Teen Heroes of America (THA)'s Story

Capetown, TX. 09/18/2017, 2:32 AM. 77°F,
Partly Cloudy (Sprinkling). Arc 2: Confluence.

---

Lucas Eklund could do little more than watch as a thick black liquid swirled around the man's throat. He's a parahuman. Lucas thought to himself before flinching as the sound of his motorcycle revving loudly emitted from the man's mouth while he returned Lucas' gesture and then ran away, his skin unnaturally jet black, looking like a shadow, but too dark and too easy to make out among the barely-visible shadows cast by the overcast light of the sky. Lucas stood there, confused, for a moment, before dropping back into his usual sarcastic wisecracking demeanor.

"Guess his bark is worse than his bike." Lucas retorted to the 'scream,' before doubling over, fits of laughter overcoming him. If Jasmin were here, she would have sighed and groaned at the pub, but Lucas found himself to be rather hilarious. "With a... With a power like that... What does he call himself... Frog Boy?" He gave a long wheeze before becoming hysterical with laughter once again. Finally, he calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes, his sides hurting with each silent hitch of laughter until he finally stopped all together. He let out a long sigh before - BEEEEEEP - Lucas looked behind him, only to realize he was still in the middle of the street on his bike. The driver in the car behind him had stopped when he did, and had probably been surprised by the parahuman's motorcycle imitation, and waited a minute while he laughed, but now the man was impatient. Without a word, Lucas revved his bike and rode off down the street, returning traffic to normal.

The next two and a half hours went by pretty quickly, as he had gone to a restaurant to eat, and then gone to a club for some entertainment. When five o'clock rolled around, he was driving towards Jasmin's house to meet her there. When he got there, he noticed the big "closed" sign in the windows of the Wich Which next to her apartment. Weird for it to be closed at this time of the day. He though, before shrugging. He walked up the steps to her apartment and knocked on the door.

---

---

Capetown, TX. 09/15/2017, 9:00 PM. 70°F,
Partly Cloudy (Sprinkling). Arc 2: Confluence.
Three days ago...

---

Finally, it was nine at night, and his patrol shift was over. He stood on a rooftop, overlooking the traffic below him in the city, the sun having just set so the buildings created dark shadowy night below, but the sky was still lit on one half of the horizon. Red Jet stare down at the ground, ten stories below him. It would be so easy to step off. The thought didn't jolt him anymore, as it used to, as even if he did jump, the concrete below him would be much more damaged than he would. He sighed and rubbed his cheek where his helmet lining ended, and raised his visor to rub his eyes for a moment before lowering it again. He didn't enjoy being out here, on patrol, but now that it was over he couldn't bring himself to go back to the HQ. The beep of his phone indicating he'd received a text snapped him out of it, and he launched himself into the sky in the direction of the HQ.

Ten minutes later, Josh had entered the HLA/THA HQ and taken the elevator downstairs. When it ding'ed open, Josh saw Hydro and immediately cocked a grin. "Yo, I got your text, what's the probl... em...?" He finished, noticing that every member of Capetown's HLA and THA had gathered in the room, twelve people in all. Not a good sign. He noticed Hydro look between their senior members before speaking.

"We're calling a meeting... About the Abhorrents."

Capetown, TX. 09/15/2017, 9:13 PM. 70°F,
Partly Cloudy (Sprinkling). Arc 2: Confluence.
Three days ago...

---

"The Abhorrents..?" He asked, his question hanging in the air, oppressive, the silence following hard to break. "Is there going to be an attack?" He asked, his eyes widening, his voice slightly quivering. He looked between the faces of the adults, the HLA members, and each of their faces were hard set and sober. Some had fought Abhorrents and lived, while some of them had helped with clean up or rescue. The THA, his team members, on the other hand had not fought or participated in Abhorrent events, because minors weren't required to face them. Sometimes, teams or individual members would volunteer to help, but it was normally a death sentence.

"It's been four months since the last Abhorrent attack in the Philippines. As you all know, Abhorrents typically attack every three months, give or take a week or two. They are well over due." A man in a blue and white costume with a golden star on his chest said, his voice deep with authority. Josh knew his as Cosmic, leader of Capetown's HLA. "And Capetown has always been a potential target. 7th in the state population-wise, but Capetown is the 5th in the nation based on parahuman-to-human density, with nearly 5% of the population having powers."

"Nearly 25,000 parahumans in this city, and our team has four members." Josh said, sarcasm dripping from his mouth as he sat in one of the black leather couches, next to Veil.

"You four are some of the strongest among teen parahumans in the city, both power-wise and in willpower for joining the THA. Most people default to villainy, or isolate themselves from help. Their trigger events are largely to blame, theirs were as traumatizing, if not more, than yours. We also have a large population of immigrants, both Asian and Mexican, from recent Abhorrent attacks. Many aren't citizens, and can't join the team if they wanted." A woman with red-pink hair and a matching body suit said to him. Her name was Trueshot, and she had uncanny aim and had never been recorded to miss a target, with any ranged weapon or throw. Josh shrugged, not happy with the answer.

"But that's not what we're here to discuss. A handsome man with a strong jawline and spiky black hair said. Josh knew him, Tendril, a guy with shadow-tentacles as his power. "The Abhorrents are likely to strike Capetown in the next week. It won't be Behemoth, since he was last seen surfacing around Alaska two days ago, and he can't travel very fast. He still seems to be wandering, not showing his usual agitation before an attack, so Alaska is likely safe."

Cosmic nodded at Tendril and continued for him, "Nor is it going to be Giant. As you all know, he attacked the Philippines a few months ago, and Abhorrents never attack twice in a row. That leaves Leviathan, Dragon, and Tangle. Leviathan was last seen in the Gulf of Mexico via satellite imaging. If he attacks, it'll be a costal attack, and Capetown will be safe, but almost all of us in this room will be traveling to Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, or wherever else he strikes to defend."

"Tangle was last seen traveling north from the Amazon jungle. He's presumably somewhere in the jungles of Central America, but he might even be in Mexico. He's good at evading satellite by turning invisible, but if he's still heading north, we're in his path." Said a man with a red hood and cape and a metal chest plate and mask. Josh found it ironic that though parahumans were called capes as slang, relatively few of them wore capes anymore, as it was impractical and annoying. Mostly, the name was a small holdover from when superheroes were only portrayed in comic books.

"And that leaves Dragon." A woman with a purple and black bodysuit said, "He's chilling in the middle of the Atlantic, easy to track as always with the giant unmoving tropical storm raging around him."

Cosmic nodded. "We are due for an Abhorrent attack any day now. I'd be thoroughly surprised if it takes longer than a week. It could be starting in the next ten minutes. We don't know. However, each one of us must be ready for it at any moment. If the attack isn't here in Capetown, Shift will come here to teleport each one of you to the location of attack. Teens." He said, looking between the THA members. "You're not required to fight if it's anywhere else. But if the attack is here, you are capes, and you work under the PCRT. The unwritten rules basically dictate that you help in one way or another, and that's what'll be expected of you."

"I almost hope it's here so I don't have to be teleported by Shift." Josh grumbled, and earned some stern looks as a result.

"We understand, sir." His leader, Hydro, said to Cosmic. And with that, the meeting was dismissed.

---

Capetown, TX. 09/18/2017, 5:00 PM. 75°F,
Overcast. Arc 2: Confluence.

---

Josh sighed, the beeping of his phone's alarm signaling it was time for him to do his patrol. It was a Monday, and as usual, school sucked. All four of the THA members in Capetown went to the city's biggest high school, Capetown High, but they were "recommended" to not hang out with each other so students wouldn't suspect them of being heroes. As a result, Josh had almost no friends at school, and school tended to be miserable for him. After school, he went to the HQ, where he's basically lived since his parents signed their guardianship of him away to the PCRT nearly a year and a half ago. Being a hero was a full time job for Red Jet, and though he was payed a salary, he still hated the patrols. Most nights, he found no villain activity. Night he did, he had to call for backup, or get permission to engage. It made him restless and feel like he was treated as a kid.

He walked out of the HQ in his red costume, and his heart leaped out of his chest when his phone made the Amber Alert tone. They really ought to change that. He thought, recalling the regular Abhorrent alarm tests. Amber Alerts having the same sound either downplayed the Abhorrent tests, or caused panic over simple kidnapping alerts. He shook his head, momentarily clearing it. He was bored, bored in a way that made him almost wish an Abhorrent would attack. It would be terrible, and literal thousands would die, but he still wished it in a perverse way that a normal person may wish for the apocalypse so they could escape the routine of their lives. Plus, Red Jet was one of the few that could go hand-to-hand against an Abhorrent, his invincibility allowing him to actually trade blows with them. Many people said his power was similar to Legend's, a member of the Triumvirate, and it was true. However, his "flight" and "strength" were worse, and his invincibility didn't include against energy, he was still a very strong opponent. They had spent the last three days going over strategy with their seniors, HLA members.

"Red Jet, if the attack is from Dragon or Leviathan, you can trade blows with them as they don't have any attacks that can hurt you. If the attack is from Tangle, the radiation would be a concern, but you could have Veil turn you invisible, shielding you from it. But you need to still be careful, you've had cars thrown at you, you've fallen out of the sky, and you've had buildings collapse on you, but those are relatively physically natural things. The Abhorrents are unnaturally dense, and it's possible that if they tried to crush you, your invincibility would be overcome." Tendril had told him yesterday, leaving him to ponder the limits of his power.

He liked to think he was like Legend, who was pretty much the real-world Superman or Luke Cage. Legend was so invincible, that nothing could harm him. Abhorrents like Giant and Leviathan had gotten their hands or claws on him and unsuccessfully tried to rip him in half. But would Red Jet be so lucky, or was there a limit where, if too much force was applied, his power would fail? It had happened before to other heroes. As he did his rounds that night, his mortality was all that was on his mind.

Capetown, TX. 09/19/2017, 10:10 Am. 57°F,
Partly Cloudy (Sprinkling). Arc 2: Confluence.

---

Josh McDaniel hated school. He, like most high school students, felt that there was little need for him to learn calculus, trigonometry, or British literature. However, unlike most students, his opinion was mostly fueled by the fact that he was guaranteed a full, government-sponsored, scholarship to virtually any college he wanted, and guaranteed a well-paying, full time job afterwards with the HLA. His hatred for high school was somewhat abated in his Parahumans Ethics and Parahumans Studies classes. Technically electives to other students, they were a required class for him, unbeknownst to his teachers but known to school administration, because he was in the THA. Each class took half of a semester, and combined they gave students an elective point in either Science or Art, but most students joined it because they were mildly interested in parahumans, vainly wanted to learn how to become parahumans, extreme cape geeks, or just thought it'd be a fun class or an easy A. Josh didn't think the college style lectures were fun or that the multi-page essays were easy. Nevertheless, the class was interesting.

Josh enjoyed the class, and so though there were good and bad qualities about it, it was the one class that he ever spoke aloud in, whether to other classmates, or to answer the teacher (who called himself "Professor P" even thought it's not a college class). Josh was quiet, reserved, and had very few friends, though he was not the edgy loner type that many of the school's emos or goths would try to play off. Josh used to be a popular kid, even what some might consider a jock. He was on the school's football team, had multiple girlfriends, lots of friends, and made good grades. Then, when his trigger event came about, Josh became reclused and isolated afterwards, losing most of his friends, dropping the ones that remained with him, leaving the football team, and breaking up with his girlfriend. It left him traumatized, and it only worsened the fact that rumors spread. Josh attempted suicide. He would hear whispers about it in the halls, teachers would act nicer to him, and the world felt a lot more condescending. Things got worse when he joined the THA, and though he started making friends with some of the team, it was a far cry from what it used to be. Annoyed, Josh found himself zoning out in the one class of the day he somewhat enjoyed, and turned his attention back to Professor P's lecture, after hearing a student ask a question he didn't quite catch.

"You know, it's just human nature. Chaos in a system, selfishness, mistakes, stupidity, people doing the wrong things with the tools they have at their disposal. I once met a powerful parahuman, she was an animal biokinetic. She could change any animal's biologies, and she used it to sell hybridized animals to circuses and zoos. I asked her, 'Why don't you make a mosquito that cures malaria?' It was a simple question. She had a fix on the tip of her fingers that could do what scientists have been trying to do with genes for years. She could fix ethical dilemmas by making domesticated cows not have the ability to feel pain, and make their milk contain all sorts of important things like vitamins and antibacterials safe for human consumption. She could make GMO's that seem perfectly natural with no mess ups, no drawbacks. Now, a lot of people trust parahumans even less than they trust scientists doing genetic modification, and some companies wouldn't accept that even if it meant a possible profit turn. But there'd be a company or two that would, and she'd make money off of making things better. So, why didn't she? It's simple. Parahumans are humans, but they are also humans who have had the worst happen to them. About 70% of parahumans, according to studies, have powers related to their trigger events. These powers remind them of the worst aspect, part, or day of their lives, every day. A parahuman who's trigger event was being ignored by everyone, including family, ironically gained the power of self-invisibility. Things like that. Some parahumans repress this, or even better, overcome their trauma and become heroes. But even more chose not to work for the greater good, to instead be rogues, pursue their own small goals or dreams, or instead not use their powers at all. It doesn't always pay to be a people-pleaser, and these parahumans can't be faulted for their choices in life, just as each of you in this class may not be faulted for not wishing to become a doctor, surgeon, or EMT to save lives.

Now, everyone turn in their assignments about a famous parahuman who's faced ethical dilemmas in their careers, and... Mr. Dalton!" Professor P. raised his voice, and Josh turned his head to see one of his classmates, Alexander, jerk his head up as if he'd just been asleep on his desk. "Please don't sleep in my class." Professor P requested, before going back to telling the class to turn in their assignment that was due today. Josh himself had done his assignment on Dr. Charles Manton, the man who "discovered" the Manton Effect, because it made it easy for his assignment to tangent off onto describing the Manton Effect to give a higher word count with less effort. There could have been other choices, like Suit, the Tinker member of the Triumvirate, basically the real-world Iron Man, but better. Or maybe someone like the parahuman villain who's cape identity name was literally "God," but parahumans have done worse than defile religions. In the end, Manton seemed like an easy choice for his assignment, and probably a choice more than a few other students would have chosen as well, causing Professor P to not have too much interest in Josh's own paper.

He passed his paper to the person sitting in the desk in front of him, then turned to Alexander, "Not getting enough sleep last night, man?" He didn't know why he asked, in particular. He and Alex hadn't really communicated much before, maybe if Alexander had been around before Josh's trigger event, Josh might have tried to be his friend just like every one else, but as far as Josh knew, Alexander moved to Capetown High from somewhere else, and he hadn't seen Alexander in middle school. He was startled from his train of thought when his phone buzzed, a group text with a couple dozen numbers attached, saying "Cape bank robbery in progress, PCRT members down, requesting HLA backup. THA members to stay in school." His pulse slowed, and he hadn't even realized that his heart had been pounding in his chest. They were expecting an Abhorrent attack within the week, and that was four days ago. Every text or call he got got him scared that this would be the one. It was inevitable.

---

Capetown, TX. 09/19/2017, 7:00 AM. 54°F,
Overcast. Arc 2: Confluence.

---

Jasmin Lehtinen
woke up with one of the worst headaches she's had in a while. The dull throbbing of her heartbeat wracked her brain constantly, as she struggled to muster the strength to get out of bed, and drew shaky breaths with each movement. At least the quiver in her voice as she was close to tears made her phone call to work believable, and somewhat justified. Now I just have to go fight a bunch of powerful parahumans. No biggie. She sarcastically thought, grabbing her car keys.

When she arrived at the hideout, she was no longer Jasmin, she was now Sähkö, and Mark, or rather Sandstorm, was already there. However, unlike last night, he was now in his costume, a black costume with a sand-tan top, gloves, boots, and a sand-tan cowl-scarf that hung down his back like a small semi-cape. Brown bandoliers were on his belt, and Jasmin could only guess that they were filled with various powders, or a lot of sand. Lucas, or Chrysopoeia, showed up next, in his red armor with scales of various materials, and red sunglasses and bandana. Lastly Ray, or Seraphim, showed up uncostumed, because her power created a costume for her. Sähkö checked the time, and it was ten minutes after ten o' clock. They would be striking the Adept Mages at noon. In every one of their last jobs, the HLA had been occupied elsewhere, Lucas had once told her, so they never met with the HLA and the HLA knew little about The Congenial, so it was usually lone vigilantes The Congenial fought, if there was any fight at all during a job. Lucas had suspected Recall had always set up the other distractions for their jobs, but Sähkö wondered if it was mere coincidence and that today would be their unlucky day.

So, they spent the next hour talking strategy. Sandstorm and Sähkö would take Sandstorm's car, and Chrysopoeia would follow close behind on his motorcycle, Seraphim riding bitch, both vehicles with the licence plates covered. Then they talked about who they'd be fighting. Their leader, Myrlyn (who Sähkö pictured as an old wizard dude until Seraphim mentioned it was spelled fucking weird), was a dressed in intricately blue-runed black armor with a black cloak-like cape and skirt that was open in the front. He also had a nearly-blank white ceramic mask with a hood thrown over it. Sähkö's mental image of it was weird, but Chrysopoeia said he looked like a Lord of the Rings villain or something. Apparently he had telekinetic powers that caused blue flames to appear around whatever he was using the telekinesis on, but the flames were intangible and didn't hurt or burn things. he applied this in many ways, as it was a particularly strong form or telekinesis, able to throw large things, make things float, push or pull people, or even make himself fly. He also had the secondary power of limited precognition, that apparently stemmed from a mental power telling him what people were about to do, or what action they'd take. This combination made him very deadly in a fight, though he didn't have as many powers as some of his underlings. Jeu, apparently second in command of the Adept Mages, wore black armor with red highlights and a black cape with a red inside, he also had a similar ceramic mask to Myrlyn, and a frame that made him look almost like an evil jester. He had many powers such as enhanced timing, enhanced balance, enhanced accuracy, and illusory flames, making him deadly in close quarters melee, and good at battlefield control by tricking people with flames. Third was Drow, named after the dark elves from Dungeons and Dragons, she was a super-pale girl with jet black makeup and snow white hair, wearing the same black armor as the two before her, but with green highlights. Drow was capable of creating constructs of green energy (like green lantern) except it was mostly limited to small constructs, and the energy appeared to be both wispy like smoke, and crackly like green electricity. She mostly made weapons out of the energy, but could sometimes create battlefield obstacles. Alchimyst (who Sähkö was informed also spelled his name retarded) was fourth in command, and didn't share the same theme as the three before him. He wore a drab grey hood, gas mask, and more modern apocalypse-looking gear, and he was a chemical Tinker, who made concoctions of "potions" and poisons with varying affects. Sähkö hated the utility Tinkers brought to a table, as they were usually unpredictable even with simple specialties. There were twelve more, but they didn't have time to go over a strategy to dealing with each and every one, so they tried basic general strategies of dealing with the main four, and hoped that winging it in the heat of battle would help against the rest.

Sähkö, for her part, was pretty nervous. She'd never actually been in a cape fight before, and she wasn't intent on killing anyone, even in self defense. I'm so screwed.

---

Good news was that Alex had made it to class with only a minute to spare. bad news was that he passed out nearly fifteen minutes into the lesson after taking just a moment to rest his head on his desk. The resulting snore followed by giggling from his classmates was more then enough to get Professor P's attention. "... Mr. Dalton!" Alexander woke as suddenly as he had drifted into sleep, jerking his head up in a mix of confusion and annoyance. Only taking a moment to remember where he was. Right, school. Just lovely. "Please don't sleep in my class." Professor P was by no means a bad teacher by Alex's standards. In fact Alex quite enjoyed the class. It gave him A chance to look at the triumphs and mistakes of past and current parahumans. He only hoped that he could learn not to make any similar ones. Even so, he didn't like suddenly being the center of attention, or upsetting who had to be one of his favorite teachers. Alex's face burned red as he attempted to pull his bangs and hat over his face.

"Sorry . . . " He mumbled more to himself then anyone else.

Their class assignment was due today. Thankfully that was something he had gotten done long before the events of last night. Alex pulled out his paper and set it passed it up along with the others. He had done his paper on Dr. Agatha Damas, a former Biological anthropologist from France that had been A part of the global research team for the continued study of parahumans and how each one uniquely functioned. While her theories on meta evolution were fascinating to say the least, it was only after she herself became a parahuman when she began releasing very "interesting" research papers. She had become a thinker type but with an odd addition. Dr. Agatha had claimed to be able to visibly see a sort of pulsating glow in the heads or torsos of parahumans when their abilities were being used. Not being able to provide much proof, she began to write about what many parahuman researchers still talk about now and again today. Genetic changes were common among many parahumans. changers aside, it wasn't unusual for new organs to suddenly grow or entire cellular structures to mutate during a trigger event. Dr. Agatha claimed to have definitive answers for the more fantastical powers and abilities. Now this was what caught Alex's attention more then anything, seeing that this could have everything to do with his own barrier powers. The woman claimed there to be an entirely new organ that would form in the body which would facilitate things such as the generation and manifestation of energies or natural phenomena. When medical tests could not help give proof to her theory, she became desperate. knowing for sure of what she saw. The next part made Alex's stomach a little uneasy. Since she had began to dissect the bodies of parahumans without any given consent or clearance. It got worse though. She was only discovered after having preformed a dissection on a living parahuman. The remaining papers of her research that had been collected after her resulting imprisonment stated something that would spur further, and vastly more human, research into what was dubbed "the Damas organ" or "Damas gland". The final pages boldly stated that the organ in question was not if ever physically present within the host. That it was a form of energy all on its own. being compared to the mind, or ones own life force. There were many scientists to this day that try and study the phantasmal Damas organ with little to no progress. though there are reports that a German research facility might have stumbled onto what could be proof.

Alexander had been lost in his own head when one of his one of his classmates turned to him. "Not getting enough sleep last night, man?" Alex blinked. He and Josh hadn't really talked much if at all. Apparently the guy tried to commit suicide once and had become a lot more distant before Alex enrolled. But given that this was school, one might as well take such kinds of stories with a grain of salt. Gossip was a dime a dozen and most of it wasn't worth memorizing anyway.

He shrugged and rested his chin on his arms crossed on his desk. "You could say that. Got to go to a private concert, got caught up in some of my hobbies and just forgot how late it was." He yawned, noticing Josh was now busy checking his phone. Alex was checking off a mental list of everything that he had done last night when he remembered the stupid, cliche thing he had back at Vic's garage. He wanted to slam his face into the desk as hard as he could, if only to try and knock some sense in to him and not break the poor innocent piece of furniture. She had either laughed it off or one of the other band members was going to call him and heckle. Probably Zach if anyone. Alex glanced over at the clock, desperately wanting school to just be over already so he didn't have to sit idly with his own thoughts.

---

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(↑285↓) ♦[Serious] Why does everyone I ask hate parahumans, but the media...
In: Boards ► Discussion ► Parahumans ► General
Posted on August 19th, 2017 by MightyFallenOne:

Sorry, ran out of title space. Basically, why does everyone I ask hate parahumans, but the media doesn't portray them that negatively? Do I live in an extremely anti-cape area? Is there media censoring? Is something else going on? It's kinda weird, when I ask people about specific capes, I get good responses about the person, but when I ask about capes as a whole, I get bad responses. For example; I asked a friend about Legend. Everyone knows who he is. You can not know who Bill Gates is and still know who Legend is. My friend said Legend is a good guy, he's at almost every Abhorrent attack, he's a protector, a true hero. Then the next day, I asked him what he thinks of the Triumvirate. He said that he thinks there's something up with them, that they're part of the government but that they need to be more restricted, ect. Not the worst sentiment, but the next day I asked him what he thinks of parahumans in general, and get this; he thinks they are trouble, that they need to be strictly regulated, and devoted to good causes. He practically advocated their slavery for energy, capital, industrial, medical, ect. reasons based on their powers. I get similar sentiments from many others, what gives?

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RocketTazer [Survivor] (↑235↓) points 1 month ago
I think you probably live in a more anti-cape area than usual, as most people I know like capes. I'm a bit of a cape-geek, and so are most of my friends. We love heroes, and we sometimes secretly root for the non-murderous villains. It's fun. However, I'll try to see another point of view and give some of my ideas on why so many people are against parahumans;

Parahumans get a lot of racist flak. Ordinary humans fear them because, unlike comic book heroes who everyone loved and stuff, parahuman's powers are real, and we don't know much about them. Some people believe they are an extreme jump in evolution that represents the end of the human race as we know it. Others believe they're a government project gone wrong. Others blame aliens. Who knows? All three sound pretty bad.

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bigBOat5 (↑-57↓) points 1 month ago
or may-b its bcuz capes are mostly villains who destroy lives or use powers to bcome rich. you have a survivor badge, so you were probably saved by a fuckn cape during an attack, but did you ever think that they probably caused the fucking abhorrents man.

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RocketTazer [Survivor] (↑26↓) points 1 month ago
Woah, /u/bigBOat5 I don't think that's a completely fair assessment of capes. Not every single cape can be a hero, and most capes literally got their powers from traumatic events and likely have PTSD. Some are stronger and become heroes. I honestly think most low-crime level villains are victims of their powers. As for the Abhorrents, now you sound like a flat-earther. The capes didn't cause them, there's probably not some big global cover up or conspiracy. With the amount of deaths per Abhorrent attack (roughly 100,000-200,000 people per attack, every four months) if the capes did cause it, many world-wide governments would be on their asses. They're trying to stop the Abhorrents. Trust me. I was at ground zero in Miami. I've earned the [Ground Zero: Miami], [Survivor], and [White Cross] badges. I saw up close and personal what capes do to the Abhorrents and what the Abhorrent do to capes. Trust me, random low-level villains with weak powers wouldn't have been risking their lives against Leviathan like that, for what, a giant conspiracy?

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MightyFallenOne (↑14↓) points 1 month ago (edited)
You bring up some decent points, /u/RocketTazer. Not sure how I feel about it, honestly. On one hand, shouldn't the government be doing more about literal superhumans? On the other hand, you're right, they're people too and it's kinda prejudice to be against them. Plus, some people's argument is that vigilantism is a crime. Well, with the amount of superpowered people running around, crime has gone way up since before they existed because it's easier now. As a result of more crime, more vigilantes are appearing, both powered and non-powered.

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BiggerB1rd (↑14↓) points 1 month ago
Wait why do parahumans tell people that they are parahumans? They could just strap a calculator to their arm and say it's super tech. I would lie like a rug about how I got my powers if I was going to get flak for telling the truth.

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Chrono_Tasker [Cape] (↑32↓) points 1 month ago
thats part of the point, they do lie. the population numbers we have on the wiki are just estimates, and we only really know about many of the active hero/villain/rogue capes that actually go out in costume and are seen by civilians. its estimated that for every two public capes, theres one not known to the public. people are vigilant about keeping records on them since the government wont, and not everyone wants their information publicized. parahumansonline.com is a free site with an accessible wiki, private-ly owned, and not regulated besides by site moderators and admins. if a cape identity gets put out in the open; it gets put in the wiki, regardless of how against the unspoken rules it was, regardless of if the cape wanted their identity public or not. thats one reason people are quiet about being parahumans; once people know youre a parahuman, everyone knows.

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Ey_U_Link [THA] (↑43↓) points 1 month ago
Hey, /u/Chrono_Tasker, I don't think capes should really comment on this thread. It's more of a respect thing. Non-capes are entitled to their opinions, and should have places to speak their minds without capes telling them they're wrong.

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bigBOat5 (↑-102↓) points 1 month ago
[deleted]

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kyscapes [Banned] (↑-123↓) points 1 month ago
[deleted]

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Darker_Shies [M] (↑56↓) points 1 month ago
If one more person gives out death threats or excessive cursing at other posters, regardless of whether they are a Parahuman or not, this thread will be locked. This thread is for civil discussion of everyone's opinions, and disagreeing with them is fine, and you can even say so if you do it civilly, but otherwise keep it to yourself. Everyone has rights on this site.

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@aboi (↑5↓) points 1 month ago
o7 Yes mod-senpai.
Personally, I think capes are cool, and I don't see the big fuss about regulating them. They're people, and its politics. We live in a capitalistic society, and as a result, private cape teams are legal, and they can even charge for their services as much as a plumber can. Our government has it's own, official, sponsored, organization, the HLA (and by extension, the THA) and it is governed and administrated by the PCRT, a NON-CAPE government organization. These guys are literally SWAT for people with superpowers. I get not everyone likes cops or trusts the government, but geez lighten up a bit guys.

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Page 1, 2, 3, ... 23, 24

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Capetown, TX. 09/19/2017, 10:25 Am. 57°F,
Partly Cloudy (Sprinkling). Arc 2: Confluence.

---

Josh McDaniel sighed, looking up from his phone the second the bell rang, making him jump. Politics, drama, idiots, why did he even browse boards on Parahumans Online that upset him like that one? He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder, noticing that Alex was once again asleep, his body leaning to the right, his face rested in his palm as his arm supported the weight of his head. Must be really tired to sleep through the bell. He thought, putting his hand on Alexander's shoulder to shake him awake. As he did so, his brow scrunched in confusion. He feels like he has the weight of a car, Josh thought, as his tactile telekinesis field made contact, and the mental feeling he got told him the object weighed way more than he was used to in other humans. Strangeness aside, josh ignored it for the time being and shook his classmate awake.

As they were walking down the hall to their respective classes, Josh tailed Alexander a few yards behind, hopefully unnoticed in the sea of people in the hallways. Josh's suspicions were confirmed when he noticed that anyone bumping into Alex jolted as if hitting a brick wall, and Alex would be unmoved by the jostles. If he hand't been looking for it, he might not have noticed it. If he didn't behave similarly when hit, he may not have noticed it. But he did. He's a cape.

---

Alex had tried to stay awake during the rest of the lecture. He honestly did. But there was just something about school desks that seemed all to inviting to take a nap on. It was the same in middle school and high school. Somebody must spray the damn things down with chloroform or something. He didn't really have a chance to contemplate the idea of sleepy desk conspiracies since he fell right back asleep after resting his head in his palm and propped himself up just to get comfortable. His hat and bangs helped cover up his eyes and gave the illusion that he was just bored and paying attention to the front of the class. The lack of snoring prevented anyone from suspecting Alex's resumed unconsciousness. The sound of Professor P's voice faded out, as Alex drifted off.

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He was back home, In That poorly lit apartment up on the fifth floor. Decent neighborhood that would have been considered a ghetto a few years ago before the city had invested in its reconstruction and fortification programs. There Alex stood in the living room. If he had to guess he looked about sixteen. There was a sudden crash that came from the kitchen. Alex spun around to see a looming figure standing in the kitchen threshold. The man swayed slightly and reeked of alcohol even from five feet away. In the dim yellow glow Alex could still see those angry bloodshot eyes. His knees shook and a lump the size of a softball seemed to suddenly get stuck in his throat as he gasped in an attempt to yell or scream as his have lumbered towards him, spitting curses under his breath.
He tried to run, to scream, just do something other then watch in horror as Alex's dead father seemed to grow in size and tower over him. Jason Dalton's face contorted. bruising and bleeding from wounds that opened up on their own. The man's eyes burned with rage as he screamed at his cowering son. "DID YOU THINK YOU COULD KILL ME BOY? LEAVE ME FOR DEAD?! I'VE COME TO TAKE YOU WITH ME YOU LITTLE MONSTER!! Massive hands reached out to grab at Alex's neck. All he could do was whimper and squeeze his eyes shut. He felt so small and helpless again.

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He awoke gasping. Almost slamming his face into his desk from his sudden wake up call. Taking in a shaky breath and seeing that Josh had just shook him awake. Everyone was leaving the room. Bell must have rung while I was stuck asleep. Images of his fathered plagued his thoughts momentarily. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on anything else. The man is dead, I killed him that day. not the building falling on us. Without realizing it, Alex had reflexively reached up to touch his scar on his forehead. Quickly he dropped his hand and got up. Not wanting to be acknowledge the permanent reminder of everything that waste of human life had put him through. Giving a simple nod to Josh after grabbing his bag, Alex hurried out of the room and down the hall. Not paying attention to anyone that accidentally bumped into him or that he clipped as he B-lined for a door heading outside.

Breath deep, just breath deep. You'll be okay. His hands were planted too the wall while he stared at his feet, only concentrating on his breathing exercises like his psychiatrist taught him to do if he ever felt like he was about to panic or possibly have an anxiety attack. Trauma and superpowers came hand in hand after all. Like others, most days he could live with it, rise above and be someone better because of what he had been through. Other time though, like now, he felt like glass. How ironic that if someone tried to say run him over with a car right now the poor vehicle would probably be in worse shape them him. With one last deep breath he felt his heart slow down and his knees finally stopped shaking. First episode in weeks. They were getting less frequent since the incident but still knocked the wind out of the poor guy. Alex was going to head back inside before he noticed what he had done to the wall.

"Damn it . . . not again."

He had gripped onto the wall perhaps a little too tightly. sizable cracks had formed where his hands had been, luckily there wasn't an obvious appearance that it had been the work of somebodies bare hands. Alex slowly picked up his bag and went back to the door. hoping nobody saw what happened. He had only two more classes for the day. afterwords he could run home and suit up for his patrol. the thought giving him newfound energy and a bit of a smile creeping on his lips. "Right, I'm okay. And I'm a hero, I shouldn't let stuff like this keep dragging me down. Real hero's push past whatever trauma they had been through, right? I can do this. His composure renewed, Alex went to get to his next class. Now itching to go take his newly finished costume out on the town for a test drive. While hopefully avoiding any actual heroes this time.

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When the last bell rang Alex was wide awake and the first out the door. Wanting to head straight home, get some training done and have a night out on the town. Was he a little overly excited over having finished his costume? Maybe a little bit bit it was special to him. after all he made most of it from scratch and payed for the rest out of his own pocket. So what that it probably wasn't going to be the most amazing looking costume out there but again, it was his and he made it. Alex beamed as he did his best to avoid being stalled by students quickly crowding halls. His slight tunnel vision however did cause two people to get knocked over after he ran headlong into the poor hipsters. They were hipsters right? Well the two guys certainly looked the part as Alex apologized profusely and helped the two up and quickly went on his way. Now keeping in mind to try and pay attention to his surroundings more.

He had considered taking his usual route over the sidewalks as he pulled out his headphones. while it would be the quickest way home as usual he would be a bit tired by the time he got there and probably be in need of a nice hot shower afterwords. Which would lead to him having even more reasons to try not going out on patrol. After a sharp exhale Alex made up his mind. Walking would have to do for today. there was no rush after all. Headphones all plugged in, he went onto his usual playlist and hit shuffle. No surprise that a "I Really Hope We Don't Crash" song came up first. It was "Light pollution", one of their more earlier songs. Bit slower then some of their usual stuff but it still had that resonating feeling most of their songs had to them. Alex grinned and started blasting it through his headphones loud enough that anyone within four feet of him would probably be able to hear it. Wis steps lining up with the songs beat as he began his route home.

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A sudden buzzing from his phone pulled Alex out of his rhythm. A quick glance at his phone made him reflexively sigh. Dean again. The dude had been sending him text after text since the middle of his last class. More of his usual cape info updates. He always liked to let Alex know about anything before updating his blog, "The Cape's of Cape." A damn near cringey name if Alex ever heard one. Dean was a parahuman nerd and theorist that liked to be on the up and up about anything cape related happening in the city. and he did a damn near perfect job at staying on top of the latest news. Wonder if he himself is possibly a cape . . . The thought soon made Alex snort as he made a turn. He was just about home now. Like anyone he knew was parahuman. Anyway. from Dean's excited texts it looked like today was a unusually active one. Lots of villain and average criminal activity going on on different sides of town. All a bit too far for Alex to respond too without running into any heroes. He scowled. He felt like that was an excuse. That if he really wanted to go out there and do the right thing. plain and simple. Yeah sure i could show up, without my costume and legal heroes ready to swoop in. Such a smart idea.He relaxed and quickened his pass. Itching to get out already.

In less then half an hour later Alex was once again climbing through his roof and went about business as usual. The grandparents didn't seem to notice he was home, which he decided to keep that way. "I really need to move out already. Not like I could get by on my own though." He changed into his usual underclothing that he wore with his costume. The then carefully took off his beanie and left it on his pillow. He was told it had been his mothers. A moment of sullen sentimentality washed over him before he went and grabbed the new helmet from his desk and shoved it in his duffel bag. "Keep an eye on me while I'm out there tonight . . . Love you mom."He stared at the old hat for just a moment longer before turning away. And like many nights before, he went out his window and made a wish that he wouldn't do something that could get him killed. It was time to suit up.

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At the abandoned parking lot like clockwork. He felt like a badass, looking like some knight that walked out of a tron movie but with less of those cool lights in the clothing and a more urban style. Still, we was glad with how it all turned out. He dusted himself off and made some last minute adjustments to some of the straps. He hid his duffel bag like once again in the trunk of that beaten to hell truck. Alex was warming up his abilities now. Making various barriers and shapes. Trying to make stronger barriers from layers of many geometric tessellations consisting of mostly hexagons. supposedly it would be stronger then any of his sheet styled barriers he had been making before. It would take a little more practicing before he could even think of usung it in any realistic situation. The whole process was too long. Any construct he made would take time until he could make it at lighting speed. it was like working out a muscle for the first time. Satisfied with his progress, Alex went to warming up his body now, vaulting and leaping from the various rubble heaps that littered the graffiti ridden dump. Shattering some of the concrete blocks with his fists and kicks for good measure. "Alright, showtime." Aegis was ready to make his latest appearance.

He ascended to the rooftops shortly after and began his usual patrol around his side of the city. Nothing too out of the ordinary aside from an attempted mugging. That lasted little time at all when the guy started whining and apologizing the second Aegis bubbled the spineless man. Alex was strongly considering heading in the direction on the action Dean had informed him about when something caught his eye. A woman slinking into a back ally that wore what looked like a bloody Halloween costume if anything. And in this part of town there was only one group of people that usually wore stuff like that. Splatterblood crew. Alex kept some distance but began to follow up high. The woman looked nervous if anything. Possibly a newbie or wannabe member looking to get recruited.

As Alex began to stalk his latest target, he had failed to notice that he himself had been followed. His attention though remained on the woman. Oblivious too the fact that he had been tailed since he left school. He really needed to work on his observation skills if he wanted to stay out of whatever hole Vigilantes got thrown into when they were caught.

Capetown, TX. 09/19/2017, 11:25 AM. 61°F,
Overcast. Arc 2: Confluence.

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Sähkö bent down, hands supporting herself on her knees, panting and slightly wheezing. Damn, she thought, they sit out here every day and fight each other, while I work as a cash register at a convinience store. I'm not fat, but they're in waaaaay better shape than me. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, dropping onto the rough dirt-textured copper below. She felt tingles in her feet, the telltale sign of electricity, as her beads of sweat were likely carrying charges. She wiped her forehead and ran her fingers through her short hair, flinging wetness to the floor, before straightening and taking in a huge breath, her back cold from moisture and the shirt clinging to it.

In front of her, Drow, looking like an overdone highschool goth chick with jet black makeup and lipstick and dyed-white hair, smirked with a hand on her hip. Arrows of green energy slowly floated around her, trained on Sähkö. Sähkö had been on the defensive,
despite attacking Drow first, using her bolts to destroy the green constructs, but not able to get close enough to tag Drow.

Suddenly, Sähkö broke into a run, charging her opponent. Drow stood her ground until Sähkö was a foot away, and as Sähkö threw a punch, she felt her arm yank, as it was tethered to the ground by a green strand of energy. Pain flared in her thigh as Drow swung with a green cackling mace, and Sähkö dropped to avoid a second hit, kicking at Drow's legs, only for her to take a few steps back. Sähkö discharged energy and the green thether tying her wrist to the ground dissipated into green mist.

This has been going on for the last five minutes. She loathed the fact she didn't trust her powers enough to just shock the creepy goth chick at range. She stole some glances, taking her attention off of her opponent, to survey the battlefield. Ten meters away, the guy with the shadow-chains fought Jeu, and both looked like professional martial artists in a movie scene, dodging attacks with reflexes much higher than Sähkö's. Across the lot, the HLA member she had met a few days ago, the one with the german name she couldn't remember nor pronounce, was firing round after round at Myrlyn, who was redirecting flaming blue projectiles. Chrysopoeia and Sandstorm fought some of the non-parahuman members who had been given temporary powers by Rethliel, and the pair fought like a left and right arm, obviously used to each other's synergy, with Chrysopoeia transmuting different sections of the floor into various materials that Sandstorm could manipulate. Around them, a small localized storm of sand, dirt, a white powdery substance, and even shiny shard that looked like glass dust to Sähkö's horror, swirled. Sandstorm would keep the substances out of his mouth and lungs and away from their skin, and Chrysopoeia wore a bandanna and sunglasses just because he was so used to fighting alongside Sandstorm. Seraphim war off by herself, virtually untouchable with armor made of portals, throwing up windows to other dimensions and using them as force-fields.

Sähkö looked back to Drow just in time to see a baton of green whack her across the bridge of her nose, and across her eyes. Nerves screamed white-hot as Sähkö stumbled, grabbing her face. Unconsciously, as a reflex, an arc jumped between Sähkö and Drow, and a loud crackling sound louder than a taser made Sähkö jump as the area was bathed in a glow of white and blue for a fraction of a second. Drow dropped straight down like a rag doll, and bounced at an angle as her legs stiffened from the muscles contracting. Upon landing, she relaxed again, breathing heavily, and groaning as she tried to turn over. Sähkö reached down with one hand, still holding her face with the other, and tagged Drow. She spasm'ed, and went limp, unconscious.

Sähkö then watched in utter horror as the shadow-chain-guy lifted Jeu in the air with the chains like Dr. Octopus, and crushed his arms and legs before flinging him aside into the floor in a mangled heap. Holy shit, is that even legal? She ironically asked herself in disbelief. He could die. He's just a kid. She thought again, unaware she had just taken a life minutes ago. The shadow-chain guy then stopped to survey the battlefield, as if looking for his next target, when both of them watched Myrlyn plummet from the sky, slow his fall, and plop against the ground. The mage regained his senses and forced the swarm of projectiles out in a spherical telekinetic explosion before he was knocked off of the ground and several feet back, landing and laying flat out, breathing but otherwise unmoving.

The batllefield went still for a moment as Sähkö, Freischütz, and The Twisted Smile watched each other in a triangle. Chrysopoeia and Sandstorm were also done fighting, and the localized storm around them began slowing down. Seraphim had also dispatched some of the mooks, trapping them in prisons of portals that would slice them if they tried to escape. There were only a few non-powered individuals left, and they were on their knees with their hands up in surrender. Sähkö noted that Alchimyst had also surrendered laying on the floor after a stray projectile from Freischütz's fight with Myrlyn had knocked the wind out of him. She looked between the two other parties. A hero and another villain. Her pulse quickened even more than it had during the fight at the thought of being taken in by the HLA. Sähkö glimpsed back down at Drow, to make sure she was fine, and then looked back at the other two parties. What now?

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Capetown, TX. 09/19/2017, 11:30:25 Am. 57°F,
Partly Cloudy (Sprinkling). Arc 2: Confluence.

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Josh's phone had been going off for the last hour, group-chat texts about several different fights around the city, including a parahuman-induced blackout, according to PCRT Thinkers. He didn't particularly care about going and helping, he'd do a job if told but not go out of his way to do more than required. But it did make him anxious. Five days ago, Capetown's HLA team had informed the THA that they were expecting an Abhorrent attack within the week. Red Jet had seen the carnage on tv, cities destroyed, mass evacuation impossible due to the natural disasters caused by each Abhorrent, and the Abhorrents killing indiscriminately, both cape and normal people. He himself was a regular on Parahumans Online, and every time there's an attack, hundreds of posts crop up, alongside megathreads for the disaster. Everyone knows about them. But unlike most people who haven't experienced an Abhorrent attack and may feel detached, he's been in cape fights and can imagine it scaled up to 11. It scares him.

As the end of the school day neared and arrived, Josh wondered what he'd do with his day. He had patrol at nine, but that was nearly five hours away. He sighed and picked up his red backpack, slinging it over a shoulder. At fifty pounds, most high schoolers would have trouble carrying it around all day, but Josh's powers made it light as a feather in his hands. As he strolled through the halls towards the front of the school, followed by a sea of clothes, backpacks, perfume, and heads of hair, on in particular caught his attention, way ahead of the crowd. Alex. What caught his attention specifically was Alex knocking over two students, and not swaying or moving against their force, as most would when colliding with another body. It's something so normal, that whenever it doesn't happen, it strikes Josh as weird every time. Alex had been in Josh's head all day, as he pondered whether or not to approach him.

After leaving the school and crossing the street, Alex put in headphones and seemed occupied by his phone. He was walking a different direction home than the HLA HQ, but he was walking nonetheless. After some internal debate, Josh decided to follow him, if for no other reason than to learn where he lived. Eventually, they reached his house, Josh almost missing him from half a block away as he climbed towards the roof of his house. Doesn't want to alert his parents. Josh realized. He understood the sentiment, because Josh had done the same at his parents house before joining the THA and living at the HQ. Josh decided to take his moment of knowing where Alex was and knowing he'd be there for at least a few minutes, to blast himself into the sky, and towards the HQ. The trip took five minutes, changing into his costume took a little more. In the end, he was back at Alex's house with time to spare, on the roof of a nearby building, watching the place Alex had used to enter the house.

A little while later, he was watching the unnamed... hero? Vigilante? Villain? Cape. He watched the unnamed cape that was Alex in disguise stall across rooftops, after some of the non-powered members of Splatterblood's Crew. He shook his head sullenly. Poor sods knew Splatterblood was a parahuman, and a scary one at that, and would do anything to get on his good side, but he didn't care for the lives of the unpowered. Red Jet thought about interrupting Alex, confronting him, stopping him from attacking. But who knew how that would turn out? He didn't feel like having a fight on his hands tonight, especially against someone he kinda knew. An idea burst into his head, then.

Red Jet was on the roof of a building three over from the one Alex was on. He launched himself at an angle, not towards Alex, but off to the side. After a few seconds of flying in that direction, he abruptly changed course, straight for the roof of the building Alex was on.

He landed with a resounding crunch, the asphalt on the rooftop buckling under the force of his fall, echoing like a gunshot. He wasn't facing Alex, instead he appeared to be oblivious of Alex, instead looking down from the edge of the roof, over a little section of the city. He'd just pretend to be on patrol and 'run into' Alex.

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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.

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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.

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< 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 >

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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.

Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:04 AM. 74°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 3: Obsolescence.

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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 Freischütz 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.

With a yawn Devon walked into the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. Just a simple sandwich with left over leafy greens, cheese and ham was the only thing he had the motivation to make at that point. With his sandwich and a glass of milk he sat down in front of his pc screen, his eyes pouring over the news as he took a bit of his sandwich. The situation at the bank had been a confusing mess as far as the news articles went, so much so that it swamped the events he took part in. Only a small article was spent on the blackout and the duststorm, not even a mention of the happenings at the adept mage hq. Probably for the best, they weren't a noteworthy faction within the city and news coverage would only strengthen the anti-cape factions within the city.

His attention was then ripped away from the news as he could heard the air raid sirens starting up their wailing sound and his phone blaring. He jumped up from his desk and hurried his ass to the closet that hid his gear. He'd swear he had never changed into his costume as fast as in that instant. There was no time for secrecy at this point so without a second thought he burst through his front door barely taking the time to lock it behind him. Most of his neighbors were also in the midst of evacuating the building, but with a very different destination in mind.

As he hit the streets his radio flooded with chatter over the emergency channels, he promptly turned it off. He looked at the sky trying to find any clues it might be Dragon that was attacking, but there wasn't even the slightest breeze in the air. "If it was Leviathan they wouldn't send the emergency messages all the way here, so it can't be him. Dragon, well we'd have known an hour or two in advance which would have allowed for a more controlled evacuation. Let's hope I'm wrong, but it seems it's that bastard." Devon thought as he went over the options prompting him to call a friend as he made his way in the direction of the HLA building. "I don't have time for this I need to evacuate." "Is the hoverbike operational? I might need it for this." A sigh sounded from the other side of the line before the voice responded. "Kinda, I don't have the time to be here in person so I'll leave the keys to the warehouse under the flowerpot, the 100 pound one, and explain the specifics over the phone." "That'll be plenty. Thank you." "It uses a magnetic repulsor field to levitate and propel itself, which means it stops functioning properly if it's more than 300 feet off the ground. Currently it's top speed is limited to about 90 miles per hour, I couldn't get it higher without causing destabilization occurring in the field. Similarly to prevent destabilization it can't pull more than 2.1 g's in any direction, including accelerating. Other than that it pretty much handles like a normal motorcycle with the added bonus of being able to ride it upside down without fear of falling off." "So, no sharp turns at speed and no transatlantic flights. How much do I owe you for all this?" "About three grand, two and a half and a I'll even throwing in a free tune up if you manage to keep my workshop intact. I'll send you the bill... Assuming we survive this." "You know I don't have a say in that." "Let's just call it a gamble. Anyways good luck out there, Greasemonkey out." "Good luck to you too."

---

Devon tipped the giant flowerpot and quickly snagged the keys from under it. Once inside he took a moment to look around and figure out where his bike was hidden, it had been parked right next to one of the large gates to the side of the building. The workshop was filled to the brim with bought tinker made parts and the projects he'd produced from them. As Greasemonkey had once explained to him he couldn't create the physics defying creations like the other tinkers, but his power allowed him to engineer around these creations and see their potential uses, even if they seem completely useless to their creators. Another part was the ability to maintain and repair any tinker made creations, well perhaps not Suit's, but he'd never get that chance. All of this led to him having a business in buying up tinker creations and devices to serve as parts in his projects.

It didn't take long before he had made his way through the maze of machinations to his bike. He opened the gate and with a slight feeling of awe he looked at the bike as the sunlight struck it's shiny black and red panels for the first time since it's transformation. Devon moved the bike out of the gate and locked the place back up, putting the keys back where he had found them. With a whirr the engine inside the hoverbike came to life as the key was turned and not a moment later it flew up a few feet freeing the tires from the ground. He gave a small bit of throttle to feel out the bike and did some practice rounds through the open air above the workshop, finally giving it the all clear and making his way to the HLA building.

---

As he flew over the crowds gathering at the HLA headquarters he looked in amazement at all the people gathered there. He had seen it a few times before and it had looked almost surreal to see that many gathered, including those who'd normal hide or fight them, but it never ceased to amaze to see such a sight let alone from the sky.

However Devon quickly spotted a problem, how the hell could he land with people moving around all over the place. He quickly ditched the idea of landing on the ground and settled for one of the low roofs of the building. After landing he jumped through an open window and worked his way down and out of the building. Outside he noticed a couple of the HLA and THA members huddled together with a mix of excitement, fear and general tension visible on the exposed parts of their faces. "Yo, new wheels?" Red Jet asked jokingly, probably just trying to break the tension. "It's got one hell of a mortgage on it, but it definitely beats traffic." Devon responded in the same joking fashion.

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.

---

---

---

---

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.

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.

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 Sähkö 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." Sähkö 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 Sähkö 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-Yūrei 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.

Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:43 AM. 73°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 4: Abberance.

---

Sähkö stared down at the carnage of the battlefield from the rooftop Jericho, no, Wendigo had dropped her off at. She turned to face Ray- no, Seraphim, who was standing next to her, also having been deposited on this rooftop.
..... "Hey, Seraphim?" Sähkö started, "What's with the foggy haze around Tangle?"
..... Seraphim turned to Jasmin, her eyes the only part of her body visible through the mosaic of worlds that was her armor. "What haze? There's nothing around Tangle, that I can see."
..... Sähkö turned back to look at the plant abberation that was Tangle. There was a very faint, but obvious, bright haze or fog around the serpent. Similar to how mountains disappear in the horizon behind a blue haze that is the sky or atmosphere, but bright, more purple. Violet. "It's like the sky but bright purple. I think I can see ultraviolet light?"
..... Seraphim shook her head. "No, Jaz, you definitely can't see UV light. This would have come up before, because lots of things would look different to you. Some glass wouldn't be clear, for example. Not only that-"
..... "Tangle doesn't give off ultraviolet radiation." Chrysopoeia interrupted.
..... "What he said. Tangle gives off x-rays and gamma rays. Maybe you can see those in high quantities? I mean, lightning and plasma does give off lots of those types of radiation. It's highschool-level science."
..... Sähkö nodded. She knew this, but she wasn't quite sure. Regardless, there was nothing she could do about it in this moment. Maybe it was a part of her ability she hadn't 'unlocked' yet. Her power was like that. Some people came with full control of their abilities from the start, not having room to grow, and they have to be creative. Like Wendigo. But others, like Sähkö, came with no automatic control of their abilities, and have to flex it like a muscle, let it grow, and learn new things about it all the time.
..... Though her brief exchange with her teammates had distracted her, it was hard not to find her eyes drawn back to the fight. It was carnage, and Jasmin realized that, like her team, most capes who couldn't do jack shit were standing by the 'sidelines,' on rooftops, down the street, blocks away, just observing, twiddling their thumbs, not knowing what to do, or maybe looking for opportunities to help injured capes in need. Jasmin was sure any capes with healing powers of any type definitely had their hands full. Hopefully some among their ranks could reverse radiation damage.
..... But no one could reverse death. And a lot of that was happening to. The fight hadn't even started five minutes ago, and her bracelet-thing had already listed off dozens of aliases. Heroes and villains, they were dying.
..... While the less capable capes sat on the sidelines and acted as observers and support, the strongest capes were around Tangle. The triumvirate was easy to pick out, all four of them, with the addition of Synergy, were hovering within Tangle's death-range. Suit pummeled Tangle with plasma and particle beams, barely scratching the surface layers of the Abhorrent's skin. Explosives were less likely to hurt Tangle and more likely to hurt other capes. And lasers would be reflected, or worse, used by Tangle. Legend brawled with the beast, flying away and then zooming towards Tangle, but instead if smashing Tangle into the ground or surrounding buildings, Legend would throw punches upwards, dispersing all of the energy into the Abhorrent, and not the asphalt under the beast. At first, it perplexed Jasmin. Why not throw it into the ground, like in destructive super hero movies? Then she realized, to beings like Tangle and Legend, with immense strength and invulnerability, that the ground was more like a mattress, or cotton, and the energy would hit harder not being dispersed into something as soft as concrete, to them.
..... Hero and Synergy were another league, themselves. Hero was flying, well, hovering in place, wreathed in green flames around his body, matching the black-and-green aesthetic of his suit and cape, and from his shoulders emerged two massive spectral green wings of flame, like a lime-green phoenix. Each of the fingers on his hands elongated into wicked foot-long claws, and he'd fly at Tangle, and swipe, cutting easily the entire foot into Tangle's flesh, but have to dance around, careful to avoid attacks.
..... "He got lucky, I think." Chrysopoeia stated, noticing Sähkö watching. "He most likely got some power that let him pierce Tangle's defenses. The Triumvirate are on him like they are excited. It's probably rare to get such a power."
..... "Lucky? Maybe. But he's also gambling. I don't think he has any defenses. He's being very careful to dodge Tangle. He's probably as squishy as an unpowered human right now. Besides, though his claws are cutting deep, a foot deep isn't anywhere near it's core." Seraphim followed.
..... "Hey, guys? Watching is boring. Let's do something ourselves." Decided Sandstorm, who had been excitedly fidgeting this whole time.
..... And in that moment, a feeling of impulsivity overcame Jasmin. "Watch me really, really regret this, later."

Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:44 AM. 73°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 4: Abberance.

---

"Yikes-" was all Chrysopoeia had managed to get out, before his world turned white. He saw Sähkö, in her blue hoodie, black yoga leggings, and black iron-sand mask, step forwards and thrust a hand out, palm facing Tangle. Immediately, he knew that she would release a lightning-bolt.
..... But he didn't expect this.
..... Usually, when Jasmin has any visible electricity, it's thin strands, arcs, that stay close to her. Once or twice, he's seen her do an actual blast of lightning, at inanimate objects, but she never does it at humans. And this was a league of its own, a depth to Jasmin's power he didn't even realize she was capable of.
..... Even through his sunglasses, the world was blindingly stark featureless white, with deeply contrasted pure dark long shadows creating the shapes of the building and silhouettes of the people around him. She was holding a stream. An actual stream, of lightning, plasma, bright white ionized air, for several seconds.
..... Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Lucas's vision was dark, blinded, and the world was just a muffled ringing, as if he'd been flashbanged. A few more agonizingly long minutes later, and he could start to regain his senses.

..... Tangle was unharmed.

Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:45 AM. 73°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 4: Abberance.

---

After the blinding light-show died down, Chrysopoeia watched as Sähkö held her pose for a second, then two. The side of her body faced Tangle, her body and feet pointing at a perpendicular angle to his direction. Her arm outstretched towards the Abhorrent, and her head followed down her arm, gazing at the beast. Then, she slowly turned her head to look at her teammates. Her mouth formed a small 'o' shape, her jaw loose, her eyebrows were knit forward, and tears were in her eyes.
..... She was surprised? That didn't seem right to Chrysopoeia. She couldn't have been so cocky in her power that she thought she could do damage to the Abhorrent that other, stronger, capes couldn't.
..... Ah, then it clicked for him. She was surprised at her own immense power. She'd probably never discharged that much energy in her life. Sähkö never flexed her powers. She was afraid of hurting others.
..... Then her knees buckled, and she fell slightly, before re-straightening her legs, trying to catch her balance. The use of her power must've weakened her. Adrenaline is the only reason she hasn't fainted.
..... Then, suddenly, a cold chill went over Chrysopoeia as a tingle ran up his spine. He turned to face Tangle, and realized the Abhorrent had turned its head to face... them. It was 'staring', though it had no eyes, at Sähkö. The fight had only been going on for a few minutes, but Chrysopoeia knew that when Tangle faced someone like that, it meant lasers.
..... "Seraph!" he barked immediately, and dinner-plate-sized portals began to open up in a wall, between them and Tangle. The portals were all a hair from touching each other, but they were circular. This created a pattern of diamond-shaped holes, openings between the portals. Seraphim had control over the shapes of her portals, why'd she do that? It must've been a split second error, because the portals began quickly turning into hexagons, one by one. Not quick enough though, and their world turned white for the second time in a single minute.
..... ...and they were still alive when the whiteness faded, though in pain. The air around them had heated to as hot as an oven, and several diamond-shaped patches on each of them were burned, badly. Smoldering clothes, and blistered skin. Still, the portals had drastically reduced the surface area of the beam, saving them from a worse fate.
..... Then, bright white searing light flashed again, but this time, instead of at them, Tangle drew a line in the building, bisecting it. Whilst they stood on it's roof. Chrysopoeia felt the concrete roof below them buckle and crack as the building destabilized. If the building came crashing down, they might not survive the rubble. Chrysopoeia touched one of the scales on his suit, and touched the building below him, transmuting the entire building into a giant building-sculpted block of steel. The building stopped rumbling.
..... "Man, Tangle was not happy you did that, Jaz." Chrysopoeia joked. No one laughed. In fact, he heard Sähkö suck in a breath, a gasp.
..... "Guys..." She weakly said, and lifted her arm, pointing.
..... Chrysopoeia looked up and his stomach dropped. Like a rattle snake, Tangle had lifted part of his tail high into the sky.
..... "Sandstorm, dome-shield, now! Chrys, go get Sähkö." Seraphim ordered, and Chrysopoeia immediately dashed five feet away to where Sähkö was barely able to keep herself standing. He picked her up, princess-style, and began dashing back to the small dome-shaped tomb of sand Sandstorm had erected. It was a common tactic of The Congenial's. Sandstorm would create a dome-shaped shield over them, and Chrysopoeia would transmute it into something stronger, like steel or titanium.
..... Then in a split second, Chrysopoeia noticed something terrifying. Tangle's tail was dropping, already. And fast.
..... Sandstorm's dome wasn't big enough for them to even stand in yet. Much less, for all four of them to fit into. Sandstorm and Seraphim were already standing in it. They could fit if they ducked down. "Guys, duck!" he screamed, and curled Sähkö into the fetal position and ungracefully threw her into the dome, falling to his knees as he did. Then, he touched the dome of swirling liquid sand, and it became titanium.

"Chrysopoeia down."

---

---

Capetown, TX. 09/20/2017, 10:47 AM. 73°F,
Partly Cloudy. Arc 4: Abberance.

---

"Chrysopoeia down."
..... No. Sähkö denied, in her head.
..... There's no way.
..... And yet, in the darkness, she could only feel Seraphim and Sandstorm's costumes. And by 'feel', she didn't mean with her hands. She was laying on top of them. The metal of the dome was dented at the top and pushed flat against her chest, pinning her, and underneath her Ray and Mark lay in rather uncomfortable positions, as they were sitting of crouching before she was thrown ontop of them.
..... And they were stuck. Pinned inside the dome, unable to move. Unable to destroy the dome without hurting themselves. The floor beneath them was solid steel, and the dome was solid elemental titanium. Both at least two feet thick.
..... They were trapped.