Ask to Join The Paragons - Act II

[comic]

Might Girl
Her smile practically vanished at a simple number.
"...Number 19."
For a split moment, Vanessa's gaze went from, well, herself, into something completely opposite toward her usual self. A cold, steely gaze to rival the chilliness of Skade's abilities. Just as quickly as it was there, it was gone, with Vanessa pulling her lips tight, watching the girl rudely part ways. There was a moment of silence, in which Vanessa filled it in her mind by trying to quell the surge of emotions and memories welling up inside of her. Rose no doubt could sense the overwhelming waves of anxiety and discomfort permeating off of Vanessa. Strong enough to shift the air inside of Rose's cabin, but Vanessa still put on her usual smile, though it seemed slightly more forced, despite this brief discomfort having only lasted a couple seconds.

"Hey kid...Sorry about that outburst. You handled that with a lot more grace than I think any of us," Vanessa nearly jumped at Martin's voice, but was quick to compose herself, a twinge of crimson coloring her cheeks in slight embarrassment. "You carry yourself like someone to look up to. A proper hero."
She wasn't sure if she believed that, but it was a flattering notion nonetheless, her blush deepening still. "I just- you know, it's- like see, I- well, sometimes- um, you- have you, uh... have you ever had a dream that you, um, you had, your, you- you could, you’ll do, you- you wants, you, you could do so, you- you’ll do, you could- you, you want, you want them to do you so much you could do anything?" she smiled broadly, almost as though her sentence had made coherent sense and wasn't her stumbling over her words. There was only a couple seconds of this before her smile faltered. "Um, that wasn't how I- like, I just... you know, treat people how I'd want to be, you know- treated and stuff, even if I'm being a... butt about it," she glanced toward where Rose was in the entryway. "Sorry guys, by the way, I s-sorta picked her up after she got knocked out by this crazy guy with drip who-" Vanessa's eyes quickly widened. "Oh crap! I completely forgot! There's something I gotta go to I'll be right back!!" and with that, Vanessa darted out of the door, leaped into the air, and shot off over the city with a boom as she broke the sound barrier in her rush.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe & Charlie
Arriving in England brought many memories flooding back to Forsythe as he stood with Lilian and Charlie. He quickly glanced at his phone as he recieved a new message. <Dan - hey Four you arrived in England yet you immortal bastard you said you had something for me to take a look at> Forsythe sighed and shook his head with a chuckle "you impatient man" he muttered to himself <Forsythe - I said I had someone for you to take a look at you selective memory idiot> <Dan - ok ok just get to my shop, its still in the same place as the last time you visited> <Forsythe - you have relocated in 40 years!> Forsythe looked away from his phone and pointed down a busy street, "it should be down that road there's an alley that leads to Sorcerors Coven as hot spot for the magical community in England, there was a similar place in America but it got destroyed during the Reaping" he stated before starting to walk.
Charlie looked around her with wonder, "wow London is in pretty good condition" she mused to noone in particular "I hate Sorcerers Coven, it's filled with magical weirdos and nut jobs, and half of them owe me either their souls or some other thing" the devil's voice sounded in Charlie's head only to be promptly ignore by the girl who followed after Forsythe pulling Lilian along by the hand as she looked up at her "so you lived in England right? Did it look like this?" she asked.
@The Dark Fairy

 

[Grand Master Koop]

"I don't want to hear about etiquette from someone who's been doing nothing but throw trash at me." Hearing the Putrid Prince's... let's say criticism, Vibratus simply looked down at him with a smug grin. "Well, any more quips you have in that little head of yours or are you ready to admit defeat? It would be foolish to continue this scuffle after you've seen with your own eyes how big the difference in our strength is." Assured in his own victory, Vibratus began his gloating once again like a broken record.

Although Vibratus believed that this battle is a good as won, Percy has yet to relent. Noticing the trash hand fly towards him, the vibration man simply let out an annoyed sigh. "So you still seek to continue this pointless bout even after its as good as decided? Very well, I see I need to beat you down before you admit you've lost!" Holding out his arm, Vibratus raised his barrier around him, blocking the strike from the first finger. Before he could react however, the rest of the fingers came crashing down on his barrier one after the other, weakening it with each consecutive impact.

With each hit, Vibratus' grin faded as the realization that his powers are faltering slowly seeped into him. His smug expression fully disappearing when the fifth finger finally broke through the shield. Seeing his defense fail, the man raised his arm to physically block the attack before destroying the trash form with another burst of tremors. "How the hell? This has to be a fluke, how can my defenses be penetrated by a trash throwing brat?" Confusion filled the man's head, the impossible has become possible, the invincible powers that Vibratus had been so proud of had been overcome by literal garbage. None of this made sense for the man, he was supposed to be the strongest there is, no one was supposed to even come close to him.

Vibratus stood there trying to process what had happened for many seconds, before he suddenly let out a laugh. "Of course, this must simply mean I'm not using my full potential. As soon as use all my power, there will be no one who can stand up to me." He rationalized. It appeared Vibratus was able to recover from the mental shock of seeing his power falter. "Why am I even getting worked up over this, its just my barrier breaking, I still have much more in me to give out." Reassuring himself, the man put his focus back on Percy, fully intending to finish this skirmish.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Prince Percy


"I meeeean, you could be getting worked up that your I dunno...LOSING?! Hahaha!!!"

Prince Percy wheezed as he pointed at the man. It looked like he was taking that breaking of his barrier with stride. It showed the man wasn't invincible and that did wonders for morale.

"If ya hate numbers then try this!"

Percy swept as he conjured up more trash, his swipes getting sloppier and effort sucking than before. That's when the garbage muk below shot up small pellets of condensed trash gunk, firing up like a guy spitting melon seeds. It looked like he was effectively trying to stone him to death with questionable balls of who knows what. But it wouldn't be pretty to be hit by one

 

[BurbleBurble]

Skade II

Having successfully burned every bridge left at that location, Skade continued to storm off. Took off her hood at some point- What was the point in covering it up now? Wasn't like she had anyone to do a dramatic speech to.

At least she still had the food she had come here for. The girl hadn't noticed before, but the can didn't have a built in way to break open the seal. "Tsk," She sneered at the sealed can of chicken noodle soup. So, logically, she immediately took her teeth to the can. She tried to dig her canines into can to tear it open- Something she'd probably achieve easier with her hands. She had almost tore a hole in it before there was a voice beside here.

...What was he playing at? Was this guy asking for a fight? Her blue eyes narrowed towards the vigilante, as she stashed away her prize in her hood's pocket. "You think your eyes deceive you?" She straightened her posture, her other fist frosting over. "And do you think Heralds simply die? You stand before Skade, Herald of Whitefrost."

Skade let out a breath, the air condensing as the temperatures around her dropped to rather low numbers, matching this street vigilante's own wisps of flames.

"I don't have time to waste with every worthless human who thinks they can stand up to me. Perhaps its best you simply walk away. Make us both happy." That was about all the 'de-escalation' she could muster. Honestly, she'd rather get back to chewing open a can of now frozen soup, but the first Skade would never let an interesting opportunity escape her grasp. And if people just went around pointing out who she was...What, was she supposed to deny that she wasn't the Herald?

That would never happen.

 

[comic]

Might Girl
Before Vibratus could mount himself a counter for Percy's attack, a crack sounded in the air above them, and a blur blinked by them. Percy's entire attack became swept up in the jet stream of the attack, a powerful gust of wind blowing the bits of trash out of the air, sending them violently scattering out of harm's way.
With another crack, Vanessa slowed to a rapid stop between the two, her golden cape whipping about to fall over her face. Somewhat annoyed at it, the girl brushed it off her head and wiped at her watering eyes- she wasn't used to traveling at that speed, it had been somewhat overwhelming, and she'd accidentally overshot them, having had to turn around quickly and stop there.

"Wait!" she called, raising a hand to wipe at her eyes- it was still a bit itchy from the Dilophassassin that had spit gunk in her eye from before, though Rose's aid had helped a ton in that regard. Then all that tension on her eyes from her flight had made them water up.
"Okay, okay, hold on," Vanessa frowned at Percy, glancing to Vibratus, back to Percy, back to Vibratus. "I recognize Danger Dapper here, but who are you? Are you Puh... uh..." she blinked, wracking her mind to remember Kerco's words. "Per... cy...? You... are... a guy, that... uh... those people worked for you, right?"

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Pompous Prince of Putrid Powers


"Woah woah woah woah woah-!"

He put hands in front of him as the wind kicked up quite a ruckus, flinging garbage and dust everywhere. As it began to settle after a second crack, he peeked his eyes out from past his hands, slowly lowering them. This chick again. She looked a bit...unprofessional. Further solidifying in his mind that she was new to this whole hero thing.

"Per... cy...? You... are... a guy, that... uh... those people worked for you, right?"

"PRINCE Percy, and I have no idea what your on about chick." He responded with notable annoyance. "If your talkin' about the Junk Chuckers then yeah, they answer to me! Just like everyone here in this town!"

Quickly realizing who he was talking to and that she could join Vibratus's side at any moment and turn the tides, he laughed off this remark and did a shooing motion with his left hand, as if to get passed the subject.

"But a benevolent ruler in any case! So uh like, why tho? People usually come to me for ME, not for my underlings. That's a new one..."

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Vibratus eyes the incoming volley of trash. In preparation to counter the attack, the man brough his arms up by his waist and pressed his indexes against their respective thumbs. However, before he could do anything about the grabage flying his way, a loud crack that seemed to have broken the sound barrier flew by, bringing along a violent air current that dealt with the barrage of filth for him. In response to this, Vibratus raised his arm in front of his face to shield himself form any rogue trash debris that might fly his way. Following another crack, the one responsible for them showed herself as she floated between him and Percy. "Oh, its you again." He stated bluntly.

 

[comic]

Vanessa
"Oh no, I was actually coming back here to break up the fight, since like... you guys seemed to be getting pretty serious about it and stuff," the girl smiled, giving Vibratus a polite nod at his acknowledgement. "So if you guys could maybe not fight and talk out your problems, we could maybe figure out the root of the issue? If you're a benevolent ruler, then surely you practice some form of democracy, right?" Vanessa directed toward Percy, then glanced to Vibratus. "And you, uh... um..." she blinked, lost for a moment. "Well, anybody who dresses like that has to be at least somewhat formal and civilized enough to engage in negotiations, right?"

She beamed, placing her hands proudly on her chest. In truth, she wasn't sure if she'd used some of those words right- but Charles Warren was a skilled speaker, so she'd picked up some of his charisma (at least she thought so).

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Prince of Peace (not really)


"...Ya know that guy just tried to steal all my boys and kill me, right?"

Prince Percy crossed his arms and tapped his foot, clearly thinking he got the rotten end of this whole bargain. After all, he only came to the surface for the sole purpose of putting this guy down. Looking up and down at Vanessa, he got an idea.

"Saaaay, if this guy is totes evil and all that, why don't you send him to your Paragons holding place so he can be a good guy. Ya know, benefit society or something like that!"

Vanessa could do all the work for him! Just like a subject for his empire, and call or 'peacekeeping'. Man, it hurt being this clever.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Vibratus was at a loss for words, this girl had to either be the most naïve person to ever exist or just plain stupid. Either way, she was both those things in Vibratus' perspective. The man was brought back to reality when the prince of waste began preaching blatant propaganda with the man in question standing right in front of him. Granted everything he's said is true but it doesn't justify his attempt to play the victim. "You're one to talk." Vibratus let out a sigh. "If you lot of done running your mouths, I have more important matters to attend to. Unless you lot are finally ready to join me, I will ask that you get out of my sight."

 

[DevVoid]

Mr. Miracle
So he was right, it was Elasticity! Oh how internally elated he was, meeting an ACTUAL Paragon in person! ..well, former, but still..! Though, this joy was quickly popped by Garret asking the magician on what HE was doing here. With even just those few words, Miracle's smile faded, a slight frown flashing up for a brief moment before the smile returned once more.

" Why, I was.. meeting up with.. some old friends, yes! Some old friends, in an old club, in an old street down a few blocks! "

Though he would've said why he was really here, Terry was in his hero persona. And Mr. Miracle never lets anything get him down, always radiating a blissful ignorance to real danger and traumatic moments in his true life. So, the magic man did the one thing he could think up of the quickest - giving a vague response that danced around the main reason why he was here. With a spin of his wand, he burrowed the grief deeper in his mind again as the blissful ignorance once more shone out of his person.

" That, and keeping a watchful eye over the city of New York! After all, this place could just be lurking with scavengers and criminals alike for all we know! Biding their time in the shadows in order to find a perfect moment to strike! There is no rest for a vigilante such as I, Mr. Miracle! " With the last of the words spoken, Miracle had stood up straight and put a hand on his chest, secretly hiding his wand behind his back and making his cape flutter in a non-existing breeze behind him just to give himself more flair.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Kerco and Rose

Kerco placed the object back in his pocket as watched Vanessa go “In a weird way, she does remind me of Patriot, before he was….” He let out a deep sigh.
Rose moved to the hole in the wall, running a hand on its edge “This is going to be annoying.” She muttered under her breath.
Kerco placed a hand on her shoulder “Tell you what, I’ll get Terry to come take a look at it, I was just about to head out to go look at something.”
Rose nodded “I- yeah, I need to go calm down.” And with that she walked to her room to lay down.

Kerco turned back to Alan, asking him a question “You mind if I came with you to the old tower?.”

Lilian

Lilian softly looked around at all the buildings and streets, racing cars and busy people. “Yes and no, it’s always been a rush around these old streets, but there are so many new things, I doubt I can buy my flour from the same place I did before.”

 

[The Alright Attorney]

After Alan had spoke to her, Might Girl started stammering and stuttering, seemingly not able to formulate a proper sentence after Flora had left. Alan noticed her seemingly rattled expression, wondering what could have broken her usual steadfast optimism. However, before he could even begin to question it, the young heroine had said she remembered something, leaving as quickly as she had arrived just minutes ago.

His eyes turned to Rose, as she just left the room, clearing wanting to relax after seeing what had happened. He offered her a nod and quiet thank you, not wanting to take up anymore of her time. Kerco spoke up, Asking Alan if he could join him at the remains of Paragon Tower. "I'm not gonna stop you. Don't have the power to do so anyway." With a shrug he made his way to the door, stepping out and looking further in towards the ruins of the city. "You hoping to find anything there?"

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Wolfe

Hm, now this was a dilemma.

Whoever this was, she didn't seem to have much of a compunction with having an eerily close resemblance to one of the elemental aliens that had ravaged the planet ten years ago; instead, the silver haired girl had levelled a cold stare of her own and proclaimed her identity: Skade, Herald of Whitefrost. Wolfe simply watched as 'Skade' made her display of strength, encasing both fists in ice and lowering the temperature as a seeping chill spread throughout the area. As his breath escaped as visible fog through his scarf, the vigilante continued to take deep breaths, the strange, smoke-like wisps of black and purple around him seemingly undeterred by the sudden drop in temperature.

"Skade, huh? Weird choice for cosplay, since she nearly decimated a good chunk of the planet."

This was a dilemma, indeed; as Wolfe remained silent, he mentally perused through possible options he could take in an imminent conflict—one this Skade lookalike had offered to avoid, but one Wolfe had no other choice than to instigate. In the case of a Herald's death, widespread elemental cataclysms soon followed. However, if left alive, their threat to humanity was prolonged. So the question of whether or not the so-called Herald needed to be terminated would have to be considered as a last resort.

Regardless, Wolfe's stance lowered slightly deeper, continuing to breathe steadily. The strands of smoke breathed around him as well, slowly growing in intensity, before Wolfe suddenly darted forward, his feet silent as he kicked off the ground and leapt at Skade, fists clenched and at the ready.

"Unfortunately, I'm not mature enough to make us both happy, and you'll find I'm not as worthless as you hope."

Upon quickly reaching the Herald(?)'s location, he aimed a straight lunge down onto her head and sought to follow with a subsequent kick to her torso; with the matter of killing off the table for now, the objective was to incapacitate her as swiftly as possible and get answers once she was secured.

 

[comic]

Might Girl
"...Ya know that guy just tried to steal all my boys and kill me, right?"
"Hmmm..."
"You're one to talk."
"Hmmm..."
"Saaaay, if this guy is totes evil and all that, why don't you send him to your Paragons holding place so he can be a good guy. Ya know, benefit society or something like that!"
"HMMM..."
"If you lot of done running your mouths, I have more important matters to attend to. Unless you lot are finally ready to join me, I will ask that you get out of my sight."
"HUMMMMM...!"

Vanessa was roughly stroking her chin as she listened to this, humming louder with each sentence they delivered. She raised a brow, squinting over at Vibratus. Then, she lifted the other eyebrow and squinted at Percy, appearing very skeptical... before she beamed brightly, grinning widely as she gave a quick thumbs up. "Okay! But I don't have a Paragons holding place so that makes things more difficult- oh right! I was supposed to go to Paragon Tower with Martin! Stupid, stupid," she slapped the top of her head in the universal gesture one does when they're excusing their idiocy.

"HOWEVER!" Vanessa raised a finger as her voice boomed, and she turned to Vibratus. "What are you asking people to join you with? Recreational club? Uh... superhero group? I'm doing that. Oh wait, are you trying to start a profession in massages!? Your power would go great with that, I think. I'm not sure I'd really know, though, since I've never had a massage, but from what I've heard I think you'd be good at it!"
Perhaps the whole "dapper dude trying to kill prince percy" ordeal was just a big misunderstanding!

Elasticity
"Why, I was.. meeting up with.. some old friends, yes! Some old friends, in an old club, in an old street down a few blocks!"
Vague as fuck.
Garrett elected not to pry, then. Miracle followed this up quickly with a proclamation of vigilantism. Seems even after the age of heroes came to a climactic and violent end, more supers continued to crop up. He could remember a lot of talk of supers being a natural part of "human evolution" by quite a bit of scientists.

"Alright, well, see ya," Elasticity shrugged his shoulders, glancing down either end of the street. If it wasn't this guy, then there was really no point in continuing this pursuit. Go back empty-handed, and... do some rubber boy stuff, he guessed. He'd rather not have to kick all their asses but since he hadn't found a way to resolve this as peaceably as possible, there was really no other alternative.
He began to walk away.

 

[DevVoid]

Mr. Miracle
" Hey, hey, heyyya, hold up a moment! " The magician spoke, tossing a smoke bomb over to in front of the rubber man, which burst into smoke on impact as Terry himself had made a small, black box appear in his free hand within the cover of his cape. And once more using that cape, he had used it to teleport it over to within the smoke, which would reveal the black, football-sized box as soon as its grey veil was lifted. With a parting bow and a lift of his hat for a brief moment, Mr. Miracle prepared to say his goodbyes. As for the contents of the box? A poster of his magic show, signed with his hero alias, a couple tickets to shows for both his own and his other family members' future performances, some of his own merch, most of which was clothing and a small variation of snacks and drinks. Mostly just the same content like any other 'mystery box' merchandise that so many famous folk had sold, the only exception being the tickets, snacks and drinks included.

" Why, from one vigilante to a real hero.. thank you for your work. " Hagen now spoke with a genuine, normal voice.
" Even if parts of the world have come to worse and the former troupe of heroes has now been broken up, all of you did as best you could. In the eyes of this magician, at least. "

With this honest segment over, the magician waved and spoke his actual goodbyes, once more with his cheery, vibrant voice. " Fare thee well now, good citizen, and best of luck to you on your endeavours! " With that being said, the magic man had his body enveloped in a colourful, sparkling energy, which shifted his body down to a small cockroach through the course of a few seconds. And with that, the small magician-turned-insect scuttled right to the entrance of the Paragons Tower, off to do some exploring in an area he could certainly never enter before.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe, Charlie & Daniel
Forsythe eventually stopped in front of a very old looking building "ah here we are" he said with a grin as he entered into a very quaint looking shop, the shelves and displays filled with mystical artifacts and potions of all sorts. Charlie began to idly examine the products that adorned the shelves with great intrigue and awe. Forsythe called out "oi Dan, where are you" to which the given response was a loud clatter from the back area of the shop and a small boom sound before a slightly singed and ash covered man popped his head through the door behind the counter "hey Four, which one is it I'm helping with" he said with a big grin looking from Lilian to Charlie. Forsythe nodded towards Charlie "it's her, you remember what I said when we spoke" he asked to which Daniel nodded "this will be challenging but it's not impossible. I'm going to need a few things, I need a magical artifact with a lot of magic within it to help me channel myself and I'll need some of your blood Four as the blood of an immortal is a great catalyst" he stated as he waved his hand in front of him causing the shop to seemingly melt aware being replaced by a ancient looking chamber. Daniel then began making a concoction of a variety of ingredients. He then beckoned Forsythe over. Forsythe nodded and walked over to his friend before holding out his arm, Daniel swiped his hand across Forsythe's wrist causing it to gush blood Daniel began moving his hands around in a flowing motion causing the stream of blood from Forsythe to flow across the room and eventual settle in a pentagram on the floor while he also added a few drops to the concoction. He then sealed the wound for Forsythe. Charlie understood what was wanted of her and sat down cross legged in the middle of the pentagram with Daniel sitting opposite her. Daniel then drank half the concoction and then gave it to Charlie "drink this it will start the process" he said softly Charlie nodded and drank nearly coughing it back up but forcing it down with a grimace. Daniel then turned to Lilian "now I need your help" he said pointing to the necklace around Forsythe's neck will you allow me to burrow some of the magic within your necklace?" Daniel asked with a serious expression.
@The Dark Fairy

 

[waluigipinball]

Languid footsteps- more of a shuffle- carried Finley's wiry form, a stumble of a walk. Reduced to lacklustre stealth after that recent altercation, her mind was caught in a cycle of cursing itself for being so rash. There had been other options- there always were, but in flighty panic she had immediately shifted to that which always ended up hurting her. A second more of dwelling and she would have settled upon her second move- the gleam which her whispered alias was named for, but of course in a hastened fumble she had first taken it upon herself to warp. Through her cream cardigan, only covered by the splay of spindly fingers, blood pooled from deltoid flesh, no more than an irritated sigh leaving Finley as she walked. To waste blood on a mugger... just as she thought she was beginning to pull this wordless, faceless vigilante act off, she'd teleported right in front of someone and then immediately blinded him, if only for a few minutes. Idiot!

Holding her arm, she wove through back alleys when she saw them; not the most street-smart thing to do, but a guaranteed way to get a kick. Crime, rife in this part of the city, was even more frequent in hidden nooks. Though, Finley could not say she was keen to encounter another criminal. As quickly as she had resolved this unwillingness, a loud CRACK cleaved the sky- the thunderous announcement of trouble, no doubt. Another sigh, as if bitter of her own uncontrollable habits, pushed through Finley's nose. The thought that she could be measured, she could wash her hands clean of this conflict, did not cross her mind. A sound so loud could have been a gunshot, the break of a door or wall, anything... and from afar, she could help. That propelled her to the scene.

What had been resolve was quickly overtaken by overwhelming shock, and that buzz of skittishness returning to her wiry muscles. As she had drawn closer, tracked down the direction, three voices had been picked up amongst the clamour- voices that soon found their owners. Two opponents, face-to-face. One young-looking, dressed like royalty- the other, black-haired and poised as if flippant of the situation, ready to abandon it. Between them hovered- yes, hovered, a realisation that shocked hazel eyes saucer-wide- a girl of golden locks, a cape flowing behind her as if she had been written into their reality with the same ink that penned comic books. Feet rooted to where she was, Finley's fear prevented her from getting any closer to them- but her curiosity could never allow her to run away. Distraction pulled her from the pain of the wound still clung tight.

Petty crime was all that had unfolded before her speechless features before now- a super fighting others, who may also possess unseen-to-herself powers, was entirely novel and entirely terrifying, and all the more entirely interesting.

 

[RexOli]

.:..ATION: "New York?" - enclosed space, secondary escape routes:.
.:INTERNAT MECHANISMS: Inset - responsive:.
.:BIOLIGHTS: Offine - Responsive:.
.:SHELL: Intact:.
.:PHASING UNIT: Signal nonexistent:.
.:TEMPERATUR-r-R-LOCAT-T-.... HALT:.

.:ACTIVITY SIGNATURE DETECTED:.
.:REPORT: System reboot successful. Failsaves implemented successfully. Stasis lifted successfully:.
.:Body operating at full capacities per current capabilities:.

...

.:CHOSEN DESIGNATION: "Kobey!":.

-------

Waking up from stasis wasn't ever pleasant. There wasn't the transitional lull that came with normal sleeping, where your mind is still catching up with the program but your body already informs you that you're going to regret your sleeping position for the rest of the day.

Nothing like that. It was a sudden jolt of complete awareness and even with Kobolt filtering most of the functions, Kobey swore their shared processor was just slapped. But even surprises like that are bound to get stale eventually and this time around, Kobey can at least say they didn't scramble.
No, no- they valiantly tasted their prowess by paddling through the sudden assault of color and braving the danger of mistaking up for a down, they somewhat ended with their hind legs on solid ground. To the cheer of numerous pongs, the rest of their body followed like a slinky.

No one ever climbed out of a ball pit dignified, but Kobey would say they were the nearest to a front runner there ever was. Their talons were a tad too long and traced lines through the generous bedding of dust accumulated on the floor, but at least they had all their four legs underneath them.

Well, the front left was at least present. It was held tight against their chest to avoid crushing the teacup Kobey wasn't as surprised to find glued to their paw as one would expect them to be. Its coloring was brighter than Kobeys own and the small hands of it's dutiful owner maneuvered their claws to hold it like a perfect (if slightly grotesque) gentleman.

And as much it staggers Kobey to see the traditional Slavic-grandma blues and whites performed in a ghastly shade of neon lavender, they would still prefer the rest of the tea set intact, not seeing its hundreds of shards embedded into walls like perches for the smallest carrion birds.

The place they woke into was, for the lack of better word, completely wrecked. The only lights seeped through the holes in the ceiling directly above the ball pit and through tattered curtains, only held in place by an army of star-dotted bandaids Kobey vaguely recognizes from their subspace storage.

But even with the scant lighting, Kobeys night vision didn't spare them the whole sight of it.

What wasn't torn to newspaper cuttings was half-melted and riddled with needle-thin punctures. The walls were scraped clean of wallpaper, and the chunks of it hung off the dilapidated monkey bars as if it was a clothesline. The slide was overturned and in two pieces, looking more like a hidey house for a giant hamster with anger issues than anything else. One piece was impaled by a sheet of linoleum, tilted up amongst many others towards the ceiling, forming of grassland of blades and curved fangs.

Kobey couldn't remember what the room looked like before, but they could tell that whatever charm it had was violently ripped away and shredded. Now, it was a graveyard of curtains, tunnels, and anthills but one thing was clear. It used to be some sort of indoor playground, a nursery, a kindergarten

...Kobolt stays after Kobey falls asleep. It doesn't ever move far and stays vigilant as Kobey sleeps weeks or entire months away in a flash. They don't ask how long they slept anymore but... They left Kobolt alone in a safe space meant for children.

There were traces of black fumes clinging to the ceiling.

It's only when Kobolt sends out a questioning ping that they noticed their plating started shifting up and down, tines clicking against each other without harmony. To Kobey, it sounds like rapid breaths behind chipped ribs second and mockery first. Kobolt made sure Kobey stopped trying to breathe early on. They remember that.

Without an immediate response Kobolt expects, a start-up of a diagnostic appears on Kobey's HUD. They shoo it off, and it's then that Kobolt apparently decides their thoughts require a response. Their voice over the internal comm is a monotone drone, devoid of any descriptors other than that it could lull a volcanic eruption into drowsy boredom. Kobey somewhat appreciates its constant groundedness.

.:Juveniles escorted away by others of their kind:.
.:Destruction unrelated:.
.:REPORT: Audio repeller implemented. Number of looters encountered: 12. Recordings archived:.
...
.:QUERY: Requesting summary?:.

Kobey clearly wouldn't in clear-headed enough disposition to be poking through the entries in their database, and they let a grateful feeling spread through their system. What an uncaffeinated fool they are to consider Kobolt could ever do something like... that.

The stream of information into their processor was a slow and steady one, enough that Kobey sat on their haunches and got into chipping the teacup away from their paw. They momentarily wished for a nail polish remover, but the prongs of their ears made their best attempt to keep the paint undamaged.

The summary was stitched together quickly and effectively, as Kobolt is prone to do so. Kobey saw unfamiliar faces, only ever searching for a while before departing, apparently deciding that looting an abandoned playground was nothing short of a bad omen. With every new face, the place got a little bit more rundown, and Kobey tried not to think how long they had to sleep for Kobolt to manage to get its interior redecoration project this far.

Only one looter met Kobolts gaze directly, and after a short tussle of shooting whisps at something they couldn't see, the recording cut away to their disheveled self halfway out the window, unmoving Kobolt overpowering their screeching with its own.

There were missing pieces and while Kobolt doesn't lie, Kobey is fully aware it omits. But with children apparently safe as much as they could be while chaperoned by other children, it was Kobolt on their mind (literally, as always.) Between the recordings, one thing stayed the same- Kobolts back struts were strung with apprehension. Not because of the looters, stars know that without Kobey, Kobolt would make a quick work of them if it wasn't completely confident of its hiding place.

If they could believe it, they would almost call Kobolt antsy.

Kobey wasn't ever under the guise of Kobolt being a lifeless collection of coding. Yes, humans anthropomorphize everything they come across- and Kobey still was human, despite it all. And maybe they didn't have a full grasp of... anything on how Kobolt operated, despite sharing the body.

But even with the entries in the database halved every time Kobey wakes up, Kobolt holds tight onto some poor soul's butt dials. Because it decided that their muffled voices would be 'beneficial- The fact that they were always interlaced with loud bird chatter was an absolute coincidence.

And so, Kobey almost asked. It could diagnose their body and Kobolt had an obvious backdoor to their thoughts, but Kobey was deaf on anything purely Kobolt...

They just wanted to ask if they were alright.

It always surprised Kobey a bit that Kobolt's interventions didn't came as electric shocks. No, what turned their head sharply to the direction of the window was a tug of an ill-fitting bridle. Sharp, icy nails pressing against their chin. A signal that bounced off wrong.

In comparison to what Kobey knew they went through once, this would be a machine's best attempt to be gentle.

But if there is one thing that Kobey will always remember, it's the terrifying sensation when their choices become no longer their own. And so, as if working on muscle memory, their body suddenly lurches sideways. Their tails clicked in their housing at the sudden loss of balance and their long ear darted to steady them in place of their curled leg, flinging the suddenly freed cup away from them as if it was the thing that caused this reaction in the first place.

They must have stood there for a while, with the world tilting a little bit sideways, a picture hung not-quite-right. Kobolt kept their beak pointed to the window all the while. There, the bandaids peeled one by one when a gust of hot air braced against the curtain.

Before it could drop to the floor, Kobey took back the control and darted for the teacup, clutching the small, chipped thing like it was a lifeline.

And when the air was finally let in unbridled for the first time in 5 months, Kobey lunged.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Hearing Vanessa's question about his motive, Vibratus couldn't help but let out a chuckle at all the wild assumptions the girl was making. "Have I not told you already? Oh wait, if I remember correctly you weren't here when I told those trash kids my vision. Allow me to repeat myself then, just for you." Shifting his stance to face Vanessa, the man began speaking in a confident tone.

"Now that the old world has collapsed and brought along with it its outdated rules, I believe a new norm needs to be established." He began. "In the old world, those with powers were expected to use their strength to help those weaker than them, the less fortunate. Those types of people were praised and called 'heroes' while those who used their powers for more selfish reasons were deemed 'villains'. I never understood that, why must they limit themselves? Those who have powers deserve to use them however they wish! Its not our problem if others weren't born as privileged. The powerful should be the ones to rule the world!" Vibratus reached his arms out beside him. "And I shall be the one at the very top. After all, there isn't anyone stronger than I."

After his speech, the man focused his sight on Vanessa. "If you know what's good for you, join me. You show promise with your powers. But if you insist on staying ignorant, then do what's good for you and stay out of my way."

 

[comic]

Might Girl
This guy was preaching for a dictatorship, not dissimilar from Warren's time in office (the old man had turned democracy into an authoritarian state since he was "elected"), and Vanessa's brow lowered, besetting into something akin to a frown as she glared back at Vibratus. "Look, Dapper Dictator, you're all about the freedom of choice for those with power, but you're fighting to take the freedom of others worse off than you--you're the textbook definition of a bully!" she proceeded to puff her chest out, not too excited to feel that weird pinching move the man had inflicted earlier, but she wasn't about to let some crazy guy with crazy powers go about hurting people!

"I don't like bullies," Vanessa finished, parting her legs as she took a stance, ready to lift off at any moment, fully aware of how these scenarios went. It happened in every comic book she'd ever read. The new bad guy offers a team up or something, the hero defies the morally unjust position and they proceed to fight. A clash of good and evil--though Percy added a layer of uncertainty, since she wasn't sure where he stood on things.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Kerco

Kerco followed Alan, his eyes scanning the path in front of them “Do I hope to find anything?” He thought for a minute in silence “I guess I look for answers, as much as I know an insane amount of things, there are still a few things that stump me.” He looked to the side “I would share, but I’d rather not insult a dead man.”

Lilian

Lilian watched the man work at creating a ritual, flashbacks occurring in her mind as he did so, many spells, rituals done on her. When he spoke to he, she blinked and took a minute to respond, crossing her arms “You were wait until now to ask?” She glared at him, then looked at Charlie and sighed “Yeah, but you will owe me a big one after this.”

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Vibratus furrowed his brows when Might Girl adamantly stood up against him even with all the warnings he gave her. "Not very smart are you, child. Have I not made it clear enough how much more powerful I am compared to the rest of you? What could you possibly hope to achieve by facing me?" After staring as the girl for a few more seconds, the man let out a sigh as he lowed his body. "Fine, if you wish to foolishly challenge me, then I shall oblige. This will be a good opportunity to teach you a lesson on why you shouldn't stand against your superiors."

 

[BurbleBurble]

Skade II

Damn it! She was really banking on him backing off. Not to mention, she still wasn't all too great from the earlier affair with Vibratus. It was immensely frustrating for the wannabe Herald. Though all she could do was suck it up- Being a Herald was never going to be easy after all.

Her new opponent moved with great swiftness, fleet footed as he weaved through his smoke, jeering towards Skade. His first attack was parried by an whitefrost coated arm, successfully protecting Skade's head. The little give the whitefrost had on impact relieved her, that this man was far weaker than the one who she couldn't even freeze or land a hit on, though he was alarming in his own way.

That next kick did collide with her ribcage, and it sent her packing across the crackled asphalt. She quickly got back on her feet though, her skid stopped short by her now coated arms.

"This is how you want things to be?! Fine, allow me to indulge you!"

Congratulating herself in her head for thinking up a good line, she stomped back towards Wolfe with a renewed fury. He hit hard and fast, but he couldn't be immortal like the other guy- And if he couldn't easily break her whitefrost either, there were ways to exploit that. One came in the form of a rapidly forming sheet of ice off the side of her left arm, akin to a shield or rampart. Her other fist remained free, but condensed spikes of frost began forming, a trait the previous Skade was known to use when she wanted her hits to hurt. She wasn't about to fully encase herself until it was proven to be necessary, because that got...draining.

And as she closed in on Wolfe, she drew back her spiked fist, wanting to hit him in the chest right back- While it may of become clear from the kick alone that this girl wasn't precisely the Herald she touted herself to be, she was still plotting to put up a good fight.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Wolfe

Wolfe watched as the self-proclaimed Herald of Whitefrost reeled from the impact of his kick, tumbling across the concrete; jumping back to her feet shortly after with an enraged yell. As he evenly met her furious glare with his own cool gaze, however, Wolfe couldn't help but feel a slight but palpable chill seep into his leg where it had made impact with Skade's torso. Admittedly, despite his doubt as to this "Skade's" true identity, Wolfe hadn't felt as intense a cold as what seemed to have simply emanated off of her whenever her ice was conjured.

As Skade now approached him with a shield and spiked fist, the vigilante kept a note of caution in maintaining a close-quarters clash for too long; tendrils of black and purple smoke continued to dance around him as Wolfe lowered his stance and took deep breaths, waiting for his opponent to reach his location. Skade immediately lashed out with her ice-spiked fist in a straight lunge toward his chest, and in a bid to unleash a counter, Wolfe dashed forward at the opportune time, smoothly weaving underneath and outside the strike and subsequently aiming to slam his forearm directly into Skade's gut.

Suddenly, though it seemed his advance was undeterred, Wolfe quietly winced as a searing pain abruptly shot through his right cheek during his counterattack, nearly causing him to falter. A stray spike protruding from Skade's ice-encased fist had grazed his face, and despite what could very well be seen as a minor cut, a frigid cold that almost seemed to burn now seeped into the laceration, from which blood had also begun to flow.

Who was this girl? Herald still seemed like a stretch, but something about her "Whitefrost" seemed like an entirely different beast from your standard ice powers; even one well-timed hit posed the threat of proving fatal. Still intent on pressing the offensive, Wolfe continued to put his full strength into his clothesline maneuver, but his confidence in his control over the situation was definitely starting to wane.

 

[comic]

Elasticity
Before they could part ways, Miracle was... thanking him. It made Elasticity's gut twist up into super-stretchy knots before they parted ways, and he watched the odd, eccentric individual leave (though Garrett could hardly judge, he was an odd, eccentric individual himself). A large part of him felt that the praise he'd just received was undeserved--he had hardly taken part in the Reaping. After his butt had been thoroughly kicked by Skade, he'd run off and hid. He'd hid while the world needed heroes, and despite victory being attained at great cost, Elasticity had played no role in saving the world.

His eyes stared after the man, before shamefully averted toward the grassy ground as he turned away, biting his lower lip as he wallowed for a moment in his own self pity. Vigilantism... he hadn't even indulged in that for a long time. Ten years, all he'd done was shoot up, have weird, kinky sex, and sleep off his misery and shame. Rarely was he forced to put himself into perspective again, and frankly? It hurt.

Swallowing the lump that had formed painfully in his throat, Garrett began to move, walking away from the ruins of Paragon Tower, feeling as though he were seconds away from throwing up. What the hell was he doing... wasn't this continued existence his second chance? Most of the other Paragons hadn't been given this. The same day he'd been almost killed by Skade, Dapper Gecko had been hospitalized by her as well (and after the Void Father attacked, Garrett hadn't heard from the old man again). Agony and his stupid guitar and stupid mohawk had been killed by Ignizio, that was a confirmed kill, and as for Silver Sword? His beloved sword had been shattered and Ignizio had cooked the man alive in his own armor. From what Garrett had learned, it was too much of a mess that any attempts to remove the armor were futile, and the true identity of that dork would probably never be known. Sparkblade, the newest member, fell fighting Skade. Ansel was much the same against Ignizio, even if both of them succeeded in the end. There were other factions involved, of course, as Kronos and Luna had been put down by those not part of the Paragons, leading to those conflicts being far less known about.

Yet here Elasticity remained, a survivor, surviving even beyond the invincible Patriot, who had died in his conflict against the Void Father. When his body had fallen back to the Earth, there was nothing left to save. There wasn't even a funeral as the still-living Charles Warren had stepped in and taken Patriot's body, telling news broadcasters "for the study and preservation of mankind, should we ever face such a terrible threat again". Garrett had long since gotten over his surprise at Warren's continued existence, and simply accepted it. Ignored it to wallow in his guilt.

And here... he'd just been thanked...

He was forced to swallow another forming lump.

Might Girl
Vibratus countered with the expected villain dialogue, though this guy was no Doc Ock, she'd been expecting a longer monologue about how superior he was again, which was something Doc Ock did constantly to Spider-Man, who just stood there and politely listened, as Vanessa had intended to do for Vibratus. Now, he finished his rant and glared her way.

They stood there for a moment.

Vanessa felt her anxiety grow.

Was this dude trying to psyche her out!?!?

Alright, first move was hers, she guessed...

Vanessa kicked off the ground, accelerating quickly into the air as she balled her hands into tight fists, before she changed her trajectory at a perfect right angle, diving toward Vibratus like an Orca might rise and dive down toward a Seal, her fists extended forward in mimicry of the Superman pose as she aimed to slam the guy down to the ground, and hopefully end the fight in one swift move before it could truly begin, before anybody else could get seriously hurt as Flora had.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Prince Percy

Seeing Vibratus deliver an evil villain monologue to Might Girl, Percy knew exactly what would happen. He cave a cat like condescending smile and put a hand just before his mouth.

"Oh you done did it now-"

*Fwoosh!*

Percy was left on the ground as Might Girl flew up into the sky above. Oho, Vibratus was gonna friggin die. He carefully took a few steps back as he put both of his hands on his staff, juuust in case the impact was more powerful than he anticipated.

 

[waluigipinball]

Arm-wound now forgotten- for pain still throbbed in torn flesh, but a transfixed mind had wandered from the sensation she had felt so many times before- Finley's eyes moved not from the ensuing chaos. The push of feet, a fist moving through wind- a stance taken, all after a monologue given. It was all like something from an old superhero film. Good versus evil, a battle of forms empowered through purely physical means. In a fight such as this she had little use. Finley's own powers injured no-one but herself. This girl, who flew and threw a punch- the girl lined and coloured in the pages of Marvel comics- clear before her, that was power undeniable.

Power had never been needed, not by Finley. In fact, all power had ever done was chip away at her mother's life. It had done nothing to protect her father when the world around them had fell- they had faltered at the finishing line, arriving too late to aid in fending off the tragedy that her family had endured. But this... gentleman, who spoke with hissed words of pointed superiority, and had induced complete vagary from a discussion to an all-out fistfight, seemed to Finley obsessed in revealing his power, in insisting his strength was unrivalled.

Perhaps she needn't get involved physically. Her powers were not made for that, anyway. Hazel eyes kept trained upon the 'villain', his monologue wrapped. Behind said eyes buzzed the electricity of power, the heat-haze of anticipation- from afar, stepped back, she was ready to aid if needed.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Vibratus braced himself while observing the girl in front of him take flight, the shockwave sending his hair and loose clothing flying back. Vanessa had flown quite high up into the air, to the point where it became difficult for the man with the vibrations to pinpoint her with his eyes. However, that didn't matter as much when the wannabee hero quickly shifted her body and began a high velocity dive aimed directly towards the location Vibratus was standing at. While most normal people would be scrambling to get out the way by this point, the egocentric man simply stood there with squinted eyes, seemingly trying to remember something. "Hmm, this looks awfully familiar." He internalized.

When Vanessa was a but a few meters away from the man, Vibratus suddenly kicked off the ground, sidestepping out of the way of the dive. This would leave Vanessa with a nice face full of rubble if she was incapable to stopping herself. "Hah! This was the same thing you pulled on me when you first showed up, did you really think I'd fall for it twice?" He gloated. However, even if he dodged the attack itself, the kinetic force of the incoming impact was still present, causing the man to have to stumble back many steps before regaining his footing.

 

[comic]

Might Girl
Concrete and earth crumbled beneath her fists as she slammed into the ground, a spray of dust and debris cascading around her. Vanessa pushed herself back to her feet, shaking her hands off from the hit as she winced slightly, glancing toward Vibratus, who had avoided her attack, mocking her re-use of it from before. If she was going to be dead honest, she'd forgotten that she'd used it before. It just seemed like an effective move!

Crouching, Vanesa dug her fingers underneath a large slab of asphalt, the small crater she'd made aiding in picking up the great piece of rock, which she proceeded to lift up and thrust toward her opponent, making sure to throw it by its less-deadly flat side, not really wanting to seriously hurt this guy. Just knock him out, if she could.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Prince Percy


He thought this was going to be a one and done deal, but as soon as a spray of rocks and concrete debris plume out, he was quick to bend the damp mattress in front of him, helping to deflect a lot of the hazardous wake that followed.

"Oi! You almost killed me! Innocent me!" Percy spat at Vanessa. "You ain't Superman hun, you can't just go around treating everyone as collateral!"

Tossing the mattress to the side, with a flick of his wand, he used his his power to bend the springs inside the mattress making them shoot out towards vibratus's legs? Aiming to wrap
And tie them to the floor to keep him from dodging Vanessa's attack.

 

[The Alright Attorney]

Alan stood quiet as Kerco responded. The former Paragon seemed to pick up on who the dead man Kerco spoke of was. "Guess you can never have too much knowledge." He muttered out, before stepping outside. Alan's eyes trailed out to the broken city. "Gonna be a long walk. You got a quicker way for us to get there?" He asked Kerco. The man clearly had his fair share of secrets, it wouldn't be a surprise to the scavenger if Kerco had some kind of secret underground tunnel.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

"Heh, I knew that blow she landed on me earlier was nothing but a lucky shot." Vibratus thought to himself as his mind took in the situation. The first time they met, Vanessa was able to land a heavy blow on the man. However, it appears she was unable to replicate the earlier result. This event only served to reaffirm the man's beliefs.

Seeing Might Girl uproot part of the ground before preparing to throw the chunk of rubble at him, Vibratus simply chuckled. "Throwing an oversized pebble at me won't help you." He taunted as he raised his fist. The man began channeling his powers to his arm, however the vibrations weren't forming as smoothly as he intended. The tremor buildup in Vibratus' arm didn't appear to have the level of power the man wanted to channel. "What the?"

Shaking his arm in annoyance, Vibratus suddenly felt something pinch at his leg. Looking down, Vibratus was met with some animate springs attempting to bind his legs. Quickly deducing what was happening, the man shifted his frustrated gaze at Prince Percy who was cheekily waving around his staff. "You! You still haven't had enough?" He exclaimed out loud with a very frustrated tone. This sudden surge of emotions appeared to have caused the vibrations in his arm to reach his desired power level right as the slab of asphalt reached Vibratus, who swiftly punched it apart.

After dealing with Might Girl's attack, Vibratus focused his gaze at Percy. "It appears you still need to be shown your place. If you wish to interfere this badly then I shall deal with you first!" He shouted while kicking his legs to shake the springs off. Channeling his vibrations in his legs, the infuriated man launched himself in the trash prince's direction with his hand reaching towards his target.

 

[| Korutesu |]

Edward Collins / NYC, Road to Paragons Tower

Edward Collins, a civilian of NYC, had woken up early, of five AM in the morning. It was still dark during that time, so the one table lamp was turned on, while Edward sat down on the table drinking coffee. Edward was writing and looking at all his information about the Phantom Rogue, which he'd gathered for most of these years. He also remembered the days before the reaping, before everything had gone to shit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was the day of when the Paragons were seen as criminals, when.. Heralds attacked Earth, front and center.

"H-hey! Everyone! Quick! This way!"

Edward shouted out to the crowds of people, trying to lead them to safety, hoping he could save as much people as he could before something would happen. He knew that the Paragons, they, would protect them. Though, they were nowhere to be seen. The only thing for sure, was that something was transpiring in Warren Industries, and he didn't want to find out what was going on.

It felt like months, months of despair, pain and suffering. It was a feeling that Edward could never forget. Soon enough, that feeling returns in the form of the Void Father, casting hell on all Earth, and killing the world's protector, Patriot. Charles Warren then declares that the Paragons are now criminals. Vigilantes.

The feeling of despair from Edward losing his friend, Terry Hagen, who disappeared when the Void Father attacked, and the suffering he felt when the world had just became hell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two Hours Later..

Edward Collins was walking in the streets of NYC, walking over to Paragons Tower to see if he could find something in the tower that might be of importance, or maybe something that can add more information to his research about the Phantom Rogue. If he was being honest, he was just there to see if there were any records of the Phantom Rogue anywhere in the building. In reality, Edward knew that there was probably nothing in the tower itself, and was either lost in the rubble, or gone.

It was still a long way to the tower itself, so he could still decide on if he should still go or not, and if he should go home. Even if Edward knew what he'd find, he still went to Paragons Tower anyway hoping that there might be something there. Notebook and pen in hand, he'd take notes depending on what he finds in the Tower.

 

[comic]

Vanessa Everest, "Might Girl"

Alright, so that also didn't work--this guy was pretty quick, though admittedly Vanessa had rarely ever fought actual people before. Warren had always pitted her against his various robots and whatnot (not to mention she always got her ass kicked, but that's neither here nor there). However, as the concrete crumbled away, seemingly shredded by a million tiny, invisible knives, she could see that Percy was aiding her, metallic springs winding around the man's legs.​

Then, Monologue Michael (she was coining that) shouted at Percy's interference, shaking his legs, the springs seemingly tearing themselves apart, a vibration seemingly running aggressively down the man's limbs... of course! His power was vibrations! Vibrator? Eugh, no, that was a terrible name. Vibra... tum? Vibrato? Vibrating Virgil? Dilophassassin was far more innovative.

Following this, Vibrating Virgil launched himself, but Vanessa could see what was about to happen, she'd been given ample enough time to respond, so she launched herself through the air, not aiming to go low or high this time, simply aiming to collide with Virgil and send them both tumbling before he could try and harm Percy.​

Yin Li, "Hush"

To call the last 12 hours or so "eventful" would have been an understatement. Or... would overstatement be more accurate? She rarely let her guard down as she had, and for so long? After it had been so long? Shuzo had somehow not only defeated a Herald, but wound his way back into her life, as though the threads of fate were weaved in a way that intertwined them. Or perhaps fate liked to see her squirm as her head was filled with juvenile thoughts.

The aging woman felt a blush creep across her cheeks, and immediately kicked herself for it. "What the hell's the matter with you?" she mumbled to herself, digging into a small bag, before she conjured a small bottle of pills, promptly twisting off the cap and tossing one of the pills into her mouth. "It'd never work, what the fucking fuck fuckity fuck."

Yin Li was in the process of getting ready to leave. It had been a couple hours since that walk, since that... kiss. She hadn't felt a lip touch her own in such a long time, she'd almost forgotten how good it felt. Twelve years was the exact length of time it had been since she'd shared a tender moment like that with someone. With her late husband, the one Patriot had inadvertently killed, the one labeled as "collateral". She still thought of him from time to time. She also thought of Shuzo from time to time.

Speaking of, the ex-Paragon had already left the room, talking about scouting out ahead. She understood what he really meant; they'd been dead silent when they'd returned to the motel. It was far too awkward. Two individuals with such heartache and uncertainty sharing feelings and talking about the kiss they'd just shared? Yeah, that'd happen just as soon as Charles Warren willingly resigned from presidency. He'd left, perhaps to get some fresh air and think about what was between them, and what was around them. His own brother was the subject of their vengeful desires, after all. Yin Li didn't know what that might feel like--though Shuzo might not have had a very solid relationship with Keiji. That was the hope, at least.

A gunshot, muffled in sound, reached her ears. Yin Li stood, reflexively pulling her mask over her face, voice modulator pressing against her lips as she turned to face the door, hand shooting to grasp the sheathed katana hanging at her side. The closed door did not move, but a few more muffled, distant gunshots could be heard. Immediately, Hush was aware that it meant Sparkblade was in a bind. No doubt the Yakuza was moving in while they were separated.

However, as the woman began to move toward the door, she felt something strike the side of her head. Stars winked in her blacked-out vision as Hush stumbled toward the bed, roughly falling into it with a grunt, a knot forming where the strike had landed as her head throbbed painfully.

Looking toward her assailant, Hush blinked away the pain to see a balding, slightly overweight man smirking at her, his arms folded across his chest. A window sat open behind him. "Hope you don't mind, I invited myself in," he sneered, tilting his head to the side as Hush pushed herself up from the bed, nearly stumbling to the side. Holy hell, that hit had really dealt some damage, and he wasn't holding any weapons, so Hush could only assume that hit had been from a fist.

"The name's Okubo. You may call me Serpent, for I am the wisdom, good luck, and strength of Takeshi-sama," Okubo cracked his knuckles as Hush quickly tried to regain herself, still reeling from his insane hit. "I know you, Hush. Yin Li. Violator of my name and my clan. I am honorbound to silence you. Ironic, given your name, no?" the man laughed as he took a step forward.

"However, I will make you whimper."​

 

[waluigipinball]

Still, this villain refused to stand down. There was something morbidly impressive about a man who, even outnumbered by someone right out of the Paragons and someone who flung waves of rubbish, still stood determined to accomplish his goals. If power had not been his objective, had been all he spoke of, she might have sided with him purely on that fascinating vitality; but superiority complex shone from him as twisted sunlight, stinging her eyes. Or perhaps that ache was the stare she had cast his way, unmoving for a long time now. He needed to be taken down, and though Finley was fairly incapable- and equally unwilling- to physically interject herself, her powers did not call for that.

Launching himself forward with speed she'd seen only briefly before, Finley focused her eyes upon the attacker. A punch thrown from her fist would do no damage, but the mischief of her mind-powers would bring a blinding migraine from afar. They could do with a moment bought, and she could attempt to provide it. An ache surged in her own head, moved through the current of the air toward Vibratus. She felt the thought leave her, and reach out to him.

What telepathy would attempt to force into Vibratus' mind was a flash of blinding light, hopefully dazzling him for a moment- more hopefully, potentially temporarily blinding him. She knew not the extent of resistance in superpowered others, though. What little she had to offer could possibly barely phase him.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

While flying through the air towards the Trash Prince, Vibratus noticed Vanessa charge towards him, intent on stopping him from reaching Percy. A smirk grew on the man's face. These superhero types are very predictable, of course this little girl playing hero would rush in to save someone in trouble while ignoring her own safety.

With his other hand, Vibratus began charging his finger with vibrations and aimed to launch a vibrating shockwave at the girl to interrupt her flight. However, a wrench was thrown in that plan when a sudden migraine invaded the man's head, causing him to recoil. On top of the headache, what looked like a bright flash of light covered the man's eyes, rendering him unable to see. "What the hell is this!?" Vribratus shouted out in confusion.

Due to the mental attack from the unknown assailant, the man with the vibrations was unable to react when Vanessa rammed herself into him, knocking both of them to the away from the trash prince. A grunt escaped the man's lips as he collided with Might girl, the air being knocked out of his lungs. However, while his body was knocked aside, the man noticed his vision returning as the blinding light faded. Unwilling to give up, Vibratus flicked his vibration charged finger at Percy, aiming to hit the boy with a concussive blow to the head.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe, Daniel & Charlie
With a sheepish grin Daniel closed his eyes and with one hand pointed at Lilian and one pressed to the ground he slowly began mumbling an ancient sounding incantation as Charlie's body began to glow. Daniel then proceeded to move his hand from near the necklace and placed it on the ground next to his other hand, this caused the light from Charlie's body began to fade down her and sank into the ground before being absorbed by Daniel's hands. Daniel's entire body tensed and convulsed for a few seconds as Charlie fainted. The ritual ended as a sudden blinding light engulfed the room and when it faded Daniel and Charlie were both laying slumped on the floor, Forsythe rushed to Daniel helping him up "Lilian if your ok, could you check on Charlie, I'm gonna help Dan back to his office so he can recuperate.

Forsythe & Daniel
Placing a supportive arm around Daniel, Forsythe hoisted his old friend up and helped him away from the area, "did it work Daniel, is Charlie ok now" he asked the magical man. Daniel winced slightly as he turned his head to face Forsythe as they walked, "I hope so, that took a lot out of me, I had to lower most of my magical defences to assure that I had enough magic to do this and everything hurts now so, let's hope it worked" he stated weakly finishing just as they reached Daniel's office. They entered and Forsythe helped Daniel sit down before looking around for something for the two of them to drink. He paused as he grabbed some whiskey and two glasses bringing them over to his friend and pouring out some for the two of them "say what happened to the big man, you know after you pulled him out of Charlie, I mean he can't have just vanished he would have to have gone...somewhere" he said trailing off as he put down the bottle "Always so curious Forsythe, why couldn't you just accept that the girl was fine and move on" came Daniel's voice from behind him but it sounded, slightly deeper and more formal. Forsythe realised to late what had happened and as he turned to tackle Daniel, his friend moved aside and blasted Forsythe back before given a little chuckle and sending out a destructive wave of fire and energy that engulfed the room and the immortal in front of him, "I'll see you back in New York Forsythe, once your no longer dead of course" he said before turning and exiting the shop as the fire moved from the room to entirely engulf Forsythe, his body finally gave in at the door to Daniel's office as he pushed the door open and his charred remains fell to the floor and suddenly he awoke sat opposite the familiar face he had seen so often when he died "so Forsythe, even I didn't see this one coming" they said as Forsythe sighed and sat waiting for his body to heal.

Charlie
Awakening slowly from the floor Charlie looked around and then stopped, she couldn't hear him anymore, he was gone, her head was her own once more. She turned to Lilian, "he's gone, I'm normal again" she said with a massive grin on her face, only to have it replaced with worry as the sounds of fire and a muffled thump came from the shop. "What was that, where are Daniel and Forsythe?" she asked.

@The Dark Fairy

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Prince Percy


.....!!

Prince Percy prepared for a some kind desperate of method of escape before Might Girl interrupted, saving him from the blow while landing one one his enemy. His fearful expression turned into one of benevolent amusement. This girl was gullible, but she was very useful. He had to bear this in mind for the future...

But it seemed as though Vibratus wasn't done yet, he prepared another attack, using but a finger to assault Percy with. This time? He was more well prepared. With a flick of his staff, he summoned up trash in front of him, condensing harshly into a dense brick of material before it was hit by the attack, buckling, before crumbling altogether.

"Honestly dude, give it up! We all know the almighty Paragons can't be beaten!"

As much as he had to scrub his tongue for saying that later, he prepared a final blow. He summoned up wet and sticky filth to rise up around Vibratus's arms and legs, and made to condense into each other, effectively locking him in place for Might Girl's final attack