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Vic Martel (Nobody)

"It's not my responsibility to be your hero."

0 · 2,438 views · located in Capetown, Texas

a character in “Project Oddity”, as played by CabbageAngel

Description

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"To those who fear nothing - I am nothing. And I can end you."

Theme 1: Tame, Pixies
Theme 2: Serotonia, Highly Suspect
Theme 3: Ban All The Music, Nothing But Thieves
Theme 4: Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers






Image|| Name ||
Victoria Martel

|| Age ||
23

|| Gender ||
Female

|| Sexuality ||
Bisexual

|| Nationality ||
French/American

|| Aliases ||
Nobody (yes, she purposefully named herself something so infuriating)

|| Groups/Gangs/Organizations/Factions ||
None

|| Face Claim||
Takigawa Yoshino, Zetsuen no Tempest





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Image || Height ||
5'7'' - 170.18 cm

|| Weight ||
146 lbs - 66 kg

|| Physical Description ||

Vic's appearance is strikingly masculine. Practically everyone she comes across mistakes her to be a young man with some vaguely soft, feminine features due to her name, attire and build. She lacks the curves typically desired in women and may be slender and tall but she is not lanky. From her garage work-out sessions and band practice (as well as some crime fighting on the side...), she has the muscle mass and broad shoulders to show for it.

Vic has one of those faces that go from cute and unassuming to downright devilish once you know her. She has short, chestnut colored hair that she half pins back with clips, though the rest of her bangs fall in front of her eyes. Her eyes are round and forest green, sometimes peeking behind red-rimmed glasses if she doesn't wear her contacts that day. Her skin is olive and easily tans. Both of her ears are pierced, usually with small plain studs, but she'll go for something more flashy if it suits the occasion. She often doesn't go around with her shirt off for obvious reasons, but on her back is a tattoo of green Chinese dragon, covering a scar.

|| Attire ||

Vic switches between two styles, preppy and punk rock, and only those two. Well, unless she's slouching around at home. Half the time, you'll see her in pastel button up shirts, beanies, jumpers and skinny jeans. The other half, she's decked out in checkers, ties, leather, dangerous looking accessories and big black boots. She has skirts and dresses but never wears them unless she has a reason to.

|| Costume ||

Nobody's costume is made up of an simple yet eerie plain white mask, hoodie, shoes and pants.





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Image || Personality ||
Spontaneous / Laid-back / Independent / Flirtatious / Daring

Free and wild disguised by a calm exterior is the easiest way to describe Vic. She's highly adaptable and rolls with the punches of whatever is happening, be it fight or lunch. She generally tries to not get involved in arguments, but supernatural scuffles she'll generally take joy in launching herself into. She relishes freedom and spontaneous thought, despising when there are consequences.

She's not much of a talker unless you really perk her interests, has a generally sarcastic and teasing demeanor and can sometimes be quite crude. She's difficult to make angry and will not yell if you do. Her gestures, language and right down the way she sits is tomboyish, probably due to her hanging out with the boys in her band so much. She's got a lighthearted approach to most things and has a trickster side to her. Vic's also a very flirtatious person. If she sees someone attractive, she tests the waters. If they don't seem interested then she's back out again without a single tear. She can "proudly" say that she has been the experiment for several women. Some of her band members are actually quite jealous of the amount of female attention she gets.

Vic's fearless in her actions and carries herself with a confidence that only someone that cheated death might have. Whether it's relationships, performing or fighting as her hero identity, she approaches life with it all until it backfires.

|| Flaws ||
  • Insensitive
  • Closed off
  • Lonely





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|| Likes ||Image
✔ Flying
✔ Kicking ass
✔ Her band members/music/the drums/everything related to her band
✔ Horror
✔ Good bad movies
✔ Drinking games
✔ Camping
✔ Licorice
✔ Pranks, particularly using her powers to bother others
✔ Flirting
✔ Praise. Probably would be down with being worshiped.
✔ Some kinky shit we'll never, ever, ever get into in this rp


|| Dislikes ||

✗ Being stuck
✗ Noise complaints
✗ Controlling types
✗ Creative differences between band members
✗ Butterflies. Fluttery little bastards.
✗ Being shunned
✗ SURPRISE SULTANAS
✗ That the drummer is never the front man in the band, nor people's favorite despite the band being lost without them.
✗ The inconvenience of being a superhero
✗ Mushrooms
✗ Consequences

|| Fears ||

☠ An Abhorrent attack
☠ Her band breaking up
☠ Small spaces/being trapped (claustrophobic)







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Image|| POWER CLASSIFICATION ||

Vic has been classified as a 3 Stranger/7 Shaker, however she knows that isn't completely correct. It's not known that her invisibility classed under a Stranger power is in fact her turning into a cloud of invisible gas, a Breaker power. Her powers also stretch over a couple other classifications, being Mover and Brute.

Mover 1: Because of her control over air and her ability to become it, Vic can fly. She'd be put under the subcategory of Fly Mover.
Shaker 7: Vic's Shaker status comes from her ability to alter the battlefield by creating powerful winds to disrupt attacks, blow annoyances away and lift enemies in the air. She can make miniature tornadoes to really cause some chaos - whether she can go further than that, she doesn't want to try.
Brute 3: Vic would be classified under the Shield Brute and perhaps even Armor Brute for this power. She can use very strong winds to deflect attacks as a shield, or even create a miniature tornado around herself that deflects some projectile attacks. This is for cases where she needs her completely solid form.
Stranger 3: Due to Vic's ability to turn to air, she can go invisible.
Breaker 6: Vic can turn into an invisible gas that unfortunately carries the smell of licorice to give up her presence. When fully utilized, Vic can allow weapons to pass through her as though she was air.





|| HISTORY ||

Victoria Martel had spent all of her childhood years inside of boxes. She'd been stuffed into closets by her parents, packed into lockers by high school bullies and once was literally paid to be put in a cage and be looked after for a few days. The police had to look into that one. Victoria spent her time escaping from the boxes with secret drumming lessons and rock music. However, when she was 18, she found herself in a box that she couldn't escape with headphones.

The Trigger Event

She was in the state library elevator when it dropped. It didn't simply drop down, it went sideways as if something had knocked the entire building down. Victoria fell with the four others in the elevator with her. Miraculously, she and three of the four survived. She had fallen on top of the old woman that had died, her spine snapped on impact. Victoria immediately jumped to the conclusion that this was an Abhorrent attack.

They attempted to open the doors, but to no avail. The works were broken and there was rubble on top of them preventing their escape. The other woman in the elevator with them had broken her leg. They tried calling for help on the first day.

Victoria was in there for over a week.

The claustrophobic cage made it seem longer. They were quick to lose their minds in panic. During this time, the woman became sick. One of the men murdered her to reserve more air for himself, but failed to kill Victoria and the other man. Now with only two left, they accepted their deaths. They conversed. Talked about their dreams for the future. Victoria actually found herself taking a liking to the older man, telling herself it was OK to go out like this... that was, until he tried to coerce her into intimacy, claiming that it was her only chance at human bonding before she died. He didn't take rejection well. After a struggle, Vic managed to kill him by shoving the old lady's walking stick down his throat, but not before he could bite a chunk out of her back.

As she laid over the pile of corpses in this enclosed space, gasping for the last few breaths of oxygen in this place, she became air. As she watched herself disappear, she was certain that she was dying. Her gaseous form seeped out through the smallest cracks of the place, sifted through the gaps in the rubble, until she reformed on the surface of the rubble. The cultural center of the city had been obliterated and volunteers were still searching through the rubble. She later found out it was some power-drunk Breaker terrorist, not an Abhorrent.

After the Trigger

Soon after that, she cut her hair and freed herself from her parents, moving to a different city to attend university and staying with her aunt. She found her band members there, Zach, Donovan and Rudy, who gave her the name Vic she happily adopted. Their band, "I Really Hope We Don't Crash" (name courtesy of Rudy and his obsession with old British television), formed in Vic's aunt's garage. After much green-eye from Vic, she accepted that the lead singer had to be the front man, despite Donovan being a dumb name. (Her thoughts, not mine. They used to date at the beginning.) They graduated together (apart from Zach, he had to repeat some units) and lapped up gigs wherever they could. They've done small state tours, put out a couple EPs and even went on a trip to Japan together, just to raise their spirits when their relationships were getting a bit shaky (Rudy, again. His idea of them bonding over being surrounded by another culture kinda didn't work but they got a good song out of it.) And yes, through these past five years, Vic has been a Cape, taking martial arts classes and doing vigilante work behind their backs.

Currently, Vic stays at her aunt's - which is the band's hangout and rehearsal place - works at a record store (Donovan's dad owns it), and kicks some criminal ass once in a while. And yeah, she's still trying to cope with what happened in the elevator. Despite how free she's felt since it and the therapy which helped so much, there are some things that will never be erased from her mind.

So begins...

Vic Martel (Nobody)'s Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush)
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Holy shit, Vic thought, It IS him.

She stared at the babbling mess in front of her, feet slowly lowering to the ground. She barely took notice of the distorting body horror as Jericho transformed, being too absorbed to gawk at it.

"Did you get a note thing too!? Man it would be so coincidental if you did, you know? Like some sort of divine coincidence! But that's dumb huh. Oh man I should've asked Vic if she got a message on her phone or something, do you think she has a phone? ... Wait, do you even know who Vic is? Aw man, she'd have a field day if she knew about this! Then again, she'll probably see it on the news huh? Do you think we'd make the news?"

Vic facepalmed. This guy. Words could not express...

... how annoyed she was. She almost just sat down then and there with her arms up. What was she supposed to be doing here again? Jericho wasn't going to rob the bank, probably no one was. What was he supposed to be the distraction for? Did he even know that himself? Yeah... something about him made her doubt it.

"Yeah, maybe," she mumbled distractedly, "She'll be ecstatic."

"Oh man, I hope you like fire by the way, I almost never get to use this form!"

She raised her gaze to properly take in the furry, dragon-scorpion thing that now stood before her. Wendigo deserved props for his creativity. This form was better than any B-grade monster she'd ever seen before. She flinched at the heat that came too close to her face and watched as his stinger come loose and was swept up in the overpowering wind-currents.

Wendigo's tail came hurtling towards her. She felt the disturbance as it cut through the air almost too late. She shut her eyes as it cleaved through her stomach. Her legs and chest hovered, the clear gap between them wispy, mist seemingly rising from the "wounds". The gap increased as the mists crawled up her torso and down her legs, seemingly eating her away into nothing. Anyone could tell she was smiling from her eyes, which only opened briefly as she was sucked back into the wind wall, flashing for a moment before she was completely gone.

She burst through the other side, her torso and head appearing as she looked around wildly for anything to help her situation. Her eyes immediately fixated on the stinger embed in the wall, and the violet head of hair poking out from behind it. One arm formed and pointed at the stinger, while she looked directly at the girl.

"Chuck that here, will you?"

She snatched the curved blade out of the air as it was promptly tossed to her, letting the wind part for it so it could make its way to her rather than be deflected by the winds pushing out from around her wall.

"Cheers," she said, giving the girl a casual salute with a finger gun, before merging back with the whirlwind. This girl was awesome. It made her consider how handy a sidekick could be.

She was spat back out on the other side, materialized as she shot from the wall to hover over the back of the monster. She dug the point of the stinger into the base of Wendigo's neck, restraining herself from piercing through.

"Want this back?" She mused, "Tell me about the note - and you don't feel your own poison."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush)
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  1. WIP WIP WIP

    by StorminJericho

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An excited, if terribly annoyed, sigh echoed out of Jericho's maw; just the memory was irritating, like he had forgotten something important! Oh well. Might as well explain... and get this chick off his back! Jeez. The spines standing in the fur of his skull twitched, sinking into the flesh as the head itself turned completely around, a long oil black tongue lashing out and impaling itself on the stinger. Ink swelled from both objects, merging and then vanishing back into the main source.
In Vic's hand, she felt the change from solid to liquid; incredibly warm, near scalding, before it pulled itself out of her hand. Jericho kept his head turned towards her, voice crackling as it had been before, as if liquid was caught in the throat. "That was weak. Your quips are weaaak," The changer drew out the vowel, rolling the human eyes that sat in the skull of a reptile. "But hey, if you really want to play all rough and tumble, maybe I'll jus' play along hey?" The sentence ended on a question, just for a moment. Then the tail was again lashing forward; chitin segments bursting in fountains of odd gore. Strings of some goopy material lashed out from where the segments ruptured; flaying out into the air like silly string. He had aimed to attach it to Vic's arm; her chest and her hair. Her mask, Jericho was thankful, would have kept most of it from actually getting on her face, if he didn't miss.

The strings remained connected to the tail, dripping oily ink as well as some... Oddly clear liquid, giving the already iridescent ink even more of a sheen than it garnered. He thought about his plan for a second before pausing entirely, suddenly remembering that she was asking about the note. "Oh right! Anyways, so, I spent the day durin' the morning wandering around! This guy on a motorcycle almost hit me, and I may or may not have done a loud in his face... anyways! So! After the fun bike guy, I was hiding out in an alley to calm down and get my thoughts back... but then this fucking 'Pekah' bitch," whoa. That was some intense anger; the kind of intensity that surprised even Jericho, "decided that to give someone a note, she had to kick 'em down and then leave 'em with a bottle. 'M supposed to go back tonight to get my 'pay', but honestly, I don't trust it. If she shows up, I'll eat her as soon as any funny gamboling starts."

It hadn't occurred to Jericho, that while he disliked to do so, grudges were a thing he apparently was capable of holding. Especially against shadowy individuals who couldn't be 'civil' as he saw it. A long sigh left him, mind leaving the memory behind as he instead turned his attention completely back to the flighty cape. "You know... This is actually a breeze, I figured you'd actually be trying to kill me or something! Most people don't ever mind trying to slaughter me... when they're capes at least, or when they're scared enough, I suppose. I would appreciate it if you didn't though! I gotta figure out if Vic's band'll be playin' anywhere anytime soon! I haven't really heard their old music just yet!"

The Changer was rambling again, strings of ink swaying in the gale that surrounded him and the- still unknown- cape. But... he thought it was nice! Having someone to talk at, who seemed to take this just as seriously as he was; which was to say, not in the slightest. His furred head turned away from her, though a mouth opened just where the stinger tip has been, smiling away while the skull itself twisted around to look at the wind wall. Maw opening wide, there was nothing but the sound of Jericho giggling up the windy one. "This'll be fun, hehehe."

That was random. He hadn't MEANT to say that, but... eh! Oh well. Ink sprayed out from his mouth, sets of spinnerets hidden under the tongue and extending from the roof of the mouth; rope-thick webbing. Black and shining like the strands that flew from his opened tail, if immensely thicker, coated in a chitin that . The webbing flew into the wind wall; getting spun around and flung every which way into the bank. All of it still connected to Jericho's monstrous skull. His tail began sinking back into him, and as it did, the mouth that smiled and talked up at Vic suddenly burst forward; becoming a club of bone and chitin that rocketed itself toward her chest, just as the stingerless tail had before. Now, speaking of the tail, the strands of ink that were attached to everywhere near he and Vic in the center of the cyclone, were now connected to the space just between his 'hips'.

There was no pausing, no warning even; for one moment, all that the Changer did was spread webbing and ink everywhere... Then, with a hissing sound; with the formation of one bladder growing in his tongue itself, stretched tissue rapidly swelling a skull the methane produced by his constant digestion filling the new organ almost immediately. Jericho focused then, concentrating with a disgusted face as he brought another, new organ to life right by the air bladder. A sickened cough echoed out of Jericho, body lurching to the side just for a moment, before a intimately familiar sound echoed its way into Vic's ears.

scrape-scrape-SHCK, and then fire. Gouts of fire, lines of fire; traveling up and along the webbing spread about the room. Then Jericho's head turned and the stream of fire that came from the methane-potent saliva abruptly cut off, the Changer giving a ever so slightly manic grin as it did. "Trial by fire~!" Came the elated shout, focus turning to the ceiling as powerful legs sent him rocketing upward, a sheathe of bone forming around his shoulders and skull as he broke through the tile on the ceiling. Scrabbling and clawing his way to the roof, whether or not the two capes on the ground floor followed him didn't matter.

He couldn't help the cackling laughter that erupted from him abruptly, dizzied for a moment from the amount of blood he had manipulated inside his own system. His power, while it allowed him to morph his biology at will, didn't really agree with the formation of metal through his blood. He had only ever tried to form a blade of iron once, and only once. It took a while for the ink to result his body with the iron missing from him, and once he made it, he couldnt reconsume it.

Jericho coughed, letting the makeshift spark striker fall out of his maw. He stared at the metal there, his eyes focusing on the inherently wrong creation there. He shuddered and turned his attention out to the skyline; ears taking in the wailing sirens of the PCRT vans on their way. More cackling laughter, and then a burst of terrifying sound. 'Here I am!' Screamed the shriek that tore out of his throat; multiple mouths and vocal cord sets opening on the reptilian body he wore, adding onto the sheer volume he was giving out. A keening bell- again- mixed with what sounded like an air-raid siren; once again underlain by some terrifying chattering gurgle. After he finished his scream, he snapped up the makeshift spark striker again, swallowing it and taking it back into the whole of his being.

By sheer luck, or by the whim of nature itself; wind pushed from behind Jericho, carrying his 'voices' out just a bit farther than he was capable of pushing them. A challenge to every challenger who attempted to usurp this king of the hill. The Changer, in his roaring and shrieking, had forgotten all about Vic; forgotten that he was technically fighting with someone... So, he dove back down into the room; roaring and cackling all the way down as the bulk of his body thrashed about at random. The fiery lines of silk and ink that he had strewn about the room were still blazing, some even caught in his fur and set that ablaze as well! Which... normally would've concerned Jericho, if he weren't totally expecting it.

Now he was a blazing monster, fur ablaze and reeking horrifically. Maybe... the fire was a bit much. Some of the things inside the bank were catching fire as well, oops, uh... "Oh. Hahaha whoops."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush)
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There was a muted grunt of pain as the stinger slipped through Vic's fingers, dissolving into burning, black gunk. As Wendigo insulted her quips, she felt honestly offended.

At least I don't blab out my life story in the middle of a FIGHT, she thought indignantly, right before she heard a disturbance behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see a spray of some gory substance being discharged from his tail. She immediately turned ethereal as it lashed out at her. She split around Wendigo, becoming one and visible again in front of the monster's eyes. She was prepared to punch him in his reptilian face, but he began to answer her question, so she just floated out of biting range and listened, hands in pockets.

"So! After the fun bike guy, I was hiding out in an alley to calm down and get my thoughts back... but then this fucking 'Pekah' bitch -"

Vic visible stiffened then, her brain whirring as she took in the rest of his story. What the hell was the person wanting her to stop the bank robbery, also the one enlisting the person to rob the bank? What was the point of that? Were they just curious about what a stand-off between Nobody and Wendigo would be like? No - Jericho said he was supposed to be a distraction... she was part of the distraction too, wasn't she.

"... honestly, I don't trust it. If she shows up, I'll eat her as soon as any funny gamboling starts."

"You better share," she muttered under her breath, her fists tightening within her pockets.

Her grouchiness was watered down as Jericho kept doing what he did best - rambling. Vic smirked as he brought up her name again. He's obsessed, she internally sighed, shaking her head.

"Is that Vic from I Really Hope We Don't Crash? Heard that they're gonna be playing at Connections tonight," she said, her amusement showing through, when suddenly that icky, black silly string burst from Wendigo's mouth. She didn't bother becoming untouchable. She simply weaved through the slick black projectiles, whipping her head around to get a glimpse of what was happening. The chords were getting through the wind wall and were attaching to things on the other side. Vic frowned beneath her mask. The sticky matter was strong enough that the wind couldn't dislodge it from whatever they were attached to. Wendigo, despite projecting bits of hit matter through the wall, was having a perfectly fine time keeping on his feet. Vic focused on the wall, trying to boost its speed and mass, when Wendigo's skull crashed into her chest.

She made no noise at the pain she felt. She was pushed back, then let herself drop and crouch on top of the thick vines protruding from Jericho's body. She went into a coughing fit, hand on top of where the biggest impact was made. God, she wished that Capes had the common decency to not go for the fucking boobs. I mean, yeah, she did her best to make people forget they existed on her, but they were still there.

In the moments she was recovering from the hit, she heard the hissing. She looked up just a second before fire was blasted from Wendigo's mouth. She changed forms too late. Her energy was being exerted on reinforcing the wind wall to try and dislodge the black cords, causing her disappearing act to be delayed. She was caught up in the initial blast, screamed, then leapt up in the air off the cords to avoid the next wave of fire rushing down them to greet her. She disappeared as she jumped, hurriedly zipping low to the ground where the cords weren't present. Fire wasn't the healthiest thing for either of her forms.

She involuntarily materialized belly-down on the ground, smouldering. Her white hoodie was darkened with flame damage. There was a crash as Jericho broke through the ceiling and Vic barely glanced up at the plummeting rubble before throwing her arms out and dispersing the wind wall with a loud WHOOSH. She crossed her arms over her head protectively as the wind came roaring back to her.

Her eyes opened and she looked up to see the floating rubble above her. The place was practically destroyed - a hole in the ceiling, fire, rubble smashing craters in the ground... but it wasn't robbed. Yay.

Vic stomped her foot down and threw the rubble that had been sent down to crush her flying. Chucks of ceiling slammed against walls and a miniature whirlwind formed around her, snaking her upwards through the hole like a worm. She came out on the roof just in time to hear the terrifying battle cry of Wendigo, right before he scrambled back into the hole. Vic's brow twitched. Did he just ignore me?

The whirlwind around her narrowed into a arrow-like shape. She pressed her hands together in front of her and let out a little puff of air from her lips, before her projectile came down full force. The concentrated wind slammed into Wendigo's back, grinding him into the ground despite his mass. Vic blew out again, this time adding to the force of the current. Wind tugged on her clothes roared in her ears. She pushed harder. Hard enough to break bones. Suddenly, she stopped.

The strength of the wind faltered until it no longer weighed down on Wendigo's back. She lowered herself down to stand by the edge of the hole, leaning over it and peering down at the monster.

"If you're not going to rob the bank, I'm just gonna go," she called down, "This was fun. We'll probably have to do it again sometime. See you 'round, Wendy."

And she began to fly away. She swept over the top of PCRT vans making their way to the bank to detain the creature inside, quite happy to let someone else deal with it. She was getting hungry.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush)
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#, as written by Tanman
◄:Terry ‘Tess’ Farina:â–ș
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“Wow
” Tess murmured to herself in mild awe as the white cape emerged – Or at least, a part of them did. It actually was pretty amazing with the wispy nature of their being, swirling haze suddenly giving way to a figure. Whoever he was, he was pretty cool. Forming out of the nothingness once more, an arm and hand gestured to her with an open hand. "Chuck that here, will you?" He asked, and Tess immediately obliged, wrenching the stinger from the wall and tossing it across the room. Almost perfectly, it landed in his hand, and with a quick salute and thanks, he was off to fight the monster once more. Tess wondered if she came off that confident to others when she was Hush.

Continuing to observe the action from the safety of her position, it was still incredibly hard to tell what was happening in there, even for her. The whirlwind was still roaring, which was probably a good sign for the white cape though. From amongst the cyclone, more of that creature’s body was flung out, though this time as thick strands of black goop. Spiralling about the whirlwind, they seemed out of control until they hit the walls, floor, ceiling, anything they could attach to before holding steady, shuddering amongst the force of the wind. Was it trying to anchor itself to better strike at the white cape? Briefly, she heard the sound of a scream from within the wind wall, before things suddenly got a lot crazier.

The inky wires that had affixed themselves about the room began running flames down their length, setting ablaze like fuses, yet remaining strung about as if becoming a web of fire itself. The room turned red and orange with the hot light, the inferno whipping about and remaining furious even amongst the intense winds they were subjected to. Naturally, more than a few cinders and sparks were flying about the room now, setting alight to furniture and scraps of paper caught in the cyclone. If the sandwich shop was bad, this bank was going to be a whole lot worse. As the shadowy figure of Wendigo leapt upwards and broke through the ceiling, it seemed ‘worse’ was a bit of an understatement.

Shrinking back through the doorframe, both to avoid the fiery heat and the rubble falling in the wake of the shapeshifters destruction; Tess kept an eye on the white cape as he came into view once more. Dispelling the whirlwind that he had formed, in a quick motion of his arms above his head he forced the wind into a protective barrier of sorts, the air pressure holding the stones above him as it continued rushing upward. Then, with little more effort, he tossed it all to the side, though the fact that the powers seemed to rely on physical motions was an intriguing factor to note. A necessary component of the ability? Or just something to help them focus? Without any hesitation, Tess watched the young man form a cyclone around his lower body and fly upwards to continue the battle.

Beginning to make her way back outside so she could continue to watch the fight, Terry stumbled at the loud thud behind her as Wendigo hit the floor of the bank once more, fur aflame and
 Ughh, that smell really reeked. Why did she have to have a sensitive nose? Pinching it to block the stench, Terry didn’t have to worry about it too long as Whiteout made his presence known again. This time however, it was a blast; a reckless amount of air forcing down into the monsters back and driving it into the ground so hard it splintered the concrete. Falling backwards from the air that rushed past her in the aftermath of the strike, Tess remained where she was seated as she listened to him speak from somewhere high above them.

"If you're not going to rob the bank, I'm just gonna go. This was fun. We'll probably have to do it again sometime. See you 'round, Wendy." With that, she could only assume that the hero of the hour had left, leaving the shapeshifting monster to
 Ah crapbaskets! The PCRT! She’d been so focused on the battle she hadn’t heard the approaching sirens, nor thought about the fact they’d be on their way here! She had to get out of here before they started asking her even more questions about what she was doing hanging about the scene of another crime!

Moving to the corner of the room, Tess was thankful the place was so dark and destroyed that no one would see her transform. Even the technology around seemed down for some reason. It was nothing particularly flashy – at least, not to her - Just a quick shimmer of blue-white light pulsing over her body before dispersing in a swarm of particles, morphing her clothes and leaving Hush where she once stood. Moving up to the window and glancing out to the rooftop, Tess briefly pictured it in her mind before forming her lightblade, making a quick vertical sweep to cut open the vibrant azure portal. Quickly stepping through, Hush vanished from the bank and reappeared on the nearby roof, immediately ducking down to avoid being seen before looking further up ahead. With another quick slice, she was away, zipping past the PCRT vehicles without even being spotted. Leaping off the side of the building to slide into the dark alleyway below, Hush did a few quick checks to ensure the coast was clear before ending her transformation.

Returning back to regular old Tess, the girl gave a soft sigh of relief as she’d once again managed to preserve her secret. Now she just had to work out how to get back to school and explain where she’d been and what had happened.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Heroes League of America
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Jericho was blinded by the pain for a moment too long. Vision spotty and chest struggling to inhale. He had felt the wind press down on his spine, before his legs gave out painfully. Then pressure built and slammed him against the concrete hard enough to shatter more than enough ribs to send him into a state of quiet shock. "Oh..." Breathed the beast, 'oh', whimpered the larger than life monster.

Then he focused and mended his ribs from the inside. Ink pulsing along with his heart beat as it whipped his ribs back together and began shifting his form again. Nothing fancy this time, nothing terribly horrific. Horns sank back into the head as a new organ grew in his throat; eyes narrowing on the fleeing white hoodie in the distance. Fur receded, abruptly cutting off the stench of burning hair and ink. The changer slowly stood back up, the middle pair of legs sinking back into his body as two equally thick arms sprouted from where the 'shoulders' would be on a humanoid form. Four talons extended from the four digits that came with the arms as they pressed flat along his sides.

Hissing came from the scaled form; luminescent eyes squinting as he took note of the three vans that were barreling towards him... Jericho took a deep inhale, thoughts churning with the need for more- Ah. An idea.

On the next inhale, Jericho created a secondary digestive system, two 'stomachs' coalescing to life through the ink, pouring changed mass into it as the organs filled with churning ink. A quick smile flashed over the changers scaled face, lips pulling back all along the skull to reveal teeth in the shape of shark-like triangles. His skin, the pigmentation in it, began pulsing and throbbing with ink; brightening, darkening, flashing and sometimes even bursting upward to change the texture as rapidly as could be. Which... Was pretty rapid. At the end of every limb, mass flowed and concentrated, becoming heavy and thick like clubs with grabby bits.

He was done creating what he needed, and so rocketed forward; scales vanishing and becoming feathers that pressed themselves flat against the body as the thickly muscled legs gripped the ground as best they could and launched him forward. Ain't as good as when I'm flyin' but... it would have to do. Inside the vans, the PCRT officers had all of about three seconds of warning before their first van was rocked by the form of a monster. Ahead of them, the other two teams could spy the form of a car sized dragon charging forward, mouth opened as the windshield shattered. They watched, as all they could do was watch; having been caught in the act of just getting TO the bank, as the feathers that covered the beast became scales again. A clubbed tongue rocketed out of the Changers maw, striking the officer in the passenger seat straight in the face before sticking. Jericho's head yanked back and threw said officer over his shoulder, mass fading from the legs and tail for just a moment as the muscular tongue became even more muscled. Instead of being dragged, the non-cape went flying into the side of a nearby building; slumping and staying down on the ground once there. The man in the drivers seat had no time to move either, as a sudden club of bone rocketed into his face from the forearm of the right leg. He slumped in his seat, sent into 'sleep' by the sheer force.

Jericho, as he charged the first van he came upon, jumped onto the hood and roof of it; roaring now and leaping over the other vehicles as they came to a screeching stop and began opening their doors to get at the bounding dragon beast. They were swept aside and left gasping for air, a tail of muscle and heavy bone slamming into their bodies and tossing them aside. The stricken were treated to the sight of the chest swelling up. When the beast landed on the street behind the two cars, he swiveled about and raised the two arms that were pressed against his sides; two more sticky-clubbed tongues rocketing out and slamming into the chests of two officers as they raised what Jericho took to be some oddly designed fire-extinguishers. He yanked the arms back as the tongues retracted as well; sending the two men flying and tumbling down the street, one of them actually flinging past the retreating form of Nobody before coming to a stop against a parked car.

To the PCRT, Jericho wasn't pulling punches, and those that went down could be counted dead. To Jericho, this was a lot of restraint, and it was vaguely irritating. But! These people were merely doing their jobs. The Changer's reverie was broken by the sudden appearance of some foam-like substance that landed on his shoulder and spread down his arm to the asphalt. He gave a blink, then rapidly detached the limb from his body once he realized that the 'foam' was nigh impossible to break free of.

Needless to say, Jericho began ending things with the officers quickly. He grabbed another with one of the tongues; yanking the man into his grip before flinging him into the form of another, causing them both to crumple against a nearby PCRT van while they scrambled to get up. Their movements were thwarted by the sudden appearance of webbing that held them against the van and the asphalt; just as the containment-foam would've done to Jericho. The beast sighed, jumping out of the way of another spray of foam before he retaliated by grabbing, catching, then slinging the same officer who sprayed him down the street with the others.

While none of the PCRT officers would die today, they most certainly would have broken bones, and bruises tenfold. He thought, at least, that they would have broken bones, and be mostly fine. Granted throwing human beings around like toys when you had almost three times, if not four times, the mass they did... Well, they would be fine right?

When the last officer no longer stood up, Jericho turned around and charged down the street towards Vic, screeching a battle cry the whole way. He dropped the dragon form halfway there, opting instead for his namesake shape instead; battle-cry becoming the screaming wail that deer and elk were so oft' known for. Other than the imposing rack of antlers that sprouted from his head.

Officers down, out as they were for the count... One reached for his radio and called it in as it was. "HLA assistance required, prosperity bank robbery escalating. Cape on presumed rampage." A quick response was sent in return, and yet another force of the law began it's approach to Jericho and Vic. Though these were parahumans as well. And they were prepared for his tricks. The officer who gave the call, in turn gave a quick rundown of what Jericho was capable of, having only seen the webbing and the chameleon-like tongues, and the shift from reptile to humanoid elk beast.

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Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Heroes League of America
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Vic heard the commotion of Wendigo tearing the PCRT a new one behind her, prompting her to slow down a bit and watch from over her shoulder. It looked like they really needed a hand. She considered going back there to help out, but didn't make the move towards the chaos. She simply turned her head back and resumed flying away, that was until she heard the nightmarish shriek coming for her. She turned around and watched as a giant lizard charging at her was replaced by what looked like a skull faced deer monster. It wasn't a clean transition. Antlers burst out from fur and scales and his skull-shaped head condensed and narrowed - Vic could imagine the crunching and cracking sounds of contorting bone. It shed its dragon form like a thick, wet skin, sloshing down and dissolving into ink that trailed after Wendigo like a homesick shadow. Vic stopped moving away, instead opting to settle back on the ground. She stood there with her hands in her pockets, waiting for him, in the most daring game of chicken she'd ever played.

The monster wailed, just over a hundred feet away. She whipped a hand out of her pocket, striking the most dramatic "attack ready" pose she could. Air whirled in her hand, forming a decent sized projectile, while strong winds tugged on her clothes. Fifty feet. She could hear him breathing. Forty feet. Twenty. She could hear his matter writhing. Eight. He's right there. Five. Head tossed, he's going for the hit. Four. Three -

Wendigo's antlers were an inch from her chest when she disappeared. He felt a gust of wind swoosh past his ears as she weaved around him, reappearing behind him with her heart hammering in her ears. She almost went for a kick in the ass there, but he was too far away as he pulled the breaks.

"... DID YOU JUST MATADOR ME?!" Came the incredulous response to her stunt.

Vic didn't bother replying. She simply disappeared again, this time, for good. She went slower this time, looking as if she was melting into the wind. The last of her to disappear was her right hand. As the wisps traveled up her arm and seemingly ate up her matter, her hand closed into a fist and her middle finger flipped up. Her hand dispersed into nothing and she took to the sky, trying to get far away from her insistent opponent. As far as she was concerned, their fight was over - and yeah, she totally won.

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Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul)
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Vic finished the set with a drum solo she can admit she got carried away with. Donovan often threatened to take it away from her, but it was the only solo she HAD. Fuck the audience for not having an appreciation for wailing on her drum set instead of Don messing around with scales.

Her final clash was met with a slight pause as people expected her to go on, then applause. Donovan told the audience that they'd be right back after the break and the club's usual music started back up. Vic laid down her drumsticks and shook the sweat from her hands, which was dripping down from her sleeve-covered arms.

"Hey, Vic, aren't you hot there?" Rudy called over to her. Yes, she was hot. But she was wearing this jacket for a reason. Rudy went off to buy drinks for them as Vic slunk her way to the back of the stage, tugging on the zipper. Oh, whatever. Let's just get it over with.

She shed her jacket and turned around to be immediately assaulted by, "JESUS CHRIST, Vic! How did you get that?!"

Vic glanced down at the burn spread across her chest and reaching up to her neck, smothered in aloe vera. "Oh shit, yeah." She faked disinterest in talking about it, hoping to lose theirs. "Y'know that parahuman blackout? Well I was in the area, and long story short, zap." She prodded Zach in the chest. It wasn't the best excuse she had thought of, but it sure beat "I tripped up and landed chest-first into the oven." In a way, she was thankful that the blackout happened. She'd have no idea what to blame her burn on if not a parahuman. "I'll tell you about it later." When I think up the details.

"What were you doing there?" Ah, Donovan, he always had to have her under the flashlight, huh? "You have classes after work."

"Didn't feel like them," Vic replied coolly.

"You should get a tattoo to cover it up," Zach enthused, "How about... an eagle with spread wings, or an angel with wings made of blades?"

"Very metal," Vic said without any of the enthusiasm Zach hoarded. She glanced back down at her scar then up into the club's crowd, where she caught sight of a familiar face. "But... I don't think I'll be covering up this one."

She waved Jericho over.


Jericho spotted the wave and gave a wide grin, waving in return and walking over as he sucked down a sigh; irritated with the constant bumping of shoulders and skin between himself and other people in the club. His skin itched, and he couldn't smell anything... Until he got closer to Vic and let out his sigh. "Hey there- Whoa! Wicked scar! What happened to you!?" He asked as he gave her a quick side hug, pausing at the scent of licorice that wafted off of her. Lots of exposed skin and the fact that she was sweating gave way to some body odor that even a nasally blind would've noticed.

Licorice... Licorice... Wait. No. "WAIT. YOU!? THE BANK!?!? WHAT THE FUCK!"

Oops. That was... Not exactly controlled. But honestly, what was he supposed to do? She was there! She got hurt! HE HURT HER! FUCK!


Vic stared at Jericho as he let out his outburst, same with the other two band members present. She could almost hear Donovan's brow furrowing. Shit. Shit shit shit shit. How did he know it was her?! Well, to be fair, it wouldn't take a genius to figure it out, but after fighting with Jericho that day, she'd assumed that he was... ah, how to put this... less than genius? No, less than... an idiot. She thought he was an idiot.

She cleared her throat, interrupting Donovan as he was asking Jericho, "What the fuck are you talking a-", then grabbed Jericho by the front of his shirt.

"You mind taking this elsewhere, mate?" She asked rhetorically, right before she started dragging him through the crowd. She walked him down the hall past the bar where the bathrooms were located, and hurriedly chose the place they were least likely to be interrupted - the disabled accessible bathroom. Feeling like a bit of an asshole, she glanced over her shoulder, saw nobody looking, and shoved Jericho inside the room before stepping in and locking the door. She turned to him, her arms crossed and gaze steely.

"Alright Wendy," she said, "What's it going to take for you to keep your mouth shut?"


The changer came to a full stop, tattoo receding to his cheek as his face flushed with blood and ink alike; giving him a maroon parlor over his nose and the tips of his ears. "I'm so sorry! I just- Sometimes my mouth gets away from me you know? I never- I'm so sorry!"

He was fretting, and the shame and embarrassment was overwhelming, he hadn't been thinking and now he had pissed her off and why did he keep fucking things up?! "This is my first friend and I'm- Oh shit sorry." He had been talking aloud again. Great. "Look I just... You don't have to pay me anything! Hell just give me your number or something so that way I can like, avoid ever encountering you like that again! Unless you want to spar like that or something? You're the first person to actually break something on me that didn't use like, a gun..." His tattoo wriggled some, shifting from his cheek to the entirety of his face as he shifted his stance.

"Is this a secret thing? I mean, well, you just smelled like licorice and the windy-cape did too so it's just kinda obvious... Ugh. I'm sorry!" Repeating, again, what his statement from before had been. Jesus Christ did the rambling ever stop- "It's like it just gets worse every time you- Fuck. Sorry! I'm just... Stressed!" Again was he talking aloud! Jeez.


Vic lunged out at Jericho to grab his cheeks with one hand, mushing them together to force his lips into a kissy-shape which thankfully, prohibited him from talking.

"Jericho!" She hissed quietly, "Just... shut up! That's enough, OK?!"

Her panicked brain whirled, but she managed to keep a straight face. She let go of him and slumped her back against the door, overwhelmed. First "Pekah", now Jericho. Her identity was coming under fire lately, and she didn't like it. In fact, it made her feel sick. Exactly how she felt now. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed, calming herself down.

"So..." she began slowly, rubbing the burn on her chest, "You don't want to expose my identity." She'd gotten that much out of his ramblings. "You... you don't want... revenge?"


Jericho found that he rather didn't like having his face squished, but, on second finding? It was good she did so. He wouldn't have stopped rambling otherwise. "No... No! Of course not! You weren't blatantly using your powers outside of the fight, and I mean, you were just doing a job too! I'm not that stupid! If anything I would like to fight with you again! But... no fire. I never ever meant to hurt anyone, and I think even with the uh, other form, I went a bit too far."

A nervous smile plastered over his face, anxiety riding high on his speech. Focusing was hard, trying to hold onto the topic was harder than holding onto an eel in the water, with lotion on your hands. And if the eel was super strong- wait fuck, doing it again. "Look, I dunno what you think I'm like, but I'm not a ... vengeance and hellfire kinda person! I just wanna eat, have some friends, and just live! Ugh. I'm rambling again, sorry."

A hand came up, plastering over his mouth as his form wriggled for a moment; expanding and then changing until he took human shape again. His skin was flickering with colors and shapes, cephalopod tentacles crawling up from his wrists, while talons and fangs loomed around his fingers and his face. They looked like tattoos, albeit they moved and then began to glow. Pulsing with blues, greens and reds alike, flickering as if under a strobe light... before going neon bright. The change wasn't wanted, but Jericho found that it helped with anxiousness. Hell it even helped get his energy out, expending it on useless changes, if they were rather pretty.


Vic's back slid down the wall until her butt hit the ground. She sat there, exhaustion from the day beginning to take its toll, as she just watched Jericho's change. It was gorgeous. Well, she thought so, anyway. She eventually smiled, the coldness of her face melting away, back into plain old Vic.

"Well... good," she said briskly, standing back up again. "Now we just need an excuse for your outburst, and we're cool."

She unlocked the bathroom door, wanting to get out of this room of intense emotion that made her feel so small and uncomfortable as soon as possible, but just before she left, she looked back at him.

"For a disgusting nightmarish abomination, you sure do look beautiful right now."







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When Kate Martel booked into work at Capetown Children's Hospital that night, she discovered the place to be in absolute chaos.

"Capetown Memorial Hospital was hit in the power outage," a coworker informed her hurriedly when she asked around, "Even the generators are down, and from what I've heard, many of their electronics are fried. We've agreed to have a percentage of the patients transferred here until they get the hospital running again."

"Do we have the resources to support this influx of patients?"

Kate's question was met with a grave look.

"What of those who were on life support?"

The reply that Kate received was even graver.

She was assigned a seven year old boy who'd been rushed through the emergency ward that afternoon, needing to have a glass shard removed from his right eye. A bulb had exploded next to his face in the parahuman induced power outage. Under the knife, it was determined that his eye had been lost and it was completely removed. Kate walked to his bed carrying a tray with his dinner. He was watching the TV, his one eye fixated on the screen while the other was covered in bandages, while he limply played with the action figures his parents had left him.

"Hello, Liam. You must be starving," Kate said with a smile and laid the tray out in front of him, "It's been enough time after your surgery, you can eat now. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," Liam responded quietly, still looking at the screen. Kate glanced over to see a news report playing. She watched as the shot of the news reporter cut away to shaky, vertically-shot phone footage of a monster screaming from the top of The Prosperity Bank before disappearing back inside. The cameraman was shoved back by a wave of some unseen force, as well as the other onlookers, when they steadied themselves and focused the camera on an ambiguous white-clad figure flying away from the bank. The narration over the footage claimed that "the other perpetrator" was unknown, but assumed to be an illegal vigilante. The report began jumping around to civilian witnesses and Kate internally sighed. Since when had children been interested in the news? A report on a terrorist attack was hardly appropriate for the boy.

"It's Nobody," Liam suddenly spoke up, pointing at the screen.

"Hm?"

"The vigilante. That's Nobody," he confirmed, rather proudly, "He's all white and can fly." He moved the heroic action figure down in a swooping motion, dive-bombing the monster. Kate bit the inside of her lower lip, holding back her concern.

"Oh, really?" She said, faking enthusiasm, "What do you like about him?"

"I don't really like him. He's okay," he gave Kate a half-gummy smile, "That Changer probably beat him up. He's much cooler."

The boy began ramming the monster figure into the hero, grinding him into his sheets. Kate watched on dully before leaving him to his own devices without a word.

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Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Alexander Dalton Character Portrait: Teen Heroes of America (THA)
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Alexander Dalton




Yesterday could have gone better. It was supposed to be another simple patrol if anything. Finally finished costume, word of Splatter blood crew activity happening in the afternoon. It was going to be simple. Then an actual hero showed up. Not some other more well known vigilante. But Red Jet, one of the members of Capetowns THA team. He had landed on the other side of the roof where Alex had been staking out the current activity. The crunch from the crimson clad hero's landing and the sound that followed was lessened thankfully. The new sound compensaters were doing their job.

Unfortunately the landing had been loud enough for the wannabe Splatterblood Crew members to look up and see Alex. The one he had been tailing before had joined up with three others. All of them looking like they had raided a hot topic store. cursing under his breath, Alex ignored the Cape and leaped down from the building landing with a solid thud, cracking the concrete on impact. "You guys are a month early for Halloween, or do you just have no taste in clothing?" Two of the kids quickly made a run for it. Good, maybe this would scare some sense into them. He flicked a hand out after the two, causing an aqua wall to form just as they scrambled out of the alley.

Alex turned his attention the the remaining two kids. The girl he had previously followed was currently glaring at him,
while the boy next to her couldnt stop fidgeting and looking back and forth between the girl, Alex, and Red Jet. "Alright, since you two decided to stick around here's a bit of advice. Stay away from the crew."

The girl clicked her tongue. "Why should we listen to some no name Cape huh?" Her hand was reaching behind her. Fuck she must be armed. the guy next to her began stuttering, trying to say something, maybe stop his friend from doing something stupid. Gotta be quick about this. maybe nobody would need to get hurt or go to jail tonight. You know, aside from Alex once Red Jet decides to come down and join him. But that wasn't important now. He just had to focus on these kids.

" Well because for one Splatterblood only really cares about other Capes. and two, I've heard some nasty stories about what he does to non-parahumans that try and join up with him. Alex pointed to the wall he had made that trapped them all in the corridor, a wide hole opening up in it. The girls eyes narrowed but she still hesitated. Not looking too sure. She probably had heard similar stories but thought perhaps she would be an exception. "Go home. The crew doesn't Screw around. And be glad I'm the one who found you and not a more violently inclined vigilante."

Alex let out a sigh when the girl quickly grabbed her friends hand and exited out the alleyway. His moment of relaxation was short lived though as a familiar thud came from behind him. Right, time to see how this goes then. Alex charged himself up and turned on his heel to face the hero. Not entirely sure what was going to happen next.

"I wasn't expecting you to defuse that without causing a scene. Gotta say, nice work. Alex took a moment to blink. then blink again. Did Red Jet just tell him he had done a good job? Alex shrugged in response. " I do what I can."

Red Jet crossed his arms, looking Alex up and down. Sizing me up most likely. Wondering just how annoying it would be to try taking me in. What had happened next genuinely surprised Alex. The hero looked out towards the exit, still keeping an eye on Alex. "You could be a real hero you know? With a level head and decent powers, it wouldn't be hard. Wouldn't need to worry about avoiding the authorities either. Red Jet gave a bit of a smile. "Think it over?"All Alex could do was nod. The hero returned the nod before rocketing into the air and out of sight, leaving Aegis a little dumb struck.



9 - 19 - 2017




Become a real hero? Alex was leaning back in his desk chair staring at his Aegis helmet. He had no classes for the day thankfully so he had time to think on the heroes words from lat night. Wasn't that what he wanted to be, a hero? That's what all this training and patrolling was leading up too. The only thing holding him back was the thought that he would instead he thrown in jail for illegal vigilante work. Alex did break quite a few peoples bones over the past couple years. Mostly due to trial and error.
He had been spending a few hours thinking it over. skimming through Cape forums and the HLA website. He really needed to take his mind off this for a while. Maybe grab something to eat too while he was at it. A gurgling feeling in his lower torso followed by a loud growl came in response. Yeah, it was food time, sandwiches sounded nice. There was always that place just-oh wait. The local shop was probably still needing some work done on it. Guess pizza will do.

As Alex reached for his phone the thing suddenly buzzed. New text from unknown number. A sinking feeling came over him as he opened the message. And luck would have it, The text was indeed from Vic. Alex wasn't sure if he should be excited or mortified until he read over the text.


< Hey, Vic here. This Alex? If you wanted my number, you could've just asked.
Nearly threw this scrap in the bin.



Wait really? Didn't think you would.
Most people I've asked kind of brush me off. Shocking I'm sure. >



< Astonishing.
I assume you gave me this number because you want to meet up, am I right?



Only if you were cool with it.
I'm only busy in the mornings so I'm usually free.
We could go grab some coffee maybe. >



< I'm free 3:30 tomorrow.
< Oh and also "And I'm buying. Trust me, I can afford it.

Well then, got any favorite spots?
Anywhere in town is cool with me. >



< Pick the fanciest upper class high tea looking motherfucker.
Tomorrow, we're sipping caffeine like kings.



Alright then kings we shall be.
Copper Kettle it is. You know the one? >



< Not at all, but the internet should.
See you tomorrow, my number 1 fan ;)



See you then ;P >


Alex almost threw his phone trying to stop that last text from going through. Why did he send a wink back? Well the damage was done. Best to live with it now. His stomach growled in protest a second time. Causing him to pat it in an attempt to sooth the ravenous beast. " Alright alright I'm going!" pocketing his phone and essentials before heading out the window. Shooting a text to Dean once his shoes hit pavement.

Going to Tony's for a slice. Meet up?

Dude always! See you there. You're buying right?

Of course you freeloader XP

Alex chuckled and shoved his phone back in his pocket. Get a quiet day to clear his head. And maybe by tomorrow it will be easier to figure out this cape business. He grabbed his bag and was about to head out window when something in the back of his mind nagged at him, causing a glance to be made back at his helmet resting on his desk. The thing almost seemed to glare back at him with a judging look. Deciding it was probably smart to take it with him, Alex shoved it into his bag and headed out. better safe then sorry he guessed.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SÀhkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Alexander Dalton Character Portrait: Kayle Tallion (Twisted Smile) Character Portrait: The Adept Mages
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Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:04 AM. 74°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 3: Obsolescence.



Ray Green narrowed her eyes at Jasmin Lehtinen, jutting her head forwards and raising an eyebrow in a really strange combination that made Ray's signature look of suspicion. "Who or what was that?" She asked. Right as Jasmin went to open her mouth, Ray reared back, her hand over her mouth. "Don't tell me you're cheating on Lucas!"

"I am not dating Lucas, and you know it!" Jasmin practically screeched as Ray sniggered. She was one of the few people who could actually snigger in real life. "And no.. We uh, met two nights ago at the Which Wich next to my apartment. He robbed the place, and I was about to stop him, but FreischĂŒtz showed up."

Ray nodded understanding. Ray gave her response, Jasmin took a bite of her pancakes, and somewhere in the restaurant, a baby began to cry. Jasmin gulped down her mouthfull, and responded, "What was that? I misse-" Jasmin was cut off by the look on Ray's face. Fear. "Wha...?" Then it registered. A whining noise, a low 'wwwwaaaaaaaaaaa' that slowly rose into a cresendo before lowering again, in a cycle. It was sirens. Air raid sirens. Seconds later, three long gutteral buzzes followed by a prolonged beep marking the signature gut-wrenching noise of an Emergency Alert System sounded from every phone in the IHOP. Jasmin looked to Ray, fear plastered plainly over the faces of both girls.
"This is real, isn't it...?" Jasmin asked, a dark suspicion at the back of her mind. The weekly tests hadn't been going on for no reason.
"Looks like it," Ray responded, her voice suddenly sullen. An expression came across her face, one Jasmin hadn't seen before. Ray had always been tough, especially for a girl. In the fight against the Adept Mages, she had been fearless, and as far as Jasmin had heard, she'd always been headstrong. Now, there was no trace of her usual confidence, but there was uncertainty. Then came a one words reply; "Abhorrents."
"Shit!" Jasmin stood up, her chair sliding across the floor away from her. Already many of the patrons of the shop were panicked, filtering out through the glass doors at the front of the IHOP. "I may not like them, but I have family here in Capetown-"
"They'll evacuate or get to a shelter like every one else. Look Jasmin, you haven't been part of the team for a particularly long time, and so you missed the conversation, but me, Lucas, and Mark have agreed that if an Abhorrent ever attacks... Well, we'd help. You missed the conversation, you never signed up for it, so I'd understand-"
"No," Jasmin interruped. "I'll go."

Jericho's attention was ripped away from his meal and his music by the sound of sirens wailing away. His head jerked up, and for a moment he froze with indecision. He didn't know where he was supposed to go, or if he even should go... Wherever he needed to go. The confusion was dispelled upon the realization that some people might not even have the ability to evacuate, as most were expected to when the walking apocalypses showed up to a city.

A safe choice could be made here, and was. The Changer stood, easing himself out of his seat as he stood up and stretched, a frown pulling over his face as he forced calm to his troubled mind. This evidentially wasn't a drill, as the two girls and the rapid exit of the IHOP proved. Jericho's attention roved over to the two again, feet padding over to them rapidly as his voice rose out of his mouth without his bidding. "Hey. What're you two going to do? I doubt I can really prove an apt combatant against...," Jericho gave a nervous flap of his hands, shuddering just enough to be visible, "One of them. I can help with evacuation though, or if you two need, I can get you to wherever they have Capes go?" His voice slowly rose in pitch, trailing off and rising as if he were questioning them and expecting answers. He himself had no clue as to where to go, but giving any help where he could would ease him. Or at least, Jericho figured it would.

"I don't have any family in town, and I ain't exactly in position to worry about a house, all things considered. So! Whatever y'all need from me, I wouldn't mind helpin' out."


Ray stared at Jericho hard for about five seconds before coming to a conclusion. "Fine, you and Jasmin come with me. We're going to round up the rest of the group, then head to the HLA Headquarters. We will be under the protection of the Unspoken Rules, since an Abhorrent is about to attack." Jasmin nodded, and she caught Jericho nodding also.

Jasmin, Jericho, and Ray stepped out of the IHOP, and chaos had ensued. Traffic was backed up on even the simplest of roads, and people ran en masse by foot to the nearest Abhorrent Shelters. Jasmin listened, but she heard no telltale explosions of a cape fight, nor the distant rumble of buildings being destroyed. Is he even here yet, or were they able to start the sirens ahead of time? She wondered internally. Overhead an explosive sound concussed as a cape broke the sound barrier, a trail of flames and smoke following him as he flew towards downtown Capetown. She noticed a few people in costumes going against the grain of the civilians fleeing. The crush of bodies was hard to fight, like pushing through a deep river, the current of people fought against them. Jasmin raised her hand in a gun-shape above her head, pointing at the sky. Suddenly, lightning struck her fingers and thunder reverberated throughout the area louder than even the air raid sirens, causing the civilians around them to pause and give them room. People parted as they made their way downtown, towards Jasmin's appartment, next door to the Which Wich.




That happened multiple times in the ten or so minutes it took to reach Jasmin's house, as the crowd was thoughtless in panic, rarely giving pause to the occasional costumed cape. When they reached Jasmin's appartment (as it was the closest meet-up point to the HLA headquarters between the Congenial), Lucas and Mark, in-costume as Chrysopoeia and Sandstorm, were already waiting on Mark's motorcycle, bands of sand swirling around them like personal asteroid fields, leaving them personal space against the panicked civilians. Jasmin looked down the street and took a moment of pity for the police officers established at the intersections, attempting to route the traffic, both automobiles and people on foot, towards the nearest shelter. Everyone knew where to go, though, as everyone was always informed. Pamphlets came in the mail, billboards would have locations marked on city maps, students in school would be taught during drills. People weren't supposed to use vehicles, too easy to cause an accident in the resulting panic, but people did nonetheless.

All the while, the air raid sirens blared in the background, piercing the ears and embedding itself in the mind, sounds engineered specifically to strike fear into humans, to tell you something is wrong.

None of this helped the fact that people were inherently stupid, one of the biggest faults of modern society. In the panicked crowds, every rule was broken as people pushed and shoved and tripped, shouted and cursed, pulling luggage on wheels, hitting people with cars. Everyone was driven by the primal desire to save themselves over others. Capes were no different, as was evident by Sandstom using his power to keep people at a distance, or Jasmin using it to part the sea that was the crowds. One of the cops at the intersection noticed the group of villains that was The Congenial, plus Jericho, and was about to say something. The cop nearest rested his hand on the shoulder of his fellow cop, and shook his head, and they went back to corralling the crowd.

As they reached the blocks around the Heroes League of America Headquarters, the crowd thinned and yellow police tape blocked off intersections heading towards it, and police cars stopped traffic. The cops were there to stop people from trying to seek shelter with the capes, and stop civilians from inhibiting the capes from gathering and strategizing before the attack. The cops let the group through, and Jasmin gawked at what lay ahead.

A crowd of roughly two hundred capes stand infront of the building, with more appearing every second, being teleported or flown in. The group reached the edge of the crowd, careful not to straggle lest they be in the way of incoming teleporters. Capes of all kinds, costumed in bright colors or dark colors, or not costumed at all, were present.

"Everyone is coming together." Jasmin realized aloud, almost in awe.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody)
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The scent of sweat was the first thing Vic was met with that morning, groggily raising her head from the mattress she had collapsed belly-down on. She lazily frisked the sheets for her buzzing phone and turned off the alarm, fondly named "Limerbitch 10:30". She grunted in disapproval, then began scrolling through any messages she could have missed that morning. There was just one Rudy sent to her, a photo of the movie he'd claimed to have found at his neighbor's garage that he wanted to give to her. Ah, Hell's Martyrs. So controversial at the time of its release, the director fled the country and the lead actress was apparently driven mad on set. Rudy's neighbor truly had no idea about the gem he was giving away for $3.99.

She texted back a heart and caught a glimpse at the texts between her and Alex the evening before, her face relaxing into a smug smile as she did so. Man, that kid had to be freaking out. Being invited to her band's practice then grabbing coffee with a member just a couple days later? To think what came from a simple, awkward "sup". She remembered finding his number, hovering her hand above the bin with it. Lucky for him, the company of adoring fans was always appreciated, especially when trying to distract herself from the sort of company her "other self" attracted. And yeah... about that.

It wasn't like covering the tab for two ridiculously overpriced coffees was anything to raise an eyebrow at, but now that she'd had a very sudden and very extreme boost in her funds, she'd have to be... careful. Funny how too much money was a problem in its own right. Jericho and her had settled their score, he'd told the band that he just thought he saw her get hit by a fire bolt at the bank (in his own bumbling way that made Vic have to step in and translate for them) and didn't seem to have any desire to expose her. Of course, considering how she'd dragged him off, not everyone was satisfied with the story they came up with. Donovan.

Finally, she had the strength to get out of bed and take the shower her body was screaming for. Right before she hopped under the water, she sniffed under her armpit. Licorice, huh? She shook her head exasperatedly and got in.




Vic creaked the door to her Aunt's room open a crack, then crept inside the room when she noticed something odd. Two crumpled tissues were on the ground next to her bed. She tip-toed her way over to bin them and took a moment to look at her. She was such a short and frail looking woman for someone as sturdy and resilient as she was. Vic placed her rent on the kitchen table and left the house, skateboarding down the road and towards the inner city.

9:23 AM. Coffee. A bit spilled on her pastel sweater.

9:36 AM. Joined a busker. Left him with the cash she drew in.

9:49 AM. Listened to Limerence's planned set for the recording.

10:02 AM. Tuned into the radio. Needed something to cleanse her ears.

10:05 AM.

Sirens.

The faces of the people around her only registered briefly, filled with fear, confusion, and some with defeat, before they began to blur. Some panicked and ran, who knows where, others hurried while talking urgently into their cellphones. A car did a screeching U-turn. A homeless man didn't even budge. Vic slowly - or maybe she wasn't moving so slowly, maybe it just felt too slow - brought her cellphone up and began typing her Aunt's number, when a call interrupted her.

"Hello?"

"Where is the skateboard?" Kate's urgent voice came through, "Did you take it?! Why didn't you take the van?"

"They... have a drum set at the studio," Vic replied distractedly. It was weird, getting reminders that unassuming Kate was the one who taught her how to skate. "The world is ending. Why do you need it?"

"Don't joke with me, Victoria. I need to get to the hospital, the roads will be too heavy to drive quick en-"

"Why?" Things finally started to speed up again and she began to swerve her way around people, getting home as fast as she could, "You need to get to a shelter."

"I need to shelter the people I have responsibility for," Kate snapped, "You get to a shelter, now. I'll find another way to get there. Text me when you're safe."

"K-Kate?" Vic flinched from her stutter, annoyed at the anxiety infecting her. As she took a moment to properly observe the mass panic happening around her, the dread finally set in. Now everything was moving too fast. I don't want to fight it, she wanted to say. But she couldn't. Because Kate didn't know. She could see parahumans flying above her, making their way to HLA headquarters. All parahumans were together in this fight. Why did she feel so alone in it?

"It'll be alright, Vicky. I promise."

"That's not up to you."

Vic hung up and strengthened her resolve, glaring at the panic before her. It was infectious. She needed to get home as quick as possible to her costume, and there was only one tactic that would get her there fast enough. She ditched her skateboard and ran into the crowd, her solid matter shedding away. She flew as air towards home. Her costume was not as white as it used to be, the scorch marks on its chest left there by Jericho's recklessness. She wondered what he would be doing in this fight.

Some time later, Nobody materialized above the crowd at the HLA, her demeanor calm and stance unnaturally still. She took out her phone. There was dozens of messages and missed calls, and she sent the same lie out in response to each one.

[I'm safe.]

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SÀhkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Kayle Tallion (Twisted Smile) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush) Character Portrait: Lucas Eklund (Chrysopoeia)
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Jericho was awestruck at the sheer amount of people that had gathered in front of the HLA building, laughing under his breath out of overwhelming shock. The two, Jasmin and Ray- he learned their names along the way- had two others who joined up with them. Two guys who had swirling streams of sand keeping the crowd from crushing them as they had made their way to the HLA. Mark and Lucas, the latter being incredibly familiar... Oh right. Motorcycle dude.

Now that they were here, and yet more people were either flying in- Hey! It was Vic! Instinct said to go over and talk-
Oh wait. Almost immediately after Nobody arrived, Jericho locked his sight on the flying 'motorcycle' and its rider as they touched down beside a group of teenagers and other costumed heroes. That guy too, mister trench-coat-creepy-mask-mctriggerhappy-pants. He stopped to talk with a teen, leaving Jericho glaring across the way before his attention was grabbed by the appearance of a blinding rip of light.

From it stepped another duo of presumed capes; a faintly familiar head of purple-tinted brown hair stepped out, with a shorter girl stepping out with the former female. The portal closed behind them, taking its all too blinding light away with it.
The space that had formed for the two girls was immediately swallowed up by other people; again. Everyone here was crowding together and man if that didn't make the Changer vaguely uncomfortable. He was then made even MORE uncomfortable by another cape bumping into him roughly, seemingly to get out of the way of ANOTHER cape who was stalking into the crowd. Jericho turned to make a comment, before stopping and staring at the man who melded into the crowd of parahumans.

The Changer stepped up to the guy, sliding to his side as casually as he could and looking over and just so slightly upward. There was a ... mask? One that seemed to be made of shadows that covered up his face. Hell, maybe the guy couldn't even speak! Oh well, a little conversation didn't hurt anyone right? "Hey! You've got a pretty scary ensemble goin' on there... You one of the HLA? They always seem to have some intimidatin' shit goin' on with their costumes and shit." Jericho popped the question off cheerily, smiling politely at the other cape.

The man turned to him then, sorta; his shoulders shifted just a bit but hey, Jericho would take that as acknowledgement any day, usually. "What? Part of the egomaniacs? No." Ehehehe, that was rude. "Then who are ya with? A villain group? Wait am I not supposed to ask that?" The teen quipped off another question, tilting his head curiously as he found ink pooling around his ankle and feet, chitin building there before suddenly stopping as his focus returned to his appearance. Concentrating on keeping a human appearance was difficult sometimes, especially when Jericho was stressed, or distracted, or anxious. Oop the guy's talking again! "I'm not a hero, I'm not a villain."

How delightfully vague. Ugh, that wasn't a clear answer even if it gave one! "So a vigilante? Huh... Never met one of you before! Are you all so posh? Nice suit- Oh! What're your powers? I mean, people seem to be upset with ya bein' here or sommat, was' with that?" Jericho waited for an answer, blinking and smiling widely when the man turned around entirely and spoke to him directly. "What is your name?" Oh that was odd? The changer could feel the guy sizing him up, or at least taking in his appearance. Huh. "Oh! 'M name is Jericho! Nice to meet'cha~!"

Oh wait, there was stuff going on right? They were here for a reason, so, without even so much as a second thought to appearances; Jericho shifted some of his mass. His skull was briefly, for all of two seconds maybe, wreathed in ink as two more pairs of eyes appeared. Two pointed towards the sky and taking in all they could, two pointed at the crowd directly behind him. The changer gave a quick giggle at the sudden scramble that the cape behind him gave to get away. A man in a vaguely knight-like armor suit thing. Surprise Sir Gawain! Ehehehe. The teen focused again on the cape in front of him, blinking his 'original' eyes in surprise when the guy spoke 'Wendigo'. Weird- "If this were any other time, I would enjoy breaking you."

Whoa whoa whoa! What?! And he smiled while saying that?! Did he dispel some of his weird face fuckery just to say that?! Jesus kringle-fucking christ. "Whoa! Uh? Soooo... You know me? I mean, jeez man, I ain't done anythin' to you have I?" Reflexively, Jericho's ink swelled around his hands; turning them into blunt clubs of bone and what looked like some amount of oily sinew. "Bank robbery, sandwhich shop... Not much in the overall scheme but in the short amount of time that your name has been present, it has been attached to bad things." Oh sweet creepy Christ, he was still smiling, what the fuck? "I'm the guy that shows up when you've done one bad thing too many."

Oh. Sweet fucking christ. He was one of those. "Ohhh so you're one of those huh? Batman style vigilante? Or maybe Dexter? So you've probably really really hurt people too huh? Killed someone with some 'non-lethal' takedown? ... Maybe I went overboard, I probably really did but... Jeez man." Jericho felt it too, some guilt that welled up and spilled out just ever so slightly over his lips. A quick guilty glance from one pair of eyes towards Vic... "Give me every morality argument you can think of, I've heard them all. And the comparison to batman is overdone to the point of being cute. I know who you are now, and that's all that matters." The capes stance had shifted throughout his speaking, turning to face Jericho entirely and relaxing to the point that the Changer felt as if the other guy didn't find him a threat!

So maybe the guy was a huge asshole, who cares! Everyone's different right? And so what if he had the most bullshit excuse for a fucking- Yeah no. Jericho was pissed, and just who the fuck did this guy think he was? "Okay first off, who the fuck are you? Actually no wait, excuse me if you're acting like a hardass and tryin' to 'break' people based on your assumptions! Bleh, y' can't get upset over the batman comparison if y'er gonna be actin' like the guy too! What if I've gone and done more shit than just what you've heard about? Eh?" He gave a quiet growl, throat and chest splitting open and swirling with ink as the classical batman cowl formed on his body; a full face underneath the chitin that glossed metallic. "I know who you are now, and that's all that matters. Bleh bleh bleh."

Okay... That was pretty childish, but c'mon what was he supposed to do? You can't argue with people like that in actuality right? "The mind of a child trapped in playdough. Unless you intend to fight me, I have nothing more to say to you." And with that lovely bit of ending statement, the guy just turned the fuck back around. What the fuck. Well fuck him too then, Jesus.

Jericho gave a silent sigh, turning away and ducking back into the crowd as his form returned to semi-normalcy, his skin was beginning to swim with tattoos and wriggling bits of 'art' that began to bleed out onto his actual physical form. Tendrils of flesh and muscle pulsed their way off his wrists and ankles, the nape of his neck sprouting some that were lined with viciously curved hooks. Fangs and claws sprouted at random on his fingers, face, and toes; the rest of his body covering itself on and off with fur, feathers, scales, chitin... And any mixture of the four. Ugh. He was in a mood now, and trying to keep still was becoming impossible. He couldn't even bring himself to even try and cheer up. Luckily, it seemed that no-one wanted to talk with the cape who's body was doin'... Whatever Jericho's was.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SÀhkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Alexander Dalton Character Portrait: Kayle Tallion (Twisted Smile) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush)
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Alexander Dalton




Alex was about halfway to the pizza parlor now. His music blasting loud enough for some of the people he walked passed to hear. Given how durable his physiology was now he didn't really have to care about hearing loss. At least not from his commercial bought headphones. The last song faded out only to be replaced with Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. He grinned and reflexively tried turning the volume up. Full blast though, which he was a little annoyed by. Maybe now that he bought those pieces of Tinker tech he can buy something higher quality then his store bought wrap arounds. A sudden buzzing on his thigh made him pulled out his phone. Dean again. Might as well humor him.

Bro, so level with me. Do you have an Cape crushes? Like for real cause I swear I'm in love right now

This is getting old. Last week you were obsessed with Laser Hawk.

Dude Can you blame me??! The woman is DDG

If you say extra thick you can forget pizza.

I wasn't going to say such a thing, you wound me sir

So then, who's the "Lucky" lady?

Ranch Hand my dude.

. . . . . . -__-

What???

Oh god you're serious

The woman is a muscle bound goddess, can you blame me man?

Its good to dream big . . . .But i think if you even tried to make a move you might actually die.

I'm not that dumb, but way to go shattering dreams my dude

I Try ^^

Still didn't say who you're crush is bro ;)

And I never will ~

You ass XP

Alex snorted and was about to send another text back when a whining sound cut through his music. and suddenly, the whole world seemed to stand still for a moment. It was like a fog horn, a low whining cycle. It was the air raid sirens. Alex yanked down his headphones and looked around frantically.

Everyone was momentarily frozen. some from shock, other disbelief. most out of fear though. Seconds passed and the signature Emergency Alert System could be heard coming from about every house and store ringing out across the entire city. Alex felt his stomach drop. The sudden urge to empty out what little was in his stomach trying to override his brain. He chocked it all back down as people began to panic. some tried denying it. most though instantly started to run. over the sound of the sirens, one word rang out from the crowd as it began to surge. "Abhorrents!!!"

Almost instinctively, Alex ducked into the closest side street. He ripped open his bag and grasped at his helmet. Only then did he realize he was shacking almost violently, causing his helmet to be dropped on the ground. His breathing was fast and uneven. He was scared, everyone was. The world around them was about to become a war zone. Attempts to try and steady his breathing weren't going so well, and he just wouldn't stop shacking. Alex was about to go straight into full blown panic when the sudden rhythmic vibrating at his thigh snapped him away from himself.

He fumbled for the phone. it was his grandpa calling him.
"Hello?"

"Alex where are you? Are you safe?"

"Yeah, I'm safe. I'm about halfway to Tom's right now. How are you and grandma??" Worry flooded His voice. He was so far away from them, would they both be able to get help and be in a shelter in time? Alex began to stutter, trying to figure out what to do. it was his grandpa that snapped him back.

"Alexander! I need you to listen okay? Your grandmother and me are fine and being helped escorted to a shelter. Calm yourself, and just breath. Here count and breath with me like we used to, can you do that for me?"
The man's voice was not as steady as it usually was, but still strong as ever. Alex followed along, feeling himself steady and regain composure. This was happening. But his family was being taken care of.

Now boy, you don't need to explain anything to me. But I Know what you have been up to for the past few months. I've seen you're costume when you weren't at home. I'm not sure how long it has been going on, but I've known for a while. Hard to miss when I cant even lift my own grandson.
The words seemed to rewind and play back in Alex's mind a few times before the gravity of what his grandpa had just said came to him. Grandpa knows I'm parahuman.
" Now i want you to answer me this. Are you going to go out there and help?

It took another minute before he said anything, a lump the size of a softball seemingly wedging itself in his throat. Then he finally spoke. "Yes. I am,"

" . . . . Ok. There was yet another pause after. "You come back to us son, don't you go and get yourself killed. What was he going to expect from a former soldier? He must have his grandpa's sense of duty.
Remember what i told you about courage?

Alex sniffed, holding back tears. "It's not the absence of fear, its the ability to act in spite of it."

"That's my boy, Now go out there and show some courage. Don't worry about me and grandma. We love you." He could hear pride in the mans voice.

Hanging up. Alex picked up his helmet. Time to go face the apocalypse.

"I love you too."



Alex flew through the air. Riding a disk shaped barrier. he looked down below to see the police officers established at the intersections, attempting to route the traffic and prevent any chaos as they lead civilians towards the nearest shelters. All the while, the air raid sirens blared in the background, drowning out the sounds of panic and confusion bellow. As Alex flew on he soon noticed that there were other capes flying near him. Some were in thrown together costumes, others in plain civilian cloths but wrapped in some variety of power and or energy. Nobody said anything but a nod was shared between the small group. They all knew what was about to happen. Whether any of them were prepared or not.

As they reached the blocks around the Heroes League of America Headquarters, The "Air traffic" got a bit too thick, forcing most of the fliers to touch down and brave through the crowd of people trying to take refuge in the building. The crowd had been thinned and yellow police tape blocked off intersections heading towards the HQ. When Alex was able to finally wiggle his way in and was taken aback by the sight. There had to be a few hundred capes stand in front of the building, with more appearing every passing second. Alex was careful to avoid the larger open spaces that were made to allow teleporters easy entry.A quick look around revealed capes of all kinds were present. Their costumes ranging from bright colors or dark colors, to no costume at all. Villains, heroes, and vigilantes were all present.

The atmosphere was thick with a slew of emotions. some were excited, others nervous. The shacking feeling that they all were about to go to war with what many considered to be a god. Many were speculating on what abhorrent was going to show. from the sound of it people had it narrowed down to three. Behemoth, Giant, or Tangle. Others were psyching each other up and trying to keep moral. Alex stayed reasonably quiet. Wondering both when they would be given their orders and if he might know anybody in the crowd. Which given how many people were here wasn't unlikely. Best to focus anyway. it looked like things were starting.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: [NPC] Bartender Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SÀhkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Alexander Dalton Character Portrait: Kayle Tallion (Twisted Smile)
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Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:36 AM. 73°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 4: Abberance.




Chaos. It was indescribable as anything other than complete chaos and pandemonium. The English language could try in vain, but there's no describing the utter devastation that was going on before Jasmin's eyes.

..... "Everyone is coming together." Jasmin Lehtinen spoke her thoughts aloud, in awe. All around her was a mass of capes, and more poured in, from around the world, like ants. There was a crowd of hundreds now, almost entirely made up of foreign aid and support groups from around the world. A large chunk was the United States' own HLA and THA teams from all around the country. The building's parking lot was large, but it could hardly accommodate the crowd that was forming. Jasmin looked at the HLA's headquarters building. You'd expect a team of heroes to have a tower or a skyscraper somewhere, maybe letter-shaped and on a perfectly-sized island nearby. Instead, Capetown's HLA HQ was more like a police station, no more like a fire station. There was a section of the building that was obviously large and box-shaped, like how you could always point out the gymnasium at a school. Probably a training room, Jasmin thought. The parking lot was also large, large enough to accommodate a lot of emergency response vehicles. Even so, the group swelled past the parking lot's perimeter, and into the empty streets. On the edge of the crowd, more capes arrived, through portals, flying vehicles, or carried by Speedsters. it was surreal. Capes of all sizes, shapes, ethnicities, colors of suits, villains, heroes, people made of fire or earth, capes with things floating around them, or Tinkers in suits of armor. Changers that look like monsters or animals, capes hovering above the head-line, or capes flying about. The murmuring from the surrounding crowd made conversation nearly impossible.
..... Until up ahead at the HQ, a large, flashy-green portal opened up. The portal threw out swirling green sparks at the edges of the portal-way, almost like Dr. Strange's portals. From inside the portal came a blinding white light, infront of which Jasmin could make out four dark silhouettes. Immediately, Jasmin knew who these four were, and in the same way it did when she heard the air raid sirens start up, her heart paused for a second. The Triumvirate.
..... The first to step out of the portal and come into focus was Legend. Leader of the Triumvirate, and aptly named, Legend had a blue suit with silver and red accents and a red cape. Legend, Jasmin knew, had a nigh-invincible body, could fly, and had mind-boggling strength. The next to step through was Hero, who, in Jasmin's opinion, was a lot less aptly named. He looked more like a villain, like Dr. Doom, than one of the most renown heroes in the world. Hero's powers' specifics weren't fully public knowledge, but it's known that he has access to virtually any power in the world that he wants' and is limited to three to four at a time. The next to step through, and last of the Triumvirate, was Suit. Jasmin didn't know much about his antics and tactics, but she knew he was the most impressive Tinker on the planet. Like a mixture of Rick Sanchez, Tony Stark, and Batman, he had a gadget for literally everything. Jasmin looked at him with the most interest, as he was possibly the most mysterious of the Triumvirate to her. Suit has never been seen outside of his suit, like Master Chief, no one knows what he looks like or even his skin color. He's known as the most powerful and versatile Tinker in the world, due to being able to copy a Tinker's specialty once he comes across another Tinker. As a result his gadgets are so much more complex and magical than even the most powerful Tinkers Jasmin has heard of. Suit's suit itself has thousands of different gadgets and things invisibly embedded into it, and the suit can morph between several different styles and looks, each with different specialties and functions. He has specific suits for specific Abhorrents, and today, he was in his Tangle suit. The last silhouette, though not officially part of the Triumvirate, was a famously strong cape named Synergy. Synergy was known to commonly accompany the Triumvirate during major threats like Abhorrents. Synergy, Jasmin knew, was a seriously powerful Trump cape with the power to copy the powers of other capes that he touches, up to two at a time. When he copies a power, he has the power's full potential unlocked as the original cape could possibly have. So, say there's a cape that isn't experienced with their power but has potential to learn a lot, Synergy, after copying the power, would use the power like a master. Synergy also has the ability to synergize two copied powers and have them interact in unpredictable ways outside of the scope of the original two powers. This combination makes him an extremely powerful cape.
..... These four were the veterans of the veterans, and while their being here did calm Jasmin a little bit, it also filled her with a sense of dread knowing that the situation she was in was very, very real. Jasmin watched ahead as soldiers began to flood out of the portal that the Triumvirate had walked out of. PCRT? That was the most likely answer, but they didn't have the normal black face mask and red-accented body armor that Jasmin was used to seeing, these soldiers instead had bulkier clothing with blue accents and half-gas-mask-like half-night-vision-like goggles.
..... "-and those are PCRT Abhorrent response members. Their suits are Tinker-made, specifically to resist Tangle's radiation, laser-beams, and his plant minions' attacks." Ray said, as Jasmin realized she had speaking to her this entire time, as Jasmin hadn't been paying attention. As Ray finished her sentence, Jasmin noticed that up at the front of the crowd, Suit took a large sleek black box reminiscent of a suitcase off of his back. He got on a knee and placed it on the ground. Immediately, it started coming apart as if made of hundreds of boxes that were seamlessly each a part of the original box a second ago. Then, rotors popped out of the tops of the black boxes, each perfectly smooth and the size of a rubix cube, and they began flying around the crowd of capes. Drones, Jasmin thought, as one flew to her and hovered in front of her. Jasmin looked next to her at Ray, and noticed that Ray had put her left arm outstretched in front of her, and the drone landed on her wrist, and began to transform, reconstructing itself into a wrist band, about two inches wide and an eighth of an inch thick. Jasmin did the same, and though the wristband seemed to be made of some sort of black metal, it felt curious to her, as she felt literally no paths of connection to it through electricity. For the first time in her life, Jasmin felt something she couldn't shock.
..... "Some kind of power-resistance material, probably made by some Tinker who is the only in the world who can make it. Besides Suit, I guess." Ray spoke again, confirming Jasmin's suspicions. Jasmin moved her arm around and was surprised that this amount of metal on her arm felt completely weightless. Jasmin looked to Lucas and Mark, or Chrysopoeia and Sandstorm as they were in costume, and they also had the wristbands. Systematically, every cape in the crowd began accepting the drones onto their arms. Legend, up at the front of the crowd, began a noble-sounding speech about how everyone here was doing a great service to humanity. Suddenly, Jasmin became aware that her face was naked, without her iron-shavings mask. Jasmin pulled out the bottle and unstoppered it, magnetizing the shavings to her face, conscious of the spiky configuration they fell into along the magnetic field lines. Ray, or Seraphim, wasn't in her portal-costume, but it was understandable as the armor of portals would be dangerous in this crowd of close bodies.

Jericho flinched, partially out of reflex and partially because he wasn't paying attention, when the sparking swirling amalgamation of green light and energy abruptly popped into existence ahead. His eyes narrowed, focusing in on the 'gateway' as it were, taking in every possible detail about the quartet of capes before opting to change his eyes into those that normally belonged to a raptor. Minute details, tiny features, everything possible to see with 'mundane' sight opened up for Jericho. Suit was taller than Jericho expected, and Legend was... Almost everything that the Changer thought he would be, and maybe a little not so.

It was Hero that Jericho immediately distrusted, if only because the costume that he wore was one that made Jericho think of villains from comic books and similar. Hero made the Changer... suspicious, but for no good reason, seeing as how the man put himself through harms gauntlet day in and out when it came to the Abhorrents.

His gaze slid over to Synergy, or at least the man who held the name, and studied him for a time. Tall, dark, bald and with a posture that seemed to scream “Regality.” Jericho was reminded of a lion when he looked upon the man. His attention shifted back to Jasmin and the rest of his ‘friends’. Multiple eyes sprouted into existence upon his skull, ink flowing and then fading into nothing as pupils contracted and dilated on each recognizable face. Jasmin, Vic-Nobody, The Gunman, The girl who stepped out of light, the ‘not-a-batman’, and then a blondie who seemed to arrive just a little bit later than everyone else on a disk of turquiose light. Jericho’s eyebrows rose at the somewhat familiar form, before furrowing in concentration as he tried to piece together where he may have seen the unknown cape from.

His attention was again yanked away, his focus turning towards a small scuffle between a man who dressed himself like some sort of medieval ranger, with a bow and arrow to tout, and a man who wore nothing but a body suit marked with digital numbers. The body suit man had the ranger held up by the collar of his cloak, and a small circle had formed around the two. Several other capes watched on warily, and as some others from the edge began to push to break the two apart, Jericho noticed a familiar woman making her way over.

A black, silver and magenta colored cape floated over to the two scuffling, their words and voices growing louder and a little more heated. The cape’s mask covered their face, adorned with with the magenta markings that covered their- her- whole suit. A helmet that was remniscent of a hawk’s head, along with a visor that covered everything except for the bottom half of her face. From mid breast and upper sternum, her suit was silver and seemingly armored, with two markings on her stomach and upper groin glowing with hot pink light. Her voice was nothing like her suit led Jericho to believe: firm instead of soothing, authoritive, and pissed. “Hey! Hey! Pull yourselves together. Don’t break the unspoken rules.”

It was those words that caused the commotion to come grinding to a halt. ‘Don’t break the unspoken rules.’ Every cape within hearing distance, even some of those who only heard the ‘...rules’ stood a little straighter, gritted their teeth- all manner of stress reflex. ‘The Unspoken Rules’ were rules between capes that were exactly as they sounded: unspoken rules that every known and unknown cape followed. To break them was to vilify yourself against quite actually every other cape in the area. Maybe even the continent.

The two scuffling capes separated themselves, one looking cowed and the other looking almost as if his pride had taken a direct hit. Jericho, on the other hand, recognized Laser Hawk the moment she began speaking. His mind flew back through time to the aftermath of the bank heist: an HLA woman who turned her hands into magenta light and essentially dissolved matter. A breaker who was... Scary to say the least. Respected to say even less. She had flight as part of her kit, but from what Jericho saw of her, not very fast flight. He could outrun her, probably... She only flew as long as her hands were glowing, maybe a part of her power?

He was nervous all the same, a minutely guilty part of his conscience poking its dirty, dirty hands into his emotions. The Changer hummed to himself, reflexively shuffling away from Laser Hawk and the group of capes around her. He bumped into Jasmin, muttering sorry in his passing as he disappeared just a little deeper into the crowd of capes. There were plenty of people around to take attention off of him, right? “Fuck.”

It was only after a short moment of getting into a comfortable enough space- (read as getting distance between himself and Laser Hawk) that Jericho turned back towards the ‘front’. A drone was in his face, and as he reached out, the automaton landed and formed into the bracelets everyone else was receiving. Legend was going on about something or another, Jericho wasn’t paying attention, far too interested in the metal bracelet around his wrist.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: [NPC] Bartender Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SÀhkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Alexander Dalton Character Portrait: Kayle Tallion (Twisted Smile)
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Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:40 AM. 73°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 4: Abberance.




Jasmin Lehtinen caught a glimpse of something that made her heart skip a beat. A familiar sight, familiar capes. Myrlyn, Jeu, Drow, Alchimyst, and the rest of the Adept Mages bunched together. Curiously, she only saw two heads of white hair. Weren't there three brothers with white hair? Jasmin felt a moment's apprehension before remembering the Unspoken Rules. They were allies. For now. All of the local heroes were present in force. It wasn’t a surprising fact – skipping this fight, as a hero, let alone a team of heroes, would be unforgivable to the public. Jasmin was surprised that nearly all of the big villain gangs were all present. Gangs that brutally fought for territory and money, gangs with unbreakable feuds against each other.
..... That was the thing about the Abhorrents, Jasmin had learned. They were a much bigger threat to society, to humanity, to survival and extinction, than any amount of human-on-human hatred. It's why the Unspoken Rules exist. During Abhorrent attacks you take no opportunity against your fellow capes. Not to find out their identities, not to end their lives, not to bicker and fight. You focus on the common enemy. Or else.
..... "-all should know your chances going into this battle. Given the statistics from our previous encounters with Tangle, a ‘good day’ still means that at least one in three of the people present will probably be dead before this day is done. Tangle is an antediluvian horror capable of killing each and every one of us. The odds are likely not going to be as good as a 33% death rate."
..... This jolted Jasmin into listening to Legend's speech. It seemed to have caught the attention of the rest of the crowd, as uncomfortable shifting and a quiet murmur rippled through the crowd. Everyone knew that it was dangerous being here. But hearing numbers brought unease. One in three dead as a best case scenario. And that's not counting life-threatening or life-altering wounds.
..... “I’m telling all of you your chances now because you deserve to know. We're all humans here, we all have the right to live. We so rarely get the chance to inform those individuals brave enough to step up and fight these monsters. The primary message I want to convey, even more than briefing you on the particulars of his abilities, organizing formations and battle plans, is that I do not want you to underestimate Tangle. I have seen too many good heroes, rogues,” Legend paused for a fraction of a second, “And villains, too, die because they let their guard down.
..... “Tangle is the fifth and final Abhorrent to have shown up. I won't give a full history lesson, but his first attack was in 1992. At 75 feet tall, hes the shortest of the Abhorrents, but his body is shaped like a snake's and his tail trails for several hundred feet. Though he looks like a plant, his biology is something entirely alien to us. His body is made up of intertwines 'vines' similar to how a large rope looks. Each of these vines is layered like an onion, with the outermost layer being as hard as aluminum, the next one as hard as steel, the next tungsten, etc. until it quickly reaches harder than existing materials. Materials so strong virtually no one's powers can harm them. Though Tangle looks like a plant, he is not mindless. Do not underestimate him. The extent of his intelligence, and whether he is sentient, is unknown. But he can prioritize target, and has shown tactics and skill, as well as usually having an apparent specific location or target when he's attacking a city.
..... “As for abilities, Tangle is fast. Not speedster-level, but he can accelerate to 75 miles per hour in half a minute from a standstill. He's even quicker when he's already moving, turning, or thrashing. He has two auras. Two hundred feet out from him, all metal capable of rusting will immediately start to rust all of the way through. Not just a rust layer on the outside, but all the way to the center. Steel bars will be reduced to rust as weak as a sand castle. About a hundred feet out from him, a radiation aura starts. Getting inside this aura is an immediate death sentence within 2 weeks. Getting close enough to touch Tangle is enough radiation to kill you before the fight's over with. It's more dangerous than standing next to a melting reactor. If you aren't immune, don't get close.
..... “Tangle also has macro-scale control of both light, or electromagnetic radiation, and plants. He will shoot you with lasers. He will flashbang everyone. He can turn invisible. He can make you blind. He'll hit you with radiation blasts without you even knowing. His application of the control of light is extensive. After battle, everyone present should go through cape-powered healing and/or radiation therapy. Lastly, he can grow plants in seconds, and make them strong enough to constrict and crumble concrete. He also has minions made entirely of plants, that he likely controls like the command center of a hive mind."
..... As if the timing were rehearsed, as soon as Legend finished the speech, a loud crashing-crunching-explosion-like sound similar to a concrete building being thrown into another building was immediately followed by the sound of gasps and screams. Jasmin whipped her head to look behind her, and she felt the entire crowd do the same. Down the street, a giant mass of writhing and whipping tentacles coming out of a large snake-shaped form had just crashed into a building, failing to do the 90-degree turn at the intersection. It immediately turned, whipping its 'head' to stare at the crowd of capes.
..... Tangle's 'mouth' looked like a green bulb of a flower yet to bloom. Like the bulb on the Pokemon, Bulbasaur's back. Slowly, it peeled open, revealing a pink petal-like inside. And a maw inexplicably lined with teeth. Then a glass-shattering, ground-shaking shriek emanated from it.
..... Panic. Jasmin couldn't think as the massive abberation raced down the street towards the crowd. Already, capes were rushing forwards, providing a line of defense, whilst others ran in the opposite direction. Fight or flight. There was a third option, seizing up in the middle, as Jasmin was currently doing. The primal fear was something she'd never felt before in her life. It was similar to that time she had been 10 feet away from a mountain lion while camping five years ago, the heart-sinking deer-in-headlights feeling, but it was deeper, worse. The fear was not just the primal fear of a predator or a deadly situation, it was also the fear of the unnatural, the eldritch, the alien. Tears welled up in her eyes as her disabled mind and body were unable to react to the primal panic swirling in her brain. Jasmin's powers began to take over, switching to her electromagnetic vision, she could immediately see the electrical impulses lighting up like fireworks in the brains of other capes. Adrenaline. Hers came too, and suddenly, as her body tensed to jump, she was swallowed up by Jericho's shifting form.

Jericho’s heart dropped into his feet, maybe even fell out of his chest outright and onto the pavement below. Splattered like a water balloon or something. Panic flooded his system, his mind froze, his skin prickled with needles of numbing cold... Then he shoved it all out of his head, reflexively going so far as to begin shifting and morphing then and there, ink flowing around him as he took the biggest form he’d taken in... ever.

Long, moose-like antlers rose from the back of his skull, as his body shifted forward, his legs remaining about the same position as they were, his torso shifting and moving forward as flesh rapidly began extending backwards from his buttocks. His body swelled with flesh, muscle and bone, skull disappearing under a swirling vortex of ink for a moment before reappearing in the shape of an elk’s fleshless head.

From his waistline down, Jericho grew himself into a centaur-esque shape, flesh and muscle just barely obscured by a thin, thin layer of gray fur. It was more predatory, if only because of the paws with short, thick, blunt claws. His torso grew upwards just a faint amount more, and from just behind and below his original arms, grew a second pair. All four arms grew thick and furry, muscled and capable, as the rest of his body proportioned itself out a magnitude better.

His lower half was relatively horse sized, his upper shaped as if someone took a body-builder and made him both hairy, monstrous, and with a ‘crown’ of antlers thick enough to put an actual moose to relative shame.

Jericho reared back, twisting to reverse his position as his forelegs passed over the heads of the nearby capes easily, planting back onto the concrete below as a small space formed around him, he reached out, moving quickly as he shuffled some people out of the way, grabbed Jasmin, Seraphim, Chryssopea, and Sandstorm up into his arms, setting Chryssopea and Seraphim on his centaurid half as he turned and shouted with a voice that roared into the following silence of Tangle’s own screeching. The word hissed during the beginning, like a serpents’ call before rumbling and roaring out clearly despite the non-human maw it leapt from.

“SCATTER!!!”

Before making past anyone else in his way, getting the five of them as far back and away from tangle as possible. He took a sharp left turn once he cleared the parking lot, once he cleared the buildings directly adjacent to the crowd, ducking behind a three story and stretching his arms upward to knock out two second story windows with a branching pair of bone-clubs that sprouted from each radii, latching the appendages there and holding on tightly. The clubs then became hands, swirling with ink during the short transformation, before grabbing the bottom of broken window sills, more hands and arm like structures sprouted and grabbed the other edges. Secured. The hands that held Jasmin and Sandstorm stretched higher still placing them on the roof of the building while Jericho’s torso turned around entirely and spoke to Chryssopea and Seraphim. “Up? Yes or no? I’ll leave this body here as a stairway regardless... If Tangle doesn’t come here.”

He didn’t wait for an answer, choosing instead to focus on the entirety of the form he was utilizing. Every muscle, bone, fiber of hair, nerve, ounce of fat, all of it he dedicated to memory. He dedicated it to permanency, before a portion of his torso fell over and to the side, his hind legs bending so that the farthest back end was sloped towards the ground. A relatively normal sized, human torso sized, bulge moved through the bulk of the centaurid half. A human sized Jericho stepped out from the still straightened forelegs, before shifting into a smaller, eagle-sized form. Skyblue and white feathers sprouted into existence, before being replaced by a sporting of plumage that seemed to shift color spontaneously.

He took off, rising up into the air before continuing to soar higher and higher still. The crowd of capes back at the HQ had indeed done what he had shouted, and as he focused on the scene below him, Jericho relaxed. If only for a short moment, before remembering that Tangle was an absolute threat. Something that he knew, deep in his core, in his very being, he couldn’t hurt. Nothing he had, nothing he could’ve thought to grow or utilize, would actually hurt the Abhorrent. He couldn’t get close, he couldn’t stay far enough away... He was helpless and useless.

..... Jasmin, or SÀhkö as she was now wearing her mask, stepped onto the roof of the building that Jericho had brought her to and surveyed the scene with quiet horror, throwing up the hood of her blue hoodie. She watched as capes that presumably could survive close proximity to Tangle rushed forwards down the street, in attempt to stop the beast before he rushed into the crowd of more squishy parahumans. Then, a white line seared across her vision, leaving a black-fading-purple blind spot in her eyes. Immediately, she heard an artificial-esque feminine voice, similar to Siri or Alexa, speak from her new wristband, "Laser Hawk down." SÀhkö whipped her vision over to where Capetown's HLA team had been huddled. Already Cosmic's spheres and Tendril's tentacles were being thrown up as shields, but SÀhkö could clearly make out a place where molten concrete was. Presumably, Laser Hawk had been standing near. Elicitor was also right in the middle of the molten concrete, though Tendril was already lifting him up and out of it before any secondary damage could be done.
..... The female artificial voice started naming off more names, before Jasmin could even react to Tangle rushing forward and swiping his tail through a building and into a crowd of capes, like massive steel pipey-wires, destroying all in the tail's path. "Intellast down. Pluto down. Kuro-YĆ«rei down. Thirty-seven in critical condition. Two-hundred-and-ten capes with radiation poisoning." Jasmin balked at what she had just seen go down, and they were only a minute into the fight. Sheetrock, bricks, rust, and dust rained down on the crowd as the building collapsed. Jasmin noticed that concrete everywhere was crackling and crumbling as creeper vines sprouted, pushing cement apart. Metal streetlights instantly turned into rust, and crumbled like sandstone Jasmin used to crush with her hands at playgrounds when she was little. Loud explosions rang out as Suit and hundreds of other tinkers launched rockets and threw bombs. Lasers bounces off of tangle, but plasma and particle beams seared a paper-thin layer of the beast's skin. An unimaginable amount of cape attacks were being launched at range, with a few capes immune to his radiation aura closing in for close-combat.
..... "What can I even do to help?" Jasmin asked to herself, incredulously.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SÀhkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Alexander Dalton Character Portrait: Kayle Tallion (Twisted Smile) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush)
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The atmosphere was anything but pleasant. Even as someone who could influence others emotions on a mass scale, this was something that put even Kayle on edge. Everyone looked ready to fight, but not necessarily the Abhorrent. Glances, deliberate stares, feigned insults and threatening physical postures. Villains, vigilantes and heroes alike all crowded into a space with their potentially worst enemies outside of genocidal monsters of nightmares. Already people were feeling the friction, emotion taking over logic in a bid for immediate satisfaction. Kayle’s eyes floated over them, watching as the fight was broken up and only barely paying attention to the briefing that the ‘best of the best’ were giving them. In fact, it took him longer than he would have liked to notice the box floating in front of him with what appeared to be a bracelet of some sort. Looking around, he saw nearly everyone donning it, lawful and evil alike. He didn’t like the idea of wearing anything made by someone who, on any other day, would most likely be hunting him down, but this was a different situation.

Once it attached itself to his arm, he rubbed it slightly but didn’t find that it was heavy or otherwise in the way. It did seem to be a mixture of tracking and communication device, which made Kayle even more uneasy, but considering the chaos that was about to unfold, he couldn’t fault them for wanting some way to coordinate with the superhumans here. Looking back at the four ‘veterans’ so to speak addressing the crowd, he couldn’t help but feel some anxiety. Now, he had been asked more than a few times in a couple different situations, ‘Aren’t you afraid?’. Even in a situation like this, where death was more likely than survival, and survival was not technically ‘alive’, he couldn’t say that he was. Anxiety, impatience, a small amount of anger, but fear? He couldn’t say that he was afraid of the abhorrent, more akin to annoyed by it. Which struck even Kayle as odd as he reflected inwardly for a moment.

He remembered the conversation he had with the changer just moments ago, and found himself wondering why, at this specific time, he had chosen that route over outright ignorance? Maybe he was more prideful than he liked to admit. Why, at this specific time, he looked at others with contempt rather than compassion or understanding. Maybe he was more closed off than he liked to admit. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing slowly and bringing himself back in line with his mentality, that of someone who would take that extra step when no one else would. Morality be damned, he had a job to do.

When Legend started talking more about the abhorrent, he realized his chances of being able to do something to the creature itself dropped to zero. With the radiation threat, not only would his chains refuse to manifest in any proper capacity, due to a weakness to radiation he found out a couple years ago against a particularly nasty villain, but with a limited time frame to find his doc after contact, the radiation itself would most likely kill him before he could do anything. Everything else was more or less in the realm of possibility to deal with though. The ability to control light made things a bit difficult, but if you were 75 feet tall with a tail spanning several dozen city blocks, being invisible didn’t really help much.

Kayle cracked his knuckles, one at a time out of a sense of keeping his hands busy. He wouldn’t be able to fight Tangle directly, but he could keep the plants at bay, prevent collateral damage and escort any potential injured capes or civilians away from the fight. He would have to be mindful of the radiation aura though, the closer he got the less effective he would be. That could be said for any number of capes, but for him especially. To be honest, having heard about it now, Kayle couldn’t help but feel a sense of uselessness wash over him as he realized he wasn’t going to necessarily be part of the effort pushing Tangle back. He bit the inside of his cheek a bit, more out of indignity than anything else.

As if the whole thing had been rehearsed, the moment Legend was done filling them in, the sound of destruction forced everyone’s head to whip to the source. There, somehow appearing as if from thin air, Tangle sat like a budding flower filled with murderous intent. Like some scene out of a monster movie, it turned to face them, unleashing a shriek that made even Kayle wince in pain at the thought of it. Instantly capes were moving to perform whatever tasks they thought they could do, while Kayle was part of the group running away. His chains burst from his form, impacting the ground and lifting him into the air as he propelled himself away from the conflict. Not necessarily because he was afraid, but because as he thought earlier, the radiation would render his abilities useless.

As he was floating through the air on his spider leg chains, he noticed that while some were rushing forward, others were running away, there was a group of capes standing still and not doing a damn thing in any capacity. Normally, Kayle would have chastised such behaviour. Villain or hero, this kind of thing came with the territory, but not even Kayle could fault them for being shocked into a standstill at the sight of Tangle. In fact, it was the very changer that Kayle had insulted and essentially mocked that made the first move. Picking him out of the crowd wasn’t hard as his ability to shift was...not exactly pleasant on the eyes. Having picked up some people, screaming at them to scatter. Whatever his opinions on the man, he wasn’t wrong.

Being someone capable of doing something in that instance, chains launched themselves towards the group that was still watching Tangle with nothing but either shock or fascination, grabbing as many people as he could before moving all of them a few blocks back. There was no preference in his actions, simply taking anyone who was standing still. Once he placed everyone down, he launched himself into the air again. This time, he took up a stance at roughly 4 stories, watching the ensuing chaos with a sense of anxiety once more. He wanted to do something, but like always, his logical side won out as he found himself simply watching for an opportunity.

It was then that a voice came from the bracelet. Looking over, listening as it listed names and statuses. So that’s what it was for. A way for people to realize just how powerful, and fruitless, this was ultimately going to be.

You didn’t need to have an empathy aura to know this wasn’t going to inspire confidence.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SÀhkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Alexander Dalton Character Portrait: Kayle Tallion (Twisted Smile) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush)
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Maxwell watched as the chaos unfolded in the streets. The battle, for all intents and purposes, was not going well. Capes, Villains, Vigilantes, they all got batted away like flies. "So much for the unspoken rules." He smirked, though more out of disdain for the concept, but it soon faded. No sense in endangering himself over the matter. As the chaos ensued though, something caught his eye, over on the streets. At first it looked like two children, but in a mere moment it became only one. The little girl laid there for a moment, Maxwell felt a slight sensation of... Pity? Or perhaps just familiarity, but he felt it all the same.

"Poor thing... Still a mere child and the world has already robbed you." He contemplated going down to help, but his thoughts were quickly put aside. The... 'Thing' from the TV, or so it seemed to be it, had dropped down to the pavement to quickly grab the girl and run off. "This... May be a more interesting day than I had originally expected." A slight grin grew on The Shape's face.

The windows beside Maxwell exploded as a shower of glass was thrown across the room, a brief moment of colorful bliss as the sun glinted off the fragments. The Shape had thrown himself to the ground, rolling back as far away from the windows as he could, looking back up just in time to see a piece of sidewalk fall from the window frame, down to the ground below. Turned out Tangle had a pretty good throw too. One more thing to keep in mind. Before anything else got thrown his way, Maxwell quickly made his way to an exit door, and quickly made his way down the stairs within. Elevator would be a death trap at this point.

Once he was back on the ground level, Maxwell burst through an emergency exit door and started running. He stuck to the back alleys for now as he tried to get an idea of what direction that thing from the news was running in.
"Gotta close this gap quick, before he makes any more distance." He didn't know much about whatever he was chasing after, but he knew that it could be fast, much faster than most humans on foot.

There. Maxwell managed to catch a glimpse of the thing turning down another street, so Maxwell ran out of the alleys and back onto the main streets. Some of Tangle's minions were running around, some engaged with capes, but others were not. No time to waste. Both his 87's were quickly in hand as Maxwell began to run through the crowd, careful not to get too close to the plant creatures. One of them jumped up towards him, too quick for him to get a shot immediately. He braced against the thing with his left arm, letting it grab him as he lifted his right up to put the barrel against the thing's head. One shot and it's head was burst apart, sending the thing to the ground writhing and flopping around.

Maxwell kept moving.

A few began to run towards him, two on his left, and one on his right. Aiming at the left two, he opened fire on their bodies, letting the bullets rip their flesh up till moving became impossible. Clicks sounded letting him know he needed to reload. Not enough time just yet. When the right one got close enough he dropped the pistols, flicked a knife out from his coat, and let it jump at him. The blade made it's way into the creature's neck, and Maxwell, started carving his way through. It kicked and flailed madly at him, almost knocking him to the ground, but he managed to decapitate it before it could overpower him. The Shape quickly picked up his guns again and kept moving, ejecting the magazines from his firearms before quickly reloading them. This time he moved even faster, he'd lost too much ground with the thing he was following, and couldn't lose any more.

In a few brief moments, The Shape had made it to the alley he'd seen the thing turn down, and upon rounding the corner was immediately met by a cape and some nightmarish looking creature. It was the thing he had decided to follow, and it... Had the girl inside of it? She seemed unharmed, but he was confused nonetheless. The cape there was a woman, a little taller than typical, wearing what appeared to be a motorcycle helmet.

Maxwell gave a slight nod to the group.
"Looks like we're all getting our workouts today huh?" He spoke with a slightly friendly tone, but despite the attempted joke, his voice carried more somber sympathy than anything else.

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Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody)
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There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to the thief...


No, Vic could not find any relief in the confusion around her. The swarm stunk of sweat and energy and she could pick up just the faintest scent of urine on the wind. Fear. That was the scent that was boxing her in. Some people were posturing with their chests puffed out impractically. Others were taking out their fear with the nearest nemesis. Then there were people like Vic. Heads down, wondering why they came. Most of them without the unnervingly relaxed, hands-in-pockets stance she'd adopted. Some asshole shoved past her and she let out a grunt, turning her gaze skyward. Even up there, it was crowded.

Ba-thump.

... The crowds were walls. A shifting mosaic of frightened individuals, yes, but walls. Cramped, encroaching walls.

Vic wasn't entirely distracted from the claustrophobia tapping away at the back of her skull as the drones deployed. Her fists clenched in her pockets and arms stiffened as one came close.

"Yo, dude, I think this thing just - just muted my powers or some shit."

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck that.

Giving the drone one last distrustful glare as it tried to attach to her wrist, Vic's arms vanished. With an exasperated sigh, her feet lifted from the ground. She dispersed into glimmering white particles, floating upwards and melting into air. As nothing but a cool and calming breeze, she flew past all of the heroes, vigilantes and villains until she was well above all the chaos. Man, from up here, in this form, she could just watch everything like some detached, unfeeling god.

... Perhaps it was the nerves, but 'detached' and 'unfeeling' were exactly the words that came to mind for Vic's mood up here. Out of all the impulsive fights she'd run to, this had to take the idiot cake. Why did she bother coming.

Helpless people on subway trains scream, bug-eyed, as he looks in on them...

Vic turned, picking up the faintest clamor of guitar and vocals. She caught sight of a small figure with their legs dangling over the edge of a skyscraper below her. Curiosity and familiarity tugging at her, she spiraled down.

Oh, no, they say he's got to go! Go, go, Godzilla! Oh, no, there goes Tokyo! Go, go, Godzilla!

"Godzilla? Seriously?" Vic critiqued, stepping out of her untouchable form onto the skyscraper as if appearing from an invisible portal. Her hands slipped into her pockets as she regarded the stranger. "Pretty on the nose, you think?"

It was a man with a stream of smoke coming from beneath a lifted bone mask. He had the wiry arms of a man who had injected some serious shit back in the day and the sagging skin and faded tattoos of an old rocker. From what Vic could see of his face, she wouldn't have thought him anywhere under sixty. Or at least, fifty something and itching for rehab. With a long exhale of smoke, he reached for his phone by a six-pack of beers to change the song. Don't Fear the Reaper blasted from the Bluetooth speaker as Vic settled down near him and let one leg hang off the skyscraper's ledge.

"You got anything for this?" she asked flatly, looking to him and raising an involuntarily shaking hand. Click. She turned her head with a blank expression and stared at the metal bracelet around her wrist. Before she could groan, an open cigarette packet was flung her way and she wasted no time in pushing up her mask and lighting one up. The moment she took a whiff, she knew that these weren't really cigarettes. And she didn't really care. "Thanks, man." She gazed over the skyscraper's edge at all the parahumans below. She could barely, just barely hear Legend's booming voice over the cowbells. There was a sudden kssssk beside her and she found herself being handed a beer, wisps rising from the bottle's mouth. She motioned a small 'cheers' and set it down beside her, about to return her attention to the crowds when it occurred to her that the old man beside her intrigued her far more.

"So, this is the battle plan, then? Get high and stick to the skies?" she remarked sarcastically, a smirk curling at her lips. That smirk fell as she took note of the choice of soundtrack and glanced to the beers and the lines in the old man's weathered skin. Her brow furrowed. "Yeah. Nice knowing you," she murmured, turning away and assuming indifference.

"What are you doing here, kid?"

Vic was taken aback by the first words she'd heard the old man utter since sitting with him. She raised a brow and opened her mouth, but didn't say a word.

"Phwoooo," she finally released. She hadn't expected to be hit so hard by a geezer. "Shit, I don't..." A long pause and drag later, and she choked out with a cough, "It's not my - it's not my responsibility to be their hero, you know. This wasn't something I could've avoided by putting on some fucking... fucking condom or something, you know?" She looked to the bone masked man for affirmation. "Let me tell you, Kate? Now Kate's a hero. She has a damn doctorate in saving people's asses. I just..." She laughed bitterly, shaking her head and returning to her blunt. "I just wanted to be a rock star, man."

But she was here. Vic groaned and dumped her head in her hands. At the end of the day, was she just another Spiderman? Another bug with a guilt complex?

"I know why you're here," the man said. Vic shot him an incredulous glance. He was staring out at the horizon, smoke pluming from the holes in his bone mask. Vic wondered for a moment if this surreal feeling scenario was even real. "You don't think it'll be worse."

Vic stared, the blunt a hair's breadth from her lips.

"We've all been through hell to get here," he sighed, and Vic caught the hand holding his cigarette fluttering with scales for a second, "We don't think it'll be worse." Vic was still frozen when the man looked to her, and she locked with his pale eyes through his mask holes. "You've been in a fight recently."

Vic momentarily forgot the fact that her costume was scorched. Instead, for a moment, she genuinely believed the man was a shaman.

"Y... Yeah."

"What happened?"

"It was, um... this... creature," she began, her gaze growing more distant at every word, "Nightmare incarnate. It... contorted and... it never had skin. Just... flesh. And tar. And it shrieked. Like it hated itself for existing. It burned me. Badly."

The old man's stare pierced her through. "But did it frighten you?"

"No... no," Vic echoed herself. "Not even a little." She jolted out of her trance and flashed the man a quick smile while averting her eyes. "It's a weird world."

"It didn't compare, did it?" Vic was seriously getting uncomfortable now. "That's what they want. That's the reason why they activate you the way they do. They want you to think..." She ignored his accusatory finger. "Nothing can be worse. All these people are down there because deep inside they think what happened to them is nothing compared to what is coming. I thought that, once. Now I've seen it. It's worse. It's far, far worse."

Vic's shaking fingers flicked the blunt from the skyscraper.

The song had ended. She only heard the wind rustling her clothes, before the bombastic intro to Jimi Hendrix's rendition of All Along the Watchtower boomed from the speaker behind her. She just sighed and shut her eyes.

BOOM.

When Vic's eyes reopened, she was staring down at a monstrous mass of writhing tentacles, cleaving its way through the gathering she'd been watching just before. It was hard to get a real perspective on the chaos from all the way up here. They looked likes bees and ants, but without the coordination and organization of a hive. Just hundreds of individuals, stumbling over one another. Trying to make a difference. But mostly, trying not to die.

"It's he-"

"Incredible," Vic interrupted breathlessly, then picked up her bottle of beer as she stood to chug it. When she was done, she ditched it into the ground with finality. "Alright, man -burp- I'd love to stay up here, smoke weed and watch the world burn to All Along the Watchtower with you. There's a song in that, but -" She gestured lazily at the chaos before them. "I think, down there, there's a better one for me."

"Go down there and you're not going to live to sing it," the man muttered, "What're you doing, kid. You don't have to be what they want of you. Heroes don't get high."

"Shut up." Vic growled, jabbing her finger at him, "You. Shut. Up. I still don't owe the world a damn thing, except this." She stood with her back to the ledge, fixed her mask into place, and raised her middle fingers high. "I'm not going to let it scare me."

And she fell.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Terry 'Tess' Farina (Hush) Character Portrait: Devon Metzger(freischĂŒtz) Character Portrait: Maxwell Landon (The Shape) Character Portrait: Mara Haruka Black
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Maxwell smiled slightly under his mask at the young woman's response. "If it's any comfort, I have a good feeling we'll live to feel terrible afterwards." He responded with a slight chuckle. As the young woman gave her plan, he nodded along, contemplating what it would mean for The Shape. His thoughts and feelings multiplied, but logically he was seeing this as the most productive use of his time. No sense in needless death, and this seemed like an interesting opportunity to network as well. Definitely a colorful group of capes, if ever there was one.

Before anyone could say anything else, the young woman began to make her way out of the alley, only to be met by yet another individual. Another cape, but this one kitted out like some kind of soldier. Very interesting. The man warned them about Tangle, and the young woman quickly identified the two of them as 'Fray-Shoots' (whom Maxwell believed must be the 'FreischĂŒtz' he'd heard named on his wrist band earlier), and 'Hush'.

Hush began to give a rundown of her plan, a rescue operation, albeit one that could be risky. Having thought that, it was also the only realistic plan that seemed viable. Bright light also caught Maxwell's eye as well, slightly turning his gaze while Hush spoke, trying to figure out where it came from. The Shape thought he may have briefly seen a faint arc of lightning perhaps. Someone must be feeling quite brave. Hush finished speaking and looked to the rest of the group, eliciting a nod of approval from The Shape.


"Hush has the most realistic plan as of right now. I saw the Triumvirate, albeit briefly, thrashing Tangle with everything they've got. Barely a dent on that thing. If we're winning this battle today, it's going to take time, and a lot of destruction. At this rate, damage control is about the best we can manage."

Maxwell paused for a moment to let the group take things into consideration, before giving some more input of his own. "I think we need to begin making contact with other capes as well, we're going to need more rescue teams, and some scouts or messengers. If Tangle doesn't stay put, we're going to need to be able to move these people to a more secure location. This battle could very likely be a very mobile one, so I hope you all like running." He left it on a somewhat lighter note. Fear, anger, negativity in general, these were going to be distractions in the fight, and distractions would get people killed.

Speaking of distractions, something else caught Maxwell's eye again, he turned his gaze just slightly to the side and up, just in time to witness someone falling from one of the buildings. Another tragedy it seemed, but.... Maxwell realized there was something familiar about the shape he saw. It was nearly impossible to tell, but he could swear it looked like that cape from the battle with the 'tar-monster' here with them. Another small smirk grew underneath the mask, The Shape feeling fairly certain that would not be the last time they'd be seeing that girl. In fact, today of all days, there might be quite a few reunions.

Today was a terribly interesting day.

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Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody)
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Nobody plummeted head first towards the ground at five hundred feet. She didn't let out a sound. Her body was limp, her arms flailing in the wind at her sides. To the untrained eye she appeared a falling corpse. Through her squinting eyes, she could see the blinding light of the sun reflecting on the skyscraper's glassy exterior and a sliver of blue.

"Dr. Mosquito down. Black Frost down. Vipera down."

Her bracelet rattled off monotonously, fighting to be heard over the rush of air in her ears. The wind was inviting her.

"Incognito down. Atomic Angel down."

She shut her eyes and sighed. Thirty more feet to go until she actually was a corpse. Always time for a game of chicken before the end times, as they never say.

Nobody vanished less than a meter from the ground. It looked like she'd smacked the bottom so fast she'd been obliterated into nothing. The wave of wind that spread from her landing certainly felt like it. Then, a hard, direct gust blew through the chaos from where she fell, knocking all in its path either towards or out of danger. Nobody frankly didn't notice or care. She didn't even pay the carnage any attention. She was just a breeze.

When Vic changed, the lines that defined her became blurry. Sometimes, they felt non-existent. She was was part of everything, her molecules intermingling with the atmosphere. Where did she end? It was a sensation she couldn't try to describe to someone without seeming like some massive stoner, and it wasn't one she could do justice with words anyway. Sometimes she wondered if she could stretch her consciousness out. Make the atmosphere of this world a part of her, not just becoming a part of it. It was in this form she truly was Nobody. In this form, she whooshed through the battlegrounds to Tangle.

A vine smashed down before her, wiping out - whatever, Nobody didn't look. She just rushed through the rising vine, feeling herself part around it. Finally, she reached her destination, and came to a halt.

Nobody wasn't afraid to look danger in the eye. That's what she was here to prove. Unfortunately, she literally couldn't, given that this time danger didn't have any. She hovered before Tangle's maw, staring at its otherwise featureless face. She could feel the radiation here, sense it. It couldn't harm her, but the air was sick with it. She watched the fight close-up, attacks not managing to pierce it or the damage immediately regenerating. It was hard to believe what she was seeing was real, even with all the crazy shit that went down in Capetown on the daily.

"..."

... It was awesome.

And, being here. In the open. As one of the many capes here. The many that Tangle was just killing indiscriminately, without vendetta or personal investment... mindless...

"It's not as bad, old man." She thought. Triumph swelled in her. She glared Tangle down in spirit. "You're not enough, Tangle. Not even you."

She turned from her impulsive decision to get a closer look, about to fly back over the battle, when Tangle... breathed.

In.

Hard.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh..." Nobody thought as she was sucked back, too stunned for a second to think of wrenching herself away. A second in which Tangle already chomped down, trapping her in complete darkness.

"... Shit."

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Character Portrait: Jasmin Lehtinen (SĂ€hkö) Character Portrait: Vic Martel (Nobody) Character Portrait: Jericho Amile (Wendigo/Ghoul) Character Portrait: Devon Metzger(freischĂŒtz) Character Portrait: Mara Haruka Black
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Nobody was in the mouth of the beast. She had scrolled through forums before discussing the many theories on what this beast truly was and where it came from, and from a quick scan through her memories of them, she figured she was currently inside one of the following three: a government conspiracy, an alien, or a God.

Pretty metal.

If she had a heart to speak of right now, it would be going as fast as a jackhammer. It was dark, but she could sense the walls, where they ended. From what she could tell, the thing didn't have lungs. Just a shit ton of radioactivity and no way out. And while it wasn't hurting her now, she knew that the heat in here wouldn't be healthy for her other form. Now, it was harder to feel fear without the adrenaline in your brain, your veins. The chemical reactions needed to make your skin prickle and body twitch. But some fears transcended biology.

Dark.

Trapped.

Enclosed.

Alone.

Alone.

I'm alone.

Down in Tangle's throat, she heard it. A deep gurgling, inhuman noise starting to build. A crack of light pierced the cavern, and Nobody burst out of the creature accompanied by an agonizing shriek. She didn't know how long she'd been down here. Could've been anywhere between twenty seconds to a minute or, like, an hour. She rushed up and all the noises that had been dulled by Tangle's thick hide were back, all the screams and shouting and sound effects torn from the pages of a comic book. Further, further - she was a reverse comet, reaching into the rapidly cooling atmosphere until she felt it affect her. Then she plummeted, spiraling to the ground in a frenzied motion.

Thwack.

Nobody returned to human form as her breeze skidded against ground, and she tumbled suit. She hit her hips and her shoulders against steel, struggling to regain footing, just managing to roll into a stand right before the edge of the rooftop. Everything human hit her at once. The adrenaline, the blunt she'd taken in before. The throbbing of her eardrums. Pain. She turned on shaking legs to stare up at the titan that had served as her prison for... probably nowhere near as long as it felt like, and shot her fists up over her head.

"WHOOOOOOO!!!"

She screamed. A victory cry turned growl as she doubled over. Her bracelet was back to rattling off names apathetically, and she was back to looking at the chaos through human eyes. Those bloodshot eyes blurred as her breaths came ragged and thin, and she looked to who she had tumbled right past to the other side of the roof. A big black... thing, some little white thing riding it, someone... yeah, that was a human, a dome, and a... red blur with... white shards scattered about it, rocks in a red sea.

“Vic— Er, Nobody! H-Hey!” Came the abrupt shout from the mass of black and pale grey flesh and fur, shoulders and mood lifting as the comforting sight of a ... more familiar face and voice appeared. He was surprised, a bit stupefied, at the fact that she was even here at all, but it helped.

A secondary form rippled out from the changer, a massive pulse of ink lurching out from one of the burly forelimbs of the current form he was taking. A humanoid shape splattered to the steel floor below, quickly becoming solid black, before simply solid and flesh colored. It rose, wriggled it’s limbs, before taking on a startlingly bare rendition of Jericho’s usual human shape. He was... modest in the way a Ken doll would have been, though tattoos of multiple different swirls and fractals and other shapes painted across the exposed skin in record time, leading to a cord of bone and meat that connected back to the monstrous wendigo form behind him.

“H-Hey! Um... Hey, Vi— Nobody, sorry, minds a fuckin’ mess- Um- Got people trapped in the dome, there, um-“

"Stop."

The adrenaline clouding Nobody's mind didn't betray how deadly still her body was. Even the wind around her dropped, the whistle of it coming over the rooftop ceased. Eyes tinged with red stared Jericho down. Slowly, she reached into her back pocket, and brought out a half crumpled cigarette. She held it out expectantly towards him, watching flint and a steel striker bubble to the surface of his flesh. Good, he scarred her chest and now he could help in scarring her lungs, too.

"Wendy," she said in a low voice after letting loose a thin stream of smoke from her mask's nostrils. "I don't like people who don't know how to use their mouths."

She didn't blink. Somehow, it was a little hard to breathe in this pocket where the breeze had halted.

"I don't like it when they don't know how to please me with it." She stepped towards him. "I don't like it, when they put things in it that don't belong..." Her voice was rising in anger now. She took another step towards the unfortunate abomination, this time, raising her cigarette butt uncomfortably close to his eyes. "And I don't like it when they don't know when to stop running it!"

Her chest shuddered with rage as she glared him down. She turned from him, strolling back to the edge of the building. "Look, I've already been eaten once today. So I'm getting out of here, because the second most likely candidate to eat me again is you. Get back to being a hero, and I hope you're better with kids than you are with identities, asshole."

She took one last long drag from the cigarette and jumped, eager to discard this human heart again. The moment she was gone, the breeze returned.