the team’s designated doctor. After she had been standing on her own for nearly a minute, Yoshiro couldn’t help but look at Jacob with a smile. The young boy gestured with a hand for her to take a few steps forward.

“Make sure you keep one hand on the railing, just in case you lose balance.” Carefully, Yoshiro placed one foot in front of the other. The whole process was more of a nervous shuffle than a walk, but it was a significant improvement from the day before, and a much better state than she would have been without Jacob’s abilities helping her recovery. Concentrated on her efforts, Yoshiro didn’t even realise at first that someone else had walked into the room until she eventually reached the end of the railing. When she did look up, Yoshiro’s face lit up with a smile.

“Oh, hi Carter! I didn’t see you there.” She made to offer a friendly wave at the boy, but she accidentally let go of the rail in the process and nearly stumbled before hastily returning her grip with an embarrassed smile. “Hey, um actually – do you have a moment?” Yoshiro offered Jacob a nervous glance, which evoked a smirk from the teenager. Collecting a bag of equipment, Jacob began to make his way towards the exit.

“That’s all I wanted to get through today, Yoshi. Keep on trying to exercise if you can, and just give me a call if you start to feel any more pain, ok?” The Young Blood thanked the man as he left, before eventually she and Carter found themselves on their own.

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything and Yoshi found herself standing awkwardly as she tried to find the right words. Ever since the mission, she’d found herself recalling the feeling of Carter’s mind, it had been like a cloud of anger and confusion that had seemed to hang around him like a fog. It had made her think back to the night after they had rescued Red, when she had felt a similar sense of loss and uncertainty from Carter. She’d nearly forgotten about that encounter, taking her teammate’s insistence that everything was fine essentially at face value.

“Umm, so I kind of wanted to ask how you were going, you know? To see if everything was alright.” Yoshiro asked, her voice meandering somewhat.

“After everything that happened back there, with Inferno, I realised that the last time I’d really seen you was when we were having the meeting about Red. At the time, I just remember being scared and angry - I wasn’t really thinking.” She paused for a moment. “Looking back on it, I kind of realise that I’d completely forgotten that I was part of a team. That it wasn’t something which only affected me and that this is something which we all really care about and are putting a lot of effort into.” Fidgeting with her hands slightly, Yoshiro continued. “The things you said there, I disagreed with them - I still do. But I ignored how you felt, and of everyone on the team I shouldn’t have an excuse to do that. Look, Carter, I know that something’s weighing on you and I understand if you don’t want to tell anyone about it. But, I just kind of wanted to let you know that we’re all here for you no matter what.” The girl offered him a smile. “To tell you that we’re your friends.”

Carter looked a little taken aback at the words, staying silent for a couple seconds, a light red tinge creeping into his cheeks. He hadn’t expected anybody to ask about what was going inside his head so upfrontly, he honestly hadn’t expected anybody to ask about him. Granted, he basically lit up smoke signals in the air saying “I have severe mental issues.”, but he figured everybody else would be steering well clear of him.

“Uh...oh…” he started at last, trying to find the right words. “Er...thanks, I appreciate it. Look...I...I really do consider you guys my friends, my buds, my besties if we’re still 2000’s tweens, and I know you guys do too. I don’t want to see you guys get hurt, and...well...it seems like all I’m doing is just watching all of you guys get hurt, getting your bones broken, bruised, kidnapped by crazy Barbie dolls, and I’m the only one without a scratch. I keep feeling like I’m worthless, like I’m doing nothing to help you guys, like I’m getting in the way…” he trailed off, looking further embarrassed over spilling out all of his internal feelings to Yoshi.

The girl’s face lit up at Carter’s response, glad to hear that they accidentally pushed him away. She laughed a little bit at his insistence of being worthless. “Getting in the way? Carter, you took down Inferno - if you hadn’t been there then I don’t think that fight would have ended how it did.” Yoshiro didn’t elaborate, but she still felt a slight chill in her bones from the thought of how badly it all could have gone without even one of them being there. “Plus, back at the zoo you kept everyone alive when Dante let out her poison gas. It may not have been to flashy, you know, but we all owe you our lives a couple times over.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing, having heard Carter lay out his feelings, she still hesitated to present her own. “I...I kind of feel the same way sometimes, too. I can’t fight like you guys, I hardly know how to use my own powers, and in the middle of the mission I just watched how everyone worked together...I was kinda jealous, you know?” Yoshiro offered Carter a guilty smile at the admission.
“Angelica, Stella, Roy, Red, Nathan...they’re all just so spectacular all the time, and I was pretty much a fancy radio set.” Yoshiro shrugged. “But the way they all came to help me when I needed it, nobody ever once acted like I was a burden. They all just cared that we were willing to stand up and contribute.”

Carter seemed to brighten up a bit at Yoshi’s praise, giving off a slight grin of his own with a little more redness seeping into his cheeks. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, I’ve had my moments. Trust me though, you’re definitely a lot more than a fancy radio set, I would’ve had no chance to take down Inferno without you. Oh yeah, and that stuff you did against Inferno? You basically saved Frost…Bite’s life.” Realizing he was rambling a bit, he paused for a breath. “Anyways, the point is, you’re anything but a radio comm.”

Bandages and ointment in hand, he began to walk away, before turning back to face her right before he headed through the door. “Thanks, Yoshi. Glad to know I can count on you...and everyone.” He then swung back around, and strode out the door, a new spring in his step and a smile on his lips.

by **Agritum** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 11:19 am

Skies of the San Diego sprawl, 16th July

"Hey Ellery. Daddy calling. Sorry if I forgot to tell you happy birthday a few weeks ago. This supermax prison is not really understanding when it comes to parent's needs. Don't worry though, the stay is good, aside from the heavy de-powering manacles they've put on me. I haven't heard from Baal in quite a while, which made fights a bit harder to handle. I'm still going strong though. Daddy will be coming home soon, I just have to go through this extra-planetary prison rehabilitation process before we can talk again. Blame the government and the shitty laws they pass. Court is full of pinko liberals nowadays. When I'm coming back the Doublekills are going to be a thing again, keep the guns ready. Love, Overkill."

Elle Bastion shut off the voicemail on her Sikorsky Blackhawk's control panel, her face collapsing into her palm. An octet of skeletal legs climbed to her shoulder, attached to the fat, bulbous body of a black spider, a red streak going through it. "MISSING DADDY, LITTLE ELLY? WHY DID YOU LEAVE HIM TO ROT IN A FEDERAL PRISON EONS OF LIGHTYEARS AWAY, FOR YOUR LITTLE SAN DIEGO HOLIDAY? IS THIS HOW A DAUGHTER IS SUPPOSED TO BEHAVE? VERY, VERY BAD ELLERY"".

"Firstly, Baal, you shut the fuck up. Secondly, my dad is in prison for very real reasons, and I'm not going to trample on the law after he got through all the possible appeals courts he could afford to. Thirdly, this is not an holiday. I'll be studying at Thomsen, get my degree, and look into work with the Young Bloods there. We've discussed this already, you little arachnid shit, so don't dare bring it up again or I'm tearing all your stunty legs off and putting pencils in their stead."

"FINE"

Shadowkill glared at her pet spider demon thing a couple more, before shifting her gaze at the instrumentation. Wonder Island was still five minutes away, but it felt closer and closer by the moment. "Finally" Elle thought. A new start for her, a new start for Shadowkill, and maybe a new start for the legacy of her family. The Bastion/Kills had been tarnished as cruel vigilantes for too much time. Elle sought to change that, much to Baal's chagrin.

A voice screeched through her radio.

"Unidentified military flyer, this is Warwolf Air Command for the San Diego airspace, duties regularly delegated by the San Diego Airport Authority. Please provide identification and heading".

Elle eyed the radio with annoyance. She adjusted her headset. "This is Killacopter 666, heading is none of your fucking business, this helicopter doesn't carry weapons. What are you, the fucking National Guard? Try shooting me down and you're starting a nationwide, shit, a worldwide crisis. Get back to trafficking Cessnas through terminals, you fucking pigs."

She shut the channel with a quick flick of a finger. "Fucking mercs. Come here like they're motherfucking Rambos and start ordering everyone around like they know the place like the palm of their hand. What in the flying fuck was the mayor even thinking? What the fuck is the Governor even doing? Last time I saw this sort of shit me and dad were fighting some Narcobosses down in blasted South America, for fuck's sake."

"I LIKE WHEN YOU DO MONOLOGUES. YOU ALSO USE THE WORD 'FUCK' AND RELATIVE VARIATIONS PRETTY OFTEN. VERY GOOD.

"You really want those pencil legs, don't you?"

The Blackhawk soon made its way to the outcrop of Wonder Island, buzzing loud enough to be heard by anyone outside or near to a window. Shadow didn't bother about stealth in such a context. She began scanning the soil and roofs, looking for an helipad, while her hand fidgeted with the radio, trying to put it on the island's own channel.

She had contacted headmistress Naja a few weeks, before, outlining her arrival route. From what she recalled, the elder heroine's tone on the phone had not seemed enthusiastic. At least they wouldn't have shot her down.

"YOU MUST DO A SCENIC ARRIVAL, OTHERWISE YOUR POWER MAY FIZZLE A BIT"

Shadow instantly turned towards Baal, shooting another deadly glare. "You fucking cunt! That's how low you can go, threatening me with depowerment right when I'm about to introduce myself to my classmates, unless I please your obsession for edgy shit?"

"YES"

Elle sighed. She manuevered the copter away from the newly discovered helipad, and veered it towards the side of the main dorm building, lowering it so that it was level to the window of the common room. It wasn't going to be a nice first impression, rest assured.

"MUSIC"

Shadow flicked a switch, activating the copter's loud speakers and the MP3 player simultaneously. The words 'SLAUGHTERING PLAYLIST' flashed on the LCD screen of the player before pounding, bass-boosted drums started playing noisily, making the window shake hard with reverb. She stood up, opened the side door of the copter, and aimed an harpoon gun at the top of the building, shooting it.

"OOOOOOH-AHAHAHAHA"

Shadow jumped forward in slow motion, aiming foot first at the window of the common room, shattering the glass in a thousand pieces, simultaneously launching an handful of gas grenades in the room, rolling on the ground before standing up and advancing on the students, mask on.

SKRRRRRRRRRRRRRT

The music stopped, the spooky gas gradually started dying down, and Elle removed her skull mask, trying to smile in the most friendly way possible after such a catastrophic entrance. "Hello there, I'm Shadowkill but you can call me Elle. I'm from Southern California, Death Valley, and I've just enrolled in the school. You're part of the Young Bloods, right? Well, I apologize for my sudden entrance, it's a long story, eheheh."
she introduced herself, scratching her hair embarassedly.

A rocky start.

People don't like getting their common rooms smashed, especially if they're secretly planning a birthday party for their pals. Elle found it out the hard way, as the school head quickly discovered her talent for learning movements quickly, forced her to watch home repair shows and swiftly sent her to repair her own damage.

The Blackhawk ended up confiscated by the school authority.

"See how they treat you? Take your revenge, ruin the party for them, make it hell on this is----"

Shadow kicked Baal away. "Shut the fuck up and let me work." she grumbled, finishing to drill the new frame in, just in time to feel the pathetic sensation of depowering.

"Oh, fuck you, you dumb spider."

Scott and Renata soon followed into the room, prompting much embarrassment for the vigilante sidekick-turned-handiwoman.

"Ahah, good morning.... Peeps." she started, not even recalling their names. Her introduction had been hurried to say the least. "How you doing?"

by **The Rebel Alliances** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:59 pm

Alexis Cain/Vendetta-Outrider Base, San Diego-July 17, 2017

The last week has been busy for everyone involved. Brianna and Nightraven have been doing recon on the various gangs and their holdouts around here. Nick has been trying to dig as much into Warwolf as possible without exposing our operation here. And Christopher has been supplying us with new weapons and equipment, more importantly, he has been training me to actually use them effectively. The training started seven days ago when he dropped off the first new package. And honestly after seeing what I could do, he was surprised I was still alive. We are starting small, he is limiting what I am trained with to smaller arms for now. Such as hand guns, assault rifles and basic explosives such as grenades and the like. Shotguns as well. He admitted that when he supplied sniper rifles and RPGs, he thought I was much more adept then I actually am. But all in all, he says I have a talent for it. That I am a fast learner and do not make the same mistakes too many times. Aside from all of that, everything else was just renovating the base and making visits to Kyle and the other kids.

As of right now I am learning to storm rooms and corners and engage in proper close quarters combat. Christopher was bigger than me, stronger and a helluva lot better at this than I am. He never expected me to beat him. But to learn. I blocked a blow and then another but his superior strength was pressuring me, I had no chance to counter attack.

It was too late before I realized that he had me cornered and pinned against the wall.

"You have got to mind your surroundings Alexis. If you lose the ability to move freely your dead. And it only gets easier to get trapped when you are faced with real super humans." Releasing the pressure from me he continued. "If you are really good, then you can use your surroundings to your advantage instead of having them used against you. Combat is about seizing every advantage possible. You are good for your age and the time you have been training, but you are not competing for prizes. You screw up tomorrow your dead."

He was right. It would be pointless to tell him that, we both know already.

"So, go another round?" I requested, hoping he would say yes. But he shook his head.

"I have to leave. Look, but I got you something extra. It's in the crate over there." He motioned with a wide arm as he lit up a cigar. Moving over to the package I removed the top of it and looked upon a new outfit for field operations.

As I picked up the new helmet which came with the outfit I noticed a very distinct 'V' shaped visor which was colored a deep crimson. It was fitting, and Christopher must have saw that as he explained the outfit.

"That will hide your identity as best it can, considering your stunt with the prison. Also, it comes equipped with compartments for easy comparing of extra magazines of ammunition. If you are well stocked, you should have no issue running out of ammo in a fight. It also has two holsters for side arms, one on the right side of the rib cage and another on the left thigh. Space for two combat blades. Kevlar mesh beneath the outer layer to add some protection against enemy fire. But still use cover. Overall, a hell of a lot better than that motorcycle outfit you used to use. What do you think?" Setting the helmet back into the crate and standing up I smiled at him in thanks.

"Perfect, appreciate your donation." He exhaled some smoke in response.

"Good, because finding a unit in your size was a pain in the ass. Enjoy the toys Alexis. Put em to good use. I have to go." I wiped some sweat from my brow as I watched him leave. Then paced over to my cell phone which was laying on top of a table and found I had a missed call and a message.

Red?

We had met up once in the last week. Said he owed us and would find some time to come on over and talk about how we may be able to cooperate with him inside the Young Bloods. Nick was skeptical, but the guy has skills. He told me that it took him four days to locate me even after learning my name. He found me when I was out riding my motorcycle.

Listening to the message it was what I expected. That he was coming over for us to talk about how we could help each other. That was good enough for me. The call was made a hour or so ago so he should be here any minute assuming he left after he made the call or even before. With that said, I picked up my new gear and headed to the train. We several train cars down here including a kitchen, dining area, a few room cars and a passenger car.

I then called Nick and informed him to let Red know I am waiting for him in the 'passenger' car and he told me that when he gets here he would send him my way. Climbing into the train I had already moved all of my belongings into one of the room cars, and this one here was just rows of seats, and we treated it as a meeting area. Picking a seat and making myself comfortable, I waited for what was hopefully going to be a useful ally to arrive.

by **Turmenista** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 3:21 pm

Finland SSR wrote:
Turmenista wrote:

The Great Floyd Tolson

Johnny Swift

This is how they were spending their weekend. Trailing the goth cousin of the Mystery Mobile through the rough part of town in a run down hoopty of a Mercedes. The premise of this sounded so ridiculous, so silly, that anyone who'd dare to listen to the story either one of them would undoubtedly tell could hardly believe it. But, it was happening: albeit a good distance away to leave out the suspicion of some mercedes following them, they were trailing the van through the dark corners of town.

Floyd's commentary was all the more hilarious too. "It's like I'm here to fix your life. Beat up your school bully for you - check. Slice your ex's throat so you could finally forget about her and find someone new - about to be check. What, are you going to ask me to find you a university of choice next? Because, to be clear, I have no clue, I didn't even finish high school."

"No, we — no.." Johnny shook his head in disbelief, as if he'd heard that line a long time before. "We're not here to kill Clara, we're just here to — you know what — okay. Fuck me sideways. It's complicated, Floyd, aight?" He looked forwards at the van a car-length's distance ahead of them, separated by some jabroni on a nice looking motorcycle. "She and I.. we're.. — well, we were close, y'know. Long story short, she's now hanging out with these bozos for god knows why. All I know is, her little Weirdo Clique she's in is up to no good, and she knows it. I've no idea what exactly they've got planned but they've been snooping around preparing for something. Just doesn't feel right."

He paused. "God, I just feel like punching Keith in his god damn no-"

The motorcyclist suddenly switched lanes and sped past the van at full speed, giving Johnny and Floyd only about five seconds to realize that the rear doors of the van were wide open, allowing Gabriel Queen — one of the members of the clique, to poke his head out, waving at the duo inside of the car. Clara, in the passenger seat, looked on in pure boredom.

Johnny reluctantly waved back at him before he realized that Gabriel had actually had his palm open, allowing a blade-like bone to protrude from his palm, much to Johnny’s horror. “What in the goddamn...?”

The arm-sized bone shot out of Gabriel’s palm like a spear, embedding itself deep in the hood of the car. Johnny’s jaw dropped as the car suddenly stopped its usual vibrating, the car simply moving across the ground by solely it’s momentum. “Motherfuckin—“ he rolled down the window, scowling at Gabriel with a look of pure “what the fuck” on his face. “Did you just kill our engine?”

Gabriel shouted back at them. “I’ll kill more than just your car, speedy!”

“Try me, you Marilyn Manson looking mother fu-“

Clara snapped her fingers together and the van sped off, whilst the car was filled with the sound of seemingly bird wings fluttering. Snapping his head around to the rear of the car, he saw ravens filling his vision, while the rest of the car was filled with the black birds seemingly enveloping everything that was once remotely considered a “car”, turning it into a “bird.”

Johnny’s ass hit the street hard as he broke into a roll, tumbling across the street before coming to a stop on his side, groaning. The van then executed a u-turn and sped towards them — lest he be run over, Johnny quickly rolled to the side and watched the van disappear, leaving the two, quite literally, in the dust.

“What. The. Fuck.”

by **Segral** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 3:58 pm

Carter Graystone
July 17

"IT'S TIME TO PARTAAAAYY!!!!"

The yell, one that had a good chance of echoing through the entire tower had the walls not been so thick, came as Carter strolled through the door of the living room, with many a thing in his hand. The first was a ukulele, for some odd reason. The others were these strange guns that looked like modified pistols. And the last was Carter, straw fedora placed upon his head and a grin stretching from ear to ear. The rest of his ever-flamboyant attire consisted of red checkered shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of absurd looking cowboy boots.

"Howdy all!" he cheerfully greeted with a slight Iowan twang radiating through his voice. Most of the faces were familiar to him, but there were two that were a bit...new to him. One was a brunette repairing the broken window, an incident from which he still bore a few cuts from when the broken glass showered on him during a rerun of Corner Gas. The other was a black-haired guy who apparently made light walls, or something like that, he wasn't really sure of the details. No matter though, they'd grow to love him...or most likely hate him.

"Check what Alexis made! I came up with the idea!" he continued on, holding up one of the modified pistols. Grabbing the leather grip with both hands, he aimed the sight directly at Stella's face and pulled the trigger. But instead of bullets or pellets, all that came out was a firecracker-like noise and a shower of multi-colored rainbow streamers, promptly fluttering into Stella's face. "Pretty cool, right?"

Sir Edward Whilton of York

Chapter 1: The Quest of Alleys

It was a dark night on the village streets as Edward slowly trotted on horseback through the winding, crowded roads of Manhattan. Only...it wasn't directly on the streets, he was travelling through the alleys, the name the other villagers' had for gaps in the buildings. His body was still sore after those witches attacked him, and tied him up, hangign from the ceiling, no less. They kept interrogating him over something called "The Night Circus", which sounded like a circus held in the night, what else would it mean?! And asking him to join their little group of witches! Well, no thank you, he had his own pursuits to go after.

One of which was riding on horseback through the alleys of Manhattan.

The only light came from the moon, and the strange forever-lasting light globes called streetlights. It was a miracle how far everyone had come in the last 900 years or so! Metal carts that drive all by themselves, magical windows showing peculiar sporting events, although there was no jousting, for some odd reason. They now had these cool boxes to keep your food safe (and delicious), and the best of them all, books! Never had he seen so many books! He could learn about anything, and he needed to learn about lots of things. Fortunately, he had. He learned about what the new village roads were made of, what trains were, who had the world record in skydiving, where one jumps out of the sky with a exploding pack on their backs. But he still had much to learn.

However, there was one important thing he had learned;

Go to the Old Whisky for ale.

The Old Whisky was the best little alehouse he had been to, with marvelous ales and other fabulous drinks like rum and this new invention called B-52. There was always a plenty fun, boisterous crowd of men and women alike, the magical windows had these amazing "basketball games" playing, and there was even a darts board and a snooker table! Some of the other patrons had taught him to play both, and he was quite good! He went there every night to have fun, and the owner Marvin (such a strange name) even gave him money in exchange for cleaning pitchers and placing fruits inside!

He was heading home from the Old Whisky, his head swimming and a pleasant buzz in his ears. Harold was making a very pleasant, rolling movement, as he clopped through the dark walls. The walls seemed a bit unfamiliar, he wasn't quite sure if he's taken a right or a left on 11th Avenue. But he would find his way, he was a master horseman, he had maneuvered his way through the greatest of hurdles with ease! He moved through the fields of Damascus without taking a single arrow!

However, he soon heard something. He wasn't sure if the buzz in his ears was getting louder, but he could hear men speaking. Men speaking! Maybe they would have directions! The voices were coming from the right...left...straight....left, yes, left! Yanking on Harold's reigns and clumsily jamming his heel into the horse's side, the skeleton whinnied in protest and twisted to the left, snout and head poking across the corner, before suddenly rearing up again with a scared cry. Harold stepped back, trembling as if it wanted to bolt. "Whoa!" Edward cried in a wonky voice, pushing the horse back down. "Calm, what's the matter?" he asked, running his hand over the horse's neck and leaning forward to see what was the disturbance. And looking back right at him was....

by **United Kingdom of Poland** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 8:48 pm

If there was one thing Wendy loved about her new home on Wonder Island, it was having her own bath. Having grown up at less than stellar motels and a foster home with more kids in it than minutes available in the morning to get ready, being able to spend time sitting soaking in the water was a previously unknown luxury.

Even though the past week had been officially considered down time for the team, Wendy hadn’t had much time to herself between help the police decode the information she’d obtained from the San Pharmaceutical raid, helping Mars program his robot, working with Mars and Alexis to update the islands defenses, and helping set up for the double surprise birthday party. She’d spent hours simply relaxing in the war water before Roys call sent her into a flurry of activity. Quickly drying herself off and dressing up in the outfit she’d picked for the party, a royal blue blouse tucked into a black knee-length skirt with black stockings underneath, she opened the door.

“Hey Roy.” She sheepishly said as she collected her damp black hair into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic. “Is everything okay?”

“Ya, everything’s okay Wendy, sorry if I made you rush to the door.” He said noticing her wet hair and the time it took for her to answer. “You look great by the way.”

Roy decided his compliment of her outfit was bit awkward so he quickly got to his point. “I’m here because, I wanted to ask you about something, Warwolf. I’m sure you heard about what happened to Duke, it’s all over the news. There’s a protest scheduled for tomorrow and I want to be there. I think it’s a good opportunity to try to get close to Warwolf, and find out anything we can about what they’re doing here. So… What do you think?”

Wendy bit her lip. Unlike some of the others, she hadn’t been against the idea of someone else helping out the police after seeing first hand how many had been bought and paid for by the vampires. And even if they had some sort of ulterior motive against powered individuals like what Roy was suggesting, she was a pretty good poster child for why people with powers needed someone to keep them in check. More importantly, she knew all about what had happened to Duke. If Roy was caught inside their base, she knew he’d receive the same treatment if not worse.

“What exactly is your plan?” She asked him. “And why are you bringing this up now?”

“Right now I’m kind of winging it if I’m being honest. But I’m not planning to try waltz into their headquarters if that’s what worried about.” He said before pausing. “I’ve been looking into them for a week, this seems to be the only real opportunity where there will be variables that Warwolf can’t control. I want be there while there in action, that seems like the best opportunities to find openings to exploit. And honestly, I know some of the people who are going to be at this protest. I want to be there for them if things go south.”

Wendy nodded, a little smirk growing on her face as he told her about the friends he was looking out for. It was the part of him that she had fallen for, the guy who would go through hell and high water for you regardless of what you had done. That smirk disappeared after she realized this wasn’t something he was bringing to the rest of the team.

“So what do you need me for?” She asked, suddenly apprehensive at what his plan might entitle. “I not sure how much help I’ll be watching your back at the rally if things go south.”

“Well, I can prepare for most things, but you have skills that I have no way of replicating. If something comes up where we need to jam a signal, or an opportunity to hack a radio, your skills are invaluable.” Then Roy couldn’t help but blush. “And besides, it’s an excuse to spend time with you. I know a superhero protest isn’t exactly a great place for a date but…. I know things will be easier with me if I can be by your side while they’re happening.”

Wendy was speechless as Roy proposed turning the recon mission into a first date, a blush growing across her face. “Wellifneedmetohelp...Imightknowagoodresturantnearthere…” Taking a second to compose herself she took a deep breath. “I’d love too Roy, but how are we going to get this past Naja. I doubt she’ll take kindly to us putting the team at risk like this. I mean unless we’re planning on using the date as an excuse to go out there…”

Roy couldn’t help but smile at Wendy’s near panicked reaction to his mention of a date. “Well, I don’t want you to think it’s just an excuse, but that sounds like it might work. You’re right, Naja probably would try to stop us if we told her we were going to the protest. But you know, just so we’re not completely lying to her… We can go on a real date afterwards if you’d like.”

“It sounds like a date then.” Wendy said with a smile before looking back at her clock. “I should probably get going.” She told him as she put on her shoes.. “I’m suppose to be playing decoy for Mars so he doesn’t walk in on the suprise… you know how old systems like all the ones on the island are… somethings always breaking or throwing a fit somewhere.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Roy said with a smile. “I should probably go help with the set up anyway.” Then he bent down slightly, giving Wendy a soft kiss on the cheek. “See you at the party Wendy.” He said softly in her ear before turning and leaving.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:55 pm

The day started well, his parents spinring for a large chocolate cake and telling him how proud they were of his superheroing, even if it scared them how much danger he was in. "Thank you. Hey, do you mind if I invite Kaban and Onu?" He asked and his parents nodded. He called them, Onu was the one to pick up. "Hey... Do you two want to come over for the day? We don't have a lot going on, but it'd be nice for you two to meet my parents."

"Of course. I need to go wake Kaban first, but we'll arrive soon." There was a loud SMACK that came from the phone. "Time to wake up! Bye Bael. We're coming." And she hung up.

Only now he realized that he didn't have much for them to do. He and Kaban would probably find some dumb game to play, most likely seeing who could throw the biggest rock the farthest. The idea made him snicker. Onu would probably just talk his parents about adult stuff and maybe give him some advice on his magic. It was then that Orro stepped in and Wyatt immediately realized that he and Kaban would probably hate each other. He explained the situation, but Orro didn't seem all that concerned.

"I know Kaban. Yes, he was angry, boastful and violent, but he's not difficult to get along with once you understand that. While I don't know what caused him to become the way he is now, I don't think it will be a problem. Unless Naligura shows up, but I doubt that. She said she'd come back in a few weeks, and I've counted them correctly, it's been just over one. I know you've been worried about your future and your group at the tower, but for one day. Relax. Look at what you're doing. Bringing your people together, regardless of their backgrounds. Not even an adult and you're behaving like a proper Elder."

Bael was really bad at taking compliments, and just looked at his feet. "Thanks. Onu gave me a history book to read and has been teaching me how to speak Dra'Qunni. Mother and Father have been helping as well. I've been switching between that and the magic guide she gave me. I'm still crap at magic, but I'll figure it out eventually. I think the problem is that I'm still scared of learning new things without a safety net. Like, there's a simple light orb spell, literally a magic light bulb, and I'm pretty sure if I tried to do that I'd make a mini sun and set the house on fire." He explained.

"Sorcery takes time to learn and even longer to master. Don't try to rush or force it. You have as much time as you need to practice. Don't overwhelm yourself. You're still a child, enjoy that time. And even when you grow, we'll be there to guide you. Small steps."

"Kahray." Bael replied.

"You're welcome." Orro replied just in time for Onu and Kaban to burst through the front door. Onu looking as affable as ever, while Kaban carried two crates of beer under his arms.

"BAEL." Kaban boomed. "Onu informed me that you are considered an adult by human standards. While intoxicating human drinks are much weaker than what we had, we'll make due with this." He said and put the cases on the counter. "I refuse to be outdone. Onu may be giving you adult knowledge, I WILL TURN YOU INTO AN ADULT!"

"Indoor voice Kaban." Bael said. "I... Didn't plan on getting drunk today, but I guess if my parents don't mind me having a beer or two..."

"Do it." His father spoke, almost commanding. "Not now, tonight. Even if you decide that you don't like drinking, once won't hurt. I believe exposing you to it in moderation will prevent you from overdoing it when you get older. I'm also not sure if the Elders could even becoming intoxicated."

"Anything'll get... Bael. What's the human phrase for getting very drunk?"

"There's like, a thousand. I think shitfaced is the most common one."

Kaban gave a slightly disgusted look. "Why would they rub that on their faces? That's disgusting."

"It's an expression. I didn't make it."

"Enough talking of rubbing our waste on each other." His mother spoke up. "Please. Now that everyone is here, come have some cake and we'll watch some movies. After that-" She was interrupted by Kaban tearing open the case of beer and thrusting the cold bottle into Bael 's hands.

"If we're watching poorly made human drek, we're doing it in a way that will be enjoyable. We'll turn it into a game. Whenever the characters do something stupid, we drink." Kaban insisted.

by **Absolon-7** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:22 pm

Casimir Herman, Jadwiga Herman Residence, July 10th - July 13th
Casimir needed a break. It's not like he didn't enjoy getting into all the fights he was getting into but that last vampire had done considerable damage to his back and he wanted give his body a chance to heal since duels are only fun if you start them at your best condition. Casimir decided spending a couple of days with his sister would be nice. He hadn't been face to face with his sister ever since he joined the team in what seemed a lifetime ago. He had texted and called her but seeing her in person hadn't occurred once. Once he notified Naja of his few days of absence, Casimir went out to the city straight to her apartment.

It would also be a surprise visit since he realized he forgot to notify her once he was halfway to her place. She wan't mad at his arrival but the sudden intrusion did make her demeanor a bit more heated. After a halfhearted scolding from her, she began to warm to him as usual and Casimir spent the afternoon telling her about what he did on the missions and what he thought of each of his teammates. Also as usual, she started taking jabs at his storytelling once she detected any part he exaggerated. The next few days the two spent playing video games, cleaning around the house, and going on errands where Casimir was forced to carry everything. On the last day, Casimir decided to go ask his sister something that's been nagging at him for a while. As he was preparing to go back to the tower, Casimir caught his sister in the living room binging on her latest Korean drama.

"Hey Jadwiga. Have you heard anything about Vivi? She hasn't responded to any call since graduation," asked Casimir in a hurt tone "I mean,
I know being so far away must be hard for her and I haven't talked to her as much as I should but I'd just don't like to be kept in the dark for so long."

"Didn't I tell you. She sent me a few postcards. Apparently she's taking a road-trip across the state," responded Jadwiga in a completely deadpan tone.

"What?" blurted out Casimir.

"Yeah, she's out sightseeing the state. Here's a couple of them," she said handing him a four different postcards "There's a Redwood National Park and Golden Gate bridge there. She even included a few pictures of herself at those places. It's so adorable."

"Did you think it might have been nice to, I don't know, tell me about it!"

"I was going to give them to you once you visit and here you are. And I am busy as hell with my job as a chef so I can't go to the post office willy nilly," she retorted but soon followed it up with a more sincere tone, "But to be honest I did forget. Sorry, młodszy brat."

"Fine, I don't want to make a dilemma out of it. Anyways, would you recommend normal pierogi or potato and cheese pierogi at a party? Or perhaps garlic bread?"

"Wait, what does that have to...I mean what does this have to do with your love life?"

"Nothing. It's two of my teamates' birthday soon and I'm debating whether I should buy them a gift each or give them homemade pierogi."

"Do they even like pierogi?" said Jadwiga still unfocused by the sudden shift in topics.

"Well, never mind. Maybe I'll do both. It be a shame if they didn't get to know that the great Kabuto cares for them as well."

"Yeah, it'd be a darn shame," she said exasperated but in a still affectionate way, "One would think being on a team would dull that pride of yours but I guess not. And this is bullheadedness is coming from the guy that got one shotted by a quote on quote 'middle aged electrician who turned to crime cause he couldn't afford to bankrupt himself'. Well that's your words not mine."

Casimir opened his mouth to retort but he honestly couldn't think of a comeback at least for now. Once again his sibling had bested him. After a few last words with each other, Jadwiga walked her brother to the door and the two exchanged hugs in departure. Before heading back to the tower, Casimir stopped by a few stores for the gifts and food he was going to make. He hadn't been there for the past three days so he'd probably be made to work overtime in preparing the party. Well, whatever. Working for my teammates doesn't sound too bad. Time flew by an inch by inch on the bus to the store. The low hum of air-conditioning filled the background drowning out the incessant racket of the fellow passengers. The blinding sunset contrasted with the increasing darkness of the sky. Meanwhile, shuffling the postcards from Viviana that filled his hands, Casimir got the notion in his head that he should take a look. It happened to be the earliest, dated on from Redwood National Park.

HEYO DORK! These trees are fucking huge! Like you could make a building out of them! Anyhow, sorry I haven't called back. I may have forgotten to pay my phone bill before I left New Lublin and I'm always somehow in nowheresville, population zero data connection. But I'm gonna be all over the place. I just want to explore for a bit. Get my bearings in life, ya' know? Maybe, I'll visit San Diego where that 'Kabuto' is ; ). Hopefully he's gotten stronger like he said he would and not eat nothing but junk food all day. Bye bye!

Why does every woman in my life cut me so deep? Next thing I now Kiris is gonna give me another tongue lashing for buying so many potatoes, thought a chuckling Casimir. "Wait, does she know landlines and payphones are still around?" muttered Casimir.

Casimir Herman, July 17th
As expected the day of the party had the organization in full swing in secret so Mars and Wyatt wouldn't know. Something that did intrigue him was how there was a new addition to the team while he was gone, called himself, Scott Green. Casimir felt a bit unnerved by the guy so payed attention at the guys behavior and mannerisms to see if anything was off. He concluded that nothing realy was but there could still be the possibility of something. The guy's smile's and happiness seemed force if you were the overgeneralizing type of fellow. It wouldn't hurt to give him a chance. After all, if Naja had left him on the team there must something worthwhile about him. Casimir had decided to wear his usual track suit as it was incredibly comfortable. Once he arrived it looked like everyone else was busy including Carter. Especially Carter.

"Dammit Carter, you're gonna blind Renata if your not careful," said Casimir. Annoyed, Casimir got to his job of putting the pierogi and garlic bread next to the rest of the food. He had made them at dawn when no one else was apparently awake and hopefully at least one other person liked them. They should, these weren't any pierogi. They were a secret family recipe that had been handed down for a hundred generations back in Poland. And of course, they were made by his own hands. That itself should be reason enough for them to be good. Once he placed their plates next to the rest of the food, Casimir wondered what else there was to do. He spotted Scott and Renata among the group and decided to strike up conversation with the newbies.

"Hey guys, so how are you two liking life in the tower?" said Casimir.

by **New Finnish Republic** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:42 pm

Red

Earlier that day...

As the daily commuters made their way around the subway station, a few nervous glances were exchanged at the sight of heavily armed men and women patrolling around the area. Warwolf had quickly spread their forces around the city, providing to some a sense of security while to others a sense of fear. While far from being afraid of them, Red silently cursed as he spotted them patrolling around the area. Due to his former connections with The Five, Red knew Lycan wanted him dead more than anything as a way of finishing off what they had started a little over a year ago.

In order to make sure that didn't happen, Red was dressed in casual attire, a ballcap and a pair of aviator sunglasses covering up the majority of his face as he made his way through the crowd. The soldiers didn't seem to notice his presence, instead seeming bored at their rather mundane patrol duty. Red was glad to see this, however, as he used the bustling crowd to hide himself before walking up to a service door. Reaching into one of his jacket pockets, Red pulled out a small black card and quickly swiped it in front of the electronic security lock. The card was unlike those that the station's staff carried, instead it contained a small device within it that allowed Red to bypass most basic security systems without effort. A flashing green light followed by the sound of the door's lock being undone indicated that it had worked like a charm. Glancing over his shoulder one last time to make sure none of the Warwolf soldiers were looking in his direction, he made his way inside the service tunnels that were nestled into the walls of the railroad tunnels.

After shutting the door behind him, he began to make his way down the tunnels, following the directions Alexis, the name he had learned of the vigilante he had known as Raven, had given him. After having to duck behind cover a few times to hide himself from passing maintenance staff, Red eventually found himself in front of the door he was supposed to go through. Signs indicating that the area was out of commission and off limits confirmed he had found the right door, and he once again retrieved his card to gain entry. However, much to his frustration, the door refused to unlock. Or rather, the electronic device refused to acknowledge it, as it appeared to be offline.

Glancing around the tunnel to make sure no other staff members were approaching, Red took a step back before kicking at where the physical lock was at the door, forcefully unlocking the door. Looking around one last time to ensure no curious staff members were going to investigate the noise, he made his way through the door and into the abandoned subway section. Using a seemingly forgotten nearby toolbox to keep the door shut.

Hopping down onto the tracks, he began to follow the tracks to where he was supposed to meet Alexis, dim lights guiding his path as he eventually found what he was looking for. A lonesome train sat on the tracks, lights from inside indicating that someone was inside. Climbing back onto the platform, he saw that the door was opened, seeming to be waiting for him to enter. After a moment of reluctance, he stepped inside, causing the doors to close a moment later. With a lurch, the train began to move slowly down the tracks, apparently in no hurry to get to wherever its destination was.

Sitting down on a nearby seat was Alexis, who seemed glad that Red had finally appeared. Staring at the sight around him, Red shook his head slightly at the girl's choice of a meeting area.

"I suppose it's better than meeting in the middle of the woods late at night."

Alexis chuckled at his comment, causing Red to grin slightly before his face returned to a neutral expression, knowing that he didn't have time to waste. Sitting down on a seat across from Alexis, he didn't waste a second to get down to business as he removed his ballcap and sunglasses from his face.

"Alexis, I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I know you guys are planning something big, and I know it's going to shake up one nasty fucking hornet's nest."

She raised an eyebrow at Red's statement, no doubt curious as to how Red knew this. He was quick to answer her question.

"A silver-haired young woman who looks like she just got done sacking Paris doesn't exactly blend into the crowd, especially when someone who knows what he's looking for finds her snooping around gang territory."

Alexis seemed content with his answer, although he could tell she had several other questions ready for him. He didn't give her the chance, however, as he continued to speak.

"I don't know what exactly it is you're wanting to do, but I do know there are going to be people who aren't going to like it one bit. Namely, Warwolf. They've let us Young Bloods alone for the time being, no doubt because they're probably hesitant to target such a well-known group in the area, but there's no telling how long that will last. But with you guys, they won't even think twice before they decide to try and take you out."

Reaching into another one of his jacket's pockets, he retrieved a thick vanilla folder before tossing it over to Alexis.

"I've collected what I could on them, anything and everything that would prove useful. Weapon specs, logistcal supplies, chain of commands, ecsetera ecsetra."

His voice lowered as he took on a serious tone.

"I'm not telling you to pick a fight with these guys. In fact, I'm telling you to do the opposite. These aren't your typical street thugs armed with nine milimeters and baseball bats. They're highly equipped and highly trained professional soldiers who won't hesitate for a second to put a bullet in the back of your skulls if you get on their shit list."

He sighed for a brief moment, leaning back in his seat before returning his gaze back to the girl sitting across from him.

"But knowing you, you'll find you and your friends will your way on the top of that list in no time. That's why I'm here to offer what help I can, as small as it might be. I'm still in hot water over what all...happened, which means you won't be able to rely on me in person to help you out. All I have is one request."

He paused, locking eyes with the girl as his face turned serious once more.

"Keep it clean. Stir the hornet's nest too much, and it won't be just Warwolf coming after you guys. I owe you guys, but at the end of the day I'm still a Young Blood. If push comes to shove, well..."

He didn't finish his statement, although he knew Alexis would understand what he was implying. While it was true that it was mainly thanks to them that he wasn't wearing an orange jumpsuit surrounded by inmates looking to kill him, his loyalties remained with the Young Bloods. He didn't want to imagine having to fight Alexis and her team, but if it came down to it he would.

Crossing his arms across his chest, he waited for her response.

Later that day...

Red sat in the dark, scanning through the latest batch of files on Warwolf he had recovered. A lot of it was heavily redacted, some of it to the point that it made what information given worthless to him. The room held the auroma of coffee as a half-empty pot rested next to him, Red having lost track of how many he had drank over the course of the last few days. With the exception of his date with Yoshiro as well as this morning's meeting with Alexis, he had practically spent his entire time scouring through what he could manage to find. If he had asked Wendy for her help he had no doubts he would have had a much better time sorting through it all, but as brief mentions of The Five began to appear in several documents, Red knew that he would need to keep to himself in his work.

He was about to start on a new document when the sound of someone knocking drew his attention from the computer. Closing out the current document on the screen, Red turned around his his seat and called out to whoever was at his door.

"Come in."

As his door slid open, light temporarily filled the room, revealing Yoshiro as she stepped into the room with an initial look of excitement on her face. This excitement soon turned into worry, however, as she saw Red sitting alone in the dark, bags underneath his eyes and a look that clearly showed a massive sense of fatigue on him. Walking towards him hesitantly, she spoke up to him.

"Everything okay, Red? The party is going to be starting soon."

Red gave her a light nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."

Yoshiro gave Red a small frown, clearly seeing that her boyfriend was struggling.

"Work?"

Red glanced over to his computer screen briefly before returning his gaze back to Yoshiro.

"Yeah, work. But don't worry, I'll be done here soon. I'm pretty sure Kiris would kill me if I was late."

He gave her a small smile, which did little to give Yoshiro any comfort. Walking up to where he was sitting, she wrapped her arms around him in an embrace, which Red was more than happy to receive. After a few seconds, Yoshiro loosened her grip and backed up a few inches to look at Red. Her concerned face soon turned into a disapproving one, however, as she suddenly reached up to his face only to feel the rough texture of stubble along his face.

"You need to shave."

Momentarily caught off guard, Red chuckled lightly as he whispered seductively into her ear.

"Oh come on, women love a little bit of a stubble around the lips. It's irresistible, you know."

Yoshiro seemed to take him up on his challenge, as she replied with a small grin of her own.

"Well, these lips aren't going to want anything resembling a porcupine touching them, so I guess that's your decision to make."

Red furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh.

"I guess it's time to shave then."

Yoshiro let out a small victorious laugh before reluctantly letting go of Red. Red watched her leave, a dumb grin planted onto his face as he too prepared to leave. Flicking the lights on, he made his way to his bathroom. True to his word, he shaved off the small stubble that had accumulated over the last few days, not due to him trying on a new look and more because he had simply been too busy to bother to shave.

Tossing on a pair of cargo shorts and a nice American Eagle polo shirt, Red shut down his computer before heading downstairs to where the others were gathered around in anticipation for Wyatt's arrival. A few last minute preparations were being done by some of the team members, while others seemed to be socializing. Carter in particular seemed excited as he used toy guns to fire off a blast of streamers into Reneta's face.

Red could only shake his head at his teammates antics as he made his way over to the one of the cupboards, rummaging through one of the somewhat hidden compartments in search of a certain item he had obtained a few days prior as a means of celebrating Wyatt's birthday party. As his fingers gripped a glass surface, a smug grin appeared on his face as he pulled the bottle from its hidden spot. He had hidden a rather expensive bottle of wine here, believing it was in a secure enough spot for him to hide without having to put himself at risk of it being found in his own room. Staring at the bottle in his hand, he was about to brag to the others about his gift, only for his words to get caught in his throat as he stared at what was not an expensive bottle of wine but rather a cheap bottle of sparkling grape juice. A small note was attached to the bottle, the handwriting all to familiar to Red.

I'm glad that you wanted to give me a gift as luxurious as this, Red, but don't think that it will be enough for me to turn an eye to underage drinking. However, I'll be sure to ask for your advise next time I'm out shopping for wine, as you certainly know how to find a good tasting drink!

Red furrowed his eyebrows before crumpling the note in his hand, grumbling under his breath a single word that held more anger than any type of swear word could produce.

"Naja."

Letting out a frustrated groan, Red placed the bottle into the fridge to cool it down, although he would have rather tossed it out of the nearest window.

by **Aidannadia** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:04 am

The night Warwolf appeared in San Diego, countless hours were spent searching the deep web to glean any information on what it actually is. From what Aleta could tell, it was a known and professional paramilitary organization, with some of the more... paranoid sources she tried unconvincingly to connect them to anti-super allegiances. Some of the conjecture could have been swaying to the unprepared, but there was nothing in the way of hard evidence. If there was a real link, Aleta couldn't find it. That didn't mean she trusted them though, especially once Duke was caught. Just to be on the safe side, she kept her outings as Pitch to a minimum for the last week. She didn't actually have many leads on any criminals with Warwolf operating as efficiently as it did.

...But she hadn't just been looking into Warwolf; she'd also been looking into the Young Bloods. There were a few obvious heroes, such as the shadow manipulator from the Queens, the former sidekick to Quick Shot turned murderer, and there were a few nobodies like the hero nicknamed Psyche by some of the forums. What a bore.

There was one that somehow outshined the others in her mind: Stella. Stella was an interesting case. She found a meme with a blurry picture of a hero from Ecuador and Stella with an arrow between them and questions marks surrounding the whole thing. She nodded to herself quietly as she found this vital piece of evidence, painfully aware of how ridiculous this would look if anyone was here right now. Luckily, she was alone.

She decided to follow this thread further by asking her friend from South America, like any American would.

Aleta was a bit disappointed, but moreso she was surprised. She didn't know Renata had many other friends, let alone anyone close enough to invite her to a private birthday party. I usually had to drag her out before. I wonder what she's been up to.

She shrugged it off and continued her train of thought. If anything, this proves I've been much too boring the last few days. Not going out as Pitch. Sitting behind a screen. It's like I'm some dork or something. I should go to a party tonight. She nodded to herself and got ready to head out.

by **Agritum** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 1:02 am

Elle grabbed the tool she was working on, a nail gun, and accurately shoot at all four corners of the frame in what seemed a blink of an eye. She made the gun twirl in her finger, blew nonexistent smoke from the barrel, and turned to greet Casimir.

It was obvious the insect boy had not been talking to her, but Shadow didn't care. Something about being proactive in breaking the ice, or ending up as a creepy loner in the corner.

"Oh, I'm doing really fine, thank you whatsyournameagainiforgot. Uhm, anyway, aside from yesterday's incident that is." Shadow bit her lip, also looking at the other students. "I'm really, really sorry for that. I've got a little problem with how my powers get switched on, it's a long story but basically, uh, I need to do this kind of stuff to keep them fueled."

Elle felt Baal's skeletal legs climbing on her shoulder.

She reflexively karate chopped the spider away, stone faced.

"What were we talking about? Well, uh, anyway pleased to meet you, my name is Elle, I may be better known as Shadowkill of Doublekill fame. See, I don't really like that name, because I really didn't kill anyone. Well, me. Overkill did most of the killing. I mean all of the killing. But I would never do that. I may break some bones but that's it. You know how flimsy femurs too can be if you apply a good grab? "

Elle looked at Casimir's face and her other interlocutors. She was probably weirding them out.

" Uhm... Anyway, who's the birthday for? I don't want to seem excessively out of place, see. And I guess that, uh, knowing who to cheer for is part of it? Right?"

This was getting awkward.

by **Zarkenis Ultima** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 1:35 am

Tomia wrote:---

Finland SSR wrote:---

The Rebel Alliances wrote:---

Agritum wrote:---

Segral wrote:---

Absolon-7 wrote:---

Agritum wrote:---

From behind a cluster of loudspeakers and tables filled to the brim with consoles, videogames and a few amiibos, a part of Alexis' unkempt hair poked out along with a pointy party hat as she worked on connecting a few cables and making everything go through a small green box she had installed in the meeting room recently. 'Helping reduce electricity bills, one room at a time!' She had told Naja when asked about it, refusing to give more details about her piece of advanced technology. It had taken her a while, what with doing some field testing, but with a final plug, the deed was done, and the girl stood up from behind her impromptu bunker just in time to see Scott and Renata walk into the room, greeting each other and all of its inhabitants.

"Ah, male and female noobies! Good evening!" Alexis replied cheerfully, moving past the tables. She was wearing her usual gauntlets and her rocket sneakers (not the more potent and professional boot variety), but besides that, she looked fairly different from her usual self: instead of her heroic outfit or an oil-stained tank-top and a pair of jeans, she wore a simple orange and yellow dress with a bit of black around the shoulders and neckline, with a hemline going down to slightly above her knees. "I think Naja and Kiris are working on getting all the food here, and we're waiting on Cassie's cake but it should be fine if she's a bit late, so, we're just about ready." She said, taking a quick look around. Lots of entertainment systems hooked up to the TV? Check. Fixed window? Not yet, but almost. Big 'Happy Birthday Wyatt and Mars!' signs written with big colorful crystals on the walls, courtesy of Kiris? Check. Balloons...?

"Uh, if you two wanna help out, you can pick up some balloons from that table over there and put 'em on the walls. We put a lot of attention on the food and games, so the decoration's a little bit lacking." She said, gesturing towards Casimir as an example. "Oh, and don't forget your party hats! They're right next to the balloons." She added, pointing at her head and then at the various hats on the table.

Just then, Carter barged into the room, looking super quirky as always and making a lot of noise before shooting one of the guns she'd designed at Stella. "Come on, Carter. I get you're excited but save it for Mars and Wyatt." She chided, not actually mad or anything, but still thinking it'd be best to save ammunition for later. Who knows, maybe they could get into a firefight later, but it would be mean to do something fun like that without the two people being celebrated.

Right after Carter walked in, someone kicked the door open, and Alexis looked in that direction to see who it was. She soon saw a familiar pink-haired alien in a red and white sundress walk in through the door, bearing a lot of food. On one claw was a big pot of lovingly prepared mac and cheese, the other gripping a bag full of sodas while her tail carried a large amount of succulent cheeseburgers, neatly tucked into a basket for ease of transport.

"Food's here!" The Hadrian announced cheerfully as she neatly laid out everything on a nearby table (not the one with the balloons and party hats).

"Nice timing! I guess now we just have to wait for Wendy to get Mars here and for Naja to text Wyatt." Alexis replied with a nod of approval as she glanced over at the pot of mac and cheese. "You really put your all into preparing that, didn't you?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. It was easy to see how close the two had grown, especially after the mission at San Pharmaceuticals.

"Yup!" Kiris answered with a big grin on her face.

Once she was done setting up stuff on the food table, she noticed the girl from yesterday nearby, talking to Casimir after he'd put some food she couldn't identify on the table. Overhearing some of the girl's questions, the Hadrian approached with a friendly smile on her face. "We're celebratin' Wyatt and Mars' birthdays today! Wyatt's a big dragon boy who's shy but friendly, and Mars is a boy who's really smart and hands-um, handy!" She explained with her usual enthusiasm, blushing slightly at her slip-up but otherwise happy to talk to someone new. "I'm Kiris by the way, nice to meet you!" She added, not offering a handshake for obvious reasons.

by **Finland SSR** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 5:02 am

Agritum wrote:Elie

Segral wrote:Carter Graystone
July 17

Absolon-7 wrote:Casimir Herman, July 17

Zarkenis Ultima wrote:Kiris and Alexis

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

It appears that Renata was not exactly as late as she thought - although Kiris, Alexis and a new girl, who promptly asked her and Scott on their well-being, were already here, the rest of the team were still gathering in the living room. Was everyone else as late as her, or did her gambit to wake up earlier today in order to not be as late as she could be actually succeed? Either explanation worked for her.

"We're doing well... um, Elie, right?" Renata responded to the handiwoman brunette's question. Given that this was now going to be her new team from now on, the heroine did some work into remembering as many of her teammates' names as possible during the previous week - though a few were still tough, like Park and Yoshi, the former because she was not a Thomsen High student and the latter because it was a foreign name, Renata was making some great strides in that field. Though Elie only appeared here yesterday, her name echoed through the corridors enough, mostly in a negative light, that the heroine memorized that name as well. "How about y-"

Renata didn't get the chance to finish her question, however, as, screaming at the top of his lungs and looking dressed more for an episode of One Piece rather than a birthday party, Carter burst into the living room and almost immediately pointed the barrel of one of his pistols between her eyes.

"Wait! What are you doi-"

A cascade of rainbow streamers and confetti squirted onto Renata's face, almost completely covering it in a multicolored shower. The slight shock of having a gun pointed at her face dissipated almost instantly, replaced by a tinge of irritation, and when the last of the streamers bounced off her face and the few which clinged onto her nose burned away after a sudden stream of heat, a poker face stared at Carter.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to be blinded here." Renata responded to Casimir's worries from the side, and a faint smirk formed on her features.

You want to make a prank here, huh? How about this, then?

The heroine raised her right hand, roughly to her and Carter's eye level, then suddenly snapped her fingers, releasing a focused burst of light at the aerokinetic's face from her thumb. For a normal person, it would basically be a flashbang without the sound burst.

Content with getting back at the prankster this way, Renata placed her hands on her hips and turned to Casimir, who asked her and Scott - but surprisingly not Elie - on whether they were enjoying their life on Wonder Island. The heroine clenched onto her chin with her hand, thinking for a little bit, but soon lowered it and spoke:

"It's actually pretty nice - which is quite surprising, given that, as far as I've heard, this had been an abandoned island until about a month ago. I was half expecting something ripped from a horror movie, but I guess I was wrong, wasn't I? The rooms are quite small, however. Almost as large as my closet back in Ecuador - so I could only bring the essentials."

Turmenista wrote:
Johnny Swift

The Great Floyd Tolson!

After Floyd's comment, Johnny tried his darn best to explain himself and his actions, trying to say a lot and yet formulating nothing. All that the swordsman, or anyone else who could have been listening, could take from it was that he and Clara used to be SOs, but now they're not and she's hanging out with those weirdos. Which said literally nothing Floyd hadn't already heard or at least inferred from the events before.

As a result, Floyd was not convinced that he should not just leave Clara's body in a ditch somewhere. It'd be doing Johnny a favor. After all, if he doesn't fix this crappy kid's life, who will? He never got anyone to fix his life, after all...

The chase after the Mystery Machine was fairly calm a first, but everything changed when not the Fire Nation attacked, but when the motorcyclist between them and the target suddenly switched lanes and sped off. Bloody hell, you can't overtake cars in city areas! Ain't it ironic that at this moment, Floyd wished that the person in front of them actually followed road laws?

The back door of the Mystery Machine opened and a person's head sticked out - that's a second road law broken in ten seconds time. The person in question moved his palm forward and it pertruded, revealing a blade-like bone inside. While Johnny panicked, Floyd merely raised his eyebrow. A bone manipulator. Usually the types to use their clearly close-range superpower by pretending that they can do ranged attacks. Not all that hard to beat. I could give Johnny the wheel, open the car's roof and-

No time left to think of a strategy, because the bitch suddenly threw the bone forward as a spear, impaling the front of the car and killing the engine instantly.

"Fuckin' Yankee slime..." Floyd muttered to himself. No reason to bother with driving the car now, I guess. Floyd unplugged his seat belts while Johnny had a verbal toss-down with the bone manipulator, ready to leap out and turn some goths into Gothic salad, but that plan never materialized, either, as the van suddenly sped off and the Mercedes... turned into a cloud of ravens, leaving the two passengers fall on the asphalt on their asses.

Classy.

"Bloody cocksuckers..." Floyd muttered to himself as well, immediately standing up and focusing his vision on the speeding vehicle, reaching closer and closer to the horizon. He has had experience in catching up to cars on foot... but when it's modified, already has a headstart and he has to look after a derpy twerp at the side, it might be a little problematic. Thankfully, Floyd remembered that he had a "partner" with super speed, even if one who needed to build up momentum, and his mind immediately came up with a plan.

"I might take a while to catch up to that truck, so you'll have to keep up with it on your own, or at least slow it down somewhat," the swordsman spoke, walking up to Johnny and staring at him directly. "I'll give you a headstart in speed, work your magic and don't even think about falling flat on your face. Three, two, zero."

Floyd would then suddenly grab onto Johnny's shirt and then toss it directly towards the "Mystery Machine" as hard as he could, immediately running after him.

That should give him an initial speed of a hundred miles an hour or something, assuming he doesn't try to slow himself down for some reason.

by **Agritum** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 7:06 am

Elle smiled hearthily at the quirky Hadrian who had warmly welcomed her. It was as if the pink-haired reptoid had been asleep all the time and hadn't heard of the catastrophic helicopter landing-cum-window smashing of the day before. Or, for that matter, hadn't heard of the interestellar anti-merc crusade Overkill had launched years before on a bunch of poor Hadrian hidden guns, which had been aptly named 'Overkill IN SPACE'. Maybe it was better like that.

"Yeah, happy to see you too. I'll unfortunately pass on the hamburgers, see, I'm vegan..." Elle started, only to get approached by a squeaky redhead with an hispanic accent. "Oh, nice to meet you Renata, by the way my name is Elle, I'm a bit more famous as Shadowk---"

Something clicked in Elle's head. "Uh..." she paused dramatically. Her mind flashed to a few years before, back to a dusty, old police station deep in the Andes. She was waiting on an half-broken chair, in this half-forgotten place, for her half-insane father to pay bail to the Condors junta and be liberated from the impromptu super cell he had been placed in. Overkill had been continuing his personal war on drugs as usual, but this time his brutal, jungle-torching methods had attracted the attentions of local law enforcement, and of the head honchos.

Long story short, Overkill was basically being humiliated like a petty criminal, and Shadow had to sit through the embarassing ordeal. The thing she recalled the most was this prissy, redheaded, Ecuadorian superheroine who had taunted her during the whole wait, shooting jokes at her patched up cowl and her edgy skull mask.

Lacking an actual weapon, Shadow suddenly pointed the nail gun at Renata's throat, motioning her to back off. "Hey, I know you! You're Laser Girl! What are you dictator stooges doing back here in the US of A? And in a superhero group, at that! You're infiltrating San Diego to do Ecuador's bidding, aren't ya? I know you cunts pretty well!"

Baal undulated happily.

by **Segral** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:00 am

Carter Graystone

Needless to say, the guns were met with mixed reception. Some, like Alexis and himself thought the guns were genius, while others like Casimir believed them to be dangerous and that he was crazy for shooting them off. Although, Casimir always thought Carter was crazy, so it's not like it was the guns' fault. Other still, had a slightly more...aggressive opposition to the guns, specifically Renata.

It didn't take long for the streamers to disappear, and they disappeared fast, before Carter began to realize what beast he had unleashed upon his poor soul. The burning confetti might have been the first clue. His expression of joy and manic glee quickly morphed and froze into a mask of pure terror as he leapt several steps back, hands inf ront of his face, as if he was trying to outrun the light. Only a few words managed to escape out of his mouth in a fear-laced cry as he prepared himself for his fate.

"IT WAS A JOOOOOKE!!!"

Suddenly, his vision flooded with light, so piercing he couldn't see anything anymore. Everything around him was white, there weren't even shapes anymore, it was just a complete blank screen of white in his line of sight. His eyes felt like they were on fire, like the light was tiny knives jabbing themselves into his eyeballs.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed as he immediately dropped the pistol behind him, furiously rubbing his eyes as if something was caught in them. He stumbled this way and that, looking intoxicated as his foot slipped on the confetti gun he had dropped in shock, causing him to trip backwards, the backs of his legs hitting a squishy pouffe behind him. Tipping backwards into the soft seat of the pouffe while his arms flailed about like an octopus, he ended up going a little farther back than he had thought, and did a clean flip, landing face-first on the hard wooden floor of the meeting room. The light had faded out, but spots were still dancing in front of his eyes, and everything looked all dark and shadowy, like someone had sucked the light out of the room. But his anger sure hadn't been sucked out of him.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" he indignantly shrieked, continuing to furiously rub his eyes as he propped himself on the pouffe. "It was a stupid joke! Don't you know what a prank is! Dear lord Jesus, for being a tough and brave superhero, you get pretty scared in front of some rainbow-colored tissue paper! And shadow-girl-with-the-cool-mask-and-spider, can you not point nailguns at our team members, regardless of how BITCHY they are?! It's kind of a birthday party, and I think Kiris will kill you if you get blood in her mac and cheese."

by **Finland SSR** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:23 am

Agritum wrote:Elle

Segral wrote:Carter Graystone

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Renata's conversation with Casimir and Scott over their first impressions of Wonder Tower and Wonder Island had to be cut short, as suddenly, not long after explaining her thoughts on the size of the rooms, she was approached by a person from the side, and not in a good mood. It was Elle, the edgelord cleaning maid she had exchanged a few sentences with before Carter stepped in with his rainbow shower, and she immediately came in with some... strong language. Recognizing her as Laser Girl from back in her days as a sidekick in the Andean Condors and instantly accusing her of being sent here to infiltrate America for Ecuador's bidding. Oh, and also calling her a cunt.

Not to mention pointing a nail gun to her neck. My God, this was a trainwreck.

Fighting the massive, overflowing urge to slap Elle into next Wednesday, Renata placed her hand on the barrel of the nailgun. You'd think that it's to lower the gun to make it not point at the throat, and you would be partially right, but the heroine also applied some infrared radiation to the nailgun, melting a bunch of its internal structures and rendering it unusable instantly, indicated by puffs of smoke coming out from between Renata's fingers.

"O-okay, first of all, I'm not here to infiltrate anything, I arrived to the United States on my own accord! What the hell would we even need to infiltrate San Diego and the Young Bloods for?!" Renata exclaimed in defense, furrowing her eyebrows. "And second of all - are you seriously doing this minutes before a birthday party?!"

Though speaking with fury, Renata also had reservations of her own. She wasn't sure whether everyone here was aware of her past before coming to America... but everyone sure knew now. She wasn't sure if it was a dealbreaker for anyone... but there's a reason why she doesn't flaunt her status as the daughter of Silver everywhere she goes.

Out of the Young Bloods, Carter was the first to interfere - the absolute worst option for trying to break up this little scuffle. As in, he just came in shouting at both sides and acting like an insufferable asshole. Renata, surprisingly, said nothing and just scoffed, glaring towards Elle.

Even she was a little surprised at how she did not lash out at anyone, yet.

by **Agritum** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:38 am

Elle momentarily distracted her glare at Renata to look at Carter like you would with a mentally retarded baby seal floundering on sea ice before being eaten by a walrus. Then she set her sight on the Ecuadoran sugarkiddy , just in time for the nailgun's inner workings to melt after a quick flick of her fingers. For a few seconds Shadow felt tempted to just shove the scalding iron into the Andean Airhead's face, before her better angel convinced her to just drop it and look at her with the most pissed look she could achieve.

"Look, I'm giving you the benefit of doubt here, but I know full well what your daddy, Plata, because that's how you spell Silver in Spanish, is doing back home. You literally don't give your people any say in the ballot, the puppet government represses everything that's going to rustle your Condor feathers, and there's no warrantee you're running the country as anything different from a restricted superhuman playground. Before being a Thomsen student I was a lawman, dear Laser Girl. Not in the judicial sense. I'm keeping a watch on you."

Shadow made the two-fingers-in-the-eyes gesture threateningly, before kicking the now half-melted nailgun aside. "By the way, that was school property."

by **The Rebel Alliances** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:50 pm

Alexis Cain/Vendetta-Outrider Hideout, San Diego

I did not have to wait too long as Red arrived roughly half an hour after I settled myself in the train car. He entered from the back door wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. Must really be worried about being spotted around here. I thought to myself as he greeted me with a corny opening joke. I gave a chuckle, it was almost the sort of thing Carter would say. Well, no Carter would come up with something cheesier. But that was one of the things I liked about him. "This is actually a massive upgrade for living space for us if you would believe it." But the mood immediately changed as he sat down and switched gears on me. After opening very casually I was actually kinda taken aback by his sudden tone shift. Sitting across from me he removed his glasses and hat as he obviously had no need for them here and lowered his voice and spoke very seriously. Telling me that he knew that we were on to something big, and while he never said he knew what we were doing exactly, he mentioned that he knew it would kick up a storm. It very well could, most likely would. But believe me or not I am actually trying to avoid that. As much as I can anyways. But I remained silent as I allowed him to continue, I was genuinely curious as to how he knew, and I raised an eyebrow just slightly in response. And so he answered that Brianna tended to stand out more than I had considered, especially to someone who would recognize her.

"Yeah, a silver haired viking in San Diego. Wonder who that could be? Well, I suppose you are right. But unlike me she has the benefit of not being known to the public at large. I even had a fan recognize me last week out of the blue." I stressed the word 'fan'. Not that I cared about them, I just thought it was odd t have one so soon after the break out. Well some people have some strange hobbies. I did not have a chance to say more, as Red quickly continued the conversation. Forcing what questions I had to be held until he was done himself.

And then we got to the x factor. Warwolf. They really were the wild cards here. And I had many questions about them that I could get a Young Bloods opinion on. He then opened with the obvious about them, that they were content to leave the Young Bloods alone as of now but would go after us no questions asked if we screwed up.

Yeah. No shit, we are outlaws.

But, perhaps there was deeper reason that he stressed the obvious risk to our safety beyond formalities. I still was not certain if he had agreed to any of this from feeling like he owed us a debt to be payed or if he actually cared about our well being. Possibly both.

It was at this point that he reached into his jacket and revealed a folder thick with papers and tossed it over to me. Some of the papers actually fell from the folder and landed on the floor beneath me and as I scooped them up I saw the subject of the information.

Warwolf?

Did this man just hand us inside intel on the sole occupying force in this city? I quickly recovered the papers and placed them back inside the folder, listening to Red intently. I was curious before, but now he had my attention. And then his voice lowered as if to illustrate that he really meant what he was saying, despite there being no way in hell anyone else could hear us. He then proceeded to tell me once again not to fuck with these guys, but that he was certain we would eventually do so anyways. Before letting himself fall back in his seat, seemingly to relax his posture for the first time since he was here with me, and sighed locking eyes with me.

"But knowing you, you'll find you and your friends will your way on the top of that list in no time. That's why I'm here to offer what help I can, as small as it might be. I'm still in hot water over what all...happened, which means you won't be able to rely on me in person to help you out. All I have is one request."

So, it seems all I may be able to cont on from him is information. Well, I frankly did not expect much more than that. But I was interested in what his request was. And was not that surprised when he revealed it.

"Keep it clean. Stir the hornet's nest too much, and it won't be just Warwolf coming after you guys. I owe you guys, but at the end of the day I'm still a Young Blood. If push comes to shove, well..."

It was clear as day what he was saying.

Thanks for busting me out of jail. But cause too much noise, and I'll come and put you in one. Or I appreciate the help saving me from Marionette, but behave yourselves or you my team will bring you down.

Such comments were not wholly surprising. But what was surprising was his attitude and tone about saying that. As if, he really did not want to fight us. That he would prefer we not face as enemies. As if he may not have been doing this only to settle a debt. It was an interesting thought.

He then crossed his arms and a couple moments passed before I finally saw my chance to address and reassure him at the same time.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of kicking Warwolf at the moment. I have priorities elsewhere." I said flatly as I confirmed that I was not interested in getting myself killed immediately. "The Russians and the Triads alone account for more than half of this city's drug and arms trade. Not to mention each hold a majority in human trafficking. They are squarely on the top of my shit list at this moment. And we are working our way around Warwolf, we do this smart, and Warwolf will never be involved. Truth be told Warwolf has these gangs scared shitless too. They are not doing business as openly anymore, and being more discreet. But make no mistake, they are still operating. Hopefully that will change soon, both for them and every other major gang. Speaking of Warwolf..." My voice trailed off as I flipped through the file and....holy shit this was a gold mine. How in the-

Red is good, hell he may even be a great detective. But there is no way in hell that he came across this much information inside of a week. My gut gave me an instinct.

"This is a lot of information you just handed me. You would not happen to have a history with these guys? Would you?" I only let the question hang there for a moment. Just to prove a point. That I am not to be taken for a fool. He has to at least have an inside source to get all this so quickly. But I continued cutting off his chance to answer.

"Don't answer that. I really do not care if you do or not. But I have to ask, in regards to Warwolf..."

"What exactly do the Young Bloods plan on doing about a private army running our streets? You do not have to tell me all your plans. But at least say you are planning something. I know all of you do not believe the crap they are trying to sell." I really hoped that they did indeed plan on doing something about them. Red may not believe it, but I hold the Young Bloods in pretty high esteem. As long as we do not clash, our teams could do wonders for Dan Diego. But asking the Young Bloods not to eventually come calling on is is wishful thinking. We are outlaws. The bad guys.

Placing the folder behind me I moved wanted to put his mind at ease about us being potential enemies. Well, as best I can that is.

"Red, I know we got off on the wrong foot that night in the alley. And I know we may not see eye to eye either. But I believe that you know that I am telling the truth when I say that I am not your enemy. And I have no intention of becoming one anytime soon. Truth is, I respect the Young Bloods. I truly do. I grew up in a city that knew no heroes. We were famous for a massacre Red. And then that changed almost overnight. The Young Bloods showed up, and for once people were not talking about how bad San Diego was. They were talking about what the Young Bloods were doing. For better or worse. But people started to get inspired with some hope again." I then broke eye contact for a moment as I paused. Before continuing.

"But the truth is, not everyone responds to hope. Or inspiration. Some people, only respond to fear...or force. And frankly the underworld here is not afraid of you. Why should they be? The Young Bloods are nothing but children. There are people out there who do not fear even the names of Captain Quake or others. How do we deal with those people? I am not telling you this for anything more than to let you know that even if you are pledged by law to hunt us. We are ultimately on the same side. So, yes, I would rather not fight you or any other Young Blood." My thoughts then flashed to Carter for a moment. As I realized that my best friend is a Young Blood. Having felt like I made my point I just closed the thought.

"I wont be doing anything to draw the attention of the Young Bloods intentionally and frankly, they have not really been active on our side of town since they founded. I get it, cannot be everywhere at once and all and I suppose your team has its hands full dealing with high profile stuff. Heard about the battle against Inferno last week. Nice work with that one." With that out of the way, business was nearly over.

"So, am I to expect regular visits like this? Intel, warnings the like? Or was this supposed to be a one time thing? Because I really would not mind hanging out without shooting being involved, or is that how I have to get your attention?" I smiled slightly at the joke as I lightened the mood, God knows he made it serious enough. But there was one final thing that was on my mind...

"Hey, before you leave. I have been wondering. That girl you kissed back at the Cathedral...are you two like a thing or...were you just trying to get back at Marionette?" I remember being taken by surprise myself that night when that happened. Pretty sure she went by Psyche. She seemed like a sweet girl, saw her a few times on tv with the rest of her team, they are far more public than we are. So really it is not as hard to gather some basic information on them.

"If she is that's fine. Just making conversation, since we have business out of the way. We could just talk for a bit, if you want.." I suggested. Hoping he would take me up on the offer.

"I mean...I have nothing better to do at the moment."

by **Zarkenis Ultima** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:18 pm

Agritum wrote:---

Kirisvala continued smiling brightly at the new arrival as she listened to the girl's response, but soon enough a word was uttered that essentially left her in shock, causing her to stare blankly at Elle, even as the handiwoman turned towards one of the other new members of the team, Renata. By that moment, Kiris practically wasn't paying attention or listening to anything around her; she was so focused on making sense of what had been said that she didn't even note the brief scuffle between the two girls in front of her, and only once they had calmed down did she manage to speak.

"Um, what...?" She asked, as if she hadn't understood anything. To anyone familiar with the way Hadrian's worked, with their extremely efficient, instantaneous linguistic assimilation, this would naturally be a very surprising situation.

"A vegan. A person that doesn't eat anything that comes from animals, Kiris." Alexis tried to explain, seemingly to no avail, as the Hadrian girl seemed just as confused as before, tilting her head in confusion, the look on her face making it appear as if it was something she literally couldn't process.

After a few moments of deep meditation, however, the alien came up with an explanation that had a possibility of conforming to her worldview while also accounting for the fact that someone like Elle existed, and so, she turned to the girl, wearing an apologetic expression. "Oh... it's... it's a medical condition, isn't it? I'm so sor-" She began, though she was soon interrupted by Alexis speaking once more.

"It's not a medical condition, Kiris." She stated. "Vegan people become vegan by choice."

"Choice?! What kind of crazy person just opts to not eat meat?! It's not natural! It's what our teeth are made f- oh, wait, that's my teeth, not theirs..." Kirisvala thought to herself, staring blankly at Elle for a few moments before nodding to herself and walking away, towards another of the team members currently present in the living room.

"Red! How's it goin'?" She asked him, as if nothing had happened.

by **Auropa** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:39 pm

Kross Mathews
Somewhere below San Diego
One week ago

“Brilliant, and here I thought my day had already hit rock bottom.”
Kross spoke like he always did. Irritated, exhausted, ever so slightly inebriated then finished with a touch of his condescending attitude. To anyone who knew him, his words would’ve sounded like any other exclamation of his. If the room didn’t have two opposing armour-clad forces, geared to the teeth and brandishing futuristic weapons of destruction at one another, one might’ve assumed Kross was just having another less than stellar day.

“LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!” The man who Kross presumed to be leading this failure of a task force called out.
“I hardly see what the fuss is about. All I did was call you and your warpups over here a-“
“ORDER YOUR MEN TO LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!”
“Christ, you’re loud.” Kross said as he turned to his desk, slowly pulling out a glass bottle and two glasses with exaggerated care.
For a brief moment his day looked to be getting better, his nephew and their team took down a dangerous drug ring and apprehended a high ranking villain. While it didn’t do much to help him, he couldn’t help but feel some inkling of pride at the brat’s actions. Still, in the next few moments a shower of military helicopters and transports rained down upon San Diego as Warwolf came in to take control. Of course, that meant one undeniably unpleasant thing for Kross. Guests.

“Weapons down soldiers. Mr Kross is not a threat to us.” A new voice called out from behind the force of soldiers.
“Great. More of you.” Kross replied as he poured a deep oak coloured liquid into the two glasses.
To their credit, the masked soldiers of Warwolf lowered their weapons the moment the order came through, despite the high tensions and Kross’ own personal. ‘Fanfreaking-tastic, the armed monkeys are trained’ he thought to himself as he picked up a glass and turned to the newcomer.
“I’m sure you’ve been told of our arrival.” She said plainly “We’re conducting a sweep of potential hazards within our jurisdiction and were promised full cooperation by local law enforcement and goverment representation. After your personal’s… resistance. I trust you won’t stand in my men’s way again”.
“You see, that’s what I admire about you people.” Kross said, pausing to drain one of the glass’ contents “All you ever think about is running in and shutting down your ‘problems’. You never stop and think about pesky things like whether its possible, or whether you should, or whether there’s a lengthy decontamination process. You’re all so efficient at ignoring common sense that, and I’m being serious here, it impresses me”
“Agent Kross. Am I to take this as yo-“
“You can take it like this.” He said as he laid the empty glass down and reached for the other. “We are not covered by your jurisdiction. We are not part of the law enforcement. We are not represented by the local government. And if we’re being honest, this facility you’re in. By all official records, it doesn’t exist.” At that Kross paused for a second to admire, then down the remaining glass’ contents and look back to the newcomers. “You can do what you want up there. I don’t know how you managed to do it, but that’s your area. But what happens down here is not the concern of Warwolf.”

For a moment the woman said nothing as she locked eyes with PL commander and considered his words. “We’re leaving” She finally said “We’ve got a city to run. I expect you to keep your forces well away from mine. Any surface operations you undertake must be permitted by my team prior, without it, your people will be detained.” At that, she turned and left, her soldiers following close behind.
“And stay off my non-existent lawn!” Kross shouted after them.
As his own forces wordlessly filtered out of the room, Kross was left alone in his office with his thoughts and worries to keep him busy.

“Great.” He muttered to himself as he opened a series of virtual panels and screens.
“This is Kross to all forces in the sector. We’ve got a suited bodyblock situation, all operations below a level 5 are on standby, anything else is to be sent to me. Anyone caught doing something stupid, I’ll deal with personally and violently.” Then with a single hand motion, the screen in front of him collapsed giving way to a call system.
“Call Satan” he said for the voice recognition to pick up.
“Calling head of in house intelligence operations.” A monotonous robotic voice stated back at him.
‘This is gonna be a pain’ Kross decided as he considered his options.

by **Tomia** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:07 pm

Roy
After leaving Wendy's room, and feeling pretty good about having officially asked her out a date. Roy main his way to the main tower and headed to the living room. After basically having been attacked by someone who wanted to join them, they managed to mostly clean up everything. The window that Ella had smashed through had been replaced, however one panel of glass still needed to be installed. Before he started on party decorations he decided he would fix that. As he picked up the glass he saw the new girl, Renata and Carter together, making noise and who noise what else. It made him smile despite himself. Some of his teammates were hectic as hell but they admittedly helped lighten the place up. After assuring the window was fixed, Roy headed over to Alexis, "Hey, I'm here to help. Do we need anything we don't have?" He asked as he started to blow up a balloon that he picked up from the nearby table.

Angelica
Frost Bite had been fairly secluded since their victory over the vampires. She spent much of her time in the gym or training outside. She hadn't been sleeping very well either, that pit in her stomach not shrinking despite her isolation. She saw the team when she had to particularly Yoshi and Alexis, but she couldn't stand to be around them too much. However, this was starting to eat at her. She missed her friends, an experience that was very new to her. She practically had to force herself out of bed the day of the party. However tough though she managed and she dressed herself in a pair of tight jeans and black crop top. This was unusual for her, but she hoped people put it off to it being a party and the temperature being high. In reality Angelica was hoping someone in particular would notice her...

She put her mask on as well, an item she had come to resent more and more as she spent time with the team. What once felt like a shield had become more of a cage. It made her feel isolated and alone, as if she didn't belong. Still she wore it none the less, unable to face her whole team knowing the truth about her.

She made her way to the living room, where she saw Alexis busily working to set everything up. The masked off duty hero took a moment to admire her from the hallway before moving into the room. She placed her gifts for Wyatt and Mars on the table. She also saw the table full of soda and drinks for the team. She remembered that time Alexis had organized a game night and Angelica had fought her over providing ice with her powers. This time however she went up to each bottle, freezing them just enough so that they would be perfectly cold to the touch. She figured she would have to wait to make a bowl of ice as it would melt by the time the party started.

After that she went and sat on the couch, feeling too awkward to say hello to anyone, even Alexis.

Roy noticed this change in behavior and raised an eyebrow. He and Frost Bite had never been friends really, but she was his teammate and he figured he should try to help her fit in if he could.

"Hey Frost Bite" He called out as he walked to the couch with some balloons in hand, "Want to help me blow up some balloons?"

Frost Bite stared at Roy for a moment, silently questioning his motives. "Okay" She said hesitantly before picking up a balloon and placing it the mouth hole in her mask. She started to blow the blue balloon up and soon it was pretty full sized.

"Well... That was easy." She said which made Roy smile.

"Ya come on, lets do a few more. Balloons at parties tend to be fun after all."

by **Segral** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:44 pm

Sir Edward of Whilton

Chapter 2: Slayer of Dragons

And looking back right at him was....

Two dragons??!!

Well, not really dragons, but they looked like the offspring of dragons and humans, like freakish spawn. They were scaly and green-skinned, with webbed wings stretching out of their back, pointed teeth and talons coming out of their human-like fingers. They even had small horns upon their rounded heads. It was bad enough they were dragons, but the illegitimate children of dragons and humans! Disgraceful!

Straightening up slightly upon his skeletal steed, he clumsily drew his sword from its scabbard, smiling at the Dra'Quinni's apprehension at the weapon. "AHEM!" he said, his words slightly slurred. "Ahem...you! You two! Half-breeds! Stand down, for you will now be purged, by the great Sir Edward Whilton of York! It is time I cleanse you and your sinful lives from this earth in the name of -hic- GOD!"

The Dra'Quinni simply stared blankly at Edward for a few seconds, before bursting into deep, growly fits of laughter, tears beading in their eyes. The laughter and lack of terror Edward was inducing only seemed to incense him, as he turned beet red under his armor, and punched his saddle in frustration, urging Harold forward with his brandished sword in front of him.

"FOOLS!" he shouted, silencing the two, staring up at the sky. "Do you know who I am! I studied for my entire life, battling other children on horseback, swordfighting, jousting others. I was sent to fight in the Crusades in the name of Jesus before my life could even begin, before I could enjoy anything my life could begin to enrich me with! I watched as my compatriots were slain by arrows and blades, their blood shining on their armor. I've died before, slain at the hands of Muslim heathens, resurrected and forced into a world completely foreign to me, a land I barely knew, with abilities I had no scope on. How dare you laugh at me, how--WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction of Edward's monologuing and stargazing, the two Dra'Quinni, leaving a very confused Edward to eat their dust. After a brief second of hesitation, Edward seemed to balloon with rage, lashing the reins so tight he almost broke the horse's vertabrae. "AFTER THEM! DEUS VULT!" he cried, as he suddenly urged the horse forward at breakneck speed, pursuing the quickly fading footsteps of the humanoid dragons.

The little chase, continued on for some time, Edward on horseback, having surrendered his sword for a sturdy crossbow, and the dragons sprinting away from him on foot. The duo of hunters and huntees raced through the alleys, drunken screams of Edward, grunts of the Dra'Quinni, and neighs of Harold all echoing through the brick walls of Manhattan. Despite a near miss involving a rapidly impending dumpster bin, Edward quickly caught up ground, the magical horse running faster than any human, draconian or not. And soon, the Dra'Quinni found themselves near an immovable obstacle; a brick wall, a dead end.

Slowing his pace to a slow trot, Edward smirked with satisfaction as he let out a hearty laugh. "FOOLS!" he cried, hiccuping slightly. "DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD BEAT ME?! ME, SIR EDWARD--"

"Yeah, yeah, Sir Edward Whilton of York, we get it, silly human." the larger of the two dragons spoke, a slight smirk on his face as well. "Look, for a big warmonger, you're not very tough, and you're pretty...er...shitfaced, yes, that's the word."

"HOW DARE YOU! DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" the knight screamed, firing his crossbow at the smaller of the two, the shaft digging deep into his arm. With a pained roar, the draconian man leapt forward, a massive clod of earth, tearing itself from the earth, and crashing directly into Edward's face, knocking him right of his steed. With all the dirt in his visor and his head swimming even more so, all the medieval warlord could see between Harold's legs was the two Dra'Quinni's yelping something in a strange, alien tongue, before their wings unfurled and they leapt off, soaring high into the clouds.

"I WILL FIND YOU, IN THE NAME OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!!!" he cried, shaking his fist as the rapidly shrinking figurea.

Although that presented one question.

"How?"

by **Absolon-7** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:55 pm

Casimir Herman July 17th
Wait, she had closets bigger than the rooms here? How many clothes can a person have to need that much space? Casimir was astonished by how Renata made such extravagance sound so normal. But he couldn't blame her since having that much money would be epic. If he was rich he could actually afford gym equipment that would suit his super strength.

"Well that's swell. It was a pain and a half cleaning it up when we moved in. Especially the kitchen," responded Casimir shuddering at how gross the location previously was, "Dear lord, the kitchen."

Casimir waited for Scott's response but apparently there was another person nearby that Casimir hadn't noticed right near Renata and Scott. The new girl unleashed an onslaught of sentences. Casimir wanted to respond to her myriad questions but there wasn't any chance for him to even breath. At least he learned her name was Elle and Kiris answered most of the questions the girl brought up when she showed up nearby enough to overhear. What followed next was unfortunately not pleasant in any way. The newest girl, Elle, had some sort of beef with Renata and pointed a goddamn nailgun at the girl. The two exchanged some volatile words before Carter interjected with surprisingly a good point even if his delivery left something to be desired. Well, a lot to be desired.

The newbies weren't gonna make a good impression on the team if they started fights with each other before getting to familiarize themselves. Well so much for getting the new guys to get along. Maybe some activity to get them to work together would serve well. A cohesive hive is happy hive after all. Or well, maybe another time. Renata seems done with the new girl.

"Hey, Elle is it? I'm Casimir by the way. Want to help set up some of the games we're going to play?," requested Casimir, "There already around here, somewhere I hope. All that's left is getting the out of whatever box they're in or getting supplies. Which reminds me, I think we should set up the water pong first."

by **Agritum** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:26 pm

Ellery looked up at Casimir, sharing a small pout. Sure, her entrance the day before had been horrific to say the least, and she had indeed escalated stuff with Renata to a degree that was clearly not acceptable for the rest of the students.

Even then, she still thought Laser Girl was the petty agent of a foreign dictatorship who was happily prancing on American soil. Also, she was quite a refined, peculiar example of a Tier S Bitch. But oh well, things can be unjust in life.

"You're the insect guy, right? Uh, well can you take care of this guy while we work on the games? He pesters me a lot"

Before Baal could even reply, he got tossed on Casimir's shoulder. His skeletal leg narrowly gripping the boy's shirt, the demonic spider was about to complain that he didn't really belong to the same zoological classification as insects, but Elle was quick to shoot a silencing glare.

"Anyway, regarding the water pong, I worked on it while repairing the window. Slowed down the latter task, but I think it was kinda worth it. Take a look."

Unbeknownst to Casimir, the pong table had been welded with a complex set of vertical and horizontal wooden boards, plastic tubes big enough to fit a pong ball which took tortuous trajectories, and a set of cups with various points inscribed to them and placed in various parts of the highly modified table.

"The harder it is to make the ball go there, the more points you get. Also see that red cup I actually painted black with a skull emblem? The one behind all those lego obstacles? That cup is an instakill, get it and you win the game regardless of points."

Shadow put her hands on her hips, smiling proudly.

"I call it the A-Pong-Alypse Now."

Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

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