Atlantis Arising [M] [Most Original 4Q '11] [Best Veteran 1Q '12]

Zachary Willard - London, England


Zac felt a foot slide into his ankle making him bend his knee towards the ground to stop from falling over. He turned and looked at Garrett lying on the ground hopelessly with his fully black eyes. He raised his arm up, striking down towards the boy, but was stopped as his arm jarred against a crystalline shield. Roaring in pain, he stumbled back, holding his arm in pain. It throbbed in pain so badly the only thing he could focus on was it until he turned the agony into fuel for his ability.

Plating reached around from the base of his neck, covering his shoulders in pauldrons, before extending down his arms. The plating covered the tops of his arms; each plate folding over the next one as it grew before stopping at his wrists. Grinning evilly, he quickly admired this new addition to his body before launching himself at the man (John Harker) standing in the doorway, clashing into him as the two tumbled through the entrance and onto the steps below.

During the tumble, Zac felt himself flung off the man, landing a few feet away. He quickly regained his footing before launching himself again at the man, fist raised.​


Kieran Davis - En route to London, England


Kieran sat uncomfortably next to Oakley; while he was glad that Michael was unable to come along on the trip, he was a little worried about Oakley's safety during this so called 'mission'. What if she lost control and went berserk while they were fighting this Demon? Would that mean they would have to face Armoured Oakley and this massive Demon too? Kieran shuddered at the idea, before turning his mind back to the mission on hand; they were an hour out from London still, but once there, he had no idea what they were going to do.


River touched down the helicopter in Hyde park; much to the annoyance of the crowds there. "Okay guys, be on the look out and stay together, and hints of disturbance and we'll--" River was cut short as a the shattering of glass could be heard and a scattering of people came running from the direction of the national Science Museum.

Kieran jumped out of the helicopter and instinctively moved in front of Oakley to protect her. Chucking his custom made leather jacket in the back of the helicopter, he rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms, getting use to having his bone swords out in the open.

"Kieran and Oakley, you two follow me, we'll make an arc around the left coming in from one side," Blayze said, "while Christian, Antonia, Chrysta and River make their way in an arc on the right side. We'll meet on the opposing sides of the steps. Only get involved if civilians are in danger. Do not engage until I say so." Blayze nodded at River and the two set of, Kieran followed closely behind Blayze while Antonia and Chrysta made their ways behind River.

It didn't take them long before they arrived at the steps, a miniature Demon kid was taking on an older guy just outside of the Science Museum. Blayze held his hand up, letting the others know to take it steady and to not intervene yet.

Kieran wondered if this guy was a brave human, or a skilled Atlantean like themselves.​


October Carter - En route to London, England


Once Jericho had arrived, Adrian gathered everybody into the helicopter, teaching them how to do up the military grade seat belts before shutting the sliding door and joining October in the cockpit. While she wasn't certified to fly the aeroplane, she merely sat there and watched as Adrian's four hands flicked over the pre-flight preparations; being the captain and co-pilot at the same time. Within minutes, they were off into the air.

"We'll be in London in about an hour and a half," Adrian's voice crackled over the in-flight headset, "so sit back and prepare; who knows what we will land in."

Adrian landed on the flat rooftop of a building a couple of blocks away from the Museum with the building still in sight. He helped October out of the cockpit before walking around the side and letting the other's out from the back. "Okay guys, I saw another helicopter on the way in so I presume we're not the only ones here. So be on your guard."

Adrian guided them down the outside railing and through the maze of streets until they came to the back entrance of the museum where people were streaming out rapidly. Pushing against the flow, he managed to make it inside; the halls now devoid of life. It was long before there was a breaking of glass coming from the main entrance that caused Adrian to head for there; motioning for the others to follow. He soon found two people huddled near the counter, one crystallised over the other with a six foot tall demon kid fighting a guy outside on the steps.

"Okay guys, looks like we got here just in time for the party," he motioned at the Royal Families forces gathered at the bottom of the steps.​
 
HELENA ANDERSSON

"It's definitely not something to rule out when we look at everything that's happened so far, right?"

The comment came from Cira, the blonde boy. He was probably a teenager or at least no older than Helena. She gave him an almost despondent look in return.

"I guess not." Then she even let out a little laughter and leaned back in her chair. "It's like we've jumped right into one of the movies my brother goes on about. I'm sure there even was an invisible girl there too somewhere."

Even though a lot of new people had stepped onto the plane now and they had lifted again, Helena's nervousness seemed to be slowly wearing off. She was used to meeting new people, after all. Not superheroes - I mean, Atlanteans - but still. It was her job. She might as well loosen up already. Nobody here had harmed her nor been a douche to anyone else. The atmosphere had been friendly - even family like - ever since she stepped into the care of the AUP. Maybe the reason she felt better now was that she saw that there were even more people who were just like them, involved in all this.

But still... New Atlantis? She glanced at Atticus and Annie. They knew about this already, right?​
 
John Hawkins - Science Museum, London, England

John looked on as the reptilian-boy attacked the boy on the ground and was stopped by the crystalline woman. He seemed to thrive on the pain however and was soon more reptile than boy. John continued to idly play with his butterfly knives. It was then John saw the change in stance as the creature braced itself to leap in his direction.

John snatched his knife from the air as the creature barrelled into him. The blade entered the soft flesh of his palm and the soothing warmth of blood could be felt flowing down his arm as the two of them tumbled. During the fall the beast's grip loosened and John managed to force himself away.

Landing hard on the paving John quickly rallied thanks to the adrenaline coursing through his system. He pulled the knife from his palm allowing the blood to flow freely, flexing his hand to help it along. The beast had also drawn itself to its feet and turned on him readying for another attack.
"Attacking a harmless observer…Shame on you," John's voice dripped with mocking tones as he scolded the creature. The blood that dripped from his body gathered before him, snaking into the air and condensing into a tight sphere the size of a clenched fist. After a few seconds pause it shot towards his attacker. The beast dodged but the sphere turned and sought out its face. Concentration was etched across John's face as he manipulated the crimson liquid to enter the beasts eyes and clot. The deep black eyes were now obscured by red. As Zach attempted to move the clot would crack and reform ensuring his continued blindness.
"Oh I'd be careful with those claws of yours…you could have someone's eye out!" John chuckled and then grew quiet, moving stealthily along the pavement in case the beast had more control of its senses than it had lead him to believe.
 

Adrian Santoro - London, England


Being the leader of their little band was something that had been thrust upon Adrian, and even though October and Jeremy had been in the Syndicate much longer than himself, he always found that he was generally the leader.

"Erika, go help those people back there, see if they're fine and keep them safe. October, Leon, go watch the four on the left, keep them busy, Archie, Jericho, you keep an eye on the three on the right while I keep an eye on the demon dude. If anybody on the opposing team tries anything, stop them. I'll watch out for you two." Adrian was here to recruit the kid, and if that failed, put him down, but with the interference of the other side, sh*t was going to go down.

"Are you two alright?" Erika asked the two by the information desk.​


Blayze Nalaar - London, England


From out of the corner of his eye, Blayze noticed the group of young adults assemble behind the doors; recognising a familiar face. He cursed quietly to himself as the Syndicate troops seemed to assemble and split as if to cover their own teams.

"Kieran, you're our offensive, if one of the others over there makes a move towards us, take him on, Oakley, your our defence, so only help Kieran if he is in trouble, otherwise you may need to help us if this demon kid goes crazy."

Blayze sent a quick signal to River through rapid hand gestures, to which she nodded; obviously reaching the same conclusion he had.

"Okay guys, Chrysta and Christian, you two watch the two in the museum, if they make any move, take them on, Antonia, you stay with me and keep an eye on the demon kid. we can't have him go out of control."​


Zachary Willard - London, England


Zac felt the blade penetrate into his skin, but it didn't hurt as much as the stinging in his eye and the temporary blindness that stung his eye as the blood clotted. Roaring again in pain and anger, he stumbled backwards, swiping his hand and breaking the metal railing that ran alongside the stairs. Anger fuelled his ability and his clothes began to rip as his muscles and body began growing at an exponential rate; growing a foot in little over five minutes before stopping. While growing, dark, fine fair began sprouting over his body covering the skin not protected by the plating while thin, leathery membranes began stretching across his skeletal appendages that stuck out from his back.

He scratched at the blood that clotted in his eye, the dry blood getting stuck in his fur and the vision in his eyes blurring as he scratched it relentlessly, but once the blood and previous eye had gone, a new slitted eye poped into the socket from the back of his head, protects by a thin, slimy film.

"You are weak and pathetic," he spoke degradingly, "I am pure power!" Zac was slowly losing his mind to the ability as it continued to morph his body.

He was about to strike John again when a fireball singled the hairs on the underside of his arms.

"Fight me, monkey boy!" Blayze yelled, leaving Oakley to back up Kieran while he directed Zac onto the street and away from the others. Zac again roared before growing another foot as a forked red, leathery tailed struck through his pants and crack like a whip behind him. River and Antonia joined Blayze as Adrian rushed forward to join them in taming the beast kid, leaving the others squaring off against their counter parts.​

 
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Jericho Heiko: A Very Entertaining Museum, Somewhere in England

Jericho grunted. "Yeah, maybe..." He ate his well deserved (or so he thought) sandwich. He figured now that Leon was finished with his little... Thing, then he could eat in peace, right? Right!? Wrong. It didn't take long for someone else to come in wanting to speak. He would have complained if it weren't for the fact that it was The Directive whom wished to speak. He half listened while he worked on his food. It wasn't until "assignment" and then "demon" came up that he decided to pay full attention.

What? They had assignments now? And enemies? He had enemies now? The Royal Family...? They weren't talking about Queen Elizabeth, right? He didn't think beating up old ladies and their family members made good face.

"Never mind. Looks like you're not gonna get a chance at having that fantastic revelation after all." Jericho raised a brow, not catching the implications of Leon's statement. Ignoring it he stood up and got rid of his plate and food remains. He figured whatever this "assignment" thing was, he'd better get ready for it. Jeri went back through the elevator and to his room, opening his closet for the second time today. He looked through his options while he thought of the upcoming events. He wasn't exactly aware they had assignments, but thinking about it seemed to jog something. Did the bald guy say they had assignments? He remembered a little bit about getting paid. Was he getting paid for this? If so, how fast did the paycheck roll in?

Whatever it was, it better be big considering they were fighting "demons". Obviously not real demons, that would be ridiculous. Almost outlandish. He tried to imagine the figurative demon. Maybe it was a person or some kind of animal or something? The Directive and everyone else weren't too surprised and were quite calm about the whole thing, so it couldn't have been something worth the worry. Still, it was interesting and somewhat unnerving at the same time. For a group of people with superpowers, what did these little missions entail? He didn't know how to use his, hardly even knew what it was? What did that mean for him?

His clothing of choice was a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a black shirt that featured the picture of cooked eggs shaped like a skull and two crossed slices of bacon underneath. Overtop he wore a mostly plain, purple zip-up hoodie that he left open. Hands in pockets he headed up to the top floor where a helicopter apparently waited. He was the last to arrive. He got into the helicopter without introduction, giving his fellow members casual glances. When his eyes landed on October he raised a brow and eyed her outfit. She gave them quick directions on how to strap themselves into the flying vehicle before closing the doors and taking herself to the front. He raised his brow again and took another glance at his fellow riders.

"Is that her super suit? Or are we going to start turning into Power Rangers?" Both options sounded equally ridiculous. He would rather they tell him October's fashion sense was as weird as her fetish than to say she had it for a reason. Over the radio Adrian gave them a quick ETA before they head off.

In about the time predicted they landed on the rooftop or another. When they descended they were forced to navigate through streets. The moment was good for some sight seeing, but ultimately seemed wasteful. Why not land closer? It would have saved some foot time. Well they were in a military vehicle, maybe they were being tactical. Adrian had mentioned another helicopter. Was that the Royal Family he'd mentioned before? And why did everyone have helicopters? Maybe these organizations were more important than he'd originally estimated.

Their walking brought them to the back of a large building. Out from the doors streams of people fled, most in hysterics. Their emergency activated Jericho's own internal alarms. What was going on? He quickly tried to remember what they were there for. Something about... A demon? He tried to rationalize what they could have meant with the reactions of the people they shoved their way through. He didn't have many ideas past rabid zoo animal. When they entered, Jericho quickly realized that this building was a museum. Not only did it have the classic museum look, he could see displays from where they stood. The entire building, though, was completely empty. There wasn't a single sound and not a single person. They must have just passed all who were left there. The silence of the museum lasted until the sound of breaking glass that cut through the peace. Following Adrian, they rushed into the main entrance.

Arriving, Jericho noticed two civilians huddled under a counter. Well... Civilian-ish. With crystallized arms and shield, a woman created a protective barrier over some kid who hid behind her. They were interesting, but they couldn't quite match up to the fellows outside. Seeing him, Jericho realized they were speaking literally when they said "demon". Outside the monster of a person was covered with armored plating and undoubtedly the tallest person he'd seen off of a TV screen. If Jericho hadn't heard about Atlanteans (and become one himself), he could have sworn this was a science experiment gone wrong. Part of his mind wondered where in God's name the police were. Maybe England's response team was poor. Maybe they were waiting for the military. It took him another moment of thinking for the "assignment" thing to kick in and once it did he couldn't help but wonder if every assignment would have to do with the freaks of the apparent Atlantean world.

Adrian motioned to yet more people who were there. Line up on the stairs were two groups of what seemed like bystanders. Were these guys Atlantean's too? Adrian's attention to them made him think that they may have been the Royal Family bunch. Before rational could make him think to consider what was happening, Adrian began to quickly create small parties and give out orders. Jericho looked over at the "three on the right" and smirked. Somehow... This seemed like it'd be really fun. He gave Adrian a quick nod before getting up and creeping over. On his journey there, he glanced out the broken glass door. Out there the berserk Atlantean fought with his own eyes as his body began to change. He grew larger in seconds and fur began to color his skin.

Watching the spectacle, Jericho managed to grin. That was some cool sh*t.
 
Leon Nef and Christian Calaway- Birmingham, England; London, England

Leon casually leaned back on the pole, his arms crossed as he awaited an answer about the jumpsuit, only to have Archie, who had just arrived, address his own problem with the jumpsuit, before insulting Leon. Leon smiled at him.

"Well, Archie, as much as I'd love to see from your point of view, I'm afraid I won't be able to shove my head that far up your a**, but I suppose you're entitled to your opinion. Even if it's wrong. Intelligence is, after all, quite based on perspective, so maybe you should listen to me more often. You might learn something."

He continued to smirk at him, but then turned to October as she explained her suit, suggesting if they survive this battle, they might get one as well. Leon held his hands up in protest. "Ermm...no thanks. Let's just keep it so the sl*ts wear them."

Once Jericho arrived, Leon boarded the helicopter with the others. It was military grade, so Leon really didn't have any experience in them, but managed to adapt after Adrian explained how they worked. It was an hour and a half long trip, and for the most part, Leon surprisingly kept to himself. He was on a window seat, looking at the group and sky in front of him, thinking. As he thought, he bounced small, miniscule jolts of electricity on the dashboard to pass the time. It was a different feeling than the one in the forest. He was ready, for whatever he was about to face.

It was soon that the helicopter began touching down. Leon exited just as soon as it landed, and he saw the scene in front of him. A museum was their area of choice. There were people running frantically away from the area, but there were also a few people on the move inside. Leon knew they were Atlanteans. No doubt about it. But what were their powers? Leon couldn't tell. He knew appearances was never a sign for the types of powers a person had. Archie looked like an anti-social emo freak, but he had the power to bend metal. October was just an attractive girl...with earthquake hands! Who knew what the others could have? Of course, there was the freaking impressive looking demon Atlantean on the inside, what Leon thought was the original target in the mission. Clearly, that could be the strongest target, and the natural course to go. Adrian began explaining the pair-ups, but Leon ignored him and proceeded forward. He wasn't his leader, even if he wanted to be. Leon made his way up the steps, walking towards the demon Atlantean. He brought his eyes to the two from the other Atlantean group for a moment, fully intending on passing them by on his way, but the girl caught his eye, and he stopped dead in his tracks and walked instead towards them, filled with confidence. The man was a bit taller than Leon, having short black hair and a motorcycle racing jacket. The woman was almost undoubtedly Italian, like Leon (although Leon was also Swiss, although that physically isn't that noticeable).

"Buongiorno!" Leon said to her with a slight wave of his hand. "And what is your name?" He asked her with a smirk on his face. Leon turned back to the man with him. He gave him a disapproving look, eyeing his choice of clothing and appearance. Back in Italy, a person is said to make an impression of you in the first 5 seconds of meeting someone. Leon knew almost immediately, this man was either a brainless pushover, or one tough bastard. For the sake of testing his own abilities, he earnestly hoped it was the latter, and for that reason, he attempted to provoke him.

"Hey amico, nice jacket!" He said sarcastically, giving him a thumbs up. He looked back at the Italian girl. "Amica, why don't you back away from this...guy, and come with me? I wouldn't want to hurt you, after all."

"Eh...umm," the girl tripped over her words, fumbling thoughts around ineffectively. But in the end it didn't matter. The man tightened up, threw a cold glare at Leon before driving his fist into Leon's face. Leon fell to the ground, unsurprised at the gesture. Now things were getting interesting.

"Back off. I don't think the lady is interested," he took a look back to the girl. "Antonia, get out of here. I think things will heat up here soon enough."

"Christian, I-"

"Don't worry about it. I can handle this little a**hole."

Leon wiped his mouth, as a bit of blood. He laughed as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. "Ugh, now why'd you go and do that? All I was trying to do was get into the lady's pants! No other harm intended!"

Leon saw Antonia prepare to leave, and yelled after her. "Hey! Wait up, don't go! We're only beginning to get to know each other!"

Christian took a step forward and punched Leon again, this time aiming for his nose. He put his weight into the punch, really trying to take Leon out quickly. He held in a comment, fuming with anger. Christian spat at the ground. He was ready for anything.

Leon fell to the ground once more, this time remaining on it for much longer than before. Leon groaned in pain for a moment, putting a hand to his face and looking at it. He was bleeding from the mouth, and possibly the nose as well. His face hurt, but he wasn't done yet. He chuckled a bit more. "That's good, keep hitting my face and mess it up a little. Clearly your b*tch likes the ugly ones anyways, since she's with you."

Christian's eyes twitched at the comment and grabbed Leon by his shirt, proceeding to slam his face with punch after punch, each flurry being more ferocious than the last. Clearly, someone was self conscious about his appearance. Each punch had more blood cache onto Christian's gloves, crafting a red masterpiece.

In the midst of the fists flying at his face, Leon felt a sense of satisfaction in getting Christian to do exactly what he intended him to do. Even though he was getting pretty badly beaten, it was worth it, right? Leon began to contemplate why he was doing this in the first place. He remembered that he always enjoyed getting on people's nerves, and them succumbing to action was just a sign that he won.

La lingua non ha osso ma rompe l'osso. That was one of Leon's favorite Italian sayings. "The tongue has no bone but it breaks bone."

Even though at the moment, it seemed to be the other way around. Leon felt for the moment, however, he had made his point, and it was time to fight back, before Christian made any permanent damage to him. Using all of his leg muscles he could, he forced his legs upward, attempting to kick Christian off of him. Now it was time to get serious.
 

Atticus Forsberg - Somewhere over Europe

"No, no, New Atlantis is..." Atticus started.

"Hold up!" Annie interrupted, just getting off the phone to someone. "Everyone really needs to see this." She turned her monitor around to show everybody. It was a bird's eye satelitte image of what looked like London and right smack bang in the centre was... a giant monster, was all the words Atticus had for it.
"How interesting," the Librarian nodded, as if he was impressed with the ability. "Demon Morphology. I've seen this once in Greece. Poor chap, he was angered by this man who had accidently pushed him aside. He was a demon, much like this faster than the Hulk. You know the Hulk, Adeline?"

"Yes, sir."

Emil immediately exited into the cockpit for about five or so seconds as everyone continued to watch this being before he emerged with a stern look on his face.

"It's lucky that we're passing over London now. We're the closest team to here, we need to take action. New Atlantis will have to be postponed for now."

"We're over London now," Cooper's voice came over the speakers.

"We can't land. There's no time. I'll take us down. Cooper, you land the plane after we jump."

"Jump?!" Annie, gripped her seat. "Emil, I trust you but I am not go-"

"It's okay, you stay here. You too Devon."

"No!" he spoke up, stepping forward. "I want to come too!"

"No, Devon. It's much too dangerous."

"I don't care!"

"I'll look after him," Atticis spoke up. "I'd be useless against this guy. I'll watch Devon."

"... Alright. Thank you, Atticus," Emil opened up the side of the plane, wind blowing wildly. Annie's grip on her chair grew more intense. Atticus and Natalia, on the other hand, headed towards the door, Atticus a little more hesitantly. The Librarian almost skipped over, Adeline behind him. Devon pushed past and stuck next to Atticus with a sour look on his face.

"Alright," Emil pushed his hands forward outside the plane, making strange movements in the air. He nodded at Natalia, who confidently jumped out of the door but instead of falling, she was held there in midair.

"I'm a gravity manipulator," Emil explained, yelling over the wind. "Just jump out the door, quickly now!"

The Librarian was the next to jump out, Adeline behind him. Atticus yanked on Devon's arm, the two jumping out together.

"This is so much more fun when someone else is doing it!" The Librarian laughed.​
 

Christian Calaway vs Leon Nef- London, England


Leon backed away from Christian, eyeing his opponent, who was a good few meters away from him. He leaned over his side and spit out of his mouth, effectively rinsing it of any leftover blood that was inside from his punches. He cracked his neck, and pointed to his chest with his arms.

"Leon Nef." He said. "Christian, right? It's good I get to learn your name. The group of last Atlanteans I killed, I never found out their names."

He gazed over his opponent, interested in his reaction. He wanted to know exactly how experienced he was with all of this. Leon, for example, only learned about his powers a little over a week ago, and the only experience he had killing other Atlanteans, or any other people for that matter, happened on his first night in the forest. So Leon wasn't exactly lying, he was merely omitting the truth. But Christian wouldn't know that.

"So you killed Atlanteans before? Heh. Like I needed any other reason to hate you," Christian said, looking down at the ground before staring down Leon. He truly was the worst kind of person; an individual who admired chaos and wished to spread it. All chaos did was cause pain. Christian wanted to end it. Now. "Well, Leon. I am sorry to say you killed your last Atlantean. While today, I'll kill my first."

(Soundtrack:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri7-UVz7c-U)

Those last words from Christian was all the motivation he needed to go in for the attack. Now that he knew for certain he was a beginner, he felt even better about his chance. But he wanted to keep his power a secret for now. From what he'd seen of other's powers, he certainly had a high profile one. Leon went in for the attack. He ran at his top speed right at Christian, attempting to tackle him to the ground.

Christian was taken down to the ground pretty easily, much to his surprise, but it wasn't the first time someone tackled him. As he tumbled to the ground, Christian grabbed Leon's shirt, and rolled with the tackle flipping Leon over onto the ground behind him. Christian propelled himself up with a kip-up. He loomed over Leon for a bit, admiring the busted face from earlier before slugging him in the face. Grabbing Leon by the shirt, Christian lifted his victim from the ground, matching Leon's gaze with his own.

Leon tried covering Christian's punch to the face, before being grabbed by the shirt and pulling him up to his eye level. Leon took his opportunity to smile at the man, and spit right into Christian's face, before attempting to force his way out of his hold on his shirt.

Christian threw Leon away, not caring where he sent the nuisance flying. Wiping the spit away proved to be a chore, but eventually he got it off. He would get him back for that. Leon landed a meter or two away. He stayed on the ground for a few seconds to catch his breath. Evidently, Leon was realizing that Christian had a bit of an advantage in a physical fist fight, being a bit bulkier and larger than Leon was. But that wasn't going to deter him. Not yet, at least. Leon got up and cracked his neck, then proceeded to run at Christian again and using all his might to kick him in the stomach.

Christian hunched by instinct, the kick being a straight shot. He was winded and wheezing as he struggled to breath. Leon smiled in his triumph, kneeing the hapless Christian in the face, to the sound a delightful crunch as Christian had his nose broken another time. Leon battered Christian with right hook after left hook, until Christian managed to duck around one strike swinging his own right hook, knocking Leon back a few steps. Off balance, Christian eyes beamed with opportunity. Charging forward, Christian lunged forward, spearing Leon, picking him up with the tackle through one of the walls of the museum.

Leon groaned on the ground, debris and rubble from the wall under and on top of him. He felt a sharp stinging pain on his back. His initial thought was that he hope he didn't just break it. Although he probably wouldn't have been able to move at all. Nevertheless, it hurt like hell. It was an all-too human feeling it gave him, completely contradictory of the feeling he had hours earlier at training, where he felt nothing could beat him. Leon looked to his side, where he saw Christian lying a little too close for comfort. Ignoring the pain, he picked himself off of the debris-filled ground and moved over to the side, putting a little bit of distance between himself and his opponent, while also taking this chance to catch his breath.

This whole ordeal reminded Christian of a barfight he was in a couple of years ago. It was for his friend's birthday, and Christian was the designated driver, and being that it was his responsibility to keep his friend out of trouble. So naturally, his friend did get in trouble and a barfight soon ensued. Christian was fighting some tough guys, broke a few bones and damaged property before getting away. Leon, here, was just like those guys. Tough, and itching for more punishment. Christian lifted himself off the ground, wiping his nose of blood and spitting at the ground to get that bitter taste out. Leon was there, catching his breath. He seemed sluggish, tired, and close to breaking. His back must be killing him. Christian was a bit sore, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Christian stretched a bit, getting the kinks out. Christian took a few slow steps forward, to gauge Leon's reaction. Let's see how tired he really is.

As Christian took a few steps forward, Leon took this moment to smile, even through his heavy panting. "Heh..." He began, before trying to push aside any pain he was experiencing and go in for another round. Leon decided this time to get in some body damage, aiming for Christians torso area with a set of body shots. Leon kept wailing at Christian's torso, forcing Christian to put a guard up and tighten his body to withstand the barrage. He was surprised that Leon had this much spirit. Most would be out of the fight by now.

Back to wall, Christian weathered the storm...until he had enough. Forcing an opportunity, Christian kneed Leon in the gut. "Your punches bore me," Christian said as he lifted another knee to the same spot. Leon coughed up blood and began hitting the ground, taking the opportunity to reach for something on the ground. Before Leon fell the ground, Christian grabbed him by the neck and slammed into the wall, pinning him like one of the nearby paintings. "Any last words?"

"Vaffanculo". He told him, the Italian equivalent of "f*** you," before picking up his hand, which contained a piece of rock from the rubble of the wall, and connected it with Christian's head. Christian fell to one knee, holding his now bleeding head as Leon sunk to the ground. Leon was hurting all around his body, but knew he wouldn't get many opportunities to get a few open shots in, so as soon as he slid to the ground, he forced himself up, and began repeatedly kicking Christian across his body.

The sensation of being kicked while wounded was far from pleasant, but Leon's kicks were weak and felt more like a rough massage than an attempt to hurt him. Christian caught a second wind, rolled out of the way of Leon's kicks and scrambled back to his feet. The blood loss from the head wound caused Christian's knees to be weak and balanced was hard to maintain. His vision was beginning to get blurry. He had to end this soon before things would get worse. There was an easy solution to this really, but Christian did not want to be the weak one here. He could end this without resorting to that. He was physically superior in every way. Christian needed to exercise that advantage. Christian charged forward, tucking his down, gripping Leon around the waist, leaned back before throwing him down to the cold ground. Christian planted his weight onto Leon's chest, pinning him down before delivering punch after violent punch, hitting anything that wasn't protected.

Leon put up his fists and attempted to cover up anything he could, but Christian would just adjust his punches, and hit where there was an opening. If this kept up, he would be out, and Leon knew it. In this case, his will to win overpowered his pride. Leon concentrated as much as he could through the punches, gathering energy in his arms, before launching a bolt of electricity point blank right at Christian.

A flash of energy later, Christian found himself launching to the other side of the room, his muscles twitching, and his whole body feeling numb. At least the pain was gone for a moment.

"I take it our warm up is done then," Christian said as he tried to find himself. Christian let some smoke leave his body as he transformed his lower half of his body to pick himself up before going solid again. "My move now?"

Leon picked himself off the ground, spitting out any blood still in his mouth, though the taste remained. His body was bruised, but for whatever reason, the use of his body again seemed to slightly rejuvenate him. Or maybe it was in his head. Either way, Leon got up with confidence beaming off of him. He smiled at Christian. "Your move."
 

Garrett Flynn - Natural Science Museum, London, England


Hearing a woman's voice say something, Garrett looked up only to see Zac's hand coming down on him. He gasped and instinctively tried to cover his face and closed his eyes. He was braced for an impact, which would most likely kill him immediately. The girl's hand stopped the blow, however. Her crystallized arm made a protective shield from the demon-boy's attacks. Garrett uncovered his face to see Zac's mutated demon self lunge at a man standing in the doorway. Before he could react, another woman appeared behind him.

"Are you two alright?"

He twisted his neck and torso around awkwardly, and finally saw the new arrival. An athletically built, pale woman with really, really long hair stood before him. She had very thick looking legs....maybe her ability was super strength? Anyway, she looked pretty strong. Well, she'd make one hell of a football striker at least. Garrett stood up, and dusted off his jeans. He picked up his crumpled glasses, then threw them back down.

Oh, poo. I really liked those. He made a mental note to buy a new pair next time he was out. He rubbed his eyes, not used to the lack of frames in front of his face. He thought to himself, Yeah, I guess I'm okay. My behind hurts a bit, though. Out loud, he said, "I'm okay, thanks to her," he thumbed in the crystal girl's direction. He guessed a thanks was in order. He awkwardly turned around, while looking at the ground.

"Uhh...thanks for uh, saving me and all." he blushed. It was weird seeing her. She was like a female version of Zac, with the piercings and hair and all....she probably likes that metal music stuff too. What else did Zac listen to? I think he might have been a Coldplay fan...oh, damn! I gotta stop getting off topic. We have some business to get down to first!

"Hey, shouldn't we be stopping Zac before he hurts that anyone else?!"​
 

Cira Gaile - Somewhere over Europe


"No, no, New Atlantis is..." the one called Atticus answered. Before he could actually get the answer in, Annie ceased all the talk, showing the group a bird's-eye view of a presumably nearby city. The Librarian mentioned that it was an Atlantean ability, but turning into a giant demon thing? That's some gamma radiation crap there.

Annie planned to stay behind, and Atticus was playing security guard to the eager Devon. Cira and his father both stood up and nodded to each other, following behind Otto. Alex just didn't want his own son to leave him in the dust... air... whatever; plus it's a dad's duty to take care of his kid, even if it's during a freefall. Alex had the iron in his pocket, so unless that monster breathed fire or bent metal, too, he'd be alright. Cira'd have to take this with a grain of salt as a good learning experience for his own powers. What abilities did everyone else have for that matter? Atticus said his was useless, but he was still jumping to watch Devon.

Emilio came out first, suspending Natalia in the air and revealing himself to control gravity. Like a superhero or something, Cira thought, he could eliminate fall damage. Could he increase gravity's effects, too, maybe keep the monster on the ground struggling in one place?

"This is so much more fun when someone else is doing it!" the Librarian joyfully exclaimed. Guess when you live as long as he has, jumping out of planes to battle giant monsters is like playing in the park with your dog.

Wind blowing by, Cira's hair was getting into his face and his clothes were practically flying around him, not that he cared. His father didn't have that problem, since he had a military-style buzzcut with a T-shirt and pants. Knowing that the monster still had to be human, though, Alex couldn't help but ask before he had to jump into Emilio's gravity field, "How are we supposed to deal with this thing if it's still sentient?"

Maybe Jam--Cornelius had the power to tame giant morphed Atlantean monsters into the equivalent of playful puppies. Freakin' superheroes.

Cira, last in line so far, looked at Helena and asked her, "You comin', too?"​
 
Delta Mayor - National Science Museum, London, England
Before she had a chance to shout to the older guy a fist struck down onto her crystallized arms. The force of the attack was of pure strength but Delta endured it without a flinch. She gritted her teeth as Zac roared with pain he obviously hadn't expected her shield. Delta laughed as he held his injured arm but soon quieted down as his pain seem to fuel his power. This increase of power wasn't a good thing as now his whole upper body was covered with this plating. His anger seemed to increase as well this became evident as he went after the man that had been watching them at the door. They engaged in a fight but the appearance of more people on the scene distracted Delta for a second.

"What the… ?" She whispered to herself as she caught the man pulling a knife from his hand, did he just stab himself? Her attention returned to the other people on the scene, who were they? Obviously Atlanteans but where had they came from? Why did they seem to be in separate groups? Delta slowly lowered her arms and decrystallized, she hoped they hadn't seen them.

"Are you two alright?"

A lady with abnormal sized legs came over to them. Delta brushed off her question; she paid no mind to strangers. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with these people. Her focus was set on Zac; his growth rate had just rapidly grown. His power seemed endless as long as he had hatred, rage, and pain there was no stopping him. These random people were sent here to stop him, Delta assumed, but they obviously didn't trust each other. Their body language gave that away, but why? They most likely have different motives within their groups that don't agree with the other one. The kid she had saved starting talking which threw off her thought process, which didn't improve her mood.

"Uhh...thanks for uh, saving me and all."

"I thought I told you to leave, now, go."

"Hey, shouldn't we be stopping Zac before he hurts that anyone else?!"

"What can YOU do? Go home, kid, leave this to the freaky adults." Delta was bewildered by his suggestion, which was obvious in her tone of voice. She knew that some people had hero complexes but this kid had a death wish if he wanted to engage Zac. A fireball smashed into Zac, this was foolishly as that just enraged him and caused him to grow even more. Another fight broke out amongst two guys if only she was closer so she knew what they were fighting over. Maybe this kid was right, she needed to take on Zac. Delta nodded her head towards Garrett and ran towards the fire starter. She thought maybe she could help take Zac on if none of these guys took her on.
​
 
Helena Andersson

"There's a monster there and we're going straight to it?" Helena spat out, but nobody bothered listening or commenting further.

When Natalia jumped out from the plane just like that, Helena wanted to scream or spit out another comment of disbelief. But the other woman survived. She floated in mid... no, not exactly in "mid"-air. They were still high up in the sky.

Everyone else followed suit and seemed to land next to each other in the air. Even Cira's father jumped out, seemingly fearlessly even though he had some doubts about the monster they were now going to visit. Helena couldn't think about the monster anymore. She stiffly moved closer to the opening and glanced down. Way below lay the Earth. Way too far below.

Two strange sensations, slightly familiar, struck her at the same time. One was the sensation she sometimes felt when she was going invisible. She was probably completely gone from sight for any of the others now. The other was her hatelove for heights.

Looking down gave her an exhilarating feeling. She felt her heart beating faster, as if it knew she could fall to her death at any moment. Even worse than when she made difficult jumps between the roofs of buildings back in Stockholm, practicing parkour. But at the same time as it terrified her... it made her feel so alive. If only she could fly. To be high up above everything else, not knowing where the wind would swoop her away to...

"You comin', too?"

Cira's words snapped her out of it. He turned to look at her but he couldn't see her, since she had gone invisible. Realizing that it might be really bad if Emilio couldn't see her and accidentally dropped her or something, she tried to turn back. But she was too flustered to be able to grow visible properly. Had she already become so accustomed to changing that it was more natural for her to be invisible in tricky situations than to remain visible? Well, that wasn't entirely a bad thing, she guessed. It meant that she might be able to hide from that monster when they got down, even if she was scared.

"I'm here," she said, giving up her efforts. "I'm just... a bit nervous. And invisible. Nothing weird about that." Taking a deep breath, she got ready to join Atticus and the others in the gravity field. And she jumped.

Landing there was an indescribable thing. She wasn't sure where her feet were resting. But she didn't fall. Atticus and Evo stood right beside her now, Evo probably clutching Atticus a bit harder than he would have done in any other situation. Helena told herself to not look down. But of course her eyes gazed downwards from that thought.

Gasping again, she stepped backwards. The next second, she was terrified that she would somehow fall out of Emilio's reach. That terror made her suddenly visible again.

"What...?" She said, standing up straight again and looking at her hands and her fringe. "I still don't understand how this power works. There seem to be no rules for when I accidentally turn invisible or visible."

She sighed and looked at Atticus and Evo and Natalia. And the Librarian and the girl... and Cira's father. Hm. Maybe she had been right though. She was feeling safer now that she was in the same place as the others again. Safe enough to turn back visible. She smiled weakly back at Cira.

​
 

Atticus Forsberg - Somewhere over Europe


"We all ready? Are we all set? Let's go!" Emil jumped into his own gravity pit and scrunched up his hand. When the plane had passed them, taking Annie and Cooper to somewhere safe, he let go of his hand and the falling began.

It was the strangest feelings, falling was. Atticus felt the pressure of the Earth pulling and pushing on him like he was a rag doll between two fighting children. His clothes whipped violently around him, the wind pulling his tail from around his stomach and forcing it to whip around behind him. He tried to curl it but the wind forced his unusual limb to wave wildly around. He looked up to his other comrades, Devon's hand firmly in his own. Devon looked... oddly calm. For a sixteen year old, he wasn't screaming and he wasn't clutching Atticus any tighter. No, his face was content, perhaps with the odd hint of a smile.

Natalia had a look of determination, trying to keep her eyes open and focussed on the Earth below her, with the wind shutting them when they were open for more than a few seconds.

The Librarian had the biggest smile on his face, his arms by his side like a bullet. A set of wings had unfolded and pushed out from his vest and when he could, he did a number of cool tricks like flips and barrell rolls. Adeline was holding onto his hand, her face similar to Devon's.

Emil looked like a combination of everything, like he had done this many times before. Which he probably had. It was almost as if he was calculating something in his head. Which was probably right because as the ground started to come into view, he raised his hands and the falling started to slow. Atticus recognised the scene from above; it was almost exactly the same as the satelitte image from Annie's computer. When the ground was scarily close, Emil punched his hands together and everyone was on their feet. They landed softly on the ground, as if stepping off a set of stairs.

"Jesus christ," Atticus exhaled, flicking his limbs to try and undo what the wind had done.

"There's no time for chit chat, we have to talk to Julian," Emil was in super serious mode, nodding towards the man in the distance by a coffee shop. Atticus smiled as their eyes collided with each other.

"Julian!!"​



Julian Morales - Picadilly Square, London, England

"Atticus!" Julian waved at the group which had decended from the sky. The Atlantean Unification Project had come to his aid, and so quickly too. Julian turned to Leo, nodding.

"Yes, we need to do something. These people here are some members of the Atlantean Unification Project I was telling you about. C'mon, I'll introduce you." Julian stepped over to the group, ushering Leo as he did so, embracing Atticus with a man-hug when he joined the group.

"How ya doin', buddy?" Atticus pulled out, slapping Julian on the shoulder.

"I am fine, but maybe we should focus on how fine those people are," Julian gestured to the students and the monster. Emil nodded at Natalia, giving her permission to make the plan.

"Helena, Cira, Nikolai. If you are willing to participate, this is your first mission; escort the mortal students away from the scene. We do not need any more casualties. Watch your backs, stay together. You are a team."

"Now now Ms. Zaytsev, can you really ask Cira to help? We are your guests, are we not?" a man which Julian did not know raised an eyebrow, though didn't look worried about the situation. If anything, he looked a little excited. That's odd.

"Who's this?" Atticus gestured to the newcomer Julian had brought into the group.

"This is Leo Archibald. Leo, this is Atticus Forsberg, Natalia Zaytsev, Emilio Bernot and his son Devon. I'm sorry, but I don't know who everyone else is," Julian gave a laugh.

"Helena Andersson, Nikolai Afon, Alexander Gaile and his son Cira, Adeline and Cornelius the Librarian," Atticus answered his question. Everyone, this is Julian Morales, another AUP member."

"This is no time for introductions. Is he okay?" Natalia gestured to Leo.

"No one has infected him with anything yet," Julian gave a honest smile. "He's good."

"Well," Natalia looked at Leo quite sternly. "If you want to help, you should also help clear out the mortal students. You too, Devon."

"But Natalia! This isn't safe for him," Emilio protested, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. Devon's face immediately went sour.

"Emilio, this is no time. Nobody is safe. Atticus needs to help us. Your son is old enough to take care of himself. There are more important things to think about right now!"

Emil frowned, taking his hand off his son's shoulder. It was obvious he was second guessing this whole situation. As far as Julian knew, Devon had no ability, despite his tattoo. This was a similar circumstance to John Cooper, caretaker of the AUP. It was odd indeed to see Emilio without his right hand man here.

"Fine."

"Thanks dad."

"Atticus, we must find a way return him to normal. Emilio, keep him in that spot, keep his gravity firmly on that spot. Julian, circle around. And Corn--" Natalia stopped, noticing the absence of the smartly dressed man, the gothic and Cira's father. "Where did he go? It doesn't matter. Atlanteans! Move out!"

Julian pulled of his jacket, revealing a set of beautiful blue and white wings. They were enormous, if he did say so himself. His pride and joy. He crouched and jumped, his wings beat as he did so and soared into the air.​



The Librarian - London, England

"Why are we up here, sir?" Adeline asked her master, perching herself so she was uncomfortable.

"That is an excellent question, Adeline," the Librarian said, admiring the city below him. "The Big Ben is one of London's landmarks. And a beautiful landmark it is! Do you know why they call it the 'Big Ben'?" The Librarian smiled towards his other guest, Alexander Gaile.

"No, sir," Adeline answered the question for him.

"It was named after Benjamin Hall, the man who oversaw the entire thing! Yes, a civil engineer and a politician at the time. I had already been in politics once before in the 1700s, I didn't think that British government was any different. It's facinating the similarity between countries and cultures!"

"Why are we here, sir?"

"Why, dear Adeline, the view is so much nicer from up here."​
 
Leo Archibald – Picadilly Square, London, England​

Leo continued to stare in horror and worry at the monster ravaging everything and everyone who got too close to him. Just the sight of the beast made his knees shake, and he had to look away, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop him. Not that he minded not getting close to that thing, but he didn't like innocents being hurt.

He then blinked slightly as he noticed something in the sky, and as he looked up, it seemed to be a group of people, casually falling through the air with no parachutes on. Leo glanced back to the monster before snapping his head up again, his eyes widening. He opened his mouth to call out, but shut himself up as the group landed firmly on the ground… without a scratch. His jaw dropped slightly, staring at the newcomers.

Apparently, Julian knew these people, which made Leo glance back and forth between him and the group, trying to take in everything that was happening at once. As far as he figured, he wasn't going to be able to remember all of those names, but he –did- manage to shut his mouth again, swallowing down a little. As he was introduced, he raised a hand, giving an unsure "… Hi?" followed by a faint smile.

As Natalia and Julian exchanged a few words, Leo furrowed his brows, suddenly looking a little worried. "H-hey, wait, what do you mean 'infected'?" He looked up to Natalia again as she addressed him, blinking a little. She then glanced over to Helena, Cira and Nikolai who also seemed to have been tasked with that. Biting his lower lip, he glanced past the group, back at the monster still rampaging at the museum. Taking a deep breath, he nodded slightly, trying to build up some bravery.

"… R-right." He wanted to wait until everyone was done with everything, so he could ask the other rescuers what he should do. As Julian suddenly pulled his jacket off and spread his large wings and burst off into the sky, Leo stared after him, frozen to the spot with widened eyes. "… What've I gotten myself into now…?" He shook his head slightly and moved over to the other three in charge of taking care of the students, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Uh… hey. I don't… really know what I should do. Do we… have a plan of some sort?" He asked as he glanced between Helena, Cira and Nikolai, starting to feel very meek.
 

Oakley North - Piccadilly Square, London, England

As much as she wanted to, Oakley didn't protest at Michael's suspension. Instead, she was whisked away without so much as a word with Kieran by her side. She felt a little better about him (their teamwork had sort of mended the strain between the two) but had not bothered to talk to him. The trip was quiet for her, mainly a royal family member making light conversation or some kind of plans under their breath.

They touched down in Hyde Park, somewhere that Oakely recognised. Piccadilly Square? Was this where it was happening? This place used to be kind of nice but with the introduction of the smash of glass and the screaming people, it had gotten considerably uglier since she was here last. Kieran jumped in front of her, pulling off his jacket and revealing his bone swords. As much as she appreciated the gesture, Oakley knew what her armour could do now. It could deflect fire! She didn't need a protector now.

"Kieran and Oakley, you two follow me, we'll make an arc around the left coming in from one side," Blayze instructed, leading the way. Oakley followed behind Kieran and caught sight of why they were here; a boy, who didn't look much older than Oakley, with the body of a monster was terrorising the museum. Hurting people. Why? Was he like Oakley and forgot himself when his power got too much?

"Kieran, you're our offensive, if one of the others over there makes a move towards us, take him on, Oakley, your our defence, so only help Kieran if he is in trouble, otherwise you may need to help us if this demon kid goes crazy." Blayze rushed in there, shouting taunts as he readied to fight.

"Oakley! You gotta back me up!" Kieran stretched his arms out, cracked his neck and ran in, towards the monster.

"Wait!! Kieran, stop!" Oakley, as much as she didn't want to, followed Kieran into the fray.​
 

Leon Nef vs. Christian Calaway- London, England


Leon stared at Christian. For the moment, he did nothing. Nothing but stare. The reasoning for this was a bit unclear to Leon. Maybe it was that he wanted him to get the first strike, so that he could get a better read on his power capabilities. That seemed like a logical case, but it didn't feel like the right answer to Leon. There was also the possibility that Leon was simply being careful, planning how he should go about the attack so that everything could go smoothly, not to repeat past mistakes. But that didn't feel right either. No, it was simply more of a staredown of sorts. Leon always wondered why the movie actors and cartoon characters had them. They said it was a way to build dramatic tension, or something like that. But that was all fiction. It wasn't real, it was television. Yet here they were, doing exactly what they did. Why? Leon was beginning to think he had an idea. This was going to be a defining moment. No matter how it ended, Leon would look back at what he would do now and know, this was one of central moments of his life. It could very well shape things for years to come. For this reason, Leon simply wanted to relish the feeling had was having. That was why he wasn't firing. Not yet.

(Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19G0I7xHQBM)

But the time to fight had come, and Leon wanted to get the first strike. He gathered energy from within his body, channeling the reserves he had filled up before he arrived on this mission. The energy passed through his nervous system on the way to his arms, and then positioned themselves at the base of his hands, and at the points of his fingers. Leon wanted his first strike to be a deadly one. He position both of his arms together, and brought forth the energy from his palms into his arms. The lightning sparked in the air, as loud as every, and as he moved his arms forward, Leon fired the large bolt of lightning at Christian.

Eyes lighting up in a mix of fear and anxiety, Christian lept out of the way of the bolt of energy. Deep in the back of his mind, he knew that attack would been fatal. Leon was not playing around. He wanted to end this quickly, likely because he knew he was at a disadvantage after their little fist fight. But now, Christian would have to admit that he was at a bit of disadvantage. Outside of a few tricks, his ability was not exactly designed to kill things with ease. Smoke was deadly, sure. But it was nothing compared to electricity. And the feeling in his body was only beginning to come back to him. Like Leon, he wanted to end this quickly. But how...

Shaking his head, he had no time to think as he could see Leon charging up his next assault. Gather a small puff of smoke in the palm of his hand, he molded it into a small ball and launched it at Leon.

Leon only barely was able to dodge the ball of smoke launched at him. The ball his the side of his shoulder, Leon gritting his teeth in pain from the hit. However, he charged up another bolt of lightning, positioned his index finger and middle finger at Christian, and fired a bolt. He then stuck up his other hand, and fired one more bolt from there, and then another from his first hand. Just as the bolts released, he could feel the nerves in his arms tingle. It was a familiar feeling he had from releasing the lightning.

But then another familiar feeling crept up. The feeling of victory as he saw his opponent lie on the ground, defeated. The lightning barrage dismantled Christian, as he crashed to the ground, his body almost smoking from the hot bolts of energy Leon hurled at him. Leon walked over to the body, smirking. Small streams of smoke were rising from the body, but Leon paid no attention to it thinking nothing of how he could boast about killing another Atlantean to the others. Leon coughed, the smoke in the room getting thicker. "What the-"

Leon's throat was being crushed. The smoke clearing in the area, the once dead body rose from the ground and took form of Christian. "Nice trick, eh?" Christian threw Leon into a nearby wall and as he collapsed to the ground and giant smoke fist crashed on top of him, crushing the floor causing the fight to descend to a lower level. The ruins of the upper floor littered the ground, Leon being caught in the middle of the rubble.

"Cazzo..." Leon cursed to himself. His side hurt from the crash, but his chest hurt even more from the fist. Still, Leon managed to pull himself up, probably by the adrenaline pumping through him which caused his injuries to seem less than what they were. He'd feel them after the battle, more likely than not. Rubble filled the ground, and lights flickered on and off. Leon used this opportunity to refuel some of his lightning, gathering the energy from the lights on the lower lever. However, Christian already began his approach back at Leon, smoke covering his body as he prepared to launch some sort of offensive.

"Bang." Christian said as he fired a smoke bullet at Leon, aiming for his leg. Leon moved his feet out of the way, successfully avoiding the fast shot of smoke. Leon retaliated with a shot of lightning of his own out of his fingertips. Christian ducked under the blast, before transforming into smoke and flying towards Leon. His top half solidified, and tackled Leon down to the ground. He then proceeded to pick him off the ground, flying a couple feet in the air and throw him down. "Try dodging this one!" Christian formed another smoke shape, this one resembling and poorly drawn hammer and he swung it down towards Leon.

"F**k this sh*t!" Leon said, reaching for the Corona on his back. The Corona extended outwards and formed into the weapon shape he remembered. He powered it on, the two nodes quickly sapping from the energy reserves in the crystal, and Leon then giving it extra juice from his own energy. Lightning could be seen sparking off the weapon, as Leon met Christian's smoke attack with a direct hit from the Corona.

The clash caused a controlled explosion, and the resulting shockwave knocked Christian into the ceiling and crashing to the floor. His body was sore, his bones ached and he could swear that he dislocated his shoulder or something with the rough landing. The only thought that kept him going was that after Leon was dead, the world would be a better place. That and Leon must be far worse off than him.

Leon was forced back into the adjacent wall, his body hitting the cement hard. He cursed quietly under his breath, as his back ached at the same spot where he was knocked over earlier by Christian. Leon looked at his weapon, which he managed to keep a firm grasp in his hand even while being forced back. "What the f*ck was that?" He wondered out loud. He assumed it was a weapon malfunction of some sort, and slowly composed himself to get back into the fight.

"Ugh...f*cking not bad." Leon said. He swung his weapon around as sparks flung from it, testing it to make sure it was still working. "But as long as I still stand, not good enough. Come on, Smoker. Let's end this."

Leon charged in at Christian, Corona in hand, swinging it wildly at him. Every swing produced electric sparks which caused the Corona's range to increase as both a close-range and long range weapon.

"Your little toy is a bit shocking," Christian said as he sidestepped Leon's bold charge. Christian grabbed a hold of Leon's weapon and the two struggled with each other, each one attempting to pry the weapon from the other. "How about a puff?" Christian said with Leon gawking at the comment. Christian blew a cloud of smoke into Leon's face. Unable to breathe, see or do much of anything, Leon coughed as he left the cloud. Christian stepped through the smoke and loomed over the now asthmatic Leon. "Time to pull the plug," Christian said holding the Corona, before breaking it on his knee.

Leon looked down at his broken weapon, angry at the result. He liked the weapon. It was both efficient and powerful, and aesthetically pleasing as well. "You..." He began. "You...corny motherf***er!" He yelled, powering up an excessive amount of lightning into his hands before releasing it. Even before the moment he shot it, he could feel his arms tingle with pain. He knew he wasn't meant to shoot off that much energy at once, but at that point, he didn't care. He wanted Christian to die.

Christian caught up in the moment of his temporary victory, was blasted back by the lightning, once again going flying. As he flew in the air, Christian could see his life before his eyes and the deju vu feeling of his body going numb and paralyzed was far from pleasant. He couldn't feel when his body fell to the ground, but eventually he could tell when the ground was hugging him tight. "Well, Leon. I am in shock after that attack," Christian said with a sheepish grin.

"Oh, f**k up!" Leon yelled, annoyed with the set of puns Christian had been using. On a different day, in a different time, Leon might have found them amusing. But today, for whatever reason, perhaps because of the conclusive feel of this fight, he wasn't. He shot a few more set of lightning shots at Christian, each shot numbing his hands for a moment, and each release of energy draining his own in his body.

By pure instinct, Christian felt his body flutter away from the attack, turning into a small cloud of smoke and fly away from the damage. Christian couldn't will his body to move, the bolts of electricity from earlier having done far too much damage for Christian feel his finger twitch or anything. "Seems your vain attempt to hurt me went up in smoke," Christian said as a smoke cloud. Christian surrounded Leon with a wall of smoke, enclosing him in a small prison of cruel design. "And now so will you!" He said, with his voice now lower and far more threatening. The walls of smoke now formed human figures. Leon, still irritated from the puns, shot bolts at each of the figures but they simply fizzled away with a small spark.

"You fight with spirit. Admirable, but mistaken," Christian said from behind Leon. Leon turned around only to be punched, kneed and kicked Leon away. He was forced back a few meters on the ground, and stayed on for a bit. Christian, who was also injured, remained standing and ready to strike again. Leon, on the other hand, had used up most of his energy he had stored, and didn't have enough to fight back. Looking back up at the lights, he had an idea. He would used up the rest of their power, and cause them to erupt, therefore giving himself both energy, and time.

Leon acted quickly draining the remains of the energy from the lighting, before they exploded into glass all around, and filled the area with darkness.

"You think darkness is your ally?" Christian said. "Then it looks like I have to smoke you out." Christian launched several waves of smoke into the darkness, waiting for the moment in which he heard the slightest cough, wheeze or breath.

Leon couldn't see it, but he could begin to hear the soft spread of smoke through the air, and then he could slowly begin to feel it. Leon covered his mouth, trying to avoid giving himself away. Yet he could feel the smoke slowly pouring into the room. He knew he couldn't hold on for much longer. Leon had to act know. He had to be quick, and launch his lightning straight from his palms without his usual powerup on the outside, or else Christian would have been able to see the sparks and ascertain his location. Instead, Leon would shook directly from the arm. He hadn't had much practice with this type, but decided this was the only option to get the upper hand.

However, there was something Leon did not know. Scientifically speaking, Christian's smoke power was based off oxygen-deprived fires, and contains a significant concentration of compounds which are flammable. This flammability can be ignited either by an open flame in the area...or by a high enough temperature. Lightning, as it is, can reach temperatures of catastrophic amounts, well above the necessary amount to ignite smoke. Christian and Leon, who were both lacking in any knowledge of this, could never have prediction what would happen next.

Leon stuck out his hand and in one swift movement, released a bolt of lightning, as it passed right through the smoke. Before it could even reach its target, the lightning ignited the smoke, causing the entire area to erupt into a large burst of explosive force, completely engulfing the lower level of the museum in flames. The walls were singed, priceless works of art lost to the merciless flames of hate and the museum itself buckling under its own weight as the flames chipped away at the foundation. The remaining shockwave caused by the combined lack of foresight of Christian and Leon echoed throughout the building as the pillars that kept the museum cracked, buckled, collapsed or simply fell into ruin. Pieces of rubble were flung around, destroying windows, structures and walls. It also destroyed a particular gas main, which only seemed to increase the destruction this caused, spreading gas through the museum and the nearby area.

This of course, caused another phenomenon. Backdraft. A backdraft is an explosive event at a fire resulting from rapid re-introduction of oxygen to combustion in an oxygen-starved environment. This often happens in a burning building, where fire and smoke are present starving the room of oxygen. If oxygen is rapidly introduced...say a window shatters or a wall is suddenly destroyed...then the combustible materials will of course explode. And explode it did. The entire bottom level of the museum erupted in a blaze of glory that shook the foundations of the museum. Flames and sparks and smoke covered the lower levels, and pieces of rock fell from the ceiling. The museum stood, but just barely to withstand the explosion from underneath. Rubble and other debris landed all over the place, but eventually the shaking had stopped, and the fire cleared, until there was nothing in the lower level but silence.
 
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