Darius Jori's Story

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxx
xxxAs the fighting came to a halt, and Darius gave the all clear, Elena sighed in a huff, running her hands down her face. That had been close. Too close for comfort. Why the hell had they picked her of all people? Did they see her as the most significant threat? A cold chill ran down her back as pieces fell into place. They’d offered Luciana a job instead of just attacking her outright. They weren’t looking to kill Elena. They were looking to employ her. And she highly doubted it was to get her to help them upgrade from Windows Vista. And if they had a job offer for her, this wasn’t going to end there.

She frowned as Luciana picked up the briefcase and dumped it on to the ground, causing the vials to shatter. Considering that the serum was exactly what Luciana had wanted from them working together, just recklessly destroying the whole container didn’t quite seem to fit. Something made her rewind the footage and pause it at the moment Luciana glances inside. The lighting wasn’t great, but Elena was pretty damn sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. One empty slot. Elena inhaled and exhaled slowly, sitting back a little and running her hands down her face. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions. But her trust in Luciana was fading rapidly, and she started to wonder if they’d made a catastrophic mistake in trusting her.

“He’s got a point,” Elena snapped into the mic. “If the pair of you could stop bickering and just get to the actual interrogation, that would be great. Oh for fu-“ she stopped herself as she realised that Luciana couldn’t hear her. “Shatter, phone out please,” she said, connecting to his phone and using it to project her voice, distorted ever so slightly to help protect her identity. “That’s better. I say they drag their sorry asses home and show their bosses what we’re made of. Bodies would also potentially trigger police attention, which I’m guessing you two don’t want,” she said.

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world

xxx
xxxLuciana destroying the bottles was all for show, and Ash knew it. He didn’t know what her exact plan was, but he knew that it wasn’t good. “Personally, i would have preferred to burn it, but whatever,” he said, shrugging a little. He rolled his eyes at Darius and Luciana resorting to bickering again, smirking a little at Elena’s response. She had a point about the bodies. He really didn’t feel like having to try and cover their tracks. But just letting them walk free didn’t feel right either.

“I have an idea.” He said, and took a few steps nearer to the one who was in charge. He sank into a crouch so he was staring at the man straight in the face. “Did you hear? You’re going to tell us exactly what will happen if you-“ The man reacted quickly, sweeping a leg out at Ash and knocking his feet from under him and interrupting Ash mid sentence. “Oh you piece of shit!” Ash swore, scrambling to pin the man to the ground with a knife against his throat. “I’m going to try again. Did you hear? You’re going to tell me what will happen if we let these men walk away, and you’re going to tell me in as few words as possible.” The man stared at Ash. Ash could almost feel the man’s resistance, fighting back against Ash’s ability. And Ash pushed back, pressing the knife in a little harder.

“They’ll be punished for their failure. Some of them are on their last chance and will probably be killed. Some of them will be sent out to attack you or other known mutants. Some will be reassigned to try and track down Minerva.” The man eventually replied, but Ash could feel him struggling the entire time. Ash held his position for a moment, before getting to his feet and walking away, careful to tread on the man’s hand as he did so. “So. What do we think now?” He asked, folding his arms.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Darius was ready to snap back to Luciana when the man spoke up, and was quickly kicked in the gut. ”That wasn’t needed Witch.” He said as he stepped forward, then heard Elena in his ear, letting out a sigh. He pulled out his phone put it on speaker for her so Luciana could hear her voice obviously distorted. She had a point about them not arguing and to get back to the reason they were here, information.

Darius was conflicted with what to do with the people they had defeated, and the options that were thrown around by everyone. He wanted the people to pay for they had done to him and his friends, but these guys were just grunts. Well except for the guy Luciana had kicked in the stomach and wanted to know Minerva’s name. Before he could speak up again Ash started the interrogation, well more of figuring out what would happen if they would be set free. When Ash was taken down he took a step forward ready to retaliate, but Ash was quickly holding a knife to the man’s throat. He spoke about how some would be killed, and others would just be going back to the field.

“I’d have to agree with Minerva, we just drag one or two with us, release the others as warning.” Darius said, looking at the group when Luciana spoke up about taking the human in charge, also calling Editor soft and like him, an insult to both of them. He wasn’t upset when Luciana left the two, was happy not to be around her. He turned back to Ash. “I don’t trust her destroying the serum, something is up with that Editor.” He spoke to him. “I’ll let you decide who we take and don’t, you seem to have more experience with this than me atleast.” He said circling around the group and ending up standing next to Ash.





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LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away




Luciana was thrown off hearing the distorted voice coming from Darius’ phone, quickly realizing it was Elena. She had almost forgotten she was nearby during all the conflict and arguing with Darius. ”Yeah, but their bodies won’t be found here for awhile, cops don’t come here often, they try to stick to the safer side of things. They think heroes will do everything for them.” She spoke up, and not entirely untrue, citizens had become reliant on heroes for just about everything. It annoyed most villains, and even some radical groups. Maybe that’s what this organization wanted, to give power back to the people and not the heroes.

Lucy’s attention was brought back the group when Ash had a knife to the man’s throat, demanding more information about these men. “Enough of this shit.” She spoke up quickly. “Just take the head honcho, he will know the most. My vote is to get rid of the liabilities, but I guess Shatter is rubbing off on Editor.” She said as she took a couple steps towards the stairs. “Y’all sort it out. I’m going back up to get this wiped. phone wiped.” Luciana said as she started up the stairs and outside.

As she got back up to open air she let out a deep breathe and ran her hands through her hair before getting directions to Elena’s car. Not saying the make or model since there was proof they were tracking her phone. She walked over and tugged on the passenger door, it being locked but Minerva quickly unlocking it and she slid into the seat closing the doo. A smile on her face as she placed her phone down for Elena. . “Glad we were able to pull that off, sorry, but not really sorry, about arguing with Darius. Not the right pl-“ paused for a second looking at Elena, and csheould tell something was wrong. “Elena? Did you really think I was going to give you up? Because I wasn’t going to; and I wouldn’t. I trust you, you can trust me.”

Luciana let out a sigh and leaned her head back thinking for a second. Then she knew she had to open up, she needed to keep atleast Elena’s trust. She reached into the front of her shirt and pulled out a vial. “I got it, the serum. I don’t know what to do with it. Ash talked about side effects so I can’t take it right now. But I still need your help, and I know y’all still need mine. So here.” She helped out the vial to Elena. “color=#571616]”As good faith and trust, you can take it. Either keep it for me, or destroy it. I trust you judgement.”[/color] She said looking back out the windshield. “The others should be up soon, we should get moving before back up comes.”

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxx
xxx
Elena knew she wasn't hiding her emotions terribly well, but she couldn't help but scowl a little as Luciana got into the front seat of the car beside her. She knocked off the projection through Darius' phone and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as Luciana made some stupid quip about fighting with Darius. Even if she couldn't stop her face from betraying her, she could at least keep her mouth shut until her head was clear about what she was going to say. She just held out her hand to take the vial as Luciana held it out.

"I could see everything. I saw your expression when they offered that to you, and if Darius hadn't reacted, I don't know that they couldn't have talked you into giving them my name. And instead of fessing up, like a grown-up, or lying, and saying that you were going to take the vial for chemical analysis so we could better try to understand the chemical, you destroyed evidence. You don't think that was strange? You don't think Ash and Darius are going to have their suspicions that something is up? We all need to work together, Luciana. And you need to grow the hell up and learn to work with Darius. Ash is being weird about the serum? Probably understandably so. So maybe you need to learn to talk to people, and learn that there's a bigger picture outside your base desires." Elena sighed heavily, wrapping her hands around the steering wheel. "But simply because I need to trust you so we don't all die an ugly death, you get one more chance. You pull something like that again? I smash this and I make sure that every last drop burns." She tucked the vial into her jacket pocket and exhaled slowly, trying to regain her composure.

"I think I can see Ash and Darius coming."

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world

xxx
xxxAsh was torn. It would be so, so easy to just murder them all here and now. But he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do from a strategic level. He resisted to the temptation to rise to the jibe about Shatter rubbing off on him, keeping his expression as level and unreadable as possible. It was only when Luciana left and Darius made the comment about not trusting her that he left himself react.

"She's a wildcard. She did that for a reason. I just don't know what the reason is, and I don't know how to feel about that." He mused. "But her ability is too damn valuable to pass up, so we're gonna have to trust her," he said with a shrug. An idea struck him, and he grinned. "Darius, I know how we're gonna deal with these guys over here. Grab the head honcho." He took a step closer to the group and crouched down so he was staring them all in the face.

"Did you hear? When me and my friend get out of here, you're all gonna fight each other. There's not going to be a single one of you left alive. And if anyone finds you, it'll just look like you were a bunch of thugs that had an argument and made some very, very stupid mistakes." He could feel the individual resistances, all fading one by one, and he smiled to himself.

"Come on, we need to get moving. I think we need to do the totally cliche thing and shove this guy in Elena's trunk, I think that's the only way we're gonna make sure he doesn't see their face or figure out who they are," He said. "Did you hear? You're not gonna fight or resist," he ordered. He received surprisingly little resistance to that order which surprised him, but which he also wasn't going to complain about.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Darius agreed with Ash with what he said. If it was his choice, he wouldn’t be working with Luciana at all, but was helpful when it mattered. He would just have to work on ignoring whatever she says. He grabbed the man they would be taking with and pulled his up to his feet, making glass shackles around the man’s hands, behind his back, and starting towards the exit. He wanted to stop Ash from making the remaining me fight each other till they were dead, but understand the circumstances.

“So what are you going to say to the Red Witch? About the serum. Minerva just said we would deal with it when it matters, but I’m not sure.” Darius asked Ash as he caught up to him and they started up the stairs towards the exit. He was curious about what Ash would do with the knowledge that Darius had told him about Luciana. When they got to the top of the exit and finally got outside, he noticed Luciana getting out of Elena’s car, and leaned over to Ash. “Wonder what that was about.” He whispered to Ash before Luciana came up to them.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away




Luciana slouched a little as Elena talked to her, pointing out her mistakes and what she would have done. “Elena I wouldn’t betra-“ Luciana was cut off as Elena spoke some more, basically telling her she was on her last straw. She just nodded as Elena continued, then referencing towards the subway entrance, and seeing Darius and Ash come up with the head honcho. “I’m sorry Elena. It’s just, Editor’s powers. One of the few powers I’ve encountered thatI have difficulty combatting. Being forced to do something that the rest of your body says no.” She said looking at the windshield for a second. She then opened the door and climbed out, but then turning back to Elena. “Thank you Elena. I mean that. Love the outfit by the way.” She closed the door and walked towards the other two.

As Lucy walked she ran her hands over her face and through her hair to regain her own composure, not wanting to show how she felt to the others. She felt almost hurt that Elena thought she would betray her, but now wasn’t the time that, had to get back to business. “Ah look who it is.” Luciana said as patted the man on the head. “Editor wants him in the trunk.” Darius said, moving his head towards the trunk. Luciana smirked “Oh I like that idea” She replied as she went back to the car and opened the trunk, making enough space for the man to fit.

“The Cellar isn’t far from here. Probably best to take him there and don’t think anyone would be using it.” Luciana said to Ash. The Cellar was code name for the underground hideout the villains used on this side of town, one that was also more known for interrogations and to keep hostages. “I can give Minerva directions if we wanna head there now. Shotgun.” She said walking back to the passenger door.

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxx
xxx

Elena just stayed silent as Luciana explained herself, and complimented her outfit. She would have been lying if she'd said that Ash's power didn't vaguely terrify her as well. But he hadn't used it on any of them yet. If anything, he'd shown himself to be more trustworthy than Luciana had. She could see Ash and Darius dragging the head honcho behind them as they approached the car. Elena stayed in the driver's seat, starting the engine up again and getting ready to move.

Part of her was still tempted to leave them all behind. Just floor the gas and leave all this behind her, go start somewhere new. It would have been so easy. But after she'd just told Luciana to get with the team and play ball with them, it would be especially hypocritical. For once, this was bigger than her. And she knew that if she ran, no matter where she went or how far she ran, they'd probably still catch up to her. There was no way she'd ever be able to run away from this. So fighting with them was the only choice she really had. It was the only choice any of them had.

She could hear a brief conversation outside the car, before they opened her trunk and appeared to shove the man into it. She rolled her eyes, but it was effective. As everyone piled onto the car, she had a quick look around her surroundings to make sure they hadn't been seen. "So. Where are we going?"

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world

xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx

Ash pulled a face as Darius asked what he was going to say to Luciana. "I don't know. Ask her why the hell she wants it, for a start." He knew that she wasn't a huge fan of his ability. He'd never used it on her, but then again, she'd seen him use it plenty of times. As long as she didn't get any wise ideas about where she wanted to stick the needle, he would have understood if she'd just said it outright. Or, well, he probably would have tried to talk her out of it. But she'd deliberately kept it from him. Darius had known about it, which meant she'd told Elena. She'd kept it from Ash, which he wasn't exactly happy about.

He raised an eyebrow as Luciana got out of Elena's car and smirked a little as Darius commented on it. "Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that conversation," he retorted. Luciana was at least happy with bundling the guy into the trunk, and they took a few minutes to move stuff around so they could fit him in. "Did you hear? You're gonna get into the trunk, and you're going to stay perfectly still until I tell you otherwise."

The man climbed in somewhat awkwardly, and Ash slammed down the lid unceremoniously behind him. He nodded as Luciana suggested The Cellar. "Doubt anybody's using it at the minute, everybody seems to be lying pretty low. Otherwise Bunker's pretty nearby, it's a little smaller but it'd do if somebody else was using The Cellar." He knew that the heroes would probably be expecting a literal cellar, but The Cellar was actually quite a nice spot. Sure, there was an interrogation room, but there was also lots of spaces for villains to just chill between jobs. And the coffee machine was almost as good as getting it from an actual coffee shop.

Luciana called shotgun, and Ash just glanced at Darius, raising his eyebrows, before climbing into the backseat. He let Luciana take charge on directions as the effort of using his abilities was starting to drain him.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know



Darius rolled his eyes as Luciana patted the man he was carrying and taunted him. Though he was glad she at least was on the same page with Ash about sticking him in the trunk, less arguing at this point was good. Darius let the man go after Ash used his powers to make the man put himself in the trunk and closed the lid, made trying to force him into the tight space easier. Ash’s powers as the Editor were pretty unique when it came to Scarriden, didn’t seem like it had a limit, though Darius hasn’t seen much of it first had. He was glad in the end that he was working with them and not against him.

As the two villains talked about where to go, Darius leaned against the car as they discussed it; two locations both not sounding all that great. A cellar or a bunker. Then again, he didn’t think that whatever interrogation places villains had would be all nice and fancy. He was already making his way towards the passenger seat when Luciana called shotgun, he sighed and was about to say something when he saw Ash look at him and climb into the back seat. Deciding he didn’t want to argue he decided to sit in the back with him. Plus he could keep a better eye on Luciana.

“Luciana and Ash were trying to figure out where to go, two places. Cellar or Bunker.” Darius said as he clipped his seatbelt as they began rolling. “Ash is right, Bunker would be better and less likely pre-occupied. If there are other villains at the Cellar, they wouldn’t be too happy about us working with heroes.” Luciana said outloud to the occupants of the car, before starting to give Elena directions.

At first he was confused by what Luciana meant about watching or getting involved, he was under the assumption they would just have Ash use his powers to get the information that wanted and be done with it. But then it clicked, Luciana was talking about doing things how they would in cop stations and in tv shows before heroes.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away


Luciana climbed into the passenger seat and thought back to Ash’s suggestion of the Bunker when Darius brought both of them up when they were in the car. Smaller location, not used for much besides trying to lay low for a short amount of time, but also used for ‘interrogations.’ Then deciding on the Bunker as it would be better for what they needed.

“So when we get there. Are you two heroes going to get involved, or just watch?” Luciana asked to Elena and Darius, not much expecting or really caring about their answer. She guided Elena through a couple more turns around the city before turning back to Ash. “You gonna do all the work and force him to tell us, or you gonna let some of us have some fun? Could give you more time to rest.” Lucy said eyeing him up and down. She knew there was some draw back to Ash’s power, but wasn’t sure how much that was. Plus she enjoyed interrogations and a power like Ash’s would get rid of the fun.

“Down that alley.” Lucy said pointing at an alley on the right and then getting out to move a dumpster out of the way of an old garage door and pulled it open, lights coming on. The entrance wasn’t much, tried to keep it looking as abandons and not suspicious as the can. Though the inside was a little bit more modern. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” She said as she waved Elena through and closed the door behind them. She was standing by the trunk when Elena had pulled in so she banged on the trunk and opened it up.

“Wakey wakey.” The Red Witch said pulling the man out of the trunk and letting him fall to the ground, then pushing him against the garage door as she closed the trunk. She grabbed his wrist behind his back and twisted it to make him comply. The Editor got out of the car, but before he could say anything, or use his powers She interrupted him. “Shh shh, let him struggle, I got him. But if you would kindly lead the way for a lady that would be nice.” She said to him with a wink before starting to walk, keeping the man in front of her.

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxx
xxx
Elena took Luciana's directions as she drove, having to resist the temptation to clench her fists as Luciana asked if they were going to participate. She glanced a look back at Darius' expression, who mostly just looked confused. "Think I'll leave the professionals to it," she said dryly. Frankly, she preferred to stay out of anything that remotely involved fighting. It wasn't that she was squeamish, rather that with the people she knew, they all seemed to have their own advantage. Elena? Elena could hold her own in a fist fight, but only long enough until she got an opportunity to run. And besides, just watching Luciana and Ash do their villain thing seemed boring.

"I suppose I'd better let you have some of the fun, otherwise you'll just be grouchy and annoying and complaining," The Editor said from the back seat. Elena found herself wondering what their relationship was like outside of all of this. There was times that they seemed to be friends, and times when they seemed to regard each other with a vague distrust. And sometimes, it was both at once. Elena wondered what it must be like to not be able to trust the people you worked with on a regular basis. She couldn't say that she liked all of the heroes. But she knew that they'd have her back, and they knew she had theirs. She glanced at Luciana as the villain directed her down a side alley and got out to pull open a battered looking door.

She raised an eyebrow as she got out of the car to follow Ash and Luciana further into whatever the hell this place was. Sure to Luciana's claim, it was actually pretty nice, not what one would expect from a villainous lair of sorts. "Pretty damn nice," she called as she followed the two villains.

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world

If Ash was being honest, he would have rather just had the conversation with the man himself and got it over and done with. But Luciana wouldn't exactly be happy about that, so he agreed to hand over the reins. None of the men had put up that huge of a fight, so it wasn't like he'd been that massively drained, but a break would be appreciated. Plus, he wanted to see more of how Luciana and the man interacted, see if he couldn't figure out a little more about their motivations.

As Luciana hauled him out of the car, Ash got out, ready to do his thing. But Luciana insisted on controlling him, and Ash just rolled his eyes and raised his hands. "Sure thing," he said as Luciana said she needed someone to lead the way. He held open the door behind him for her to drag the man in, and started his way down the winding corridor. It was intentionally designed to be next to impossible to find your way out of without practice and/or a map, and thus impossible to escape. "Keep up, can't have anyone getting lost," he called. Eventually, he opened a door into a bare, harshly lit room. "Interrogation room. If you guys really don't want to watch, there's like a waiting room there. Coffee is excellent, couches are comfortable, and you don't have to worry about getting lost anywhere along the way." He didn't wait for Elena or Darius to go in or to confirm they were joining them, before following Luciana into the room.

"Alright, witchy dearest, I'll let you take the lead. Let me know if you need assistance at any stage. But I'll chime in with any questions I might have." He instinctively took to one of the corners, pressing his back into the corner. Best vantage point, best protection angle, and he wouldn't be in Luciana's way.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Darius followed towards the back of the group, analyzing the place they had called the bunker. He was surprised with how nice it was compared to what he thought the villains hideout would seem like, especially compared the lack listed apartment safehouse Editor has led them two after the bar attack. He listened as Editor gave them the rough description of the two rooms, and offering if they wanted to watch it just wait in the waiting room. “I’ll just relax in the waiting room, probably get some decaf coffee, thirsty but don’t want to be up all night.” Darius said walking into the waiting room and holding the door open for Elena to follow him in.

Darius didn’t exactly feel like watching the two villains interrogate someone, assuming it wasn’t going to be a good sight. Especially with the Red Witch wanting to lead instead of just having Ash use his powers to force the man to answer questions, plus the faster they got information the sooner they can go onto whatever step was next. Letting the Red Witch have a go was just a waste of time, even if she did get the information they wanted. “I feel like we would be better off if Ash just used his powers, much quicker.” Darius said as walked to the counter and started making a pot of coffee, spending some extra time trying to find the decaf grounds.

While leaning against the counter Darius heard a light yell, he got startled for a second but realized it didn’t sound like either Ash or Elena and went back to waiting for his coffee. He let out a sigh, assuming it was Luciana probably torturing the man for information. “I’m about to go in there and stop her so Ash can just use his powers. We are wasting time.” The coffee maker’s light came on to show it was done brewing and Darius quickly poured himself a cup. When he turned around to Elena her phone went off. “Someone calling you, or is someone trying to get into your apartment?” Darius asked drinking some of his coffee






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LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away



“Y’all’s lost. Though surprised you don’t want to know why they want you, Minerva.” Luciana said over her shoulder before letting go and shoving the man into the room, making stumble into the table. She nodded as Ash offered his assistance and stepped aside. “You won’t get away with this, my people wi-” The man was interrupted with a slap across the face from Luciana, before she walked around behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Pretty sure we will actually. Now lets get started. I’m sure you know how this is going to go, but I’ll give you some options. Option A: I ask you questions about your people and the organization you work for, you answer them, you leave. Easy, but boring.” The Red Witch was obviously lying about letting him go, but it didn’t really matter to her, she circled around back to the front of him before continuing. “Or Option B: My personal favorite; Where I force you to answer my questions.” She said leaning on the table with a smirk.

The man kept a mean look on his face after the slap. “Now, who are you and the people we work for, and why did you want me to help get you Minerva?” Luciana said taking a step back and crossing her arms. “We are the solution to the mutant epidemic, the cure to bring humanity back.” He said leaning forward. “Okay, cool speech. I want a name, multiple names.” She retorted rolling her eyes, then the man leaned back in the chair before continuing. “Our names don’t matter, the people of Scarriden and the world need to take back what is theirs, get rid of the reliance on mutants like you. And to think they wanted to work with you Luciana Morrison…” Lucy just stepped forward. “Come on, give me something to work with.” She said, but the man spit in her face. Luciana quickly punched the man in the face and pushed his head to the table. “I tried being nice, you asked for this.” She said before wiping her face. She grabbed a knife from her pocket and stabbed the man in the shoulder. He tossed gave out a small yell in pain.

Luciana tossed the knife aside and stepped back, looking at Ash. “Hey, I gave him the choice.” She said before turning her attention back. “Say something else I don’t like, and I’ll stab you again, but with a knife made out of your own blood.” The man let out a groan holding his shoulder. “Fine. I’ll tell you what you want.” The man said sitting up in the chair and letting out a deep breathe.

”Some of our people thought it might benefit us to get some of you mutants to work with us, have people inside the various groups you have, between heroes and villains. We started tracking Editor but from the profile we have on him, assumed he wouldn’t be easy to sway to our side.” The man groaned as continued to bleed. Luciana sighed as she raised her hand slowed down his bleeding. “But he lead us to you, someone with less morals and we’ve known of you since your time as the Vampress. We got into your phone when you exchanged numbers with one of our agents at a club. And tracked you that way.” Luciana sighed. A couple weeks ago she met this cute gal, barely twenty-one, at a club and they seemed to hit it off, but she just ghosted Lucy, now it made sense. “And we thought we could bring you on, work with a few other targets we had in mind. But we were shocked when we connected you with the one called Minerva. Her connection to technology is a threat to us, but also could be used properly by our engineers and hackers.” Luciana turned back to Ash and shrugged her shoulders, a nice bit of information, though not all of it was what she wanted to hear, it would help. “Well I’m done, got some sweet stuff, and had some fun.”

The man grinned behind Luciana and let out a chuckle that brought Her attention back. “We were worried you were working together, and while it seems partly true, I can tell you are all very dysfunctional. Especially with Editor and Shatter plotting behind your back Red Witch. When you left the subway, you should’ve heard what they had to say.” He said with a smirk. Lucy glanced back at Ash, giving a stare before the man spoke again, about to ask what he was talking about, but what the man said next caught her off guard. “Oh and Editor. I heard you don’t like the serum, and are skeptical of your ally. Well when she shoved me aside, I bet you didn’t notice she took the vial from me and pocketed it.”The man smirked, knowing he was laying the seeds of distrust.

Luciana lowers her head down, looking at the ground. “Fuck…” she mumbled under her breath, she had hoped the man wouldn’t have noticed or assumed it was dropped. She knew, this wasn’t going to sit well with Ash. “Don’t listen to him, he’s trying to play us.” Lucy said to Ash to try to squash anything before it happened. She slid her hand hand into her back pocket for her phone, quickly unlocking it with her fingerprint. She had the layout of her phone memorized so she could access it without having eye contact. She clicked the recently added interface that Elena had installed, signalling she might need some help.

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid
Unlike Darius, Elena went straight for the caffeinated stuff. Sleep was overrated, and besides, her gut was telling her that things weren’t over just yet. She sighed as Darius said that he wished Ash had just used his ability. “Yeah. But I think if we want to keep Luciana on our side, we need to give her a little bit of slack. Trust her a little.” She took a mouthful out of her coffee, raising an eyebrow at the yell. She couldn’t say it sounded familiar, so she wasn’t overly concerned. Darius, however, seemed a little jumpy. He wanted to go in and interrupt them. “Wait, Darius, don’t-“ the sound of her own phone buzzing made her frown as she dug it out of her pocket. It wasn’t her apartment, it was the SOS she’d built into Luciana’s phone.

“Shit,” was all she said, slamming her coffee down on the counter and running out of the room and straight into the interrogation room. She burst in, expecting a worse scene than she found. But she could practically feel the anger rolling off of Ash- something unusual for someone usually so put together. He shook his head at Elena bursting in to the room. “Everything okay in here?” She asked, slowly, afraid of sparking the fire that seemed to be seconds away from exploding. “Absolutely peachy.” Ash said, but his tone and posture suggested otherwise. “Here. Make sure Minerva gets this,” he said, handing over a phone to Elena. Elena looked between the man at the desk, Ash, and Luciana. With the tension in the room, she couldn’t be sure who was the biggest threat. “You two. Take a break. Leave him to stew before one of you kills the other,” she ordered. Ash just rolled his eyes, but complied.

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world
Dear god, Luciana sure could be dramatic. Mostly, Ash just stood in the corner, examining his nails, as he let Luciana take charge as she’d requested. He merely glanced up, an eyebrow raised, as the man yelled out in pain. Luciana explained herself, but Ash merely shrugged. “Only his shoulder. Just avoid the more important organs, okay?” He remarked, going back to examining his nails. But then the man started giving the good stuff, and Ash started listening. He rolled his eyes as the man told Luciana how they’d gotten her details. Ash hadn’t honestly given a genuine number to anyone in... he didn’t want to think how long. He’d spend the night with them and vanish in the morning, having given a false number if he’d given a number at all. He didn’t want anything more than that. And certainly not after hearing of Luciana’s foolish mistake.

He just raised an eyebrow as she said that she was done. He was pretty sure there was more valuable information they could get out of him, learn the inner workings of their business. But he could deal with that. Stuff like that was probably boring to Luciana. He took a step forward- and froze as the man started speaking again. His blood ran cold as he spoke about Darius’ and his conversation in the subway. But then it ran red hot as the man mentioned Luciana had taken a vial of the serum. Luciana tried to repair the situation, but all Ash felt was fury. “You what?” He asked, his voice low and calm, but clear. A distraction arrived in the form of Elena, and Ash just glared at Luciana. He went over to the man and dug the phone out of his pockets, before handing it to Elena, careful to imply that Minerva wasn’t there. If the man realised that Minerva was in the building, in the room, god only knows what he would have done. When she ordered them to leave, he just rolled his eyes and stormed into the break room, waiting for Elena and Luciana to follow.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Darius waited for an answer as he watched Elena look at her phone. He was thrown off when she mumbled under her breath and stormed out of the room and into the interrogation room. Darius put down his cup and quickly followed her, not exactly knowing what to expect. Elena had asked if everything was okay and Ash hadn’t said otherwise, but there was some sort of tension coming from the room, between Ash and Luciana. Something that Darius could feel wasn’t good.

Darius listened as Elena tried to defuse the situation, pulling Ash and Luciana out of the room to maybe get them to cool down. He stepped out of the way as Ash came out. “What happened?” Darius had asked before Luciana had bumped into him and shoved him aside before following Ash into the break room. He turned back to Elena as she closed the door. “Uh, mind telling me what's going on?” He asked before going into the break room.

There was still tension between everyone. Something had obviously been done or said in the room, Elena had some sort of cue of what was happening and Darius just had no idea but was worried. He stepped forward to repeat himself, trying to figure out what was currently going on. “What happened in there? We heard, what I’m assuming from what I saw, the man scream, Elena storm out, and then you two seem to be at each other's throats.” He said looking back and forth between Ash and Luciana before the female finally spoke up.

Darius was frozen. According to what Luciana said, the man was saying Luciana had the serum. Thoughts went through Darius’ mind on how and when. He watched in the subway Luciana destroy vials, maybe it was a cover for actually somehow keeping on. He didn’t trust what the man had said he definitely did not trust Luciana, but it seemed like Ash might of thought it was true. “Why don’t you just use your powers to find out if she is lying to us.” Darius quickly suggested towards Ash. He was startled by the hostility that came from Luciana, demanding him to be quiet. He took a step back before she grabbed a knife and turned to Ash. Darius wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but wanted to be ready. He slowly grabbed a glass and began shaping it in his hands, anticipating something bad.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away



Luciana could feel the heat and anger start building in Ash, asking a question that didn’t really need an answer. Thankfully before anything else could happen Elena had barged in the room, asking if everything was okay, the alarm did get to her. Elena had asked if everything was okay, before she could say anything Ash had responded and quickly walked over to the man to grab his phone, Lucy didn’t take her eyes off of him, staying alert for whatever he may or may not do. Ash only just handed it to Elena saying for Minerva to deal with it and Elena had told them to walk out, before they could start anything. “Whatever.” Lucy said following Ash out of the room, bumping her shoulder into Darius and not caring or saying anything, assuming Elena would close and lock the door the man they had started to interrogate was kept.

Ignoring Ash for now, Luciana went to the kitchen counter looking for something to drink but couldn’t find much besides soda and coffee the heroes had brewed up. Lucy turned around leaned against the counter and looked towards Elena. “The man let out some information. Information that not only revealed Ash and Darius plotting on their own, but as well as claiming I have the serum, which I don’t.” Luciana said, turning her gaze to Ash when she spoke about the serum. What she said wasn’t a lie, she didn’t have it, she had given it to Elena. “Both things that I’m assuming he said to just get us to turn on each other.” She finished raising her arms up. It was obvious that is exactly what the man wanted, and exactly what was happening.

After hearing what Darius had suggested, Lucy got extremely heated, standing up straight and facing Darius. “Shut your fucking mouth.” She said clenching her fists and turning back to the Editor, swiping her hand across the counter and grabbing a steak knife. “Don’t you fucking dare Editor.” Red Witch said through her teeth. She knew she wouldn’t be able to resist the Editor’s powers if he did try to use them on her, though she might be able to move her way through and around his powers since she knew how they worked. Out of her peripheral she saw Shatter not exactly standing down, feeling threatened probably. Right now Lucy felt like a cornered animal, only one way to go and one thing to do. Forward and bite.

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid
Elena decided against interjecting in the conversation for a few moments. She silently agreed with Luciana that they were more than likely just trying to divide them. She rolled her eyes and grimaced as Luciana said she didn't have the serum. It was true. Technically. But it also didn't sit right with Elena.

But she didn't have time to dwell on it, because things took a dive south quickly. It started with Darius suggesting Ash used his powers, and ended with Luciana pulling a knife. She could see Darius was shaping something with glass, and Ash had also drawn a knife. Instinctively, she stepped between them all, putting herself between Luciana and Ash.

"Enough. All of you. I swear to god, I've found a bunch of testosterone fueled alpha males easier to babysit than you lot," she snapped. "You're giving them what they want. The way you're all behaving, we don't need to worry about them because you lot will end up killing each other before they get a chance. You all need to grow up and act like freaking grown-ups. Or else I'm out of here. So we're going to sit the fuck down and have an actual grown up conversation, you all hear?" She ordered. "Or at least we're going to put away the freaking knives." She said with a pointed look at Ash and Luciana. Ash stared her down for a second, before sliding the knife back into his boot. "Thank you."

"Right. Everybody is going to lay things down on the floor. Luciana doesn't have the serum." She took the serum out of her pocket and held it out. "I do. She gave it to me as an act of trust, and I'm telling you all I have it as one. I have no interest in using this, and you all know that. Now. Ash. Darius. Tell us what you were talking about."

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world
Ash was braced for a fight the minute they walked into that room, and he very nearly got one. He would have been lying if he said using his ability hadn’t crossed his mind even before Darius said it, and he was still considering it right up until Luciana pulled the knife. His own was in his hand before he even realised what he was doing.

And then Elena stepped in. Elena, who had no physical powers and who was shorter than all of them. And she was fearless. Ash stopped in his tracks, mostly because he was taken aback by her. She glared at him until he put the knife away, and so he did. He had to grit his teeth as she revealed that Luciana had given her the serum. But Elena didn’t seem all that interested in using it, at least. But then she asked him what he and Darius had been talking about, and he shot a glance at Darius.

“Her behavior was strange. First, she appeared to genuinely consider turning Elena in before Darius intervened, and then we thought her smashing the vials when we both knew the serum was what she was interested in was strange. We didn’t trust her. And while I can’t speak for Darius here…” he stared at Luciana for a second or two. “I still don’t. Listen. I’m not exactly an upstanding member of moral society. But when it comes to the lives of me and my allies, I understand that the truth is what keeps us all alive. You’re putting us all at risk by lying to all of us, over and over.”

He looked back at Elena. It felt strange, trusting two heroes over a fellow villain. But, frankly, if it had been any other villain, he might have been able to trust them more. But it was something about Luciana that just left him unsettled. She didn’t trust him, and she made it impossible to trust her.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Darius wasn’t sure who was going to act first, but he could feel the tension building up more, watching as Luciana flipped the knife in her hand. Not in a position to lunge and try to cut someone, but herself so she could use her powers. Elena stepped between Ash and Luciana to try to stop them, Darius went to step forward to try to pull her back but both the villains seemed to loosen up a bit. She had asked them to act like adults and put their knives away. He glanced between them and was surprised Ash put his weapon away first, he stared at Luciana. He realized she wasn’t going to back down so he set down the glass cup that had been shaped into a shard.

He took a step back and relaxed once Luciana set her knife down. He was surprised to see that Elena had the serum, that Luciana had actually gotten it from the man during their altercation. “See!” Darius said as he stepped forward to Ash but backed off when Luciana gave him a death stare. When Elena had asked about what him and Ash talked about, they exchanged a look before Ash started speaking.

After Ash had finished speaking, everything he had said he had agreed with, Darius stepped forward. “I warned you Elena, we’re just worried about how much we can trust someone who isn’t open with us. We all know what we want out of this, she’s the odd one out.” He said to her, feeling the female villain’s gaze on him. He took a step back as Luciana stood up and let out a deep breath. She then tried to explain her own actions, but still holding information back. He was going to ask again why she wanted the serum but she had already left to go to the bathroom.

Darius watched as Elena also left before turning back to Ash. “Well… I guess that could have gone better. At Least Elena has the serum and not her.” He commented as he walked towards the counter and poured some more coffee.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away



Seeing Ash have his own knife in his hand, Lucy flipped the knife in her hand ready to cut her skin to start using her powers if anyone made a move, whether that would be Ash or Darius with his glass powers. Though what she didn’t expect was Elena stepping between her and Ash again, telling them to calm down and have a conversation. She glanced between Darius and Ash not lowering her guard until the other two did, and then lowering the knife onto the counter. “Fine.” Lucy said walking and grabbing a chair and throwing her feet onto the table.

As Elena spoke she didn’t take her eyes off of Ash, giving a smirk when Elena had backed up her comment about not having it, but it slowly retreated as Elena revealed the serum and telling them she had given it to her, shooting a look at Darius explaining that he knew. Luciana took her feet off the table and leaned forward as Ash and Darius were told to reveal what they were talking about, this is what Lucy was interested in.

Lucy just rolled her eyes when Ash spoke about her appearing to be genuinely interested in the offer. That was the point, to show she was interested for them to lower their guard, to get closer and learn more. But she was a little surprised when Ash said he knew she wanted the serum. She turned her head with a quizzical look. She knew Elena wouldn’t have told him, so her gaze slowly went to Darius as he would be the only other one to tell Ash. Her eyes squinted, she knew heroes couldn’t keep their mouth shut, their feeling of good and having a conscious they had to live with made them weak.


As Ash and Darius finished defending their actions and about how she wasn’t trustworthy, Lucy stood up and let out a breath starting to speak in a gentle tone. “I wouldn't have given up Elena to those people, I trust her, I…” Luciana trailed off, staring softly at Elena. Because I felt a connection with her, for some reason I care about her, and I don’t know why. But I won’t let anything happen to her. She thought to herself thinking back to the other night and remembering the soft touch of her fingers across her scars, how she laughed, and how for once it felt like someone didn’t hate her for her powers, but seemed to care about her. Elena wanted to say what she thought, but knew she couldn’t, and wasn’t sure how the others would feel, especially Elena. She turned back to Ash. “I’m not sorry for not telling you about me wanting the serum, I had a good reason. Your powers aren’t exactly something I feel comfortable with, I’ve seen what they can do. I will let you know that I don’t plan to use it on any of you, Elena can back me up.” Luciana finished and walking to the door. “Just go finish with the man in the room, whatever other information we might need. But leave him alive. I’ll be freshening up in the bathroom.” She said before walking out and down the hall.

After entering the bathroom Lucy just stood in front of the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. “God. You could’ve taken them. Instead you’re just being pathetic. And now he knows about how you feel about his powers. And now Ele-” Luciana quickly cut herself from speaking to herself off when hearing the door and looked back and saw Elena. She cleared her throat before turning on the water and running her hands through it and splashing some water on her face. “Hey…”

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxx
xxx
xxx
xxxElena didn’t like to admit it, but she could see where Ash and Darius were coming from. She knew Luciana didn’t mean any of them any harm. She was just looking out for number one, in exactly the same way Elena always did. But the difference was that Elena understood that looking after number one also meant trusting the people around you to help, and Luciana was holding them all at arm’s length. Darius was always going to distrust Luciana, but Elena was surprised at Ash’s attitude. It made her question what type of villain he was, what his motivations were.

Darius’ comment made Elena grimace, before Luciana attempted to explain herself and stormed out. She was clearly upset, and clearly trying to hide it. Elena shot a look at Darius, before following the villain out. Thankfully the bathroom wasn’t far, because otherwise Elena felt that she would have gotten lost in the twists and turns. But she followed Luciana in.

“Hey.” She stayed silent for a minute as Luciana splashed her face with water. “Two grown-up talks in one day. That’s a lot,” she remarked, leaning against the wall and smirking a little, trying to lighten the mood a little. “Listen. Everyone’s emotions are a bit high. The truth always comes out in these circumstances, and it never comes out in a nice way. You and Ash were friends. Or friendly, I don’t know the ins and outs. But you still are. You’re both just angry and frustrated, and that’s driving a wedge between you. Give it time,” she said. She didn’t know what it was about Luciana that made her give a damn for once. Maybe it was because Elena could already see how similar they were, and she’d never met anyone else like that. Someone who got what it was like.

“You two are going to have to have another grown up discussion though, hate to break it to you,” she said with a grimace as she straightened up. “Don’t worry about Shatter. He trusts me, and weirdly enough, already seems to trust Ash. If we both trust you, he’ll come around. He’s like a puppy. Will follow whatever his people do.”

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world
Ash struggled not to react as Luciana revealed that she didn’t trust him because of his ability. Like she hadn’t specifically gotten him to use it on jobs when it suited her. Like her power didn’t creep him the fuck out. Luciana ran out, followed by Darius. Ash, suddenly exhausted, flopped on to one of the couches as Darius went to pour more coffee.

“Mm. Although... I don’t know if Luciana would use it on us. Not you, anyway. She can handle you. I think if she was going to turn it on any of us, she’d turn it on me. And I feel like it would only be if I tried to use my ability on her which...” He wouldn’t do. Not usually, anyway. Not unless she gave him reason. And therein lay the problem. They’d constantly be waiting for the other to turn and then they’d destroy each other.

“What’s it like, working with heroes? Because the vast, vast majority of villain relations seem to be like this. Vague distrust and just... waiting for the other to betray you. No honor among thieves and all that. And sometimes, all you want is someone who you know has your back and would never think about plunging a knife in to it. Instead, we all constantly have our backs pressed to the nearest wall.” He mused. There was something about Darius that highlighted all of the issues his working relationships used to have. Darius trusted Ash so easily. He had complete faith in Elena. Ash had never had that much trust in any one. Not even himself. But Darius put his life in their hands without even looking back. There was something... vaguely nice about that. Possibly foolish, but it was nice to see that not everyone wanted to kill everyone all of the time.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Darius blew to cool off his coffee and took a sip as Ash talked about Luciana using the serum. He gave a slight pout face when he said the Red Witch could handle him, but he did understand. His powers were easier to combat than Ash’s, much like in the tunnel earlier when she was able to block some of his glass shards. He felt bad that Ash thought he was the only one Luciana would use the serum on. Darius wasn’t sure if Luciana would use it on any of them, he didn’t know her well enough, he only knew of what the Red Witch had in the past in Scarriden and the small interactions they have had since they all started working together.

As Ash started asking about how it was working with heroes, Darius raised an eyebrow and set down his coffee, He listened as she described what it was like working with other villains. “Well, it definitely isn’t like this. We’ve had some disagreements with some heroes about what to do when we capture villains. There are still some, well ‘old fashioned’ heroes that don’t believe in just locking up villains…” Darius trailed off, not wanting to say what the other option that they wanted was. “But we do trust each other. We know we can rely on one another to back us up. It seems like villains almost always look for ways to betray each other, or a way to keep that from happening. No offense.”

Darius walked over to the couch and leaned against the arm of it next to Ash. “And I’m sorry you’re not able to trust people. I think you can tell I’m pretty open with who I trust, well except for you know how.” Referencing Luciana, he leaned closer to Ash staring at him. “But you must know, I won’t plunge a knife in your back Ash, I do trust you. I just feel like I can, But this who-” Darius was interrupted when the door opened and he saw Luciana, she seemed to him, and spoke directly to Ash, calling him by his villain alias before closing the door. “Well, I guess time for you to do your thing. I’ll stay in here.” He said with a smile and sat down on the couch flashing a smile at Ash.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away


As Elena started talking, Luciana could quickly tell she hadn’t heard much of what she had said. While she listened to Elena, Lucy turned back to the mirror and stared at herself, taking in everything she had said, thinking about how to reply, and thinking back to when she considered some villains more than just someone she could call for their specialties. “Ash and I use to be close, call each other in for missions. Sort of how it works. Though more recently he’s been slipping away from Ash and more into his alias of Editor. The things the Editor makes his enemies do, makes the Red Witch seem good…”


Luciana walked over to Elena as she finished talking, ending up face to face with her. [color=#571616][b]“Just, sucks not being able to trust anyone, been betrayed over and over. But you Elena,” she paused for a second then looking up to Elena’s green eyes. Luciana’s eyes were a little red, and watery, though with how she just washed her face most would assume it was from just that. She gently reached and grabbed Elena’s hand. “We haven’t known each other for long, but I don’t have many people I would consider a friends, thank you.” Luciana said with a light smile coming across her face, a type of smile that wasn’t worn by the Red Witch. There was a long quiet moment between the two, many more thoughts going through Lucy’s mind, almost wanting to do more than just be holding her hand, maybe a hug. Maybe more. Though she didn’t know how Elena felt exactly so she quickly brought herself out of her thoughts and let go of her hands and stepped back. “I guess we should rejoin them. And I’ll talk to Ash later. Promise.” She said before bending over to bring her hair forward and stood back up rubbing her hands through it and rubbing her face.The smile gone when the hair was no longer in her face.

Luciana gave a nod to Minerva before walking out of the bathroom and down the hall. She tugged at the door to the interrogation room and felt it was still locked. Ash wasn’t in there and must of been in the break room. She poked her head in to see the two males. “Editor, mind talking to our guest, so we can get out of here? I’m going to stay in the hall while you do your thing.” She said before closing the door and leaning against the wall in the hallway.

When Ash came out, Lucy put out her arm to stop Ash. “Leave him alive for me, please? We can talk after, just you and me, but I want to relieve some steam.” She said before unlocking the door for him, looking back to Elena. She had asked that Lucy would talk to Ash, so Lucy would.

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxx
xxxElena raised an eyebrow as Luciana admitted that Ash had been slipping more and more into his alias. That was... concerning. But so far, Ash appeared to be behaving himself, and so they had to trust him. But Elena made a mental note to do a little more digging in to The Editor when she had the time. She was a little surprised when Luciana walked over to her so they were standing face to face, and even moreso when she took Elena’s hand. It wasn’t in a bad way, though. She could see how Luciana’s eyes were a little bit red, but somehow Elena knew that it wasn’t just due to getting water in her eyes. That troubled her, to think of Luciana crying seconds before Elena walked in, but she could t quite identify why.

She smiled a little as Luciana admitted that they were friends. She knew it was a strange relationship, she had never expected to become friends with a villain this fast. But despite Luciana’s flaws, she found herself considering her a friend. That smile on Luciana’s face was the first real smile that she saw, not a grin, not a smirk, just a smile. There was a thought that flitted across Elena’s mind, just for a second, where she found herself wanting to be ever closer to Luciana.

And then Luciana stepped back and Elena snapped out of it. She nodded as Luciana promised to talk to Ash. She trusted her, and trusted that she would. The small, genuine smile disappeared, and the Red Witch was back. They headed back out to the break room, where Ash was still sprawled across one of the couches, apparently not having gone in yet. Luciana asked Ash to go in, and Elena went in to sit down across from Darius as Ash left the room. She just sighed as the door closed behind the villains, retrieving her coffee and swinging her legs over the arm of the chair. She wondered at that moment between her and Luciana, wondering if it was real of just her tired mind inventing things. But she couldn’t go there. That would just make things messy, messier than she could bear to think.

---

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world

xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxxDarius didn’t need to say what the heroes supported doing to the villains. Ash knew. Ash had almost definitely encountered some of those heroes, and he’d almost been caught by one or two of them. You were lucky if it was a quick death. Some of them just wanted it to be as physical and as brutal as possible. A warning. But the idea of complete, unwavering trust, it was so alien to Ash. He couldn’t quite imagine it.

And of course Darius trusted Ash. Of course he did. For now. If there was one thing that Ash had learned about Darius, it was that he seemed to trust wholeheartedly. He wondered how long that would last, how long it would be until Darius saw what Ash was becoming, saw the Editor for who he was, and began to distrust Ash in the same way that he distrusted Luciana.

Luciana stepped in, asking him to go talk to their hostage. He sighed and nodded, getting to his feet. His original plan had to be that the two of them would go back in and make it look like they were still a team, but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen. This would be the quickest and most painless way of dealing with it.

He just nodded as Luciana asked him to leave the man alive. Usually, once Ash was done with a subject and had gleaned as much information out of them as possible, they’d get a swift death. Or sometimes, not so swift. But clearly Luciana had the latter in mind, and Ash wasn’t going to judge that. He stepped inside, staring at the man.

Things... got a little out of hand. The Editor took control for a while. Ash left him alive, but the man certainly wasn’t untouched. He’d just been hurt in the least essential places when he tried to fight back against Ash. He’d headbutted Ash in his already broken nose and Ash could feel the blood streaming down his face again and the beginnings of a black eye. But the man looked considerably worse. And he’d gotten all of the information he needed. Names, locations, dates, times, everything they needed to know. And Ash had learned a while ago that in this scenario, it was worth recording the conversation as he’d never be able to remember it all. Emailing the recording to himself and uploading it on to his cloud storage, he stepped out of the room. “All yours. Careful. He’s a feisty one.” He said to Luciana as he stepped outside. Instead of going back to the break room, he went to the bathroom to try and wash the blood off his face.

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


A slight frown came over Darius as Ash walked out but then shook himself back to reality as Elena sat across from him, but he could tell something was on her mind. “Everything okay Elena? Something seems to be on your mind.” Darius asked. The two of them haven't really spent time together since meeting up with the villains, usually one of them paired up with one or villains. He didn’t mind it tho, he enjoyed spending time with Ash, he was just worried about Elena and how much time she’s been spending with Luciana who has shown to be not as trustworthy as the others have been.

There were a couple yells and even some screams coming from the interrogation room that would bleed into the break room. Darius wasn’t sure if it was caused by Ash or Luciana it even both of them. He tried to keep his attention on Elena as they tried to relax for a minute in between all the chaos that has been happening so far. The two heroes were quickly interrupted when the Red Witch came in asking about Ash. Darius raised his eyebrow in confusion since he thought they were both together. “Not sure, he didn’t come in here? Thought you two were in there doing more interrogating.” He quickly replied and Luciana nodded her head in response and closed the door.

“Well, seems like we can leave.” Darius said as he stood up and walked to the exit to the break room and opening the door for Elena. “Hopefully we can finish this soon with whatever information they got from him.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away


Luciana messes on her phone while Ash did his thing. She thought it would go quickly but she could hear commotion of movement against walls and the table and some louder voices. She chuckled as she thought to herself of the man trying to fight back against Ash, or well against the Editor. Luciana has seen people weave and try to get around the Editor’s words and powers, but ultimately always being defeated.

Hearing the door open, Lucy looked up as Ash spoke to her and gave herself the all clear to enter. She slid behind him and into the room as the door shut and locked the door behind her. When she turned around she put on a fake pouty face looking at the man. “Well, guess you just had to anger the Editor.” She said as she walked closer to him. The man looked defeated and beaten, obviously done by Ash. She man went to try to say something but Luciana quickly stopped him. “No. No more talking. You had your chance. Now, I’m just going to be honest with you. I’m going to kill you. You aren’t walking out of here. But until then, I need to relieve some steam, and I’m a little upset.” Lucy trailed off, as her pout turned into a wicked smile, bringering her arms and hands to begin using her power, but the man’s blood.

A couple minutes later or the Red Witch essentially painting the room with the man’s blood, barely keeping him alive from bleeding out. She pulled the knife out of her jacket from earlier and held it up to the man’s throat. “Just before I kill you, I’ll let you know a secret. Minerva was just here. We handed her your phone to wipe. Her name is Elena. And you or your organization will never touch her.” She whispered as she slid his throat and the man finally died, from drowning in his own blood and bleeding out. Luciana took a step back and admired her work and quickly used her powers to clean the blood off of her and out of her clothes, another small benefit of her power. She walked out of the room and poked her head into the break room.

“Hey, where’s Ash? Need to talk to him. It’s important.” Luciana asked only seeing Elena and Darius, giving a small smile to Elena. Darius answers her question about Ash. “Well we’re done, just don’t go in there.” Lucy said with a wink and left. She quickly assumed that Ash must of gone into the bathroom to freshen up. Lucy walked down the hall and walked into the men’s bathroom, not caring what she would see. But quickly seeing Ash at the sink and mirror. “If you don’t mind, we should talk.”

Luciana walked over and hopped onto the sink counter to sit. “Well I told Elena wanted me to talk to you, should trust each other more. And I’m assuming you won’t want to open up first so I will.” She let out a breath and a sigh. “I’m here to help for two reasons. First off, as you know I was the serum. And while the thought of using it on a hero or some villain has crossed the mind, it’s not for them, but for me.” She said slowly, keeping her eyes low and not wanting to make eye contact with Ash. “That’s all I’m saying about that. But the other reason I’m staying is because of Elena.” Lucy finally looked up at Ash. “I feel something, something I haven't felt before. And I’d appreciate it if you don’t make fun of it, or even tell her. As well as not telling your boy toy.. I’ve seen how you look at him, and been protecting himself and staying on his side with argument. I’m not judging, just telling you you’re being obvious, and just because you like him, doesn’t mean I do, he’s very stereotypical hero.” Luciana finished speaking and watched and listened to Ash, wondering what the heroes were talking about.

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world

xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxxLuciana, honestly, could not have come in at a worse moment if Ash was being honest. He could feel the urges of The Editor wanting to take over again, wanting to disrupt all of their plans just to see what would happen. Don't trust anyone, The Editor said. They'll only stab you in the back.

But not Luciana, Ash reminded himself. Out of everyone, he could trust Lucy. He needed to be able to trust her. And she, at least, seemed to trust him. Her spilling the truth about Elena made him glance over and raise an eyebrow, almost subconsciously. But she didn't give him a chance to actively comment on it, just staying talking. Ash could feel himself calming down, regaining control.

And then she brought up Darius, and the flare of anger snapped any little control he did have. "Seriously, Luciana?" He asked, straightening up and turning to face her. "You're judging me? After admitting that you've got those funny little feelings in your stomach about the first hero who flutters her eyelashes at you and pretends she doesn't want to murder us? Funnily enough, you not being able to keep it in your pants and giving your number to any pretty girl who asks is what got us nearly killed." He snapped. Somewhere, deep inside, he winced at the harshness of his tone, but he was too far gone to stop. "And just because I treat Darius like a goddamn human being doesn't mean shit. When all you do is attempt to tease him and annoy him, one of us has to play good cop. If it wasn't for me, he probably would have left at this point. They're tools, Luciana. A means to an end. Do you really think we're all going to be the best of friends after this? Like they won't try and turn us in the moment after we're all safe and sound? They're still heroes, Luciana. And we need to trust each other more than we trust them. Don't lose your head."

Turning off the water, he exhaled, running his hands down his face. "My couch is free if you want it tonight." He said, his voice level and even, before turning and leaving. The short distance between the bathroom and the break room gave him time to regain his composure. "Come on, time to get the hell out of here," he called as he passed, not stopping to chat. He wanted to leave this evening behind for now.

---

---

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxx
xxxThey all went their separate ways, Darius coming back to her apartment with her and Ash and Luciana doing their own thing. Elena didn't let herself dwell on that moment with Luciana in the bathroom. As they got back to her apartment, she told herself it had to be in her imagination. She didn't tell Darius, not even as they dissected the day's events over the best pizza the city had to offer.

And with time, it seemed to fade, Elena telling herself that it had all been a figment of her tired, stressed imagination. Time apart helped as Luciana and Ash compiled what they'd been told and Elena and Darius attempted to track down any other potential sources of information, as well as making sure that the man's disappearance got buried. It was a few days later when they met up again for the first time in person. And, in an uncharacteristic turn of events, Elena was running late.

They'd had a stressful few days. So, when some of her non-hero friends had suggested a night out, Elena hadn't hesitated before she'd said yes. Even if it had been the night before their meeting, Elena was so goddamn tired of doing hero work and of seeing hardly anyone except Darius. So she'd made sure there was plenty of food in the fridge and had told him that she was staying with a friend instead.

She'd ended up across town in the apartment of some French diplomat or something. She vaguely remembered him discussing it at some point, but mostly she just remembered them flirting in French and... then when they'd gone back to his place. It was, of course, the other side of town to where they were meeting, and public transport was not working in her favour. She'd texted Darius to let him know she was running late, and had used the time to throw on some makeup and make herself look a little less exhausted. So she arrived to the little, obscure café about fifteen minutes late, but still managed to compose herself. "Hi guys. Sorry, had a few things I needed to sort out this morning," she said, flopping in to the seat at the table with her mocha and muffin in hand.

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away


Luciana was taken aback at what Ash had started talking about, she wasn’t trying to be judgemental about him and Darius. She sulked a little when he talked about it being her fault since she gave her number out and that was the reason they were attacked. Another reason why she wanted the serum, so she could do basic human things like try to go out and have fun or make friends without worrying about being a person with powers that may or may not being hunted. What Ash said next though caught her attention, that the heroes were just tools and a means to an end as well about them not being their friends and likely to turn them in. He was right, and the heroes possibly thought the same. Minerva probably did her research and played her and was probably delighted when Lucy gave her the serum, basically giving the heroes a weapon to rid of villains. The conversation quickly ended with Ash offering his couch for her to stay, since he knew she wasn’t one to try to stay at her own place. Though Lucy had plans to ask Elena if she could stay with her, but Ash was making her doubt herself.

Lucy straightened herself up. “Thanks, and you’re right.” She said quickly before Ash walked out. She had to stop being Luciana, and go back to being the Red Witch. She followed behind Ash and quickly left the place, not taking time to say bye to the heroes but making sure they left the hideout. Her and Ash didn’t converse much that night, and she left early in the morning before he woke up.

The time between the interrogation and the next time they met up Lucy kept Ash updated with what she had learned, mostly working by herself to follow lead and to exchange information. She didn't message Elena or Darius much at all. She wanted to message Elena multiple times as the moment in the bathroom between the two stole most of her attention away, but what Ash had said stayed in her mind, convincing her not to and always erased and deleted whatever text message she had typed, only ever messaging her to confirm the next time they meet.

The night before the group was supposed to meet up, Luciana went out to drink to calm her nerves. She went to one of her normal spots across town and set up in her usual seat, dark side of the bar of the establishment so she wouldn’t be seen by many people and able to scope out the area in case she needed to dip. What Lucy wasn’t suspecting was seeing Elena, along with some others but none she recognized as heroes or other people with powers, though she wasn’t sure. She debated whether or not to go talk to her for five or so minutes before she saw a gentleman walk up to her and they start interacting, getting friendlier and friendlier, hearing the man have some sort of french accent. Luciana snuck out the back door of the bar as she realized the intentions of the two, leaving payment for her drinks and a little extra. Spent the rest of the night walking back to her place before passing out trying to get the thoughts of Elena out of her head.

The morning of their meeting Luciana was going over the information she had uncovered and what possible plans they have. She decided she wanted to get the cafe early and set up, secure them a good seat, plus she was anxious and didn’t want to be late. As she arrived she ordered a light salad and sat in a booth towards the back but not too far back so there would be suspicions. Lucy was hoping Ash would arrive first so she wouldn’t be stuck with either of the heroes, but was disappointed when Darius arrived early and before everyone else. Be nice Luciana, they need us more than we need them. She said to herself as Darius sat across from her and greeted her. “Hey, could be better.” she replied before the waitress came over and took his order. “So, you two learn anything?” Luciana asked, though before he could answer Ash showed up and Luciana couldn’t have been happier. She scooted over to give him some room to sit. “Nice outfit.” She whispered to him as he sat down before they started talking.

“I say let’s get started, maybe Elena isn’t showing up.” The Red Witch said after the group sat for a couple minutes past the agreed meet up time. She rolled her eyes as Darius explained where she was. “Well, I have only been able to learn a little bit in between my days. More recently they have been trying to recruit other people with powers, I’ve noticed it’s mostly villains who want to rid of heroes, since the story about the heroes being captured spread like wildfire. Others were promised to be spared of more power. I doubt this organization won’t turn on them once they get what they want, they are just using them… A means to an end.” Lucy finished as she shot a glance at Ash.

Out of the corner of her eye the Red Witch noticed Minerva walk in and slowly turned to look at her, seeing the cute black skirt she was wearing and heels that made her legs look beautiful. She stopped staring and announced to the table. “She’s here.” Before Elena sat down, apologizing about being late. “They can fill you in on what I said if they want, I’m getting some coffee. Though I’ll probably stay away from the french roast.” She said as she scooted out the other side not wanting to ask Ash to move, and throwing a little bit emphasise on the word french. The Red Witch was only gone for a minute tops as the coffee was self serve at the counter before coming back and sitting down. “Well?”



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Elena and Darius didn’t talk much about the situation while waiting for Ash and Luciana to finish up, but mostly just stuff to pass time while the two villains do their thing, before hearing Ash shout that it was time to leave. He raised an eyebrow at Elena and then quickly got up and followed them out, a little curious about what had happened. Afterwards the heroes and villains seemed to just disperse, agreeing to meet up at a later date to discuss things and give everyone some time to themselves, which made Darius feel bittersweet.

Darius mostly stayed with Elena, just out of ease and a little bit because he knew her place was safer and more secure than where he lived, plus gave them time to work together and try to learn more about who and what they were against. During the time Darius had also tried to text Ash a few times but not getting much back and mostly just sticking to trading information, he wanted to talk about more than just that but didn't receive that feeling back. The night before the four of them was suppose to meet up to discuss more things Darius was surprised to hear Elena was going out. He didn’t mind and joked about being a child left home while their parents go out when Elena was discussing going out and making sure he had food and such. He spent most of the time just watching tv and movies and fell asleep on the couch, setting an alarm to give himself enough time to get up and get his things together before the meeting.

Darius woke up before his alarm as the sun came peeked through the window and hitting him in the face. He wanted to just turn over and go back to sleep but couldn’t fall back asleep so he just decided get up. He wasn’t sure if Elena was going to be back or not before the meeting but knew if she wasn’t going to show up she would warn him, he made some coffee and left some extra incase Elena came by. He got ready pretty quickly and decided to get to the location early as he was getting bored sitting around his friend’s apartment.

When Darius arrived at the cafe it took him to notice any of the people he was supposed to meet, and a little disappointed when he saw it was only the Red Witch. He walked over and gave a slight wave. “Hey, how is everything?” He asked, hoping to just have a calm get together since he knew she didn’t like him and seemed to just about hate him. He shrugged when she replied about it being better and luckily a waitress came up asking him what he wanted to break the tension. “Oh, just a bottle of water and bagel please.” He said before turning his attention back to Luciana sitting across from him. She quickly asked what he and Elena had gathered but before he could say anything Ash had arrived. “Morning Ash.” He said with a smile as he sat next to his fellow villain.

They all exchanged some pleasantries and what they were doing besides trying to get information as Darius wanted to wait for Elena to arrive. But Luciana quickly spoke up saying they should start since it seems like Elena wasn’t coming, which seemed weird as he thought the two girls were on good terms. “She had spent the night with a friend, wanted to relax a little bit I guess. She’ll be here.” He said, though Elena just dismissed his information and started talking. He was a little surprised with the information she brought, he couldn’t believe that others would work with this organization and believe they wouldn’t be betrayed or their promises granted, before he could say his opinion Luciana quickly spoke up about seeing Elena. “Hey! Good to see you, and no worries.” He greeted Elena, but surprised again as the female villain exucsed herself, something about french roast and such. “Well, she was just talking about how some people with powers are being recruited by the people are against, still can’t believe it.”

ASH HATFIELD

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #494949

xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world

xxxIt had been harder and harder to keep the Editor at bay. Ash had been in the driver seat for far too long, and he could feel those familiar claws sinking in. He knew they were supposed to be keeping a low profile, but Ash needed a release. He'd let the Editor take over, just for a night. And god, it felt so good. He swanned into the cafe the following morning, feeling like a new man. He slid in beside Lucy, waving a little at Darius. Somewhere, deep inside him, looking at Darius brought up a pang of guilt. Why the fuck was he guilty? He reminded himself of what he'd told Luciana. They were tools. A means to an end. Darius would probably turn Ash in the minute he saw Ash do anything that didn't fit in with his black and white morals.

He was surprised, however, when Luciana suggested they get started when Elena was only a few minutes late. Huh. Maybe she was starting to toughen up. His food arrived just as Lucy started explaining the situation. He tuned out for a few minutes as he took a bite of his bagel. He was already familiar with the information, so frankly the bagel was more interesting at that point in time. He did smirk as Lucy glanced at him as she spoke about means to an end.

Then Elena arrived, and Lucy excused herself with a smart comment. Elena looked surprised, but Darius filled her in. "Mm. But they seem to be very picky about who they want. The Editor was never on their radar, because he's just too unpredictable, too self serving. Sounds like a smart guy to me. It's either they want your ability, or they want somebody who can be convinced by A. not dying, or B. money. That's why heroes aren't all that attractive to them. Too many morals," he mused.

"So, speaking of which, what did you two find? Anything useful?"

---

---

ELENA RAMSAY

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #0d5e00

xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid

xxxLuciana's reaction took Elena back for a few moments. There was... almost something close to venom in the way she said French. She thought she'd seen somebody who looked like Luciana while she was in the bar, but she'd been a few drinks deep and thought her mind had been playing tricks on her. And, besides, why did she care what Luciana thought? Lucy hadn't texted her over the past few days. Admittedly, Elena's contact had been pretty minimal as well, but... She shook her head a little as Ash elaborated on what Darius said, before asking if they'd found anything. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Uh, yeah, actually. We've got numbers and names for a few others who seem to be fairly high up in whatever this organisation is. The guy we dealt with? He's senior, but he sure as hell wasn't the top. And they all seem to do what the person at the top says, no matter what. He says jump, they wouldn't dare question how high. I have a rough track of their movements over the past few days," she said as Lucy returned with her coffee. "None of them are exactly high ranking in the grand scheme of things, but at least one of them has connections to people who are, and we're pretty sure we know one person who calls some shots. Tells them who to target next. And..." she glanced at Darius for a moment, unsure of how this news would go down, how they'd react. She and Darius had agreed caution, but she highly doubted that the two villains would be so co-operative.

"We think we found their headquarters. A location they've all visited at least three times in the past week, for most of the day. I looked it up, most of the companies there are registered businesses, sure, but they don't have websites or any contact details I can find."

LUCIANA MORRISON

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #571616

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away


As Luciana sat down, Elena talking about some high-ranking officials or something, she just sat back and drank her coffee, black. She wanted to ignore what Elena was saying, try to keep her out of her mind, but couldn’t ignore the sound of her voice, though there was one thing she did say that brought her out of her slump. The person calling the shots, and their location. She lowered her coffee and made eye contact with Elena for the first time in awhile.

“Is this ‘location’ legit? How do we know they didn’t know you were tracking them and aren’t just setting up a trap for us. I don’t trust it.” Luciana said leaning forward setting her coffee back down without breaking eye contact with Elena, though after hearing Darius once again back up Elena, made her slump back and rolled her eyes. Not exactly at hearing what Darius’ voice, but about Elena knowing what she was doing. There was a moment of tension between them all, and she knew she had to back of a little. “Fine, sorry.” Mostly apologizing to Ash and not the two heroes.

After what Ash had told her, Luciana wanted this to be over as soon as possible, then she could get the serum back from Elena, and leave this city behind, move on to somewhere else and keep running as she always has. She looked over at Darius. “And this person calling the shots? Have a name, maybe someone me or Ash might know or heard of? I say we just cut the head off the snake.” She said before looking back at Elena. “Would be nice to get this over with and back to normal things, you know, some of us can go back to hiding from the public in between robbing places, and others can go back to partying and living it up. Think Ash would agree with me with getting this done and done.” She said shooting words at Elena again and looking back at Ash for a second.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darius Jori

outfit xxxxxxx hex; #4491D3

xxx All alone in the glass house
xxx Lie awake 'til the sun's out
xxx Pink sky when you come down
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI don't know


Darius could feel something going on between Luciana and Elena, some sort of tension that wasn’t there before, but he didn’t pay much attention to it as Ash added some more information about what his fellow villain had said. He wasn’t much surprised by the fact that these people wanted to get other people with powers that were easy to control. Though he wondered if he would have said what he said if Luciana was at the table, about how they only wanted certain people they could control and how they personally wanted the Red Witch.

As Ash had asked what they had learned Darius wasn’t exactly sure what to say or how to say it, didn’t know how much Elena would want to tell them since they were both surprised about what they had learned. Luckily Elena spoke up and told the other two what they had learned, who the guy was they captured and interrogated, about a couple people they had followed and tracked, even about how they are pretty sure who was running everything, or at least currently giving orders. Darius gave a raised eyebrow as Elena trailed off, not mentioning the information about the, and she glanced at him. He gave a slight nod to agree that they should tell him, even though he was the one mostly worried about how they would react, they needed to be open and honest with them.

Darius was a little offended when Luciana ahd questioned whether or not their information was good or not. “It’s real, and it’s not a trap. Elena knows what she’s doing, done it before.” He quickly replied, a little annoyed at Luciana rolling her eyes, but nodded as she seemed to apologize for her behavior before speaking again, which he actually appreciated. And as him and Elena expected, Luciana wanted to act now and attack. “Lucy, we can’t just attack them head on. They probably are heavily guarded and have security against such things. Plus you even said it earlier, other villains and such have joined them.”