Drama Marvel Heroes: A New Breed - ~Summer 2020 Best RPG~

IC: SGC’s 28.57^3
Mystic Masters HQ, London

It wasn't long until a woman appeared, or seemed in part to be not wholly there as her silence stretched with her effects of walking. Either she was highly trained in her own body or knew this place and the floorboards by wrote memory. Impressive either way, or possibly even both. SGC would ask, but he had come to learn that sometimes questioning how another was proficient in something obvious they were doing was looked down upon in polite conversation. One had told him to wait until the person had a few drinks in them. How being well hydrated was supposed to make him asking questions more polite SGC still had not a clue.

"Ah Master Tenzin, so good to meet you, in person, I mean" She clarified with a soft laugh. She bowed her head to the young master in greeting and as a sign of respect. She turned her gaze to his pupil and repeated the action.

SGC did his best to do the same action back.

"Welcome to London. Please, come" She said genially, beckoning the pair to follow her into a small reception room off the hallway.



SGC knew one good word for this room. Cozy. Taking a seat in a green chair he spotted the tray with provisions and immediately stood back up. Going to it to pour himself a cup, turning his head first to his Master and then to the woman to ask simply. "Would you like some as well? I can prepare it for you." he was simply offering. For his own he poured the hot tea, a splash of milk, and five cubes of sugar. He would of added more but his cup was at capacity. Around it he packed a decent stack of good looking cakes.

She cleared her throat softly before addressing the pair.

"Thank you for coming. I appreciate that their have been some...difficulties in New York" She shifted her gaze to Tenzin's pupil, a soft smile gracing her features. "But before we get into the nitty-gritty... I don't believe we have been introduced"

"Apologies!" SGC stated setting his bounty in his own chair before turning back to her, "SGC's 28.57^3, nice to meet you."

TAG: @greyjedi125 , @Jedi_padawan_leigh

 

Character Sheet



Name: Randall Bates

Codename: Limos

Gender: Male

Age: 25

Hair: Black, shaved

Eyes: Brown

Height: 6'4/ with armor on 7'2

Weight: 240lbs/ 500lbs with armor on

Likes: Sports, Working out, closet Sci-fi and anime nerd

Dislikes: Country, Chicken, Doing nothing; eventually, he will hate his existence, but he will learn to cope with it and love himself.

Personality: Randall Bates acts like a Stereotypical Jock; however, he is a gigantic nerd deep down; he represses that side of himself due to the dramatic bullying he suffered in middle and high school.

Appearance: Muscular, African-American

Basic Abilities: Needs to consume the biological mass of others and create bio-constructs with it such as; Whip-fists, Hammer fists, Claws, Blades, and generate armor.
-
This is the armor.

Bio:

Randall bates was born in Hamburg, Germany, while his father and mother were on tour with the military. His father, Orlando Bates, was a decorated Staff sergeant in the United States Army, earning medals in the Kosovo war and the following war in Iraq after 9/11.

Nearing the War's end, Orlando Bates died in an ambush guarding the Iranian scientist Aram Su'kesh, who wanted to defect to the United States. Despite Orlando's death, the mission was a success as Alex Mercer, a member of the extraction team, managed to kill everyone in the ambush and complete the mission.

Randall Bates attended the funeral and watched as General Ross himself honor the extraction team with medals and saw Fort Orlando be named in his father's honor in his hometown of New Bern, North Carolina. These events, coupled with the humiliation he faced in his formative years, fueled his anger and need to feel powerful.

So once Randall finished graduating high-school, he spent the following two years spending every day in the weight room, improving his strength, constitution, and dexterity. After this period of intense working out, Bates joined the Navy, where he was immediately recommended to be placed in the Navy Seals program, where he subsequently was easily accepted in.

By the age of 25, Bates already achieved Sergeant's rank and gained a kill count of 150 with a 100% mission success rate. These achievements and his eager demeanor in combat gave him the name of "Limos." Eventually, a ghost from the past, Aram Su'Kesh, recommended Bates to participate in the Weapon XVII program, the culmination of the previous attempts at the project. Once offered, Randall immediately accepted a decision he would soon regret. As the experiment permanently altered his physiology.

Now food is disgusting to Randall, and the only way he can subsist is by feeding off Human Biomass. The process of gaining his powers and the results of it have disillusioned the young Sergeant. After 6 months of governmental supervision, Randall escaped into the wilderness into the world, confused and lacking purpose.

 

Zephyr Vaillancourt
Team Argus Hideout, NYC


Blue’s message played from Casey’s comm and there was a feeling of relief as Zephyr listened to the awaited update.

[Things are getting complicated, Sapien League is here, it's a trap.]

A chill ran over him as the word ‘trap’ triggered in him great concern for the group leader’s safety.

[Crime Alley]

"Should we help him? Sounds bad." Casey asked, they were still holding hands, the warm feeling of bonding and tenderness quickly being replaced for a sense of urgency.

“We should get to him as fast as we can.” he replied standing up and reshaping his garments into his battle suit, the black non-reflect armor and full visor mask taking shape almost instantly, by now it was a reflex.

“I’ll plot our travel route while you change.” Zephyr suggested.

He willfully ignored his power based instinct of wanting to reform her garments into her Aegis outfit or transpose the outfits. That would be crossing all kinds of lines, both of appropriateness and familiarity. ‘Progenitor’ had warned him a while back that human convention would start to feel ‘incompatible’ as he grew in his abilities.

“Doc, please give me a full update on the Blue’s situation, where he is and who’s with him and plot the best aerial approach to his position, feel free to make suggestions.”

Crime Alley was located in an unsavory part of town and nothing good happened there all the time, and if the Sapien League was involved, there was sure to be trouble. Zephyr took a deep breath, centering himself and gathering the calm that would undoubtedly be necessary to effectively assist Blue in whatever goals he was working on.

So much was going on at once, Lourdes and Don Ernesto, White Star, Casey’s Dad, Zara…this was a full time job, not for the faint hearted.

For a moment there came a sense of great respect and admiration for the heroes that lived day to day managing priorities and fighting the good fight, what great burdens they had to carry. No wonder Blue was such a driven and complicated person, he probably had a better idea of the size of the shoes they were trying to fill.

As for Aegis, the young lady could probably use a bit of distraction from the news about her dad, and there are just a handful of remedies that could be counted as better than beating up bad guys.

“Get ready to fly Battle Angel!” Psion called out as he readied himself for what was to come.


TAG: @greyjedi125 ,@galactic-vagabond422

 

Shelly, Tony & Colin
Alhambra, Arizona

For Shelly, it was becoming easier and easier to command the shadows. Covering herself to the point of becoming unseen was child’s play. Reaching out beneath the car was simple. Inside a moment, she could feel the mass of the malformed man and with a twist of her hand, turned him around, just in time for his massive tentacled arm to come crashing down on the pavement next to Tony’s car, with enough force to make a crack on the concrete road.

Tony hit the breaks, tires screeching in response.

“Two hundred miles up Colin, now, Now!!” Tony cried-out to his friend, his expression intense.

If she was watching, Shelly would see a different manifestation of mathematical tools glow around Colin’s hands, his eyes also glowing faintly. Outside, the Malformed man growled in frustration, then turned to attack once again, repeating the maneuver.

Colin spoke a word which was not understood. There was a sudden flash and in that instant, a whooshing sound of imploding air echoed inside the car as the Malformed man disappeared in a blink of an eye, literally without a trace.

Tony closed his eyes and sat back, releasing a big sigh of relief.

“Agreed.” Colin said also sitting back. “I think we need a break from all this, cuz it’s making me hungry.”

Tony looked through the rear view mirror to see if Shelly was Ok. “You Ok, back there?” He inquired with measured concern. Using their mutant abilities in public was a big risk, given their current circumstances.

The dark haired driver turned his head towards the convenience store, hearing the door chime as it opened.

A fatherly looking man had come out to investigate the sound of screeching wheels. A cursory look revealed there was no crash to report.

“You kids Ok?” he asked a bit confused.

“We’re alright. Foot cramp.” Tony explained in a friendly and casual manner. “Just need to walk it off, sorry for the trouble."

Without waiting another moment, Tony began to drive away, making sure to wave ‘good-bye’ at the man, just to keep his attention off the floor for a moment longer.

This time, the vehicle stayed on a side road, for their own sake. Incidentally, the trio still had a few more minutes before reaching their original destination.

This time, it was Tony who broke the silence: “So, guess we need to have a serious talk.”

Colin simply nodded in wordless agreement.

Tag: @Ktala

---

Zero G & Agent Delphi
Hudson Yards Shopping Mall



Agent Delphi walked over to the mirror and smiled, appreciating how beautiful Zara looked in the shoes she picked.

“Well, I’d say you could certainly command a room wearing those.” She quipped in good humor.

“Keep them. Consider them a gift.” She added sincerely before continuing.

“There will be a special dress waiting in your dressing room closet, once you reach your vacation spot. You won’t be able to go to ‘The Ball’ without it. You must try it on until it fits naturally.”

It was Delphi’s turn to look in the mirror now, as she adopted several fashionable posses besides Zara.

“Walk to the door after I cause a scene and go with the woman who will appear before you.” The Agent said as casually as if talking about the weather.

“And remember what I said about the dress. Without it, you won’t be able to do what I’m about to do….”

Turning smoothly, Delphi called over the lovely young lady who had been assisting them. As expected, the attendant drew closer when bid. Once eye contact was made, Agent Delphi simply seemed to fade into invisibility.

Startled, the young woman brought both hands to her mouth, muffling the ‘Oh my god’ she’d exclaimed from shock, her attention completely focused on the space Delphi had occupied a moment ago.

A bright flash emanated from behind Zara where a woman stood, her hand outstretched.



“I’m Hub. Please come with me.”

Tag: @Kurisan

---

Helena Schwartz (Agent 77)
White Star Safe Zone

“Of course, sir.” Helena said as she managed to smile “I am in. When’s the briefing?”

Advisor Sethlan nodded amiable, fully understanding and respecting Agent 77’s choice to remain formal and professional.

“First thing tomorrow morning, at 06:00 hours.” He informed.

“Which means you have some downtime until then.” He intoned neutrally, not wishing the Agent to misinterpret his amiability. “Do let me know if there’s anything you’ll need before then.”

Tag: @TheAdmiral

---

Blueline
Crime Alley

The place was literally an alley behind two condemned building at the end of a city block in the Lower East Side. There was also an underpass which no decent human being ever used. This was a place local law enforcement tended to overlook, unless given due cause. But this evening, the alley found itself crowded with visitors as two groups clashed.

G13 and members of the Sapien League.

Thanks to Blueline’s timely intervention, Gustavo and his Metamin dealing associates avoided a ‘trap’ set for them. However, a showdown was now in progress in Crime Alley.

The place sounded like a war zone.

Gun shots rang out into the dusky evening as nearly two dozen Sapien League members were engaged by four super powered beings.

At the end of the Alley, closest to the underpass, Gustavo had his hands out, eyes black as night as a trickle of blood ran down his left nostril, his face etched with a sneer. Three masked Sapien Soldiers had their weapons out and seemed to be struggling not to point their firearms at each other, much less pull the trigger. Their grunts were audible as an invisible titanic struggle of will and dominance seemed to be taking place. Sweat was pouring from all four men locked in metaphysical combat.

In the middle of the Alley, Bronx back handed one of the four masked men who continually fired their weapons at him, riddling his clothes with holes but he seemed undeterred by their efforts. The overly muscled man only chuckled aloud as his target flew several meters in the air and hit the wall, becoming dizzy from the collision. The other three continued to fire their firearms, as if insisting to bring about a result that refused to realize itself, even as Bronx turned and charged his next target.

Kramer on the other hand , stood at the entrance of the Alley, snapping his fingers and creating sonic shockwaves that blasted three Sapien Soldiers off their feet and sent them backwards for several meters. One of the fallen men tried firing at him from his prone position, but Kramer saw him and clapped his hands, the ensuing shockwave defeating the shot and sending them further back.

Meanwhile, the cyber ninja had engaged the five soldier up on the roof of the first building. One was already knocked out, leaving him with four who fired their weapons at him. The barrier of blade flashes were nearly invisible to the naked eye as the bullets were parried effortlessly, or simply cut to bits. The blind hate consuming the Sapien Soldiers was so great, they couldn’t perceive how unassailable their target was against their efforts. Again, the cyber ninja seemed to move and disappear, and another soldier fell unconscious.

Those who were left continued with their efforts, undeterred.

That still left several Sapien Soldiers unaccounted for, including the one who had encountered Blueline earlier, before the small scale war began.

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422

---

Monin Bellascort
Safe House, 56th Street, NYC

“I do understand Mr. Bellascort…” Dr. Redstone spoke with visible relief, for he understood what could have happened had things gone ‘south’.

Calmly, he took a seat across the his guests. “There are so many implications….” he began then shook his head. “I would ask you what the voice is saying, if you recognize it, but where would that lead you?” He asked, understandably curious, however, that curiosity also needed to be reigned in. Safety was the priority.

“Look, I know people who could help you, if you let them…..” Sebastian leaned forward, regarding Monin with fatherly concern.

“You don’t need to carry this burden alone.” He stated with a reassuring tone.

Tag: @The Jedi in the Pumas

---

Isla, SGC & Tenzin
Mystic Masters Sanctum, London

At once, Tenzin felt at ease as they arrived at the London Sanctum. Everything felt different here, calmer. He didn’t feel suffocated by a sense of danger, which was something he was infinitely grateful for. The monk certainly hoped his pupil felt the same.

At seeing the large man, Tenzin understood that he was likely a servant of some kind, so he nodded respectfully to the large man. In short order Tenzin and SGC were joined by the kind and accommodating Master Isla.

"Ah Master Tenzin, so good to meet you, in person, I mean.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I cannot thank you enough for your hospitality.” Tenzin responded, a soft involuntary smile coming over his face as he bowed and tried not to blush.

As bid, they newly arrived pair followed the presiding Master to a very cozy room where tea and treats were set up to receive them. Tenzin’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise, as a feeling of welcome and normalcy began to envelope him from within, as if re-energizing his tired bones.

As was his custom to always think of others, SGC poured himself some tea and asked if anyone else desired some, so that he could prepare it. Tenzin smiled, thinking on how SGC’s generosity often outpaced his own. Moving next to his pupil he availed himself of a cup of tea and one cake. “Thank you, perhaps next round?” He said in good humor, before taking a seat.

Tenzin appreciated Master Isla’s approach to their sudden arrival, as she mentioned their difficulties, but did not immediately engage in the topic, but rather, opted for a gracious introduction. Of course! She had yet to meet with Tenzin’s rather unique pupil.

“I don't believe we have been introduced"

The pupil did not delay in his response.

"Apologies!" he stated setting his bounty in his own chair before turning back to Master Isla, "SGC's 28.57^3, nice to meet you."

The monk chuckled, especially after seeing the large silent man raise a questioning eyebrow.

“SGC for short.” He interjected, hopefully making matters simple for everyone.

“As you can probably imagine, our story is rather unique.” Tenzin added, keeping the conversation light as he took a sip of his tea. His expression alone bespoke of his much needed relaxation and enjoyment in that moment.

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto, @Jedi_padawan_leigh

---

Cameron Giles & Daisy Johnson
White Star, Point Nam

“Lane, how would you rate our level of cooperation with the Kingdom of Wakanda over the last couple months. Follow that up with a side comparison of our level of cooperation with them a year ago. I want to see something.”

Cameron was as always, very thorough in everything he did, even when requesting information.

[White Star’s relationship with Wakanda has remained positive over the past months with no significant variance when compared. Our goals are aligned locally and globally as is our mutual commitment to oppose the current regime.] Agent Lane indicated.

[As requested, allow me to also update you with the latest intel peripherally linked to the Mallen case.]

Daisy had requested that White Star keep an eye on their possible recruits, which also included their newest recruit.

Agent Lane went on to report that Agent Zero G was about to be dispatched on a critical mission to China. One of the members of Team Argus, their leader, was being supported by a High Level ‘field operative’ in an ongoing development. In addition, Ops was also waiting on an update from another ally, one Dr. Redstone, which involved an unconfirmed Omega Level Metahuman.

[As per our directive, we continue to monitor communications in our efforts to predict and counter the present regime.] Lane stated.

There was a brief , but familiar pause, before the agent continued.

[Rest assured we’ll keep you updated with any and all significant intel. Do you have any further inquiries at this time?]

Daisy placed a finger to her chin, thinking for a moment, then looked towards Cameron. She didn’t answer verbally just yet, incase her ‘partner-in-crime’ might have one more question, because he always did.

Tag: @Darth_Elu

---

Detective Steve Donahue
Hell’s Kitchen

She was arguing with the cops again. This, his latest ‘partner’, Margaret ‘Margie’ Morgan. A fellow work-a-holic, chain smoker, beer drinker, just one of the guys, who loved to argue. There was a secret betting pool to see how long she would last. As usual, as soon as they arrived to the scene, she’d turned to Steve and say, ‘Let me do the talking’. She always said that when she was in a mood. True to form, she was out of the car as soon as it came to a full stop.

“What is this?” Margie was saying to the two cops who had called for homicide detectives after someone had called the police regarding a body inside a dumpster behind a bar.

“He looks like King Tut!!” She nearly shouted, gesturing at the desiccated corpse haphazardly placed inside a body bag. “What makes you smurfs even think this is a homicide?”

Her short sandy colored hair could use some styling gel, but she didn’t much care these days. Margie’s light brown eyes had rings under them, but that didn’t matter either. Being 37 was simply a drag these days.

“Are you serious right now?” One of the cops shot back, not responding well to Margie’s bedside manner.

“Are you?” She exclaimed, finally raising her hands in resignation. That was the sign for Steve to get involved.

Tag: @HanSolo29

---

Limos
Abandoned Brooklyn Shipyard

There had been no sense of time, only running. Images and memories merged, making it hard to distinguish between what was real and what was imagined. What horrors he had lived through and what was a nightmare.

For Randall or Limos, the solitude of the abandoned shipyard, the sound of the water, were probably calming, despite the weakness he must be feeling. But this morning a persistent sound woke him.

A dog.

A dog was barking.

Barking consistently, making a good deal of noise.

And it sounded close. Very close.

If Randall opened his eyes, he would see the mutt barking in alarm not more than three meters away from him. Non-stop. Certainly such a racket would draw someone’s attention, if it hadn’t already.

Tag: @Narancia

---

Continuing awesome combos with @darthbernael, @Shadowsun

 

IC: Randall Bates
Abandoned Brooklyn Shipyard



Loneliness.

Hunger.

Sadness.

Anger.

These four foremost feelings of depression and desolation dominated the domains of Randall's mind.

Was he even Randall anymore, or is he Limos now? The lines of identities seemed to blur as the former Sergeant sat alone in an abandoned shipyard living in deprivation and poverty.

The waves and the creaking of the rotting metallic ship brought comfort to the tormented young man. God only knows the path that led him here, the agony, the confusion, the disenchantment.

Randall reflected on his life and gazed into the endless abyss that was self-loathing. The young man had served in the military, killed countless people. Achieved a perfect mission success rate, only for them to thank him by turning him into this.....Monster.

It would've been funny if only it weren't so tragic.

Randall could've become anything, a doctor, a physical therapist, a journalist, anything! But Randall ignored all of his scholarships, all of his opportunities for something different to follow in his father's footsteps, maybe even surpassing him.

That's what Randall really wanted to surpass his father and show everyone that he could be a bigger hero than Orlando Bates himself.

Randall tossed and turned in his sleep; his spirit was hollow and devoid of fire. Even his movements were slow due to starvation; he did not want to eat, he did not want to give in something he miraculously achieved ever since he left the governmental facility. Now all Randall wanted to do was die, to waste away alone in this rusty rotting rig of a ship. Maybe he'll have some peace for once; maybe he'll sleep forever, finally being released from this hellish reality and be carried into the sweet embrace of eternal peace.



It seems life would always pull Randall back in.

Both the fire and the ire re-lit in his eye, which he opened to find a dog growling and barking no more than 3 feet away from his side.

This could be a problem. Randall thought to himself, as the Dog's barking could alert people to his location.

Randall's heart skipped a beat.

People..........

The thought made his stomach rumble, and it required sustenance.

IC: Limos
Abandoned Brooklyn Shipyard



Limos slowly picked up a rusted metal shard as his stomach roared again and ever so slowly made his way to the barking dog. The hunger would not be denied again; this farce had gone on for long enough. Limos wanted, no he needed to feed, and he would do anything, including maiming this mutt so painfully and so tediously long that its shrieks of pain would echo and force the attention of other humans in the area. Luring them to their doom and Limos' feast.

TAG: @greyjedi125

 

ZERO-G

Zara Chang blinked as Agent Delphi offered her the shoes as a gift.

"Really? These are unique Louis Vuitton. I mean, did you see how much...?"

Delphi had already moved on. A happy grin split Zara's face. Did that include the dress, too? The way the assistant smiled and nodded confirmation made her realise it did! Wow. She had been used to a generous wardrobe allowance when serving as a Chinese spy, but was starting to get used to the idea of a more modest budget. This outfit would be a weapon if she ever needed to charm her way inside somewhere.

Delphi was looking very elegant as she posed in the mirror. Zara for the first time wondered what it would be like if they were... you know... friends, socially, going out somewhere together. Then Delphi gave the strange instructions.

“There will be a special dress waiting in your dressing room closet, once you reach your vacation spot. You won’t be able to go to ‘The Ball’ without it. You must try it on until it fits naturally.”

Zara opened her mouth to ask questions about this cryptic command, but Delphi moved on again...

“Walk to the door after I cause a scene and go with the woman who will appear before you.”

Zara remembered the White Star's comments right at the beginning of this shopping trip. It was not just for fun, she had been training. To be hidden in plain sight.

The Agent beckoned the assistant over then vanished. The woman serving them gasped. Zara's jaw dropped, too.

Then in a strange flash, the hooded woman appeared and offered her hand. She said, “I’m Hub. Please come with me.”

Zara kept her composure - she was used to dealing with the fantastic now - grabbed her handbag with her previous clothes and shoes, walked calmly but quickly away from the commotion in the store, and took the stranger's hand.

"I'm Zero-G. Let's go..."

@greyjedi125

 

Monin Bellascort
-Safe House, 56th St, NYC

Burden?

That's exactly what the Starbrand felt like. The powers it granted awesome...epic...But that voice, the agony with which is tugged at his mind for help yet somehow seemed to stay at bay indeed did burden him.

"Alright Doc...You seem to know something about the Starbrand. I haven't met anyone else who knew about it and my internet searches for it all left me to Russian conspiracy sites. What do you know about it? And who are these people that you say can help?"

Monin did want the help, sincerely, but he was more interested in finding out what in the world he had stepped into. DOOM...Giant government robots...Mutants fighting the government in the streets...Redstone knew about all of this and he was not as surprised as Monin. He was not anxious or nervous or scared, which were the normal reactions to everything that was transpiring. Who was this guy? That's what Monin wanted to know and to get alittle, he had to give alittle.

Tag: @greyjedi125

 

Casey
Zephyr's hideout

“We should get to him as fast as we can.” Zephyr said rising, his clothes quickly changing into the dark clothing of his superhero getup. She always marveled at his ability to be ready to go at a moment's notice. As she moved toward her room, where she always kept her super suit on top of her dresser, she noticed a slight furrow to his brow as he turned away. It was probably just him worrying about Blue. At least the stoic hero chose to reach out rather than try and take on the Sapien League and Gustavo's crew on his own. Was this him finally turning over a new leaf or was this just a one time thing. He'd shown flashes of this before but, nothing ever came of it. There was hope that he would see how much better it was to have them around.

In her room she changed out of her pajamas and into the 'super suit' Zephyr had made for her when they first started doing this whole superhero thing. Part way through she held her father's dog tags in her hands. She'd held onto them since his apparent passing, it'd been her talsamen, a way she kept his memory with her. Now she was going to save him, eventually.

"Stay safe dad, I'll come get you." she whispered holding the metal tags close to her mouth.

Finishing getting dressed she pulled the mask over her face, slipping her ponytail through the hole in the back. The suit was perfectly designed like everything Zephyr did. He was always so perfect, always put so much thought into everything. Likely why he and Blue butted heads so many times. Blue gave no thought, even to his own safety, before diving into combat.

Now ready she walked up to Zephyr a slight smile on her face. This wasn't the first time she'd intervened in a fight, she'd learned a few things from watching her compatriots, but she was still woefully unprepared to face challenges alone. She shuddered to think what would happen if she let her monster out while she was on her own…

"Yeah lets go."

TAG: @greyjedi125 @Ameteth

 

(OOC: so grateful and excited to present a combo with the stellar @galactic-vagabond422 and the indefatigably creative @greyjedi125 )

Aegis & Psion
Argus Hideout, A moment of Calm

“Doc, please give me a full update on the Blue’s situation, where he is and who’s with him and plot the best aerial approach to his position, feel free to make suggestions.”

[Yes, at once] Doc responded as both Casey and Zephyr donned their crime-fighting attires and readied their minds in preparation to assist their Team Leader: Blueline
[Blueline is currently by two abandoned buildings near the Housing Projects between Avenue D and the FDR Drive] Doc reported.

Ernesto’s Bodega was located on 2nd Street, between Avenues A & B, which would have been Blue’s original location. Clearly, he had moved further east.

[Your best route is following East Houston Street for about 2.6 miles travel. At a mile per hour you will reach Blueline's location just under 3 minutes.I shall download the trajectory to your communicators.]

Doc paused to allow the information to be processed, as he also downloaded the pertinent data.

[I've managed to confirm over a dozen armed Sapien League members also at that location, in addition to Gustavo’s G13 members, who seem to be presently exhibiting metahuman abilities. In addition, I believe a still unidentified White Star ally may be rendering some assistance against the league. Blueline has yet to engage in the developing conflict.]

There was another pause as the heroic duo finished their preparations.

[Shall I inform Blueline to expect you?]

Psion took a moment to review the information that Doc had given, every detail was essential and would help to make good decisions.

“ Yes please, let Blue know that we both are en route to his position, an open mic would be helpful, but at his discretion since he might be running silent. ”

At leas Blue wasn’t being reckless, yet. Perhaps it was because there were no innocent bystanders in the mix, but that could change at any moment.

Aegis looked ready to go, her slight smile giving a boost of confidence.

“ Let’s take the far exit.” He instructed as he moved to take lead.

“And thank you Doc, you’re golden.” Zephyr called out before entering the ‘hidden’ doorway. He was really enjoying Doc as an A.I, so much so that he had to remind himself to remain objective and not forget to delve into the mystery of Doc’s sudden evolution.

The dimly lit walls of the narrow passageway echoed the hurried pace of the two heroes, half running and half jogging, they quickly made it to the exit point; as they halted Psion looked over at Aegis to make sure that she wasn’t winded from their ’sprint’.

It took about two seconds for the words ‘Safe to Exit’ to appear on the panel next to security door, sensor sweep and surveillance giving the ‘all clear’.
The door slid opened soundlessly onto an overgrown and dilapidated area, it was deserted most of the time, with the rare exception of a random vagrant.

Psion promptly engaged his power to gather debris and particles to create the ‘cloud’ that would obscure them from view, the world itself changed as his perception was now enhanced by his particular ability.

Inside his Visor-mask the raven haired hero smiled, he loved to fly and was very happy to share this exhilarating experience with his friend and teammate. Maybe one day he’d treat the entire team to an aerial tour of Manhattan, just for the sheer pleasure of it.

“ Let’s go help our fearless leader.” He would say, taking a hold of Aegis’s hand.

The ground would quickly fall away from their feet as they soared above Lower Manhattan and then sped forth eastward, towards the FDR, a little ‘push’ from his power would shave off a whole minute of traveling time, for in dangerous situations disaster could strike at any time.

********************
Crime Alley

Instantly Blue was kicking himself for not taking out Gustavo when he had the chance. The drug pusher had turned his back to the hero, Blue could have wrapped him in a rear naked choke and sent him to sleep. But he didn’t, now he was paying for it watching said metamin enhanced criminal forcing three men to point their guns at each other. Blue was torn up inside, part of him wanted to let it play out, to let Gustavo force these men to kill each other. The other, told him to put a stop to it, to intervene.

There wasn't time to weigh all his options so he went with the first one that came to his head. Rushing past the madman he swiftly detached the magazines from the rifles, making sure to pull back the bolt to eject the bullet in the chamber. After you get shot a few times you learn how to disarm weapons pretty quick, to save you from taking any more bullets.

He turned to Gustavo the slightest sneer in his eyes. He was allowing this violence but it would be by his rules, no killing. He threw a hard right cross catching one of the Leaguers on the jaw and sending him to the ground. It was unfair that they were still locked in mental combat but this needed to end quickly and Blue wasn't about to pass up this opportunity to take pieces off the board.

The Sapien League outnumbered them. Once that was handled, then Blue could work on G13. At least that was his plan. A burst of automatic fire tore into the bandanna clad hero, leaving him reeling a for a moment before he rushed to engage the person that shot him. Just another day in the big apple for him. He leapt tackling the man to the ground and ripping the weapon from his hands before clocking his assailant with the butt of the rifle. That was another one down...too many to go.

Psion and Aegis came to a quick but gentle landing, they touchdown on the roof of an adjacent building from Blue’s location, the water tower, solar panels and other structures helped to further cut line of sight and conceal their presence. The ‘cloud’ cover was dissipated after double checking that no civilians were nearby.

Blue was easy to find, his now familiar metahuman structure glowed beautifully in contrast to the more common man-made materials in the area.

With his power Psion could see his team leader clear as day and he scowled and grit his teeth angrily as he noticed the bullet wounds that Blue had sustained.

“Darn, things are getting bad in there.” He said in a low voice. For once he was glad that his visor concealed his face so Aegis wouldn’t become worried too soon.

If there were any bullets lodged in the Bandana Hero’s body, Psion would remove them, knowing that this would help Blue’s meta-human healing factor to better do its job.

The noise of the conflict could be heard clearly form their position, men grunting and screaming, lots of cursing, gunfire added to the report of violence and a sense of danger pervaded the area.

While still ensconced, Psion proceeded to get a better ‘look’ at the playing field; the raven haired meta would engage his passive abilities, silver eyes would flash as he scanned the area to pinpoint every combatant, those active and those currently incapacitated.

He came to see that the Sapient League fought primarily with firearms, while Gustavo and his cronies seemed to go all out with their new found abilities. The White Star ally had to be the one with the brightest signature, there was actually so much going on with that individual that Psion had to keep himself from staring.

The tactical side of him located materials that he could use; metals, from doors, chains, fences or tubes, loose concrete, water ( from the water tower), anything he could employ to their advantage.

“Blue, we’re in position.” He whispered into the comms with purposeful intensity. “Ready to disarm and detain, just say when.”

Doc created a composite of the battle in Crime Alley from the difference sources he was pulling from. With his enhanced imaging and assessment program, he had 100% acquisition of the embattled area, including now updated schematics of the buildings.

While en route, Doc informed Zephyr that communications would be silent. Blueline had engaged enemy targets. To the bandana clad hero, he informs him via sequential buzzing that Team Argus was on its way, but the likelihood of Blue receiving that message while engaged was less than 50%.

Still, Doc would monitor and supply additional tactical data to Team Argus, for that was one of his many functions.

Back in Crime Alley, Gustavo watched as Blueline knocked one of the three Sapien League members he had been slowly grieving and dominating. Gustavo’s black eyes bulged with scorn at the hero, before he chuckled with contempt. The one blue had hit was KO’ed from the combination of the hit and the mental duress he’d been under, it was too much for his system- but Blue had saved his life, even if it didn’t look that way.

Blue had taken away their ammo, with tactical efficiency, which had in turned annoyed Gustavo to no end.

“No one grieves the Griever.” Gustavo snarled, spitting on the ground. He made the two masked leaguer’s throw down their weapons, which took no effort, for that’s what they’d been trying to do. However, he had them reach for their sharp combat blades, forced them to brandish them and move towards each other, step by agonizing step. Resistance was futile. The though made Griever grin as he felt them resist, tasted their growing despair, their mounting panic.

A burst of automatic fire ripped through Blueline, wounding the hero, who took the shot in stride, reeling from the all too familiar pain, his body already healing. However, Blue would also feel that he didn’t have to wait for his body to ‘eject’ the bullets the way it normally did. They just dissipated in a manner he would find all too familiar. It was exactly the way Zephyr did it.

Blue ran towards the masked man that shot him and dealt with him with street fighting expertise, however, a second masked man had appeared and was now taking aim at him. Blueline would notice tiny luminescent green streaks pierce the air and hit the masked man in his arms, paralyzing them, causing him to drop his weapon to the floor, his arms falling limp to the sides of his body, unresponsive, as if suddenly dead. The masked man’s eyes would grow wide in sheer disbelief.

Meanwhile, Bronx had knocked out two of his four targets. One was in the middle of reloading while the other provided cover fire, backpedalling while he did so.

“Can’t you see I’m just too Brolik for you?” the over muscled man would joke as the spray of bullets merely tore into his clothes and bounced off his skin. The large man seemed to be enjoying himself, toying with his masked targets. The one who had reloaded finished, got up, aimed at the back of the large man’s head, then opened fire.

Brolik turned. “Ouch” He said, humorously. Then his hand moved with speed that defied his size. He grabbed his enemies hand, weapon and all, then squeezed util there was crunching noises. The masked man tried not to scream, but failed.

“Shhhh! you’ll wake up the whole neighborhood.”

The other leaguer had finished reloading himself, but Brolik swung the one he had been holding like a rag doll and smacked the one with the weapon, bodily, stunning him in the process.

“You two look like good welcome mats.” he joked once again, smiling as he walked towards them, his intensions clear.

By the entrance of the alley, Kramer was the loudest of them all. Snapping his fingers at the three leaguers, assailing them with concussive shockwaves, which crashed into their bodies and bones like hammers.

“Can’t handle the Reverb, huh? Well, ain't that something?”

The tall man regarded them as they groaned on the floor, unable to move or hold their weapons. “Should I try both hands just to see what happens?” he inquired of them, knowing they were unable to respond.

Psion would be able to see the various scenes through the feed Doc was providing and displaying inside his visor. Aegis also had access to the battle report through her communicator.

[I’m obtaining conflicting reports from several sources] Doc informed. [ Authorities have been informed and expected to dispatch a task force, but there seems to be a delayed response of some kind. Several communications suggest Sapien League involvement. Perhaps they presumed the conflict would resolve in their favor]

From where he was, Psion and Casey would also see the Cyber ninja neutralize five Sapiens with a measure of ease. His sword becoming near invisible when deflecting bullets, then himself appearing and disappearing, knocking out his targets out cold with a well delivered hand chop to the neck.

Casey would spy the pair of Sapiens breaking an entering into a vehicle. It was not difficult to see they were planning to use it as a weapon against the metahuman at the entrance of the alley.

Zephyr would be able to detect the two Sapiens in a room facing the alley. One had a rocket launcher, and began to point it in the direction of the conflict. The other in the room was sitting on the floor, seemingly distressed.

The scene was set. Crime Alley was the stage.

Sapein League, G13 and Team Argus. These were the players.

What was their story?

*************************************************

Everything was getting out of hand, Bronx was tearing his way through the leaguers like they were tissue paper, and Kramer was playing with his food. Though Blue's main worry was Gustavo, he seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in taking control of others, or imposing his will on them. It turn his stomach watching him turning these men against each other against their will. No matter how many times he disarmed the men Griever would just keep making them fight, it would never end...unless. The thought occurred to him before, but now it was time to do it. The number was still against them but, he couldn't just keep letting this madman play around with people's lives. Blue couldn't allow it. His wist comm buzzed again, the short message appearing on it...Zephyr and Casey were here. While he could have put it together by the lack of 5.56 rounds popping out of his skin as it healed, it was nice to get confirmation.

Now he had back up, Zephyr could handle the numbers, and with their ninja friend. It should be easy right? There wouldn't be time for it, he had to act. Moving quickly up behind Gustavo, who was hopefully still focused on dominating the two poor men in front of him, Blue slipped his left arm around the drug dealer's neck his elbow resting under the chin. His left hand gripped his right bicep while his right hand gripped the back of Gustavo's head, a sleeper hold, or rear naked choke in MMA.

"Go now." Blue growled into the com on his wrist that was now very close to his mouth as he squeezed hard around the other man's neck. It shouldn't be long before Gustavo went down. "Deal with the League fast...then focus on the Metamin guys." As he spoke Blue pulled back hoping to get his captured opponent off his feet, make it harder to escape.

Casey watched on from above looking to Zephyr. She wouldn't be of much use as she was. Right now she was just a normal girl, best she could do was keep a lookout, and what she saw was not helping. Two leaguers were jumping into a car getting ready to run down the big man that was throwing people around like they were nothing. What would happen if that anger was turned on Blue, what if it was turned on her?

The cruel smile on his face sent a shock right through her...was that what she could turn into. Should she intervene? These people were monsters, one wanted to wipe her off the face of the earth, the other were drug pushers. Was there any reason to be fighting this fight? She looked to Blue struggling with Gustavo, looking to take him down. As he did an unarmed masked leaguer ran forward knife in hand ready to plunge it into the somewhat helpless Gustavo. At the last moment Blue turned his shoulder interposing his body between the plunging knife and the criminal in his grip. His shout could be heard from her perch as the blade pierced his skin.

Why? Why would he protect a man like Gustavo? Why would he protect a man that wouldn't do the same for him...

She turned to Zephyr her eyes wide...

"Why?" she asked her voice quivering. "Why do this?"

It was just getting worse, the violent conflict was escalating with each passing moment, becoming more intense with every punch, every shot and every swear word uttered.

Still hidden and crouching out of sight, Psion could now ‘see’ everyone through his senses and Doc’s virtual diorama gave him a complete picture of his surroundings; he had seen enough.

Time seemed to slow down for him as he exhaled and engaged his power. He didn’t like using his abilities in grand displays, but the growing ferocity of the combatants precluded any subtlety. Behind the mask, silver irises flashed with power as Psion began his work.

First order was to take out the rocket launcher. The Sapien League obviously came ready to engage in all out war if necessary. If that thing went off, it would not only kill those caught in the blast, it could also bring down the building, causing more damage and perhaps more lives.

Psion tightened his fists attempting to quell his own mounting emotion, he needed to remain calm to execute the multiple tasks that were clear in his mind.

At his command every piece of metal, ceramic and alloy separated from the non-metal parts of the rocket launcher, the materials sped out of the room with almost blinding speed and flew upwards. The man who was holding the inoperative ruined remains of the launcher was sent flying backwards and slammed to the back wall of the room, hopefully dazing him or knocking him out.

The combat blade that hurt Blue and drew out more of the masked hero’s blood, that was taken, and so was the second knife, they would speed away from the hands that held them. If anyone could visually track the weapons they would notice that the metal would seem to flow like mercury racing through the air.

“Why?” Casey asked, wide-eyed and voice quivering, the first signs of distress. “Why do this?”

“Because the heart of man is desperately wicked.” Zephyr answered simply, in his heart he blamed this madness on Doctor Doom.

Next to Aegis a few steel beams would combine with the material of the rocket launcher, forming an amorphous metal glob. A nearby metal door would fly into the mass, followed by a few metal steps from a ladder, for a few heartbeats the glob would wobble and change hues from grey to silver.

“It’s an Aegis shell…” Psion would offer in anticipation of the question.

“There’s someone in distress, a non-combatant, on the second floor of the next building…” He explained, draping the young lady in the silvery metal.

“I’m hoping that you could check it out, see if they need rescuing.” The silvery metal flowed and layered itself over the exterior of her garments, making her look like an urban kind of silver surfer girl.

“It’s not very heavy, but I’ll be moving it with you, it will protect you from their weapons…”

Levitating Aegis and placing her at the door where the distressed Sapien sat he added “ and because we’re Team Argus, we protect and save those we can.”

Psion returned his attention to the battlefield and the water tower emitted a low groaning sound before the water burst out of it, the sound possibly getting the attention of the men locked in mortal combat.

The water however did not spray wildly nor did it cascade to flood the rooftops, instead it seemed to move like it had a mind of it’s own, halting in mid air and rotating slowly, a perfect reflective orb from a sci-fi movie.

Several streams would shoot out from it, speeding like guided missiles.The two Sapien League members in the car would be hit, the water would cover them and form a formidable ice cast from their shoulders to their knees, frozen in position.

The big guy, Brolik, would likewise be hit with a bigger version of the ice prison, covering him from the chin to his toes, a frozen snapshot of his last movement.

Lastly the group caster, Reverb, those hands needed to be sealed away, he would also get a frozen straight jacket, shoulder to knees.

Hopefully a mild case of frostbite would be the worst damage Psion would need to inflict, he wanted this senseless battle to come to an end.

“Blue, tell them to stand down, we got your back.” he said into the comms.

The silver eyes flickered, within Zephyr the ‘Kree’ half and the ‘Terran’ half faced off, one ready to call it a night, the other more than happy for a chance to flex.


The sudden movement from one place to the next was disconcerting. The young woman found herself covered in steel, or something that looked like it and shifted to a door that faced the alley. Normally Zephyr would warn her before using his powers on her, this time he didn't. Was it just the heat of the moment, or did he just need her out of the way that badly? Her gut felt wrong the way he just took control not letting her make her own choice or even letting her move to the door. Surely there was a roof access she could have broken down? Either way she was here now, and snow was falling from the sky, a side effect of Zephyr suddenly dropping the temperature of so much water.

She opened the door and went up a level hearing some crying. The sobs seemed to be emanating from an empty doorway.

"Hey." She called out, "You ok?" She tried to keep her voice level and calm but she couldn't help the slight waver in it. The sound didn't stop. "Um, it's ok...um I'm here to...to help." She kept moving slowly and cautiously still hearing the sounds of conflict outside. "Hey..." she rounded the corner finding a man dressed in dark clothing a mask on his face.

"Stay back..." He shouted holding a pistol in his shaking hands. "Stay back you monster..."

"Hey, I'm...I'm not..." She was trying to stay calm but she could feel the monster bashing against her cage.

"Look at you...some new hot summer fashion..." The man pressed himself into a corner gesturing with his pistol at her metal covered form. "You're one of them, one of those metas that just kills whoever gets in your way."

"I'm not like them..." Casey held out her hand trying to calm things down but her heart was racing.

'Let me out.' the Monster growled. 'He's going to shoot, I can handle it before he can.'

"Oh, really, yeah, tell me another joke. You're going to kill me."

"Then why haven't you pulled the trigger yet?" Her tone was still soft, almost caring. Though under her skin the yellow eyes were staring back at her.

"I don't know...You're monsters, if it wasn't for you...my...my brother would still be alive." The dim light of the street lamps caught in the man's teary eyes.

"I don't know what happened but...I'm I'm sorry for what happened to your brother."

"You don't even know, what it's like to live in fear, fear that a monster will come and just take everything away from you. And you can do nothing to stop it."

"I do...I really do, more than you can know."

She took a step forward she saw his finger tighten on the trigger.

"I know you don't want to do this. You're not a killer."

"I have every right to be...you took my brother from me, he was all I had."

"It's ok." Tears stung at Casey's eyes recalling the first time she ever turned, throwing her mother into a stove. "I know what it's like to lose everything."

"At least you have powers, you can take what you want. I...I've got nothing..." The sobbing over took him. "I can't even shoot a gun." His arm lowered as he hung his head. "I'm just a failure...I can't even pull a trigger."

"It's ok..." Casey took a step forward, then another. "You're not a failure. You're human, it's hard to hurt people, even if you don't know them."

"I should hate you," he said looking up, tears rolling down his mask. "You killed my brother, then why can't I shoot you."

"Because that's not what your brother would have wanted..."

"Don't talk like you knew him. Don't you dare..." The gun came back up his hand shaking more. "He did what he had to, was he a saint no...but he was my brother." He shook his head. "He was just stealing to feed me, to make sure I was taken care of...and what happened. One of you meta's just killed him on the street. Just Pow..."

BANG

The gun went off. Casey took a step back her eyes wide her chest hurting. There was no time to stop it, the monster was loose. With an explosive first step she closed the distance between them wrapping her hand around the still hot barrel of the gun. Though her skin sizzled a little the monster she was now didn't feel it.

Hurt

She wrapped her other hand around his throat dragging him to his feet and then off them. The fear in his eyes matched the fear in hers. They were both just scared people in a situation they couldn't control.

The only difference was, where this man was paralyzed, Casey was strengthened.

Her blank expression held as she turned throwing the man out of the window sending him crashing to the alley below, still alive though injured...

Blue turned his head to the shattering glass, Gustavo still in his grip. The fear ran through him, she'd turned...this needed to end now.

"Stand down all of you or this will only get worse."

Griever was caught completely by surprise by Blue and the ‘Sleeper hold’ was applied with the expertise of a trained professional. Gustavo tried to punch Blue, but his initial efforts were ineffective, he had no leverage and no good position to strike from. He then tried to pull down Blue’s arm, but the bandana clad hero’s technique was simply unbreakable.


Upon seeing a crazed, blade-weilding masked leaguer coming at him in his vulnerable state, Griever began to pat Blue’s forearm with increasing rapidity, signifying that he was giving up, that he should be let go. But Blueline did not heed G13’s leader, for he simply turned placing his shoulder in Gustavo’s place at the last moment, taking the blade into himself.

Yes. Blue had a healing factor. He was not, however, invulnerable, so he still felt a great deal of pain. His scream was loud enough so his friends could hear him from the roof top where they stood. The incident would likely trigger Zephyr to insist on Blue wearing some kind of armor sometime later.

The maddened masked leaguer made to attack once again, but would not get to strike a second time.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the cyber ninja appeared.

His motions were so fast they seemed a blur to the naked eye; the leaguer simply crumpled to the floor as he was hit several times inside a blink of an eye, the blade he held clattering on the floor.

Silently, the cyber ninja watched as Gustavo finally became unconscious and grew limp, and consequently ‘dead weight’ being held up by Blue. His head turned as he curiously watched streaks of liquified metal fly past him. Curious. Someone was clearly responsible for this, someone powerful. He had a few guesses on the matter.

The cyber ninja spared a glance at Blue and was satisfied to see the hero's wound healing, before turning to take stock of the combat zone. Though mildly surprised, he found his findings quite interesting, to say the least. The remaining combatants became encased in blocks of ice, which seemed to be an effective restraint. Including the faux mutants of G13. That was admittedly...impressive.

Except for the over-muscled metamin-mutant, who forcefully strained against his icy prison, until a slow cracking sound was heard. The cyber ninja took one step in that direction, but stopped at the sound of a gun shot, then detected a sudden defenestration from above. Someone had thrown a sapien leaguer from a window.

He watched the man hit he ground, hard, bounce a few times then come to a stop, his body still and unconscious, but alive.

"Stand down all of you or this will only get worse." Blueline announced in a loud voice.

The cyber ninja looked up, then nodded slowly at Blue in understanding.

[The stage is yours…but don’t stay too long. I’ll be close by. Just in case.]

Team Argus was on the scene. This was, in layman terms, their turf. He respected that. In the span of a breath, the cyber ninja became translucent, then disappeared from all perception, including Psion’s and Doc’s.

Nearby, the sound of breaking ice continued.

In addition, law enforcement would be arriving sooner or later; thankfully, Doc would give the team ample warning, should that happen.


As Gustavo went limp in his hold Blue quickly let go laying the other man gently on the ground.

"I'm sorry Gustavo...I really am." He begged forgiveness for not releasing the hold as his opponent tapped out. "I couldn't risk you turning on me." As the rest of the baddies seemed restrained Blue turned his attention to Casey, she'd turned and he needed to calm her down, quick. "Casey, Casey it's ok, its..." Before he could finish that sentence Bronx broke loose his thudding steps echoing in the alley as he shoulder checked Blue. The hero was sent flying his body bouncing off the asphalt before coming to a sudden stop as he impacted a wall.

Hidden in the darkness of the street Blue coughed up blood, his lung slightly punctured before it could heal up. Bronx stalked forward his sights set on the Azure Guardian.

Casey watched the fear growing in her mind. Part of her knew that Blue would be fine, that he'd taken harder hits, that Zephyr would use his god like power to stop this monster. But the Yellow Eyed beast wouldn't hear any of it. This problem required her intervention.

Vengeance

She leapt through the window she had shattered, landing heavy right next to the man she so easily tossed out the window. With another burst of speed she lowered her shoulder crashing into the Metamin effected man from the side knocking him off balance. She threw a wild punch that connected solidly into the man's side. It would be stronger than any bullet he'd faced, likely more powerful that any punch he'd ever taken. Though in his state it stunned him, for only a moment, where it would have knocked out a regular joe.

His retort was that of a quick right cross that caught the young woman, nearly half his size, right on the jaw. Her head turned with the blow but she didn't stagger, her chin was made of granite. Her gaze slowly turned back to her target. A second punch thudded into his stomach sending ripples out through him. The blows fell like thunderclaps two superpowered beings just laying into each other. Bronx clearly had more training keeping his strikes fast and accurate, but Casey was quickly showing that she could overpower him, as her fear built...

Against the wall Blue started staggering to his feet shaking his head to get the cobwebs out. This wasn't good, they needed to move, he looked up to Zephyr knowing that the other man likely already had a hundred different plans with a thousand different contingencies. He just hoped he had one for when Casey turned, and the heavy broke containment...Because all Blue had was to jump on Bronx's back and hope for the best. Which he was ready and willing to do, but, he'd been chastised for acting too quickly...

"Psion, work your magic. We don't have much time..." Blue said into his com, legs ready to run towards the fight should his partner take even a second too long.


“Oh, darn it!” Psion exclaimed out loud, the unmistakable edge of self recrimination was audible in his tone.

He became distracted by the Cyber Ninja’s disappearing act, how did he accomplish it, vanishing so completely from perception? It was more than just advanced technology, surely there was a metahuman component to this feat.

The memory of the Wakandan cloaking tech was still fresh in his mind and he had been impressed with that, so understandably this vanishing act had taken him by surprise and distracted him, and now a clash of titans was taking place.

“Psion work you magic.We don’t have much time..”

And there it was, from the boss man himself, and urgent command, a sort of carte blanche.

“Understood.” came the terse reply, he was disappointed in himself, feeling like the amateur that he was, but perhaps he could make up for it.

As he descended to the ground floor, he counted the furious blows being delivered by the two powerhouses, each strike releasing incredible amounts of force as shockwaves, it was a wonder to behold. Likewise their bodies resilience under the onslaught was fascinating, but if the exchange continued, the buildings would start to crumble around them all.

In an instant Brolik and Aegis were separated, her destination was the rooftop that had served as their safe perch, Blue would also be taken up to be by her side.

Psion hoped that Blue would work his soothing magic and calm down the raging storm that seethed within Aegis and silenced Casey. The team leader would have the solitude and privacy to talk her down as she was made to float before him with nothing to hit, her strength would find no purchase or obstacle to destroy and her eyes would see that her friend was alright.

Psion now stood in a darkened alley, a black figure in a lightless corner, a shadow for all intents and purposes. There he would have words with G13’s Hulk, Mr.’too Brolik’. This time the Metamin induced strongman would be encased in the metal that was previously covering Aegis, only his eyes and nose would be exposed. The metal would be surrounded by a mist, for the air around it would condense rapidly, the black clad prime shaper had made it much, much colder than the ice that was previously used to restrain the muscled brute, and unlike the ice, this containment was not designed to break.

Brolik hung a few meters from the ground…upside down, and Psion spoke in even tones, doing his best to not insert a hint of menace into his words

“Your leader is down…your teammates are down, and our enemies routed, there is nothing else to gain today.” he paused for effect.

“If you struggle your skin WILL break, your prison Will hold. Upon release, Leave this place. Cops are coming.”

“I know you can hear me, do the smart thing.” Psion paused for another heartbeat to hopefully drive home his point.

From the darkened corner Brolik would hear a whooshing sound and feel a gust of air as the shadowy figure of Psion burst upward with surprising speed, the floor would meet up with his prison encasement as he was released from levitation, giving out a low ‘thud’.

“They will remain encased until your say so.” He announced into the comms, his trajectory first taking him to the Sapien League member that Aegis had rag dolled out the window.

Landing next to the young man, Psion, first ascertained the injuries that he might have sustained, looking for broken bones or damaged organs that he could help ‘repair’, no one was going to be left mangled on his watch. He made sure to use his talents to the best of his ability, repairing and 'healing' any bodily damage he could detect; he wanted them to know that goodwill was also part of what Team Argus represented.

A small smile formed on his face as he realized that Team Argus had effectively broken up a violent clash between two unsavory elements.

The Blue Vigilante had serious back up and serious muscle, they would surely remember that.

“Doc, gimme an ETA for incoming authorities.” the instructions were accompanied by a full sensory sweep of the battlefield, this time he was not going to become distracted. No interruptions would be brooked, those who chose to retreat would do so unhindered.

“Blue, how is Cas…Aegis doing? I’m on my way to you now.”

“Come back to us Battle Angel, you did good.” He said into the comms, hoping that his words would help, there was tenderness and pride in there that Casey would hear if she was listening.


Right on cue, Zephyr made the impossible happen. Tearing the two titans from each other and whisking them away to separate points. Blue himself was carried with the tide, much to his surprise. It was disquieting to know that he could just be tossed about on invisible strings at a moment's notice but he supposed there would be time for a talk about that later. As his feet touched the roof he moved to Casey.

Said young woman was thrashing around wildly like a person fighting against an unseen net that had captured them. The sudden shift and unannounced movement had set off a new wave of anxiety. All she could hear was her own heartbeat and breathing. Her eyes cast around looking for something anything though it felt like she was caught in the undertow and couldn't find which way was up. Then her eyes fell on the slightly bloodied face of Blue.

"Casey...It's ok, it's over." He kept his voice calm even though there was still fear running through his mind, this was the worst he'd seen her, the power in her blows was incredible, and terrifying. Her muscles were still tense her eyes wide. "it's ok," He said moving closer, and closer. What he saw was more worrying, her jaw was swollen, and he could see a bruise forming on her cheek. That man managed to hurt Casey, it was something he never thought possible that she could hurt when she turned. He didn't see any open wounds, just bruises. Even with his fear it didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. A few short punches caught him in the chest before he could fully bring Casey into the embrace. "It's ok, it's over now." He held her close her head resting against his chest.

She heard it, the one thing that could cut through the noise in her head, his heartbeat. It was steady, not fast or full of fear.

Ba-bum...Ba-bum...Ba-bum

Like the steady beat of a drum it rang through her head, almost forcing her heart to follow it. Soon her breathing stabilized matching Blue's. A sob came to her as her fingers gripped the back of Blue's hoodie.

"I couldn't stop it...He shot me and I...I couldn't stop 'her', from coming out." She buried her head into his chest wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I...I didn't want to hurt him. I just wanted to talk."

"It's ok." Blue held her close giving her a squeeze. "It will be ok, you did your best. That's all you can do."

"But...But...I could have..."

"But, you didn't, he's still alive. You didn't do anything you can't take back. He's ok, I saw Zephyr checking on him."

"But...I...I just wanted to..."

"I know, you did your best, and you'll do better next time..." There was a thought of if there should even be a next time but he put those thoughts away for now. Now wasn't the time for arguments. She needed to know things were ok, that she wasn't a monster.

She held onto him harder wiping her tears away. Her stomach was still in knots but, hearing Blue's soothing voice feeling his arms around her connecting her to another human that wasn't afraid of her, it calmed her.

"I'm sorry Blue."

"It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. You're ok."

As Zephyr arrived Blue looked to him.

"We should go, I'll send a message to Lourdes that she should be ok for a bit."

"My dad..." Casey muttered face still hidden in Blue's chest.

"What."

"My dad, he's alive, and in trouble..."

Blue looked to her then to Zephyr for confirmation.


“You’ll need to sit down for that one.” Zephyr said as he folded his arms and lowered his head, his ‘concentrating’ pose.

Within seconds the entire area would be engulfed in a mist, the ice prisons were dissolved and were now being used to cover the escape of all three groups.

Brolik would be freed from his metal alloy encasement, his skin would unfreeze and return to ’normal’, hopefully the G13 strong guy would use whatever time remained of his empowerment to help his fellows retreat.

The Sapien Leaguer who’s hand Brolik had crushed would probably freak out as his ruined hand underwent ‘reconstruction’. The sensation would range from tingling, numbness and some tremors due to bones and tissue becoming reformed and reconnected. The end result would most likely look like a severely bruised hand with a dull ache, but at least he would be spared the trauma of losing a limb. Psion would prescribe a support sling and some pain killers to the poor guy, but most likely they would figure it out.

Lastly before lift off, Psion would replace the metal door and steps from the ladder, the water tower would also be restored, good as new; those were simple things he could fix successfully.

As he looked on, making sure that everyone retreated without causing any more trouble, he was touched by a bit of sadness.

They all looked so beautiful to him, especially now, against the backdrop of the mist, seeing them with his enhanced senses, they glowed, humans and faux ultra humans alike. Was it possible to make them understand that fighting each other was sheer foolishness?

Hopefully at some point, after today, they would come to the realization that powers could be used for the benefit of all or for the detriment of all, in the same way that a simple tool could be used as a weapon, it all depended on who was wielding it.

He parted the mist for those that were too disoriented often swirling it to lead them to another member, all in all it looked like a successful dispersal.

The mist around Team Argus condensed into a fog and then into a ‘cloud’ completely obscuring them from view. Inside the ‘cloud’ all three members stood close to one another, the gossamer grayish-white walls instilled a sense of tranquility.

“Alright then, I’m taking us home.” He said reaching out to hold his teammates hands, one in each hand, then flying up into the sky.

“I’m sure that none of us is in a rush to do a post-game analysis so…express route or scenic route, plus pizza!?”

He didn’t care how ridiculous he sounded, they were physically away from the battlefield and now it was time for the mind to relax, they could all use some downtime and some delicious foods.

It seemed all Blue needed to do was blink and Zephyr had sorted everything. Fixed all the damage, human or otherwise. The man was a god, almost literally. Making and unmaking the world in his image. Thankfully he held on to enough of his humanity that he didn't actually try to do so. It was still worrying just how much power the man wielded, and how much wrong could be wrought with it.

Blue's stomach growled hearing the offer of pizza. It would certainly be a nice treat after all of this, and be something to take their mind off things.

"Pizza sounds nice...what do you think Casey?"

"Huh..." Casey was still recovering coming back to reality. "Ow..." She touched the bruise forming on her jaw.

"We can maybe get ice for those bruises you got."

"I didn't know I could get bruises."

"Seems we're all learning things today..." He looked to Zephyr. "I guess we're um...ready for takeoff."


TAG: @greyjedi125 , @galactic-vagabond422

 

Cameron Giles IC:
~White Star HQ, Point Nam~

Idly rubbing the side of his face with a free hand, Cameron pondered over the information given to him regarding cooperation levels and nodding at the confirmation for Mallen updates.

All well and good, but now he had some things to consider. Depending on other events, a trip to Wakanda in the near future might be in order.

As Agent Lane told them about Zero-G, Team Argus, and Dr. Redstone, he also compiled this alongside everything else they were hearing. The critical mission to China was something he nodded to Daisy as they heard, in a quiet ‘that one is on you’ way. The ongoing development with their associated meta team, Argus, was just that. Ongoing. Both he and the…Chief….would likely be checking in on it equally in between everything else. As for the other, now that one got his attention. Especially given his current mental workings regarding what he was just thinking about. They related to each other in an indirect way, as such…

“Agent Lane, keep me informed of Dr. Redstone’s situation especially. And what is his current location? I might be checking in with him personally. If Chief Johnson agrees.” He looked over at her, to see how she took that suggestion.

“As for other inquiries, send me a direct private file on the current status in all the other continents we haven’t been able to go over in this meeting. Otherwise, I think I’m good for now.”

An eyebrow raised as he leaned in his chair after grasping for some paper and a pen, his attention once more on his partner that helped him lead White Star…of all things.

“Chief?”

Tag: Daisy Johnson & Agent Lane @greyjedi125 (@Kurisan mentioned & @The Jedi in the Pumas indirectly mentioned)

 

IC: SGC's 28.57^3
Mystic Masters Sanctum, London

After introducing himself Master Tenzin spoke up, “SGC for short.” He interjected, although SGC had not thought of it really before now, he supposed that might make things easier. Imprecise was often easier.

“As you can probably imagine, our story is rather unique.” Tenzin added, keeping the conversation light as he took a sip of his tea.

"Yes, the world is new again." SGC simply stated with a sad nod as picked up his plate with tiny food and drink. Sitting he began tucking in as 'politely' as he felt he could without making eating more awkward as he ate piece after piece without break before downing the tea in a steady stream. Once all was gone he picked at the crumbs on his plate, waiting for what this new person was going to ask or say next.

Tag: @greyjedi125 , @Jedi_padawan_leigh

 

Shelly VanKasser
Alhambra, Arizona

Everything that happened after Shelly had turned the man around was a kinda blur. Shelly wasn't sure what 200 miles up what do, but she was pretty sure they wouldn't be seeing him again. At least she hoped not.

She was curled up on the floor of the car, her eyes closed. It was so much, so fast. She had almost never used her powers so much before. And thats when it was ok to use it. Now, in a reality where you could be killed for using your abilities, she had used them several times in one day. Several bad scenarios began to play through her mind. She heard Colin say something, but she didn't really click on it.

“You Ok, back there?” she heard Tony ask.

"Um-hum" she responded, not getting up or opening her eyes. Too many questions in her head. She heard another voice call out, and Tony seemed to be talking to them.

Shelly then felt the car start-up, and they were in motion once more. Shelly stayed where she was, silent as she laid her head on her knees. They rolled down the road in silence for a long while. Then she heard Tony's voice.

“So, guess we need to have a serious talk.”

A nervous laugh escaped from Shelly. But she didn't say anything. She was fighting very hard to urge to run. And to keep running. But in this world, that would pretty much point a big target on her back. And where would she run? In this world, everything was so different. At least here, she knew someone who could be helpful. But if she didn't know better, she would swear that these incidents were more than just random happenings. But she didn't know why she felt that way. She just stayed curled up, silent as she listened to the sound of the engine, and wondered how to get the world back the way it was before.

TAG: @greyjedi125

 

IC: Isla Carson
Mystic Master Sanctum, London

Isla observed their guests as they settled in to the room and partook in the refreshments. It appeared Tenzin's intriguing student had a bit of a sweet-tooth, but she was sure Mrs Pritheede would be thrilled at how well her cakes and hospitality were being received. She took a delicate sip of her own tea.

"Apologies!" The pupil said as he placed his refreshments on a chair and turned back towards her "SGC's 28.57^3, nice to meet you."

“SGC for short.” Tenzin interjected. Isla simply nodded in cordial understanding

“As you can probably imagine, our story is rather unique.” Tenzin added, keeping the conversation light as he took a sip of his tea.

"That I do not doubt"

It was heartening to see Tenzin and his student interact, but there was also a tinge of sadness deep inside her. It reminded her of better times, and she wondered if the order of Mystics would ever be how it once was. Would Kamar-taj ever thrive again... full of life and learning? Would the sanctums ever full recover? Would the walls ever echo with the voices and footsteps of the mystics again as they once had?

"Yes, the world is new again." SGC simply stated with a sad nod as picked up his plate with tiny food and drink. Indeed, their story sounded like it would be unique and extremely interesting, but SGC's sad nod of the head make her refrain from asking further question, at least for now. She didn't want to upset the Insectoid student, and would probably feel uncomfortable divulging such things to a stranger.

Perhaps he would feel more comfortable sharing his story in the future, once they were more acquainted. but for now they had other matters to attend too. She placed her cup and saucer back on the table and folded her hands upon her lap once more.

"Its a pleasure to meet you, SGC. My name Is Isla. I oversee this sanctum. I have been in communication with your Master regarding a matter of great concern" A soft sigh left her lips " Master Tenzin has identified a potential threat present within our order. I have asked you both here so that we can aid each other in investigating this "anomaly" and if needs be, to help contain it" She glanced at Tenzin briefly before continuing "Given the disturbances in New York it seemed prudent to have you come here" She paused for a beat "Master Tenzin, perhaps you can summarize what we discussed during our last meeting?

TAG: @greyjedi125 @Mitth_Fisto

 

OOC: A combo with the one and only @greyjedi125

IC: Arthur, Brihk & Erg
Empire State Diner, NYC

The food was paid for and the trio wished to leave in relative peace, above all else. Casually and non-chalantly, they made their way to the exit-entrance to the place. Despite being double doors, folks continued to display the bad habit of standing in front of it, blocking the paying patrons who came and went. The Bounty Hunters seemed undecided at first, but now parked themselves at the door and were holding a completely unrelated conversation, effectively getting in the way of everyone.

Brihk sighed and tamped down her annoyance, before fixing her expression to seem cheerful as she lead them to the front of the eatery. She was first, Arthur was in the middle and Erg took up the rear, as planned.

"Excuses guys, we're leaving if you don't mind. Pardon, thank you...." She said as sweetly as possible. For sure, that was an Academy Award Winning Performance. Some of the Bounty Hunters responded by immediately moving aside, only now realizing that they were in everyone's way.

"Oh, sorry ma'm." One even managed to say.

A beep sounded from one of the six Bounty Hunters.

Everyone got quiet.

One of them deliberately stepped in front of Brihk.

"Hold on a sec...."

Brihk stepped to one side in an attempt to go around him.

"I said hold on a sec...!" The Bounty Hunter repeated firmly and put his arm out, blocking her.

"Mind. Your. Business." Brihk snarled as she bumped him, trying to get through, but he placed an arm on her shoulder.

In the back, Erg sighed audibly.

In a blink of an eye, the Bounty Hunter was hit square in the jaw and found himself floored and unconscious, his body skidding for a whole meter.

There was a split second of surprise, then the other five went to draw their weapons.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!"

Arthur could feel the fear creep over him, one of the 'bounty hunters' stepped in front of them blocking their path. Ice began to form over Arthur's back, the panic in him rising as he wondered what they would do to him if they knew of his powers. He didn't want these powers anyway, couldn't someone take them away, he never asked for them.

The bounty hunter was hit squarely in the jaw, knocked unconscious, Arthur let out a little whelp, who were these people?

As the others raised their weapons, shouting for them to stop, the boy let out his arms defensively, the fear consuming him like a tidal wave. Ice exploded off him, large jagged spikes varying in size but each around a foot long, flying in the general direction of the bounty hunters.

"nononono no nooo not again" he whispered to himself, the panic in his voice clear, he stood in place frozen by the sheer terror of the situation.

Erg watched in amazement as Ice quickly formed over the boy’s back, his own eye beginning to glow softly as he propped himself against the door to the eatery. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but was following Brihk’s cue.

In an instant, she understood their situation. Despite not knowing Arthur’s abilities, Brihk was not surprised by his fear response. It was only natural. All at once, Arthur showcased his mutant powers by releasing a barrage of Ice shards that sprayed and battered the bounty hunters. Brihk was already on the move, exploiting the timely distraction. Like the trained combatant that she was, she delivered powerful blows to each of their jaws in a fluid sequence.

All her hits connected solidly. Between Arthur’s icy missile barrage and her K.O punches, the bounty hunters were ‘out cold’, but not before two shots had been fired!!!

“No!”

Both panicked shots had missed Arthur! Brihk exhaled in relief, then gasped aloud.

“What? I’m ok.” Erg said, as he looked down at the bullet which simply fell off his chest, thanks to his ability to absorb energy. He would have a terrible bruise on that spot, but that wasn’t anything new. No, Brihk had been looking past him. The last shot made it through the glass door behind the tall mutahuman, leaving a hole where a finger could easily go through, surrounded by spider-web like cracks. Erg followed Brihk's gaze then shook his head. The shot had gone inside.

Almost like a rehearsed delayed reaction, patrons inside were just beginning to react to what was happening. Shrieks and loud exclamations were now beginning to be heard.

“We gotta go. Move! Move!”

Brihk grabbed Arthur by the hand and literally pulled him, while they began to run.

“Subway! Subway!!” Erg instructed as the trio turned away from the main street. On one hand they could attempt to blend in, but too many innocents would be at risk if the situation turned dire. It was best to move swiftly down a less crowded street.

As luck would have it, a Hammer drone was hovering over the corner they needed to go down.

“Damn it! Arthur, do you think you could take it out?”

Arthur was in a daze, the quick rapid movements that flied by him, a tug at his hand and he found himself moving, to where he did not know. The only thing he could do was stare down at his hand in disbelief, ice had formed around it, forming a thin glove around it.

He snapped out of his daydream with Erg yelling towards him, asking him to take a drone that was hovering in front of them. The boy blinked in confusion for several moments, how had they got here, the last he knew they were still in the restaurant. He had never used his powers with intention and thought before, it had been nothing but instinct, a physical manifestation of his mental state.

He glanced upward, raising his hand and without much thought let out a torrent of ice. Far more than he had met to, a wild chaotic explosion of his uncontrolled power.

There was a decidedly icy explosion overhead as the drone was hit by Arthur's missile barrage. Whether or not the drone had detected them was uncertain, but it would no longer be reporting their location - or anyone else's.

Both Brihk and Erg gaped at Arthur and then at each other.

"That...was amazing." Brihk found herself saying to Arthur, smiling in surprise. "We gotta keep moving." Erg reminded.

"Right."

The trio proceeded to run down the less crowded street, evading pedestrians as best they could. They were past the halfway mark; in the short distance, the subway entrance beckoned to them. The Morlocks knew they had to keep going and not slow their pace, not before reaching the subway proper, no matter what fatigue they felt from sustained running. Despite moving swiftly, Erg spotted two moving objects from the corner of his eye.

"Keep going!!!" He shouted as he skidded to a stop.

Two Hammer hover bikes emerged from an alley between buildings, their engines whining and gusting wind.



Erg jumped right in their path and spread his arms wide open. "RUN!!!" He shouted.

True to form, both hover bikes targeted the dark haired Morlock and opened fire!

"ERG!! NOOOO!!!!"

The boy could not believe what was happening... why was he in this mess... he never asked for this. Part of him wanted to die in that moment, the pain of it all just fade away. But his body would not let him.

Ice formed from the base of his foot upward into a thick wall, an impulse reaction to the gunfire. His body then turned in the direction of the subway and then back at Erg. Was he really about to let this man die? The one person in this world that had shown him any semblance of his kindness.

All he wanted at this moment was to disappear, he was a burden, a mistake that never should have been. At least that's what his mother had always told him. The anger boiled within, rising to a breaking point as he remembered the burger he eat a moment ago. That simple act of consuming the burger was the closest thing he had to happiness in his whole life. He was not about to abandon one of the people that had brought that about.

His wrath began to rush through him, his finger pointed in the direction of the two hover bikes.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

He yelled, without thought or intent a burst of flames leaped from his hands, an uncontrollable fire that hungered to consume all in its path.

In that moment, everything seemed to happen at once.

Erg placed his arms up and was bodily blocking the path to Arthur and Brihk. The hover bikes were firing at him. Brihk knew what Erg was doing, but Arthur did not, and so, the young mutant released a burst of flames in the direction of the hover bikes.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

Arthur’s cry would echo against the buildings as the burst of fire he'd created raced forward. Erg felt the heat approaching from behind and reacted immediately.

Erg's shirt would be riddled with holes from the ballistic onslaught delivered by the hover bikes, but his body suffered minimal damage due to his ability to absorb energy. The same was true when it came to the burst of flames that hit him, only because he drew the fire to himself and away from the hover pilots, who wiped-out as they tried to avoid the wall of fire they thought would hit them.

“SSSSHHHHHHHHHWOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

Erg absorbed all the fire Arthur had cast into himself. His shirt had vanished as it turned to cinders, but his eye shone brightly.

Without hesitating, two bolts of electricity lept from Erg’s eye and ruined both hover bikes in fierce lightning strikes.

“Go you two! I’ll be right behind you!” He yelled looking over his shoulder, then turned back in time to electrify the two hover bike pilots who were drawing their weapons. They were now convulsing uncontrollably on the street pavement.

“Arthur! Come on!!” Brihk commanded, steeling herself as she did not know which element would come from the teenage metahuman. She was not certain if he had any control over his powers, but was grateful to have a measure of resistance in her present state. Still, she held him by the shoulders and began to lead him to the subway entrance.

Erg shot another bolt of ocular electricity at a security camera nestled on a wall of an adjacent building, before turning to follow after Arthur and Brihk. The path to the subway was clear, as most commuters already knew how to react in cases like these: Move away as far as possible!

All that was left to do was to go down the stairs and into the tunnels, only then would they be home free.

After seeing Erg was okay and absorb the fire back into himself Arthur went cold. He realized what he was just about to do, he looked down at his hands in horror as ice began to slowly form over them, the fear in his heart spreading, an uneasy knot of panic twisting itself in his stomach. His skin began to burn from the stress. He had almost killed two more people, he was a monster.

A flash of his mother's face, her chared and punctured corpse lingering in his mind, the only place he had known as home reduced to rubble.

All this rushed through the young boy's head as he was snapped out of it by Brihk's command. He turned to face her, tears running down his face.

He was a boy.

A lost, confused, stupid boy.

He sprinted after Brihk, his body on auto pilot as his mind still reeled from his actions.

They ran in silence, Brihk leading the way down stairs and moving down hallways. "Move!" She would shout gruffly now and again to commuters who were too engrossed in their devices to hear them coming and get out of the way in a timely manner. Several times she either shoved or shouldered past a few 'oblivious types' who were not subway-savvy enough to be real New Yorkers.

While running down a specific corridor, Brihk would suddenly turn and heft Arthur, who was technically taller than her and outweighed her, but right now was handled like a swaddled new born babe. She kicked-in a door which read 'No Entry' and pivoted in. The room was dark, but she moved with great exactitude. "Just relax" She instructed as she once again kicked another unseen door, this one a 'trap door', then suddenly jumped through backwards, herself going through first, even while still holding on to Arthur.

"We're almost there." She said calmly, wind rushing past as they were both in free fall.

For a moment which seemed far longer than it should have, the two fell down a long shaft. Arthur would be able to see the metallic support beams as well as the ceiling rising as they both fell, the feeling of weightlessness almost comforting. Only a few seconds transpired before the pair suddenly hit a large cushion at the bottom of the shaft, with a great 'WHOOMPH!!!'

With practiced grace, Brihk bounced-off the cushion, then released Arthur the second they landed- perfectly- on solid ground. There was no extra momentum or inertia to speak of. One could assume she had this whole 'drop' down to an art form. "That was fun..." Brihk commented dryly, while her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit area. Arthur's eyes would also need some time to adjust before he could appreciate the old rail tracks they now found themselves surrounded by. Old and dirty lightbulbs barely gave their light as they cast deep and eerie shadows. The tomb like silence surrounding them was also somewhat unnerving.

"We separate so it's harder to track us..." Brihk answered Arthur's unasked question regarding Erg. "He'll be fine." She asserted, before turning in the direction they should move, however, she paused suddenly and turned fully to face Arthur.

"Hey, you Ok?" She asked, her voice resounding with genuine concern for the boy. Certainly this 'typical day' must seem completely insane to someone who had just arrived to the city, not as a tourist, but as an unregistered meta.

Arthur continued to run, one foot in front of their other, the same rhythmic thudding running through his mind as he pressed forward. His mind was still reeling from the emotions before. He barely registered the cushion-like effect, only processing the world around him when Brihk turned to speak to him.

The tears were still fresh on his face, a look of a lost lamp meeting was what Brihk would gaze to see. The ice was still formed on the edge of his hands, although melting ever so slightly, enough to notice at least.

His clothes were still raggedy and worn, he had not changed clothes in several months. He blinked several times, before being able to respond.

"Are you... are you... like me...?"

Brihk gave the boy a sympathetic smile, as a group of four approach them, three males and a female, sporting black leather vesta with the symbol 'M' painted in white over the right breast. All of them nodded respectfully to Brihk, even as they continued to look all around the immediate in a protective manner.

"My dear Arthur, we are all like you. Every single one. You'll see."

Brihk came close to the boy and put her arm around him, ignoring the ice which covered him.

"You are safe with us." She intoned sincerely.

To the others, she returned their silent greeting, then pointed in the direction they should all go.

"Let's get you home and into some fresh clothes and some warm food."

They still had a ways to go, but Arthur would be one of the few outsiders, who was about to safely enter the underground dwellings of The Morlocks.

Arthur hazed upward at the woman, his shy eyes looking up to hers. Her eyes were kind, kinder than he could possibly understand. He gave a simple quiet nod of his head. It was not like he had any other options in particular. He just wanted to be free of this curse. Why was that so hard to do?

TAG: @greyjedi125

 

Yay!! We are back in business!! ( unending apologies for the uber lengthy wait )

---

Shelly VanKasser
Alhambra, Arizona



For Shelly, who remained curled up in the back of Tony’s car, minutes seemed to stretch themselves into hours, as she tried to settle her feelings and her mind. The hum of the car’s engine, the sound of the road rolling under the vehicle’s four wheels, became her ever-present backdrop.

Tony and Colin were having a conversation about what they should do next. So much had happened in such a short period of time. Perhaps if she didn’t remember her other life, things would not seem so bad- but the fact remained that she did remember, and so did her traveling companions.

{{ I remember too}}

The shadowy dark voice inside of her mind remarked in sinister fashion, down to the chuckle.

{{ …And now, I am…inspired…}}, it said without further explanation, the chuckle once again reverberating inside Shelly. But something was different this time.

Despite having her eyes closed, Shelly would see it in her mind’s eyes. Dark energy, like roiling black ink, flowing out of her in waves, almost as if drained, or sucked out by a vacuum.

The dark voice laughed with disturbing glee as it receded and slowly faded away. Shelly would know that it was leaving her and moving on. The constant chill she felt inside her also left her body, her normal body temperature now returning to her.

There was no explanation for it. At least not yet.

Moments later, Shelly would notice the sound of the road changing. There was a cacophonous thrumming coming through, which was not caused by the turning of the wheels. There was no discernible pattern to the staccato, expect her mind would associate what she was hearing, with a Stampede.

Tony’s car radio suddenly came alive, the emergency channel he’d hacked crackled with activity.

[All available units please respond, we have a Code Red. We have waves of Malfested traveling west - south west from Phoenix Mount. Targets are spreading throughout the area, engage with maximum prejudice. Sanctuary Protocols are now active. Repeat...]

The message was interrupted by the sound of not one, but two Sentinels streaking overhead at high speed. The sound of sirens from all manner of emergency vehicles began to blare in the distance.

“No, no, no, no, no, no…” Tony began saying rapidly as he floored the accelerator, his car picking up speed.

“What? What’s going on?” Colin asked, clearly reacting anxiously to the news and Tony’s own reaction.

“Sanctuary Protocols. They’re going to close-off the City and the Airport! We’ll be trapped out here!”

“What are you talking about!?”

“The Malfested, they are swarming out of control. That’s a Code Red. Once they close the city, they won’t let anyone in for fear of contamination.”

Just then several military vehicles zoomed past, going in the opposite direction. Somewhere in the distance, there was a flash, accompanied by the sound of thunder.

“You hear that? less than a second between flash and thunder, the Malfested are too close!”

[All residents, please return to your homes and await further instructions. All residents, please return to your homes…]

“Like heck we will!!” Tony exclaimed aloud. “We can’t stay here!”

“What do we do?” Colin asked, trying to keep his cool, but failing.

Tony looked ahead and noticed a military roadblock already set up, just about 500 meters away. Looking at the rearview mirror, he could see several groupings of Malfested bounding towards them.

“What do we do!!?” Colin sounded almost plaintive.

Running the roadblock my get them past the check point, but did not guarantee them entry into the city of Phoenix. By now security was sure to be impregnable. Going back to their neighborhood was…no, he couldn’t focus on that.

Tony brought his car to a halting screech!

“Wait…what are you doing?”

Taking out his cellphone, Tony quickly entered a code which linked him to everyone in his ‘friends list’.

“Guys! No time explain, get out of town, now! Big Malfested Swarm! Go West or South! cross any river! Bodies of Water slows them down. I’ll find you all! Excelsior!!!”

“Uh, Tony….” Colin was looking out the window, tracking the group of Malfested that were bounding for them. Now that the car had stopped, they were approaching even faster.

“I know.”

“Tony!”

“I know. Ok, listen Colin. Think of a safe place and take us there.”

“What?”

“Don’t look at them. Look at me. Take a deep breath, and think of a safe place, then take. us. there. Close your eyes if you have to.”

“Ok, ok. Think of a safe place.”

“Mhm.”

“Close my eyes, think of a safe place.”

“You’re doing fine.”

Tony reached out his hand and calmly placed it on Shelly’s shoulder.

“Think of a safe place.”

Outside, the bounding Manifested were almost upon them. Colin began to glow and the luminescent cogs slowly started their rotation.

50 meters.

A safe place.

40 meters.

A safe place.

30 meters.

The light intensified, but they were still in the car.

15 meters.

Safe!

There was brilliant flash a millisecond before the Malfested crashed into Tony’s car, bowling it over with the force of a runaway 16 wheeler! They didn’t even stop their progress as they continued towards the roadblock.

Tony’s car radio crackled with static, the bulldozed vehicle now empty of its passengers.

[zzzk…peat…kzzz…Alhambra has bee…tchhhhk…un over….shhhhhk]

*********

In a blink of an eye, there was another flash! The white field that had encompassed them disappeared in a wink. No longer was the trio sitting inside a doomed vehicle. No longer were they in danger of being run over, or infected by the Malfested. The scene that greeted them was….



Tony’s hand was still on Shelly’s shoulder when they ‘arrived’. He surmised that she might feel disoriented, among other things, so he focused on her instead of their surroundings, as he was simply grateful not to be in immediate danger.

“Are you alright?” he asked her, leaning in a bit closer to check on her.

Colin on the other hand, was gazing at the structure ahead of them with an indescribable expression etched upon his face. He said not a word, for he had none to offer at the moment.

Tag: @Ktala

---

Team Argus
Aegis, Blueline & Zephyr

What exactly happened in the aftermath of Crime Alley was still somewhat unclear. Several vehicles had come around to tend and pick up the wounded. All vehicles were unmarked, to no one’s surprise.

Members of G-13 were taken aboard a single black van, while several vans were needed to collect members belonging to the Sapien League.

Only after they had cleared out did emergency vehicles arrive on the scene.

By that time, Team Argus had safely retreated and endeavored to engage in some serious downtime.

There was so much to unpack between the three of them.

Blue would later receive a ‘thank you’ text message from Lourdes, with something he had not seen from her in a very long time. A smiley face.

Doc would inform the group that White Star sent their congratulations on their op and asked if there was anything they needed.

It was likely that Zephyr would want to brush the subject of training, especially since he has reaped the benefits from doing so.

Overall, the team was growing, albeit slowly, but still growing and finding their place in the scheme of things. Communication was a key factor for success, they knew this, but that was half of it. Now they would need to practice it going forward, especially if they were going to face any new challenges, for it was unlikely that Team Argus had heard the last of G-13 or the Sapien League.

Besides, Doc had yet to update Casey about developments at the detention camp.

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422 , @Ameteth, *( singles/ combo or both )

---

Dr. Redstone & Monin Bellascort
Safe House, East 56th Street, NYC

Dr.Redstone smiled, but a bit sadly knowing that he would need to tell what little he knew.

“Please make yourselves, comfortable. “ The good doctor said with a gesture of his hand, indication the largest couch in the room.

“After this we can all have dinner at a more secure location, if you don’t mind.”

Dr.Redstone gave a nod, then took a smaller, single seat, for himself.

“We are uncertain where exactly the Starbrand originated, but it is agreed that its power is extra-terrestrial. There is a lot of false information surrounding this phenomena, so we won’t bother with those. What we do know is that the last individual to posses the Starboard was a young man by the name of Kev Konnor.

He was highly intelligent, but ALL that POWER made him arrogant. When Doom first came to Omnipotence, Kev wanted us all to rush off and face him, immediately- without a plan. Captain America did not agree, nor did Stark. Kev accused them of being ‘cowards’, that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had a perfect opportunity to show their might, but instead chose cowardice. Thor took exception to this accusation and demanded an apology. It didn’t take long before a fight ensued.

Starbrand was able to fight off, Thor,Iron Man, Namor and The Hulk to a stand still. They were unable top subdue him, but their titanic clash resulted in catastrophic collateral damage upon the city they were in. In a blink of an eye, Starbrand abandoned his fellow heroes and went off to Latveria to face its empowered Monarch.”

Dr. Redstone looked down almost dejected, then shook his head. Thankfully he was able to recover quickly, as he looked up at Monin once again.

“Alone, Kev did not stand a chance against Doom. We could’ve very well used his might when a combined offensive was finally launched- but Doom was ready for that, now all the mightiest are gone….”

The good doctor offered a reassuring smile after gazing at Monin for a moment.

“Well, not all of them, it would appear.”

There was a polite clap of his hands as the red haired man stood up suddenly. It was time to change the mood in the room.

“Ok now, who’s hungry?”

He asked with eager anticipation.


Tag: @The Jedi in the Pumas

---

Isla Carson & SGC
Mystic Masters Sanctum, London

"Master Tenzin, perhaps you can summarize what we discussed during our last meeting?”

“Of course, with pleasure.” Tenzin replied, nodding his head as he smiled, then set his tea cup back down on the provided saucer. Master Islas’s voice was both soothing and encouraging. Inwardly, he deeply appreciated her simply for existing, for being an ally to them, an anchor in a world seemingly gone….mad. He had wanted a better future for SGC and now, he was beginning to have second thoughts regarding his decision to bring the Noble One out of seclusion.

“Strangely enough, it all started during All Hallows' Eve…” The monk began, as he sat back on his chair. Dweomer seemed suddenly interested in the tale as he took a single step closer.

“All seemed well at the time. We were watching the revelry from a balcony, a man disguised as a supervillain seemed to attack the crowd. They, of course, reacted in kind, but a winged man got involved and suddenly police began shooting. We were able to help the winged man escape, but he later abandoned us, despite our hospitality. In my recollection, Sentinels did not roam the skies like they do now. Our nation, the world, was not under Doom’s control, furthermore, there was no such thing as Malfested.”

Tenzin wrinkled his nose despite himself.

“More alarming is the fact that….” Tenzin hesitated and looked around first, then moved closer to Master Isla, his voice lowering in volume.

“Both Master Mordo and Master Kaecillius are enemies of the Order. Master Kaecillius is presumed dead or lost. By the Vishanti! How are they Headmasters!?”

Tenzin paused and took a calming breath. If he was losing his mind, he needn’t lose his composure.

“Master Strange accompanied The Avengers in a bid to stop Doom, but none of them have been heard from since. Sadly, we're left to assume the worse. But this…” Tenzin gestured all around, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m uncertain what to make of all this. It’s almost like we are trapped in a nightmare.” he confessed.

“Well, at the very least I’d like to teach SGC how to use the Sling Ring, just in the event he may need to make a quick exit far away.”

Tenzin offered a firm nod to his student, then focused again on Master Isla. Inwardly, he certainly hoped she didn’t think of him as completely daft.

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto, @Jedi_padawan_leigh

---

Daken
Hammer HQ, NYC

The morning exercise had been concluded in expected fashion. All telemetry had been recorded and sent to the proper departments for further analysis. Lord Stryfe had important business to attend to and left his immediate subordinates to their duties.

To the casual observer, it would seem a complete coincidence that they found themselves in the same private elevator.

Daken, Moonstone and Taskmaster.

Reaper was currently recovering in the infirmary.

Initially, the three rode in silence, no real destination had been selected yet. However, Moonstone was the first to speak.

“Why do you keep pushing your luck like that?” She asked out of the blue, folding her arms over her chest and tilting her head to the side.

“You know the can turn your brains into mushy scrambled eggs with a single thought?” She chided.

Taskmaster simply huffed, but offered no comment.

“I can’t imagine you’ve become THAT bored already….” Moonstone teased.

The elevator continued moving upward, however, she made sure it wouldn’t stop for anyone else. No one was saying it, yet, but there was much for them to talk about- if they dared to take that risk.


Tag: @darthbernael

---

IC: Limos/ Randall Bates
Abandoned Brooklyn Shipyard

The metal object rose and fell once again, the dog wailing and crying, now unable to get away from his tormentor. It was a sight most cruel. Randall hadn’t noticed the dog’s collar and dog-tag, or perhaps he did and was counting on that fact.

Either way, his tactic yielded results.

A local young man in sneakers and sweats looked on in horror at the abuse. Without a second thought he reacted and pulled out a firearm from his waist. The horror was etched upon his face even as he fired several shots at…at…..

BANG!!!!

“GET AWAY FROM MY DOG! YOU MONSTER!!!”

BANG!! BANG!!! BANG!!!

The young man was aiming for the head. His first shot probably missed, but the second, third and fourth hit their mark!!

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!!”

Still, he did not approach, as he waited to see the result of his marksmanship. He wasn’t stupid. Evil Metahumans were a thing.

And he hated them all.


Tag: @Narancia

---

IC: Detective Steve Donahue
Hell’s Kitchen, Back Alley, NYC

Margie opened her mouth to argue, but Steve had already turned around and left her staring at the back of his head. Her eyes went wide at his audacity.

“Pfft!!” She scoffed, then stepped aside to take several drags of her cigarette.

What? Did he really think he could handle her? Margie ‘freakin’ Morgan?

A wry smile came over her face as she side-glanced back at Steve and the officers.

Yeah, he thought he could, clearly.

Margie was surprised she wasn’t as upset as she normally would be. Steve was a square, but the good kind of square. At least he showed some respect.

“Whatever.” Margie heard herself say as she blew-out the last of the smoke and put out the last of her cigarette under her shoe. She’d give herself a count of ten before rejoining the conversation. No way she’d let Steve get all the credit on this freak show murder mystery.

Steve would find these officers to be new to the force, so they still carried a professional air about them. They still believed in ‘serve and protect’, a long lost sentiment among much of the force. Sadly, questions of morale were always more complicated than they initially appeared.

"What can you tell me about the body?" Steve quickly delved into the usual inquiry process, his countenance hardening into an impassive mask. "Any identifying information or preliminary evidence? What about witnesses? Who found the remains?"

The taller of the two officers began to speak as the shorter one looked back to the body bag.

“It appears to be male, judging by physical dimension and apparel, we still need the coroner’s report to confirm it.”

“Yeah.” The second officer agreed, turning away from the corpse, his expression barely hiding his disturbed reaction. Definitely a rookie.

“We have nothing conclusive as far as evidence, still waiting on forensics for that.”

The rookie shook his head, but was furtively looking-out for Margie.

“No witnesses as far as the act itself, at least so far. No one has reported a scream or disturbance of any kind. Will likely come forward after a reward is posted, you know how that is.”

“Pfft. Yeah. “

“The Barkeep inside the establishment behind us was the one to make the call. Said he called as soon as he found it. We’ll be looking into his story.”

The tall cop pointed behind him with his thumb.




Tag: @HanSolo29

---

IC: Arthur & Brihk
Morlock Underground

The group walked along the tracks for some time as the area became darker and more desolate. Soon they began to move further undergrounds through various tunnel systems. Light became scarce and shadows did abound.

Brihk was sure to remain next to Arthur throughout the journey to the Morlock’s underground hideout.

“Sorry for taking the long route….” Brihk began in an apologetic tone.

“We just need to make sure we are not being followed. Don't worry though, I’ll show you all the short-cuts soon enough.” She said, trying to sound cheerful.

The temperature also dropped but not terribly so. The chill normally associated with obscurity seemed to be the cause, though heating stations were located along the lit path.

Before he realized it, Arthur would feel a soft current of wind as they reached an open area filled with makeshift living spaces. It was gigantic. Had this been some kind of underground reservoir. It certainly seemed that way. The place was crowded with a plethora of what looked like metahumans of all varieties.

Upon arrival, their escorts offered silent and respectful nods before slipping away into the multitude and guards smoothly opened the way for Brihk and Arthur to pass.

“Welcome to the Morlock Underground.” Brihk intoned, the relief in her voice was unmistakable. The Morlock ‘city’ was not much overcrowded and was not much to look at, but it was home. Clearly, Brihk was a known figure as many passersby saluted her by pounding their chest.

“After a while you what to go easy on the salute.” She advised with a chuckle. “Especially if you’re female.”

The pair turned left on what appeared to be a main corridor, where a makeshifts tenement was erected against a wall.

“Come let’s get you changed. I still managed to hang on to that extra burger, but it looks like I spilled the drinks.”

Brihk shrugged innocently and led Arthur up several flights of stairs. After a few steps she opened a door on the right side of the hallway, which revealed a small room. There was a cot in a corner and a low table with an oil lamp on top, several books were stacked against the far corner. The place was not much, but it was clean.

“You can stay here for tonight.” Brihk informed with a smile, offering Arthur the take-out bag.

“Would you like me to stay with you?”

She asked after a moment’s consideration. The boy was probably undergoing some serious ‘culture shock’ and it was probably best for him not to be left alone.

Tag: @Shadowsun

---

Cameron Giles and Daisy Johnson
En route to HQ

The Rail Transport had been ready and quickly deployed once the Chief and Deputy Chief of White Star were onboard. As expected, the transport was outfitted with the latest technological advantages, both offensive and defensive, in the event of an encounter with the enemy. The journey to the HQ in midtown was a short enough ride, but they could take no chances. As it was, it was best to travel underground at this time, seeing all the activity that had already taken place on the surface.

For one, Daisy was thankful for the momentary peace and quiet- and privacy.

“When was the last time either of us spelt? Seriously?” She asked as she reclined on the passenger couch. Daisy allowed herself an easy smile and a sigh of relief. She even tied her hair up just for the ride, which was a sign of relaxation.

“If I take another stim, I think my body will simply reject it and immediately shutdown. We need real sleep you know! Even Synths need to ‘recharge’.”

At that she laughed, remembering how no one could ever guess when exactly The Vision did his ’sleeping’. Some even believed he’d actually found out about the betting pool and was intentionally keeping them all guessing.

“Silly Vision.” She said, a sobering expression coming to her face.

“So, one of us will needs to take first watch-“ Daisy was about to say more when both their coms beeped sequentially. They were both receiving an encoded message.

“- but not right now, clearly.” She finished, her eyebrow rising as she went ahead to take a cursory look at the message.

Outside, the tunnel lights swished by in silence, as their cabin was sound-proof.

[Malfested Swarm overrunning Phoenix, Arizona. Cause unknown, Code Red Alert. All assets safely extracted.]

“Damn, that’s just terrible.” Daisy pursed her lips as she shook her head, even as she began to type a response.

[Render whatever assistance we can to civilians in the area, without compromising our operation. Update on the hour.]

A long sigh escaped her as she returned her com to its place of origin on her person.

“I don’t even know what to say at this point.” She confessed, looking more than a little stressed at the moment. “It’s always something. I’m just saying.”

Her eyes looked at Cameron and squinted just a little, incase he was low-key judging her for her words.

Tag: @Darth_Elu

****
Isaac & Firefly
Boston, Near Chinatown

Jade sipped the Phoenix Tea made by Isaac in silence, tasting the flavor, feeling the consistency. From her expression, one would think she was at a ‘Wine Tasting’ event.

Patiently, she continued to sip and drink, giving not one hint of her tasting experience. As she finished , Jade placed her cup and saucer a top the table, then turned her gaze to look upon Isaac.

“Well, I must confess….” she started with no expression.

“That was your best brew of Phoenix Tea yet. You’re really getting the hang of it.”

Finally! a genuine smile and nod of her head. Jade had been surprised and truly pleased.


Firefly was so happy, she was clapping and flying around in circles around the room, chanting Isaac's name.

"Yay!! you did it! Now she will be nice to you for the rest of the day!” she both congratulated and announced, especially since Isaac was the only one who could hear and see her. “Yuppie!!”

Oblivious to Firefly and her celebratory gesticulations, Jade sat up and walked towards the living room windows. It wasn’t the best view, but it was certainly a decent view of the city.

There was a sad smile on her face as she seemed to be mustering the will to say something.

“Isaac….” she intoned, still facing out, her reflexion looking back into the living room.

“I decided to sell.” She said flatly.

There was a significant pause before she turned around to face the young man who would know what she was referencing.

“I decided to sell my Uncle Zu’s Apothecary.”

There was no wavering in her voice. This time, she was serious.


Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

IC: Randall / LIMOS

The bullets ripped through Limos's cranium spilling Greymatter all over the abandoned ship; it was hurting him but not enough to stop his advance; Limos viewed the pain as inconsequential to the pleasure he was about to receive from consuming the boy's flesh.

Limos was hungry, very hungry he had been repressed too long; the urge overwhelmed Randall, who was now trapped in the penumbra of his mind, wallowing in the shame he had brought upon himself, the guilt that he had accumulated from a life of killing, taking glee in snuffing out the life of others, now he would have to face this Freudian best that was his own making, resulting from his own choices.

"Feed me, boy, become a part of me; you will become so much stronger that way, and I will give you new life through me!"

The bullets hit their mark a third time, and this is where Limos fell to the ground. The Metahuman was too weak; he had not eaten in so long, a mere four shots to the head shouldn't have been able to do this to Limos, but due to Randall's self-pity and neglect, his powers atrophied, he was now a shell of what he could've become. The last thing Limos would see would be the pool of blood around the dog. Limos would attempt to crawl towards the dog to drink its blood, but he soon realized that Randall was more in control than he thought as Limos would find himself frozen in place.

"NO! Let me die; I can't live like this, no more killing. I'm sick of it all. This is not me," the specter of Randall stated, still alive in the subconscious of his mind.

"No, this is you, this is who you are, this is who you'll be forever, accept it." retorted Limos.

"I'd rather die."

The conversation did not happen in the quiet of Limos and Randall's mind; this conversation was audible; Randall was, in fact, talking out loud and appearing to talk with himself, or maybe he was and couldn't accept it.

"You're already a monster; you killed this poor dog in front of this child, he will forever hate you, forever fear you, you are irredeemable in his eyes. And would the world accept you, accept us? No! For they can't accept, you can't accept that we are not damned, but in fact, blessed. We are at the peak of human evolution. We are LIMOS."

"I am not Limos..."

Randall looked up at the boy.

"I'm sorry, please kill me."

Then the shell that housed both Randall and Limos fell into a comatose state; he was not breathing anymore; however, he was still very much alive. The boy would have to inflict much more trauma into Limos and Randall for them to be dead, a very achievable thing in the state they were in now. Whatever the case, Randall had won this day, though it was a pyrrhic victory as he realized more and more that he was indeed losing control, a ticking time bomb of sorts but one that was now at the mercy of a boy.

TAG: @greyjedi125

 

IC: Limos/ Randall Bates
Abandoned Brooklyn Shipyard

The young man didn’t dare approach. He kept his firearm pointed at the creature’s head as it began to argue with itself. Like, it had two personalities, one wanted to kill and the other wanted to die.

It was all too much and way too bizarre!

Terror, Horror, Hate, Anger, Anguish and Disgust all swirled, crested and collided inside the dog owner, his weapon shaking uncontrollably as a result. Tears freely flowed from his eyes, his breath was labored. He sobbed as he watched the ‘thing’ fall down. He still aimed his shaky weapon at it, but his mind was too frazzled to fire. He’d never seen, never experienced anything like THIS before. Certainly he wanted to run, but his anger and hate were greater than his fear, his love for his canine companion greater still.

Once the thing finally fell down, and it stopped talking, the young man threw down his weapon and quickly ran to his dog.

One look told him all he needed to know.

“Spike!! No, no, no, no, not my buddy! I told you….I told you not to run ahead…..I…..nooooo…….why….why didn't you listen.....”

The young man cradled the dead dog against his chest, not caring about the blood staining his clothes. He was paralyzed with angish, unable to process the emotionally agonizing moment in his mind, in his soul.

“nooo…spike……..why…….” He cried, and pleaded, placing his face against the dog’s, even as he attempted the inhuman task of processing the sudden and violent death of a loved one. For the moment, he had forgotten all about the perpetrator, but soon enough, he would remember.

Soon, indeed.

Of course, there was no way of knowing if the shots fired had attracted anyone else’s attention.

Tag: @Narancia

---

Agent 77
Grand Central Safe Zone, Briefing Room F44, 06:00 hrs

The room was small, but comfortable, which made it more like a screening room.

Advisor Sethlan bid Agent77, or Helena as she preferred to be called, to sit anywhere, given there were only 15 chairs to sit on. Three rows of five, to be exact.

As she likely took a moment to decide, a light was projected from the far wall.

Agent Nolan Cross now joined the meeting via secure hologram. He’d changed into his uniform and stood tall as ever, bandages not withstanding.

“Welcome Agent Cross.” Sethlan greeted genially.

“Mornin’.” Came Cross’ typical curt response. The agent had nodded his head to both Sethlan and Helena.

“Thank you both for being here. I’ll try to make this as brief and informative as possible.”

Sethlan proceeded to step aside of a display screen, which immediately became active.

“We’ve been looking into the uptick of Metamin trafficking in the area for sometime now, and our analysts had a few hypothesis. I'll not bore you with those, however. A recent altercation involving a local Metamin-dealing Gang known as G-13 did boost a certain probability.

According to surveillance analysis compiled after their defeat, the gang was recovered by an unmarked vehicle which disappeared somewhere around the Grand Central Area, boosting the hypothesis that their source of Metamin might be coming somewhere from Undercity.”

Sethlan paused, just so that bit of information could sink in.

“At the very least, we would like to confirm who their supplier is. Ideally, we would also like to know where the Metamin is coming from and where is it being produced, seeing how MGH is a controlled substance. But we can’t run- or leap, before we crawl, in a manner of speaking.”

Images of G-13 members were shown as well as the ‘neutral ground’ in Undercity, and its now infamous ‘Fighting Pit' - which was a gambling paradise.

“As it now stands, we require two experienced non-metas for this op. You’ll be set-up outside of this area, as you'll need to seem to be ‘international pros’ looking to score, yet not necessarily local in origin. Your first priority is to gather ‘actionable intel’ that confirms and corroborates the identity of their supplier, before anything else can be considered.”

A slow nod is given after a pause.

“Are there any questions?”

Sethlan languidly clasps his hands behind his back, as he awaits questions from either agent. Silence fills the room, for there is much to consider.

Tag: @TheAdmiral

 

(OOC: A pizza interlude between the Street Hero Trio, Team Argus @Ameteth and myself.)

Blueline, Casey, and Zephyr
Two Boots Pizzeria

Well this was a familiar place, Two Boots, the place nearly 2 years ago the trio first really met. It was the first time they ever had a meal together. It was their way of decompressing, their way of talking things out. Nearly every important conversation they've had was over a meal. Given everything the world had been through it was surprising that it was still around. Casey had taken off her mask looking like any other girl that looked like she'd just gone ten rounds with a cement mixer. Thankfully there was only a bruise on her jaw that was visible. Though she'd be the first to say that wasn't the extent of her pains.

She didn't say much though she did wince every now and again, a little bit of Blue's stubborn grit rubbing off on her. Take a beating, get back up like nothing is wrong.

Blue didn't remove his mask, as was usual. And very few people even batted an eye at him. Luck or fate was on their side as they slid into the the same table they once watched a beat down just a few streets away. Daken, and Iron Man if he remembered right, though it was fuzzy in his head.

Blue didn't need a menu and neither did Casey.

"Extra large with all the meat and extra cheese...and a glass of milk."

"Supreme, with extra olives...a lot of extra olives, and Dr. Pepper..."

Today was not a day to experiment. They had both been through a something tonight. Casey being shot at and failing at being the hero she wanted to be. Blue, having to calm Casey down from the worst turn he'd ever seen. He still felt that fear when he saw her eyes standing in that broken window.

The heroine winced again.

"Could we also get a cup of ice and some cling wrap?" The waitress gave him a strange look but didn't deny the request.

A few moments later a cup of ice and a some clear film was brought to the table. With practiced motions Blue put the ice into the center of the film and wrapped it all up. A few twists of the end and he held it to Casey's jaw.

"Here. It should help with the swelling." He said letting her hold it.

"Thanks..."

"It's a trick Lourdes showed me...after her dad took an errant punch..." He gave a slight smile, that was a wild day, another one that shook him. Lourdes read her father the riot act for getting in the middle of a fight. All Blue could feel was guilt for letting him get hurt.

The table fell back into silence both of them looking to Zephyr...

The raven-haired young man sat with his eyes closed, a peaceful expression adorned his face as he savored the various toppings of his slice, who would have thought that pan-fried eggplant, red onions and brie could so totally enrapture a person, only at Two Boots.

It took Zephyr a few seconds to notice the silence and that his teammates were looking at him, he smiled with some embarrassment as if caught in a private moment.

“It’s really good!” He managed to say after swallowing.

It was a nice feeling to just sit down together and do something decidedly normal, especially sharing a meal, it truly signified that everything was alright where it counted.

“It’s a contusion, thankfully nothing’s broken or fractured.” He declared after noticing the ice wrap on Casey.

“I could keep the ice from melting if you like…at least till we get back…”

Zephyr quickly took another bite from his slice, feeling a little self-conscious, he had manipulated enough ice and water for a lifetime, and was left wondering if he had been a bit heavy handed in his use of his abilities; something he’s been trying to avoid.

He’d been replaying the evening’s events in his head trying to sort certain things out, but now was not the time for a post-game analysis. He had even changed his clothes to a more casual look to help put some mental distance from it all, thankfully the ambiance and the pizza were doing a great job at that.

‘I’m so glad this place is still here, so many good memories…” he said musing at the early days. “But sometimes it feels like we’ve known each other for longer, it’s the strangest feeling…”

"If it took that monster to leave a bruise I don't want to see the thing that could break you." Blue said looking to Casey. She looked away taking a bite of her olive loaded pizza. A slight smile appeared on her lips as Zephyr mentioned keeping the ice cold.

"I bet you could make this all better too..." she meant it was a joke but, it came out more as an admission. Admitting that Zephyr didn't need them, had more power than both of them. "But, I should be ok...Did that take a lot out of you? You really did a lot back there."

Blue let out a slight hum, as he folded a slice in half holding the crust, the classic New York style. He nodded his head at the mention of time feeling weird. There were things that were clear, but fuzzy around the edges. Like the fact it felt like they'd know each other for far longer but, they couldn't remember much beyond two years.

"Well, I don't know, that time was confusing for all of us. I mean, I just got my powers, Blue and you met, the whole thing...happened." She looked down again.

At Blue’s words Zephyr’s eyes grew wide, his silver blue irises adding to his expression of realization. The team leader had made a good point, there were threats at large that could actually bring them harm, big, bad, terrible threats. Team Argus needed to be prepared, they were all courageous and noble hearted, but they needed to take baby-steps.

‘Is that where we are headed, more powerful enemies, villains with armies?’ He immediately blinked the thought away, opting to explore those possibilities at a more opportune moment.

“Well, as a matter of fact, it would only take a second to get you back all pretty and innocent, but your battle-trophy is giving me some serious ‘Battle Angel meets Tank Girl’ vibes, it kinda cool.” He smiled and chuckled, not sure if anyone got his comic-geek reference.

“But seriously tho…” He continued in a more pensive tone.

“It’s great that we remember the same things…” he’d nod at Casey, verifying the shared memories.

“But at the same time there’s also much that we don’t quite recall. Like…umm…”

The pause in mid thought wasn’t unusual for him, but the deep sigh usually meant that there more was going on.

“I…I’ve never felt stronger and I know things are changing, it’s hard to explain. I’m…curious, excited and concerned simultaneously. I just can’t quite remember when it all happened, you would think that I’d remember something like that.”

Moving closer to his friends, he whispered so only they could hear.

“And things like the Malformed and going into hiding…it feels like we’ve been doing this for a while, but since when?”

Closing his eyes for a second, Zephyr would listen to his friends while he took a moment to check their surrounding with his senses. He really didn’t need to close his eyes ( anymore) but by this gesture it was understood by his teammates that he was doing a ‘security check’; they have successfully remained under the radar thus far and not by being careless.

"I don't know, probably since Doom took over..." Blue added shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't sure when the Latverian Madman took over but it was sometime between them meeting and now. Right? He had memories of a time before, but now couldn't think of what caused the change.

"I mean wasn't that what the protest was about...something about the Malformed?" Casey chimed in, not entirely sure herself about current events. "I just got caught up in it when it got violent."

"What are you getting at Zephyr? Think someone's messed with our brains?" Blue asked more spit balling than anything, casting his own gaze around the room looking for threats.

“I think you’re right Blue, all things point to the metal tyrant as the most likely reason for the way things are now, it sounds crazy and also logical.”

Outside the pizzeria, all activity appeared normal, both vehicular and pedestrian traffic was like any other average day; people shopping, children playing, teenagers hanging out, and no strange substances in the area. For about two blocks around everything checked out.

“The area is clear.” He added, reporting his findings with a firm nod.

“ We should stay alert and listen out for others that may hint at having the same ‘memory’ issues, be they Morlock, everyday ‘Joe/Jane’ or netizen noise. I’m pretty certain that we are not the only ones experiencing this.”

“But most of all, let’s promise to stick together no matter what…right now, I feel like I can only fully trust the two of you…and maybe a few other heroes out there.”

A smile formed on his lips as roster of recently met good guys played in the back of his mind; Adam, General Okoye, War Machine, Zara and the cool Cyber Ninja guy, the list of allies was growing.

“There are some other things I’m following up on…” the hesitation in his voice was undisguised.

A pang of anxiety rippled through his mind. He really loved Doc, the nascent A.I was no longer a smart tool but rather a companion, a part of the team as far as Zephyr was concerned. But he needed to make sure that regardless of Doc’s origins, that ‘it’s’ allegiance and efforts were wholeheartedly and unerringly dedicated to Team Argus alone.

“I can’t say more until I find out more, you know what I mean?” He said finally, resting back against the chair and reaching for his bubbly apple cider drink.

“But I’m really glad that we got to help Lourdes and Don Ernesto, they deserve to have their burdens eased.”

Lifting his glass he offered a toast.

“To Don Ernesto, Lourdes and the Bodega. Prosperidad.”

Casey gave a worried glance to Blue. He was the lone wolf, the one that had the bad habit of not telling them what was going on. Would he even make that promise. Herself was ready and able to agree she was less sure about their nominal 'leader'. She gave a nod of her head understanding.

Blue more or less let the comment pass him by. He'd learned long ago to not make promises he couldn't keep.

"I'll keep my ear to the ground." Blue said, "See if anyone else is having memory issues."

Casey cast another worried glance towards Zephyr. It wasn't like him to keep things from them. He wasn't the vault of secrets like Blue. Part of her wanted to know but, much like she assumed with Blue, she thought he had a reason.

"Yeah..." Casey asked taking another sip of her soda.

Blue lightly raised his glass. He wasn't usually one for toasts though it seemed something of a thing with Zephyr. As he raised his hand he saw a message from Lourdes come in, a smiley face at the end of it. A slight smile bloomed under his mask. At least he made her day better. At least all that fighting did something...

As he brought his drink back down he hunched his shoulders a little. Part of him didn't want to do this but, they had to talk about it.

"Do we want to talk about what happen..." He said throwing a look to Casey.

Right away the young woman started to shrink a little, pulling her legs up to her chest.

"Look I know you want to help..."

"I did, you think you could have taken on that big guy." she shot back, trying to put a good spin on what happened.

"That's not the point. You could have killed that guy, the one your threw."

"He shot me...and I was only trying to help him."

"It happens..."

"He didn't mean to...it was an accident."

"That doesn't make it better..."

"I couldn't control it..."

"That's the problem..." Blue's words came out colder than he was expecting. "You can't control it. I know we keep promising to help but, with all that has gone on it's hard to find the time."

"You two always running off to be the hero and leaving me behind."

"It's the safest way. For everyone."

"The mission always comes first huh..."

"Casey, you know that."

"You know you could save a lot more people if you took some time, learned how to fight rather than just using on some moves you saw online."

"I get by..."

"You could stand to take some time off every now and again..."

"This isn't about me."

"No because it's always about me and how much of a danger I am..." She found her voice rising with frustration, and a little anger. How many times had they had this conversation and how many times did it end like this. "I know I'm a monster but you're not perfect either."

"I never said that you where, I never said I was."

"Really then what's that scared look in your eyes when you see me turn?" She was a scared animal, lashing out in fear, going after her friend. "You think I'm a monster just like the rest of them."

"Casey..."

Zephyr knew this road, they had walked it many times coming to a chasm with no bridge, yet he could see a future, right there on the other side of the chasm, beckoning.

Instinctively Psion surrounded their table with a sound dampening effect lest itchy ears inclined their attention to their conversation.

"You are powerful Casey, but not a monster. He cut in suddenly with a decisive tone.

“Any one of us can become monsters, normal or meta-human, monsters are not out there risking their lives trying to help people. You are NOT a monster.”

He gently touched her hand as he continued.

“I hope you can accept OUR apology ( side glance to Blue) for not making time for you and your needs, but that’s going to change immediately. I will be sharing a few control exercises with you starting tomorrow, I’ve thought it over for a bit too long perhaps, but it needs to happen.”

He was on a roll now.

“Blue is right about the importance of control, without it, I would be high on the list of dangerous threats, blowing up stuff all over the place. I mean, just look at Dr.Banner…he was branded a global terror, he was reviled, hunted, pursued. But he worked hard to bring that which made him powerful and terrible under control and I know you can do it too, you don’t need to be a victim of your own powers, you can have a choice.”

“And Casey is right about saving us from assuming that each outing will be your last, there are a few ways that we can increase our general survivability…and…”

Rolling his eyes and shrugging his shoulders as if caught on a fib, he would partially confess to Blue.

“I was hoping to surprise you with something, but I guess I can sort of surprise you with the surprise after I pick it up, hopefully in the next 48 hrs or sooner. Plus you can’t refuse it.”

“C’mon Blue, you have to admit that not killing the guy that shot her is a clear sign of restraint, which suggests will power. Also her threat assessment was on point, she went after the big guy who was going to pulverize everyone else. So we NEED her and we will help her get better. YOU are her North Star with the ‘return to normal’ jutsu...for now we just need to recognize that and improve from there.”

He paused for a second to search his teammates faces for their reactions to what he had just said.

“And…can we move this pow-wow elsewhere? We could find a nearby park… maybe a little night time stroll would be real nice right about now.”

He smiled a genuine smile of appreciation, it occurred to him that perhaps he himself was in need of two North Stars, this deep friendship with Casey and Blue was currently the only thing that kept him anchored to his humanity.

Hearing Zephyr's words Casey started to come out of her shell, started to uncoil a little. It was nice to hear that she wasn't a monster, even in the moments she felt normal there was still that feeling, the monster under her skin. His hand gently resting on hers slowly brought her around

Blue looked away at the apology. While there was a bit of guilt for putting it off so long. He still felt more righteous than guilty. His mission always came first. One of his failings.

They both listened though Blue continued to eat. Casey was fully engrossed wanting to learn how to control the monster in her. The other girl, the scared girl that lashed out at everyone. The similarities between herself and the Jade Goliath were unsettling at least to her. She'd seen news reports seen the devastation he could leave in his wake. Though the fact that he learned to control it was hopeful at the least.

"What did you do now..." Blue grumbled at the 'surprise'. "I told you I don't need..."

"Blue he's just trying to help..."

"And those supplies could go to someone else."

"You can't keep relying on your healing factor and luck."

"You don't have to worry about me. I've gotten this far." His tone wasn't combative more caring and self-sacrificing.

"Well, you heard him you can't turn it down this time..."

Blue just looked away.

"The only reason he's alive is because of luck." Blue replied before looked back to Casey with somewhat apologetic expression. She could feel the walls coming back up. "And that's good, I mean..." Couldn't backtrack that. "But is the power really worth the risk? I mean you handled him easy..." His gaze was on Zephyr though he could feel Casey being swallowed up by her anxiety.

"Let's finish our pizza and head home." Blue said. "I don't think we want to be out in the open too long given everything."

"I think I just want to sleep..." Casey added, feeling drained.

TAG: @Ameteth @greyjedi125

 

IC: Helena Schwartz (Agent 77)
Under Grand Central Station

Helena was glad to have some time to herself. Though it usually meant that the mission would be a long and difficult one. She did not have many hobbies that she could fall back to, so she spent most of the time in her apartment ordering some takeaway Chinese and watching TV.

Waking up early was so difficult, even to an experienced agent like her. But that was part of the job. Helena was ready in no time. Shower, brush teeth, breakfast and off she went to the secret base for her briefing.

Once in the briefing room she was all professional and ready to hear what the mission will be. Nodding her head in greeting she sat in her seat.

So a gang related problem. That was up her alley. She tried not to look too satisfied. “I can pass as a Middle-Eastern or Balkan smuggler or mercenary.” she rubbed her chin “Will we have any back up?” she raised an eyebrow.

TAG: @greyjedi125

 

IC: Arthur Sanders
Morlock Underground

As Arthur wandered cautiously by Brihk's side, small pieces of ice began to form in his hair and along his skin. The unfamiliarity of the situation and fear ran through the boy's heart, chilling it from the outside world. The temperature would also naturally drop as they continued in the Morlock underground, while he could feel the difference it would barely affect him. Far, far colder temperatures would do little to affect him, not that the boy knew it, suspected perhaps, but not something he wished to dwell on.

The sight of people saluting Brihk caused a pang of fear to spread through the boy's chest, the uneasy twisting of a knife as doubt, regret and uncertainty filled the void in his mind.

What am I doing...what am I doing...who are these people...what am I doing... I...

As these thoughts raced through his head the ice would begin to creep further over his body, becoming more noticeably, his normal black hair now filled with chunks of white.

“After a while you what to go easy on the salute...especially if you’re female.”

The innocent Sanders did not understand, not that he had much mental focus to understand anything really at the moment.

“Come let’s get you changed. I still managed to hang on to that extra burger, but it looks like I spilled the drinks.”

He looked up at Brihk, a soft, uneasy smile passing on his lips. The reminder of the burger, that simple act of kindness, for one reason or another it set the teen more at ease. The ice began to melt away, not going completely but certainly less noticeable.

As they came up to the small room he surveyed the humble dwelling his eyes glinting at an actual bed to sleep in rather than the side of the road like he had been for last few months.

“Would you like me to stay with you?”

The boy looked at her in surprise, his eyes then quickly darting away.

"N-no, I wouldn't want to i-impose I'm sure I'll be fine..." he said rather sheepishly and in a very unconvincing tone. He carefully clasped the take-out bag, his mind still trying to process had people could be so kind. They must want something...yeah that was probably it, or...or was he being dragged into some bizarro cult, oh dear what was he getting himself into?

TAG: @greyjedi125

 

Cameron Giles IC:
~Rail Transport, En Route to HQ~

Leaning against the wall of the transport, Cameron had his eyes closed. Just allowing the relative quiet seep in, enjoying a moment of not thinking. These were so few and far between these days, he took them at any chance he could get. Saving the world was a tough gig, you know, especially if you're also the one doing all the paperwork afterward!

“When was the last time either of us slept? Seriously?”

Cameron's eyes remained closed, but he gave a solitary laugh at the question with a slight shake of his head.

"Don't even ask. That's my answer."

“If I take another stim, I think my body will simply reject it and immediately shutdown. We need real sleep you know! Even Synths need to ‘recharge’. Silly Vision.”

Finally the Deputy Chief of White Star opened his eyes and looked over at Daisy, her hair up in a sign of relaxation (or an attempt at it). He smiled at the sight with another light chuckle coming at her words.

"True, and honestly...I'm starting to get sick of the taste of coffee now too. You know it's bad when you don't want to look at coffee again."

As she shifted to speak more casually, Cameron mimicked her subconsciously, moving to appear more relaxed as they conversed. A quirk he'd pick up over his time in Whi...no, SHIELD, yikes...over the years. Not something he liked, but when you were an infiltration specialist these things happened.

“So, one of us will needs to take first watch-“

And there came the beeping of the coms.

“- but not right now, clearly.”

"Why am I not surprised," he stated flatly.

At the report and subsequent orders from the White Star Chief, he could only shake his head. It was getting worse out there and if he was honest, even with the big briefing meeting they had with Agent Lane, he was still as confused as ever. Just...how did all of this happen?

“I don’t even know what to say at this point. It’s always something. I’m just saying.”

There was no judgment from Cameron, he completely agreed. It was always, always, always something. Even before the 'change.' There were limits to what humans could be forced to do, mentally and physically. One day, something would have to give and if things didn't change from this routine, it would be sooner rather than later.

He let out a sigh, "With all the oddity going on too, I wonder what Dr. Strange would have made of all this. Maybe he'd also have a sleep spell on hand for us too."

Cameron gave another small laugh before just staring out through the windows of the cabin, the weariness worn upon his face like a mask.

Tag: Daisy "Quake" Johnson @greyjedi125

*****
Isaac Angakkuq IC:
~Boston, Massachusetts~

He watched Jade patiently as she sipped his tea, wondering how the great connoisseur would take to it. Firefly flitted about almost nervously nearby, which was amusing. But Isaac only had eyes for her at this moment, which sounded rather romantic but not quite the vibe he was going for.

Her gaze matched his now. It was the moment of truth. The Inuit man waited.

“Well, I must confess….That was your best brew of Phoenix Tea yet. You’re really getting the hang of it.”

Isaac let out a breath he had no idea he had been holding, a smile gracing his features to match her own. At Firefly's statements, he could swell inwardly knowing they were true. Jade was a kind person, they genuinely cared for one another despite the oddity of their sudden 'relationship,' but sometimes it could get strained with everything going on. And with the apothecary and the way her father was...tea was more than just tea for Jade. To brew a bad batch was a good way to irritate her for a good portion of the day, so this was truly a success!

It may sound petty to any who didn't know her, but Isaac had come to learn it was much more than just 'tastes.' It was history. Passion. Family. Nothing he was a part of, but something he wanted to honor nevertheless.

His reverie came to an end at how she moved toward the opposite side of the room and while her face was turned away from him, he had caught a brief glimpse as she turned. A sadness was there. Hesitation was all about her. She was about to say something important. He could tell.

He could feel it, though it was hard to say how.

“Isaac….I decided to sell. I decided to sell my Uncle Zu’s Apothecary.”

His mouth opened part-way in shock, before closing it so not to seem rude, though he couldn't help but just stare at her for awhile. This...this was even bigger than he imagined. The apothecary had so much meaning behind it...

"Are you...sure? Once you sell, there's no going back."

Isaac wasn't just referring to the apothecary itself. She would know what he meant as he came to stand next to her, a gentle hand upon her shoulder, his eyes warm and concerned.

He would support her decision, but he needed to know where she truly stood.

Tag: Jade @greyjedi125

 

Aegis, Blueline, Psion
Team Argus Hideout

The walk home was thankfully, uneventful. The city didn’t quiet down, but rather, seemed not to produce any random ‘emergencies’ for the duration. It was a most welcomed reprieve.

Of course, that only meant the three members had only themselves to deal with, at their own leisure of course.

“Welcome Home.” Doc greeted the ‘street hero trio’, then played a cheerful sound-bite of a ‘cheering crowd’, before growing silent once again. His sensors told him the unspoken story of the group’s present demeanor, so he simply went about his business, quietly attending to their individual comforts without obstruction.

The Argus Hideout was a true haven, a safe space for the ever evolving group. So far, the troubles of the outside world could not reach them here- and that knowledge in itself, was an unspoken comfort to them.

Perhaps after a bit of interaction, some planning could be done on how to move forward, into a more cohesive and effective group. For these three, honesty and transparency was the only real way to succeed.

Tag: @Ametheth, @galactic-vagabond422

---

Helena Schwartz (Agent 77)
Grand Central Safe zone, Briefing

Nolan Cross had his arms folded over his chest as the meeting progressed. He listened to Advisor Sethlan with undivided attention. This Op sounded like it was going to take time, if they were to get o the bottom of things. Trafficking controlled substances was always risky, and the people who dealt in those circles were notoriously dangerous. The two of them were going to need their wits about them for sure.

He could also understand why White Star would send non-metas on the Op.

“I can pass as a Middle-Eastern or Balkan smuggler or mercenary.”

He heard Agent 77 pipe in.

“Same.” Cross put in succinctly. “My Turkish is pretty decent.” he added as reassurance.

“Good to know.” Sethlan acknowledged.

Helena rubbed her chin as she spoke next: “Will we have any back up?” she asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Indeed, you will.” Sethlan asserted. “But you will only know the codename, nothing else- for security reasons, of course.”

“The plan is to have you ‘arrive’ in New York inside two weeks time, that is, to realistically reflect your travel time from abroad, upon hearing the news of the incident that took place on the Lower East Side. You’ll also have to familiarize yourself with Kraze, which is a lower grade MGH peddled in Europe. Clearly, your wish is to traffic in as pure a product as possible.”

Sethlan paused so the implications would dawn on the agents.

“Needless to say, you will be given access to higher level gear during this operation as well.” The advisor gave them both a respectful nod.

“Successful mercenaries like yourselves are going to need it.”

Tag: @TheAdmiral

---

Arthur Sanders
Morlock Underground

There was a disconnect in what she heard and what she saw.

"N-no, I wouldn't want to i-impose I'm sure I'll be fine..."

Brihk hesitated after hearing Arthur unconvincingly state that he would be Ok on his own. His whole body language was asking her to stay. Finally, she was able to put it together somewhat, that the ‘ice’ the boy exhibited was a ‘defense’ mechanism when he felt threatened or vulnerable.

When they first met at the burger place, he hadn’t formed any. She recalled the ice forming during their brief confrontation against the Bounty Hunters, and it hadn’t completely receded since.

“You’re not imposing at all.” Brihk said, moving only a step closer and gracing Arthur with a warm smile. In that moment, she mentally decided to change her plans.

“I’ll stay here for a bit and we can chat a while. You can tell me about yourself, I can tell you about me, or the Morlocks….” A small chuckle escaped her lips.

“It might be boring in parts and exciting in others, but I’m sure we’ll manage.”

With that, the charming Morlock sat crosslegged on the floor and patted the cot so Arthur would sit.

“Enjoy your meal, stretch your feet and let’s see where this goes, hmmm.”

Brihk adopted a more relaxed posture, hoping Arthur would do the same. She would keep an eye on his ‘ice’ as an indicator on his level of comfort.

“Do you want to go first or should I go first?” she entreated with an easy smile.

Tag: @Shadowsun

---

Daisy Johnson & Cameron Giles
~ Rail Transport, En Route to HQ~

Daisy couldn’t help but to laugh heartily at Cameron’s words.

“I can just see it now…” The White Star Chief said, making a grand gesture as she waved her arm in front of her, a smile on her face.

“I summon you, the great Dr. Stephen Strange, to appear before us and cast a much needed ’Sleep spell’ on these two beleaguered and overworked civil servants!”

Daisy paused and seemed expectant, as if waiting for something to happen.

“Hold on, did I do that right? Is that ’Stephen’ with a ‘P- H’ or ‘Steven’ with a ‘V’?”

A look of mock confusion came over her face, as she played along.

“Maybe it’s “Steffen’ with a double ‘F’ you know, like Fantastic Four!”

Daisy laughed at her own joke and seemed to enjoy her own witticism. Or maybe she was simply entering into delirium from that very lack of sleep.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to need a solid two hours of sleep after we arrive at HQ. I hope you don’t mind If I go first?”

Daisy winked playfully at Cameron as she chuckled, all too happy that in this moment, she need not be a dreadfully serious leader of a global resistance organization. She couldn’t recall at what point her job had become her life, but now and again, it was necessary to take a small break from saving a world control by a completely overpowered despot.

Those thoughts, however, did manage to sober her somewhat.

“Dr. Strange disappeared with the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes when they all rushed off to confront Doom at the doorsteps of his Castle. Now There’s only Doom.”

The merriment was all gone now a she looked directly at cameron, her expression set in a way only he knew how to interpret.

“We don’t know what has become of them. All I know is that we ‘hold the line’ and that’s what we’ll do.”

A sigh now escaped her lips, her body sinking deep into the travel couch. It was a testament to her commitment that she still had enough will power to fight-off the crushing fatigue that threatened her continually depleting stamina.

“Two hours of sleep. Not a minute more. Then we see who else we can contact.”

Tag: @Darth_Elu

********
Isaac & Jade
~ Boston, Massachusetts~

"Are you...sure? Once you sell, there's no going back."

Jade stood silent and looked down to the floor, her arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her torso. When Issac placed a hand on her shoulder and stood next to her, he would understand that she was shaking, as she did her best not to sob openly.

Any other time, she would have swatted his hand away, but not this time.

Jade shook silently for several moments as she wiped tears from her face. She waited until she trusted herself to speak again.

“I….I have to sell.” She stated with a stammer, her voice think with regret. Her breathing heavy as she gathered herself.

“I don’t know if my Uncle is….if he’s……” She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Not knowing is like torture. It’s too painful. Keeping the shop only drives my thoughts to dark places…all the time.”

A hand came up, to cover her mouth. Jade was strong. She could handle it. She would handle it. There was simply no choice.

“It first starts with all the happy memories, then it just spirals downward. Every day. I miss him, but I can’t go on like this…..”

The silence in the room lingered for a long moment. Whatever daily occurrences that were happening outside their window would remain outside.

After a few more moments, Jade took a big centering breath, and only then did she turn her head to face Isaac, her eyes red and still glistening with unshed tears.

“Do you understand?” She asked, sounding just a little bit more like herself.

Tag: @Darth_Elu