Heroes of Tomorrow Redux [IC | DONE]

[Forest State]

---

Scarlet Kashina

---

Scarlet wasn’t exactly in the mood to have an argument with Andrew over morals and the exact dynamics of whether they were supposed to try to capture someone, shoot to kill, or otherwise. That wasn’t something that was a solid rule, anyway. It depended entirely on the mission and who they were facing as well as the specific situation and she couldn’t explain every single condition and rule. But she did know that it was important for Andrew to listen when the team was following a certain RoE.

There was no room for deviation or for hesitating because of wanting to be a classic hero.

“The only thing I’m going to say is that this isn’t like your comic books. This is the real world and the exact orders in every situation vary. I can’t tell you exactly what you’re going to be asked to do because I can’t predict every situation that you’re going to end up in. I can tell you, however, that you’ll know what you’re meant to do each mission and that if you hesitate or fuck up for a moment, you’re out of here,” she said.

She gave a shrugging gesture.

“Sounds harsh but think of it like this. If you came in after the Guardians decided the quality standards need to be higher, you wouldn’t even be in this organization. You’re not supposed to be here. Consider yourself to have the benefit of the doubt just because you’re here in the first place,” she said. “You’re dismissed. Ensure that there is no need for us to have another meeting like this.”

She started to walk away and she checked her phone. There was still something she was waiting for, that she couldn’t leave until she was sure that it happened. She looked back to Asia, the one that she had told to wait. “I believe you’ll be able to leave soon,” she said, which wasn’t a complete lie. It was true that Asia was going to be able to leave, but it wasn’t going to be under the circumstances that she wanted. Actually, it would be the complete opposite.

Maybe it was a bit unfair.

It wasn’t like she had actually done the things that Scarlet accused her of. And yet, whether she was guilty of that or not, she was definitely guilty and in Scarlet’s mind just her presence was the equivalent of sabotage. She didn’t belong here. She had ties to an enemy power and she was only here because she liked the act of being a hero, not because she cared about the job itself. That was to say, the only reason she was here was because she wanted to be famous. She cared about people liking her. And that wasn’t what the Guardians needed. They didn’t need people that were wrapped up in the idea of becoming celebrities and having legions of fans but didn’t care that much about the task that they were actually meant to do, which was to save people.

Deciding to test the capabilities of the new Oracle system to forge the downfall of Asia wasn’t something wrong to Scarlet. Asia had what was coming for her. If she didn’t want to deal with the consequences she shouldn’t have come here and been a detriment to the Guardians. Just because she hadn’t fucked up a mission didn’t mean she had any right to be here. It was something that Scarlet was adamant about.

Scarlet looked up as the door exploded inwards.

The building, it was being breached by officers from Guardians Security. Specifically, the newly founded GSF, which could be recognized by their distinct green uniforms. “Hands behind your head!” shouted one of the officers, as the lobby was suddenly flooded by about fifteen officers with more outside, all of them holding M4 carbines or alternatively German made HK-417 rifles. Whatever they were holding, though, all of the weapons were dangerous and able to kill at a moment. And all of them were focused on Asia.

“I believe I said something about espionage charges earlier,” Scarlet said, turning to watch Asia as she was surrounded by guns. Scarlet smirked. It seemed that the Oracle system had come through when it came to forming video evidence of something that hadn’t happened. And so far, the only person that even knew about it was Natalia, who would have wiped the record from the system. She would be keeping it under wraps, for now, that this was one of the capabilities of the system.

And if the GSF were here, the Oracle produced video had been indistinguishable from the real thing. This was… One of the advantages of being close to the most powerful computing system that had been constructed to date. One that Scarlet’s own creator had played a hand in making.

“Maybe next time,” Scarlet started, the smirk still on her face as she stood completely calmly. “You should just come clean from the beginning.”

[Lunas Legion]

Asia Xu Xiùlán a.k.a Azure Dragon

She'd done nothing wrong. She knew she'd done nothing wrong. Yet the Security forces were here which meant... Oh those absolute bastards. They'd set her up. Somehow.

"You absolute bitch." Asia practically spat out the last word, hot fury visible in her eyes and clear from the snarl on her face. She'd done nothing wrong. This Scarlet bitch had set her up, and everything she'd dreamed of, everything she'd fought for and worked for and even bled for was vanishing like smoke before her eyes. She could have launched into a charge, but that would be suicidal; her shield couldn't take fifteen rifles worth of bullets.

She raised her hands up, placing them on the back of her head, not bothering to put up a fight or try and run. It'd be futile. She'd... She'd figure something out. She always had. She'd figure out a way out of this. Maybe not now. Maybe not this week, this month, or even this year.

But she'd think of something. She'd escape whatever hellhole they threw her into on whatever made-up charges they had.

And then she'd be back, back with friends and allies, and then they'd pay. They'd all fucking pay.

[Forest State]

---

Guardians Security Forces One

---

“I’m just saying,” Clarissa, grumbled, spinning around in her chair and sitting sideways so her legs were hanging off the armrest. “Sometimes it’s nice to have something for the little people, y’know. The ones that weren’t lucky enough to be born able to lift buildings or shit lightning or something like that. You guys have your thing with the Guardians, and there’s plenty of you in the DRMA. So it’s kind of fair to ask that us regular people can have our thing, isn’t it?”

“Damn, Clarissa. I thought we were friends?” Raquel joked, knowing that she herself had a power. Even if it wasn’t as flashy as some of the ones that the Guardians had. And she hadn’t been born with it either, as Clarissa was about to mention.

“I’m not sure you actually qualify as having a power, since, you know… The whole possession thing?” Clarissa replied, smiling as she turned to face Raquel. She’d taken the glove off by now and she settled for twirling a pen in her hand absentmindedly. “Also, you’re cooler than most. You were hustling on the streets before you even had powers so you know what it’s like. Can’t say the same for all the superheroes I interacted with when I was at the DRMA. There’s some good ones here and there but eh. They aren’t my type of people, what can I say.”

“So get along with them for me, then?” Raquel asked. “I’m sure the newcomers don’t have the same act as most of the Guardians anyway. Franco isn’t from there and Kodiak and Sage could have stayed with the Guardians in the first place if they liked it over there.”

“I got on well with the Guardians in India but no, I don’t really consider myself a fan of the ones in New York. Everyone in India is street wise, from more experience I guess. Not so much when you come over here to NYC,” Kodiak said, finally speaking and explaining herself. It was also somewhat rare that she gave a stranger a look at her opinions and experiences, but she felt it needed clarifying. “Most of them over here have had it too fucking easy.”

Clarissa spun in the chair to face Kodiak and Sage. “I give Kodiak a pass because she’s cute and I give Sage a pass because she could beat my face in,” she said with a chuckle. “Although in the field, don’t get it twisted about who is stronger. You might be able to make pretty crystals or something but I’m the one that can use the 30mm autocannon on an all-environment drone tank or send five hundred pounds of death at a time towards some enemy you can’t deal with. I might not have powers. But I’m an asset.”

“You have a Napoleon complex is what you mean.”

Antonios had spoken somewhat correctly. Clarissa was only about 4’9” and she definitely looked like the least threatening person in the room. She seemed intent on making people think that wasn’t the case.

“What? I can’t say that I want us to have our thing since they already have their thing?”

“We have metahumans on the team,” Antonios replied. “There’s not much else to say about it. Council decided that they wouldn’t block recruitment just because someone has powers, I’m sure you knew this when you transferred from the DRMA. Why’d you do that, anyway? Aren’t they more regular human by a larger majority?”

Clarissa shrugged. “A girl can hope. And the DRMA has metahumans, too. Looks like GSF isn’t going to be much different.”

She spun around in her chair and faced the computer screens again, waking them up from their sleep returned to her working. She was typing, but then she stopped with one more question. “Oh yeah, and does the new guy, Franco, have powers too? Because if so, damn, us regular people are going to almost be outnumbered around here.”

“Oh shut up, it’s just that HQ is a little bit disproportionate. But you’re not outnumbered in any way.”

“Again, Napoleon complex,” remarked Antonios. It was about now that the Kai officer was leaving, too, leaving just the team members inside the planning room. “Well, that wasn’t the least productive talk in the world I guess. I still don’t know about if it’s even possible to get permission to basically turn the free land around here and Jersey into an armed corridor, though. Or the ideas of a Kai drydock near here. Not sure they realize just how much bureaucracy slows things down in this world.”

“Sometimes,” Raquel said, stretching as she spoke, and sighing. “I wish we could be more like them, if they’re free of that shit. Nothing like good old red tape saying we can’t even make moves to protect our own planet…”

[Lessoni]

Jack Dredd

Jack felt his face grow progressively redder as the announcement continued.

Well, that's what I get for taking point..., he thought to himself.

At least it seemed Bu was gonna get their man. But still, this was embarrasing, really. At least it was only a sim; imagine if this had been an actual mission. He'd have been drawn and quartered, not least of all by himself.

"Well, I've quickly learned I'm a shit pointman. Let's just... let's just follow Bu best we can, unless someone else has a better idea."

[Gudmund]

Charlie Burkhall | Young Guardians | Guardians Building 12th Floor | August 10th, 2024

"A you fucking kidding me?" groaned Charlie, making sure his voice matched his appearance. This whole VR exercise was certainly good for experience, and fortunately enough it was more than suitable for his shapeshifting abilities. The moment the AI suggested heading towards the subway tracks on the Madison Square Garden, Charlie shifted into his female gymnast form, one he was quite familiar with. He didn't have the years of training a world class gymnast had, but his body was much more efficient, allowing him to snake through the crowd at an unnatural pace. He'd done similar things many times before, especially when escaping from stronger opponents. The clunky Athena helmet was hidden under his hoodie, a rather annoying issue he had to just deal with.

He spoke through the helmet radio, telling them where he was heading, intent on intercepting the target with Bu. Proceeding as a team would only hamper everyone's speed. Quickly searching for Bu, Charlie immediately followed. The AI should inform the others of his location. Despite Charlie's peak human physique, he could barely keep up with Bu's ridiculous acrobatics. Smirking, Charlie went into a full on sprint the moment the crowd gave way, deftly dodging whoever got in his path with minimal adjustment. Jacob had just enough mass stockpiled to rapidly bulk up into a stronger form should he encounter the target. At the current pace he and Bu were going, the target surely wouldn't get far.

---

Jacob Philander | Young Guardians | Guardians Building 12th Floor | August 10th, 2024

Standing in the same room as the others, Jacob looked at them draped in VR gear. Certainly an impressive piece of tech, but not as interesting as magic. Jacob decided no to try it out, he wasn't sure he'd be able to help the others out too much. With Jacobs size he was glad he skimped out, traversing a panicking crowd wasn't exactly his forte, and his demonic presence his transformation brought everywhere would only worsen the situation. If he had to be honest, the whole operation wasn't looking too good. "Who announces their arrival to a capture target anyway?" he pondered amused, questioning the thought process of the one responsible. Whether Bu and Charlie could catch the target in time, Jacob wasn't sure, simply waiting to see what happened next.

[Forest State]

---

Scarlet Kashina

---

Scarlet remained calm in the face of the words from Asia. She had no reason not to be calm, she was the one that had won here. Would her evidence come under further scrutiny later? Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn’t. But at the end of the day she had confidence in what was the greatest set of computers and neural networks ever created. Editing and creating video footage wasn’t impossible with what was considered ‘modern’ computers years ago. Using Oracle to make convincing evidence wasn’t something that was pushing the capabilities of the system too much.

“You can talk all you want, but there’s video evidence of you right here walking around in restricted areas and filming,” Scarlet said calmly, reaching for her phone and showing the screen to Asia from a distance. The footage had been sent to her by Natalia, an example of just what it was that they had sent to the GSF to get this to happen. And the footage looked pretty damning. There was no real way to tell it wasn’t Asia committing these actions. The actions themselves were enough to get anyone arrested. It displayed her in areas where she clearly wasn’t supposed to be, filming and sending the videos to people that definitely weren’t supposed to happen.

Yes, it did portray Asia as a bit sloppy. But would anyone not believe that she was sloppy with this kind of thing based on knowing how she acted otherwise? Asia had never been the epitome of professionalism.

Scarlet put her phone away with the same smirk on her face from earlier returning. “I’m pretty sure this is going to get handed over to the DRMA after you’re processed into the system. Just a few words of advice when it comes to dealing with them. You might as well come clean, it’s going to be easier on you,” she said, knowing that it would help to have a confession from Asia herself. “Wouldn’t want to find yourself wrapped up in one of their programs, after all.”

She chuckled, as the GSF officers patted Asia down and then fixed her hands behind her back and attached the handcuffs. “I don’t think too many people are going to have sympathy for the MAB spy. And tough luck getting your own government to stick up for you. They don’t have much room to defend you when you were, well, caught acting pretty blatantly. No ambiguity here.”

As the handcuffs were attached behind Asia’s back, Scarlet walked up to her so she could stand face to face, her own face not showing much emotion as she did. The smile was gone, but she wasn’t quite scowling either. It was a true neutral expression, if anything. “My best advice is to come clean. But hey, if you don’t follow that, who knows what will happen to you? It’s up to you in the end. You can rest assured, of course, that no matter what you do, the DRMA would never hurt you.”

---

12th Floor

---

Losing a target in a crowd like this was easy and they would find that out the hard way. The best thing they could do was head down to the subway tracks on the western end of the building, the one that was under Madison Square Garden. It made sense, in a way. If there was some kind of major attack, this would be a decent place to hit. Not only were there tons of people in the general area, but the building above them on the ground level was famous around the world and was an icon for the city.

And that was what they had to protect.

Serge had something of a feeling that whatever was happening here had to do with that building. Not a definite feeling but something of an instinct, one of those things that felt like it would be a good idea to listen to even if the evidence didn’t point in that direction strictly. So, it wasn’t that surprising to Serge when they reached the subway entrance and would be on the escalators downwards when an update came over from the communications channel.

“Two new threats have been identified. Threat level, red,” the system said in the same voice as before. “The target has arrived at the platform to tracks eighteen and nineteen, meeting with two other men who were picked up as suspicious initially. These men are the reason for the initial alert. You are authorized to engage and eliminate all three targets without further investigation.”

“They’re straight ahead of us,” Serge pointed out. The platform that had been referred to was the one at the bottom of the escalators, and yet, picking the group out of all the people in the area and getting off a good shot at them that wouldn’t cause collateral damage wouldn’t be an easy task. Still, they were advised to not just engage, but to eliminate the targets.

And that warning appeared once again in the communications channel as the system spoke out to them.

“You are advised to eliminate the targets as quickly as possible to avoid possible destruction. Targets may be attempting to escape via train.”

[Lunas Legion]

Asia Xu Xiùlán a.k.a Azure Dragon

"Oh, don't worry about me bitch." Asia smiled slightly, but there was no warmth behind it. It was a cold, flat smile, and the only thing she could feel right now was pure, burning hate. She'd never honestly, genuinely hated someone before, but right here, right now, that was all she could feel. The cold, burning hate that flowed through her, let her ignore everything she'd otherwise be feeling. The panic, the confusion, the shame and loss, all simply gone and washed away by that so cold current of hate.

"I'll be just fine." She let out a small, dark, barking laugh, completely out of character to how she normally acted as the handcuffs were fastened behind her back. "Just... Fine."

Hate was one hell of a motivator, after all. She just had to wait for an opportunity to run, because she was very, very good at that. And she was patient. She'd have a chance sooner or later. And then, she'd come back, with whatever friends and allies she could muster, and then she'd raze this entire fucking organisation that she'd done nothing against to the fucking ground for this.

Her government might not come for her, the MAB might not, but she still had a few friends back home, here and there. None high up, none powerful enough to get her released legally, but, well, breaking her out was another matter. Prisons weren't meant to hold metahumans, after all. She'd just have to be careful, play her cards right, be patient. That wasn't her style. Or, well, it hadn't been. But what she wanted didn't matter. It was what was necessary.

[Forest State]

---

Scarlet Kashina

---

“I don’t know why you’re being so angry and hostile, miss,” said Scarlet, still standing directly in front of Asia, completely calm as she kept her hands in her pockets. “I am with the Guardians, after all. A Special Agent. I can talk to the Council about these things, you know. You were spying on Guardians property and sending the footage back to your employers at the MAB. If you want to get out of this, your best route might be to try to get the Guardians to not come down hard on your case.”

It was now that Scarlet gestured towards herself. “I could make a phone call to the Council telling them that they should try to let you off lightly and not send you to a DRMA court. I could also make a phone call saying that I see no room for rehabilitation in you and that you should be sent off to not just the DRMA court, but to the facility that would serve as the maximum allowable punishment. That is, somewhere you aren’t going to get out of.”

“And these places, Asia, are known to be scary. If you aren’t ever going to be able to serve society again, you know, they might decide that it would be better for you to serve society in other ways. Ways that I can promise that you won’t like so much,” Scarlet continued with a hint of threat before leaning in and cupping Asia’s face in her hands as she leaned forward, almost touching foreheads with her.

“So what’s it going to be, Asia? Are you going to find out what it’s like inside a DRMA max facility, where I’m sure they won’t take kindly to an MAB spy and where you may never see sunlight again? Or are you going to beg and maybe get out of this with a light punishment?”

[Vanquaria]

---

August 10th, 2024

---

Bu did not notice the presence of anyone behind him, so focused he was on the objective ahead of him. Athena's map on his visor guided past the subway tracks until he reached the A subway entrance where the escalators were. He had closed in on the suspect but the number of civilians was dense there, another factor he had to take into account. But he noticed, using Athena, that the auras of the people here were not yet yellow.

It was a window of opportunity. Bu slid down the escalators, his tactical gloves providing the necessary abrasion resistance. When he reached the bottom, Bu began to move deeper when the system notified the Guardians of updates in the situation. There were 2 more targets this time. And all 3 had to be eliminated.

The situation had changed. Regardless, it was still a crisis response and Bu was prepared. He transitioned from his MCX carbine to his pistol, the Lebedev PL-15. A pistol specifically made for law enforcement and military units, its grip was adjustable and was tailored to Bu's hand. Bu's version had been modified with a Single Action fire system, meaning less squeeze needed to fire the gun. He reached into his utility belt and screwed on a noise moderator, all because the crowd here wasn't in a panic didn't mean they wouldn't devolve into one soon. The noise moderator would make the sound of gunfire from the PL-15 unrecognizable alongside additional benefits such as reduced recoil, muzzle rise, and muzzle flash, thus further optimizing the pistol for this type of situation.

Utilizing the platform pillars to maneuver himself in a snake-like fashion through the crowd, his pistol held downward, he adopted a slightly bent posture so as to minimize the chances he'd be seen by the target. Screening everyone that he saw, he realized that it was possible that the targets had weapons attached to their selves. This meant that his shots would have to be kill-shots.

Bu changed his approach then, instead of wading through the crowd as the Guardian team had been doing in the upper level, he took to the side of the platform walls, moving along the flanks. That was when Athena identified the targets, highlighting them in red on his visor. All 3 of them were relatively close to each other and as Athena had said, it appeared that they were awaiting a train. It was at that moment that Bu decided to switch back to his rifle, sheathing his pistol and whipping out his gun. He knew he'd have to be fast else for upon seeing his gun, the crowd would most certainly panic.

See, the crowd was dense and the targets were in the thick of it. Though he had obviously trained with his pistol, Bu had learned that even the highly trained officers of NYPD tended to miss shots. Artemis had taught him that this was because a handgun weighs less than the weight of its trigger pull, making pinpoint accurate shooting with a handgun hard even with perfect grip.

He crouched low, his MCX carbine in hand and adjusted something on his optic sights. The civilians close to him had already taken notice but that was not necessarily a bad thing in Bu's opinion for they would break off in half like the Red Sea, clearing his view. But he needed more than just that.

"Athena, highlight the suspects on my map."

3 red dots appeared on the map being displayed on Bu's visor.

"What is the distance between me and each of the targets?"

Athena calculated the exact distances for Bu. And as the civilians in front of him began to hurriedly rush out of his way, Bu rose up. His MCX was a variant of the SIG MCX series, a carbine specifically designed for close to medium range engagements. He focused his eye into his optic sights, the 1x/4x Spectr DR with the dual-role scope having been adjusted to 1x for close quarters shooting.

It was instant, there was no hesitation, Bu committed fully into what he was doing without any thought of possible outcomes or consequences except only the belief that he will complete the objective.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

[Lunas Legion]

Asia Xu Xiùlán a.k.a Azure Dragon

Asia gave Scarlet a flat, unimpressed look, her face impassive, but she said nothing. That undercurrent of hate was still there, seething underneath, but she could think now. In fact, her thoughts were clearer than they'd ever been before, sharpened and focused, moving faster with nothing to distract her, just herself and what she wanted with nothing in the way or to distract her.

So she didn't answer.

"Why are you bothering asking anyways?" She said instead, looking back down at the floor, not looking at Scarlet. "You don't give a fuck about me. Throw me to the wolves and get this over with. For all I know you won't do anything to help me since you've got no reason to, so even if I do do whatever you suggest and they'll throw me in what ever dark pit of darkness they so choose."

It wasn't pride, not exactly. She didn't have any of that. It was a mix of doubt that it actually, truly mattered in the end, and that lingering undercurrent of hate for Scarlet that made her want to just spit in her face.

Besides, she always had a 60 mile an hour skull-to-wall as a way out if it got that bad. But that was a last resort.

[Triassica]

Angel Ashley
Walking Wasteland
Prodigy

Angel Ashely smiled as order was given, eager to send her gruesome minions out into the world for the first time. With a simple mental command, the three mold monsters marched towards the Rainbow's Base, writhing as they moved silently but quickly. Angel grinned and reached down onto the ground, projecting even more filth that molded into two more monsters. These were on four legs, prowling like a great cat, before scurrying quickly to join the others under the night sky towards the base. Whatever they see, Angel will see too...

"When the time is right, can I have them attack?" Angel asked, her smile broad and childish, but her eyes glowing cold, "My friends... They hunger for meat... When the time is right..."

[Forest State]

---

Scarlet Kashina

---

“Assume something, and don’t be surprised when it happens to come true. Don’t try to say that you didn’t have chances to avoid this, Asia. Well, you would have had an easier time avoiding it by not doing something wrong in the first place, but that’s neither here nor there at this point,” said Scarlet, before turning around and starting to walk deeper into the building, past the lobby which was filled with security officers and shattered glass.

As she was walking away, the guards started to move Asia outside so she could be placed in the back of a truck and taken to the holding facility where she would wait until things could proceed with the legal situation. There wasn’t a safe route to escape here, either. There were anti air defenses all around the Guardians Building, and while they were more designed for aircraft or projectiles, they’d work perfectly fine on a flying person too.

It wasn’t like they were going to hold back after Asia had been warned about the lethal force being used in this situation.

There were also two guns pointed to her head at any time. Standard procedure when dealing with someone that could slip away at a moment’s notice, even with someone gripping the handcuffs at all times to make sure Asia would get yanked back or slowed down if she tried to run or fly.

“End of the road,” said one of the guards, after she was led outside and to the truck that was in the driveway in front of the entrance. Or one of them, anyway. There happened to be a number of them.

“Into the back you go.”

The guard made a gesture and another two would lift her up and place her inside, shutting the doors behind them. Her story, it seemed, might be ending here.

---

Death Battle

---

The monsters didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Didn’t notice anything strange or trigger any traps. For a moment, it seemed like this really was just a basic suburban neighborhood. But it was something of a good thing that they hadn’t sent the entire team to the front door for this just yet. Because just because there were no apparent traps didn’t mean the building was without danger.

It didn’t take long before something rose into the sky. Maybe it was from the front of the building, maybe it was from behind the building. But whatever it was, it was brilliant. A pair of wings could be seen and between the two wings was bright light. No, not light, but reflections of the moonlight bouncing off of what looked like sleek armor. For once, the coloring was different than the rest of the Rainbow. Instead of being one of the colors of the rainbow, this armor was white, and it had a helmet to go along with it with an open face that allowed everyone to see, at least from a distance, that the person underneath was human.

But if they were human, they happened to be some mage. Because it was clear that this wasn’t a normal person, this wasn’t normal armor, and this wasn’t a normal situation. Even those with zero magic experience would soon realize it just because of how different it was from the mages that they were actually used to seeing. It wasn’t just the wings that were different but the armor, too, as if the armor had been forged from something far different than what Red had worn earlier. That armor hadn’t reflected everything around it. And yet this armor lit up the wearer like a beacon in the sky.

So if the point was intimidation, it was doing a decent job of that. Intimidation wasn’t the only thing the figure in the sky could do, however.

This figure had more power than just that. After reaching an apex in the sky and hovering there for a moment while the wings fell still, the figure reached out with both hands and charged up an energy based attack, throwing that energy down towards the ground and causing an explosion which would send dirt in all directions, taking out all of the monsters from the front of the house before they would even have a chance to react. It was clear that if this person had time to charge up her abilities, it would be a bad idea to get caught in the blast radius. The debris, after all, were sent maybe thirty feet into the air from the ground where the explosion had happened.

“Get ready for a fight,” Lilith barked at her own team, reaching for the AW50 marksman rifle that she had brought with her. She could have started to move in a position to use it, while they were still early in the fight, and she might have been able to get a shot off at the target. But instead she pressed her back to the nearest truck and looked to the others, making sure they were ready. “That energy blast is no joke but it doesn’t look like that winged enemy can use it without taking at least a few seconds to charge it. Stay away from open areas with no cover and move around houses if possible. Don’t stay in her line of sight for very long or you might find yourself exploding instead of the ground.”

With those instructions out of the way, Lilith started moving and turned to the others. “I’ll be in contact over the radio. I’m seeing if I can get onto the roof of the building directly across the street from the target one,” she stated. Not a foolproof plan but at the least she might be able to use her weapon to force the enemy out of the air and behind cover. If the bullets could even penetrate that armor, which she wasn’t sure about based on their experiences with Red. As she ran, she triggered her ability and turned mostly invisible.

[Lunas Legion]

Asia Xu Xiùlán a.k.a Azure Dragon

"End of a road." Asia corrected as the guards loaded her into the back, shutting the doors behind them and leaving her alone. There was no point in fighting, or trying to run. Two guns to her head, her shield could block one but not the other. It didn't matter that they were gripping the handcuffs, if she chose to tear off she'd break out of that grip fairly easily, but two guns to her head, one neutralised by her shield, would put how fast she could accelerate against how quickly they reacted.

And right now she didn't feel like gambling, so she went along with it all.

She had a new road now. She might not like it, but it was the one she'd been forced down. She'd make do.

---

Nina Bryens

Nina glared up at the blindingly brilliant light in the sky, as if challenging it to blind her. She didn't know magic, didn't care to know it or want to know about it, but she had wings, and she was flying.

"Fucking flyers." Nina spat out as she watched the explosion, a wide grin forming on her face. Now that, that looked like fun.

"Well, if no one else has any bright ideas, I'm going to go do my thing." Nina said, shifting her halberd into a fighting grip from where she'd been resting it on her shoulder. "See if I can't take a glancing hit of the magical laser blast of doom and then be a giant fucking distraction once I've done my thing. Should piss her off enough so that she keeps throwing it at me and not you squishies."

[Forest State]

---

12th Floor

---

There were three bangs and three shots were fired. Two that hit the target and one that managed to head wide. One of the figures that had been hit dropped to the ground immediately, the other one was staggered by the shot for sure but didn’t seem taken out completely by it. Maybe there was a vest underneath the jacket being worn by that suspect. But the one that didn’t have a vest was bleeding on the platform and there was still one suspicious target who hadn’t been hit and who was now alert to the attack that was coming.

Of the two that hadn’t been taken down, one of them reached for a pistol and the other dropped a bag to pick up something that was a bit more dangerous than that, ducking low behind the cover of the pistol wielding attacker to unzip the bag and take out an AR-15. But there might be another chance to take a shot before the man could return to a firing position after pulling out the dangerous rifle. On the other hand, the one that was still standing opened up fire with the pistol and sprayed, not the most accurately but still spraying nonetheless and putting shots in the general area.

It caused Serge to put up a shield in front of his own face and body but that shield wasn’t large enough to protect everything nor was it enough to protect anyone else on the team. One of the downsides of being able to make shields, but not large sized ones that could be useful for everyone. Serge sighed and put the .410 pistol away. Wouldn’t be possible to use it with this many civilians around based on how inaccurate it was. And worse, it would be hard to even target anyone right now. As the crowd panicked, the System struggled to accurately calculate the threat levels.

Suddenly, what had been a sea of green was a sea of yellow with some red mixed in. “New hostile targets detected,” the system announced, after the appearance of those with the red auras. But it was hard to tell what was genuinely a hostile and what was a reaction to things going to shit within the space of a few seconds. Panic was something that tripped the system and a lot of people were panicking right now - making gestures that might be seen as reaching for a weapon, too. All around, it wasn’t a great situation to be in.

Shoot, and there was a chance you’d hit someone that hadn’t done anything wrong. Don’t shoot, and you could end up letting a hostile get the jump on you. Additionally, it would be quite hard to accurately hit either gunman with the crowd suddenly panicking and everyone looking for the closest exit. Didn’t help that there would be a rush of people headed towards the one that the Guardians team was emerging from, trying to get away from the situation. “You are advised to eliminate hostile targets,” the system said.

But it was hard to tell just what was a hostile target and what wasn’t.

“Might be a good idea to figure out what the hell hostile means in this case before doing anything,” Serge growled, frustrated at the bind that they were stuck in.

[Vanquaria]

---

August 10th, 2024

---

"Fuck!"

Bu knew that just hitting the targets themselves would already be an extremely difficult task but his expectations for himself had been high. He had dedicated hours and hours of his time after recovering from the injuries he'd suffered at the hands of Leah Wong and Scarlet Kashina to marksmanship training with Artemis. A month with the gun was nothing impressive but Bu knew his capabilities and also knew the profession he'd entered including its requirements.

And, according to Scarlet, it required nothing short of perfection.

"FUCK!"

He slammed his back against a white-tiled pillar as the suspects pulled out firearms and begun firing. Serge was right, they were most definitely in a bind. It seemed that an issue with the Athena Project had finally shown itself in the form of an inability to confidently define friend from foe. It was understandable though, at least for Bu it was. The crowd had devolved into major panic, the emotional and mental state of a civilian in situations like these would be a variable outside of their control.

However, once again, Bu was able to come to the rescue of the team.

The Chinese teen reached into his utility belt and withdrew a small, blue-colored cylindrical object. He pressed his thumb to a pin on the object and pulled it. Then, Bu threw the object right into the panicking crowd.

BANG!

The sound was loud and piercing to the ears, very disorientating to one's auditory system. A powerful white flash was emitted from the object, anyone whose eyes were open in the vicinity would instantly be blinded. It was the Mk 141 Mod 0 Stun Grenade, a weapon designed by the US Army specifically for hostage rescue operations. The stun grenade was less lethal than its cousins and its lightweight foam composition ensured there would be no fragmentation outburst from its explosion.

Emerging out of cover after the harmless explosion, Bu noticed the new red auras in the vicinity. Athena had advised him to neutralize those as well. It was a choice. To either cooperate with the correct advice Athena had given the team since the start of the op or not act on Athena's advice because of a gut feeling that the system may be wrong in this case. Without hesitation...

Bu complied.

Having swapped to his PL-15 pistol, Bu made sure every bullet counted. And there were 15 rounds at his disposal.

[Gudmund]

Charlie Burkhall | Young Guardians | 12th Floor | August 10th, 2024

Hearing the bang of Bu's stun grenade drew Charlie's full attention, performing some simple parkour to land a few metres away from where the stun grenade went off. Like this he pretended to be affected by the grenade, blending in with the panicking crowd while ambling towards the target wielding an AR-15; taking a safer, longer way round to make sure he wasn't too obvious. None of the enemy should recognise his clothing, seeing as they have yet to notice him, nor for a supposed civvie to suddenly pull out a gun and shoot back. Reaching a pillar, Anton instantly changed his demeanor, taking out his silenced pistol and aiming it towards the AR-15 gunner. Charlie blinked a few times, shifting his eyes into that of an eagle's, granting four times better sight than a person with perfect vision. It took a bit of adjustment to a sudden changes in colors, especially the added ability to see ultraviolet light which lit up the area and played with the helmets HUD.

Nevertheless, Charlie took the shot, confident in it hitting despite all the variables. The fact that this was a simulation greatly aided in calming his mind, knowing that the targets he'd likely kill weren't exactly real.

---

Anton Chebringer | Prodigy Initiative | Death Battle | July 17th, 2024 (Night)

Eyes wide and staring, Anton watched in momentary awe as the magical girl decimated their allied monsters. Her bright white armour was anything but subtle, nor her entrance, but she certainly had power. Lilith barked an order, suggesting everyone take cover. Anton, not wanting to be a vaporized, took off running towards the nearest house, his machete jingling on his belt. The doll in his dufflebag casually leaped out, running off to take solace in the bush at the other end of the street behind him. From there it would provide sight of the house the flying target above, whereas Anton would provide fire from a safer location behind a parked car in someone's driveway.

His HK417 was a much better firearm than his previous loadout, but whether or not it could hurt this new opponent's armour, he wasn't entirely sure. Just in case an opponent came to him, one mannequin was running ahead of him at a far greater speed. His other mannequin ran towards the house, the multidirectional limbs letting it scamper around like some creature out of a horror game. With the sight of his doll and its absurd mobility, it could possibly dodge another explosive attack towards it. Should it take a hit, the C4 would simply explode causing damage to the house.

[Lessoni]

Jack Dredd

This was not an ideal situation for a gunmen, that was for sure. So Jack put his rifle on his back, intending to use his fists. No chance of punching an innocent by accident. Well, small chance, but still, better than using his monster of a gun.

The flash definitely helped. He moved forward, nearly sprinting, and grabbed the pistol gunmen by the throat, slamming him into the ground. Problem solved, for the moment at least.

[Forest State]

---

12th Floor

---

Shots fired into the crowd. Some of them hit the mark and other ones didn’t, all of them came in the general vicinity of the crowd and proceeded to spook the panicked people further, causing even more of a rush to the exits that would result in bottlenecking. The escalators, after all, were meant for regular traffic and not for a crowd of people to rush towards them at once. Some people would fall from the stampede and others would because shots had been fired. Whether those people had done anything to warrant this or not would have to be determined when they were out of the immediate danger. Not all of them looked like it but… It was hard to read someone in a situation like this.

Someone could be carrying a weapon and it would only be indicated by micromovements, for example. Or they could have been seen behaving strangely earlier but hadn’t been witnessed like that by anyone that was in the immediate area. Judging these things was hard and that was why they had the computer system-

Or so they thought. Before everything could come to a close, the simulation went black and everyone that had been there in the sim would now be back on the twelfth floor of the Guardians Building where they had started. “Cut. It looks like the system still has some problems to work out,” said Martin Chang, standing in front of the computer console and moving once the simulation was over. “If that was real life, you would have successfully stopped the attackers from carrying out their attack on the train station and escaping. However, you would have done it at the cost of spilling the blood of several random people.”

Chang continued. “However, that’s not something that we can hold against you. The system seems to have incorrectly identified several people as being hostile. It’s something that we’ll have to work on through further testing and simulations in the future to ensure that problems like that are… Smoothed out before the Athena project hits the streets.

“With that, I believe you’ve completed what we need. We now have some human testing data on the new system… Unless you also have some feedback,” said Samson Bastani, looking to the group of recruits that had just tried out the system with their own hands. “If not, all of you are dismissed and can feel free to return to your normal activities.”

[Vanquaria]

---

August 10th, 2024

---

Glad to be out of the simulation, the scenario having been upped so much in intensity that it had been pretty overwhelming, Bu freed himself from the mechanical contraptions that had been attached to his self and stood alive to the Council member's words.

There wasn't anything that he had to take in, however, the man's words pretty much a summary of what they had just gone through in the simulation. What was more important to Bu was his own assessment of his performance during the virtual mission. Had it been satisfactory? Relative to the performances of the other Young Guardians, Bu thought it most certainly was.

With nothing else to be said, the Chinese teen made to leave the 12th floor. It had admittedly been fun to experience virtual reality. Now that that was all done and over with, he intended to go back to training, specifically heading for the gun range. He was currently in the middle of several training courses, all of which were intended to strengthen Bu's operational capabilities.

Chief amongst them was the sniper course. Based off the Marine Corps Scout Sniper course, its components would give him proficiency in fieldcraft and marksmanship. There was an emphasis on counter sniper tactics, something Bu felt would be more relevant to him as a Guardian because of the nature of urban sniping in the realm of counterterrorism and his experience with snipers during the Newark mission.

Alongside that, Bu was undertaking perishable skills training such as SERE, fast-roping and tactical breaching. His time at night was dedicated to his study of Rescue Sciences, the applications of the subject found to be hard but essential by Bu. One of the most stressful skills he was learning was resistance and escape. RTI, resistance to interrogation, was more mental than physical for him. His abilities relied on his capability to think and nothing tested his mental endurance more than that. Sometimes, he'd struggle to sleep because of it and instead, rely on his powers to get him through the day.

Bu didn't know when the next mission would be. All the more reason for him to start now rather than later, when it may be too late.

[Castelia]

Thomas Williams | Prodigy Initiative Storyline II: Death Battle

Well, fuck.

Thomas took cover just as the energy blast from the new arrival took down the monsters that Angel had sent out. The blast had thrown debris nearly thirty feet from where it had originated, making it clear just how much power it had. Thomas had fought against enemies armed with explosives before, but never against one who could use it at will. Despite the worried and excited faces of his colleagues, Thomas' expression never changed. This was a job after all, and he was a professional.

"I’ll be in contact over the radio. I’m seeing if I can get onto the roof of the building directly across the street from the target one."

Watching Lillith as she took off, Thomas decided on doing the same. However, he had something to try out first. "Lillith, I'm taking a shot at the hostile. I'll see if I can injure her using my weaponry." At the same time he said that over the radio, Thomas activated the Mark 39's ability, giving it penetration capability equal to that of an anti-tank cannon. Not even mecha armor could withstand a shot that powerful, and now he was about to find out whether the hostile can, too.

Aiming directly at the hostile's center, Thomas fired a shot, the massive energy blast lighting up the entire neighborhood. The blast was loud, too, but Thomas wasn't worried about waking anyone up. The earlier explosion would have done that already. Immediately deactivating the Mark 39 just after firing, Thomas then ran towards the nearby houses as well, activating the Mark 40 as he did so. Taking cover in a nearby house on the opposite side of the street of where Anton was, Thomas then peeked over his cover, trying to see whether the Mark 39 did its job... or not.

[Lessoni]

Jack Dredd

The sudden return to reality slightly disoriented Jack; he felt his fingers clutch into a grip. But a moment passed and he was fine. He unhooked himself from the machine and stepped out, stretching slightly to get rid of the residual stiffness frim standing still.

Jack had nothing to say. He knew his own decisions were a part of the problem, and he was mad at himself for that. He'd recently been coming to realize his skillset of punching things was a little too narrow. His mind flashed back to all the little mistakes he'd made on missions, that all had big consequences. He needed to improve his tactical mind.

So he headed back to his room, and booted up his laptop. He had some reading to do.

[Lunas Legion]

Ashley 'Ash' Bryens a.k.a Wildfire

There was something to be said for being back in America. He wasn't quite sure what it was, he couldn't quite place it, but it was like he was finally home. Even if he hadn't been back for... He couldn't even remember the last time he'd been back. Excluding work, work didn't count since he'd be going back to Dubai after he was done with that.

And this, well, it wasn't a permanent posting, but from the phrasing it might as well have been. It paid well, and, to be quite honest, his country needed him again.

He whistled as he strolled across the grounds of Angel Village, HK416 patting against his side as he walked, binoculars hanging down from around his neck. Angel's Village? He never bothered to remember. It didn't sound intimidating enough. It wasn't like he went here enough to bother remembering the name. The Guardians sent someone to pick him up anyways, make sure he didn't get lost on the way. Or something like that.

He'd already checked out the room he'd been given; it was... Nice enough. Serviceable. Nothing like his Dubai penthouse, but honestly, he was more used to being in a sleeping bag in the middle of buttfuck nowhere than a bed. More comfortable too. He didn't bother checking the canteen; if this place was soft enough for those kids he'd had to babysit across the Empty Quarter, he'd do fine. Unless the food they did was too fancy.

What was the problem with a simple sandwich? Or whatever MRE was available? He never understood it.

Which meant the next stop on his self-guided tour was the range. Or whatever passed for a range here. He passed by an APC, nodding to the soldier sitting on the edge of the roof, who nodded back. The place was most certainly more militarised than he'd expected, APCs, troops on sentry duty, SAM and CIWS emplacements, even a goddamn tank that they'd probably gotten out of some reserve stockpile. Maybe they'd actually started to wake up to reality to a degree.

He snorted as he turned a corner, pushing open the door to the range. Doubtful. Too little, too late most likely.

He wasn't here to practice, he'd gotten more than enough of that over the years. Rather, he almost found shooting... Relaxing, as it were. It was simpler when it was just you, your firearm, and the target. Cleared the mind. There was someone else already in the range, but he paid them no mind as he walked along, picking a random target and setting his rifle down in front of him, quickly beginning to disassemble it to clean it before he actually got to shooting.

He always cleaned his rifle before a mission, or before shooting on a range. Got him into the right mindset, and a gun you looked after was a gun that looked after you. He hummed quietly to himself as he worked, seemingly content for the first time in a while.

[Forest State]

---

Death Battle

---

The figure in the white armor remained in place. Her wings were the one thing that was moving, in a way that was quite majestic and was possible to appreciate if it wasn’t for the fact that this figure was a threat to kill them all, but the rest of her remained in place as she watched the battlefield from above and made a move when Nina came into the area. She could have focused on the mannequin or she could have focused on Nina but she chose to go for the more dangerous target. She considered going to ground but for now she stayed in the sky, charging up another attack.

Her rate of fire was higher than a normal mage, somehow, but just looking at her said enough about how she wasn’t normal. Her armor, her wings, her capabilities, all of it said that she was a step above the competition. So would Prodigy even be able to get through the front door when she was guarding it? Would they even be able to pull out when they would be fish in a barrel if they attempted to flee in their vehicles while she was around?

She said something but it couldn’t be heard from the distance the Prodigy team was at. Seconds later, the ground would explode around Nina as another powerful blast of energy hit. It was clear that the one in the armor was on another level. Prodigy was no longer the one on the attack but the one on the defensive, and they were up against opposition that could take them out in a moment if they made certain mistakes such as going out in the open and bunching up.

Fortunately, the Prodigy team had better instincts than their heroic counterparts across the Atlantic did.

But something else happened after the ground exploded around Nina. That was when the Mark 39 was fired. However powerful the blast was, the enemy here already seemed to be aware the fact that Thomas was going to fire it. Being high in the sky like that had advantages, after all, and one of those was seeing what the enemy team was doing before they were able to take you by surprise. If it did one thing, it made the figure go evasive. Straight up into the air, flying in a helix pattern as she went above the radius of the blast and generally tried to stay out of harm’s way.

They didn’t want to get into a fight with her like this, with her climbing higher and higher. Their options to get at her would be… Limited at best. Lilith arrived on the roof and uncloaked herself but looked through the scope of her AW50 and realized that she wasn’t going to be able to fire accurately with her enemy moving this quickly and changing directions. It was hard not just because of the movement but because of the distance. However, the enemy in the armor was still able to attack them it seened.

She stopped to face the other team when she was in the apex of her flight, her wings casting a shadow over the moon that was almost directly behind her, equal parts intimidating and beautiful. And as she did so, she fanned her arm out like she was throwing a shuriken, but it wasn’t just one weapon that she was throwing. No, it was a number of tiny blades rocketing toward the ground, made from magic energy and capable of causing a bit of pain even if they weren’t going to kill anyone on their own. And more importantly, they could force the team to go defensive for what was about to come.

The front of the building exploded. Not because of an explosion but because of something smashing straight through it. Tendrils, more specifically, which were black as the shadow that had been cast by the first figure over the moon. This wasn’t anything that had been seen before with the Rainbow. And black, that certainly wasn’t part of the Rainbow in the first place. Just like the one in white armor wasn’t part of it either. So who was the first figure and who was the second one, who had just smashed through the front of the house using the tendrils as a weapon?

“This is someone new,” said Lilith, taking a look through the scope of her rifle. “But it’s not Una McLain, or if it is, it’s not here in any form that we’ve seen her in the past. I’m taking a shot.”

She pulled the trigger immediately after her announcement on the radio, but the shot didn’t seem to do much at all. It didn’t kill off the enemy that she had fired it at… Rather the shot seemed to be absorbed into the enemy’s body, like nothing had happened. Suddenly, one of the tendrils shot out long ranged towards Lilith, forcing her to use her enhanced reflexes to perform a flip jut to get out of the way. She was able to get a decent look at her attacker, though. And she could tell that this wasn’t someone that they had run into before.

Not unless something had changed. Pale face, white hair, dark tendrils, the description didn’t match any of the Rainbow members they knew before… And that made it hard to plan for this person.

[Gudmund]

Charlie Burkhall | Young Guardians | 12th Floor | August 10th, 2024

"So I was right," thought Charlie, halfheartedly listening to Chang. The simulation ended rather abruptly, yet he couldn't complain. While positioning to get a better shot against the armed target, he noticed that all the supposed 'threats' were simply shady or nervous people. It was something he was vaguely familiar with, but nethertheless, being granted a hostile threat level was pretty distracting, even if he knew they weren't. Had he not prioritized the armed target, there was a chance he'd kill the closest red marker and kill an innocent civilian. Doing that in a real life scenario would end terribly, he'd feel guilty and face backlash from plenty of people. Chang already pointed out this error, so Charlie kept his mouth shut.

Being dismissed by Bastani, Charlie left after looking at Bu. This event made him realise he needed to learn how to properly use a firearm, plus get some extra practice in. Nodding, he left for the firing range where he'd do just that, next time he'd land every shot without fail. Maybe he could shift him arm into something bulkier to reduce recoil.

---

Anton Chebringer | Prodigy Initiative | Death Battle | July 17th, 2024 (Night)

Still hiding behind the car, an expensive looking van to be precise, Anton noticed Thomas' large rifle shot missed though the eyes of his doll. The flyer must've seen it coming, considering the speed at which the Mark 39 could fire. Not soon after a black tendril exploded through the front of the house the white magical girl had been hovering above. From this distance he couldn't make out what caused this, Lilith didn't seem to know either. Lilith fired at the writhing mass of tentacles, doing no noticeable damage, and quickly being attacked in return from an extending tendril. Judging the speed of this attack, Anton reasoned his mannequin could dodge one or two strikes, sending it directly at the black mass for a kamikaze attack. Even if no damage was caused directly, the house would likely collapse onto the target.

Speaking over the radio, Anton announced his plan, "Lets see if an explosive can deal with this black mass quickly, one flying bitch is already a handful it seems."

While it might seem odd to throw away one of his mannequins so early, they were quite expendable. If anything, suicide bombing was the best usage for them. They took about five hours to make with a mould, plastic, explosives and blades; costing about $70 overall. Anton didn't see one of them exploding on the flying opponent, so this was the ideal path to take.

[Triassica]

Angel Ashley
Walking Wasteland
Prodigy

Angel hid behind the Van along side Anton to keep herself out of the white mage's sight, only popping out to spit out a spew of bullets when the foe's attention was on Nina. She yelped with a squeak, however, and hid back behind the vehicle, as the white mage began firing explosions around the the other girl. "Ugh!" scowled Angel in disgust, "Flying stupid bitch. Fliers are not fun at all! Can't get up for close and personal fun with those."

Angel peaked back to see the next explosion, this time of dark black tendrils at the door of the Raimbow's house. A new player has joined the game, and certainly not one of the rainbows they encountered before. The bioweapon girl decided to stay low out of this fight for now, and keep watch in case her machine gun is needed. "Know your enemy." Angel said, "Important rule of the game. ...Where are the skittle girls, though? And who is that bitch?"