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Sterling Matthews

time is merely a construct

0 · 440 views · located in Faircaster

a character in “hazy shade of winter”, as played by huneycomb

So begins...

Sterling Matthews's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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0000S K Y E 0 M A E D A 00000000000000000|0000000000000000 O L L I E 0 M A R T I N
ImageImage


hexcode
#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie







It had been a perfectly normal day. Classes had run relatively smoothly, and theyā€™d actually managed to get through a sparring session without anybody getting hurt. One would think that in a class of superhumans, this was an impossibility, especially in unarmed combat where they werenā€™t supposed to use their abilities. You would be very wrong. All of them had to learn some degree of powerless, unarmed combat. For Ollie and Skye, this suited them down to the ground. Their abilities themselves didnā€™t allow them to fight. Others found it... a little harder.

Their classes were finished for the day, and they were waiting for the call to dinner when the alarm went off. ā€Apollo, Beast, Echo, Kronos, youā€™re all up,ā€ a voice called, seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere. ā€œA bank robbery. Six hostages, all employees, four perpetrators. Backup will be on site in case it goes south. Urgent response required.ā€ In other words, pretty much no time to change. Ollie and Skye rolled their eyes at each other, already making their way down to the car. Both of them happened to be nearby, menacing they reached the garage before the others. Masks and protective vests were the only gear they were given, but they both stopped to retrieve their weapons of choice. For Skye, a set of spiked knuckles, a knife, and a small handgun. For Ollie, just a set of throwing knives. He preferred to avoid being close enough for punching to be an option, and his aim with a gun was pitiful. Skye had the opposite issue, but guns were loud and messy. It was a backup only.

They piled into the van, already pulling on their vests and masks. ā€œYou look like such a stereotypical teenage hero,ā€ Ollie remarked as he looked Skye up and down. ā€œAnd you look like youā€™ve mistakenly wandered out of a Starbucks,ā€ Skye retorted with a smirk. She sighed as she instinctively bounced her leg. ā€Any inkling on how this is going to go down?ā€. In response, Ollie only shook his head. ā€œCool.ā€ was all she said in response.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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xxtheodore walder & sterling matthews
#D85656 & #7B988B

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On Thursdays Theodore was given special training for his abilities, but if anything it felt more like a research project. Testing his adrenaline, reflexes, hormone levels, it was all very taxing but thankfully it meant he always got out a little bit earlier than the others. By the afternoon he had settled in one of the empty classrooms that he had designated into a little 'hangout' room with beanbags and all. With one earbud in playing Claire Da Lune he read Invisible Man slowly absorbing the pages, as he had always not been the fondest of readers. Professor Beaton repeatedly reminded him how important it was to relax his mind when he wasn't training as if to focus it even further, and determined to have the utmost control over himself Theodore spent as much time as he could reading, writing, playing music. Anything, to get his mind in a better place.

He had barely kept track of the time and he was pulled out of his trance by the intercom crackling overhead. "Apollo, Beast, Echo, Kronos, youā€™re all up. A bank robbery. Six hostages, all employees, four perpetrators. Backup will be on site in case it goes south. Urgent response required." He grimaced slightly, he hated the name they had attached to him when he had arrived but he wasn't given much ground to argue about it. Theodore had always wished they were given a heads up before being sent out into the field. Especially in his case. He placed the book on the wooden shelf he had made himself, building was another pastime, and shoved his earbuds and phone into his pocket.
______

Sterling had blown through his classes, as he always did. Lately he found himself losing focus- or passion for that matter and was nothing more than a body in his classes than in actual person. Of course, no one really ever perceived him in that fashion, he had always been rather good at keeping his outward appearance normal. Sterling always got more closed off when it got closer to the anniversary of his mother's passing. He was more than thankful when the announcement came filtering through the loud speakers, a mission was the perfect thing to get his mind off of his mother and back onto what mattered.

Sterling made his way down to the garage grabbing his favorite Bowie knife and attaching it to the belt. With his abilities, close-quarter combat was his forte. His mind was too focused on the task ahead to remember who was placed with him so when he got to the open van door his eyebrow raised slightly. "Martin. Maeda." Sterling said rather curtly stepping into the van sitting in the unoccupied seat facing the back of the van. "I apologize for my tardiness, guess I - lost track of time. I hope you two are well prepared, I'm certainly not looking for a loss." He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back into the seat with an air of ease and confidence.
______

Theo jogged his ways through the students filtering through the Academy to the dining room as he made his way to the garage. He grabbed only a simple pair of black, leather driving gloves which he slipped on as he opened the door to the van his face lighting up to see Ollie and Skye already nestled in and ready to go, faltering slightly when he saw Sterling. "Room for one more?" He spoke teasingly as he took a seat next to Skye, instantly placing an earbud back in his right ear out of habit. Sterling rolled his eyes at Theo's entrance, "Perfect, we get stuck with the bull in the China cabinet".

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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0.00 INK

0000S K Y E 0 M A E D A 00000000000000000|0000000000000000 O L L I E 0 M A R T I N
ImageImage


hexcode
#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie






On Sterling's appearance, Ollie managed to maintain a poker face. Skye did not, rolling her eyes. "Matthews," she drawled in response to his curt greeting. "You know, given that we were actually here somewhat promptly, it could be argued we're more prepared than you," Skye retorted. She smirked and raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her own seat. None of them were looking for a loss. A loss wasn't just a bad grade. It was people's lives at risk. She knew Sterling knew that, but goddamn, he could do with showing it a little more.

Ollie instinctively grinned at the arrival of Theo, a reflex reaction that he barely even noticed. Sterling's comment made him raise an eyebrow. "Don't worry, Theo, if we're tight on space, I'm more than willing to sacrifice Sterling," he said with a venom laced smile towards Sterling. "I second that motion," Skye remarked as the engine started up and the van set into motion.

Skye bounced her leg nervously as they drove. In contrast, Ollie was still, staring out the window in thought. There was something in him that wanted to try and trigger a vision, just to see how it would all work out. Just to... make sure that it would all work out. But it was too much of a risk, too potentially draining. If he had to trigger a vision, better save it to mid-fight. If only his power was more predictable, things would be so much easier.

Skye was aware that her nervous leg bouncing had to be annoying someone, and she just hoped that one person was Sterling. He was such a goddamn snob. Theo couldn't help the nature of his ability any more than any of them could. He'd just drawn the short straw in the grand scheme of things. Hell, if Skye's ability ever went haywire, god knows what chaos she could cause.

"We're here, folks."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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xxtheodore walder & sterling matthews
#D85656 & #7B988B

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"You know, given that we were actually here somewhat promptly, it could be argued we're more prepared than you" Sterling rolled his eyes leaning back into his seat. There was something about Skye that just got under his skin like no one else. He could never truly pinpoint what it meant, but it annoyed the hell out of him. Sterling hated the idea of anyone ever getting some true reaction out of him, but the girl was truly a test for his patience.

Theo returned Ollie's warm smile, a wave of relief washing over him. Oliver's presence had somewhat of a calming effect over his nerves. "Don't worry, Theo, if we're tight on space, I'm more than willing to sacrifice Sterling," The comment received a chuckle from Theodore and he subtly winked and mouthed a simple 'Thanks' to Ollie. It was best not to get him antsy or worked up in any fashion before a mission, at this point he was probably the most cautious he'd ever been in his life. That didn't mean it necessarily worked all the time. "I second that motion," Sterling shook his head in annoyance shooting a look at both Skye and Ollie. "oh, good grief" he muttered under his breath.

Sterling leaned back into his chair, and closed his eyes focusing on the area around him as the rumbling of the van became a simple background noise. He could hear the faint whisper of music coming from Theodore's headphones, and the tap, tap, tap of Skye's leg as she nervously jittered, most likely in anticipation. Then suddenly it went quiet. When he opened his eyes, everything was moving in an almost blur, as he simply made things go - well, a little bit faster. What could he say, his patience was running a little thin. It was a small enough shift not to really drain him of his abilities.

Within a matter of seconds everything suddenly shifted back into clear as the van stopped, and he twitched slightly in his seat as things fell back into place. "We're here, folks." The corner of his mouth twitched up in smirk and he glanced at the other three"Finally" He said quietly to himself.

The van stopped about a block from where the bank actually sat, and already the sounds of police sirens and chaos could be heard. Theodore finally broke the silence, speaking up from his spot in the van. "I can help corral the hostages and get them out before anything gets too ugly. Ollie-" He shifted his gaze towards the boy, "I don't really know- how it works, but I might need some help finding them". He was inferring to the boys precognitive abilities, as they could be quite useful if the hostages were trapped in a certain section of the bank. Sterling turned his head to Skye, giving her a rather smartass grin, "I guess that leaves us on damage control, huh?".

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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0.00 INK

0000S K Y E 0 M A E D A 00000000000000000|0000000000000000 O L L I E 0 M A R T I N
ImageImage


hexcode
#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie






Ollie jolted to awareness as the van came to a stop. Adrenaline started pounding through his veins in anticipation of whatever the hell was about to happen. He listened as Theo took charge, suggesting that he and Ollie would retrieve any hostages. He nodded at Theo's question about using his ability to try and find the hostages. He didn't even have to try and induce a vision; out of nowhere, one hit him. Thankfully not that intense, but clear enough that he had a clear picture of what they needed to do to get them out. "In a stunning move of originality, they have them in the basement. Not actually in the vault, surprisingly. We're going to need you two to act as a distraction to get in." In the vision, Ollie and Theo had been noticed. They'd still made it down, but not without a few close calls along the way. He'd seen blood; he hadn't known who's. But if Skye and Sterling could cause a little distraction, then it might just work.

Skye dramatically rolled her eyes at the thought of damage control with Sterling, but in reality they worked pretty well together. He drove her insane, getting to her like nobody else did, but she did at least have to concede that they were a half decent pairing. Didn't stop her from half wanting to punch him in that smartass mouth. She nodded at Ollie's suggestion of a distraction. "Sterling's ego should be enough of a distraction, but we can work something out. I'm thinking maybe another gang of armed gunmen might just storm the building," she said with a wicked grin. Her ability was perfect for distractions, and it minimised the amount of the risk they'd be putting themselves in.

"We should probably get moving. Don't want the boys and girls in blue getting too antsy," she said, pulling the van door open. She made sure her mask was secure, before picking up a jog towards the bank. Ollie followed her out, but waited for Theo after he did so.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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Image Image

xxtheodore walder & sterling matthews
#D85656 & #7B988B

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"In a stunning move of originality, they have them in the basement. Not actually in the vault, surprisingly. We're going to need you two to act as a distraction to get in." Theodore nodded, smoothing the simple black mask over his eyes. "Sounds simple enough".

"Sterling's ego should be enough of a distraction, but we can work something out. I'm thinking maybe another gang of armed gunmen might just storm the building," Sterling cracked a smile at her jab, as he actually found the insult quite amusing. "And to think I was actually feeling a little humble this evening" He placed a hand on his chest, mocking as if he was rather hurt. "Regardless, when they start shooting I'll be there to save your ass" He turned his gaze to Theo and Ollie, "you two should be able to get through the back entrance, without getting shot. That is if everything goes correctly".

"We should probably get moving. Don't want the boys and girls in blue getting too antsy" Sterling hopped out after her, matching his pace with hers as the jogged to the bank. "Your wish is my command Maeda" His tone oozing with sarcasm.

"Did you see anything else, in your - you know" Theo spoke as he stepped out of the van after Ollie, his eyes following Skye and Sterling as they made their way to the front. Oppositely, Theo and Ollie moved towards the back entrance of the bank, which oddly was clear. "Obviously they're not the best criminals in the world" Theo said with a slight chuckle as he stopped in front of the back door to the bank. Which was, as expected, locked. He reached out grabbing the handle with his hand, tightened his grip and with a single pull ripped the door clean off its hinges. Definitely used a little more force than he would've liked. "Whoops" Theo's ears turned red slightly in embarrassment before he stepped inside the back of the bank motioning for Ollie to follow him.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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0.00 INK

0000S K Y E 0 M A E D A 00000000000000000|0000000000000000 O L L I E 0 M A R T I N
ImageImage


hexcode
#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie






Skye just smirked at Sterling's comment about how he was apparently feeling humble, instinctively pressing her mask against her skin to make sure it was in place. The dig about things going correctly didn't miss her, but she just gritted her teeth and made her way towards the front of the bank. The police were there, but they'd apparently been warned about the impending arrival of the heroes, because they stayed back and didn't as much as flinch as Skye held up three fingers to Sterling, counting them down before yanking the door open. Having gotten a glimpse of some of the offenders, Skye ducked behind a desk, closed her eyes, and started calling up the illusion. Something this big and detailed required some level of concentration.

Ollie hesitated for a moment at Theodore's question about if he'd seen anything else. The only things he could remember closely were the location of the hostages and the blood."No, nothing. It's all a little... hazy and confusing. It's not an exact science, god knows I wish it was." He explained as they made their way around to the back door. If anyone was capable of a big and suitably appropriate distraction, it was Skye and Sterling, so he knew they were at least covered on that front. The back door being left clear made him feel a little on edge, even if Theo seemed to think it was a good thing. Theo pulling the door off its hinges did make Ollie crack a grin.

They stepped into the hall, and Ollie instinctively pulled the knife from his belt. He glanced over his shoulder, still a little uneasy about the fact that the door had been left open. He didn't believe they'd be lucky enough to just get away with it being that easy. If they were smart enough to break in, were they really dumb enough to leave such a major entrance uncovered?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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theodore walder & sterling matthews
#D85656 & #7B988B



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Sterling followed behind her, quieting down his cocky demeanor as they neared the bank. While he enjoyed the sardonic banter between the two of them he believed there was no real place for it when lives were at stake. And as much as Maeda infuriated him, he respected her leadership ability enough to never put up much of a fight when it came to her orders.

On her three he dashed into the bank right behind her, sliding into place behind the desk as well. He glanced over at her as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, it was kind of cute her face pent up in unwavering determination. Did I really just think that? Gross. Miraculously before his eyes a full SWAT team burst through the doors of the bank and he heard the shocked cries from the few guys holding up the front of the bank. It didn't take but a matter of seconds for bullets to begin spraying throughout the room and Sterling's heart began to race. He knew that her illusion wasn't going to last long, and it was simply to buy time for the others so he gripped his Bowie knife tightly and leaned around the side of the desk assessing how many guys were present. A solid ten. All big, scary, armed, and angry. Perfect.

Sterling glanced one last time at Skye behind the desk before he began to quietly and quickly sneak ever so closer to the men as they were distracted by the seemingly real SWAT team in front of them. He dashed from desk to desk, until he was practically right behind them. "Now for the fun part" He spoke under his breath as he gripped his knife tightly.

____


Theodore hadn't really noticed Ollie's hesitation due to his hyper focus on the task in front of them. His move with the door was blatantly reckless but with his abilities his mind was hardwired to think more "brawn" than "brain". It didn't take long after they had stepped into the building for the sound of gunfire to bounce off the walls. He quickly ducked into the closest room away from the main lobby of the bank. He assumed that the basement had to be through one of the many doors in the hallway.

Theodore seemed to have stepped into what looked like a break room, with coats hanging on the walls, a fridge, and some lockers tucked in the corner with name tags lazily plastered to the front of them. The room itself looked rather untouched and normal, Theo truly never would've guessed that someone had been through here beforehand. There was a door within the room with a small sign that read "STAIRS", it was a solid start. He turned back to Ollie wanting to ask what door he thought they should go through when he saw the boy's hesitancy written all over his face. "Is there something-" Theo barely had time to finish his sentence before a man adorned in all black and matching ski mask came barreling out from behind the lockers grabbing Theo by the throat and pinned him to the wall. The boy's eyes lit up in confusion and shock as he was abruptly shoved against the wall, his air flow being cut off by the grip of the man. Who had a few inches on him for that matter. Theodore kicked and struggled against the man's rather strong grip, fearing that if he didn't get out of this man's hold he wouldn't be able to stop himself. He could already feel the hair on his arm start to stand and his adrenaline skyrocket. He realized rather quickly that from the man's perspective he had no idea that Theodore had another with him, Ollie. He made frantic eye contact with Ollie trying to get his words out even though he was being crushed. "H- Hos- Hostages" It came out rather weak but he hoped the boy got the message. A part of him wanted Ollie to continue on for the sake of the mission but a large majority of him didn't want Oliver to be there if things got messy.

Theodore didn't really give him much time to think it over anyway as he headbutt the man as hard as he could, and sucked in a large breath of air as he felt the man's grip loosen around his neck, the oxygen instantly making him feel more in control. He quickly kicked the stunned man away from him and socked him clear in the jaw causing the brute to fall backwards into the break room table. Theodore quickly took the few seconds he had to catch his breath before the man turned to him, slowly getting up from the floor with a (literal) bloody grin. "You got one hell of a right hook kid" As he spoke he reached into his pocket pulling out a rather nasty looking blade.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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0.00 INK

0000S K Y E 0 M A E D A 00000000000000000|0000000000000000 O L L I E 0 M A R T I N
ImageImage


hexcode
#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie







Constructing something like this was almost second nature to Skye at this point; but that didn't mean it was necessarily easy. The one good thing about a SWAT team was that their faces tended to be covered so she at least could just replicate the one body with minimal changes. Their movement was going to be easy. No speaking to minimise the strain on her body. Once she was happy with the realisation of the individual figures, she imagined their movement as a solid, bursting in through the doors. This was where she needed to be cautious. If she made the SWAT team fire straight away, the robbers would surely soon notice that the bullets weren't doing any harm to them. She opened her eyes and saw the team run into the room, along with Sterling starting to move. When the gunshots started, she didn't have much of a choice but to have the SWAT fire back. She did, however, follow Sterling's lead and sneak up behind one of them. Knocking them out was preferable, but killing was occasionally more than necessary. She crept behind one of them, glancing at Sterling. When he dropped the arrogance he was honestly pretty tolerable. He drove her insane but he was a great partner in pretty much every single circumstance. She'd never admit it to his face, but she actually liked working with him. When he kept his mouth shut.

Taking a deep breath, she made even more faceless SWAT officers join their comrades, this time making them yell to the men to hit the ground. When nobody did, she rolled into one of them, landing with a knee on their chest and using her momentum to drive a fist into his face. She drew blood and more satisfyingly, she knocked him out. Drawing a knife, she got to her feet, waiting for somebody else to come to her. Somebody did, but from behind, wrapping large arms around her frame and brandishing a knife. They seemed to be using her to try and get Sterling to stop whatever the hell he was doing. First mistake. They weren't paying quite enough attention to her, so when she dropped her weight, the element of surprise was enough to throw them off. An elbow driven into their stomach made them drop her. Their second mistake had been forgetting to disarm her, so a knife driven into their stomach took them out. Taking a moment to recover, she glanced around for Sterling.

__________________


Ollie clearly wasn't disguising his concern quite as well as he thought he was, because Theo seemed to notice. But before he got the full question out, Theo was pinned to a wall by somebody who was so big, he dwarfed Theo. Instinctively, Ollie pressed into the shadows, a knife in his hand, heart pounding. Watching the way this man had no problem pressing Theo against a wall terrified Ollie, especially when he saw the panic in Theo's face. He got the message loud and clear, but still hesitated for a moment. Common sense overruled the fear that he was still trying to put a name to. He nodded once, before bursting open the nearest door and running. He was halfway down the stairs when a vision hit him so hard he almost stumbled and fell. He saw Theo getting back on his feet, fighting back, but the man was just too powerful, too strong. He saw Theo hit the ground and not get back up. And he was turning and scrambling back up the stairs. He didn't know what he was doing, but he wasn't going to leave Theo behind. Somebody, possibly Theo, was going to kick his ass later, but he wasn't quite thinking straight.

Almost exactly as he'd seen in his vision, Theo had knocked him away, and both were facing each other. The masked man was facing Ollie, but was entirely focused on Theo. By the looks of it, he hadn't even noticed Ollie. Keeping his moment slow and sticking as close to the shadows as he could, he edged into the room. Step by step, slowly, slowly. But moments after the figure pulled the knife, he noticed Ollie. "You brought your friend? This one's a weakling." The figure almost growled. There was a moment of stillness; and then he lunged for Ollie. He was the easier target, as far as he was concerned. Ollie still had the knife in his hand, but was a fraction of a second too slow reacting and had his arm and shoulder slashed as a reward. The knife clattered out of his hand, and Ollie stared in panic for a moment. A fist drawn into the stomach did nothing to the thug and just made him chuckle beneath his mask. But it was a distraction, and he looked past the figure at Theo.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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theodore walder & sterling matthews
#D85656 & #7B988B



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Sterling had noticed Skye creeping around the corners of the desks as well to join him at his vantage point behind the men. The SWAT team was doing a pretty good job keeping them entertained and for Sterling it became quite a fun game of 'keep away'. To the untrained eye his ability almost seemed like that of teleportation as one moment her was there and the next gone. However, he was simply slowing and speeding up time at his will so he almost always ended up in the right place at the right time. Avoiding bullets, plucking guns from hands, the occasional punch in the face. It didn't take long for him to practically have their tails between their legs as they tried to figure out what the hell was going on. By that time Skye had joined in on his fun and the two of the slowly chipped away at the men tactically, as most always knew 'slow and steady wins the race'. He noticed that she had glanced his way in the midst of their little battle and he shot her a small wink and subsequently roundhouse kicked a man in the face.

However, like most times the men began to catch on to his devious ways and purposefully waited for him to strike instead of aiming blindly. This caused Sterling to get knocked up side the head with the front end of an assault rifle - which isn't fun. He flew backwards with a sickening crunch, grasping his forehead as blood started to pour out of a cut where the gun had split his skin. Thank god his reaction time was still efficient as he would've been riddled with bullets. The man immediately sprayed a round of ammunition at him, in which Sterling slowed down the time tremendously, rolling out of the way. It was as if everyone around him was moving through thick jello as he got to his feet and whipped out his knife stabbing the man directly into the sternum. As everything fell back into place and sped up, the man gasped for a breath, dropping the gun and stumbled back over his own to feet. Sterling quickly ripped the knife back out wiping the blood on his pant leg before he went to work, his head still bleeding, as he helped Skye promptly take out the rest of the men. Regardless of injury this was no time to be distracted.

____


Theo was relieved the moment he saw Ollie quietly bolt out the open door to the basement. He couldn't stand the thought of him getting hurt, Theodore never wanted to underestimate Ollie's ability to hold his own, it just wasn't right. But at the same time, the boy wasn't gifted with an offensive power like the others which made him much more vulnerable. And as Theo's mentality always went, better him than anyone else. He shook the thought out of his head quickly and clenched his fists, preparing himself for the man's next attack his eyes darting back and forth from the knife to the man's face. The man took a menacing step towards Theo before he whipped his head to the side, Theodore following his gaze - his face promptly falling. Ollie. Why had he come back? He was going to get himself killed. "You brought your friend? This one's a weakling." Theodore instantly lunged at the man but he was faster and went straight for Ollie. His eyes widened as he watched the man bring the knife across Ollie's arm and shoulder, and not seconds later deep red began to bloom from the cut.

That was all it simply took. Theo simply took a mental step back as sheer instinct and rage took over. His pupil's dilated turning his eyes almost entirely black and the veins along his arms and neck popped becoming more prominent - to anyone who knew him he look almost feral, wild. Before the man even touched Ollie again Theo had grabbed the back of his shirt and flung him against the wall as if he were a pillow. The man yelped in surprise as he wasn't expecting the force, looking at Theodore in a completely different light. He scrambled up quickly, obviously not taking any chances with Theodore's newly acquired strength and lunged at him with the knife. Theo didn't even flinch as he grabbed the man's forearm, the knife practically poking into his bullet proof vest, hovering there. The man hesitated, a glimmer of fear in his face, "what the fuck are you-" he couldn't even finish his sentence before Theo twisted his arm back in one clean motion snapping his forearm in two. He screamed in pain dropping the knife instantly and stumbled back to cradle his arm this time his eyes searching for an exit. The man darted for the door that Ollie and Theodore had come in but Theo was quicker and had him on the ground in a matter of seconds. "Please- I-" He struggled to spurt out before Theodore began punching the man repeatedly in the face his own contorted in rage. It was a gruesome sight, and the beating didn't stop until the man was long dead.

Theo hovered over the body for a moment his breathing labored, his hands covered in blood. After a small pause he whipped his head in the direction of Oliver, his gaze sharpening quickly. He had Ollie up against the wall in a matter of seconds, his hand wrapped around his throat. Theodore scanned him up and down - almost as if to analyze the potential threat like a predator. But the longer his stared Ollie down, his pupils began to dilate oddly, rapidly increasing and decreasing size almost as if he were fighting himself. He suddenly thrust himself away from Ollie, with a large inhale and found the first thing he could - a chair - to stabilize himself as he practically dry heaved for a few moments feeling more nauseous than ever. He glanced up at Ollie immediately, his eyes still a little wild, noticing the slash along his shoulders and then the blood on his hands. Had I- Had I done that? Oh god, did I hurt him? His stomach dropped and then that's when he saw the body on the floor. And the memories a moment before he flipped the switch flooded his mind all in an instant.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: [NPC] Bartender Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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hexcode
#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie






The wink made Skye roll her eyes, but she'd be lying if she said the roundhouse kick didn't impress her a little. But she didn't have time to dwell on it, as somebody came at her brandishing a gun. They appeared to have finally realised the two teenagers with knives were more of a threat than the men with guns. So Skye let the illusion drop. That was enough to confuse and temporarily distract them, enough for Skye to slam the man in the face with his own gun. That wouldn't have been enough to stop him, and so Skye ducked and quickly made copies of herself. "What the hell?" The man yelled, right before Skye punched him in the face again before whirling around, driving an elbow into his stomach and snatching the gun from his hands. She slammed the gun against his temple and he crumpled. Tucking the gun into the back of her trousers, she scanned the room. Their numbers had dropped significantly, but there was one or two still standing. One of whom was attempting to sneak up on Sterling.

"Seven o'clock!" She yelled, already sprinting across the room to intercept. The copies of her followed, spreading out in a circle around them. The man halted in his tracks, the illusion clearly perplexing him. Skye halted, stepping into line with the rest of the illusion and standing stock still. The man raised his gun and scanned the circle of copies. He raised the gun and fired at one of them, which disappeared into a wisp of smoke. Skye wanted to glance at Sterling, but she didn't want to make herself stand out from the rest of the group. She had to trust him that he'd know it was a distraction. The man fired at another copy, and Skye had to stop herself from holding her breath. She was exposed like this, and it was putting her on edge.

_________________


Ollie knew to get the hell out of the way when he saw Theo's posture shifting. He threw himself away from them, hitting the floor and rolling straight to his feet. When Theo went feral, there was something... terrifying. Ollie knew it was Theo, knew it was his friend. But the fear was something primal, the realisation that you weren't quite the apex predator any more and you had become prey. He turned away, breaking open the first aid cabinet and searching for supplies. He'd turned around to face Theo when he was suddenly shoved against the wall, hands around his neck. This wasn't Theo, he reminded himself. This was the part of him his friend couldn't control. He knew not to react, knew not to make himself seem like a threat. But then he could see a change, a shift. Theo was fighting back. And then he shoved himself back and Ollie exhaled heavily, not even realising he'd been holding his breath.

Theo's reaction broke something in Ollie. He could see the panic in his face, the fear. It was then that Ollie remembered that his shoulder was still bleeding and he was covered in blood. Slowly, he bent down to retrieve the bandages he'd gathered and walked over to Theo, resting a hand on his shoulder for a brief moment. He pulled a chair so he was sitting opposite Theo, before pressing the bandages into his hands. "All this blood might cause a bit of panic among the hostages. You do my shoulder, I'll check your hands, okay?" He held Theo's gaze for a moment, showing that he wasn't scared. Then he pulled off his jacket, slowly slowly, grimacing at the pull on his shoulder. But the blood at least wouldn't show quite as much on the black t-shirt. He knew they needed to get moving, they needed to get the hostages out, but stressing Theo out might just make things worse.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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theodore walder & sterling matthews
#D85656 & #7B988B



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Everything in front of Sterling became a bit of a fluid blur as he went from one guy to the next, finally breaking a small line of sweat on his forehead. The sweat mingled with the cut on his brow which stung but the pain became simply a dull reminder of the task in front of him. Suddenly as he had just knocked out another he heard Skye's voice cry out, "Seven o'clock!". He ducked, and time began to move around him slowly as he turned to see - well - yes, probably thirteen or so Skye's running towards the man that was after him. He was still getting used to the illusions.

Before he knew it he was surrounded in a circle by the copies all alarmingly realistic and promising. However, the man was just as perplexed if not more so than Sterling which gave him the perfect distraction. The man clearly was more worried about the plethora of Skye's than himself and he began to creep up on the man as he began to take out the copies. Sterling made sure to make himself as quiet and as small as possible as the man whipped around, confused. It wasn't until the man had gotten down to three left that he was able to strike. He had his gun trained on the one directly in the middle, and although to practically anyone else they looked identical he just knew it was Skye. As the man placed his finger on the trigger Sterling jumped on him from behind causing the man to fire a round blindly into the ceiling. With one quick twist Sterling felt his neck snap and the two of them fell to the floor.
____

Theodore stared at the body blankly for a moment, then at his own hands his breaths coming out in nervous short pants. Switching back and forth was painful and nauseating which made it so easy to teeter the line of losing control due to his body being in fight-or-flight response. He wasn't pulled out of his shell-shocked state until he felt Ollie rest a hand on his shoulder. The touch caused him to jump slightly, as he wasn't expecting it but then he slowly relaxed. Even though it was simply a hand on his shoulder, it kept him grounded. Ollie sat across from him, eye-level, and calmly placed the bandages in his hand as if nothing truly horrible had just happened. The kind gesture was almost enough to make Theodore cry. No one ever looked at him the same after they had seen him in that state of mind but Oliver treated him as if nothing had happened. "All this blood might cause a bit of panic among the hostages. You do my shoulder, I'll check your hands, okay?" They locked gazes for a moment, and combined with his steady, calm words it was enough to bring Theo back to Earth. He felt like he could taker deeper breaths, rather than shallow, superficial ones. Theodore nodded in response as he was a bit lost for words and watched as Ollie removed his jacket, frowning slightly as he winced. Theo suddenly wished they had gotten a healer attached to their team, it was something he always felt like they should have but the Academy protected them dearly rarely ever letting them out into the field. Theodore grabbed the bandages from Ollie's hands and gently wrapped his shoulder and arm, making sure to secure it tightly to stop the bleeding. His hand lingered on the bandage as he glanced up at Ollie, "I-" he cleared his throat slightly before steadying his words, "thank you Oliver". While his sentence was short it was genuine. After Ollie cleaned up Theo's hands, both boys sitting in a sort of calming silence, he realized that they still had a job to do.

Theodore got up, feeling much better than he had a minute before. Granted he was still on edge, but being in Ollie's presence had almost brought him back down to Earth in a way. He glanced across the room, making sure to avoid eye contact with the body and grabbed Ollie's knife from the ground handing it back to him. "It might be best if you lead the way this time" He cracked a weak smile as he often used humor to escape from stress-related situations. Partly though, he meant it, it was safer if he didn't go at things head on in fear of losing control again.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie





The fake Skyes fell, one by one, the man becoming more and more irate as he wasted bullets, and Skye becoming more and more anxious as he narrowed them down and the gun came close and closer to her each time. And then it pointed at her. It took every ounce of restraint she had, every muscle in her body not to react. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made it harder to remain motionless, and made her hyper aware of the strain of maintaining the illusions. She stared down the barrel, not reacting, not giving anything away. And then Sterling appeared, tackling from behind. A gunshot made her jump and instinctively drop the illusions, freeing up precious energy for a more direct fight. The snap of bones breaking made her feel sick to her stomach, especially as they both went down.There was a moment, a horrible second, where she realised she didnā€™t know who was responsible for that snap and who the victim was. Based on their positioning, she guessed that the thug had been the victim, but there was still an awful, horrible moment where she wasnā€™t sure.

And then she saw Sterling move, just slightly, practically a breath. She exhaled heavily and went over to him, sinking down on the ground. ā€œJesus Christ, you cut it a little close there,ā€ she said. ā€œThink weā€™re in the clear? Or do you think they have another nasty surprise waiting somewhere?ā€ She asked, staring around the room.


_________


Ollie could see the slightest of shifts in Theodoreā€™s posture, relaxing just ever so slightly. It was enough to make Ollie feel a little more relaxed. Theo mightnā€™t have been a healer but he wrapped Ollieā€™s shoulder just right, nice and tight to make sure the bleeding would be minimized. When Theoā€™s hand lingered on the bandage, Ollie looked over to Theo, making sure he was okay. The thanks made Ollie smile a little. ā€œDonā€™t worry about it. Weā€™ve got each otherā€™s backs, right?ā€

The moment of silence helped to steady Ollie a little, just making him feel a little bit calmer. But then, it seemed almost exactly at the same time, they realised that they still had to go find the hostages. Theo went and got Ollieā€™s knife, handing it back to him. The comment made Ollie grin a little.

ā€œCome on then,ā€ he said, leading the way out of the break room and back down the stairs. Theodoreā€™s presence made Ollie feel a little more steady, knowing he had backup and knowing he had someone covering his back. His shoulder was throbbing but he didnā€™t feel quite so vulnerable now.

It seemed that luck was finally on their side, because the first door that Ollie opened revealed six hostages. ā€œDonā€™t worry, weā€™re the good guys,ā€ Ollie said, holding up his hands. ā€œWeā€™re going to get you out,ā€ he added, scanning them. Uninjured, clearly frightened, but their hands were cable-tied together. He went to the nearest and cut the cable tie with his knife.

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Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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Image Image

theodore walder & sterling matthews
#D85656 & #7B988B

Sterling donned a jackass grin as Skye kneeled next to him clearly annoyed with his theatrics. ā€œJesus Christ, you cut it a little close thereā€. He raised an eyebrow as he shoved the guy off him and got to his feet. "Honestly, you actually looked a little concerned there Maeda. Don't tell me I'm growing on you" He was mainly teasing but- he was right, she was definitely worried about his being. Some part of that made him happy, another confused.

ā€œThink weā€™re in the clear? Or do you think they have another nasty surprise waiting somewhere?ā€ He shared her glance around the room, wearily. "You should be used to these rodeos by now. There's always some grand finale chucked up their sleeves...". It was oddly quiet - definitely not the greatest sign in the word. He turned his head towards the closed doors of the bank, the police sirens were gone. Double odd. "Do you think we should try and find the other two? No doubt they've gotten into more trouble than we have".
____

ā€œDonā€™t worry about it. Weā€™ve got each otherā€™s backs, right?ā€ He didn't deserve Ollie's kindness, but he was thankful for it. His breath became steadier and his mind a lot more level with every passing second. Thankfully, Ollie headed his advice and stepped first through the door and down the stairs, Theodore following carefully behind. He couldn't help but look over his shoulder every few seconds half expecting another masked man to come barreling down the stairs after them.

Theo breathed a quiet sigh of relief as Ollie flung the first door open to a group of scared bank employees for the most part uninjured give or take a few cuts and bruises. Almost there. ā€œDonā€™t worry, weā€™re the good guys, weā€™re going to get you outā€ A small smile spread across his face at Ollie's approach. It was cliche - but so Ollie - and undoubtedly it worked. Theo kept quiet as he allowed Ollie to calm the hostages, it was something that seemed to come natural to him. Theo on the other hand - would most likely make things worse if he had tried to help. He watched as their shoulders seemed to relax and some of the fear disappeared from their eyes. He could relate to them, Ollie had that effect on people. In an attempt to help Ollie, he moved to the nearest hostage and effortlessly ripped the cable in half with a small jerk of his hands. The hostage looked up at him with wide, curious eyes but said nothing. Theodore moved to the next but a part of him was still trained to the door, he had practically an eye and an ear both on it while he freed the hostages. No telling what would walk through it.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Theodore Walder Character Portrait: Sterling Matthews Character Portrait: Skye Maeda Character Portrait: Ollie Martin
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skye 0 | 0 ollie




Sterling's comment about her being concerned just made Skye roll her eyes as dramatically as possible. She had been worried. But she couldn't handle a situation like this by herself, and she certainly wasn't strong enough to haul his ass out by herself. She'd need Teddy for that, and he had better things to do.

And then he changed the topic, and she moved on. She wasn't going to dwell on it, she promised herself. "They really have a flair for the dramatic," she replied dryly. These things never seemed to be straightforward. She just wanted one easy job. Just one. Something where it was in, out, home again. And so far, this seemed like it would be easy. Which meant, naturally enough, that things were about to go to hell.

"Absolutely. They probably need us to save their asses. Definitely in over their heads," She said, getting to her feet and brushing down her jeans a little. She held out a hand to help Sterling to his feet.
---------------
Ollie knew that Theo was holding back, but after what had just happened, he couldnā€™t blame him in the slightest after what heā€™d been through. He was afraid of scaring or hurting the hostages. Ollie couldnā€™t hurt them if he wanted, so he was okay with that. The hostages watched him, the fear starting to fade from their eyes. He smiled at one of them and got a smile back.

He noticed Theo moving towards one of the hostages and snap the cable tie in one go. The hostages watched him, but not with fear. They watched them with curiosity, trying to figure them out. Ollie glanced over his shoulder at the door, watching and waiting for someone to appear.

ā€œI... I think thatā€™s them all,ā€ Ollie said, doing a quick headcount of the hostages. ā€œAre we good to go?ā€œ He asked, looking over at Theo. But then he stopped. He held a finger to his lips as he crept to the door. If nothing else, his build made him perfect for stealth. He peered around the corner, but both ways were clear. The sense of unease didnā€™t leave him, though.

ā€œI think weā€™re good. But Theo, take point. Just in case.ā€