[Other OPEN] Capes [M] [IC]

[(Drakath)]

Kiro woke up once more to a blaring alarm clock as he went through his morning routine, this time having to explain his absence from school during the previous day. That wasn't too hard for him however. A well developed "I was sick" act was all he really needed to get past them. Not to say they were ignorant however. He just happened to have a knack for improv. So much so that, at one point, he'd even considered acting.

One the way to school, Kiro spent some extra money on a disproportionate amount of snacks and candy for later. He stuffed one of his pockets with what it could carry and placed the rest in the hidey hole he'd put his school supplies in the previous day. Upon arriving, he decided to kill some time by taking a quick walk around the school, and after watching an incident between some girls, he decided to go to class, having sated his mild desire for some entertaining school drama. Once again, Kiro found himself watching those that entered the classroom, ignoring Lisa as she took her seat next to him. He caught her hiding a bruise or two, when she grimaced after light knock that shouldn't have hurt at all, the La Fenice must not have been too happy with yesterday's events. Not long after the last few students sat down, the teacher entered and began instructing the teenagers on some needlessly complicated subject. Classes were a blur as Kiro kept snacking on candy until lunch, where he'd chosen to sit alone as he thought over the general idea he'd had planned for the days to come, whilst still listening to others' conversations all the same. Eventually lunch ended and the rest of the school day went by relatively quickly. Kiro headed straight home and donned his masquerade after spending some time at the arcade. Time to go to work...

~Some Time Later~

Drakath watched a convenience store from afar as two darkly dressed individuals entered. A few minutes passed and, as expected, one of them eventually pulled a gun on the cashier. Sighing and shaking his head, How many does this make it? I've lost count. You really don't realize how bad it is until you try to fix it. Maybe because I'm only hitting places without cameras. He sped out from his shadowy alley and blitzed the robbers, safely however, he'd already hospitalized one person through lack of consideration. Over in seconds, Drakath swiftly knocked out the one by the door, and speedily setting him down, before sweeping the armed perpetrator's leg. After also taking down a third person who had been around watching everyone as he attempted to casually blend in as the 'indecisive customer.' Drakath dashed out of the building towards the cliff, only to change directions once out of sight.

Dashing through to the opposite side of the city, his surroundings a blur, Drakath smiled as he sped down the street at just under 700 mph. Only to have it cut short as he was forced to near instantly skid to a stop. "Jesus!" His breathing heavy, he stared down the newly formed wall of hardened electricity, already knowingly exactly whom it belonged to. A few seconds later, he'd found himself jumping back once more to avoid another fizzy light blue wall with primarily white electricity flowing through it. This time the culprit stopped in front of him a few feet to his left. A bearded man of runner's physique masked by goggles and clothed in skin-tight black with a somewhat corny thunderbolt across the chest. His alias, Thunderrush. A name The Speed Demon had come to know well considering their shared classification as mover, though mostly of his own initiative. He began to speak however Drakath was too caught up in his accelerated thoughts to hear him. I wonder how far he had to run normally to stop there. I guess if you look at it, he started from around the corner last time and stopped next to me this time so... I geuss that's only about a few feet if y-

"- Hey!" Thunderrush yelled.

"Sorry, what? I missed that." Drakath explained.

The only response was an annoyed sigh and shake of the head.

"Well? Whatddya want 'light cycle'?" The speedster teased.

"I told you not to call me that." Already annoyed, Thunderrush braced for conversation with the teenager.

"But, are you [I[not,[/I] a 'Tron bike'? You've got light trails and everything." The Rogue explained.

"It's 'electricity' asshole." The man retorted.

"Does it matter? And it still emits light, so technically~" he asked.

The man sighed and changed the subject, "So, why're you blowing up buildings all of sudden?"

"Ugh, ya see, now why you gotta go killin' the mood like that?" Drakath whined,

"Betcha think you're hot shit now. Wanted and everything-" Thunderrush taking his turn to tease in retaliation.

"I've literally, never thought that outside of a video game-" The speedster mumbled.

"So, what're ya gonna do next? Gonna make a public announcement? Declare your villainy? Or maybe you're gonna be a good little puppy, and suck up to the PRT? Have them turn you into Ward so you can have them forgive your si-" He spouted not so seriously until interruption.

"Alright, don't go all monologing n' shit on me." Drakath joked.

"OK. To be honest, I don't really care what you end up doing. Just stay outta here. This is my territory, and I don't need a kid like you fucking it up." Thunderrush explained.

"What makes you think I wanna fuck with your shit?" The kid asked, feigning ignorance.

"I've seen you. You've been busy today, hopping from one side of the town to the next. And for some reason, you always end up back here. So, whatever you're doing, keep this place outta your 'rotations.' The man said sternly.

"Eh, not sure I can do that." He shrugged carelessly as he scratched his head.

"Well then, guess I'll just have to get rid of the heat myself." The villain sparked slightly.

"Fuck~" Drakath just barely managed to roll to the side in time as Thunderrush grazed past him at mach 42 and sped down the street. He sighed, Here we go. Drakath accelerated as he thought up a plan.

 

[gimmepie]

Hostage
AKA. Sebastian Medina

After the Storm: Post Ass-Kicking

?Thanks for mentioning that Tempestuous might actually show up.? Hostage said, not actually as pissed off as he was making out. The tirade was mostly for the benefit of Jailer. ?Almost dying was exactly what I was hoping for out of this venture.?

?Almost is better than actually dying.? Vacuum countered, nonplussed by Hostage raking him over the coals. ?We had no idea that she was going to pass through that way on the way to her conference, let alone that she would stop in at the lab. Besides, high risk work always has a high reward.?

Vacuum tossed a pair of heavy duffle bags between himself and Hostage and Jailer with an audible thud that echoed through the empty parking structure. Jailer looked at the bag cautiously, Hostage less so. He immediately knelt before a bag and opened it up. Within it were numerous stacks of green gold, bound by rubber bands. It seemed that La Fenice had made good on their offer.

?It?s all legitimate money and none of it is sequential either so you aren?t going to be tracked or anything.? Vacuum said, all business as Hostage zipped up the bag. ?Don?t spend it all at once - although I?m sure by now you know the drill.?

---

Sebastian awoke with a groan. It wasn?t like him to dream about things that had actually happened, especially not a job. He supposed that his near death encounter with Tempestuous would be a bit more memorable though.

Wincing as he stretched his arm out, Sebastian slipped his hand under his bed. He felt the bag full of money there, grinning. It wasn?t in the same bag as he?d gotten it in of course. He and Jailer had gone through it carefully to make sure it was free of bugs or tracking devices and moved the money into a pair of different bags for good measure.

Satisfied that he definitely had ten thousand dollars under his bed, Sebastian forced himself to sit up. His whole body burned in response to the movement. Evidently, being repeatedly slammed against the side of a building was bad for your health. He was confident that, somehow, neither he nor Anita had actually sustained any broken bones or major injuries though. Anita had done a lot of medical study in her own time and even he knew some basics and first-aid. The first thing she?d done when they?d gotten back home was check Sebastian over before getting him to help her with her own examination.

Climbing out of bed, Sebastian pulled off the clothes he?d slept in and changed into a pair of pale denim jeans a white button-up shirt. He?d shower and make himself more presentable later if he decided to go out anywhere, but he didn?t have any plans to leave the house when he wasn?t even confident he wanted to be on his feet more than five or ten minutes anyway. He?d checked himself out in the mirror whilst changing, as was his habit, and his body was covered in dark bruises and a few small, bandaged lacerations.

?Good morning? he heard Anita say as he finally exited his room into the open half-lounge room half-dining room that was the main part of their apartment. She was dressed in maroon sweatpants and a black, long-sleeved shirt with a hood. A pink headband kept her hair out of her face. ?The floors wet, don?t slip and aggravate your wounds.?

Sebastian froze in shock, blinking at her in astonishment.

?How the fuck have you been cleaning?? he asked incredulously. It was typical of her really. Somehow even after a life-or-death situation, Anita would still make sure she went about the daily chores. ?How can you move that much? Are you even human?!? Anita smiled from where she was reclined on one of the couches.

?The world doesn?t stop spinning just because a supervillain tries to kill you.? she said wryly. Sebastian laughed, shaking his head with bemusement.

?Are you not in as much pain as I am? Jesus, take a break or you?ll end up dead before me - and I have a death wish according to you.? Sebastian jibed, only to get his own back in a flash.

?I?m just tougher than you.? Sebastian scoffed and slowly, by necessity more than caution, made his way into the kitchen. The clock on their microwave showed that it was nearly lunch time. He smirked at that. Anita would generally have any cleaning she did finished by ten, the floor still being wet implied that she had slept in (for her anyway) after all.

?Tough my ass.? he mumbled to himself as he set about getting food for himself. In this case, a combination of lunch and breakfast seemed appropriate so he returned to the lounge room and plonked himself down on the free couch with a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and a mug of coffee.

?I wish you wouldn?t risk spilling coffee all over our couch.? Anita sighed

?I wish you wouldn?t complain so much.? Sebastian said, poking his tongue out at her before proceeding to devour his meal. With his free hand, he reached for the remote on the table and flicked the television on. A crappy soap opera was playing, but Sebastian liked the background noise so he left it on.

?You?ll be pleased to know that we?re famous.? Anita said after a while, prompting a questioning look from Sebastian. ?People noticed the commotion at Future Science, so Tempestuous had to do a press-release. First time anyone has cheered about us breaking in somewhere.? Sebastian chuckled at that, but Anita didn?t let the levity last too long. ?We should lay low for a while. No jobs or anything whilst she?s out for blood. She?s really not happy about what we stole, not that she?s publically saying what it was.?

?Well, we?ve got ten thousand each. I think that should cover the bills and just about anything else we want to do. I don?t mind resting my injuries for a while.? Sebastian agreed. ?I?d grab my laptop and see what that Truther lunatic is saying about all this, but I don?t think I?m going to move for a few hours.?

?I can relate.?​

 

[Fen-Fen]

Florissant

As soon as Safiya was awakened with the sun shining through her curtains and Fariha meowing and nuzzling against her face, the pajama clad redhead petted and cuddled the cat, causing the cat to purr contently and in turn soothe Safiya. The woman cooed, ?Morning Fariha.? She continued showing the cat affection, scratching under her chin, on top of her head and along her back before eventually being forced to take Fariha off of herself to continue her morning routine. She did her usual twenty minute shower complete with singing and contemplating, fed the cat, made herself an omelette and a cup of tea.

As Safiya sat on the big table with no one but herself seated at it, it made her think of the many times where Safiya wished she had someone to share her spacious house with. A roommate, a friend. Or, a significant other. Safiya sighed wistfully. She could never seem to be interested in that special way towards a man, no matter how hard she tried. Safiya certainly has tried. Even accounting for personality dislikes no one seemed to strike Safiya?s fancy as a boyfriend. No matter how close she got to them, they were always friends and best friends, nothing more. With women?

It's not possible. How could it be? They were also just friends and best friends. Although, maybe it shouldn't be that way. Just her and that attractive waitress friend of hers, alo-. Safiya vociferously shook her head and groaned in frustration. She hated it when those thoughts came up, which has been quite often since her hormone addled youth. Safiya was just their friend for crying out loud. Nothing more, nothing less. She let felt quite guilty that the thought flashed through her mind and all of its implications. Safiya took a deep breath, and managed to calm herself down and feel a bit of relief as the deviant thoughts passed after a while. She had much better things to think about. For example, there was the new movie she was going to see with her friend Pierre tomorrow after her job at the PRT.

Before that, however, she would have to see her family today. Her smile immediately faded at thinking of what that entails. Why did she put up with the hostilities and tension? She could just cut them out of her life, but where would that leave her? Shamefully without a complete family to belong to and losing access to her dearest younger brother Yusuf. Last time Safiya and her parents met, it was on more rocky grounds than usual on account of being caught clubbing in the Entertainment District. Of all the things she was sure about, Safiya was sure Facebook was a safe realm away from her technologically impaired parents. Unfortunately, Farouk did have it and ended up telling their parents because a friend of hers in the picture happened to be (moderately) drinking next to her. Farouk was much nicer about it then her parents were but nonetheless, shame and scorn was heaped on to her until she couldn't take it anymore. Safiya shuddered. Those hostile arguments were when both parties were at their worst, and ended with all of them crying and screaming at each other. Like usual, she pushed aside those unsavory feelings to the side to keep her emotions in check. Her parents certainly didn't need to see her being vulnerable.

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

After riding the bus where her car was being repaired and retrieving the red Porsche, Safiya drove southwest to the Divided District, passing by the less well off neighborhoods. After driving for an extended period of time caught in traffic in the congested and dense streets, Safiya turned into the apartment complex and parked in an empty spot at the complex?s many carports. She got out, locked the car and climbed the stairs up to the third floor to the place she used to call home. Safiya took a deep breath, hoping futilely that they would not bring it up again. She knocked on the door, and after a few moments, a tall, slender teenage boy with glasses and curly hair. With a vibrant smile, Safiya exclaimed, ?Little brother! So nice to see you! You are getting so tall.? She immediately went in for a hug, embracing her brother tightly.

Her brother made a fake choking noise, exclaiming, ?Gah, I need air.?

Safiya laughed and leaned her head onto his shoulder. ?Oh hush. You know you miss your sister.? She let go and and let herself in, walking towards Yusuf?s room. Before she could do go into his room, Safiya was interrupted by the sight of her parents coming out of the living room. Her father, Ibrahim, turned to Safiya and said to her in heavily accented English, ?Hello, daughter. How are you?? Yusuf excused himself and shut the door in his room.

Safiya replied tersely, ?Ok. Busy with the tea shop and my other hobby.? Even from the brief interaction the atmosphere seemed to get more heavy. She still had a smile on her face, but it looked more plastered on and less natural. Her parents looked at their daughter with a look of muted disdain.

Safiya?s mother, Fawziya, chimed in in Arabic. ?Mm. You should really focus on the tea shop, Safiya. I've heard good things about it. It really is too bad you're busy with your...other job.

The redhead remarked, ?Yeah yeah. We?ve been over this god knows how many times. You two want me to just work at the tea shop and live an unassuming life. She shrugged and smirked. But life is too short not to enjoy my other job. It's very fun to help people and use my special powers.

Her parents only shook their heads, seeing Safiya revelling in her defiance as per usual. If she was going to act like a child, they would have to play the part of strict parents. Fawziya bitterly quipped, ?You would be of more help if you were good to your parents.

Safiya replied, crossing her arms and leaning against a wall. ?Maybe if you guys would stop wanting to manage my life with impunity. I'm not a little child you can just boss around like you used to.

Ibrahim raised his voice a little. ?You might as well be, shaming our family with your actions. You always think things are so carefree and a game. Well, they aren't. Just because you have been blessed with more money and more material wealth doesn?t mean you can just ignore God?s rules. We didn?t raise you to be a good for nothing heathen!

Safiya sassily replied, ?So be it. I?d rather be judged by you two as heathens than live unhappily and be depressed.?

Fawziya replied, getting more upset and angry. ?It is not ?so be it? as long as you are a part of this family, young lady. You may be 21, but you still must follow our guidance in your life. Obviously you can?t be trusted to me chaste and immoral by yourself anyways.?

Indignant, Safiya replied, ?I have been chaste and moral. I?m so damn chaste I?ve never even had a boyfriend thanks to you two. You two are just upset that I don?t subscribe to your morality.?

Ibrahim grunted. ?It?s not our morality, it?s God?s morality. You must follow all of it, not just pick and choose the parts that suit you. That's the extent of being a faithful servant to God. And you certainly have not fulfilled that end of the bargain!?

Their daughter rolled her eyes. Same old, same old. She wasn?t even particularly upset this time, just...annoyed. That alone was a marked improvement for her to be only annoyed rather than full on upset and angry. ?It?s clear we?re not gonna get anywhere with this conversation. You know where I stand, and I know where you both stand. If you?ll excuse me, I have some quality time to spend with Yusuf.? Without waiting for their reply, she walked away from them, her parents still miffed but not angry enough to do anything more, and knocked on Yusuf?s door. ?So sorry for all the arguing, I?m done now.?

Yusuf opened the door and sighed. ?No need to be sorry. You?re not the one in the wrong.? He closed the door behind him and sat on his bed. His room was decorated with a mixture of was silent for several moments before saying, ?I kinda know how you feel nowadays. Even with me, they're pretty strict. They say they don?t want me to take after you, y?know, for the big bad heathen that you are.?

Safiya laughed and tried for a deep, threatening voice, ?Yes brother, the big bad heathen is here to lead you astray with her devilish powers of fun and freedom.? She broke out into more laughter, joined by her brother, her ?deep? voice being a failure on account of her own light, melodious voice. The two siblings passed some more time playing games, chatting about Yusuf?s school life, playing some games and watched a few movies. They really enjoyed each other's companies, having many common interests and similar senses of humor although Yusuf found Safiya?s bubbly energy a bit much every now and then. After a while, lunch time dawned and the two were getting hungry. Unfortunately, this meant that Safiya would have to leave to get on with the rest of her day. ?I'm so sorry to cut this short, but I have to run some errands and get lunch. It was so nice seeing you again, little brother. I'll see you in a few days.? She gave her brother a hug and a kiss on the cheek before getting up to leave. She didn't say goodbye to her family, who were busy with their own tasks. Like almost all of the times she's been back here, it was all in all a mixed bag.

 

[AlphaLuxray]

[font="impact"]Splinter[/font]

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The door to Angela's office was closed tightly when Derek arrived. Well, office was a rather gratuitous term; it was most aptly described as a basement converted into a workshop, cluttered with tools the like Derek couldn't begin to guess the function of. A brief knock let Angela know he was here, and he heard the door unlock with a heavy sounding ker-chunk.

Derek opened the door to see Angela at work welding together two plates of metal, most likely for his suit. Her golden hair was short as ever, barely cropped past her ears, and the thick welding mask obscured her tough, tomboyish face. Her clothes were simple, much akin to his own in fact. She lifted the mask as she finished the weld, nodding as she recognized Derek.

"Yea, thought it was you," she said, slamming her mask back down and getting back to work. Derek was used to it; this was how Angela had worked ever since becoming a Tinker. He found a mostly empty chair and tenderly moved its contents to the nearest table before taking a seat. This would take a while, but he'd rather wait than risk Angela messing something up.

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

Several hours of short conversation later, Derek's equipment was finally finished. As before, the bulk of it was his costume: a helmet with various displays, night and infrared sight modes, and most importantly bullet resistant; a bodysuit with thin yet tough plates made to deflect most things he'd be running into; and most importantly his weapon. He knew it was unconventional for a cape to be using a gun, but what choice did he have? His power wasn't made for long distance fighting, and this was.

Finally outfitted, Derek picked up the large duffel bag that stored his new equipment. He waved to Angela on his way out, who was already busy with another project, and exited the workshop. The door locked behind him, and he was free to move on to his next call: a safe house.

He was stopped, however, by a lone figure standing at the entrance to the alleyway that led to Angela's. The suit and facemask gave them away immediately as La Fenice.

Shit, Derek thought as he threw down the duffel bag, ready to split if need be. He hadn't expected La Fenice to be able to track him so easily. Strangely enough, the figure didn't make a move. Most likely focusing on some power or another, Derek assumed.

All of Derek's thoughts were interrupted though when the La Fenice spoke, the voice all too familiar for as few times as he'd heard it before. "So I've heard you've been doing well, hijo."

The world seemed to slow to a stop as the man walked closer removing his mask. At first glance, he and Derek were near identical, save his father's shaved head. Closer inspection found his father slightly shorter, more boxy, and a darker skin tone. Derek couldn't help but notice that the amount of tattoos on his father had grown since he'd last seen him, however long that had been. The same pouncing tiger adorned his father's bald head though, so there was no doubt in Derek's mind.

"What are you doing here," Derek replied, caution apparent. Blood or not, this man was allied with his enemies. He needed to be careful of the trap he was sure was about to be sprung.

"Easy hijo, this isn't concerning our 'work,'" he said, tone casual. His father's accent was thicker than Derek's own, slipping in and out of English seemingly at random. "I heard you were doing well, and I wanted to congratulate you. You're becoming one of the familia."

It was obvious his father was referencing his family's long history of crime, even though it was more by chance than any sort of mafia-esque structure. Of course this angered Derek, who replied, "I'm nothing like you. Now get out of my way."

Derek muscled his way past his father, fuming. The fact that he still considered Derek family… Derek almost wished he'd arrested his father personally when he was still on the PRT. Sadly they never dabbled in citizen affairs. Derek was about to storm away, bag in hand when his father caught his shoulder in an iron grip he was all too familiar with.

"Hijo, I came to protect you," he replied, pain apparent in his expression. "I know we aren't close, but La Fenice has some big plans. And I'd hate to see you hurt by being on the wrong side of them. Please, come with me, I can get you in. Please." Derek stood still for a moment, and for that briefest instant he saw a flash of hope in his father's eye. It was not to be, though, as Derek pulled away and said in a quiet, serious tone, "if I see you again I'm going to deal with you like the rest of La Fenice scum need to be dealt with. Leave me out of it."

Shouldering the bag, Derek started walking, leaving his father behind. That part of his life was over, and he wasn't going to turn back.

 

[Oddball_]

Edan Edgeworth AKA Brimstone
and
Damian Edgeworth AKA Mephisto
​

A loud beeping noise woke Damian from his sleep. Sighing, he fumbled around with his hand searching for the off button. He managed to click the stupid alarm off after knocking a few things onto the floor. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, silently scolding himself for staying up so late last night after making a deal with the Mauruders. He spent hours scouring the wiki for information on the capes their former teammate Scanner had joined. He reached over to the table next to his bed and opened his notebook which he had summerized all the important stuff he learned.

Corona- Female Cape, twin to Penumbra, Shaker?, targets are usually blinded before she uses her power(s) so there is very little information other than speculation that she can blind targets.

Penumbra- Male Cape, twin to Corona, Striker?, "Light Fists," witnesses say you can feel the heat from across the street, don't get too close.

Scanner- Male Cape, Striker, can read information about a cape's powers by skin to skin contact.

After reading over the page a few times until he was content with his memorization of the information, he tore the sheet out of his notebook, cringing at the sight of the frayed paper edge it left behind. He flipped himself out of bed and walked lazily over to Edan's room. "Edan?" he asked as the carelessly shoved open the door. But Edan wasn't there. "Hmm. Probably at the hideout then. I guess we were bound to end up there eventually anyway." He sighed, slipping on his shoes at the door while running his fingers through his hair to look semi-decent before exiting the apartment.

Edan scowled across the dimly lit Tungsten Brotherhood hideout at nobody in particular, his previous failure still replaying itself in his mind. The Tungsten Lady had done her screaming, and the wound in his leg was feeling like it was on fire from the medicinal salve that he had been given.

"Another." He growled, slamming his now empty coke glass onto the table and sending a crack up the side.

"Oi. Careful mate! Don't think you get to break my shit just because you pissed off the boss." A dirty looking man with coppery hair hissed.

"Shut up and get me a drink already." Edan growled, putting his forehead onto his palm as he mindlessly began to scribble on a piece of paper.

"Edan?" Damian yelled as he entered the building, "Edan? You here?"

Edan looked up, his foul mood softening ever so slightly. "Yo. Dames. Whats up."

"You know that meeting with that Marauder group everyone was too scared to go to?" Damian asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"..." A dead silence hit the room. Edan's half smile faded in a flash. "Why." He asked in an extremely monotone voice as his hand twitched, already knowing the answer wasn't going to please him.

"Well, I went, and they offered a deal which looks like it would be really fun. We just need to capture this guy named Scanner, from these two other capes. Easy, right?" He said, setting the paper down next to Edan and pointing to the names.

"You went... alo- Does that say ten thousand dollars?" A shift in tone caught even Edan by surprise. He was more than pissed than Damian was following in his footsteps, but there was another that couldn't help but be pleased by the prospect of how much money ten thousand dollars was. "Okay, i'm going to be pissed at you later. Thats a promise. But I want details for now."

"There's not much to go on, but basically this Scanner guy double-crossed a bunch of villains, and his power is learning about a cape's powers on contact, which includes weaknesses. So, the villains can't attack him directly because he knows exactly how to beat them. So, they've hired us to capture him for them. The location of their hideout seems to be in the basement of one of the apartment buildings around here."

"That's his only power? No high tech armor, No fireballs, no deadly vines" Edan asked, devising a plan in his head. "We find his place and hide out. Set up a simple sting. Snatch and grab. We'll take a few guns to keep ourselves safe if things go sour."

"We do have to watch out for his new teammates though. I don't know exactly what their powers are but I do know they've never lost a fight. Although I think that's more of them picking fights they know they can win rather than them actually being good. Us having the element of surprise puts them out of their element." Damian added.​

 

[(Drakath)]

Gone. Just, gone. The hell? Where is he? Nearly a minute had passed since Thunderrush's attack and he was still nowhere to be seen. Drakath frantically looked around while trying to hear movement through the sparking electricity. Still empty, Three, two, o- Another wall of electricity replaced the first just after Drakath dashed through the previous one the instant it disappeared. Another immediately trapped Drakath into a triangle of electricity closed off by concrete. He turned and backflipped over one of the walls as blurred figure blew through the one he was facing. He landed spinning and swept Thunderrush's legs on his follow-up. Where one had superior speed, the other had superior reactions, giving this fight an intensity Drakath rarely felt. The tightness of the electricity enclosed space allowed Thunderrush to shoulder check him into a wall, shocking him to the ground. Spinning to his feet Drakath dodged the next rush and jumped to the roof of a nearby store. Looking down upon Thunderrush, he jokingly quoted as he waited for the man to follow, "It's over Anakin! I have the high ground." He chucked as Thunderrush dashed into the building. As he could hear the sound of wind and electricity approaching, Drakath rolled off of the building and hung on the underside of the overhang. He waited as the rooftop door opened and Thunderrush muttered a curse until he walked to the edge and was pulled by the leg into a braced underworld drop, leaving the man more disoriented than injured. Though Thunderrush sped to his feet and flew down the street, formed another perpendicular wall, and charged back towards Drakath, trapping him once more as he dodged. Now Thunderrush had the advantage and attacked Drakath. A near instant flurry of punches accompanied the dash as Drakath was pushed nearly 50 meters into the electric wall that closed this right triangle, only to be similarly rushed again in the opposite direction. Drakath knew this wasn't working for him, as his brain could keep up as if the man was running Olympic sprints, yet his body could barely manage to move in time as he could already feel the strain his speed was forcing onto his body along with yesterday's bruises.

Taking advantage of the pause between Thunderrush's 5th and 6th burst, he shakenly rolled into a handspring over the walls of his cluttered trap. Struggling through his electric wounds, this time Drakath landed running and Thunderrush quickly took chase, leaving the streets littered with electricity patterned in zigzags that had occasional pauses and straights. Traffic was a mess as Drakath continually avoided Thunderrush's now predictable attacks. About a mile or two into the chase, Drakath took a sharp left down an alley and as Thunderrush hooked a street lamp to help him turn, snapping it in the process, Drakath threw a high side kick into the man's upper chest, effectively clotheslining him as the Rogue took off once more. Not long after he rose, he chased once more. Their ever closing distance gave Drakath the chance to plan until he ducked into a dead end alley. The two paused and waited for the other to make a move. As Drakath nearly caught his breath, Thunderrush charged him. He backflipped onto the wall in response and jumped down the alley, the force practically knocking a hole in the wall. He rolled to avoid skidding and turned around as Thunderrush ran up the wall and backflipped off with matching athleticism, though with a less graceful landing. Holy shit- was his last thought before he was tackled to the ground, stunned with amazement. "Woah, that was awesome! Even if you did fuck up the landing." The kid said, avoiding a punch. The following devolved into a one sided attempt at a brawl on the ground until Drakath rolled to his feet and nearly clipped a truck as he ran off. Wait! He quickly spun and wedged the delivery vehicle into the alley, sending Thunderrush into the back with a heap of merchandise as it hit him.

Drakath fell onto his back and grabbed his chest gasping, Come on, calm down. He closed his eyes and rolled to the side in panic. No. Not now. Not the place. His breathing eventually slowed and he opened his eyes, sweating as he check his vitals through the holo-lense and relaxed, unsure of how much time he'd spent fight off his speed recoil. Jesus!.. OK, now where's Thunderrush? He propped himself up as fate pushed him from one problem into the next.

 

[Fen-Fen]

Aereo and Chrono​

Alex let out an audible sigh of relief as the lunch bell rang, signaling her freedom for the next hour. No offense to Mr. Horsely, but she couldn?t begin to understand how he explained math. It made sense, sure, but he always went about it the strangest ways. She quickly packed up and exited, caught up among the throng of other students on their way to the lunchroom.

After waiting a few minutes outside the lunchroom, Alex caught sight of Christine. Alex had brought her own lunch, as always, so she usually waited for Christine. She greeted her friend with a smile as she approached, and they set off toward the library. Alex was still quite keen on getting to know Clarissa better outside of work.

Clarissa was towards the back of the library, with a thick novel in her hands. She didn't feel much like eating today, not after what she heard from a few friends and acquaintances of her bullies. Dejectedly, she flipped through a novel that she was working on reading for school. She leaned back against a cozy seat the library had, already starting to get sucked into the plot of the novel, and started to forgot all about her troubles for the half hour she had. Her promise she made to Alex slipped her mind as her thoughts filled with the heroine and her escapades.

Alex and Christine chatted about their day as they strolled the halls; as expected nothing exciting had happened so far for either of them. When they finally did reach the library, they quieted down, since the librarian was not so picky about people being in there at lunch so long as they were well behaved. As expected, Alex spotted Clarissa in the back with her nose buried in a book. She motioned for Christine to follow, and took the seat next to Clarissa.

?Hey, has your day been going alright,? Alex asked, looking to Clarissa as she pulled her lunch from her pack. Hopefully Clarissa had been left alone after this morning.

After seemingly no time passed at all, Clarissa was startled by a voice. She tossed her book aside and exclaimed, ?Gah, you scared me!? Clarissa processed who it was and stammered out, ?O-oh, i-it's you, Alex. I'm so sorry I uh, I got lost in my book and I?? She prattled off, all the whole overly apologetic for a inconsequential mistake.

Alex couldn?t help but chuckle a bit at Clarissa?s reaction, but quickly apologized, ?sorry, didn?t mean to startle you. This is Christine, by the way.? Christine smiled and waved, but remained quiet.

Clarissa replied to Alex, ?I'm quite jumpy. Plus I was reading, so it's not really your fault.? She mumbled to Christine. ?N-name?s Clarissa.?

?I know her from work,? Alex added to Christine, who nodded, and replied, ?very nice to meet you Clarissa.? With introductions over, Alex turned back to Clarissa, and asked, ?so, no more trouble from those girls then??

Clarissa sighed and scratched her head. ?Not from them, no.? Her tone was hesitant.

?That?s good,? Alex replied, taking a bite from her rather thin looking sandwich. It was a simple ham and cheese, nothing to write home about.

Christine on the other hand was more preoccupied examining Clarissa. She tried her best to seem polite, like she wasn?t staring, but something was off putting about how Clarissa held herself. Then Christine?s eyes caught sight of the book Clarissa had currently put to the side, and smiled. ?If I may ask, Clarissa,? she spoke up, tone soft, ?what book are you reading? It looks familiar.?

?O-oh. It?s this book called ?The Dahlia.? A fiction book about a murder mystery.?

Christine?s grin grew even wider as she replied, ?I thought as much. That one?s one of my favorites. Do you read a lot of books like that??

Alex had heard this conversation before. Christine was the biggest murder mystery geek she knew. She?d seen Christine?s bookshelf, and it was packed with all sorts of books in the genre.

Clarissa replied shyly, ?Y-yeah. They?re really interesting. I even play a game based off of that stuff.?

?Oh? You?ll have to tell me about it, I haven?t heard of such a thing!? Alex just sat back smiling. Christine was totally engrossed in the conversation. It was good to see that she was getting along with Clarissa though.

Clarissa smiled slightly. ?Yeah, it isn?t well known. It?s the Phoenix Wright series. It?s not too much of a game game. It?s a bit hard to explain.? Her cheeks were a little flushed, not having anyone really to talk about this, not even her parents.

?Is that what that is? I?d heard of it, but didn?t know what that game was until now!?

Clarissa nodded. ?Mhmm. Do you have a 3DS, Christine? I have my copy you can borrow if you want.? Her voice grew with enthusiasm.

Christine?s grin was wider than Alex had ever seen it, save when the two of them had first met. Christine nodded enthusiastically, and replied, ?Yeah, that would be great!?

Clarissa took out a little notebook, brand new and leather bound. She wrote down in her messy handwriting ?bring AA game to Christine?. She said to Christine, ?You?ll really like it, especially if you want some murder mysteries with an anime flair.? Clarissa told Christine a little bit about the premise and the characters, much to the other girl?s delight. For the first time in a while, she felt as if she belonged with her peers. After a little bit of talking with Christine, Clarissa turned to Alex and said, ?Thank you for coming down here. You guys are much better than my old friends.?

?Of course,? Alex replied, grinning, ?I guess you could call it a weakness of mine, wanting to help others. Becoming friends is just an extension of that.? Christine nodded in agreement, and added, ?yes, I am always glad to meet new people.?

Clarissa nodded. ?It?s so weird having people like you guys?? She looked away with a pensive look. ?My parents are nice but it?s not the same??

?Speaking of,? Alex replied, ?what do your parents do for a living? My dad?s a physicist, and Christine?s parents own a restaurant.?

Clarissa replied tersely, ?My parents do real estate. Big real estate.?

?That?s cool. Pretty uncommon too. Do you get to travel with them often??

Clarissa replied, ?Usually, yeah. But I?ve missed too much school as of late to go with them this time.? What she missed school for she left out.

?Yeah, sounds understandable. Do you ever get to go out of the country? I?ve been wanting to visit other places like Japan and Germany for a while now. That?s what I plan on doing once I finish high school.?

The orange haired girl nodded. ?Mhmm. They?re in Kyoto right now.? She sighed. ?I wish I was there right now.?

?Oh, are you living at home alone then? You?re welcome to come stay with me if you want,? Alex replied. She knew how lonely it could get, and wouldn?t wish that on anyone.

Taken aback by the sudden offer, she replied, ?I-I dunno, I?m used to being home alone.? She sighed deeper. ?It?s fine.?

Alex wasn?t going to push too hard, so she resigned to saying, ?Alright, just let me know if you want to hang out. I?m always available.?

Clarissa mentally noted her offer. She was appreciative of it, but still reluctant. She was way less on guard then she would be for any other stranger, especially her old friends, but she was not ready to advance. Or even really sure how to do so; this arrangement would do for now. Unsure of how to continue, Clarissa awkwardly blurted out, ?Well um, thanks for the chat but I have to go. I...have to do some...things.? Her tone was making it apparent that she was making that up, but signalling nonetheless that she was finished. She got up, packed her stuff up and without another word, left to do something else.

To say Clarissa?s exit was forced was an understatement. It was obvious she?d had enough for now, so Alex and Christine let her go. Before they could hop into another conversation, however, the bell rang, slitting through the mostly silent library. The pair quickly packed up, and made their separate ways for the last half of the school day.

 

[gimmepie]

The Fenecian
AKA. Adalhard Scazi

Plans

The Fenecian stood in the rear-centre of the abandoned building in his full villin attire, a pin-striped suit with a phoenix-like mask. The building?s wall was at his back whilst several of his followers stood at his side. To his left, Vacuum, dressed in his green mask and Fedora. To his right, Vacuum?s father, Vortex, dressed in the same grey suit as his son and donning a dark blue mask. Around the room stood several other men and women wearing suits and masks.

It wasn?t just La Fenice occupying the abandoned building however, at the centre of the room, two other groups stood, cautiously eyeing the Fenecian?s followers. Many of them were new recruits. The first of these groups was Fundation, their leader, Null, standing encircled by three female companions; the sisters Flasback, Sincere and the young Nightmare who rocked back and forth on her feet and fidgeted with her hands. Next to them were the Gladiators, recently broken out of custody in-transit to prison, Arena and Diamond Daisy. There would be others involved too, the Fenecian knew. He hadn?t been able to get Darwin?s Chosen to join him and new better than to test Tempestuous? patience, but through Vacuum and Vortex he?d been contacting several of the more powerful solo and small-time villains in the city like Jailer and Thunderrush. He had his army, it was time to go to war.

?You?re not a stupid man, Null.? the Fenecian said ?You brought the child with you. It?s always good to keep your biggest guns close at hand when you yourself don?t have much firepower.? He noticed Null twitch at the remark and smiled behind his mask. It was a subtle reminder that he could see how cautious he was being, a reminder that he was in control. This was pretty standard for a meeting of villains, establish a ground rules and a hierarchy. When everyone knew their place, and stayed there, you were less likely to have problems.

?I?ll cut to the chase.? the Fenecian said, his tone that of the authority in the room, not that of an equal. ?We begin the day after tomorrow. If you have contacts to make, make them. If you have weapons to collect, collect them. If you intend to back out, now is your chance to try - but I wouldn?t recommend it.?

?As if we would.? Arena said. He meant the remark to sound nonchalant, like he wasn?t afraid. The Fenecian knew better than that though. There were few who could meet with him without fear. Arena meant to convey confidence but the Fenecian saw the subtext; that he knew better than to back out of a deal with La Fenice.

?We?re not going anywhere either. Armory is already building up our supplies.? Null said, doing only a slightly better job of keeping the concern out of his voice.

?I have to ask though.? Sincere said suddenly, ?You?re not going to stab us in the back, right??

The Fenecian felt a strange compulsion tugging on him, it had been there somewhat through the entire conversation, but this was the first he?d really noticed it. He smiled at Sincere, although she couldn?t see it, deducing that it was the young woman?s power acting on him.

?Not unless I have to.? the Fenecian said, not being perturbed that he had been forced to answer truthfully. ?Now if that?s all the questions, a reminder of how this is going to play out. Fundation are going to attack the police headquarters, the Gladiators will be attacking City Hall and La Fenice will be going straight to the PRT building. We outnumber the Protectorate by far, even with the Wards included, and they?ll be spread thin over three priority targets. Don?t miss anything tomorrow, because the day after, we take the city.?​

 

[Strange]

Damian Edgeworth // Mephisto
​

Damian crawled through the ventilation shaft of a building which appeared old and run-down on the outside but was surprisingly modern on the inside. This was definitely the headquarters of the vigilante heroes which he was after. The villain-turned-hero known as scanner was in his room in the back, sleeping by the looks of it, and the other two were in the main living area based on what Damian saw on his way through the shafts to the back rooms.

Damian waited for the signal his brother told him would be coming as soon as he filled the house with smoke. Fortunately Damian could see through the smoke and it didn't affect his lungs like it did to others. As soon as he saw the smoke enter the room and Scanner woke up sputtering he busted open the vent and hopped down, just as he heard his brother whistle the signal.

"Who's there?" Scanner coughed, flailing his arms about in an attempt to use his power. If he touched you he could learn information about you, including your powers. Damian steered clear of his hands.

"Stand still and put your arms in the air and nobody has to get hurt." Damian said in the most confident voice he could muster. Scanner seemed to consider this, but then lunged out towards the source of the voice. Damian yelled, dodging out of the way. "You're not very experienced in this kind of thing. Why are you attacking us? You don't sound old enough to be police or PRT."

"Just, just put your arms up. I don't want to have to hurt you." Damian fidgeted as he pulled out the gun he was given, arms shaking violently as he pointed it up.

"Oh, I can tell. You don't sound too confident." Scanner said, the smoke dying down enough for him not to cough after every sentence, and enough to start to make out Damian. "Put the gun down, boy. Nobody needs to be shot today." Scanner calmly stated, reaching an arm out to push down the gun. Damian flinched, realizing seconds too late that Scanner was trying to use his ability on him. The man's hand closed down in a deathgrip on Damian's hand, pointing the gun down, and Damian was sure he was using his power by the expression on his face, although couldn't feel any difference himself.

"Interesting powers, kid. Bet you didn't know you can trade powers with them?" he said, smiling and raising an eyebrow. "Consider it a parting gift." Scanner stated before he pulled an odd bar off his dresser and squeezed it. The rod glowed orange and sprouted two knobs on one end, which had a pulsating orange current flowing between them. "Experimental tazer I got from a tinker a few hours ago. It hurts like hell." he said, raising his left arm and showing a double dotted scar. Suddenly pain erupted in Damian's side and everything went black.

~~~​

Damian groaned, opening his eyes. He was in his bed. They failed. His brother sat beside him talking on his cellphone. "He got away didn't he?" Damian asked. His brother merely nodded, still on the phone. Damian closed his eyes again. He didn't care that he failed. He learned something extremely valuable today. His ability can trade people's powers.


​

 

[Fen-Fen]

Florissant

Now with Safiya away from her parents, she headed to the RPT headquarters. It really helped that she had some errands to run to get her mind off of the previous morning. Between grocery shopping and taking Fariha to the vet for a regular check up, Safiya had plenty to do before she clocked in for an early evening shift as Florissant. And that was to her favor, as she could never perform well with family drama on her plate. Or other unexplored avenues.

Once the time came, Safiya was off to work, ready to patrol the streets again. She couldn't argue with the limelight, praise and nice bubbly feeling she felt helping people out. Of course, the paycheck that allowed her the Porsche, her nice house and even some fine mosaics from her home country also helps. Safiya entered the building, going through the usual security measures and identification checks. She was not going to be on patrol yet on account of the investigation, but at least Florissant could be sated that it would be over very soon, since she other than the murder method, there was absolutely nothing that could link her to crime scene, especially when she was on the complete opposite end of town and had no motive to kill the victim.

As per confidentiality protocol of the PRT, changed into her costume and reported to one of her superiors to get her orders for the day. For today, it was routine . Despite her relatively petite height, the superheroine was fit, with a lithe musculature and a well-invested interest in exercising on her off hours. Today, it was a focus on combat with superpowers. Rather than the typical guns, tasers and baton training that police have, it more individualized to a person's powers, seeing as a hero can scarcely be a jack of all trades with specialized powers. The focus of this session was on covering her weaknesses.

After finishing her training, she happened to be passing by a new, unfamiliar heroine. The stranger was dressed in a maroon bodysuit, with gold and black accents, a bow slung on her back. Florissant called to the young woman, "Hello! I have never seen you before. Are you new in the PRT?"

The other woman replied, "Yes. This one, anyways. I am from Oklahoma City PRT."

"Oklahoma City? Wow, that's a long way from here. I myself have come from very far away too."

The other woman nodded. She studied the heroine, taking note of her outfit. Her eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah, you're Florissant. You probably haven't heard of me, but I'm Sharpshooter. You can probably guess why." She gave a slight chuckle.

"Yeah." She paused for a moment, wanting to chat Sharpshooter's ear off to welcome her to the force, but a male voice ushered her to meet with Khadiji. Florissant gave a cheery smile at the woman, and said to her, "I would love to talk more, but I have to go. Don't feel shy to talk to me though, okay?"

Sharpshooter nodded. She put a mental note to look for Florissant when they had more time. Perhaps on a patrol or if they were assigned some other task together. "See you later."

 

[gimmepie]

Jailer
AKA. Anita Blaine

Siege: Part One - Commencement

In an alleyway across from the PRT headquarters, Jailer stood concealed in an alleyway with her heart pounding somewhere in the vicinity of her throat. This was the last place she wanted to be, especially in costume, but here she was with Hostage and a La Fenice cape named Frost behind her. In her hand she clutched a radio tight enough that had her knuckles been exposed she could have watched them turn a ghostly white.

The previous day, she and Hostage had spent resting up after the beating they had received from Tempestuous. Despite this, she and Hostage were both aching in places and covered in bruises. This of course, meant nothing to Vacuum who had contacted them again anyway and made them an offer they couldn't refuse. Either they could join La Fenice in attacking the PRT headquarters whilst Fundation and other allies attacked City Hall and the Police headquarters and get paid a rather large sum of money, or they could be branded traitors, tracked down and killed. At least that was the implication. Jailer did not consider herself violent, nor allied with La Fenice, but unless she wanted her and Hostage both dead, she was going to have to become both of those things.

Time went on as she awaited the order from the Fenecian. They expected that Monitor was already aware of their presence and preparing countermeasures, but he couldn't possibly have known that they were going to ruin his plans shortly when the other attacks were launched and his forces were divided.

"It'll be any minute now." Hostage said from behind her, his voice coloured in equal parts by anxiety and excitement. This was one of those times that she wished he could put his recklessness in check and be careful. In fact, she felt more that way than ever before here. She did not want to watch him get disintegrated by some heinous trap of Monitor's. She hadn't even wanted him there, but he had insisted that if she was going he was also and Vacuum had supported the idea. Obviously, La Fenice figured that Hostage's ability would have him put a spanner in the works for the Protectorate.

Finally, explosions faintly rang out through the city and clouds of dust floated into the sky. From her hiding place, Jailer watched as the PRT and Protectorate went on high alert, reacting in a frenzy of activity. In a matter of minutes, Capes and PRT had been dispatched to the other two attacks and the headquarters had been weakened. Jailer's radio buzzed to life in her hand and the Fenecian's voice crackled through.

"Time to attack."​

 

[(Drakath)]

'Stay away from the headquarters, don't do anything rash...'

That was all the text said, The fuck's that supposed to mean? The way it was worded bothered him. He'd been mulling it over, and eventually still popped on his masquerade. It stuck to his face, the bottom left opened up and began unfolding across his body. In an instant, his hoodie and jeans were gone, replaced by the black costume he'd become so accustomed to. Drakath sighed before running off towards the Protectorate building. He knew something would happen and now he wanted to know what.

He found himself atop a roof, surveying the area from behind an advertising sign, looking for something, maybe someone. A minutes passed as he found himself playing a game, occasionally checking to see if anything interesting would happen. Something had to, otherwise, she wouldn't have said anything. After another while Drakath leaned around the sign once more. Is that... He saw a grey silhouette. A deep grey. It seemed extremely saturated, almost hard to look at. As he squinted, he could make out its hand, practically stuck to wall. Was it, pulsing? The silhouette turned- A distanced explosion sounded, almost like a firecracker. Drakath looked back and saw a plume of smoke. Another 'pop' took his attention. As more dust was kicked into the sky, he realized, bombs were being set off. As shock filled him, an unfortunate scenario which he quickly brushed off came to mind, I swear to god if they pin this on me... He looked back towards the PRT HQ as he set his console down. "Absolute Panic" was the only way he could describe the activity he could see. Albeit professionally disciplined and systemic, the authorities scrambled to the locations of the explosions, leaving the building much less protected than usual.

The grey silhouette emerged from the alley and Drakath understood the situation all too well. The concrete visually rippled with each step as she approached the middle of the street. She stopped and threw her arms up from her side, causing a rather tall wall of thick stone to rise from both ends of the street, encircling the entire block, stopping most heroes from entering the zone. All of the color vanished from The Elemental's suit, returning it to a mirror, as she dropped to a knee and began draining energy from the ground with both hands. Meanwhile, nearly every La Fenice cape emerged from the alleys and all hell broke loose. Seraph exited the building in panic, took flight, and began trying to carpet the street with her hardlight feathers, but most only ended up being drawn to a specific spot. Strangely, a feather would occasionally cause a blue explosion on impact. Upon this realization Vortex began sweeping up most of the feathers from a volley into a smaller cluster as they rained down, allowing Tommy Gun to blast the cluster back at Seraph on the following volley. Two suited Villains entered the HQ, possibly Vacuum and The Fenician, and green could be seen off of a reflection on the inside.

Drakath could only watch the chaos, unsure of what to do. Perhaps something could make him join the fray, where maybe he could be swayed to a certain side.