Private/Closed The Paragons - Act I

[OmnipotentOnion]

Silent Night's annoyance had been mutual, as Shuzo listened to the alien's next message and let out a forceful tch in irritation. Letting his blade fall to his side, the Paragon pressed a hand to his temple before turning away from both Warren and the Chief. With a deep breath, Shuzo sighed and sent what he hoped would be his last "thought-message".

You probably are. And I don't doubt that Crosshair can find a way off this rock, but we both know I can get off faster. You saw me reach the top floor within seconds before I left with the Chief, and Li turned out to be right: there are a few parachutes stashed in this room. Either way, regardless of whether or not I can make it off in time, I'm certain that I also have a better chance than the Chief, so here's the plan, and you'd better move quick.

I'll bring Li out to meet you at the stairwell--she has the utmost priority, so you get her off this facility first. Get Crosshair to leave with you as soon as possible as well, and I'll light this rock up once it's safe. If you can find anyone else telepathically, tell them to get the hell off too. I have all I need from Warren, so I'm putting an end to this as soon as I can. Please, I need you to just trust me and get up here.

Finally, Shuzo turned to glance at Li, and with a just barely audible "Sorry" under his breath, his body suddenly surged with bright red lightning. The Chief had had no time to brace herself, as within the blink of an eye, she found herself at the main stairwell of Warren Industries, where Silent Night would soon meet her to fly her off the facility, and Shuzo remained where he was, meeting the trillionaire's smirk with a steely gaze.

"I won't allow your failsafe to endanger civilians under this rock, so we're stuck here until it breaks atmosphere, and you'll answer my next question. How do you know my brother?"

@DevVoid @comic

 

[comic]

Warren Industries
There was a long... awkward... silence. During this stare-down, Shuzo seemed to become more and more agitated, alongside the Chief, though her reasoning was different. She was becoming frustrated at this prolonging. During this time, Warren poured himself some more brandy before Shuzo took Yin Li back down within a few seconds by the time he returned. He asked his question as the billionaire took a deep, long drink of the brandy before setting it down.

------

"Oh, come on." The rush of wind and force had been incredible. Any faster, and she felt he could have snapped her neck. Li felt that he would have avoided that outcome, but she was too pissed to care. She'd been intent on seeing this through to the end, and now it was like she'd been... cock blocked. "Fuck you, Sparkblade." She barked out, before turning her head to the front door. No doubt Sparkblade had been working some kind of weird... agreement with Silent Night, or whatever, to secure her safety.
The importance they placed on her felt more like babying than anything.
And that pissed her off.

Storming out the exit, she found there were a few small shuttles lifting off into the air, undoubtedly loaded with Warren employees. Two remained on the ground, a man in a cowboy get-up directing a teen boy by the looks of him on board.
"Better tuh jus' leave it tuh fate. We're out of our league." The cowboy was saying. "Warren'll have us rally out at outpost Takeda, probably, and..." He'd caught sight of the Police Chief, who was marching toward them. "Dang my melt, it's the sheriff." Quickdraw hissed at Kinzoku. "Get on, I'll stall 'er."
Quickdraw swiveled on his heel, his spurs spinning as he did. "Howdy, sheriff! Lovely day, huh?" He tipped his hat as he stepped in her way. She didn't bother with him, instead sliding her gun out in a single fluid motion, and firing a shot into the man's leg.
Quickdraw fell to the ground with a yowl, holding at his now bleeding leg. "You'll live." Chief Li replied as she now began to approach Kinzoku.
"Move. Or you'll be moved."

------

At first, he didn't respond, instead walking calmly to the nearby window and staring out for a moment. "That is hardly something I need to elaborate upon. You're a smart boy, I'm sure you can figure it out yourself." At this, he turned, the grin remaining plastered. "No, what you should be asking is how you got your power. Don't you know your lineage? Don't you know the 'Silverbolt'?" He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, and turned away from Shuzo once more to face the window, his front obscured from view. "Bah. Of course not. You're as ignorant as Patriot. Well, my monologue is at its end, and unfortunately for you, well... let's just say this whole mess is just as much your fault as it is the Paragons. Ta ta."

BANG

Blood and brains splattered, and the body collapsed alongside the sudden noise, the smoking barrel of a gun clutched in Warren's now limp grasp as his form slumped, blood pooling beneath him. He had denied Shuzo the chance at killing him, and had enacted the countdown ahead of Shuzo's planned schedule.
It would be nearly impossible to stop all the debris from harming at least some of Manhattan below in the next ten seconds.

@OmnipotentOnion @Shadow_Pup @BurbleBurble @Captain Cardboard @DevVoid @Funny Sans Rat

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Silverbolt? Who....

He hadn't the time to consider it, as suddenly, the sound of a gunshot resounded throughout the room, and Shuzo's eyes widened at the sight before him. Cursing loudly, he lunged at Warren's crumpled body and stared at the smirk that, even in death, remained plastered on the man's face.

"What did you DO?!" Shuzo yelled, his enraged words falling on deaf ears, and he sheathed his daito, continuing to mutter a string of curses, both in native and American tongue as he thought fast.

Attention all personnel onsite: the facility's nuclear failsafe is set for detonation in t-minus 10... 9....

A robotic voice suddenly chimed in, the announcement projected through all speakers on the facility, audible to all. With one last, shouted curse, Shuzo snatched up the backpack and sprinted out of Warren's quarters, sending an urgent message to Silent Night as his lightning steadily kicked in and quickened his pace.

Silent Night! Warren shot himself and activated the failsafe before I could stop him. Crosshair doesn't have any more time to tamper with the countdown--you need to get off this rock now. I trust that you already have the Police Chi--

Suddenly, Shuzo's thought process was cut off as he reached the front door of the facility, and time seemed to slow as he peered through the glass, his eyes rested on none other than Chief Li. Stopping where he was, Shuzo then began to charge up his lightning, bolts of red electricity surging and crackling around his body as he sent one last message to Silent Night.

I have eyes on Li; you just focus on flying Crosshair out of here and getting anyone else you can see to leave as well. I have my own way off and can bring the Chief with me.

With his thoughts concluded, Shuzo took in a sharp inhale before sprinting forward, shattering the glass door and emerging outside. Continuing to sprint, he drew nearer to the Police Chief, who currently stood over a crumpled man clutching his leg. Normally, Shuzo was content to trust Li's intentions, but there was no time to see this through. Taking initiative, he sprinted at her, electricity still surging, and scooped her into his arms for the second time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shuzo noticed two last shuttles that remained on the ground, seemingly unoccupied, and abruptly changing course, he sprinted into one of the airships and set the Chief into a copilot seat. Staring at the controls before him as he took the other seat, Shuzo took a deep breath and steadied himself as he searched for an autopilot function and a way to chart a course.

"We need to get to the ground as soon as possible; the people below us are about to get hit with a lot of rubble."

Speaking both to the Police Chief and into the comms device in his ear connected to the other Paragons, Shuzo started the shuttle's engine and mapped the area, finding the quickest way off Warren Industries and onto the ground.

@comic @DevVoid

 

[BurbleBurble]

Deluge

The escape idea went completely out the window as a force approached. At first, Ansel was certain it had to be Patriot- Who else could it be?

But then he heard what Infinity said, and...Well, people react a certain way when a Satan-possessed superhuman was approaching.

"Whoa whoa WHOA!!" The Deluge said, pulling the surging tides once more. "Not sure why he's back but we gotta stop him before he does something bad!!" He was trying to rally his fellow Paragons into fighting, but honestly they were all still a bit winded from the attack.

Immediately, two tendrils of water soared towards the approaching Larua- Aiming to stop or slow his approach in some way. Shit, where was Patriot? He couldn't be dead, right? Did he betray them or something? Did Patriot get possessed by Satan too?! Too many questions, not enough time! Ansel's mind raced to find some sort of solution to the immediate threat, not evening parsing or thinking that he may be a neutral party.

Though it seemed he was, indeed, a neutral party. Ansel pulled back the tendrils, leaving them floating in mid-air, just waiting for something bad to happen. That something bad didn't come...from Larua at least.

"Yeah, uh, this kind of seems suspicious? I mean dude, you were possessed by Satan. I'm keeping my eyes on you too, and Patriot- Well I'm not even sure where he is. You didn't kill him, did you?"

Though Ansel wouldn't receive an answer from Larua- Rather, the guy who was Larua -Instead getting a message from Sparkblade. A warning. To get off the flying rock, to help the civilians below. It sounded pretty sound- No doubt there was rubble and whatnot. And Ansel was guessing this thing was gonna keep going up, because Warren wouldn't be stupid enough to drop it on the city, right?

Then again, if Sparkblade was escaping, Warren was probably either dead or also escaping.

"Alright, I was gonna have us Paragons who don't mind falling a few thousand feet scan around for any civilians, but if the people on the ground are in more trouble we can head down that way," Said Ansel. "I guess we're moving down!" He shouted to his fellow Paragons. And not-Larua.

He was far more casual about the whole thing than he would've been if he was aware there was a nuke going off in about a few seconds.

-----
Necrodytis

Necrodytis was unsurprised that the Lady had been nonplussed at her admission. In retrospect, they did lead similar careers, and not many people exactly set out to be mercenaries. It was just over time they found their callings, their urges...And once you disconnected from it, it just became so much more easy. Impersonal killing felt much more comfortable. You don't need to think about the consequences, or the impact. Just getting the job done.

Though on the topic on hand, as they reentered the sunlight, was a time to meet up. Their identities could be protected, as they already were. She just needed to give a time. "Hmm..." She considered for a moment. "Five tonight, if that works for you."

Though there was a distant rumbling noise from the floating chunk of city. It was far above them now, so it was no doubt a good thing that they had decided to not pursue based off of "what goes up must come down", because anything coming down from that height would be...bad.

A brief glance to the helmet of the fallen fighter from above, which she was holding against her hip, and then back to the landmass. "If that falls right now, I think we'd better hope Patriot comes around to catch it." She shook her head. Of course he would, Paragons saving the day and whatnot was their whole draw. A bunch of publicized crap. And considering Necrodytis's whole schtick, she preferred to steer clear of the limelight. All the more reason to have also been glad to have not hopped on the island.

She couldn't even imagine herself ever being among their ranks...A Paragon? In what world would a murderer ever be a Paragon? That certainly wouldn't look good on their pristine reputation.

-----
Skade, Subject 4649

Anger. Hate. Malice. Fear.

Palpable in the air- Given the temperature had once again dropped below zero around Skade. Though upon hearing the words of Ignizio, he made a fair point. It did not matter what their fate would be- Failure would only pave the way for the Void Father. No Patriot, the Void Father had no foe. No opposition. The man before them spoke falsehoods, only spurned by whatever future he had divined. And Kronos certainly couldn't see what laid past his death, if it were inevitable. Of course.

The chill waned for a moment.

"I agree," She said, standing as stern as she could. "If nothing else, I die knowing I've coated the world in ice and frost, that I've done all I could to end this pathetic world." She breathed out. "And as for you...Male Storm? Malformed? I don't really care what you're called- I've grown tired of your continued presence."

The sheer cold returned- As Maelstrom was quickly bashed in the side of the head by a whitefrost covered fist. Though Skade seemed content to wail on the assumed mortal a bit more. She followed up with another punch, as to cancel out the momentum his head would have. And then an icy, spike covered kick to send him flying over the edge of his boat. It was enough to practically obliterate any mortal, and probably a large percentage of supers as well. To Skade, Maelstrom was as good as dead. And all the better for it too, considering how utterly smug and superior he had acted. Perhaps in his last moments he had learned his place.

"Let's stop wasting time," She told her fellow Heralds, walking towards the sounds of gunfire. Pounding her own fist in anticipation. "I'm sick of this human affair."

And the young subject, well, she'd never disobey an order. She stood stalwart and calm, knowing that Sergeant Mash must've had it all under control. Surely he couldn't fail them. She looked to Damian, who seemed quite disturbed about the situation. "We aren't going to die," She told him. "Those Heralds can't backstab us. They need us, right? They'll come around, and...the Sergeant is a good fighter too, he's strong. He can't fail."

These were words said by a girl who was trying to tell herself everything would be alright in the end. But in reality, she was deeply unsure.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Alexander and Infinity
Forsythe turned to Deluge, "I'm gonna have Alex take me to the ground where I can help with evacuations, I think it would be best to have him help stop the debris as he has Patriots powers at the moment", he then turned to his brother "it will give you a chance to prove yourself" Alexander nodded and Forsythe looked satisfied before nodding to Alexander who grabbed him and carried him swiftly to the surface before returning back to the floating landmass and turning to Deluge "I am at your command, what shall I do" he said simply.
@BurbleBurble

Kinzoku
The young lad heard the alarm and turned to Quickshot "hey mate that doesn't sound good, we should go right? We have to make sure everyone is safe and then we can all get off this rock right Quickshot? We aren't gonna die on this thing are we?" he asked frantically slowly losing his cool while also thinking about trying to save those that deserved it like the scientist and other test subjects.
@comic

 

[comic]

Warren Industries
Once again, Sparkblade was taking control of the situation, annoying her further. He took the reigns of the ship, having put her in the co-pilot seat. At his words, she knew Warren was dead, but by judging from his facial expression, it had been the old man who'd gotten the last laugh. Figures. As Sparkblade flitted his arms about the complicated console, flicking switches at supersonic speeds, crimson electricity crackling about his body, the Chief let out a sigh, brought her hand up, and flicked a single switch on a ceiling console. The shuttle buckled as a sort of safety latch was released, and the vessel began to slowly rise into the air.
"You're lucky I'm around to watch your back." She informed him as she flipped another switch near her console, and control of the small shuttle seemed to divert from Sparkblade to the Police Chief. "Just keep watch and we won't have any problems. Make sure your new pals are making it off fine, and tell your telepathic bestie to get his ass in gear. Do it again if you have to." She told her companion, stone-faced, stoically calm despite the situation. It wasn't likely that she would be elaborating to him how and why she knew how to drive Warren's shuttles, but that was probably a story for another time. The shuttle shot off into the air, leaving Kinzoku and Quickdraw behind, both of which would undoubtedly be obliterated at the facility's destruction.
The shuttle soared up higher, before taking off toward the edge of the land, and finally jutting down. Five seconds to spare, and counting down.

------

"Aw... man..." Quickdraw groaned, glaring toward Kinzoku as their shuttle took off. "You heard him, right? We're screwed. Countdown's initiated and I can't run. My hog-killin' days are done, y'hear?" As the cowboy clutched at his bleeding leg, a pair of blackened, gooey hands suddenly grabbed Kinzoku and Quickdraw by their shoulders. Before anybody could yell 'stranger danger', they were both tugged into a void that had opened beneath them- and moments later, they came out into what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse- except it wasn't quite abandoned.
Quickdraw looked toward a figure on the other side of the room, and let out a groan, glancing at Quietus, the reason they escaped the floating rock, who said nothing, simply folding his arms. It wasn't as though he could be expected to say anything, anyway. The figure standing in the dark of this warehouse, which looked like it had seen a recent gunfight, was unmistakable. Quickdraw had dealt with him on occasion when going through one of Warren's shadier trade deals.
This man was Keiji Takeshi, otherwise known as the "Golden Lion". Why he was hear, Quickdraw didn't know, and Quietus couldn't answer if he did. It was doubtful Kinzoku knew either.
Keiji had a reputation for being ruthless. Barely anybody that wasn't his ally or his trade partner had even seen his face and lived. He kept to himself, and worked from the shadows. He was almost as underground as Warren's higher-ups.

@OmnipotentOnion @Shadow_Pup

Maelstrom's Ship
He'd been shot. Mash dove out of the way of gunfire, feeling hot liquid trickling down his side, but he barely felt the wound. Setting his jaw, Mash popped up from cover, aiming the rifle he'd taken off of one of his victims, and gunned down three of the pursuing men- but they were quickly replaced by a dozen more. Cursing under his breath, Mash took off again, feeling another bullet slide into his shoulder, but the adrenaline pumping through him made the effects of that almost completely unnoticed- and finally, he came out at the top deck just in time to see the Heralds, Skade at their lead, making their way in his direction. Maelstrom was nowhere in sight.
"Finally." Mash huffed, glaring past Skade toward Ignizio. "Feel like cracking some skulls now? I could use a little help." As he said this, he took cover around a corner, sticking out just enough to gun down two more men before the rifle only clicked, out of ammo.

------

Damian was looking worse for wear, but as soldiers rushed past their gate, they seemed to ignore him and the girl. This was enough to bolter his courage a bit, and the Subject was speaking to him. She was reassuring him. Or herself. Perhaps both. It was a sad realization that dawned on Damian as he realized only now that she was still just a child. He'd been so desensitized to everything going on at Warren Industries for so long he'd forgotten that simple fact.
She was just a little girl.
It felt like something had slugged his gut, and an uncharacteristic courage gathered inside of him. He took a deep breath, before standing up from his cowering position. "They'll be fine." He assured her, his voice sounding a lot calmer than he felt. One other gun remained from Mash's antics, the Sergeant having taken one himself. Somewhat timidly, Damian grabbed the weapon. It was a lot heavier than he'd been expecting. He looked it over for a moment, quickly realizing he had no idea how to use this. He was built for labs, not war. This was quickly beginning to feel like a horrible mistake as he opened the door, stuck the gun out, and pressed down on the trigger. What came next was an almost comical spray of bullets in just about every direction outside. Not a single one managed to hit a target, and for some reason, they all continued to ignore him.
The gun ran out, and Damian dropped it to watch more men storming past, coming up from the great ship's lower levels. Slowly, he closed the door and turned back to look at Subject 4649. What had her name been? He could recall her files. She'd never had a real name. She'd been practically born into her current life. What would her name have been had she not been inducted?
He didn't know. "I think I distracted one of them." He offered to her with a shrug.

------

As for Maelstrom himself...
He was giddy with joy. What a punch, truly. It would have annihilated any normal man. Fortunately, he wasn't any normal man. The most he'd suffered was a bloody nose, a bruised eye, and an infatuation with the Herald of Whitefrost. Why the infatuation, one might ask. Truth was, he was just masochist enough for it.
Deciding he'd let them believe they'd won, the Maelstrom concealed himself beneath the waves, flicking his wrist and forming a large cocoon of air around himself using his abilities. Air manipulation? Hardly. He had an advanced form of telekinesis. Nowhere near the level of his ex-lover Clair, but she was still locked up in one of Warren's vaults in this timeline.
He peered through the blue of the ocean toward the dark mass of his ship, sensing through it, detecting every single being aboard, picking out his favorite among them. Feisty, definitely. He was actually beginning to feel a little regret that she'd die. Not regret for not preventing her death, but rather, regret for not tapping that.
He pulled out a cigar- before deciding not to light it. Terrible idea in this safety bubble he'd conjured. Instead, he tucked it back before shoving his hands into his pant pockets, and waited.

@BurbleBurble @OmnipotentOnion @The Dark Fairy

Destiny's Apartment
Before any more could be given between the women, the line was quite suddenly... dead. Severed. Disconnected. Neither side had initiated this, and out of the corner of Destiny's room, a figure made herself known. "Destiny." She greeted, but held up a hand before Destiny could say anything immediately back. Even she tried to... it was lick her tongue was suddenly glued to the roof of her mouth. She couldn't speak. This woman had the floor all to herself at the moment. She was wearing ebony vestments, appearing straight out of Victorian England, complete with a beautiful black sun hat that covered most of her face, save for her lips, which had been painted a brilliant red over her white skin. She looked straight out of an old motion picture, the only color to her appearance being those rosy red lips.
"We have not spoken before. My name is Madame Umbra. The Shadow Society has deemed you eligible." She said. Her voice was cold, yet with a soothing undertone to it. Commanding, yet comforting somehow. It was almost alien. "Events will be occurring soon, and you are needed within the fold. Gather your belongings and come with me. Your old life is over. Your new one begins."
The Shadow Society. Destiny had been dealing with them for a long time now. They were her largest source for inside intel. They were the people who seemed to know everything, even more than Destiny herself, and with her mind able to trap all knowledge within... with their resources, Destiny could easily become the most knowledgeable and intellectual individual on the planet.
It didn't sound like Madame Umbra was giving her a choice.

@ThePlayfulFox @BurbleBurble

 

[DevVoid]

(I have been given auto permissions for a grab by @Captain Cardboard )
" Right, no more time to look now, we need to go. " Silent Night spoke, becoming a blur as he had used his super speed to grab onto Crosshair, pulling the vigilante with him to take off with Crosshair in tow. Ryg zoomed back the way the pair came from and jumped down the hole he made, manifesting plenty of miniature spider-like legs to crawl at rapid speeds down the tunnel, as opposed to falling which would've taken longer.

Silent Night quickly reached a part of the sewer system stuck in the floating chunk of rock, which had been ripped off from the sewer system when the island's thrusters pulled it into the sky. Once more with a dash, the vigilante zoomed through the sewers until having found an exit to leap out from into the sky beneath with a leap of faith. Because of Ryg's jumping strength, the leap made the pair of vigilantes sail through the sky like a jet plane, yet they hadn't even sunk to the ground at the speed of a normal person as because of Ryg's strength and weight, the two flew away from the floating island MUCH faster than they fell away from it, Ryg just gliding in the air without even having formed any kind of wings to glide with. Ryg noticed this, and thought. Surely, Crosshair would notice how strange it was that the two of them were practically surfing in the air without Ryg having formed a part of his body into anything that would allow him to do so. So, Ryg established a telepathic connection with Crosshair.

" At this point, you may be wondering how we're gliding away faster than we're falling. I can tell you how later. Now though, we need to know where to land. Got anywhere specific you wanna be? "

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Lilian shook her head "I've never been in a plane, but I don't think I am, I once knew this servant who could not even go out on to the masters balcony because she was afraid of falling off." She said, sharing a small story with her friend, before turning to look out the window, out the other window than the ones looking out over the flying city, looking at all the planes, runways and equipment, some of which she understood, a few thing she did not recognize. Glancing back over, she asked "How far can you see from the sky?"

Kronos looked from the side of the ship where Maelstrom landed, he did not die, though Maelstrom was not a likely concern, in a vast majority of futures he stays away, or works with them. So he turned away from the side, raising his hand, stopping bullets in the guns of the opposing soldiers, making their guns explode in their hands upon another shot. His thoughts turned to his own death, something he wished to avoid, as most would. Among all his siblings, he had the most chance, his future far outnumbered the others, though many of them were because he ran, left behind the mission. He sighed, turning to another group of soldiers, raising his hand once more to allow the floor to collapse due to age and rust. If he was to survive, and have reasonable chance at doing so, he would have to set his own plan into motion.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

"That should work perfectly, darling." The Lady in Black said with a smile. "In the meantime, I suggest we stay as far away from this area of the city as possible. Believe it or not, darling, I'm starting to get a little uncomfortable with that massive chunk of city flying away."
The Lady in Black began to pick up the pace, and eventually the pair made it to where the police barricaded off this part of the city. However, it appeared abandoned. Either the police had moved in or retreated, and the Lady in Black didn't particular care either way.

"Well darling, it appears that this is where we part ways! I'll see you at 5, just shoot me a call if you need me to pick you up or something! Ta ta~!" The Lady in Black said, blowing a kiss to Necrodytis. The woman began to jog away, waving to Necrodytis as she did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think I've figured out how to mess with the countdo- What the-?!" Crosshair looked up as the alarms and countdown suddenly started. Sparkblade! That bastard had stabbed first and asked questions later once again, hadn't he?! The vigilante scarcely had time to react when he was suddenly grabbed and yanked off his feet. Crosshair managed to slap the keyboard as Silent Night pulled him away, replacing the countdown number with a different random one. And then they were flying through the air... Actually flying. Of course Silent Night could fly as well. Shapeshifting, psychic powers, super strength, what the heck couldn't this guy do. Invincibility, he supposed. That was a way that Patriot had him beat.

The ground, and far away from here. Davison Park. Crosshair thought back to Silent Night. It was a park at the edge of the city, far from the crater and close to one of his hideouts.
What happened to Sparkblade and Chief Li? Crosshair thought to Silent Night.

 

[DevVoid]

(I have got auto permission from @Captain Cardboard to auto the crash landing.)
Davison park, got it. I don't know how he got out, but Sparkblade said that he was gonna take Chief Li with him, so I assume they're both safe. I told Sparkblade to stall for time and possibly take Warren with him, but it seems the Warren figure killed itself first, hence why I couldn't directly tell you and had to act quick.

Silent Night looked down below, thinking. Ryg was familiar with Davison Park, given that his nest was within a cavern underneath a forest close to Davison Park, but located outside of the city. Silent Night tilted his body downward slowly as to maintain his velocity, but to glide at a downwards angle as opposed in a straight line. As soon as the Vigilante was closing in on the edge of the city, Silent Night spoke with Crosshair telepathically again.

We're about to crash down. Hold on tight.

Silent Night thought on over, shifting his body into a dark-purple ball of a solid exterior but with a hollow interior for his fellow vigilante to remain safe in for what was most definitely gonna be a rough landing. With Crosshair kept safe, Silent Night crashed into the dirt beneath, bouncing a few times and rolling the rest of the way along the ground, at which point he re-directed himself and turned around, rolling close to the entrance of Davison Park before shifting back to Silent Night, leaving Crosshair to gather himself from the tumble.

Ryg was gone as quick as he was when he took Crosshair off the island, having headed to one of the libraries to get himself some books, already shifted back into his Ryan Urnen Persona when he got back, figuring he could just transform mid-way as he was too fast to be properly recognized. The alien sent a last thought over to Crosshair before cutting the connection.

Meet me at the entrance of the Forest south of Davison Park later, outside the city. We've got something important to talk about. Don't worry about the time, I know when you'll be there regardless. Silent Night out.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

As the ground neared rapidly, Crosshair followed the alien's instructions and clung tightly to Silent Night. The world went dark as Silent Night morphed around him, shielding him from the impact with the earth. It still hurt like hell, but nothing felt broken. Just bruised. Silent Night released Crosshair and darted off, leaving the vigilante lying in the dust and recovering from the impact. Silent Night's voice echoed once again in his head.

Right... Crosshair said. The floating chunk of city was far, far above the city, so far above that Crosshair could not even make it out. Letting out a low groan, Crosshair rolled to his feet. Even though the police was likely busy with other things (plus Patriot had told then to leave him alone), Crosshair still didn't want to hang around in the open. The vigilante began to limp through the park, heading towards his hideout.

 

[BurbleBurble]

Deluge

"Alright then." He looked to the now apparently reformed Larua- Or Alexander, not to be confused with Folder Alex -At his beck and call. "If you want to scan her for any civilians before we hit orbit, that's fine by me. But if you got all of Patriot's fancy powers, I suppose you could clean up whatever debris is about to fall. Folder, do what you got to do. As for us..."

The water surged towards Elasticity and the Dapper Gecko, figuring Agony and Silver Sword would probably prefer their expensive equipment to not be waterlogged, and were swept up by the current. "Gentleman, we got some falling to do!"

And with that, Ansel jumped off the edge, the tendrils of water and his fellow Paragons pulled alongside him. He stared towards the rapidly approaching city, and perhaps realized what he was trying to do was a bit more complicated than he had thought in his head. Not only did he need to keep himself safe from the impact, but the two lesser Paragons as well. Elasticity was lower priority than Gecko, as he was elastic...He'd bounce when he'd hit the ground, right?

No, no, they wouldn't need to figure that out...Nah. Ansel had it all under control.

Well, as long as the building continued ascending as it was into the sky. What did Sparkblade mean by debris, anyways?

-----
Celice

And the line...was dead. "Hello?" Celice said, aware of how futile it would be. A part of her hoped it was some sort of trick, but no- the line really was dead, considering the droll tone of the other end simply continued. That didn't live up to the reputation this Big Brain had around her. Maybe Celice had called the wrong person, maybe Big Brain was just a cog in the big machine and about to report that juicy tidbit to her superiors, or Patriot...Or maybe Celice hadn't been convincing.

"Shit." She swore, hanging up the call. There went her only potential informant. Which meant Celice would have to do her digging the hard way. Assuming Patriot wasn't on-route to turn her into a fine paste in the next few seconds.

Though didn't he have that whole flying building nonsense to deal with? So she probably had about an hour in that case.

And looking back to Lady- Who seemed to be getting the idea of how to properly wear clothes by then. "Oh. Figured it out on your own?"

Celice wasn't certain of anything at this point. Not the call, not her continued life. But hey, when was she ever certain about anything? Even if this was her last hour alive, she'd be damned if she was gonna live it in fear. That being said, a good chunk of the people in the city were probably rightfully worried about the floating chunk of land in the sky...If that thing fell, things would not be looking too rosy. That said, there definitely was little to anything she personally could do about that.

"Just letting you know, that's not a thing that's supposed to happen out there." She gestured out of the window. "But whatever, we little fish just have to scrape up whatever the big guys leave behind and hope we don't get killed in the process."

-----
Dog-Man, Plant

The canine mercenary exchanged a blow with the fae commander- Growling as the hit knocked them both back. Though Scath would soon find a new entity grabbing her- A creeping vine had quickly snared around her foot, and pulled backwards and up. It seemed like she was going to be strung up like a pinata, and Dog-Man was the birthday boy with the bat. "Good work Plant," He said into the comms, as he reared back for a hit.

The eponymous plant lady stood not far at all, observing both her and Dog-Man's work. No one on the team wanted her to over exert herself. That simply advanced her condition, and that was the reason they were in this mess, sniveling up to Warren. Like it or not, he was the only one with any answers for them. Patriot would certainly forgive them doing this- It wasn't just business, it was far more personal.

He could understand. She knew he could.

-----
Necrodytis

The police had made themselves scarce now. Likely conducting evacuations at the behest of the chief. Good for any shifty assassins in disguise. And this was where the two would part- The Lady in Black giving her goodbyes in her typical niceties and...act. Necrodytis hesitated to call it that. It didn't feel ingenuine. Maybe the Lady was like her too- Somewhere the Lady ended, and somewhere a 'normal' person began.

To the Lady's blown kiss, Necrodytis took a much quieter approach. "Be seeing you," Was all she spoke, tipping the fedora as they walked in opposite directions.

She looked to the helmet in her hands as she walked. "Hmm. You were like us, too. You didn't have a choice I'm sure." She spoke to the empty helmet. Was this really what her life had come to?

As she began to walk among crowds of people who had come to gawk at the floating city chunk, she could only assume that yes, that's precisely where it had led.

-----
Skade, Subject 4649

"Yes, yes, that unbearable man learned what happens to people who waste my time." She told the Sergeant, casually strolling around the corner. The soldiers, who were definitely not expecting someone who wasn't Mash, had paused for a moment- Before firing bursts of machine gun bullets upon the Herald.

It was about as effective as throwing a rubber ball at a brick wall- Except, less bouncy. The spent bullets hit the ground as she walked forward, crumpled. They met their mark just fine, they just didn't do anything. The soldiers seemed surprised by this as one reloaded their gun. The other began, but paused as he watched Skade grab his neck. And without blinking, turned the man's body white as snow. The soldier could feel the immense drop in temperature, unable to stop clacking his teeth as he desperately shoved the cartridge into his machine gun. By the time he looked back towards his fellow mercenary, the man's head had fallen to the floor- Skade's simple grasp had decapitated him.

There was no passion in what she did. Why would there be? It was like crushing ants. She and the other two far outclassed every one of Maelstrom's men that came upon them. And she personally had been doing this for quite some time- Russians attempting again and again to encroach on her valley. No doubt Ignizio had been as well. Rarely they were more than a nuisance. Even rarer was one that could even start scratching the surface of any Herald. It was then she realized one of her siblings hadn't joined her and Kronos's joyless massacre. "Ignizio. Feel free to join in."

The Subject found Damian's attempts to save them somewhat amusing. "That's okay. You aren't a soldier." She told him plainly, with the simple honesty of a child. "I couldn't use a gun like that either. It's too big for me. And when I am big enough to use one, I won't need it."

The shouting outside the door seemed to intensify in tone, and shift from the barking commands to one of fear and panic. A mad rush of footsteps in multiple directions as the ones on the forefront warned any newcomers of what they were walking into. That much seemed to be clear, despite the language barrier.

"Do they sound scared to you too?" She asked Damian. "I think they're coming."

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Shuzo

Suddenly, Li had flicked only one switch--yet, with much more confidence than Shuzo had when operating several--and the shuttle finally began to move. Her quip afterward had fallen on deaf ears, as Shuzo had been occupied with wondering when the ever-so-busy Police Chief had found the time to operate such an aircraft. However, he abruptly snapped out of his curiosity upon remembering what was about to happen, and as the shuttle began its descent, the digital voice counting down throughout the facility began to fade.

"5... 4.... 3..... 2......"

As if the calm before the storm had fallen throughout the city, Shuzo gritted his teeth as the aircraft continued on its route to the ground below, and the noise around him seemed muffled. And then....

BOOM!

Blinding white light pierced through the windows of the shuttle, a wave of heat touched down, fiercely shaking and rumbling throughout every building, vehicle, and inch of the ground in its wake. The thunderous sound of the failsafe detonating echoed across nearly the entire country, further sending tremors throughout the land. The shuttle in which Shuzo and Li had been holding on to the controls for dear life was knocked off course, now doomed to a wildly spinning crash into the ground.

As he struggled to maintain his footing in his seat, Shuzo watched as the concrete below them quickly approached, and with a deep breath, the Paragon charged up as much electricity as he could, feeling the world begin to slow down. For what he hoped would be the last time, he then stood shakily before scooping Chief Li into his arms and shouldering his way through the door of the shuttle; the door broke away, and as time sped back up, the two were now standing on the sidewalk, a safe distance away from the shuttle's now ashen and burning remains. Shuzo wasted no time in putting Li back onto her feet and watching the countless chunks of rubble and steel in the sky as he both spoke to the Chief and accessed his comms device.

"We need to get people to shelter. Contact all forces on the ground; relocation of any civilians in range of the debris is the top priority."

Keiji Takeshi

"Oi, oi, who do we have here?"

A raspy voice echoed from the shadows, the words spoken in what seemed to be a Japanese dialect. Stepping forth from the dark of the warehouse was a man, hands shoved in his pockets as he strode forward to face Quickdraw and Kinzoku. A smug smirk pulled at the corners of his lips as he stared at the two, and he tilted his head to the side with a squinted eye. With a dry chuckle, the man spoke once more, this time adopting the English language.

"So, that old man really does care about some of his little pawns. He'd told me about some sort of package awaiting me here, but that was all he'd say. Do tell: what's the occasion, that Charles would entrust you all to me?"

Suddenly, the warehouse shook, dust falling from the ceiling and crates rattling as the explosion from afar resounded for miles throughout. Keiji Takeshi paid the sudden interruption no heed, standing unshaken and without a trace of unbalance as the smirk remained on his face.

Ignizio

With the interaction with Maelstrom forcefully drawn to a close, Skade left the room with a huff, Kronos following quietly. Ignizio remained silent and stood from his seat, dusting himself off and being the last to emerge onto the upper deck. Upon arriving, he noticed that the other Heralds had already begun to wreak their havoc, the entire ship rattling with the sound of panicking footsoldiers.

Watching silently, Ignizio stood behind Skade and Kronos, until the former spoke up, inviting him to join in on the fun. Though he didn't speak, the Blackfire Herald simply stepped forward, calmly walking towards the growing assembly of gunmen, firing wildly at the trio. Finally, Ignizio opened his mouth to speak, his slow approach unhindered by the spray of gunfire coming his way.

"Not worth my time."

Suddenly, in direct contrast to the biting cold emanating from Skade's attacks, the temperature began to rise, exponentially growing in intensity as waves of heat seemed to visibly pulsate around Ignizio. The oncoming bullets were reduced to ash and dust, crumbling around the Herald as he simply walked past the squadron.

That was when the screaming started.

Searing heat, blistering skin, the stench of burning flesh. The metal in the guns melting and fusing the firearm to their wielders' arms, their clothes and gear bursting into flame before withering away.

The soldiers didn't die, but they would certainly wish that they did.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Alexander
He nodded in understanding at Deluge's instructions and took off from the floating mass just as it exploded. He immediately took action, swooping in and obliterating parts of the rumble and moving other parts to safer landing sites. But even with Patriot's strength and speed Alex struggled and could only deal with about a third of the rubble he of course still attempted to do more but once they got too close he flew off knowing there was nothing more he could do.

Infinity
On the ground Forsythe had been working to assist with evacuation getting people either underground or out of the city. He heard the explosion and sped up his efforts getting g more people to safety but as he was moving a mother and her son towards one of the safer areas he heard a large piece flying towards them and making a fast decision he pushed the boy towards a policeman as the rubble crushed Forsythe and the woman beneath it killing them both.

Kinzoku
He glanced up at the new face, "who are you I thought Warren would meet us here or something" he said confused as he examined the man before a large explosion occurred "jeez was that the facility" he muttered as his halo idly floated around his head. He looked back at the man "so what now, the place is gone so does that mean we're finished"

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Scath looked down at her feet, a vine now wrapped around her foot, although before she could reach up to tear it off, the half dog in front of her reared back to swing. Scath raised her hands, creating a wall of darkness that immediately shattered into most upon contact, though took enough of the blow that she could grab the dogs fist, pulling on him hard to throw him to the ground, before reaching up to grab the vine and pull or tear it off of her leg.

 

[comic]

New York City
The explosion had rippled through the sky. One particular plane was far enough from the blast wave's radius that it wasn't ripped out of the sky. CL-9 and Lilian were on their way out. Barely.
The nuclear reactor had erupted, and whoever had been left on that floating chunk had been vaporized- for the most part. The chunk of earth, bits of buildings and streets, reduced to bits of rubble, began to rain from the sky. The clouds that had blanketed everything above had been blasted away by the explosion as well, leaving an angry red haze in the sky as an aftermath. Nature and technology seemed silent as burning rubble fell through the sky, its radius far greater than that of the crater left behind when the chunk of earth had taken off- though most of that crater was now filled with the Hudson River, which had spilled into it.

Yin Li wasn't able to do much about the situation. The chunks of earth had already begun to fall to the ground like meteors. The largest of the chunks being about the size of a building. The perimeter she'd had her force establish still extended a ways- enough so that people weren't in too much immediate danger. At least, that's what she hoped.
However, a crack thundered through the air, and before their eyes, a small blur that could barely be seen began to fly about the falling rubble, cracks of thunder echoing about continuously as the figure consistently broke the limits of the sound barrier, growing faster with each second as it tore through the largest of the rubble, slugging them about and reducing the larger chunks into smaller, then the smaller into even smaller, so on and so forth. By the time the dangerous chunks had all disappeared from the sky, the basin filled with the Hudson was a muddy brown from all the chunks of earth that had fallen in, any rock, stone, or metal unable to be seen, having sunk beneath the surface.
The blur in the sky was what the Chief had assumed it was, now a black dot against the orange sky, which was slowly regaining its color.

Patriot let out a sigh as he gazed down upon the crater, feeling a sharp stinging in his forehead for a moment. Ignoring it, he turned his gaze toward Paragon Tower. Untouched by everything. Floating cities, nuclear explosions... this had gone WAY out of hand. Though he couldn't help but look up toward the moon in the sky, half faded against the sky, a furious red scar of magma still cooling along its surface like a spider web. His doing, but it hadn't been on the planet. It would have been better if he'd just destroyed the fool instead of toying with him, which undoubtedly bought Warren precious time.
Still... what's done is done. His gaze searched about the city, which had a strange quietness to it- and he picked out Shuzo near the smoldering wreckage of some sort of vessel. Yin Li was with him, oddly enough. The Paragon wasn't exactly in the mood to take her crap, but he needed confirmation.

Soaring down toward Shuzo, Patriot came to land, his suit looking a little beaten though everything else about him remained as pristine as ever, though his beard and hair were looking a little unkempt. "Is it done?" He asked immediately, forgoing anything else. "Is Warren dead?"

@OmnipotentOnion

Quickdraw
Gettin' pardoned was a lot more desirable than this outcome. He'd worked hard today, after all. He'd kept this snotty little kid alive, and for what? Gettin' dropped down on more of Warren's business like some kinda... some kinda... why was he here? Quietus wasn't 'bout to speak, fella never did. Probably couldn't, but the cowboy'd never ask. Mostly for probable lack of an answer, but also considerin' he might offend the tar ninja, and Quickdraw was ill-equipped to survive such a haenous ordeal.
Speakin' of bein' ill-equipped, Quickdraw still had a bullet in his leg. The kid- golly, what was his name again? Bein' above snakes was a lot less invigoratin' than Quickdraw had hoped for.

The bullet had been clean. Right through. He could have admired it if he weren't in achin' pain over it. Pulling out a handkerchief from one of his pockets, Quickdraw quickly began to wrap it around his leg, tightening then tying it. That'd be enough to stop the blood for now, least 'till he got some proper care for his wound.
"Right, kid." Quickdraw slowly rose to his feet after a moment of struggling. "Our... 'host' here is Keiji Takeshi. Practically rules the underground crime syndicates 'round these parts. Need to lay low, buy an assassin, or get something illegal, he's your guy. Otherwise people tend to stay outta his way."
With introductions out of the way, Quickdraw huffed, deciding he was more comfortable putting weight on his good leg than his bad. The rumble that followed nearly made the cowboy crash back to the ground, but he miraculously maintained his balance. Warren's darn facility was now just a ruby stain in the sky, ready to fall no doubt.

Finally, with the tumble quieting, Quickdraw answered the Kingpin's question. "To acknowledge the corn, I ain't got the foggiest idea. This-" He pointed to Quietus. "-this, er... kind gentleman here brought us here." He chose his words carefully. The things he'd seen Quietus do... he'd rather keep his gonads intact. Along with the rest of him. "So either we've got ourselves in a bad box, or..." Oh dandy, he couldn't believe he was about to propose this. "...if ol' Warren did indeed entrust us to ya, then that could only mean he... uh... prob'ly thinks you could put us to good use. That's really the only idea I got, but I'm a bit of a ten-cent-man so take it with a grain o' salt.

@OmnipotentOnion @Shadow_Pup

Damian Foster
It didn't take long at all. Maelstrom's men that weren't slaughtered leapt overboard to avoid death, though were sure to mostly meet the same fate. Mash's wounds weren't grievous, he'd survive. Just a few bullets, he'd probably taken worse. Turns out, Damian could pilot a freighter- somewhat.
Skade, the most bloodthirsty of the heralds, seemed to be a bit satisfied with herself. Ignizio maintained his impassive attitude, and Kronos continued to chew on random nuts he had stored in his various ratty pockets.

"Mainland's close. I'll probably be able to pull us up the Hudson, but I don't know if the coast guard will let us get too close." Damian informed the others. Well, anyone else in the room. Subject 4649 remained, as did Mash- who was currently asleep, leaning against the wall as he stood. Damian could never sleep standing. Or with his eyes staring creepily forward like that. Mash looked insane when he slept. Or just really good at a staring contest with a dust bunny on the ground.
He just hoped that the heralds wouldn't take offense to the coast guard if they delayed them.

@OmnipotentOnion @BurbleBurble @The Dark Fairy

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The Lady in Black hummed softly to herself as she stepped into her car. While the job may have been a bit of a bust, at least tonight should be a rather fun time. It had been a while since Lady in Black had done something like this. And even then, it had never been with someone in the same field as her. This should be fun...

A distant, muffled explosion startled the assassin. People's screaming picked up once again as there was a bright light, even bright through her sunglasses. And where the floating piece of city was, rubble began to fall. The Lady in Black stared as a blur flew around, destroying the rubble, then the assassin looked back in front of her car. Once again, the decision of not jumping onto the flying piece of earth turned out to be a good one. The Lady in Black calmly started up her car and drove down the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crosshair watched the explosion for a moment, shaking his head as Patriot began to clean up and... 'save the city'. He shook his head. Just another brownie point earned by the powerful head of the Paragons. He could only hope that Sparkblade had made it out of there alive. The vigilante limped into one of his hideouts, taking time to tend to the few wounds he had incurred. As he mended himself, he couldn't help but reflect on the day. What had been the point? The Warren Facility was destroyed, and Warren was likely to be dead. But what had been on that ship that had left? Had the killer alien even been in that facility? Were there other facilities? Could something similar happen to the Paragon Headquarters?

Too many questions, not enough answers. Crosshair wished that he was back just busting gangs and illegal arms dealers. Dealing with aliens and evil megacorporation was always so complicated.

Crosshair sent a text to Sparkblade (Alive?) before putting away his phone and walking out of his hideout. Getting into a car, he drove the entrance of the forest.

 

[DevVoid]

Getting a few important books from the library as souvenirs, Ryg was already packing up back in his cave.. and by packing up, Ryg understood putting all the souvenirs he wanted to take with him in a crate for him to merge into his body when he decides to head back home. Because truth be told, from all the things his parents told him, Ryg wanted to see his home planet with his own eyes. That, and the fact that he knows his kin that were taken on that ship have already returned home soon after breaking free. Including his parents, though they, as explained to him in their own words: 'aren't gonna return home until you're physically mature enough to come back on your own'.

And now was the time.

Detecting a familiar mind approaching the forest his cave is located in, Ryg sped out of his hole in the ground, dashing to the entrance of the forest. Which, admittedly, did not require him to go this fast as it wasn't that far from the entrance. Arriving to the edge of the forest, Ryg picked up a telepathic connection with Crosshair. Though, the Alien kept up his appearance as Ryan Urnen, his human disguise, as opposed to his previous form as Silent Night.

" Ah, you're here. As soon as you've parked your car, I'd like you to follow me. This is about something important, and we can't have anyone else listen in- or even look at us for that matter. " (Feel free to auto Ryg for the duration of the two walking to his cave hideout, @Captain Cardboard .)

 

[Captain Cardboard]

As he approached the edge of the forest, Crosshair heard Silent Night's voice in his head once again. This was... shady, to say the least. Then again, what about Crosshair's life wasn't shady. He just hoped he wasn't going to be walking into yet another ambush. He was rather tired of that happening. The vigilante parked the car, turning off the headlights. There was another guy nearby, but Crosshair had a feeling that this too was Silent Night. He allowed the alien to lead him to the hideout.

"So what's this all about?" Crosshair asked Silent Night as they made it to the cave.

 

[DevVoid]

" Well, to keep it quick and simple - my time on this planet is coming to an end. I don't mean that I am going to die, but that I am going to leave the Earth, in a literal sense. You see.. " Ryg spoke, his voice changing midway from the human accent he's been using as his Ryan Urnen and Silent Night personas - to his alien accent. A more hoarse and rougher voice compared to his smooth, yet average human-american accent, with a bit of a gurgle after each pronounced word. Ryg morphed his body, adapting into his Silent Night look, revealing that Ryan and Silent Night were one in the same.

" I will be leaving Earth's Orbit to return home, in another solar system away from this one as I am not of this planet. So, since this is the day I take my leave, I would like to give you answers to any questions you may have, as you are the only contact who I'm aware of that knows how to handle such dangerous information. I'm sure you'll find some use for the information. " @Captain Cardboard

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Shuzo

Suddenly, the thunderous clap of the sound barrier being broken multiple times resonated throughout the entire city, and Shuzo watched what appeared to be a small blur flying through the chunks of facility hurtling toward the ground. In a matter of seconds, the oncoming threat of falling rubble was quickly neutralized, and Patriot slowly descended to face Shuzo and Chief Li.

"Is it done? Is Warren dead?"

Slightly taken aback that that had been the hero's primary concern, Shuzo raised a brow before narrowing his eyes in irritation. With a tsk and a glance to the side, the ninja nodded grimly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Shot himself. He told me about the failsafe but pulled the trigger before I could stall for time."

His recollection of the event had brought back a word that had lingered in the back of his mind, echoed to him as if from a voice that wasn't his own.

Silverbolt.

Who even was 'the Silverbolt'? Warren had implied that the individual had been a part of his lineage, but Shuzo hadn't heard a thing about whoever they were. Though he remained stoic on the outside, a simple search of his eyes would reveal his true concerns, and the Paragon mentally sighed in relief that his goggles concealed his disquietude.

@comic

Keiji

Upon hearing Quickdraw's words, Keiji burst into hearty, amused laughter, continuing to show no heed to the fallout of the recent explosive ordeal that had so loudly rumbled around the warehouse. Running a hand through his hair, the yakuza head stared at the three before him with a piercing gaze, though a smirk remained on his face.

"Well, isn't that sweet of him. With that leg injury of yours, you might be out of commission for quite a while. Despite that interesting looking weapon you've got on you, kid, even a mouse could take one look at you and know you feel way in over your head."

With his brief evaluation of Quickdraw and Kinzoku concluded, Keiji then turned to glance at Quietus, his smirk growing ever so slightly as his discerning eyes seemed to search every corner of the voids that encapsulated the sludge ninja's own. Took a demon to know one, he supposed.

"But you. What is it you want to do?"

With a last, quiet chuckle, he turned back to address Quickdraw, speaking once more.

"Call this 'meeting' what you want, but if Charles sent you to me, he clearly doesn't care enough about you to deal with you himself. I have resources to patch up that hole in your leg, but that obviously comes at a price. If the kid needs something to do, I have some work for him as well if he so chooses, and you'll both join my function. Won't be easy in the slightest, but it'll be more rewarding than surviving on your own after your abandonment, yes?"

@comic @Shadow_Pup

Ignizio

Once the vessel had been cleared of gunmen and soldiers, Ignizio sighed monotonously, and the heat surrounding him began to subside and dissipate. As Damian assumed control of the ship, the Herald once again returned to dormancy, falling silent and taking a seat in the corner of the captain's quarters. Sitting still, Ignizio sat cross-legged with closed eyes and hands on his knees. Further examination would alert any curious onlooker to the veins in his arms, neck, and face pulsating and containing the faintest black hue within them as he breathed.

@comic @BurbleBurble @The Dark Fairy

 

[BurbleBurble]

Deluge

He felt...heat. Sheer heat, scorching the air, fogging his head. A deafening explosion, leaving his ears ringing as he confusingly fell through the air. Bright light, blindingly confusing. The Deluge slipped in and out of consciousness, perhaps regretting his hasty and ill-informed decision. A few moments before he'd be able to pull it off easily, at least his own recovery, but now...

The surging torrent he had gathered already had been interrupted by the blast- With no focus and the force of the explosion, it had spread and turned into a shower more than any surge of water. Nothing that could catch them.

Though whether it was extremely lucky or incredibly coincidental, something kicked in. From the crater, torrents of water soared towards Ansel's prone body. Drenching the man, the cool water pulling him back to reality. For a moment, he wondered how he had done that- Was it just his body trying to save itself? Or was there something more to it? No time to wonder, as he was rapidly approaching the ground. And so was Dapper Gecko and Elasticity.

He had limited resources- time and water were the important ones. And realistically, he could only save one of the two perfectly. Weighing his options, he decided to go with one that he thought would reduce harm.

Which was why he then shot a jet of water, propelling Elasticity into a nearby office building. The Rubber-band man shattered the window as he was forced in to a hopefully safe landing. Rubber and all that, he'd be fine. Probably. Ansel had bigger problems to worry about, such as Dapper Gecko. Quickly redirecting the torrent towards the old man, the Gecko had his momentum slowed by a jet of water. It left him on the ground, clearly dazed but mostly unharmed.

And then Ansel himself, who was about to eat asphalt. His fall was broken as well, but he quickly fell through the veil he had created, landing flat on his face. Immediately, the water lost it's form once more. The Deluge groaned as he rolled over. Bloody nose and probably a cracked rib or two, but hey. Alive.

"H-hey...!" He started speaking into his earpiece as soon as he could. "Next time, maybe say- Say that a bomb is about to go off!" He said, looking into the sky still, how it was stained orange. Rubble reducing to dust as something- Nah, he knew it had to be Patriot, even in his half delirious state -Saved a good chunk of people from immediate danger. "Was that a nuke too?! Tell me that was not a nuke!"

He rasped a few times privately. Before remembering something. "Folder, do you copy? Everyone made it out alright on your end?"

-----
Dog-Man, Plant

Tossed down into the rooftop, Dog-Man let out a small yelp- Though followed it with a snarl. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

Though perhaps the half-Herald had been too quick to change targets- Plant's first vine was tough, though broke with enough struggle. She was following up with two much larger, and thorny, vines. An exertion of her power that she knew her team wouldn't approve of, but she also knew she could get away with. The longer Scath stayed distracted, the less potential harm she could cause the team. As said, she didn't want to be sniveling up to Warren, but the thought of actually losing a team mate while on a mission with him on the payroll was...troubling.

Back on his feet, behind the potentially distracted Scath, Dog-Man huffed as he activated one last button on his staff- The staff splitting into two solid batons. Weaker than the compact or extended singular one, but a tool was only as much as you make of it. If Scath tried her wall trick again, she'd be hit with the follow up baton no doubt. He snarled once more as he swung for her head with one baton, reeling back his arm for the secondary blow.

"Falter."

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Scath flew down to avoid the vines, her Norma shadowy form starting to swirl around her before she got hit by something, sending her forward, she growled as she quickly formed her human sized shadow illusion, and landed on the ground, rushing forward for a strike.

 

[comic]

Patriot
He stared at Shuzo for a moment, the man quickly falling silent after delivering his answer.
He... shot himself...?
Yes, the old fuck was dead but this, this WASN'T how it was supposed to go. Warren was supposed to suffer. Die at the hands of another, at least. Patriot would have preferred himself to be the one to do it, but that risked too much at exposing himself. Better to send someone to do it. So that's what had happened.
Maybe it had been foolish, childish hope to get exactly what he'd wanted. This was Charles Warren they were discussing, of course things wouldn't go their way.

Quelling his anger, for now, Patriot closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. "Okay." He said, his voice a lot calmer than he felt. "Okay." He repeated, his voice a little softer this time, eyes still closed. A smile tugged at his lips, and he started to chuckle. His chuckle quickly evolved into full-blown laughter as his eyes teared with mirth, running a hand through his hair, tussling it up.
Finally, it was over. It felt as though the weight of the entire world had been lifted off his shoulders in a matter of seconds, and that felt good. The cost had been a large chunk of New York, but that had already been evacuated for the most part. No, this was perfect. Finally, Patriot stopped laughing, and wiped a tear from his eye. He let out a shaky breath, a clear indication of just how emotionally invested he'd been in this. "Thank you, Sparkblade." He gave the man a nod. A rare show of respect and recognition from Earth's Greatest Defender.
And with that, Patriot took off into the air, a crack sounding in the air as the man disappeared.

Yin Li watched him go, brow furrowed, connecting the obvious dots that there had been some serious history between Patriot and Warren. She'd never seen the hero's shoulder lax like that. She turned her gaze toward Shuzo, regarding him with a feigning reproach for a moment. "Well." She said, folding her arms over her chest. "Half the cities gone, including my apartment. I hope this was the best outcome. I do. For your sake, and every other super out there."
Patriot was too near-sighted to see how this entire situation could be spun. Sparkblade likely wasn't, so she wasn't going to waste her breath on Grayson.

@OmnipotentOnion

Quickdraw
He'd much rather just head on home, knocks some boots, and ride some horses, but as dear fate would have it dictated, ol' Quickdraw wasn't about to be let off that easily. With a resigning sigh, Quickdraw leaned back against the ground he sat upon, dusty dusters splayed. "Yeah, I 'spose." He wasn't in any real position to try and work out any sort of deal or arrangement now. Keiji was, to put it as simply as possible, a man who didn't take 'no' for an answer.
With his answer given, he nudged Kinzoku to give an equally respectful and agreeable response. Couldn't do with having him simply not speak, or even say the wrong that. That'd be sure to get 'em both killed and Quickdraw was in no position to try runnin'.

However, Quietus seemed to have another thing in mind. He never spoke, so it was no surprise that he didn't answer Keiji. However, he simply sank into the floor in a pile of sludge, and that was that. Bastard was gone. Leaving Quickdraw with no way of wriggling out of this.
His shoulders sank as heavy as his hopes.

@OmnipotentOnion @Void_Nugget

Dapper Gecko
The elder wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, offering a nod of thanks to Deluge. The youngin had really stepped up to the plate today. Chest heaving slightly, that entire battle having drained a lot from him, Gecko assessed their situation. "Well, old chum? Are you alright?" The Gecko asked the stumbling form of Elasticity, once again only in a speedo, as he exited the apartment building he'd been flung into.
"Groovy." Elasticity gave a thumbs up before collapsing onto the ground, passing out. It had been a hard-fought day, so nobody would judge if a practically naked man took a nap on the sidewalk as nuclear fallout descended upon them.

Gecko turned back to Deluge, who still hadn't received a response from Folder. It had been nearly half a minute. The elder hero furrowed his brow before he approached Ansel, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We should take Elasticity somewhere before we start looking for the others." He offered. "Heavens knows what's happened to them."

@BurbleBurble

Cretecon
Scath never got the chance to land a blow, as a boulder-sized rock-fist suddenly pummeled the back of her head, and her face became embedded into the concrete of the roof, effectively knocking her out. Any lesser being would have had their brains decorating the roof instead.
Cretecon wasn't all smiles, however, as his eyes immediately flitted toward Plant, whose condition had clearly worsened. It had been stupid, letting her aid in this mission. He'd asked her not to, but she'd been insistent that she help. This entire operation was for her sake, after all.
"That had gone on long enough." Cretecon sniffed, grabbing Scath and slinging her over his shoulder. "Let's go collect out payment and... treatment."

@The Dark Fairy @BurbleBurble @OmnipotentOnion

Location: Unknown
"It's ready."
The dark room, pitch black, an ebony prison, an empty abyss, an eternal void, had a single voice within. There had once been roaring, snarling, and the gnashing of teeth there for hours. But now, it was quiet. Not because the monster was dead or asleep... but because it was under control. Exactly the desired result.
Dim red lights flashed on within the room, displaying the brutality that had unfolded in the dark. Deep claw marks lined the steel surfaces, gore was splattered in every which way, and in the center of the room sat the alien monster dubbed by the masses as "Massi". It was still, armor coating the back end of its body, its entire head covered in this, tubes connected all around it, which fed it the serums to keep it under control. Under his control.

"Release Subject A." The voice said, their voice echoing through the room. Immediately, a hum sounded. The floor began to rise as the ceiling opened up, revealing a night sky above, a jungle canopy hanging overhead. The Amazon Rainforest, to be specific. Massi's new testing ground.
His new feeding ground.

@Gamingfan

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Shuzo

Patriot's response to Shuzo's news was... surprising and in no way expected, but Shuzo remained silent as the hero continued to laugh. He wasn't sure what "Earth's Greatest Defender" was feeling upon hearing that Warren had killed himself, but the shaky exhale and wipe of a tear seemed to betray something much more emotional. Once he was done, Patriot had calmed himself down and nodded in gratitude toward the ninja before taking off, disappearing from sight within the blink of an eye.

Shuzo then turned to listen to Chief Li, who had now spoken up, and on the contrary, it was crystal clear what emotions she was feeling. Upon hearing her description of what had transpired and its aftermath, he scoffed dryly, yanking the goggles off his face and pocketing them before responding.

"We both know it wasn't. I just hope the old man's actually dead."

As he looked around to observe the full impact of today's events, Shuzo pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed once more. The sudden buzz of his phone suddenly took his attention, and upon opening it and reading the message from Crosshair, he quickly typed back a response.

Yeah, I'm fine. No severe injuries on your end, I hope?

After pocketing the device, Shuzo turned back to glance at the Police Chief, and after a few seconds of thought, he spoke once more, meeting Li's eyes.

"Is there something I can do to help you and the police force out with all this? I'm sure there's a lot to be done about everything, not to mention you in particular, now that.... your apartment's gone."

@comic

Keiji

As Quickdraw hesitantly and reluctantly accepted the offer, Keiji's smirk widened, even as Quietus--silent as ever--disappeared into a puddle of sludge. With only a chuckle and slight nod, the yakuza head turned and beckoned with his finger, motioning for the remaining two to follow him as he began to disappear into the shadows of the warehouse.

"With that concluded, then..... If you two would follow me."

@comic @Void_Nugget

 

[Void_Nugget]

Kinzoku
The lad took a long pause to consider what was happening before allowing his halo to fall into his hand where he held it for the time being. He then looked at the gentleman and cleared his throat "so we'll be working for you right, I guess I have no other choice so it sounds fine to me* he said with a simple shrug as he scratched his back lightly with his halo, he hoped this would be better than working for Warren but he was entirely sure yet but he smiled at the gentleman nevertheless and hastily followed him further into the warehouse.
@comic @OmnipotentOnion

Alexander
Perched atop a building Alex sighed thoughtfully he ran his hands through his hair. He pondered in getting new powers but he knew that Patriot's abilities were his best chance at survival now that his immortality was gone. Then he his mind was suddenly filled with flashes of all the lives taken by his own two hands and he made up his mind and surveyed the area and spotted the person he was looking for and flew down from the top of the building landing beside Sparkblade and the Police Chief "I would like to turn myself in for over 5,000 counts of murder" he stated with a straight face hoping they would recognise him despite him returning to his non possessed appearance they made him look almost identical to his younger brother.
@OmnipotentOnion @comic

Forsythe
Waking up beneath the large piece of rubble Forsythe moved it aside allowing him to get out and bring the crumpled body of the women he'd failed to save. He handed the body to the police who were consoling the woman's son and after giving his condolences he began to walk away observing the destruction as he went wondering what the worlds views would be after this and wondering whether Warren was really finished. He then turned his thoughts to Lilian and he wondered where she was and if she was safe. He hadn't been to see her in a little while and he hoped that her and CL-9 were doing ok.