Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[The Rebel Alliances]

Alexis Cain/Vendetta-Old District

There it is, if the sound of the alarm screeching to life was not enough then the crowds exiting the building in a rush surely sent the message loud and clear. I then prompty responded over the line and let everyone know that this mission was a go. "Thats our signal. Be sure to watch for our targets, don't let them slip by you." Sweat began to form on the palms of my weapon as I anxiously gripped the rifle. But as the seconds creeped past and the first car which whipped next to the back entrance arrived which to my surprise was not a black SUV, instead one of those very expensive european super cars. A member of our local Chinese Triads was on his way out to the car as I let the first burst of fire loose, three rounds tearing into the middle aged man's chest.

Not stopping the loud cackling of the rifle continued as holes were punched into the sports car as the driver spun his tires to escape the ambush. "I just eliminated one coming out of the back, keep your eyes open." I announced as the vehicle managed to escape without it's intended passenger. A moment of pause dawned as the back entrance remained abandoned minus the corpse of the crime boss and one of his escorts, restig roughly seven feet from the back door.

I took the moment to reload as I watched for any semblence of movement coming out of the back. And already, I could hear police sirens in the distance.

Time is running out.

"Fuck." I breathed as the realization dawned on me. They must know by now that we have the place surrounded and are blocking off escape routes. They also know that authorities are on their way. Why risk their necks attempting escape when the law dogs will be here in literal minutes in force and do the job for them. After all, they are just legitimite bussinessmen being targeted by whoever the hell. And Brianna is in there all alone with them. Not only that, they force us to come in and get them where they have defensive cover inside the building. They probably think we will cut bait and run once the law gets too close. Smug bastards.

"Change of plans, breach and drag them out. Bystanders would have fled the building already and the fighting can be contained inside. Get in there and bail Shield Maiden out."

They think they can just sit in there with their fancy dinner ware and escape justice by waiting this out? I'll drag their asses in the streets and kill them on the side walk if I have to. I picked myself up and jumped over to the fire escape and descended to the alley below. We have maybe three minutes if we are lucky to get in, kill everyone and get the fuck out of here. So, needless to say time is a valuable fucking commodity right now. Touching down into the damp alley below I almost ran towards the back entrance until I saw my Dodge Demon parked neatly in the alley way next to me. And a enticing idea came to mind.

Swiftly opening the driver side door and tossing my AK into the passenger I ingited the ignition and with a roar the car spun out of the alley and into the street as I cricled around to the front entrance which was just glass windows and doors. With the hand brakes engaged I spun my back tires in front of the restaurant as smoke rose from the back of the car before I finally let the Demon go and surged forward and through the pane glass. Shattering the front entrance as the Demon ripped through the restaraunt like a bull in a china shop. Knocking over tables and chairs as I found the battle already underway inside with several mob members taking cover behind a bar counter and Brianna in full battle dress.

Knock. Knock.

Throwing the driver door open I took my AK in hand and fired from the inside of the vehicle using the gap between the open door and the windshield of the car. Realizing that I had left my RPG back on the roof I radioed into Isaac.

"I forgot the bazooka back on the rooftop behind the restaurant Isaac, could you grab that for me before joining our little tea party in here? I have a feeling we will be needing that for our escape." Also best not to leave it in the open for the neighborhood kids to play with either.

Reloading a second time I fired another burst as I yelled over the fight to Brianna.

"Need a hand?" I yelled in a simple rhetorical statement. Knowing full well that she appreciated it. With us here together now, and the others on their way in we can get this done quickly and get the hell out of here otherwise...

we may not make it out of here at all.

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[The Fallen Jedi]

Asumar Masaki
San Diego, Condemned District
15 Minutes Later

"Had I expected this, I would've decided to stay in my home galaxy and die there." Asumar lamented quietly, lighting up one of his last remaining cigarettes as he sat within one of the many derelict buildings in the condemned district of San Diego. He felt the surge of emotions hit him like a tsunami, the feeling of betrayal being the most prevalent of all of his emotions: Kazuko had betrayed him, hardly even putting up a fight for him to the Federal Council to even consider detaining him in their home country, instead trading him off to Warwolf in order to avoid the ire of the United States! "Damn backstabber..." Asumar grumbled as he looked down at his free hand, remembering the blood he had shed not only for his own people but for all who desired a way out of the self-destructive culture of their home galaxy. "If anything they should at least take those efforts into account before they decide to simply throw me to the wolves like a god damn chew toy..." Asumar paused from his internal conversation, hearing the sounds of a military-grade helicopter approaching as well as sensing the Nexus signature of his brother Kazuko growing stronger and stronger until suddenly a missile struck the side of the building.

Said structure began to tremble and quake from the shockwave however still yet Asumar sat as he tilted his head forward, shaking his head and chuckling. "I never wanted this, to have to fight my own brother..." His fist began to tighten, his shoulders trembling and as he raised his head upwards would his eyes flash with a blazing purple matching his anger "But he's left me with no other option!" In a matter of mere moments would Asumar take flight, thrusting his hand forward causing the roof to crumble before him and offering him a chance to escape the unstable structure. As he rose out of the hole created by his psionic pulse, Asumar would come face to face with his younger sibling Kazuko, whose expression was nothing short of unreadable as he had his arms crossed. "So you've finally lost what it means to be siblings huh Kazuko?" Asumar asked quietly, landing on what remained of the structure's roof. "You know the shady dealings of Warwolf and yet in your ignorance would you choose not to fight the decision of the Federal Council." The Elder Masaki accused, staring directly into the eyes of his brother.

Kazuko hovered over his brother, simply staring at him with a sad expression as he began to speak "I never wanted to do this Asumar." Kazuko said, regret lacing his every word as he attempted to talk down his brother "I know what you'd do had Warwolf been dispatched to capture you, there would be more blood on your hands and the situation would only be that much worse for you and your family-"

"Do NOT speak of my family you god damned snake!" Asumar snarled, his psionic aura fluctuating violently with his shifting emotions. "Do you have ANY idea of the amount of blood I've shed in order for our people to escape the wars that tore our own galaxy into pieces?! The sacrifices I've made so that we could all have a second chance at life?!" Asumar's hands began to tighten into fists until he could feel his nails digging through his skin and shedding blood "And you repay me by throwing me to the wolves you treacherous bastard?!" At this would Asumar's aura explode violently, sending a gust of wind scattering in all directions as the aura around his body began to condense into the signature armor he had donned in his fight against Warwolf only weeks ago "Let me make one thing clear '"brother"." an ethereal sword manifested itself in Asumar's open hand, gripping it tightly and raising it towards his brother, his crimson blood staining the purple blood. "I don't want to hear your bullshit anymore, nor will I allow myself to willingly surrender myself to those Pro-Human Bigots and if you won't step aside..." Asumar chuckled "Well then I'll force you to step aside!"

Kazuko had been anticipating yet another telekinetic attack, being met instead with an arch of purple energy that sent him spiraling backwards into the ground, skidding on his feet as Asumar stood on top of the building with a expression conveying nothing more than anger and hatred. "Stand down Asumar." Kazuko shouted, his body being covered by a thin layer of green energy that enriched the area around him. "I don't want to hurt you."

At this would Asumar begin openly laughing, wings of pure psionic energy manifesting themselves on his back "I'd like to see you try!" With that would Asumar take flight into the air, before barreling downward like a mighty hawk, his sword being held tightly in his hand: the fight between the two brothers had finally begun, neither of them backing down from their stance.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Blizzard/Sam Croft
Old Fart Team Future Base
July 27

"Nope, no concerns on my end," Lana said, responding to Sam's ending question. "Well, just one. Do we have a concrete date in place for when we're rolling out, or is that still up in the air? I get that we need time for the devices and such, but at the same time, we lose valuable investigative time.”

“Still up in the air.” Sam gestured for Lana to wait a moment. He cleared a shelf of wine bottles, then pulled his laptop off the top of another shelf. He started up the Warwolf HQ overview video he'd showed to Naja and the teens. “I've got the Wolf Lair under constant audio-video surveillance We're investigating as we speak.” He turned to Doug: “I'll get you a remote control for the camera and microphone so you can keep an eye and ear on what's going on while Warp and I are inside.”

He brought up another series of windows: three dossiers, each with a woman's photo in the upper left corner, then looked over at Lana. “I've got three people you could impersonate.” He pointed at the first one. “Lucia Chase, who's the chief of staff to Wolfie's 3rd infantry battalion CO. She's essentially his bulldog, manipulating and bullying people into doing what needs to be done. Not the nicest of people, but she's good at her job.

“Then there's Vanessa Luque, the Lair's head doctor. She's a bit nicer. Judgmental as hell, but really generous, and an excellent doctor. Seems the Wolfies think well of her.”

“Finally, Trisha Schmidt, who commands the target acquisition company of one of Wolfie's heavy weapons battalions. If tanks or juggernauts are shooting at somebody, the odds are she's calling the shots. She keeps to herself, but is crazy enough to lead from the front. Probably the best liked of the three, and would be my choice, simply because nobody knows quiet people all that well. Probably nobody will notice if you make a mistake pretending to be her.

“All three would have good reason to be in the Citadel and even the communications hub. The dossiers have as much as I could get on them: hobbies, mannerisms, figures of speech they like, familes, you name it. Pick one, and I'll provide you with a disguise and help you with the acting. We shouldn't need to pretend too much, since the job's just in and out.”

[Finland SSR]

Alexis Cain/Vendetta-Old District

The Mad Lass, Sina As'tari!

---

The fun part of the mission started out with a bang - an alarm screaming at the top of its mechanical lungs within the restaurant and the sounds of battle taking place inside indicated just that. Alexis popped the body of a mafia man who was stupid enough to leave the restaurant and try to escape, and the flow of people soon stopped. Riiight.

Either they're afraid, or they're hoping that when police shows up, they'll be seen as the victims and not as the villains. Neither one was a preferable outcome, so Alexis quickly communicated to the team to move out and storm the building. For a minute or so, Sina leapt from building to building, watching the scene unfold from the distance and awaiting an opportunity to jump in, until finally, that opportunity arrived. Alexis, after driving around the restaurant with her giant chunk of metal, suddenly catapulted it straight into the front of the building and smashed through the windows, walls and people on the way. That's a gaping entrance, a small one, but good enough regardless.

'Bout half my wingspan. This oughta be fun.

"Duck and cover, I'm charging in!" Sina exclaimed into the device which Alexis told her was a 'radio communicator', then leapt down from her rooftop, spreading her wings and descending straight upon the hole opened by the Speed Demon - folding her wings for the fractionof a second to slip through and immediately spreading them apart again to not fall face-first in the ground.

The brief route inside of the restaurant were some of the best seconds of her life. The room was chock full of people her extended claws and fire breath could slash straight through as Sina flew across at speeds faster than your average race car. The air was full of things like lights, chandeliers and columns which she had to narrowly avoid, always with milliseconds worth of reaction time give - it was dangerous, even a single slip-up would leave her falling straight into the crowd armed with enough firepower to punch through her scales without a problem, and that's what made it so, so fun. Smashing through a window at the back of the restaurant, Sina slipped back into the cool air outside, having left several corpses and a fire spreading across the surviving crowd in her wake.

"WOOHOO!" filled the radio chatter from Sina's part. "That was awesome! If you guys need any more airstrikes, hit me up and I'll deliver!"

[The Fallen Jedi]

Part 1: A House Divided - Asumar vs Kazuko
San Diego, Condemed District

Kazuko slammed his palms onto the ground, the vines beneath the earth shooting up into the heavens and then falling upon Asumar like a tsunami who would then counter this by manifesting a second sword in his hand and slicing the innumerable vines that had aimed simply to restrain and weaken him for Kazuko did not intend to harm his only brother. On the outside of his steely and determined expression lied regret and hesitation within, Kazuko never truly desired to fight his brother like this: not as enemies standing against each other but rather as siblings united. There was an internal struggle within the young Masaki, who felt an obligation to serve the people who he had pledged to protect from harm and yet there was this one side of him that honestly wanted to believe that Asumar was right in his assumptions of Warwolf, that his actions against them were justified. Kazuko wasn't able to further consider these thoughts as he could sense an oncoming orb of dark purple psionic energy approaching towards him as well as multiple shards of fine rock that threatened to essentially turn him into mincemeat. Kazuko reacted quickly, forming a defensive barrier of earthen rock around him as the orb made contact, shattering the barrier like glass and generating debris that obscured his sight.

"I would focus on the fight and not on your own emotions, brother." Asumar's voice pierced the veil of the debris cloud, having quickly descended upon his younger brother's location, the outline of what appeared to be a large war hammer glowing with a deep amethyst hue as it collided right into the crossed arms of Kazuko as his eyes widened in utter astonishment and shock before a pulse of energy send him careening backward into a nearby wall, the shock from the impact winding him as the esteemed diplomat collapsed onto one knee. Standing before him was a smirking Asumar, his body covered by an outline of purple psionic energy, mirroring the same aura emanating from his trusty War hammer. "It's been a long time since I've used this weapon..." Asumar stated, seemingly distracted with the elegance of the weapon and the Celestium Stone stored within "Tell me Kazuko, do you remember the name of this weapon?"

"The War hammer of Genesis?!" Kazuko replied shocked, propping himself up with the support of the wall he had impacted. "How did you recover it? I thought the weapon was placed in the vault when we settled on the Elysian islands!" Fear began to slowly but surely overwhelm his senses, noticing that he had lost a good portion of his natural energy from the weapon's impact. The War Hammer of Genesis was a weapon of war that had been designed exclusively to serve as Asumar's weapon of choice during the evacuation of their homeworld and yet they had made sure to lock the weapon inside the antiquity vault after the people of the Elysian Islands made their home on Earth.

"Did you honestly think I'd simply discard the very weapon that helped me survive the war?" Asumar asked incredulously as he held onto the weapon like a staff, absorbing the natural energy stolen by Kazuko into the weapon and by extension further empowering him. "The War Hammer within the antiquity vault is merely a duplicate with a marginal amount of Nexus Energy imbued within it that I forged during the final days in our home galaxy." Asumar had hoped that he wouldn't have to resort to utilizing his legendary weapon but knew that Kazuko was a fairly even match to his own power. "You are perfectly aware of how powerful this weapon is if I don't actively suppress its power as well as know of the amount of blood that has been shed with this weapon," Asumar stated sternly, his hand tightening around the handle. "If you don't back away right now, then trust me: you will have much worse than a bruise on your forearm." He raised the war hammer, pointing the blunt end of the weapon towards his brother, a grim expression on his face.

Kazuko gritted his teeth angrily, propelling himself up into the air as the sky began to darken and rain clouds began to saturate the condemned district. His eyes glowing bright blue as his fists began to tighten in anger: the War Hammer was too dangerous to be held by his brother in his current state, the amount of damage it could do was unparalleled as long as the Celestium Stone remained implanted within the hammer itself. "You've really descended into madness Asumar." Kazuko gritted, rain beginning to descend from the heavens and the sound of thunder rolling in the skies above. "Fighting me one on one is one thing, but resorting to using an item imbued with the full might of the Nexus is another thing." The temperature began to drop exponentially, flash freezing the area around the two brothers and causing the rain to become replaced by snow as Kazuko raised his left hand up towards the heavens, creating extremely large, spear-like shards of ice that numbered nearly in the hundreds. "I cannot abide by this any longer brother for if you are allowed to roam free any longer you could cause more harm than good." The snow falling around the two brothers began to intensify into a miniature blizzard as Kazuko punctuated his stance:

"This fight ends here."

[New Finnish Republic]

Brianna

---

For a brief moment as the fire alarm rang out, the entire crowd within the building remained frozen in surprise. However, as water poured out from above them and the sirens blared even louder, the crowd of people within seemed to realize what had just occurred. In a series of panicked screams and shouts, the crowd of bystanders within the building quickly rushed out of the dining area and escaped what they thought to be a soon to be burning building.

At first, Brianna expected to see the crime bosses inside follow suit, making themselves easy targets for the rest of her comrades outside of the building. This expectation was soon dashed, unfortunately, as when one of the crime bosses attempted to stand up to escape one of his security details stopped him in his tracks. Through thick sunglasses, the man and his fellow security members stared out of the windows of the building, the realization of a trap being sprung on them appearing to dawn on them. It only took a few split seconds for them to scan the rest of the inside of the building, where the saw Brianna standing with her hand still grabbing ahold of the fire alarm looking at them in surprise.


"Heppinn vitskertr!" she shouted as she dove behind a marble column, barely avoiding the oncoming barrage of bullets that swarmed after her. Her ears were filled with the sound of whizzing bullets flying all around her, chunks of the column spilling on top of her head as the group of armed men sought to finish her off. This was not according to the plan, Alexis! she thought through gritted teeth, reaching down to activate her arms and armor. In a flash, the lavish looking young women turned into an armored spear and shield wielding warrior, one which was not pleased to find herself currently surrounded.

"Kringlaugd wierd, ein darraðr for qvoki ne skeifr drpr munni ne svinhqfdi!" Brianna roared as she suddenly lept from behind the column, charging forward with her shield raised in front of her. The armed men around her let out a series of confused curses as their rounds merely ricocheted off of the armored woman's shield. These confused curses turned into shouts of surprise and fear as Brianna reached the midst of them and suddenly jabbed her spear through the nearest man's torso, continuing to rush forward so much that she impaled yet another man with the speartip now exposed through the first man. Using the two screaming men as further shielding from the barrage of gunfire, Brianna charged at yet another man who was frantically trying to reach for his spare sidearm as his submachinegun ran out of ammuniton. Before the man could reach for his weapon, however, Brianna suddenly let go of her spear and instead reached for the man's throat, crushing it with force greater than any common man could achieve, and with a loud grunt threw him in the direction of a pair of guards. The man's body flew into their midst, causing the men to fly backwards as the weight of the gasping man crashed into them.

Reaching back to retrieve her spear from the two men who were letting out pained gurgles, Brianna cursed as a fresh salvo of rounds became directed at her once more. Ducking behind her shield, she gritted her teeth as sparks filled the air in front of her, every impact of the rounds resounding harshly against her arm as she attempted to run for more cover. A round grazed across her ribs, causing the Valkyrie to flinch slightly before she managed to dive behind a dining both that would likely only provide a moment of safety.

Gritting her teeth, she used the opportunity to glance at where the round had hit her, letting out a small sigh of relief as she saw that the round hadn't managed to penetrate her armor, albeit giving the metal a small dent where it had impacted. Her armor was strong, that was something she certain of, but she also knew that the weapons mortals used could eventually overcome its strength should enough damage be applied. By themselves, these men were not dangerous, but in such a large group like this, their overwhelming firepower was enough to worry the Valkyrie. If I'm going to make it out of here, I'm going to need he-

Her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly the sound of gunfire different than what had been filling the air before reached Brianna's ears. Looking over, she saw that Alexis had finally appeared. Whether it was through the will of Odin or pure luck, her comrade had appeared to assist her exactly when she needed it. Whichever the reason was, Brianna was grateful.

"Need a hand?"

Brianna let out a small grin as she glanced over at her comrade. "I would not complain!" she shouted over the barrage of gunfire that erupted into a whole entire new level of chaos. Prepared to enter combat once more, Brianna was surprised to see the sight of the young man named Isaac rolling towards them with something rather...dangerous in his hands.

"Figured y'all needed some help here."

"Only somewhat!" Brianna yelled at the young man before leaping over the counter, once more on the offensive. Using the covering fire of the two to give her enough of a distraction to quickly close the distance, she lunged towards the nearest armed guard, who let out a shocked scream as he suddenly felt something embed into his sides before Brianna's shield smashed down upon his face, silencing the man's scream with a sickening crunch. The man's companions, realizing Brianna was back, attempted to turn their guns on her when suddenly a blast of flames erupted all around them, sending the now burning men collapsing to the floor in agonzied screams as the flames overcame them.

"Impressive, Dreki!" Brianna shouted after her comrade who continued to barrel though the enemies lines causing a great deal of commotion. It is nice to have such an ally, the Valkyrie thought to herself as she quickly raised her shield to block the oncoming rounds of another security guard. Brianna allowed the man to waste his remaining ammunition on his futile attempt at stopping her before suddenly lowered her shield, hefting her spear upwards and towards the man. The man's body was sent flying backwards as the spear pierced through his body with ease, landing right next to a well-dressed man Brianna recognized as one of their targets. The man, seeing his last remaining guard die brutally before his eyes, looked up at the girl rushing towards him with panicked eyes, stumbling as he tried to run away from the armored killer.

He didn't make it more than a few steps, however, before suddnely he felt an iron grip grasp onto his shoulder. He let out a pained scream as he felt the immense pressure digging into his fat shoulder, before being sent off skittering across the floor as the Valkyire tossed him back towards the heat of the battle. His eyes filled with tears, he could only see the outline of the once beautifully dressed woman rushing towards him with a long object in her hands. With a gasp, he tried to choke out a cry for mercy, but was cut off before he could get even a word out as the spear tip pierced through his mouth, resulting in only gurgles sputtering out of him as his body went limp.

Brianna did not have time to gloat over her success in killing their target, however, as their were still many others to find as well as many guards still attempting to put up a fight. Retreiving her spear, she once more ducked behind cover, glancing over at her other comrades to see how they were faring. Locking eyes with Alexis, the Valkyrie screamed over at her over the deafening noise of battle.

"If you have a plan, please use it!"

[Solisian Union]

During her time with the Outriders and Lady Vendetta (Doña Vendetta!), Catarina really had NO idea that her smell and the rotting, nasty, colorful pieces of skin, fat, bone and muscles that were hanging on her clothes and sticking to her skin and riding on her hair was THAT bad. Was it? She didn't know or she didn't care. Catarina was smiling!

And a smiling Catarina was a happy Catarina! She joyfully listened even when she understood ALMOST none of it. Only when the time came that Vendetta said something about trust in English. She saw the bucket of cold water and actually welcomed it, nodding to Vendetta. She was saying

"Si, si, I tru-"

And then the lady poured it over her head, causing her to shiver with delight and shout with happiness. She let the water wash her down from the top of her head down to her legs as she shook herself like a dog and kept smiling at Vendetta. She giggled as she said, arms up like a child

"¡Otra vez!"

She sadly couldn't get more water poured down her head as she felt Vendetta put a wet towel against her skin and clothes. As she cleaned her, Cata could only groan as she looked around at the others, constantly smiling as she REALLY enjoyed being with Vendetta and the cold, cold water. She loved water and she liked it cold and she just enjoyed taking a bath. Who wouldn't?!

She didn't mind as Vendetta did what she did. She didn't care that Vendetta saw what happened to her...reproductive system. Cata just smiled, giggling as an innocent child would.

Cata wasn't a child nor was she innocent. But it was bath time! Yay!

Once she was done, she pouted at Vendetta, thinking it was all over. She shouted

"Ah! ¿No más? ¡Quería más agua, más tiempo para tomar un buen baño! More bath time! More ba-"

She giggled again as she was struck by the force of water from the hose. What was that to Cata? Probably a dead snake that spits water from the faucet it was attached to. Yay! Water! Bath!

She played with the last bodies of soap that stuck to her until she got dried by her. When all was done, she continue to smile. She was really THAT happy.

Then came the tooth brush and the tooth paste. She laughed when she saw Vendetta gag and cringe. Cata said

"Cute!"

But she was silenced as she got her mouth cleaned up by Vendetta. She just nodded to what she said, understanding at least a little that she had to start doing things on her own. Maybe with her help, she can! Yay! Vendetta! And if she follows her, maybe she can have another bath! Yay! Cold water, hopefully, would pour down her head again. Yay!

Once done, she just spat on the ground all the paste that was in her mouth. Then she got the clothes and, because of her joy, she played a bit with the bra. She thought of using it as a hat but when Vendetta planted her face in her hand, Cata cocked her head at this and just tried her best to put the clothes on herself.

--------------------------

Eventually came a mission. Yay! A mission! But what would Cata do? What would the others do? She didn't understand anything (well, she could understand a little but what can she do?) so she waited for Vendetta somewhere near the target building.

And all the while, all she did was hum some Colombian song she heard from the radio somewhere and watch things happen.

She had closed her eyes and hummed that song, kicking her legs like a girl would. She sat on a big chair that she found outside. She'd wait and wait until something happened.

That was when she heard the alarm. Immediately, she stood up from the chair, looked around and tried to do the first thing that came to her mind:

Look for Vendetta or an Outrider. She knows that hunting demands teamwork when a part of a team. So she started rapidly going through the crowds, hoping to find someone to tag along with and eat some bad guys! Well, she WAS the one who's gonna eat them but---

WHOA! Guns, guns! She took cover somewhere dark and nice and waited. One, two, three, four...GO! She, on her hands and feet, went out like a big cat. She made her way to a target, hoping for the best that someone would find her and get her to join the awesome HUNT!

She found one unlucky criminal and pounced on him from behind, sinking her teeth into the back of his neck like a tiger would upon a boar. Cata enjoyed listening to the man scream and trash and smash himself into the floor.

Catarina followed this action with one simple slash of her claws against his back, ripping apart fabric that was probably expensive enough to demand half of his savings. She didn't mind his desperate cries and pitiful movements as she proceeded to tear, stab and simply destroy the man's body.

All as she cried out with the most sadistic tone to it

"¡Puta carne fresca!"

And, of course, that came with the greatest and most disturbing grin that was pasted on her face. With blood and flesh coming out of the man's body as if it was just the corpse of an animal that she had hunted down, Catarina was once again the angel of death and flesh and bones that had come from the glorious but bloody land of Colombia.

[The Fallen Jedi]

"This fight ends here."

Finale: A House Divided - Asumar vs Kazuko
San Diego, Condemed District

As the countless barrage of spears began to descend upon Asumar, his initial reaction was to erect a shield of psionic energy, sheltering him with each barrage of ice sent down from his brother. There was no doubt that Kazuko's intentions had changed considering the cold detachment he was receiving from his brothers end on the telepathic link shared between the two. "Blasted hypocrite preaching peace and yet responding with violence." Asumar replied cruelly as he stared up towards his brother previous location, now being obscured by the raging blizzard around their battlefield, the ice spears slowly but surely wearing down at his defenses. "He's quite persistent but knows nothing about-" His inner monologue would be abruptly interrupted by a searing pain that shot through his forehead, causing him to completely lose focus for only a moment as he gripped both sides of his head in obvious pain "I stand corrected: cheap bastard." Asumar grunted out, the pain slowly ebbing away as he regained his focus only to find that his shield was beginning to collapse from his brief loss of focus.

"Damn it!" Asumar yelled out as he moved to condense the amethyst barrier around himself but not before a flash of light and the force of an explosion would completely shatter his already unstable barrier and what felt like the entirety of a mountain crashing directly into his ribs, cracking most while outright breaking about two of them. The force behind this hit would send Asumar skidding across the dirt surface of the condemned district and as he fell to his knee would the elder Masaki involuntarily cough up a handful of his own blood. Asumar looked up to notice his younger brother clad in bulky earthen armor, a single large fist extended in his direction: Kazuko had actually made that hit with the intention of taking him out in one strike. Attempting to rise up would a sharp, unbearable pain begin to surge throughout his body, involuntarily crying out like a wounded animal as he gripped the side of his body with an exhausted expression on his face.

"You would actually go that far in trying to stop me?" Asumar whispered, staring at the blank face of the earthen armor as rage began to replace his pain "ANSWER ME!" he roared like a rabid animal, still gripping his side with one hand while using the Genesis War Hammer as a staff to help prop himself up. "You're like the rest of those savages from our home galaxy." Asumar gritted out as his amethyst flame began to be extinguished, a crimson red fire replacing his normally purple psionic signature "That wasn't an attempt to force me to stand down, that was meant to kill me you two-faced bastard..." His aura began to expand outward as rage consumed the injured Asumar, the Celestium Gem hidden within his War Hammer now responding to the intense emotions of its wielder.

"You're wrong about th-" Before Kazuko could formulate an adequate response would a sudden surge of pain course throughout his head, the sudden feeling of Asumar severing his telepathic link with Kazuko sending him into shock for a moment as he too collapsed onto one knee. A telepathic bond was an integral part of the Nexus itself, used as a sign of trust between two people and as a promise that neither would fight against the other. Amid the searing pain coursing through his head would Asumar began to stand, albeit crouched over with his War Hammer held in a combat stance.

"Since you're so adamant on trying to kill me, then there is no more need for us to trust one another again!" Asumar extended his hand forward, gripping his brother's throat telekinetically and outright causing his earthen body armor to crumble around him. As Kazuko laid his eyes upon Asumar would he notice a distinct change in his eyes: his usual amethyst hue was replaced by a searing orange and red coloration rivaling even that of the sun that warmed the planet they now inhabited. "Thousands of years, fighting together as brothers in arms for the same goal of finding a second chance at life and this is how you repay me." There was no emotion in Asumar's voice, no compassion: only cold disposition that hid the fury behind his eyes that promised nothing more than death itself. As he moved to tighten his grip on Kazuko's throat so would the thrashing of his brother become that much more erratic in its movements "I'll give you the same treatment as those who had tried to kill me so long ago..." Asumar materialized a dark crimson blade composed of his burning hatred and what remained of his focus, marching forward solemnly as he dragged the blade alongside him.

Kazuko couldn't even properly form words, his breath stolen from him and the cold embrace of unconsciousness as Asumar marched forward wordlessly, an expression of determination driving him forward as Kazuko realized that his brother was serious, deathly serious to escape from imprisonment. "There was once a time that you understood where I was coming from, the things that had to be done in order to facilitate our survival and that was no surrender, no hesitation..." Asumar raised his blade, a regretful expression finally making itself present on his bloodied features "No mercy." as he began to bring the blade down upon his brother's head, however in a moment of fight or flight would Kazuko unknowingly call forward a surge of vines to protect him, one of the vines penetrating through Asumar's lower left side of the abdomen and sending him into complete and utter shock as to what he just did.

Asumar's eyes were wide with terror, his veil of seriousness finally broken as the pain he was now experiencing felt as if every bone in his body was engulfed in flames, the pain being so unbearable that all he could do was scream like an animal in complete and utter anguish. His hold over Kazuko had been broken with the swift movement and yet as Kazuko fell to the ground would the last vestiges of Asumar's composure shatter as he used his free hand to lift the War Hammer and send the blunt portion of the weapon careening into Kazuko's abdomen, shattering most if not all of his ribs and sending him crashing into a nearby building and further damaging his already fragile body "The next time I see you..." Asumar began, his eyes engulfed with a flaming red aura as he brought the War Hammer up into the air "I will kill you." Before sending the hammer itself crashing to the ground and creating a large crater in which he fell into, entering the abandoned subway with a thunderous crash: fleeing from the battle and finally making his escape as the cold embrace of what felt like death finally made Kazuko close his eyes, effectively losing consciousness as the battle of the two brothers came to a close.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Jill Colson/Peacekeeper-Her Home, Residential District-5:15 AM

BLEEP. BLEEP. BLEEP. Uhn, sounds like...Tuesday. I slapped my hand on top of the alarm clock as I slowly opened my eyes. For some reason, getting more sleep these past few weeks seems to make it harder for me to pull myself out of bed. Like I am getting spoiled or something. Just telling myself to try not and get used to it. Throwing the sheets off of my bed I stumbled through the darkness and found the light switch on my master bathroom wall. My blurry eye sight took only a moment to adjust to the sudden light and saw my form which stared back at me from the mirror. My messy bed hair blonde hair scattered about falling in front of my eyes. My plain white undergarments and the numerous scars covering various parts of my body as visual reminders of my time as Peacekeeper. One shaped as a gentle curved hook on my left shoulder. Scar tissue from a stab wound in my abdomen. And numerous left over from cuts, scrapes and even a couple incisions of various kinds on my arms, legs and thighs. Somehw, I have been able to spare my face from any deformities or blemishes. There has been bruising in the past obviously, but no scarring. Thankfully. Turning on the faucet and running my tooth brush beneath it before applying the tooth paste I started my morning routine the same way as I have pretty much always done. Just about down to a science. A minute to brush my teeth, a ten minute shower, five minutes to fix my hair, another five to get dressed, another ten to get Stanley up, another five minutes to find Stanley after he shrinks himself to avoid going to school, another five minutes to make sure he has everything he needs, ten to make us both a quick breakfast, ten more to eat and finally walk him out to the school bus stop. Sould take just over an hour all together. Not including my half hour commute to work. Finaly spitting the paste back into the sink and washing it out I looked back into the mirror one last time before slipping out of my underwear and stepping into the shower to get the morning frenzy started.

Approximitely 31 Minutes Later

"Stanley! Come on out before you are late for school!" I called out from the kitchen counter while making a pot of coffee as I prepared for my kid hunt. Every day nearly he shrinks himself down and makes me come and find him. I know it's a game to him, forcing me to play hide and seek with him before he is rushed off to school and I to work and I return home too tired to do anything besides go over his home work with him and maybe watch a movie. So, rather than punish him or ground him for 'acting out' like this I play along. Besides, I always find him within five minutes or so. He is runnning out of hiding spots. Picking up the #1 Mom cup of coffee from the maple counter I walked from the kitchen into the iving room and down the hall towards the lft to Stan's bedroom. Walking into the room I looked around and saw his toys scattered about the floor. Lego sets and army men were his favorites. But lately he has been shifting away from physical toys to more electronic entertainment. Of course, he does still love his trading card games. I purchased a new Nintendo for him last Christmas and he has been playing that.

Yesterday it was his clothes basket and last Friday it was literally in one of his shoes. Today I am thinking...maybe his toy box? "Warmer?" I asked Stanley aloud knowing he would not answer to give away his position. Only to open the chest and scan through it's contents and see he wasn't there.

"Colder." I admitted. Before my eyes shifted to a set piece of toys he had assembled next to his bed the other day. With action figures and army men and lego fortresses everywhere. I analyzed the piece and then realized that one of his action figures was dressed in the new clothes I bought him last month. Been saving forever to afford them. Specially made for meta-humans to fit their abilities. I wont pretend to understand the science behind it but if your kid turns to fire, the clothes wont burn away. Or...if your son likes to shrink himself, he wont be buried in a mountain of cotton assembled in China.

My detective senses were tingling and they were tellling me my suspect was nearby. And dressed as a action figure superhero.

"Aha." I muttered as I gently picked him up from the pose he was striking trying to blend into his created action scene and then placed him next to the figure who was wearing his clothes. "Found you, you have two minutes to get dressed and get to your juice and waffles on the table." I informed him with a very satisfied look on my face. As I stood back up from my kneeling position and walked out of his room.

Leaving Stanly slightly slumped over and bummed out that I had made a new record of three minutes despite his clever disguise.

At Breakfast

The kitchen television was turned towards the news as I had my coffee and bagel and Stanley poked at his waffle, finishing his apple juice well before the two waffles in front of him. There was apparently a big fight between some foreign metahumans in the Condemned District, reports on WW arresting a local Young Blood and more talk about these new vigilantes calling themselves the Outriders. And that was a headache, starting yesterday I was made the lead Detective in the Outrider case. And if my instincts are on point, it could be a long one.

I flipped the television off just as two talking heads were debating over the ORs and what they meant for the city. I risked losing my appetite if I watched longer plus I wanted Stan to feel he had my full attention when I question him about school.

"So, how is School lately? Is Mrs. Kenders still helping you with your math?" Stan took a bite of his waffle covered in Strawberry syrup and answered kinda lazily, probably still sore at his recent loss in hide and seek.

"Yeah, but..." Oh no, a pause like that means something is troubling him. I gave him a few more moments to finish his statemen before encouraging him.

"But...." I asked, wanting him to finish his statement.

"Nothing...just not getting along with someone else in class is all." If it's that Richard kid I swear I'll give him the scare of his life and drive him to the station.

"It's Richard right?" Stanley just shook his head. Richard was a local bully and made fun of anyone who he believed had lame powers. Being a electromagnetic manipulater himself who just recently discovered his abilities. His parents are currently going through a rather rough divorce and I suspect that has something to do with his behavior in school. Regardless, making fun of normal people and those he thinks he is better than is not a good way to express his discomfort. Especially when one of those kids is my son.

When Stanley found out he had super powers last year, he was ecstatic. He loved them and I loved seeing him enjoy them. But outside of his little games with me he never uses his powers anymore, especially in public and I feel like he is starting to feel ashamed of them. Like altering his own size isn't cool enough anymore. Currently Stanly can only shrink himself, and his limit so far is about three inches tall. But the doctors and aids who work with super kids say he could quite possibly learn to expand his size as well in time. I reached over the small table and place a hand on his. Looking him in his eyes.

"Listen to me, your power is amazing. And I wish I had it myself." Stan interrupted.

"Your only saying that because your my mom-" I cut him off.

"I knew you would say that and no I am not. Look, I help fight bad guys too. Maybe I don't have special powers but If I could shrink, or who knows even grow in size? I would be sooo much better at my job little bear." Stan gave a embarrased look at the use of his little nick name I gave him. Even if no one else is around.

"You promise?" I lifted my hand up in a pinki swear.

"Promise." Then as he took the pinki swear I lifted him out of his seat and set him down to get ready to go to school.

Later that Evening-Old District

"Got you the usual, black coffee three sugars." I accepted the offering with a gracious hand from my partner. Paul Rollins. Or 'Pretty Boy Paul' as some on the force refer to him. In his early thirties he has a handsome face to go along with his two divorces with no kids. Supposedly he is a skilled lover and great on a date but a lacking husband. Of course I wouldn't know from experience. What I do know is that he is a hell of a cop and a faithful partner. Whatever his flaws may be when off the job. Plus, Stan seems to like him. Of course they do not meet often. Just a couple times when I had to pick Stan up immediately from work.

"Appreciate it. It's been a morning." I said from the driver side of our car as Paul saddled himself into the passenger. "Is it the parent teacher conference you had last week?" I shook my head. "No, its a bully issue at school. I am not sure how to coach Stan on how to handle it. I tell him to just ignore it but honestly I am not sure I am giving him the right advice you know?" I explained as I took a sip from the hot black beverage as Paul gave me his two cents as he normally does.

"My take? Your doing alright. As much as I would love to drive with you down there, flash some badges and put the kid in his place it's probably best to wait it out. At that age, kids can lose interest pretty quick. And if it escalates we can always step in."

"How would you know? Your single with no kids." He held a hand up in defense as he swallowed some of his coffee.

"Look, I watch a lot of Dr. Phil alright." I gave a laugh.

"And...perhaps read a book or two."

"Really? Dr. Phil?" I asked with disbelief.

"I'm telling you, I am a well rounded guy."

In this job you get pretty close with your partners. Some even joke that I may be Paul's future third ex. We both let that roll off of our backs though. Thats a line neither of us want to cross, and even those who make the jokes, they know it too. You do not get that personal with your partners. Cannot maintain a clear focus or judgement on the job once you start sleeping together. No, despite the banter and me learning to put up with his very colorful and admittedly charming personality. We are just that. Partners on the job. Covering each other's backs on the streets of San Diego. And occasionally giving each other some advice on the home front. This past month he tried to hook me up with three of his friends, he genuinely worries about Stan not having a father figure in the house. To be honest, so do I sometimes. But...I am just so busy. I am arresting most of the men I meet and I am doing the best I can. Maybe if I meet someone along the way...who knows. But-

"We have a 10-70 on 5th and 7th in the Old District." Interrupted the police scanner which came to life.

"Copy that this is Detective Colson, we are a block away and in route over." With a glance to Paul I put the car in drive and activated the sirens as I started to turn at the intersection when the scanner came back to life.

"All units be advised, the reported 10-70 is now a 10-35, approach with extreme caution. Warwolf is on the way ETA eight minutes."

A 10-35 is code for a major crime in progress. The address is a restaurant suspected of being a front for mob activity and there was that attack at the docks recently. This almost sounds like another appearance from the Outriders.

I sped the car down the road avoiding traffic along the way as Paul checked his side arm. My own weapon is always loaded with rubber bullets, I plan to catch these 'vigilantes' alive. Their motive is easy enough to understand from their current MO, they think that they are doing some kind of good, cleaning up the garbage by leaving a trail of bodies. That you have to go outside the law to find justice for these types of people.

Whoever this Vendetta is, she is playing a dangerous game. And I do not know enough about her right now. I do however plan to get to know her very well once I catch her and all of her accomplices. She may not believe the system works right now. But one day, and one day soon her and anyone else like her...well, they will get the picture.

Arriving at the scene and it was as I suspected, full on panic with crowds stampeding away from the epicenter of the violence. There was the sound of gunfire coming from inside the building and the front entrance had been completely torn down from what looked like the imprent of a a vehicle being driven through it.

"This is Detective Colson reporting from the 10-35! Eight minutes is not fast enough we need all available units down here for a perimeter now!"

"We have just received instructions from Warwolf, you are to stand down Detective and maintain a safe minimal distance. Warwolf has requested to deal with the situation themselves. They have made clear that they are making all haste to the target area." Dammit! If they get here and the Outriders are gone then we lose any chance at gaining a lead on them, and if the Outriders are still here then this place becomes a damned battlefield! Paul was thinking the same thing as we both shared a disdain for the over glorified mercenaries called Warwolf who pretended to be law enforcement in our city.

"Whats the play partner? I have your back." I needed to really think about this. Because one wrong decision and the Department buries two cops today. It was then that I saw a Dragon emerge from the far side of the building, likely a member of the Outriders. We do not have positive IDs on the membership yet, as this is the first sighting by law enforcement and so many witnesses.

Pointing my weapon at the dragon like being I clearly stated my identity and presence.

"I am Detectve Colson of the SDPD! More units are on their way as we speak! Cease your attacks and land on the ground!" While I talked Paul rushed to the back of the car and retrieved a pump shotgun at the realization that his side arm likely would be ineffective against the Dra'Qunni as we both used the squad car as cover hoping we could descalate the situation.

But if my suspicians are correct, and they usually are, that would be unlikely.

[Segral]

Lana Graystone
July 27

OK, there was absolutely no ETA for this. Time to clean out the entire schedule for the next two weeks then, or just label everything in the calendar a "just in case". Well, at least they had an outline of a plan together, and any kinks could be smoothed out over the following days. With a base, it would be easier to communicate and clean shit up, especially considering the fact that Sam seemed to be the mastermind beyond all this, and with more direct access to him, planning this out would be much easier. The man literally had everything backed up on his hard drive.

Including some very informative dossiers on three female Warwolf officials. It would almost be creepy if it wasn't necessary to prevent a city crisis. The plan was for her to impersonate one of them to sneak into Warwolf's big info stores, which would be helpful considering that seemingly every senior official in Warwolf was a woman. Good for them? Anyways, they were pretty dead-on picks from Sam, as they all looked close enough to her appearance to fool some grunts, but had enough clearance to excuse a venture into this "Citadel". All three were compelling, but she would have to rule out the second. She definitely didn't want to be seen as nice or trusted, or be sent running off to patch up some injured Warwolf Cubs. And if she was this Chase woman, then she would have been around harassing soldiers, meaning they were very well-acquainted with her, and they would recognize any mistakes. Meanwhile, Schmidt seemed to be a closed-off type, meaning few knew who she was, and they wouldn't interfere with her orders. Easy pick.

"I agree, let's go with this Schmidt woman. Might be fun to act like a crazy lady, the last thing I acted in was my high school's production of Comedy of Errors."

---

Sir Edward Whilton of York
Uproar

The crusade had begun.

"Deus vult, deus vult, DEUS VUUULT!" he whisper-screamed under his breath as he lashed Harold's reigns, holding his sword aloft as he kicked Harold hard with his boot spurs, sending the horse rocking back on its hind legs and whinnying like Lucifer. Pushing hard with his stirrups, he forced Harold down on all fours, the horse buckling slightly before launching off down the alley at top speed, clouds of dust kicked up in the mad horse's footsteps. "WOAH!" Edward cried, gripping tightly to avoid getting bucked off the skeletal steed as he swiveled the corner, using his front hooves to pivot and charge in the direction of the back exit of the restaurant, where the parking lot would be, small droves of people spreading about. The sounds of murmurs and awaking cars masked the sound of Harold's hooves, but they would notice if he rushed quickly. Tugging on Harold's reins to slow him down to a quick trot, he quickly sheathed his sword, unstrapping the crossbow from its strap across his body. The quiver hung sadly from Harold's saddle, dusty from neglect. Removing three arrows with care, he slung one into the drawn-and-strung bow, wire quivering across his gray fingers.

A man in a suit was rushing out from the back exit, a streetlight briefly illuminating his dark brown hair and thin beard. And his dark, tanned complexion. His breath sucked in quickly, his body tinged with excitement and glee. An Arab! The chance to take revenge against the race that wronged him! Oh, how he would slay this man! Even better, he recognized him from the files that Alexis had given him, an illegal vandal joining the Mexican Cartels! Although, it was odd that an Arab was named "Jose", but perhaps he was masquerading!

With a deep breath, he swung the crossbow to the right, pulled the arrow back with his epic strength, and waited, ecstasy charging him. As soon as the man crossed his sight, he let go, watching as the arrow whistled through the air, hurtling like a battering ram towards the unsuspecting Arab. He had attempted to hit the head, but he came close, hitting the main at the side of his neck. The figure collapsed to his knees, hands grabbing at his arrow to attempt to pull the arrow out of his neck, only resulting in snapping the shaft out of neck, blood gushing out. A black sports car that the figure had been running towards suddenly geared to life and began to roar across the pa, the driver trying to save his own neck from being cut open. Muttering a Hail Mary, he lifted the crossbow aloft a second time, drawing a second arrow into the string. Firing off again, the arrow flew with a dove's grace through the windshield of the car, shattering it and clearly scaring the driver, causing the car to lurch as if a dying horse, swinging to the left and crashing into a streetlight pole. Thanking Jesus, he restrung for a third attempt as the man shoved open the door, leaping out under the halo of the streetlights. The man ran unlike any other, running for his life, his noble virginity from death. But Edward would not let him find Eden, firing off the third arrow straight into the small of his back, sending him tumbling to the pavement. God's kiss.

Suddenly, Harold shrieked and lurched, leaping off into the parking lot as if he had seen hell. "WOAH!" he bellowed, feeling himself be tugged along as headlights came into view, the roar of a car hurtling down the street. As he leapt into the lot, he watched as the car swerved around the street corner towards the front side, a smashing sound coming after. Sister Alexis, the harlot madwoman, what cheer!

"Stay, Harold." he said, dismounting off the horse and pointing towards a nearby building, before turning off and running like a Crusader, not even bothering to notice that the skeletal mule hadn't moved an inch to where Harold had requested! No time for these foolish concerns! He had a job to finish.

Wheeling around to the front, he could see gunshots and explosions and...Sister Sina, flying about as she cackled with glee. Drawing his own sword, he yelled as he charged forward, taking cover behind an open door of Sister Alexis' car to avoid the gunshots, as Sister Brianna destroyed everything about. Crawling on his belly, heavy armor weighing him down as he watched bullets fly over his head, mostly obscured through his thin visor, but visible, like the arrows overhead in the Crusades. Suddenly, he was in the mud again, wet grass in his scents, sky in his eyes, crashing and rupturing and horses whinnying, clickety-clackety of metal and the cries of a thousand men. A holy trial, one in the name of Jesus, one in the name of the Father, one in tje name of Holy Ghost.

And death.

With a roar, he stood up, grasping the edge of the table and flinging it through the room, glass and china of all sorts flying in all directions as the table plunged into a nearby wall, drywall crumbling under the heavy oak structure. The men were surprised by the sudden toss, and confused by the crash, giving Edward the perfect opportunity for attack. Charging forward with shield ahead of his torso and sword held back in his dominant hand, he goaded the filth to attempt an attack, two white cowards with unpolished fingers. Bullets slammed into his shield, and a stray into his breast place, but the strong, magical metal repelled them as Edward lurched forward, shield aloft. He struck the first man in the face with his shield, sending him toppling across the table, glass goblets cracking under him. A second man flinched under the cover fire, and Edward caught him across the throat with his sword, slashing his mouth, chin, and veins with the sword, a bloody smile forever in his lips as he crumpled. Roaring, he leapt up on the table, crouching over the first man. He screamed, attempting to push Edward away, but Edward did not relent, tilting his sword so that the man caught the edge with palm, slicing his hand open. He recoiled as if touching hot blacksmith's iron, and Edward cut him across the abdomen, blood leaking from his pristine uniform.

Another shot rang out, hitting the table near Edward's foot. With a yell, he leapt off the table, narrowly avoiding a burst of gunfire. He couldn't see or breathe, his sweat was suffocating him, his hair was clamping him. He rolled behind a table, feeling around his neck for the supple leather straps. With trembling fingers, he peeled them off, shoving the blocky helmet off of his head, his face revealed. Long-ish chestnut brown hair growing past his ears, grayish eyes, and an ungroomed beard that obscured much of his chin. That was what was hiding behind the helmet, what was reserved.

Lifting his head free, he held his shield a fair distance from his head, attempting to ward off the stray bullets that came, with most being discouraged by his comrades' cover fire. Grunting, he unsheathed his sword, holding the pommel and aiming like a javelin, eyes locked on the white that had fired at him on the table. With no helmet, he could finally aim properly. Silently, he flung the sword at the man, arcing through the air and driving into his chest, into his lung. He flinched, swayed on the spot, and promptly collapsed.

A stray shot hit his shoulder, causing him to duck back, gripping the tablecloth. "SISTER ALEXIS!" he bellowed aloud. "OUR MATCHES ARE BEING MET, WHAT WILL WE DO?!"

[The Republic of Atria]

N'Toak

Orro paid for the clothing Bael wanted, stored neatly with a rather small rune that easily fit within the palm of his hand. It felt like it was made of something rather brittle, but had a slight glow to it. Bael understandably gave him a perplexed looked. "Oh, these. You just snap it with your hands when you get home." He explained. "Humans use bags, but we can store things like this and it's less wasteful. And easier to carry."

"Oh. Okay. That's neat. Do we use magic for everything?" He asked, half as a joke as they took off back towards their apartment.

"You'd be surprised at how much of our society is based around the use of it. It's reliable, the spells break down far less often than machinery and are simple enough to fix if you have basic knowledge of runes. It has it's limitations, and we use technology to circumvent as much of those limitations as we can. Most of these limitations are in the medical field. It's extraordinarily difficult to use the sorcery on living things. The fact that Onu achieved what she has with Kaban is extremely impressive. Though I doubt many others will see it that way."

"It's really hard to do, right? Why would anyone be mad?" He asked.

"Using sorcery to affect living organisms is considered... Wrong. Primarily because of the dangers. There was a good chance that Kaban could have died from what Onu did to him. The way we theorize our sorcery works. We take the energy from a higher plane and can use it to distort reality in certain ways. But the more potent the rune, the more energy required. Which means the object in question has to be able to withstand that onslaught of energy. As you would expect, specially crafted metals, like my spear, have little difficulty taking that much energy. A body has much less margin for error." He finished.

"That makes sense." Bael replied. "So how do Elders play into that?"

"The previous two were extremely secretive with how their sorcery worked. Only they knew, and neither disclosed much information. So I suspect they either don't quite understand it as well as they imply, or they simply didn't want their secrets exposed. I believe it actually might be a bit of both. I know little about Elder sorcery and how it functions or why it seems to defy the "rules" so to speak." Orro wrapped up as they arrived on the roof. "There may have been some wisdom in keeping that knowledge secret. Those two were trouble as it was. I can't imagine we would have much of a planet left if there were hundreds, or even thousands of them around."

The pair entered Bael's apartment. His parents were nowhere to be seen. Probably out doing things. "Alright. Thanks for... Really, everything." He spoke as he headed to his room. Like Orro said, he snapped the rune in half, the clothes appearing in a quick flash and gently floating at roughly head level. He pulled them down, the magic dissipating as he did.

"Of course Bael. I'm more than happy to. Please, go have you fun with Kaban. Enjoy yourself. I want your first impression of us to be a good one."

Bael responded by giving him a hug. Orro was taken aback by the sudden embrace. "Hope I'm not overstepping anything, or making it weird. But you've done a lot for me and I want you to know that I am extremely grateful for all of it. The training, teaching me stuff. All of it."

Orro nodded as he pulled away. "Anytime. No need to keep Kaban waiting. I will still be here when you return."

"Good point. See you later!" He called as he left, walking across the hall to the sibling's apartment. He knocked, the "door" fading quickly to reveal a cheerful Onu, overdressed as usual, but not wearing a jacket.

"That was faster than I thought. You two were hardly gone for half an hour. I would've taken you, but I had to unpack."

"You only brought clothes! Human ones!" Called the annoyed older brother from the other room. Judging from the smell, he was cooking something. "We just finished a few minutes ago!"

Onu shrugged. "He's right, but hearing him complain is funny. What can I say? Humans do clothes better. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Plus there's more to enchant. It'll be great once the colder months come around. I'll probably go back to... What was the city called again? Sand Igo?"

"San Diego." Bael corrected.

"Yes. That one." She spoke as her older brother approached.

"I still wish you wouldn't wear that garbage."

"And I wish you didn't go picking so many fights with human law enforcement that we had to leave the city. Because I still remember that they came after you pretty hard and you lost. You got blood everywhere!"

"Grr..." He grumbled, remembering the blow to his ego all too well. "The food will be done in a few minutes. Do not forget. Bael and I should be back in and hour or so. Come on." He muttered, happy to get out of the apartment for a bit.

"You two argue a lot. Everything okay?"

"Yes. We always bicker. But if I admit I'm wrong she wins."

"Can't have that now can we?" He muttered.

"Exactly!"

[Absolon-7]

Jason

Casimir Herman (pre-press conference) July 27th
Swift action followed Casimir's request for help and the two boys carried the fallen mothgirl Ash through the Tower's hallways and on towards the infirmary. Casimir clenched his teeth as the trio moved through the Tower's disorienting innards and he couldn't but wonder what went wrong. The thoughts raked his mind as he wondered what millions of things could have happened. Did some trauma resurface from her entrapment in Wonder Foundation? Had she received some injury from the night he was searching for her? Or maybe it something to do with the fight she had with Renata? Nevertheless, whatever the reason was he as the great Kabuto had taken her in as a ward and it was his responsibility to care for her. They reached the infirmary where Jacob was the blond teen immediately stood up from his work area.

"What happened?," said Jacob.

"She was flying but froze and crashed down from high up," stated Casimir.

"Alright lay her down on that bed," said Jacob but he did a double take at her wings, "But lay her on her side or else her wings would get injured or in the way."

She was laid down as Jacob had instructed and after doing a quick look over Jacob went to retrieve supplies to treat her. The medic had instructed them to keep an eye on her in case something happened in that window of time.

"Is there anything you can say?," said Casimir with worry in his voice, "Speak your mind if there's anything at all wrong. It might help with Jacob treating you."

Jerome Blitzer July 27th, Los Angeles
A thick stench of cigarette smoke and freshly baked doughnuts swelled in Jerome's nostrils. Cold steel of handcuffs gripped at his wrists and his vision was obscured by the black mesh protecting the policemen driving him. A crooked smirk filled in place of the previously frozen looking face and if had to say so himself his smile would make any lady swoon unfortunately there was the issue of his albinism and that the cops where in no way women. One was some short Mexican dude with a shaved head and the other some fat slob that looked like that Paul Blart character. This definitely wasn't some porno a highschool freshman would imagine with some smoking hot whores. Nope this was just shit luck after he had one unlucky gamble at robbing a store in a new city.

"Can't say whether you're a lucky bastard or some unlucky son of a bitch that hospital you were at coincidentally had a meta that could heal you bullet wound," scoffed the short Mexican scarfing down a doughnut.

"Hey Chavo, we ever found out what his power was or if he even has one?" said the wannabe mall cop.

"Fuck if I know. Tried to get something out of HQ but they say they were so underfunded or some shit so we couldn't take him out. But chief said to transport him right away. Fucking Catch-22 man," said Chavo.

"I remember that book from high school. Hated it," said the Paul Blart lookalike before he slightly turned his head to face Jerome, "Ey, you ever read that book, Silver Fox?"

"Can't say I have," nonchalantly said Jerome, "But sadly gentlemen your favorite thief must say his goodbye."

With the final word he slammed his hands down on the backseat's floor and in almost a domino effect the car seemed to rip in half as the metal ends proved too heavy for the expanding styrofoam to hold together unbeknownst to the policemen. As the seconds ticked by the policemen stared in confusion at each other over what he said with both thinking it must be a criminal's way of coping with his eventual loss of freedom. Not even a yelp escaped their mouths as they held to dear life as they realized what was transpiring. In the moderately busy street the police car's front half spun out of control and hit a telephone pole as it detached from the back half. Meanwhile the back half came to a near halt as Jerome took his hands off so it turned back to its original composition.

Once it stopped completely at a point perpendicular to the where the front half veered off Jerome stood up and with his left hand touched the cuff on the right and transformed it into styrofoam which lead to him effortlessly being set free. He took a quick glance where the front went and saw the Paul Blart lookalike throwing open the door and chucking himself out. He went on all fours before throwing up the past days constants. The short Mexican staggered out the driver's seat and there appeared to be blood on his forehead where the airbag had hit him. Jerome made an audible tch sound in annoyance that they weren't too bad off but what could he do.

"Time to get outta Dodge," laughed Jerome as he ran off into the busy streets of Los Angeles.

Nigh midnight, San Diego

Pick-pocketing some unsuspecting fools in Los Angeles had earned him enough for some train fare and he had spent some time wandering around before Jerome found his friend's place. It was some unsuspecting single story house tucked away other shabby homes. The front yard was a patchwork of weeds, dry grass, and bare dirt. Some potted plants lined the porch which looked reasonably taken care of. Jerome walked up the small set of stairs on the porch and knocked on the door. He had a baggy purple jacket and some black pants he had bought some thrift shop with the last of his pick-pocketing money. He had some sandals too but by God did he hate sandals but these were the cheapest at the thrift shop. In what seemed like ages, the door finally opened to reveal his friend the ever loyal William.

"William my man! How long's it been? A year?," boisterously said Jerome pulling him in a tight hug.

"Get the fuck inside," said William before he gave off a deep sigh.

Jerome waltzed inside and plopped down on the living room's couch. He grabbed an open bag of chips nearby and opened it up while he looked at the TV playing some generic sitcom. William took a step outside and peered from side to side the street before he went back inside and closed the nigh-comical amount of locks behind the door.

"A smart fox slips away before the hounds can get at him," called over Jerome, "Now didn't you promise me something?"

"Yeah. Can't believe you used your one phone call on that, dumbass," muttered William before he sat himself down next to Jerome, "Change the channel to the news."

"What can I say I'm a man of priorities," smirked Jerome as he complied with the request.

"I hear one of the Young Bloods got taken in by Warwolf. That weird pinkhead alien chick with claws and tail," said William, "Didn't you get your ass kicked by one them?"

"Mhmm," growled Jerome, "That fucking Bugboy Kabuto. Thinking his hotshit cause he kicked me out of my turf. I swear I'll serve his to a silver platter one day. I'm sure he's got a long list of gangsters and some noname villains gunning for him. Pompous ass..."

"Nah man, that really stretchy one in LA. Those Young Bloods got a press conference today and she was with them," said William, "Man you're lucky. I'd pay for that mamacita to beat me up. Like fuck man. Tho-"

"Oh, shut the fuck up," snapped Jerome as he threw a handful of chips at William. The blue tinge of the TV illuminated the dark room as shadows thrived in the house. Jerome slumped further into the couch and stared at the replay of the press conference for those meddling kids. Kabuto and Chicle's section in particular made him grumpy.

[Aidannadia]

Somewhere in the Old District....

A black car, plates masked in shadow, pulled in front of a local restaurant in a dimly lit corner of San Diego. Out from the driver's side door, The Chaffeur's long leg stretched out from the car, but this time, he had no passenger he was carrying. There is something to be asked of the role of a chauffeur when their passenger is not there; some say the job is done, or at least perhaps on hold, but this man truly embodied his title. He was the Chaffeur from the moment he awoke, to the few seconds before his eyes had closed when he retired for the evening.

It would follow then, that this trip was not one of fancy, but of a necessity to his employer, the illustrious Alcyone Naftis.

The man's dark glasses hid his soulless eyes from the sun overhead, and as he entered the building, a greeter offered to take his coat and umbrella, to which the man responded with a firm raised palm, not taking another moment with the poor boy before he hand scanned the room with his gaze.

The decor was refined, and the business was slow to be sure, perhaps on account of the 'closed' sign pinned to the front door. Indeed, there was only one table with a few shady characters leisurely talking around it. The Chaffeur sighed, and glided towards the table within only a few steps. He checked his watch, fiddling with the buttons, as he sat down. The dial never moved.

His dark lenses looked back up at his fellow dinner guests, but his mouth remained sealed shut.

"You're Naftis's mutt, right?" A greasy haired man with a gut spoke. The Chaffeur blinked.

"No names." His voice reverberated with no sense of passion or anger. "I am the Chaffeur."

"Right, right, right... So as I was sayin'...." The man continued with his conversation, but the Chaffeur was uninterested, instead looking at each guest intently behind his frames. As he reached the last place setting at the table, he opened his mouth.

"The Tsaress is absent." All noise stopped at the sound of his voice. Something is wrong...

Click. Click. Click. Hurried steps echoed.

EHHHH EHHHH EHHHHH. Sirens blared. Water poured. The unmistakeable sound of shots being fired caused many to flinch or even begin to flee straight from the table, only to be stopped by the suits they'd hired to keep them alive. But the Chaffeur sat there in the pouring wet, fiddling with his watch, protected by his umbrella from the downpour. When the hands of the watch began to turn, he stood alert and began to head towards the spot he believed he heard the footsteps from earlier.

Tires screeched outside the front door, and fire erupted through the windows into the building, causing many of the armed thugs present to jump for cover. The Chaffeur raised his umbrella, the bullets slamming against the top and falling to the ground. Despite the commotion, the fixer could see clearly the garb of a warrior standing before him. She was young looking, but her eyes revealed her experience. Perhaps she should have considered shades to this party.

His umbrella twisted in his hand, with the handle outstretched, and the man pressed a small button on his watch. His fingers split apart, but no blood was spilled. Instead, his entire forearm molded, twisted, and bent into the shape of a firearm, from which he fired at the car parked in the front, while keeping guard with his umbrella from any spear thrusts that were coming his way.

[Finland SSR]

Later that Evening-Old District

The Mad Lass, Sina As'tari!

---

After emerging from the far side of the restaurant by smashing through one of the windows, leaving a trail of fire and bodies inside, Sina continued to circle around the building a few more times, keeping track of the events from above. The battle was rapidly escalating, Edward joined in the battle charging with his full armor and loadout and starting to slay some mafia men while attracting shots from others. Thank goodness. Every shot sent towards Edward is a shot not sent towards her - and she really did not want to deal with a punctured wing right now. Soon Cata burst in, running like a while animal and feasting on the few unfortunate scaleless who happened to be in her way.

God, cannibalism is disgusting. There's a million types of animals she could eat and she just has to choose her own?

The rest of the team seemed to stall in their battle. Edward was calling for help, Brianna was struggling. Maybe it's time to call for an another airstrike? Oh-

"Huh?!"

Someone from below was speaking directly to her. Sina stopped in her tracks, flying in place and looking down as two scaleless she hadn't seen before demanded her to descend to the ground, while also informing that one of them is Detective Colson and more units are on the way. Listening to the scene unfold, the Dra'Quinni pulled up her radio communicator and shouted:

"Guys, guys, we've got a problem. There's police outside and more of 'em are coming, what do we do?"

Just in time, she got the idea that maybe she should not ignore the two people pointing guns at her. Sina waved her arms, practically flailing then, and exclaimed:

"Could you give me a minute?! And not point guns at me! I ain't gonna attack you or nothin'!"

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[The Fallen Jedi]

The Exiled
Condemned District, San Francisco

The sound of Asumar's hollow breathing echoed throughout the desolate tunnel of the Condemned Zone, the former diplomat of the Elysian Islands gripping onto his War Hammer as a support to help carry his weight, which had now felt more heavier than before due to the wounds he had sustained in his fight against Kazuko. Eyes glowing a dim purple as he continued down the track with a pained expression on his face as each step felt like a knife was being very slowly dug into his gaping wound. His foremost thought was about his son Ryuichi while his second priority was to find a way out of the United States and if possible, to relocate to another world as quickly as feasibly possible knowing that now there were two powerful governments that sought his capture or his death. Beyond the searing pain that was tearing through his body, all Asumar could feel was nothing more than a cold rage at the feeling of being betrayed by the very people who he had helped rescue from extinction, had he known this he would have simply elected to leave the people of Elysium to the wolves in the Aquila Galaxy to die and maybe he and Kazuko could have done something else to protect their homeworld from attack.

"I... am not going to die... here." Asumar snarled to himself as his vision became only that much more distorted with each painstaking step he took away from the Condemned District, stopping only a moment to cough up a handful of blood that dripped through his fingers and onto the ground below and yet as his vision began to slowly fail him would a faint and obscure voice begin to echo within his psyche. It wasn't Kazuko's voice that called out to him, but it was a voice from long ago, one that he could have sworn memory of and yet couldn't put a face to this mysterious voice. Visions of a lush, jungle world filled with vast seas and mountains cresting over the clouds were made apparent to him, as well as a monolith of blue energy that reached up into the bright white skies of land foreign to him in all of the centuries of his life.

The pain would suddenly reach a point in which made it impossible for him to continue his trek any further as he crumpled to the ground in front of an abandoned train station, the purple outline around his eyes beginning to flicker like a dying flame. Asumar let out a pained gasp as he erratically reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of what appeared to be a greyish liquid. There was an initial reluctance for him to resort to using nanites to further accelerate his healing, however he slowly began to realise that if he did not do something to hasten his healing that he would very well bleed out before anyone or anything would stumble onto him "Oh to hell with it..." Asumar snarled subconsciously as he lifted the cap off of the vial and lifted up his shirt when the wound was located and began to very gently lower the liquid into the wound "These nanites better be top notch." The pain in his wound would sharply intensify as he bit on his lip to muffle his pained groan, his body leaning up against the wall behind him as Asumar closed his eyes hoping that maybe sleep could help heal him faster.

[Vanquaria]

---

Bu Liao, King
Wonder Island, San Diego

---

The 'King of the Humans' had been his moniker in the arena. His fist, leaking blood from multiple cuts and covered with sand, had connected with the chiseled jaw of the champion so cleanly it had felt like slicing through cheese for the Chinese teenager.

He had been only 16 years old when he defeated the then reigning blood fighter of China's underground fight game. Bu only learned after the fight, recovering within a tub of ice and water, that he had given his opponent traumatic brain injury and the man would be put down by his sponsor who did not want to bear the high costs that came with the long-term treatment required.

This had been Bu Liao's reality for many years since his father had given him to the nasty-looking men with dragon tattoos on their arms.

'King of the Humans' was the title of the reigning killer human fighter of the East Asian bloodsports. The key word being 'humans'. There was a level even above the bloodsports, a level accessible to beings that surpassed mortal limits; superhumans. If the circumstances had not changed, Bu would have kept fighting a long line of challengers as that was the responsibility that came with the title of being the strongest human fighter. For the Chinese teen, that was the preferred career choice. He had no other skills, no education besides his martial arts training...the "normal" world had no place for a boy as crude as him on its streets.

However, circumstances did change. His master, a powerful Triad lord, had had his assets in Japan damaged by a hero known by the world as the One-Eyed Dragon. And the assets lost had not been cheap, not at all. Thus, in order to make up for loss, his master had simply put his most prized fighter, his most prized human fighter to be exact, into a Hell Match.

The term, 'Hell Match', had come about from the raw bloody spectacle and collateral damage that resulted from the clash of 2 strong superhumans. Hell Matches were so dangerous that only the wealthy and powerful could afford to be spectators for such were the costs of transporting and forcing a superhuman to fight to the death with another. Despite combatants in this competition technically being superhuman, fighters that were true, natural superhumans were rare and most of the fighters were in fact fighters enhanced by chemicals, technological augmentations or armored hulks.

Bu's first Hell Match however had a live audience. This was because Bu had been regarded as a mere human back then and his opponent was a superhuman. No one expected the human fighter to win, even if he was known as 'King of the Humans' for how could a mere mortal beat a superpowered monster?

His opponent had been a very, very large man at 6 foot 8. His powers were derived from a mixture of drugs that enhanced his muscle mass to gross proportions. The drugs also made him angry...very angry. The second the bell, known as the 'Death Bell' by the audiences, tolled the monster and Bu both closed the distance between each other. What happened next was so brutal that even a clip of that match would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

No one believed what happened, not even Bu's own sponsor, the Triad boss. His boss would endure the repercussions of that match for the coming weeks, even fellow Triad bosses accused him of what literally everyone in the scene believed at the time; that he had artificially enhanced his own fighter. The consequences of the match would fall most heavily on Bu though. His back would get whipped by hooked whips and his face used as a punching bag for other human fighters of his master. Then, he was thrown back into another Hell Match. And, once again, he would win.

Wuying Yun, the owner of a telecommunications company that spanned the length of the Silk Road, first met the King of the Humans in what would be an event attended by not only crime lords around the world but also martial art masters, mercenaries and even certain heads of states. Well, to be accurate with details they attended a private screening of the Hell Match that would determine the King of East Asia's bloodsports. And Bu's opponent? His opponent was the toughest he would face yet in his life.

Not only was his opponent a master of the martial arts but he was also a mutant being in the form of a hulking, bipedal crocodile. Natural armor, sharp scales, fangs that would chomp down on a human skull like a tomato and a great tail to top it off, the current King was a monster in every sense of the word.

The battle between the both of them would become the most-viewed spectacle in the history of the Hell Matches, at least in terms of the quantity of spectators for this special competition as the restriction on who could spectate meant that spectators were of course very low in number and very high in class.

Both beings, one a a mutant martial arts master and the other a fighting prodigy in the ultimate human body engaged in a ferocious struggle across an enclosed, domed arena of sand and concrete spanning an entire football field. It was truly man against beast.

The sand beneath their feet would continually erupt in great showers of minerals as they sought to overcome the other with everything they possessed. Attacks were parried and deflected at speeds the average human or even a normal human fighter would struggle to register. Seconds became minutes and minutes became hours. Soon, pools crimson liquid would seep into the earth and dark red became the color of the concrete walls...

The first time in 6 hours since the fight began, there would be stunned silence within the spectator rooms. A massive figure of muscle, the pores of his skin clogged with blood, was seen lifting the body of a crocodile and breaking its spinal chord with his knee. There was no teen boy to be seen. The only living creature within that arena was something that barely resembled a human yet was clearly not a human. The muscles on its brutish body bulged abnormally, boiling bubbles of blood on great flesh wounds around his body, thick veins pulsing beneath his skin and most disturbing of all, an eery smile of euphoric delight on beneath a pair of unfocused, red eyes.

---

July 28th, 2017

A black limousine cruised to the front entrance of arguably San Diego's most famous building; the Wonder Tower. The white-haired, Anglo-Saxon face of the chauffeur appeared from the car, clearly moving to open the door for his passenger, but his usual poker-face contorted into surprise as his client opened the door for himself.

"Xièxiè Lǎotóu," bowed Bu Liao, his bald head shining under the glare of the blazing sun above. Anyone watching would notice Bu, well, their interest would not be in Bu himself but rather his attire which quite frankly even for liberal American standards, was noticeably outrageous. This was especially true of the chauffeur, who was the closest to the foreigner from asia and thus could appreciate the true horror of what was on the boy brimming with enthusiasm.

Golden key chains were hung around his neck. His upper body was covered by a purple, winter cloak and below were tropical, blue and red shorts. His eyes were covered by a pair of Ray-Bans tinted pink. The worst aspect of his overall choice of clothes was what he wore on his feet; mother-fucking yellow crocks.

Suddenly, Bu coughed and the chauffeur quickly looked back at his client, the older man's face now flush with red. Before he could open his mouth to issue an apology for his uncouth behavior, Bu spoke first.

"Ah, I...what I mean is thank you very much, old man," Bu then smiled, showcasing rows of perfectly white, perfectly aligned teeth, "I will be on my way now, goodbye!"

Bouncing up to the entrance of the Wonder Tower, Bu turned back to give one last wave back to the limousine. It wasn't often that he received such treatment from somebody else so even if it was a paid service and the relationship between the chauffeur and him was strictly professional, the Chinese teen could not help but feel warm gratitude for the experience.

Hefting a black duffel-bag over his broad-shoulders, Bu waltzed into the Wonder Tower for what would pretty much be his first job interview. And it was a job interview that he could not, no, would not fail.

Wuying Yun, the man who had bought his freedom, had told him all about the concept of "heroes". People who risked their lives to save others. In all honesty, it was a completely foreign concept for Bu yet he listened attentively. This was the man who had took him away from the arena after all. But it was not because Bu felt he was being treated inhumanely in there. No, that was not the case at all.

Winning match after match, Bu's worth as a prized fighter became exorbitant to the extent that his master recognized his slave's worth and took measures to make sure everything Bu could ever desire was easily accessible. A penthouse, sports cars, women, it was all there. Bu was no longer officially a slave within the Triad but an esteemed member of it, feared by even the bosses. Yet, the man himself did not feel like the king everyone made him out to be. The environment he lived in, no matter how much of a facade the Triad tried to put, was still the environment where he had been whipped and tortured. Even if he was not a slave, he felt like a slave. Trapped and unable to escape a life of fighting in the arena.

Wuying Yun did not buy a slave but rather paid off the price required by the Triad for a member to leave their organisation. It was in the millions, numbers significantly lower than what Bu was really worth. This was because after the final showdown, his bosses realized the relationship between them and Bu had blurred. They could no longer tell who really possessed power in the relationship and thus, accepted the price Wuying offered for Bu's freedom from the criminal world.

The selfless act by Wuying was the first time Bu had experienced what could pass for human compassion. Thus, the teen felt he was indebted to the billionaire despite repeated attempts by Wuying to convince him otherwise.

Months later, after extensive preparation and waiting, Bu finally entered the United States of America and now found himself inside the Wonder Tower of the Young Bloods organization, standing outside the office of the hero known as Naja.

"Come in," a feminine voice called out to him from behind the office doors.

Puffing up his chest, Bu strode into the room to come face to face with the Young Bloods chief babysitter. Yes, that's what Bu thought of Naja despite Wuying tring to tell him that Naja was more a supervisor than a babysitter. Bu did not know much about supervisors but he did know much about babysitters. His time as a prized fighter had meant he was also appointed as security detail for the children of his boss. No, Bu was most definitely not the babysitter if that's what you're thinking but he played witness to the real babysitters and all the chaos hat regularly ensued in their profession. That's why he thought of Naja as Naja the Babysitter. A babysitter of not children but of furries and wizards.

Remembering what he had learnt about Western etiquette, Bu bowed, "Greetings Ms Naja, I am Bu Liao."

"Hello Bu, please, take a seat," the snake-woman gestured to the chair in front of her.

Smiling politely, he happily sat down. Bu was not at all perturbed by the abnormal appearance of the mutant he was talking to. He had learnt long ago that mutants were people too. Well, perhaps not the mutants he encountered on a regular basis in the underground.

Naja had experienced all sorts of people in her life. From crazy villains to shy furry moth heroes, that experience helped her judgement of who was and who wasn't fit to be a Young Blood. However, the Chinese teen in front of her was different from the others. She struggled to put a finger on it and decided to leave it till later. She had a interview to focus on for Zark's sake!

"There are many young teens like you around the world that dream of joining the Young Bloods but it is not unusual for to hear one individual's reason for wanting to join our organization differing greatly from the next individual's reason. This is why I must ask you, Bu, why do you want to join the Young Bloods?"

Bu responded without hesitation, "I want to join because people are depending on me."

"Depending on you? Can you elaborate on what you mean?"

"The people who took me in despite knowing my background, they gave me clothes, food and money with no expectations of me to pay them back. I have never experienced something like that before so I asked them why? And they told me it was because they saw potential in me, potential that they believe must not be squandered in the life I previously led."

Slightly taken aback by his fluent English and his straightforward manner of speech, Naja swore Bu's file said that he had never been anywhere outside of East Asia. Immediately coming to the conclusion that this must be an innate ability of his, she leaned forward.

"I have to be frank with you Bu, your background is quite concerning. We won't go into details about it now because I feel there is no need to. However, I would like to know what you yourself think your experience in that place taught you. How did it affect you as a person?

Bu was about to reply immediately but quickly held his tongue. It was a good question in his opinion and answering it immediately would be quite uncouth of him. Allowing himself a moment while smiling gently at Naja, he collected his thoughts then answered, "Well, I'd say my experience in "that place" has provided me with the life lessons and education I needed as a person."

He paused for a second before continuing, "Although my development from a child to the young adult sitting in front of you now would not be what any culture considers appropriate, my superhuman abilities are the only reason why I have managed to achieve growth in an environment that would hinder an ordinary person's physical and mental development. Given everything that has happened to me since my own father sold me into slavery, you can say that I am just lucky to be here talking to you Ms Naja."

Despite Naja smiling cordially at his response, Bu could not tell what she thought of his answer. Yet...the former fighting slave was proud, proud that he had answered in a manner that respected who he was not as a fighter but as a human being like everyone else.

"A very touching and inspirational story you must have Bu. I am proud of the fact that my job lets me meet young people like who, people who persevere through life no matter how high the odds are stacked against them."

"Thank you, Ms Naja, you are too kind," Bu bowed his head.

"No please, it's my pleasure. So, back to the Young Bloods, it's no secret that we are a team that fights evil. The key word being 'team'. Are you willing to work with others Bu? Can you?"

Bu flicked through his head for memories of him working with someone else to overcome otherwise insurmountable odds. None came. Well, there is only one answer then he thought.

"To be honest Miss Naja, I have never fought alongside another person but, I believe there's a first time for everything."

There was silence after that, both beings having smiled at each other since the beginning of the interview and neither having ceased to since. It was broken by the voice of Miss Naja.

"Yes, I too believe there is a first time for everything. Bu Liao, I hope you have enjoyed your first successful job application."

Without hesitation, the male teen stood up and extended a hand to Miss Naja. She accepted and they both shook briefly before Bu stepped back and bowed deeply.

"Thank you Miss Naja. You will not regret choosing me."

A laugh escaped Naja's mouth and she said, "Ha, I hope not! I'll see you soon Bu."

Sitting back down, she watched the teen exit her office. Then she realized the answer to her question about what was different about Bu Liao.

In the volume of a whisper, she told herself the answer aloud, "He's alpha as fuck..."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

The boy stood the side of an old tower that had been torn from its rightful place on solid ground, floating above a glaring white abyss. He looked up, and beheld naught but pitch black as far as his eyes could see - he assumed this was the sky, but with nary a star in sight, he did not feel he could be certain.

Where am I? He wondered. He tried to say it as well, but no sound would come out of his mouth. He tried again, then tried shouting, then screamed his lungs out until they felt they were on fire, but still the sound was all snuffed out by the black void, and he fell to his knees.

I wasn't here! He screamed in his thoughts as he tried to breathe, to no avail. Try as he might, there was simply nothing to inhale, and the strain placed on his lungs as they tried to take in something that wasn't there made him feel in pain, sick and weak. At his wits' end, he raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

I WAS HOME! He raged as he struck the stone beneath him. As his fist impacted the mighty wall, the abyss flared, a sudden white light engulfing everything in sight and blinding him completely while an intense pain shot through his hand, which felt as if it had exploded. Soon, the light subsided, and he opened his eyes. The abyss had now taken a green hue, casting toxic light upon him, and various chunks of different buildings appeared all around the void. Opposite to him, he recognized the tower of St. Nicholas' Church, and close to it was Hakkon's Hall, lying in two halves on either side of the broken spire.

"Home...?" He mumbled, now full of doubt. More and more familiar scenarios began appearing around the abyss, circling it, eventually crashing into each other - whenever this happened, one of the two would inevitably spiral into the abyss and be swallowed whole, disintegrating into stroboscopic lights. As he swept the bizarre desolate landscape with his eyes, the boy noticed a single island in the sky that did not seem to orbit around the neon green void, and was in fact positioned right above it, so close to it that it seemed a simple push in the wrong direction would send it spiraling to its doom.

Suddenly, as if reacting to his discovery, the blackness surrounding him rumbled, and out of nowhere a platform rose in front of him, made of concrete, wood and stone. Blood stains were easily visible on the jagged borders, and he instinctively took a step back, as if repelled by the sight.

This... this isn't the first time I see blood, is it? Then why... why am I frightened?

Swallowing hard, the boy took a deep breath, stepped back, and then jumped towards the platform with a running start. Time seemed to slow down, and the distance appeared to become endless, with every agonizing fraction of a second feeling like he was about to fall just short of his goal and plummet into the verdant void below. Suddenly, everything sped up, and before he knew it he was letting out a cry of pain. He was on the ground, clutching his leg: one of the platform's edges had slashed it open. He expected blood to spurt out relentlessly, but nothing seemed to come out.

After a few moments, he gritted his teeth, gathered his strength and stood up. His leg hurt far less than it should have, and he noticed that there was another platform nearby, this one made of snow and glass. Parts of the snow were stained red, and he could see red on the reflection of the glass, though as he looked in the opposing direction, he saw nothing but the infinite dark.

The boy shuddered and shook his head before making the jump. Space seemed to spin all around him making him dizzy and destroying any sense of balance he might have maintained while in mid-air. When he crashed into the next platform, he had a huge gash across his arm, and cried out once more, clutching his arm and questioning its lack of bleeding. Was he as empty as the space around him?

Time passed, first seeming like minutes, then hours, then he began to suspect that days passed without him being able to reach his destination. But at last, a final platform rose and he set foot on it, covered in a myriad black scars, though there was not a single stain of red on his person. With a sigh, he gazed upon his destination, and his eyes went wide. It was... home, but at the same time it was not. Walls of an old villa starkly contrasted with a terrace house and the weathered front of an abandoned mansion. All three environments were in conflict, and yet, all three had something in common.

Is this the end of my journey? The now weary boy wondered. A final leap, and he crossed over.

And his home was gone.

Replacing it was a cyclopean black pyramid, almost invisible against the void. He stood on the very first of four rungs, each of them massive, with a strange white glow coming from the highest point in it. Seething with anger at his goal being taken away from him, the boy resolved to see this through to the end and began walking towards the second rung, soon discovering that the wall in front of him had grooves that could be used to scale it, albeit with much effort and patience, as they were small and difficult to see. Thus the long climb began, and when it concluded, he walked once more, to the next wall. Each phase took exponentially longer than the last, slowly grinding away the boy's already worn patience.

When he finally made it to the top, the sight that awaited him was perplexing. A white glow atop the pyramid, near-blinding against the void, floating above a dais and between pillars. Suddenly, the white scattered, covering every inch of the empty sky and revealing a figure held against the pillars by a myriad chains. As his eyes adjusted to the new environment, the boy looked upon the figure, only to see himself there.

"Here we are, face to face again. It is not something that happens very often, is it, my dear one?" The other him said with a voice that did not belong to him, laughing a laugh that was not his. He was confused, but then, as he looked on, he saw the other him transform. White hair turned blood red and cascaded down to the floor as his doppelganger's eyes turned an intense, burning blue. Its features became softer, its body more slender, and several pairs of wings began growing out of its back, giving it a clear otherworldly presence.

Some might have called her beautiful, but he was livid.

"Do you perhaps prefer this appearance? Your confusion seems to have gone away, at least." She laughed again, a pleased smile on her face. This only inflamed him further, and he raised his fist, lashing out at the creature.

The abyss beneath flared once more, blinding him. The toxic green was gone, replaced by a deep, seething red that raged against the now white void. The dais was gone and so was the doppelganger, but before he could so much as look around, he suddenly fell to his knees, his body invaded by a strange weakness. The scars that covered him began to peel away, and it seemed as if a black substance was leaving his body, dispersing into the white or swallowed by the red. He felt his burdens and emotions clearing away, and simply allowed himself to fall to the ground, growing colder and colder.

Then, before the process could conclude, the entire world shook, and he fell into the abyss.

---

July 24th

---

"That's one way to get out of bed."

Adrian opened his eyes with a start, suddenly conscious of the sore feeling that permeated around half his body. Incidentally, it was the half of his body that was pressed against the ground. With a groan, he attempted to turn so that his back was against the ground, but he was stopped halfway through by a piece of furniture behind him. Making some more effort, he finally managed to inch away from the sofa and lie on his back.

"You know, 'ugh' and 'hrgh' aren't the words I'd use to greet a friend of mine." Said the same voice from before. Looking up, he saw not the hated red-haired monster that plagued his dream, but the face of a relaxed, friendly girl with black hair, violet eyes and an amused smile on her face.

"Faen ta deg."

"What was that?" The girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." The sorcerer replied as he reached up with his arm and pressed his hand against the seat of the couch, taking a deep breath before pulling himself into a sitting position. He was tired, but not nearly as much as he had been the night before.

The night before. Suddenly, he broke into a grin. "Astrid... we, we really did it, huh?" He spaced out the words, as if uttering them with some sort of reverence. Astrid's response was a simple, matter-of-factly 'Oui', and he nodded to himself upon hearing it, as if further confirming everything. "Without a hitch, too. The Cabal's first grand piece..."

"Without a hitch is a bit much, non? My boyfriend was put in a block of ice and was nearly burned to a crisp afterwards, and your magic almost burned out before you escaped from the scene. Far from a flawless execution, mon ami." Astrid replied.

"Bah. All worked out according to plan." Adrian stated with a dismissive hand gesture. "We didn't even have to use all of the assets we had at our disposal."

"Because your new friend the crazy doll girl took away some of the heat. Don't think I've forgotten about that meeting of yours." The girl replied, her voice growing distant as she briefly moved to another room.

"Ah... that's right." The sorcerer mumbled, his mind briefly returning to the meeting he had several days ago and its role in the Cabal's assault on the Wonders Foundation. His thoughts then wandered back to Marionette herself - he wondered how her attack on the Hilton had gone, and made a mental note to try and find out later.

"Not that it matters." He resumed. "I had planned for this well before our meeting - everything was accounted for in sufficient measure to deal with any resistance those soldiers and heroes could put up. If anything, perhaps we should have used our full arsenal regard-" He paused as he noticed Astrid's hand placing down a mug of coffee next to him, on one of the crates left over by the Russian mobsters they'd kicked out weeks ago - they had since been emptied of the Blood they contained, and were being used as furniture. "For me?"

"Yeah, I wanted some coffee and thought I'd make some for you as well. I'm sure you need a pick me up after last night." She stated as she sat down on a smaller sofa nearby, sipping some of the hot beverage on her own cup.

With a sigh, he finally stood up, only to promptly slump down on the seat of the couch. He then grabbed the mug set in front of him - a detestably cliché white mug with the words 'World's #1 Wizard' on it, one of his most prized possessions - and took a big gulp from it, letting both the searing sensation washing down his throat and the caffeine he consumed jolt him awake, burning off what little drowsiness remained.

Relishing the bitter taste for a moment, he took a more moderate sip and then glanced towards Astrid, who was herself looking at him with curious eyes. She was wearing a black coat, and judging by the fact that it was a few sizes too big for her, he could guess she wasn't wearing much else. With a fugacious smirk, he turned away.

"So I passed out on the couch then?" He asked, not remembering much of the previous night after he'd finished the spell to make his escape from the Wonders Foundation - the urgency of the situation meant that he had to take a bit of an astral detour to make it out of there sooner, and those always messed with his head.

Astrid simply shook her head. "Not on the couch, on the floor. Beast picked you up before we left."

Adrian nodded. "Where is he?"

"Sleeping like a vampire." She replied, and the sorcerer snorted before nodding again. The two of them continued drinking coffee in silence as the rays of the morning sun trickled in through the window, a part of Hex still marveled at how everything had worked, at how he was still alive despite all odds and at how beautiful the sunlight looked after you'd been stuck the better part of the night in an unknowable void.

His thoughts then wandered back to that dream. An allegorical mirror of the chaos inside his head... a chaos that seemed to have receded. He felt his usually impressive reservoir magical energy numb and dormant, but his thoughts had an astonishing yet familiar clarity to them: he felt he could outsmart the riddlers of the Land of Steel, or brave the outskirts of the realm of the Gardeners, even with most of his power gone. Most importantly... the beast was silent.

"Are you feeling alright, mon ami?" Were the words that suddenly thrust him out of his reverie and back into the real world.

"Ah, yes, sorry. I just feel so... lucid right now, it's amazing." He said, his gaze still firmly fixed on a nearby window - the magical circle that warded the house made it impossible to see them there from outside, of course, so he was not worried about busybodies.

Astrid continued looking at him with uncertainty for a moment, before a look of realization appeared on her face. "Ah, I take it you're going out today, then?" She asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. It's a fine day outside. I think I could stand to see some sunlight now and then." He smiled. "It's not like anyone will recognize me without the mask." He said confidently, before turning to look at Astrid. "What about you?"

The girl simply shrugged. "Beast's going to just sleep the entire day, so I think I'll go back home, listen to dad yell at me for a few minutes, and then do what I always do. Maybe even call a friend over." She said, bringing her cup to her lips only to remove it a moment afterwards, looking inside - it was empty.

"The blond guy?" The sorcerer asked, receiving a simple 'mhm' in response as the girl placed her cup on a nearby crate and stood up, headed towards the stairs to the second floor. "Right. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, then." He said to her just as she vanished from view, downing what little coffee remained on his mug in one gulp. Setting it down on the same crate, he rose from his seat and walked over to a small table which held several magical instruments, among them a small pouch with chalks and various runes and amulets. Taking a deep breath, the sorcerer began sorting through them and picking out a few to take along.

He had a long day ahead of him.

[Finland SSR]

Mizuma Kartiar, the trickster Architect!

---

It's been... a day. Was it a good day? Mizu's guess so far was a "yes", but who knows - if she comes back to her house back in the town to see her parents looking down on her with fury, maybe she'll have to reconsider.

The thing is that a few hours ago, she may have gone a liiittle bit too far with a prank of hers - but she couldn't help it! A member of the Elysian Council came to visit Averian Island on a speaking tour to campaign about some new tax reforms or whatever - it's a big event, with a lot of important people, how could someone not decide to try to have fun with it? And the councillor is from the Golden Horde, too! They're always serious about everything, they're so easy to trick!

She-she didn't even do anything bad! Just... stood in the crowd, listening to the man drone on and on about all that boring politics talk and... just snapped her fingers and cast an illusion on the paper in front of him, making him see the script for an Earthling comedy movie she watched a few days ago as soon as he turned the page... and the man didn't even stumble! Repeated the lines about having pies thrown at his face for juuust long enough to have all the confusion in the crowd turn into laughter and Mizu to put on a big sly smirk...

And immediately bail. Because when such pranks are involved, most people in the island already know who to blame. Plus, it's never a good idea for an illusionist to stick around near her work for too long, they start suspecting strings being pulled really quickly. So instead, Mizu was strolling through the grassy plains outside of the city, with a picnic basket in her hands, with a specific target in sight - a tall palm tree atop a small hill, where she would commonly spend her evenings if she didn't have something to do. Like school. Or practicing her magical abilities. Or chores. Chores were awful.

The Architect girl sat down, resting her back on the tough trunk of the tree, her eyes gazing towards the slowly incoming sunset above the endless Pacific Ocean in front of her. Aside from a few birds chirping among the leaves of the palm and the sound of a few cars in the town below, it was completely quiet.

What better time than now to pull out and enjoy a bar of white chocola-

"Hm?"

Suppose this dead quiet was not as quiet, or dead, as she thought. And right before she was about to take the first sweet, delicious bite... Mizu turned around, peeking out from the shade of the palm tree, to see someone training in the grassland below. Though there was a bit of a distance between the person and the hill she was sitting on, the girl was already able to tell that it was an Architect, just like her.

Ah, whatever, chocolate can wait.

"Heya!" Mizu exclaimed, standing back up and descending down from the hill. "Whatcha doing out here?"

He's training, of course. That alone was obvious. But what for?

[The Rebel Alliances]

Jill Colson/Peacekeeper-Old District

Surprisingly the Dra'Quinni was hesitating and seemed to be asking for instructions assuming she was in contact with her cohorts inside. While despite me not being able to hear her conversation, is only logical thats the case. That was when Paul glanced over to me and informed me he was about to make a move. "Jill, I will activate flight and replication and-" I paused him there.

"Ice."

"What?"He asked, I then repeated myself.

"Replication and ice." I then explained so as to save time.

"Look we can do this two ways, try and ground her by hitting her wings, but that could risk permenant injury or use your copied ice ability. After all, she looks a lot like a reptile to me and reptiles are normally cold blooded." Paul then gave a nod and immediately replicated himself into four more copies. His replication is only half as strong as the original like all of his copied abilities so four is all he can manage. And they can act independently, to a point. As long as they stay in close proximity to the original. For this situation though, that should not be an issue.

I broke away from Paul as I signaled for Paul #s 3, 4 and 5 to come with me. Leaving #2 alone with the orginal number 1 to help with the aerial Dra'Quinni. Quicly approaching the shattered glass all around the restaurant entrance I ordered two of the clones to circle around back while the last one stuck next to me. Inside however, it was absolute hell.

There were dead bodies scattered, overturned tables, destroyed bottles of expensive champaigne all over the counters and marble pillers with chunks blown away from them.

Then the impossible to miss sight of a Dodge Demon parked squarely in the middle of the dining room area. I had a clear line of sight on a red haired woman who was using the car as cover against a group of mostly dead men on the far side of her, presumably mafia. It seems she did not take into account anyone coming in from behind her but allies. I aimed my weapon at her and once more clearly identified myself.

"This is the SDPD, drop your weapon and place your hands in the air!" I ordered as the replicated clone covered my back, watching for any signs of retaliation from the vigilantes known as the Outriders.

Alexis Cain/Vendetta-Old District

Fucked. That is how I would describe the situation we found ourselves in alongside Sina's report on the cops showing up. I racked my brain trying to come up with some plan of action as Edward screamed at me for some brilliant idea on what we will do now. Most of the targets are dead, we could just bail now. But...no, the only ones left alive are still he most dangerous ones. All of the peons are dead of course, we just have to eliminate the last few bosses and the elite body guards. And between that realization and watching as one of the mafia guards morphed his entire arm into a weapon I just did not really know what to do besides push on. And did Edward just call me Alexis...in the field?

"Dammit Crusader the plan is to kill everyone and then get the FUCK outta here!" I barked ducking behind the car as I heard the worst possible sound behind me.

"This is the SDPD, drop your weapon and place your hands in the air!" I whipped myself around to face her only for two shots to fly just over my head. Dammit, she's police, I can't kill her. I promptly responded in the only way I knew how. I quickly dispatched the two smoke grenades and broke up the field of vision to allow us some room to maneuver.

"Everyone, spread out and find your targets as fast as possible! We are almost out of time here!" With that last order I threw the RPG back into the car and then darted away to the direction of the kitchen in order to try and lure the heat away from the rest of the team.

Bursting through the kitchen doors I quickly looked around and rushed past a counter top and ducked behind it. Waiting for anyone pursuing me to emerge from the same door I entered in.

The male officer entered first, slowly checking the room. Then the blonde woman entered after him, both of their weapons covering the width of the kitchen. As they slowly stepped closer and closer towards my hiding spot, I waited for my chance to break out and hold them long enough to finish what we started here and for someone to come bail me out.

After all, if I get locked up I am not so certain anyone will be coming to break me out of prison.

[Vanquaria]

---

Bu Liao, King
Wonder Island, San Diego

---

They had asked him time and time again...every second, every minute, every hour, there were lines of hundreds upon hundreds of people outside of his penthouse, all expenses paid for by his own boss.

"With all due respect King...how...how did you transform from mere mortal to a god amongst humans?"

They sought his power, from lowly street thug to the most powerful mafia boss. They wished to know how the King of the Humans had become the King of the Superhumans. Every single one of them had prostrated themselves at the pink kitty themed crocks that Bu enjoyed wearing in his own spare time. Their eyes were eyes of awe, eyes of respect!

In his presence, their pores exuded sweat and their bodies...tingled from the sight of Bu. There was no one else like Bu in the entire world they had told one another as they waited for Bu to finish eating his coco-pop cereal. These men considered themselves alphas in their own right, they had overcome other males and taken beautiful wives. They had stood staunch against gunfire and evaded teams of federal agents hot on their trails. Yet, all their achievements paled in comparison to what Bu had achieved; becoming the strongest there is.

Everyone said that magic could be learned no matter how difficult or strenuous the process of it was. However, absolutely no one spoke of becoming superhuman, truly superhuman that was. That meant not taking any artificial enhancements or substances, not augmenting yourself with advanced technology, not arming yourself with powerful weapons...

It had always seemed that the only plausible method that a mere man could become superhuman would be to dedicate his entire life as a Shaolin monk within the mountains and emerge as a skinny, white-haired and white-bearded grandpa whose special attack was catching a fly between chopsticks.

But, finally, Bu Liao was living proof of a man who had become superman. Thus, they undertook what they called, "The Great Pilgrimage To The Land of Bu". The fact that it was Bu's boss that organized the pilgrimages did not bother anyone who sought to become a pilgrim. The "Land of Bu" being just his apartment in the middle of Shanghai. That was not it though! It was not as simple as taking the lift up to the highest floor and then gifting the 2 bodyguards, both of whom had once been big and strong but now were fucking fat as hell, with top-quality chocolate from Europe or ancient wine. No, for one should not take the lift up to Bu's crib. They had to traverse the thousands of concrete stairs from the ground floor to the 50th floor where Bu resided. So they did, every single one of them running up the stairs in sweatpants and tank tops.

It was inevitable that most would fall during the Great Pilgrimage. Their bodies were not trained and honed like the ones in the front of the pack and their last sight before falling unconscious onto another fallen runner beneath them would be that of the strongest alphas racing past their weakened body and the heavy feeling of loss that they felt. Their last words would be, "Bu...forgive me..."

The greatest amongst these pilgrims were the ones who sought superhuman power above all else. And not fake superhuman power, no, they sought true superpowers so that the next time they were with the boys they could boast, "Hey losers, all of you are pumped up with juice and connected with machines like a bunch of wannabe superhumans! But look at me! I am all natural, no roids no nuthin! This is the result of hard work, good nutrition and a few hundred prayers to Lord Bu!"

Yes, these men smiled and their bodies grew warm at the thought of asserting their dominance over their own mates. And Bu would be the one who would show them the way, show them the secret.

So, after feeding the 2 bodyguards outside of Bu's crib and massaging their fat, sweaty feet, the pilgrims would slowly walk in, heads bowed. And they would be graced with the voice of Bu.

"For fucks sake, can't I eat in breakfast in peace!"

Their eyes teared up upon hearing Bu's voice for they knew at that very moment that they had reached the pinnacle of their lives. So they spoke in unison, having practiced in the weekly Lord Bu fanclubs hosted by the Triad for the small sum of 5 million yaun,

"Lord Bu, you grace us with your presence. We humbly request the secret to your almighty powers."

To which Bu would reply, "Wow, you idiots got scammed good didn't ya? Ah, well, guess the only way to make you guys leave is to give y'all the ultimate superhuman power eh?"

Upon hearing this, the pilgrims of Lord Bu raised their heads and pouted their lips in a show of submission to the true Alpha Male. And so, Lord Bu was pleased (not really). So, Lord Bu spoke and the pilgrims strained their entire bodies...their entire souls, to hear his Word,

"First, what's important is to make sure you really stick to this intense training regimen."

Not modification surgery or genetic enhancement? Just...training? WHAT TRAINING?! the pilgrim's eyes bulged, what could Bu's ultimate power that bypassed the eyes of Zark possibly be?!

"Listen men, you have to keep doing it...no matter how difficult it gets. It took me a full 3 years to get this strong..."

The pilgrims gazed out at Lord Bu, tears pouring from their eyes. Thus it came to be, that Bu revealed the Word,

"100 PUSHUPS, 100 SITUPS AND 100 SQUATS! THEN A 10 KILOMETER RUN! DO IT EVERY SINGLE DAY!"

Bu saw their eyes full of what he assumed was wonderment. He smiled before continuing, "And of course, make sure you eat 3 meals daily. Just a banana in the morning is fine. But never ever use the air conditioner in the summer or heat in the winter so you can strengthen the mind. In the beginning, you'll wish you were dead. You might start thinking, what's the harm in taking a day off? But for me, in order to be a strong fighter, even if I was spitting blood I never stopped! I toughed it out and endured the pain!"

Taking a moment to inhale and exhale deeply, for the memories of his training were still fresh in his mind, Bu continued in a solemn tone, "I did squats when my legs felt like they couldn't move! Even when my arms started making weird clicking noises I kept doing pushups! A year and a half later, I started to notice a difference...I WAS BALD! AND I HAD BECOME STRONGER!"

He smiled, taking in the silence in the room which he presumed was sheer awe, then said, "In other words, you gotta train like hell to the point where your hair falls out. That's the only way to become truly strong."

No one knows what happened next for the scriptures of Lord Bu within the Chinese underworld stop there but those who had fallen near the very peak of the stairs report a lot of angry shouting and a lot of calls for refund...

---

July 29th, 2017

Having recently arrived onto the island the day before, Bu had yet to meet any other Young Bloods. But that was okay for he could use the free time he had to explore the place instead. Naturally, the first place he wanted to visit was their gym. So he made his way there and stopped in front of the entrance. It was an epic moment for Bu. The gym of a superhero team! He wanted, no, needed to see it for himself. He grinned as he strode in, expecting glory.

What will I find inside? he wondered as his shoe stepped onto the floor of the YB's gym.

Thus, it was that Bu came, Bu saw and Bu was not pleased at all.

"Its like an expensive Planet Fitness...and every American fitness icon on YouTube makes fun of Planet Fitness!" he said aloud, "Maybe I'll walk around and see for myself what's so bad about Planet Fitness."

Within minutes of Bu checking out the place, it became apparent to the Chinese teen that there was something horrifically wrong with the Young Bloods gym. It was simply beta.

Too much fancy shit, more emphasis on nice-looking machines than the importance of free-weights. This place were ridiculous, clearly those with super-strength were not accounted for in this gym, if one could even call it a gym.

Bu disapproved.

The YBs were a very strong hero team that's for sure but a crappy gym like this really took away a star from Bu's review of them. However, Bu had spent time asking directions, practicing his English-reading skills and doing parkour all over the island to reach this place. And a man's time was a very valuable thing indeed.

Thus, Bu Liao chose to place a purple mat beneath him and sat down cross-legged. Then, he closed his eyes and meditated. Well, in all honesty, he was just thinking about Ms Naja and how much of a slithering siren she was.

[New Finnish Republic]

Brianna

---

A bead of sweat had began to run down Brianna's face underneath her helmet, a testament to how much she had been doing over the last few frantic minutes of fighting. While occasional sporadic gunfire continued to emerge from what remained of the criminals, it was clear that their numbers had been drastically dwindled thanks to the efforts of both herself and the rest of the team. As long as nothing else interrupted them, they would have plenty of time to finish the job and get out of here.

Unfortunately, things never can go smoothly when you want them to. Gods damn this all, Brianna thought to herself, gritting her teeth as a patrol units began to surround what remained of the building they were fighting in. Brianna gave a look over to Alexis, indicating that they were her problem to deal with. I just need to finish off what remains of these criminals, and-

Brianna's thoughts were interrupted when all of a sudden a dressed up man suddenly approached her. At first, Brianna thought he was merely a bystander who happened to get caught up in the mess and was prepared to shout at him to get out of the raging battleground. However, that was before the man's arm suddenly transformed in a sickening whir of motion, what looked to be a firearm replacing his hand. "Hverr-"

A blast suddenly rang out, both from the strange man as well as to her side. Reacting on instinct, Brianna raised her shield, barely was able to raise her shield in time as the round impacted with a devastating thud against her arm. Gripping onto her spear, she attempted to use her spear to give her time to recover by taking a large swing towards where the man's legs would have been. However, she felt her spear hit nothing but the air in front of her, causing her to poke her eyes up above her shield to see the man had already taken several steps back, this time engaging a different target. Glancing over to her right, she saw Isaac had intervened in the fight, the second original blast likely having originated from him. He has my thanks, she thought through gritted teeth as she used the opportunity to engage the stranger before her while he was distracted.

"Þú ert dauður!" The Valkyrie roared as she took a low stab at the man's leg, hoping to pin him with the thrust. However, the man was quicker than she expected, using the umbrella in his hand to misdirect the attack to the side. Further more, her eyes caught the sight of him trying to hook onto the top of her spear shaft in an attempt to disarm her of her weapon. Cursing, the Valkyrie quickly withdrew her spear, choosing instead to use her shield to bash through his defenses. This attack was stop short, however, as a barrage of gunfire erupted from the man's hand, causing Brianna to stumble backwards as her shield barely managed to stop the oncoming barrage.

Before the man could capitalize, however, Isaac jumped in once more, engaging the strange man with his own weapons once more. Brianna didn't know if it was due to her own narrow focus on her opponent or through her comrade's abilities, but she was taken completely by surprise by his sudden appearance. The stranger seemed to have fallen for this as well, as he was soon sent back in a frantic defense as the two duked it out for some time, allowing Brianna to collect herself momentarily as she thought of how to approach her foe. He's too fast for me to try and attack him with my spear, but his hand is too dangerous for me to try and fight defensively. My only chance is to get past his guard, but how...

As Isaac and the stranger continued to battle on, an idea came to Brianna, albeit one that was filled with risk. "Týr give me strength," she whispered under her breath before stepping in to rejoin the battle, giving Isaac a needed break from the fighting. Turning the stranger's attention onto her, she unleashed a barrage of attacks towards the man, mixing up low sweeps, thrusts, and slashes in rapid succession. However, she never kept her spear in one place for more than a moment, quickly retreating the tip with every attack to keep her opponent from attempting another hooking. At the same time, she deflected what rounds the man managed to shoot off at her with her shield, keeping her eyes barely above the lip of it as she continued her relentless assault. She could tell she had the man on his back foot throughout the whole process, but it was also clear that he wasn't going to fall for her attempts.

To what seemed to be a foolish overreach from her, Brianna changed her attack to one of a deep lunge towards the man's sides. Seeing an opportunity to finally rid her of her weapon, the man reached down with his umbrella and successfully managed to hook onto her spear. Wasting no time, he gave a harsh yank with his umbrella, pulling the spear out of the hand of the girl. However, the weight of the spear suddenly disappeared, as instead of the spear being remaining in the umbrella it suddenly transformed back into a coin, of which Brianna gripped in between her knuckles as she swung forward with her fist. Using the man's backwards momentum against him, Brianna unleashed a massive punch against the side of his cheek, his jaw moving with a sickening snap as the sheer force of Brianna's strength sent him flying backwards. Landing against one of the marble columns, a huge crash was heard as a large hole was made into the column, massive chunks of the material flying in every direction and debris floating up like a massive cloud of dust. Her opponent let out a pained grunt, collapsing into a crumpled mess onto the floor below. At first, Brianna thought he was going to get up for more, but as he attempted to prop himself up with one arm, he suddenly went limp and soon after completely still.

Gods, that hurt, Brianna thought with a wince as she looked down to her stinging knuckles which eminated red. Looking over to her comrade Isaac, the two shared a combined glance at the defeated man before she gave him a small nod. "You fight well, albiet from the shadows," Brianna said approving to the young man. Looking over her shoulder, she suddenly realized however that something was missing. Or rather, someone.

"Where is Al- Vendetta?" She yelled over to Isaac, deep concern in her voice.

[Absolon-7]

Bu Liao

Casimir Herman July 29th
Through one of his many, many reconnaissance flies he kept as a warning system on the island Casimir had spotted a fresh new face exit out of Naja's office and logically this guy must be a new recruit to the team. Another stray the team picked up in ballooning the team's size. Let's see what this whelp has to offer us, thought Casimir as he smirked. The bug-controlling hero had opted to wear a dark green tracksuit and white undershirt as he had been planning to go to Dunkmaster's Gym but ironically he spotted the new guy go to the Tower's woefully deficient gym for one such as him. He walked through the tower's hallways and upon reaching the gym's entrance he spotted the new guy. Casimir felt it necessary for him to be welcomed into the team by one of the premier members: the Great Kabuto! Confidently he walked in front of the recruit who was strangely meditating for some reason.

"Greetings, greenhorn!," boastfully shouted an enthusiastic Casimir, "I assume you just joined yes? Anyways, I, the great hero Kabuto, welcomes you to our abode and ever quarreling family. You can just call me Casimir but Kabuto is great as well. So who are you?"

[Union Princes]

---

Fahcelkel
Fahcelkel
Fahcelkel
Fahcelkel
Fahcelkel
Fahcelkel
Fahcelkel. Oh Fahcelkel! What hath happened to thee? Thee hath killed three men! And anon thee sitteth high-lone and chain'd...What shall beest done anon?

"Oh, shut up already!" she cursed under her breath while she shook her straitjacket as she sat upon her cell bed. "It's not my fault we are here! All I did was kill three men! Excluding the people I killed before..."

Fahcelkel! I'm hungry she groaned, When do I get to eat again?

"I don't know, Fahcelkel." she shrugged, "That depends when they decide to feed us."

Fahcelkel looked around in her cell. There was a toilet and a sink and a wall counter. Stertile, plain, and boring. How did it come to this? She thought she was being questioned not imprisoned. Fahcelkel growled like a dog as she remembered she can no longer melt metal and stone nor can shoot fire from her hands. After barking, whimpering, and mumbling the numbers of pi, Fahcelkel resumed talking to herself.

We waiteth and waiteth and waiteth-

"Will you cut that out?" Fahcelkel complained, "You're making me burn every literature book we come across!"

What else should we do but grovel in our misery?

I don't want to be miserable, it sounds bad!

"Gah!" Fahcelkel laid down upon her bed to face the empty white ceiling, "How long do I have to spend eternity with you guys? For as long as I remembered, you were always there!"

We were!

Silence. Fahcelkel remained silent. No words. No thoughts. Just emptiness and iron bars. All she did was kill 3 men. Maybe she was punished for not disposing the bodies. Maybe. That was usually the case in how these events go.

"I guess society is very different than what I have expected." Fahcelkel mutters while she stretched up one leg into the air. Ever so briefly, she would feel the cloth brush up against her stitches on her leg before bring it down. Before she knew it she was singing out of boredom. Her voice was like howling wind, a breeze of the beach, and the cackling of fire and soot. Like rehearsing a play, or mere humming in a shower, Fahcelkel sings to herself a tune that she once heard long ago.

And who are you, the small girl said,
That I must live so close?
"Only a man of different clothes,"

That's all the truth I know.
A man of blue or a man of red,
"This girl still has fire,"

And mine are bright and hot, yes sir,
As bright and hot as yours.
"And so I roast, and so I roast"

Those titans of America,
And now they scream while ashes scatter,
"With no one left to burn."
Yes now they scream while ashes scatter,
And no one left to burn.