Cannonade's Story

As Sasha peered into the broken window a queue of frightened civilians burst out the door beside him. Cannonade lay sideways in what was once a display of produce, bananas mashed against their form. The bodega shopkeeper coward behind the counter. Cannonade let out a long sigh before giving a thumbs up to the unknown voice of Sasha. "Ya. Ya I'm good."

WIth a grunt they pushed themselves to their feet, brushing some of the mush off their body. WIth their forearm they wiped their helmet clean and gave a huff. They were bruised up from toe to back. "Oh god, this sucks," They exclaimed as they began to walk to the exit, their helmet swiveling to face Sasha as they moved.

The bodega's shop bell rang as the the door swung open. Cannonade exited miserably, looking out onto the scene with the strange oil-slick demon of super. "Whoever did that was a literal dickhead," Cannon commented.

"'Oi, Cannonade! They have a bruiser, 'Windbreaker' needs your help so get off your ass!" An authoritative voice called. Their eyes narrowed onto a woman circling the creature Cannon had tried to take out when they had been suckerpunched from behind, though it's form was shifting into something silvery. Gross. The woman taking this thing on had the voice of someone who'd done this before. NAHLA or a lesser government agency, maybe even a private company.

Cannonade's gaze shifted to the front of the diner. The massive leader of the witchfinders blasted out fire and salt at the surrounding supers. He screamed as his attacks were interrupted and he was caught within a chaotic looking whirlwind. They saw their opportunity.

Cannonade cracked their neck before leaping into the air. They hovered high, sailing across the battle-field until they reached an apex. And then they plummeted, down into the eye of the Vortex. Bits of banana flew outward and sprinkled onto the surrounding supers as they descended within. Boots first they collided with Balthazar, making contact with the witchfinder's back, smashing him into the earth then leaping off the man and landing beside Violence Vic. Cannonade breathed heavily, their knees feeling like they were ready to collapse.

The situation had seemed relatively under control, however the leader of the witchfinders just had to open his damn mouth, unleashing the giant from before who decided to take about 7 times the recommended dose of that drug they carried along with them. The monster roared and threw attacking in the direction of the most recent addition to the battle, all while suppressing a few other with burning molten salt that he launched in similar ways to what the other Witchfinders had done.

It all had been a flurry of heroes trying to contain, first Mackenzie stepped up to the plate trying to use good old gunfire, and a bladelike ice shard when those failed to kill. A secondary attack with modern ballistics proved more successful, except Devon just couldn't feel quite comfortable about that brown liquid that was 'bleeding' out of the monster, he had no clue what that stuff was and no intention of finding out. Meaning explosives and anything else that would cause that liquid to splatter all over the place was out of the question. A few more shots from an unknown source were fired from an attacker he couldn't quite see, though their projectiles did reveal they were using something rather extraordinary.

The second attacker was the skater girl, though upon closer observation of her powers and the few red hairs that escaped her disguise in all likelihood he was faced with either miss V herself, or a copycat who had been ever so 'fortunate' to receive similar powers though would such a person actively try to hide their identity, he doubted it. She had thrown the truck door into the air, no doubt with no particular destination in mind, so while she was busy keeping our drugged up Frankenstein's monster from killing anyone Devon made sure that the door wouldn't squash someone like an overripe watermelon. Of course the best solution to this problem was a 'moderate' course correction caused by a hail of high kinetic bullets allowing the door so 'gently' land against an already damaged nearby vehicle. The vehicle in question may or may not have been reduced to scrap value in the process.

Yue then agitated the loose cannon into action, who almost as if it were it's instinct to disregard anything other than the adrenaline rush, jumped into vortex of scorching hot salt performing a move straight out of super mario... And causing a spray of banana mush to fly everywhere, as if they couldn't make a single move without causing a mess. They subsequently jumped out of harms way, quite visibly fatigued.

With miss human cannonball out of the way and the vortex keeping any other potential melee attackers at bay there was finally a window to unload on the ironically named berserker. Devon did not waste a moment and lay siege to the brute with a hail of bullets. First there was lightning arching wild after each and every impact ravaging the nerves and ceasing up muscle to the point where muscle fiber started to tear itself apart.

The beast roared in agony unable to move more than it's face without tearing up it's own muscle, but even that thunderous roar was cut short when the second wave hit... Frost, the first of which was aimed at the homunculi's windpipe which he had conveniently exposed with it's roar, because Devon was quite honestly getting a headache from hearing the only words it's peanut brain could form and a nice chunk of ice forming inside there should help keep it quiet. As the other cryo ordnance impacted the patches of frozen flesh and cracking metal started to form, forming new inhibitions of movement.

Finally the third wave a nice and friendly mixture of high kinetic rounds aimed at the frozen spots hoping to shatter them like an ice cube under a sledgehammer, Armor piercing rounds aimed where one normally would expect vitals to be and more electrical bullets just because he liked how it made the slab of rotten meat twitch the first time. However it seemed the creature had both spotted his position and hadn't been fully restrained as a wave of that burning salt was sent his way. Devon ducked away as best he could using his trenchcoat as a shield, but it could not prevent a few of the grains gazing him on his left cheek. God damnit, that hurt! Throwing salt in the wound and trying to cauterize you at the same time, yeah... This thing wasn't going to leave this place without being destroyed to the point to where you'd need to mop up the remains.

Cursing under his breath Devon ran away from the ledge that had been his vantage point, back down the fire escape. If he had been in his whole suit instead of just the trenchcoat he would have happily stood there taking the brunt of the damage and laughing it off while dishing out a torrent of destruction, but this is the real world there are no what if scenario's, you just have to roll with the punches and that meant pulling GTFO and finding a new firing position.

As the goliath Witchfinder turned its attention to Devon, Sasha reviewed the situation, activating his power once again as he waded into the hailstorm of superheated salt. Balthazar had taken a lot of damage, and his head had begun to take on more of the shape of a potato than a human skull. Despite this, the savagery and insanity in the Witchfinder's eyes was no less intense.

"You're certainly big," Sasha growled, impervious to Balthazar's salt and seemingly unbothered by the heat. "But drugs were the wrong way to make yourself stronger."

Balthazar turned at Sasha's voice, and threw a punch the size of Sasha's entire body at the calm Russian. Sasha sidestepped the blow almost faster than the eye could see, his own fist lashing out to connect with the giant's knee, creating a loud crack that was followed by an even louder bellow from the Witchfinder.

As the knee buckled, Sasha twisted, his foot lashing out with a blur, slamming five times down the midsection of the giant, each blow striking a vital point. Grasping the collapsing Witchfinder's coat with a roar, Sasha flipped what remained of Balthazar over his shoulder and into the concrete, cracking the pavement.

"Surrender," Sasha said to the downed cultist. "Don't make things worse on yourself or your... friends."

Richard raised a hand to cover his eyes as Cannonade came crashing down into Balthazar, soon followed by a flurry of attacks from some guy up on the roofs, and another fellow who approached looking like something from Dante's Inferno. The monster of a man looked almost inhuman now, his flesh melting and dripping to the ground like thick mud or rotten fruit. Richard flicked a few bits of banana off him as that realization kicked in.

Balthazar gazed up to the demon man that stood before him, the Witchfinder's face was now a nearly bleached skull with metal and wires stitched around, keeping his warped looking head together. The creature could no longer speak, but it wasn't hard for Sasha or others to tell that it was laughing, up until its loose hanging jaw-halves dislodged from its face and fell to the ground.

Its chest burst open as a torrent of thick brown fluid fired out at Sasha, who managed to dodge in time for the liquid to hit the ground, causing toxic burns on the pavement. Before Sasha could do anything else, the group noticed Balthazar was holding something in his hand now, which he had pulled out from under his coat.

A grenade launcher.

As the long tube aimed up at the group in front of Balthazar, Richard quickly got to work firing back at the monster again, hitting it in the arm, chest and neck, with the pistol in his left hand. Richard's right hand was empty, aimed towards the grenade launcher now, his eyes widening and heart pounding against his chest as he tried to prevent-

Balthazar pulled the trigger. As the grenade inside hit the ice wall that was built in the barrel, the whole device exploded, tearing through the Witchfinder's arm and reducing it to ribbons of flesh, and shards of bone. The creature swayed a moment, its flesh and body parts beginning to steadily fall from its body, a result of all the damage sustained by the onslaught. It toppled onto its back, laid there a moment not moving, before Balthazar began to violently spasm and shake, ending in a crescendo as an explosion tore through its chest and the rest of its body.

Richard gazed upon the shredded remains of the monster, then took a quick look around at the rest of the group. No one seemed to have moved for the last moments of its life. The explosion had come from something inside of Balthazar.

"Nice bit of teamwork." He muttered to the others, giving an approving nod to everyone who'd helped in the battle of Atomic Anne's. "Everyone okay?" He asked sympathetically. It soon became apparent to him he'd not been fully aware of other events in the battle, taking notice of the other monster that had seemed to absorb some big guy who'd been here only a short while. Richard took a short few moments to take some breaths, and plan his next move against this... Thing.



Maxwell sighed as Sheri made a call, to whom he wasn't entirely sure, but it was evidently either law enforcement or a hero organization. "I do believe I was quite clear on communication devices." Maxwell muttered over to Kingsley, a soft smile on his face, but great agitation laying in his eyes.

"Well Miss, it appears you've interfered with my business transaction with my client. Normally I would take a different approach with a situation like this, but it appears there is no rectifying this situation." Before Sheri could react, he pulled a gun from inside his jacket, aimed, and fired.

The bullet went through Kingsley's head, sending it back to the ground as blood quickly pooled out. "A shameful waste of time and money. And for what I wonder?" He smirked as he turned back to Sheri. "I assume you're being paid for this. Well, I congratulate you on that. For what it's worth though, I expect the pay could be far better. Indeed, the pay I offer is almost certainly far better. He smiled warmly at her as he placed the gun back in his jacket.

"At the very least, your powers could be put to far better use than... This."

The battle was over and an opportunity was created as Sasha walked towards the others. The main Witchhunter was dead and Akiko could see a small glowing orb where it had stood in its final moments. None of the others seemed interested. They didn't see it after all.

Akiko's breath grew slightly colder and she began to walk cautiously but quickly. She had a couple of minutes before the orb would disappear and she knew the others wouldn't be still for much longer. The strange monster was now the one carrying the attention but it wasn't for a good reason. There was tension in the air and Akiko wanted to be out of the area if things went sour. Not that it would affect her much but it was better to be careful.

Her steps were light and Akiko navigated the debris with ease. Her movements were deliberate and practiced because ghosts can't make sound. Akiko could however.

It had looked like Jericho was finally coming to their senses but once again the universe just couldn't do Alex a solid. Jericho was running on instincts so strongly that apparently all they had gotten out of what Alex had said boiled down to the need to protect their only friend. He hadn't been given any other warning before he was suddenly engulfed in Jericho's shifting form. He tried to struggle without harming Jericho but was quickly swallowed up.

Crap.

The feeling of being surrounded in a cavity of flesh was not pleasant at all, Alex was just lucky it wasn't entirely wet. On the downside it was still a tad damp in here, it smelled weird in a not so pleasant way, and he wasn't sure if Jericho had made it so he could breath while in this bizarre cocoon. That only left one other option. Lucky for him, everything around him seemed soft. Alex knelt down and put his hands onto The "floor". This was gonna get weirder really fast. Alex began to tickle the shape-shifter from the inside.

Jericho found themselves in a peculiar spot. Their mind was still running at an overclocked state, and they could hear someone else approaching. The torso may not have held eyes or a mouth, but the entirety of it's skull was three gigantic eardrums. The bladed arms were a blur as they swept into motion. Yue was probably lucky that there was a dome in Jericho's way, as the tips of eight separate blades slammed into the side of the dome with lethal force.

Beastly anger pulsed through J-3 and the head of the torso shook violently for a moment before ripping open to reveal a jagged toothed maw that stretched nearly halfway around the entire head. Another monstrous roar made it's way out of the Shapeshifter, and for but a moment was held...

Before it was cut off entirely by the absolute worst sensation of Jericho's life. The rush of adrenaline and the call of the hunt was immediately thrown to the proverbial wind as the sensation of TICKLING burst through the nerves of Jericho's form. They split apart from the top to the bottom, to the source of the horrendous sensation. Their form became mostly ink, swirling and shifting, coalescing around Alex in the form of a startlingly large serpent-like beast. It's snout held the same knife-blades that the other combat form did, though down its outward facing sides were rows and rows of spines and barbed needles. The face was adorned with two sets of eyes, the forward-most set twitching and rolling about at all times, and the back set holding steadfast on the visage of Yue, and the others at a further distance.

On the tip of the tail was a collection of blades, as if someone took a collection of katana blades and attempted to make a 'rattle' there. Jericho spoke not to her, however, but to Alex, whom they glared at with the sort of anger that one's friend might have after being FUCKING TICKLED AT RANDOM.

"The fuck!? What did you do to me!? Don't EVER do that again, please!" Came the distorted voice, as if Jericho was speaking through the booming growl of a tiger.

The swirling ink and rush of movement all around Alex was disorienting but still put a smirk on Alex's face. When in doubt it was usually a good bet to touch a nerve or two. Was it smart though? Well probably not if you didn't want some snake monster that also happens to be your best friend glaring at you. He had just been blinking to try and get his vision clear again when he both heard and felt Jericho's voice.

" Good, you aren't going full instinct on me anymore. And DUDE! If you cocoon me like that when its not even close to necessary then of course I'm tickling my way out. What else was i supposed to do? I cant do much when you are going autopilot on me that wouldn't hurt or scare you. Give me a break big guy!" An exasperated sigh escaped Alex's lips followed by a facepalm that sounded loud enough that it would probably give a normal human brain damage. At least Jericho was lucid again. Now if only they could... there was somebody else right there approaching the two of them. Given the situation she was probably one of the supers that was dealing with the demented church guys.

Oh that's not good.

On reflex Alex threw a hand out in her direction and started forming a layered wall of force fields to make some form of buffer between the two of them and her. At this point he really, REALLY wasn't in the mood to fight a full on super that wasn't obviously some street level thug.

"Hey uh, sorry but we are kind of having a moment here?" That probably wasn't going to work. But it was worth a shot.

Yue's eyes narrowed but she didn't budge. One could practically see the cogs turning in her head as she examined the barriers between them. If they were closer she may have reached out and touched one experimentally, but for the time being she stood her ground and listened to what they had to say.

"You have a dangerous pet. Are you really willing to fight with me to protect it?" she asked. As if to emphasize her point she flicked the blood accumulating on her fingertips to the pavement like she was just waiting for an excuse.

Alex's eye twitched behind his temporary mask. Ok, that was strike one for her. He cleared his throat loudly and did his best to sound calm.

" My friend here has finally come back to their senses and the both of us would really like to just go home. So yeah, if you really want to do this, I wont hesitate to protect my friend." Alex made a fist with his right hand and punched it into his left palm. The sound cracked like a small thunderbolt. Without breaking eye contact with Yue, he spoke softly so that only Jericho could hear him.

"If this goes south, I'm not fighting her. When we get the chance, we bolt out of here. Already too many professional looking supers for my taste anyway. Besides, I haven't eaten and I'm getting hangry."

"Hmm," she replied shortly, her head tilting just a tiny bit to the left. Her gaze cut like she could see straight through him: the man's head was moving very very slightly, as though he was communicating to the creature. Yue's eyes narrowed further... what were they plotting? She looked them both over carefully. Male. Large build. Taller than her. Judging from the sounds his fists made when they clapped together, the muscles weren't just for show. And the barriers...

Yue took a couple of slow steps back until she was standing on top of the Witchfinder she'd walked over to get there, lifted him off the ground by his neck one handed and dragged him purposefully straight up to the barrier. She crushed his face up against it unpleasantly hard, curious about the barriers, but not wanting to touch them herself.

"Answer my next question carefully," she warned. There was a noticeable pause before she continued: they could probably see her eyes flicking back and forth between Alex and the creature; she didn't make any efforts to hide it. Besides testing the barrier, her goal was to get a closer look at the creature. Calculated risk since she wasn't in control of the barriers. "Do you have any affiliation with the Witchfinder Generals?"

Jericho's tail-tip set itself to rattling, bringing a cacophony of clattering blades into the air as their viper-head whipped about and locked squarely on Yue. Their maw opened and closed as they talked, at times slamming shut and giving themselves and odd accent to their speech.

"No. The title of the idiots in tall hats? Good food. I would like to consume them sooner than later. They are 'bad people' and thus they are food, you understand-agree?" Jericho's form slowly rotated around Alex, spreading out from around the man's body and instead pressing up against the dome walls. Their gaze never left Yue's form, and through the fields of telekinetic force, a hiss scraped out into the open air. Another mouth opened on the 'inner' facing side of Jericho's body, scales splitting apart and spreading out to allow for lips and a tongue to come lolling out. They spoke quietly to Alex, their attention splitting between Yue and the other supers at a distance.

"I can probably carry you faster than you can run. Or we can... Uh... Sled-dog this. Make a barrier under your feet, I can give you some reigns for you to hold on to, and I'll take a faster-stronger form. Can hide you as well, camouflage against an alleyway or the side of a building"

Yue let go of the Witchfinder and let him slide down the surface of the barrier, seeming satisfied that he didn't melt, catch fire, or vanish into some alternate dimension, then tentatively pressed her fingertips to it at about waist level, lowering her head slightly so the creature would have a harder time reading her expression.

"I understand," she answered, trying to come up with something heroic to say on the spot. It wasn't working... and this wasn't the right place to be fighting anxiety over something so stupid, but she felt her toes scrunch up inside her shoes. "L-listen, I don't think you're bad guys. I appreciate that you were both here when I was in trouble, but if you can't keep your 'friend' from killing then I don't have a choice."

Of course she was one for hard rule of law. Damn! Alex had been hoping for at least someone more lenient. Oh well, guess that left plan B. He really didn't like where this was going.

"Was happy to help, really I was. But unfortunately me and my friend here are vigilante's of a sort soooo... sorry but I'm going to have to disappoint you miss." With a thought, the dome around Jericho and him dissipated into nothing. Alex quickly jumped and scrambled onto Jericho's head. "Time to go!!" Alex used one hand to brace himself atop Jericho and threw his other hand out towards Yue. The barrier in front of her quickly expanded and was curving into a dome around her, leaving no openings in the front and only a chance of getting out by backpedaling. Once Jericho really started moving he was going to have to make sure to cover their retreat further... he really hoped she wasn't a speedster or teleporter or this was going to get annoying fast.

There was a bare moment of hesitation before Jericho made the world's ugliest noise: A hyena cackle mixed with a boars squeal. Their form shifted mid-move, swirling with ink and pulsing with liquid before slamming into the form of a six-legged, horse like beast. The skull was still viper like, though the mouth widened into a massive line that sucked air in like a vacuum. Three pairs of holes opened in the chest of the beast, and air flowed in as rapidly as the massively muscled form charged away. Jericho's voice ripped up towards Alex, rumbling under the man's thighs as he was shuffled into the proper place for 'horse' riding. "I'm so sorry..."

In the place where they once stood, a wad of four twenty dollar bills was left in their place. Fuck you lady, have your damn breakfast in peace.

For one brief moment her eyes flashed red, and it looked like she might try and punch straight through the barrier to try and grab Alex. The light went away as quickly as it appeared, however, and she threw herself backwards out of the closing bubble instead. Of course, Jericho's form was much too fast for her to catch without her powers, but she still made a show of sprinting after them for a block before jogging to a halt.

"That should be enough for the paperwork," she muttered, exhaling slowly. She wasn't that committed to chasing them after they had helped save her life, and she was still under suspension after all: she wasn't supposed to be using her powers anyway. She sighed, clasping her hands behind her head and heading back towards the diner.

Yue paused as she reached the site of their encounter, kneeling down to pick up the money they'd left behind before continuing back to the diner. The fight with Balthazaar had ended by the time she arrived and she stopped for only a moment to reach down and pick up the coffee cup she had been launched through the window with. Miraculously it had somehow survived the battle. Almost blankly, she walked past everyone and went back inside to her seat, lowering herself back into her stool with a note of exhaustion. She placed her coffee cup on the far edge of the counter with the bills underneath it, carefully adjusting the mug until the handle was facing magnetic north. Yue pulled one knee up to her chest and resting her forehead on it with her arms clasped together.

"Nante fuyukai (How unpleasant)," she muttered.

Cannonade watched as the witchhunter's beast of burden blasted away, faster than any human could, and disappeared through the traffic of the street. The woman who had been attempting some sort of negotiation with the beast seemed dumbfounded for a moment before retreating through the ruined street, back toward the diner.

Cannon stood, their weight on one leg and their arms folded. "What the fuck was that?" They asked in disbelief as Yue entered the diner. The witchfinders who survived lay bleeding or unconscious, and the ones who perished had... hella perished. Doors to vehicles cautiously unlocked, civilians beginning to emerge as the battle had finished. At the edge of the park police sirens grew louder, the ACPD having to travel through the green space on account of the street blockage.

Cannonade turned back to the assemblage of heroes on the street. "Right, cards out," They called, flicking what looked like a business card out from their pocket and raising it into the air.

Klaus nodded his thanks to Vic as she blasted the car door meant to take his head off out of sight.

"You have a laser in that thing?" She asked him, gesturing to his suit. He simply shook his head as his focus was on the Goliath Witch Finder. In a flash, the battle was over, his eyes darted around the battlefield as he began to collect the temporal distortion disks he'd used to slow the WitchFinders, and irritate the shape-shifter, J-3, AKA Jericho if he remembered the materials he'd studied.


With the disks recovered, sirens began to fill the air, everything in him wanted to run, but where could he go? There was a reason he'd appeared now, and while he had a vague understanding of the future ahead, things were going to begin to change. He could not go forward beyond this date, and these people, these supers were the key to unlocking the answers he sought, so for now, he'd stay.


He took a hesitant step into Atomic Anne's before striding behind the counter and pouring coffee into an empty mug. He also took the liberty to refill the mugs that sat in front of Yue and Devon.


He put the mug to his helmet, which simply parted to allow him to drink without compromising his identity. After draining the mug he refilled it and rested it on the counter. He made a small gesture as if removing a hood, with one hand and his helmet seemingly vanished, the nanobots it was composed of resting now against his neck, ready to conceal his face at a moment's notice.


Henry walks into the diner, hands in his pockets. "Not gonna lie..." Henry began, pointing a thumb backwards outside. "If all those guys are your teammates, y'all need to work on your coordination." He stated, taking a seat. "...You are pros, right?"


Klaus grabbed a glass and filled it with some juice, if the files he had were correct, the man before him didn't enjoy coffee.

Sasha picked up his jacket from where he had tossed it, brushing the dirt off and zipping it shut, grimacing at the holes the fire and salt had left in his clothes. He looked around what remained of the street, noting the incoming police with a small sigh. As Cannonade began yelling about cards, Sasha's frown deepened.

Although he figured he would probably be released from custody, he wasn't too fond of the idea of spending the weekend (or longer) in a jail cell. Sasha technically had an American citizenship, but he wasn't too sure how far that would fly now that he had used his powers. Being an ex-Russian asset certainly made things complicated.

With the big guy and the shapeshifter having rushed off, most of the remaining superhumans had gathered in the diner. Sasha walked up to the diner's broken windows in time to overhear the last bit of conversations between Henry, Yue, Devon and Klaus.

"If you're looking to get out of here," Sasha said, leaning through one of the diner's window frames and smiling in a friendly manner, "now would be the time. Police are just arriving."

Sasha glanced about the diner. "That being said, it'd be a shame to part ways so soon now that fate's pulled us together. My place isn't far from here..." Sasha grinned. "I promise to treat you all to a more peaceful meal, what do you all say?"

It had quieted down a lot sooner than Akiko had expected. The flashy one, Cannonade, was talking about cards but some of the group had already walked off. Police sirens were in the distance but fast approaching. All of this faded into the background as Akiko reached out tentatively. It was beginning to fade. The other souls were already gone. She had to get this one at least. Her fingers began to close around it...

...And Akiko collapsed to her knees.

A light thump accompanied her sudden fall but the sirens and distance lent some aid in hiding the small slip-up. She gritted her teeth as a memories of the battle played before her eyes which had changed colors to a deep purple. She had to be quiet. No noise. Please let it be loud around her. No noise. You have to be silent. Noise.

Akiko looked up as the memories subsided and saw another orb ahead of her, in what used to be the diner. A pulsing light. She shakily and slowly got to her feet. That light was beginning to fade too as the beating of her own heart stopped thundering in her ears. She took a small deep breath and exhaled but her breath was still warm. The light faded and as Akiko stealthily got closer, close enough to hear the conversation, she caught the last words Henry spoke. They very same Henry whose pulsing soul had brought her dangerously close to the other supers.

Devon raised an eyebrow a the reponse Yue gave him. She didn't 'think' of any of it was serious, well if she feels she can wait until her brother comes back to patch her up he should probably ignore the bleeding all over the place for the moment. The question Henry threw at the both of them made Devon chuckle for a bit, but he didn't feel like answering that. Either he'd have to lie a lot, or it would cause a whole lot more trouble than it was worth.

Another one walked into the diner and he.... Refilled the mugs of coffee for Yue and him... Well he hadn't had the chance to enjoy his second helping of joe, so in a way it was quite welcome. He sipped away at the hot brew as Yue tried to get her cover story straight and tried to mention how 'someone other than her' would attempt to smooth things over. Devon just shot into a fit of laughter, and after a second or two of trying to regain his composure responded to her. "Miss I think you're worrying too much, because I highly doubt they'll have the legal power to put blame on any of us. With that loose cannon on scene we could easily pass any and all property damage on to them, since most of it is caused by them in the first place. As for defending ourselves... The place got shot at and because we still have the old stand your grounds laws from before any legislation was made for supers, nobody has the duty to retreat and can intervene with lethal force if needed to prevent the imminent death of themselves or another. I think that quite fittingly covers the situation here, seeing we stopped a terrorist organisation from executing someone and taking us all as collateral, if not I know a few good lawyers who'll certainly make sure the judge and jury agree. But let's hope it doesn't come to that."

He then looked over to someone who talked to them through one of the broken windows mentioning that the police were almost on site, and indeed there were sirens that sounded pretty close by. Then offered a more peaceful meal at his place under the reasoning of fates pull. "Fate, coincidence, luck or be it some other force... But I could use a breakfast that doesn't include violence and an unhealthy amount of salt." He said glancing back at the soggy muffin on his plate.

"You know Miss, you're being rather irksome." Maxwell chuckled from the darkness. As Sheri continued to move about the darkness, she couldn't detect it letting up in any spots, though the reason for this was partly that it moved with Maxwell, and he now moved with her. There was a slight clicking sound in the distance, something being picked up from the darkness. More noises, sounds that unmistakably originated from a gun.

A moment later, something clattered to the ground and slid towards Sheri. It was her gun, stripped down to nothing more than the grip, guard, and lower half of the slide. Everything else seemed to be missing.

Before she could even think to reach down and get it, a hand pressed against her neck, pushed her against a wall, and kept her at enough distance that she would need to struggle to remove the grip. A small knife was now pointed to her face, steadily held only an inch or two from her left eye.

Maxwell was toying with her.

Sirens blared from the distance, and the silver haired man gave her a soft smile as he let go and took a few steps back, before she could try to counter him. He hadn't hurt her in any physical way, but he certainly wanted her to think he could have. "Seems we're going to have to part now Miss. Such a shame, but I suspect we'll be seeing each other again soon. Perhaps my offer of a job will even still be open to you. If you can learn to be a little more grateful." He chuckled again as he continued to step back into the darkness, his dress shoes lightly clicking against the ground.

"Till next time."

After a few moments of standing in darkness, light finally began to return, and Sheri could see the park, chaotic street, diner, and all the rest of the world around her. She could even spot the remaining pieces of her gun scattered on the ground, in tact and ready to be reassembled. All that was missing now was the silver haired man.



"Right, cards out." The voice came from the rather unfully dressed, helmeted super identified as Cannonade.

Richard eyed them up and down a few moments, a little confused by the whole gesture. He was familiar with Cannonade, enough to hear rumors and gossip about less than savory recreational activities. And yet they seemed rather intent on everyone showing off their 'super ID' like this was a police traffic stop? He smirked slightly at the irony.

Several other supers had already begun making their way to the diner, and he decided that was probably best for him too. "Sorry," he called out with a shrug. "Left it on the nightstand next to my cape. I'll ah... Send it as a facsimile." He said with a somewhat irreverent tone. "Thanks for the help though, we did a uhh..." He looked around at the chaos, death, and the hulking corpse of Balthazar. "We did an alright job. Appreciate the help Cannonade and ahh... Miss Hurricane? Maybe we ought to team up again some time." Richard said this to both Cannonade and the masked girl with the skateboard, whom he kinda thought he recognized, and was going to ask, but thought maybe it would be rude to, so he left it alone for now.

"Oh, dig the shorts by the way, but you might wanna take a seat and get checked up on once folks start arriving here." He indicated with his body where cuts and scratches on Cannonade's body would be.

He gave a little playful salute with his right hand's index and middle fingers, and made his way back over to the diner, grabbing his jacket from the ground and pulling it back on. Richard noticed quite quickly he had something extra in one pocket. He took a quick peek, noticing the card and number on it, and cocked a slight smile. These two seemed to be rather sweet, despite the fact they probably worked for the law.

Richard had overheard some of the conversation between the other supers in their as he made his way over to the counter, giving a slight rap on it directed at the man in the Sci Fi getup. "One glass of orange juice barkeep." He took a glance at Devon, then Yue, and finally Henry.

"I'm more worried about SINS than anything else. They don't particularly care about what North Carolina's laws are, particularly when it comes to unregistered heroes. Not that I'd know anything about that." He smirked slightly before looking back to the window where the man who'd previously been a demon stood.

"And I won't say no to a friendly meal, just so long as the Devil won't be joining us. Bad blood there." As he got ready to look back to the others, he swore he saw something near the doorway... Like the air wasn't still, or something weird like that. Now he was the one feeling a little on edge.



March 11th, 2045, 7:00am: Atlas City, North Carolina, USA

The smell of freshly roasted coffee wafted through the air of the diner, the waitress hurriedly getting one ready to go for the first customer of the day. She placed the cup down on the counter, '7:00am' and 'Peter' were written on the side. A man dressed in a grey three piece suit smiled as he picked up the cup, and replaced it with a $10 bill. "Keep the change." He said with a soft, yet somehow incredibly cold, smile.

He left the building shortly after, and continued walking South for a few minutes before crossing the street where the Southern portion of buildings that surrounded the park was located. As he continued on his way, he passed a young man with short, dark hair, and wearing a black leather jacket. Seemed a little old fashioned perhaps for someone his age, but then he also bore the look of someone who perhaps had already had a small taste of what life could dish out.

It was a beautiful morning so far though, sun coming up over the ocean, and storm clouds slowly getting pushed back across the land.

Peter was going to have a great day today.

The fight was over just a little bit too soon for Vic. She wasn't used to enemies spontaneously combusting on her, but disappointment was familiar. And man, she was glad for the mask covering her nose. The toxic brown sludge smelled like acid festering in a sewer tank.

She gave the balaclava-donning man asking if they were all right an OK symbol as she strutted around the Witchfinder's bloated, charred corpse to pick up the bits of her stuff strewn around the road. Like she was picking up the loot dropped from the boss. She fixed her cap back over her head and pulled her hood over it, picked the SIM and SD card from her phone, then approached the two halves of her broken skateboard, and -

"Right, cards out."

Hoooooly crap, she had never seen a place clear out so damn fast.

Vic would've lost it if she wasn't the one left behind with the NAHLA rep asking for identification. She turned her head slowly back to Cannonade with her hands in her pockets. The lines of restrained laughter by her eyes smoothed out as the situation hit her and she was stuck staring back at them.

"........"

POOF.

Vic bounced.

Cannonade paused, hearing the bell to the diner ring several times behind them. They turned to see the entire cast had cleared save for the anime hoodied FREAK and the burglar. The burglar began giving some inane ramblings about leaving his card at home.

"Dig the shorts by the way, but you might wanna take a seat and get checked up on once folks start arriving here," The Burglar added, pointing to his arms and legs corresponding to the bruises on Cannon's form.

Cannonade frowned at the affable criminal as he retreated. The helmeted super turned to the last one there. They managed to glimpse them long enough to see their hoodie, and give a judgemental frown, before the woman vanished before Cannon's eyes. In the background the sirens grew louder. Cannonade gave a long sigh before cracking their shoulders and turning. With a confident stride they began to marc toward the law.

"Cannon you saved us!" A woman exclaimed from her car.

"Ya. Ya, I did," Cannonade replied with a half wave as they walked, their gaze unbreaking. In the park the police had arrived and formed a shield wall. Like most police in America they were heavily armed. Since the end of the second world war and the dawn of the superman they'd become heavily militarized units- armour, rifles, and translucent polycarbonate shields and helmets. The sun reflected bright off the squad cars.

The sirens of the ACPD blaired a warning as Cannonade approached, stopping at the edge of the street before the park. They rose their arms in the air and waved their card. "It's all good, it's all good," They assured.

"Cannonade, this is the ACPD!"A megaphoned voice yelled out. "Put your hands in the air and get on the ground!"

Cannonade nodded at the police before taking a knee. "Ya, I hear you. I'ma- I'ma just going to put this here." They placed their card on the asphalt before standing again, hands in the air. "And I'm going to make a statement: this was a terrorist attack. On civilians. Civilians in that diner. Civilians in the park and civilians the street. I responded as soon as I could to limit the loss of life. As it would appear, my response was a fair bit faster than yours."

If the cops could see beneath the glass helmet they would spot a smug smirk- though the expression was clear in their voice. "They were witchfinder generals- blackcoats. Taking a chemical substance and altering their bodies. And they had with them a terrible shapeshifter, a monster who killed and ravaged indiscriminately. Arriving on the scene I limited loss of life as best I could and made no intentionally lethal actions."

Cannonade paused, looking over the rows of polizei lined in the park. "...And I would like to state that I unequivocally worked alone. There were no other supers."

The birds chirped in the park as the standoff continued. "My representatives are on the card, ready for any charges the ACPD wishes to present, or any disputes to my story there may be. Any assault on me will be taken to court." Cannonade let out a loud click of their tongue as they began to walk backward, away from the police and into the frozen traffic of the street. "Goodbye."

Inside the diner the ceiling shook, followed by the echo of a sonic boom as Cannonade took off.

***

On a rooftop Cannonade pulled their helmet off their curly haired head. They pulled out a catnip cigarette and lit it, inhaling the burning paper as aggressively as possible before exhaling in a fury. They slumped against the railing of the rooftop and moaned a long, guttural: "Jesusss H Chriiiist."

Klaus poured another glass of Orange juice for Richard who seemed delighted that someone was behind the counter. He smiled warmly and placed the glass before the ice wielder before turning his attention to Henry,

"You don't have enough time for the explanation you're after, but I promise I will explain soon," He nodded, hoping Henry would trust him, "You have to get going, but perhaps we will see one another soon," He gestured for Henry to make his way out the front door. Ichiro's warning should tell the man the suits are after him.

The sonic boom shook the restaurant and the ACPD would be in the building momentarily. He wasn't worried, he had the correct papers, even if they were a little out of date. The nice thing about time travel is that it allows you to be prepared for something even after being unprepared, to begin with.

"Well no matter what they'll ask, the writing is all over the street that we weren't at fault. A known terrorist cell operating inside Atlas city is a failure on many department's parts, we did what needed to be done to minimize casualties, nothing wrong with that," he then drained his second cup of coffee before finding a couple of muffins and placing one in front of Devon, who kept looking back at a soggy muffin on, what Klaus could assume was his table.

The entrance to the arena, as Maeve would find out, was down a stairwell off the side of a staff corridor. A metal door not quite as tall as Maeve was at the bottom. The words: 'Fitting Room' were written on a glass sign on the front. Inside Maeve would be greeted by warm lights and white tiled floors. Though not quite as lush as the rest of the club it was no school locker room. The air was steamy, as though someone had recently used the showers to her left. And instead of the pounding that dominated the upper floors of the club, gentle singing echoed.

"Every day we're taking pills, afternoon and evening quill... putting on a show like vaud-e-ville." It was a raspy voice, the tone unclear if it was a man or a woman. Sitting to the right, on the wooden bench in the centre of the change room, sat Cannonade- unmasked to reveal a bushel of curly brown hairs and tan skin coated in freckles. They wore some sort of black silken kimono, their name on the back. "Twenty thousand years ago I'd probably feel this strong, somewhere in a cave- fighting the ice age. Showing off the tiger that I fought today... and the bite marks on my face."

The tone went dead as Cannon turned to the new entrant. "Oh," Cannonade rose from their hunched over position at the newcomer. Their eyes were bright and green- catlike in their intensity. "Hey."

"Howya."
This... wasn't what Maeve was expecting. She hadn't expected to run into her... "opponent" until there were already in the arena, not find them singing alone to themself in a dressing room.
Maeve's apathetic grey eyes swept the room once; her recruitment had been a bit too last minute for the organizers to have prepared anything for her here, so she already wore her attire for the event under a long, hooded boxing coat. There wasn't really much for her to do here aside from pass the last few minutes somewhere without other people... or so she'd assumed.You'd think a club like this could afford more than one dressing room. Unless...
"I haven't found myself in the wrong room, have I?" Her voice was quiet and even.

“I don’t know, are you here to kick my ass?” Cannonade said with a smile. Their voice was fairly neutral American, though hints of Caribbean root be heard beneath it. “If you are, then-“ They clicked their tongue before separating their pointer and middle finger to indicate to the splitting halls at the end of the dressing room, each leading to a respective side of the arena they would enter.

"Ah. Suppose they aren't afraid of a bit of milling before the match proper, then. " Then again, since they're all rigged anyway... "Speaking of."
She moved to lean against a locker near the exit halls, yet close enough for her soft voice to still be heard. "They told me I shouldn't dig ye in the face. Suppose it's understandable they'd have their concerns about that, but I thought I'd ask ye myself anyways. Wouldn't want to offend by seeming like I'm going easy on ye, in the interest of sportsmanship."

"You're really fucking tall," Cannonade interrupted as they stared up at Maeve, making no attempt at responding to their words. “Yeah, face is a no go,” They eventually replied. “Also, I was working earlier today and-“ Cannonade lifted by the leg of their kimono to reveal a thigh coated in bruises. “So watch the punches.”

Cannonade walked toward one of the sinks of the changing room. A few snacks in a napkin were laid out there. “You want some sherry? Maybe a little-” They placed a finger on their nostril and winked.

"I drink a lot of milk," she replied without missing a beat.
They were injured. Hm.
"No. Bevvies and sneachta aren't big friends of mine. Health concerns. But by all means, crack on."
Maeve watched them from the locker, judging their height, their weight, eyes tracing the length of their arms. There were things you couldn't get a proper feel for in just videos, after all. She also paid attention to how they carried themself; were they favoring their leg, or making a show of an otherwise meaningless injury?
Maeve shook her head a bit and pinched the bridge of her nose. Stop looking for openings in a fake fight.
Maeve joined Cannonade by the sink, studying the tiny selection of snacks and more robust selection of narcotics. She picked up a fried shrimp, tapping it once on the napkin to shake off any loose crumbs before leaning away from Super Roma #1.
"Should reconsider the sherry," Maeve commented, her face too stiff and impassive to tell whether she actually gave a shit. "If ye go out and make an ass of yourself cos your too off your face, it won't make for quite the show they paid for." She was quiet for a second, then shrugged and added, "Could still be fun, I guess."

“Could still be fun,” Cannon repeated with a smile and nod before letting out a little laugh at the absurdity. “Toss me out the arena, I’ll throw up on a rich guy’s suit.” Cannonade rose an eyebrow at the woman beside them. They had no idea who this was. They weren't in Nahla or any of the PCs, they'd have recognized her if she was. No, this was someone off the streets. A fucking Irish rube.

“These streaks of white are so pretty,” Cannonade said, crossing one leg over the leg. They knew they could be cute when they wanted to be. They pushed themselves off the sink and turned to Maeve. It was rare they had to reach for anything, but to reach the head of their opponent they had to stretch. The fingers on their left hand touched a loose thicket of white hair and combed them behind Maeve’s ears as she chewed. Cannon let out a smile, baring their white fangs. They smelt of avocado butters, coconut oil, weed, flowers and just a hint of sweat.

They stink.

And suddenly something was wrong. Maeve’s body felt heavy, as though a pressure had started weighing down on them. Cannonade stepped backward, revealing their right hand extended palm first.

“Is this too much for you?” Cannon asked in a baby voice as their grip became tighter. Maeve’s bones grew heavy as the pressure increased. It felt as if her body was being held down on all sides. “Is this?” The grip grew smaller. Maeve’s body grew heavy and her bones creaked under the pressure. She felt the tail of the shrimp catch at the back of her throat.

Off the sink table Cannonade pulled a black mask, seemingly matching the black marble statues of the club, and slid it over their face. They green eyes examined Maeve, trying to find how much gravity their opponent could take.

“How about this?” Their grip grew tighter. Tight enough to crush the body of a normal man. They knew. They’d done it before. Air could barely be pulled into collapsing lungs. Muscles spasmed. The floor beneath Maeve’s feet began to chip as the pressure grew. “In case you didn’t recognize me without the helmet- I’m Cannonade,” Cannonade introduced, leaning forward. “I don’t lose. Let’s keep it that way, eh?”

And then, they released. Maeve could breathe easily again. Cannonade turned, downed the sherry and smashed the glass into the ground before walking off to their side of the arena.

"Aye, I know who ye are, ye wee cunt." Maeve swore under her breath. It was rare she'd been caught off guard like that. This was certainly... a new experience, compared to the capes who haunted the Isles. A thin, almost predatory smile crept across her face as she leaned against the wall for a moment and wiping .a thin rivulet of thick black blood from her nose. "Should I take this as permission to stop being polite?"

March 11th, 2045, 8:43pm: Atlas City, North Carolina, USA

Maxwell had finished donning his outfit and took a few moments to admire it in a mirror. The strange, unnatural darkness, coupled with the slight sheen from the reflective materials over top, made it strange to behold. In some darker lit areas even, it could almost appear invisible. He returned to his desk and took a seat, making a few final checks before the match would start. The room was a sumptuous mixture of the classic, and the modern, with dark oak wood panels and book cases lining the walls, black marble floors, tile, and even pillars. Then there were the glittering stainless steel highlights, and the ceiling which shone brilliantly with bright lights making up several rows, though they could be adjusted to different brightnesses or colors. And of course there was his desk chair, with dark oak, red leather, and shiny brass accents and button to decorate it.

He was deep in thought about tonight's fight. It was rigged, of course. Such a shame too. Evidently it was good for business, but he'd already heard all about the Irish giant of a woman who'd been brought in. He had every expectation that she may exceed his expectations, but that just made his feelings all the harder to reconcile. Business was business, but at his core... He almost wished she wouldn't lose the fight...

There was a light knock at the door to Maxwell's office. Ulysses and Willoughby stepped in, two of his oldest companions and employees. Then men were tall, large, and most strikingly, albino. They both wore well tailored, robins egg blue suits, and carried themselves with a sense of professionalism and pride. "Mr. Landon, we've got some interesting news. There's a celebrity in the club tonight." Ulysses smiled softly as Willoughby approached Maxwell's desk and placed a photo down on it. "Vicki Vortex."

After a few moments studying the photo, behind the black mask Maxwell's eyes began to light up a little brighter. "Was she... The girl from the park? Very very intriguing. It seems fate is hard at work today." Maxwell nodded to the two men as he stood and left the desk. "No need to worry about me tonight gentlemen. Let Monsieur Vic know not to cause her any trouble, you know how passionate he can be about the club. But this guest may be VIP material I think, of the highest caliber."



Vicki stood at the bar counter awaiting her drink, when a slight knock against the counter top snapped her attention to someone now standing beside her. From head to toe he was covered in pure black, a slight sheen from the lights being the only thing that broke the color. The bar man seemed to have focused every shred of attention he had instantly on the man in black.

"This one's on the house for our guest here." He spoke pleasantly, in a voice unfamiliar to Vicki, altered by internal mechanisms designed to obscure one's natural voice. "Apologies for the interruption madame, I hope you have been enjoying your evening so far." He said considerately.

March 11th, 2045, 8:43pm: Atlas City, North Carolina, USA

Maxwell smiled under his mask, already beginning to enjoy the company of the starlet, and starting to understand why others felt the same. "The man of the house?" He chuckled slightly. "I don't think I've met many men with houses quite as busy as this one. But yes, I suppose I am the 'man of the house', and very pleased to have you as a guest Miss Vicky." He did a playful flourish and bow.

She continued by trying to coax him out of the darkness, using some rather charming guile to quite successful effect, but The Shape had guile too, and more than enough experience to know how to keep himself protected. "You make such a tempting offer, and I'd be inclined to accept almost, but there's a little hitch in your plan." He said in a soft voice as he leaned his left arm against the countertop.

"I don't like to make things easy." He waved over the waiter, who quickly brought over a platter filled with packets of cigarettes. The Shape plucked one up, lit it, and placed it to the lips of his mask. When the smoke filtered out, it came gracefully through the lips of the mask, like a gentle, smokey cloud.

"But I suppose it wouldn't be fair of me to play too hard. You can call me Shape if you like, it's what everyone else does. Of course, you don't seem like an 'everyone else'. Trendsetters never are."



The arena of Shapeless was a glittering gem of a sports realm. The walls were made of black marble, with highlights of white and gold folded into that polished stone. The seating was steep, going high up the cylindrical room to maximize on space as much as possible, and to provide a high vantage point for fights that occurred in the center.

Above the seats were located a series of separated rooms with floor to ceiling windows, reserved for VIP guests, and The Shape himself, to observe fights from.

Crowds had already taken their seats in the tall room, and at the center, the fighting ring, a series of bright white spotlights found themselves centering, landing on a single man. His body was mostly thin, other than the bulging beer belly he sported, jutting awkwardly from the fine, crisp black tuxedo he wore. The hair on his head was black, but heavily balding, and he sported a very long, thin, and curling mustache.

The man was Monsieur Ric, the announcer of Shapeless's prestigious fights. The lights stopped over him, and the sound of an electronic drum set began to resound around the room. The crowd began to clap along in time with Carpenter Brut's "Maniac", the energy in the room quickly rising.

Finally the main riff of the tune kicked in, and the crowd erupted into raucous cheers. Monsieur Ric began to cartwheel, back flip, somersault, and dance around the stage with a kind of possessed energy that absolutely did not make sense in a man of his physical appearance.

"LADIES!!! GENTLEMEN!!! EVERYONE ELSE BETWEEN!!! Welcome back to another Shapeless Superhero SHOWDOOOOOOOOOWN! Tonight, we TRULY have what could be the FIGHT OF OUR LIVES!"

The crowd began to erupt into more cheers and shouts of praise for Ric, for Shapeless, and of course, for Cannonade.

"HAILING from Trinidad and Tobago, the last survivor of the FAMED Super Roma PC, one of Europe's GREATEST heroes, the strong willed, GRAVITY wielding CANON of a person, it's CANONAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE!" The crowd was electrified as men and women called out the name of their favorite hero, some throwing money, and other symbols of affection, to the center of the arena.

"And their challenger for tonight, HAILING from the Emerald Isle of IRELAND, a GIANTESS of a woman, with strength no MERE MORTAL may yet understand, a MOUNTAIN of MYSTERY, it's MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEVE!" Now the crowd was noticeably less energized, though some did still cheer, and throw their own bits of affections (some out of mere drunkenness), but others still even felt the need to boo. They were fewer, as it wasn't seen as quite as 'high class', but not everyone could maintain the same standards expected in Shapeless.

The match was about to begin.

Cannonade emerged from the shadow of their entrance into the pit. The lean super jumped a few times in the air as warm up, each jump they raising themself higher and higher in the air. They then marched toward their opponent as extremely bad music played overhead, no doubt offending everyone at the club. They weren't here to talk. They were here to fight.