New Guardians » Places

         

-.
-.
-.

-.

-.

-.

-.

-.

-.

-.

Guilt pricked at Rel the moment Gabriel turned his head in Rel's direction. He hadn't meant to make the man uncomfortable, and his brain moved quickly, gears almost audibly turning as he attempted to come up with an adequate response. Nothing came, and Rel continued to struggle until, finally, the acceptable amount of time in which to respond had fully elapsed. Rel closed his eyes in a wince.

Gabe may have been his best friend on the team, but that didn't exactly mean Rel felt entirely at ease. Less stilted and awkward than with others, yes, but still uncomfortable, like a clown attempting to interact with people normally, costume still fully in place. He sighed and dedicated himself to focusing on the task information being given.

The screen displayed, first, news on big name villain. Rel wouldn't mind going up against a major force, especially since his powers were still completely intact, but it did seem a little redundant given the hero already on the scene, and, well, he hadn't quite gotten used to being televised yet, though Circuit was always coaching him on something or other about it, though to Rel it seemed a little over the top, but who was he to say, after all—oh.

Semi-lost in thoughts, Rel was a half second short on the realization that they weren't on their way to battle Echo after all (why'd Shadow even bother showing the footage? a moderately irked part of him thought, before also thinking that he was overstepping his bounds with that sort of mentality), but at least the contents of their mission seemed to be relatively simple. Plus, he thought, with some relief, Dot and Gabe will be there.

In a few quick seconds, the boy, known to Rel as Patriot, took command of the operations. Rel had no complaints. He'd be happy with no directions or with finely detailed ones— it didn't matter to him. He was no type A personality by any means, but he also wasn't completely vacant in the headspace, so he tended to work well with whatever he was given. And of all the things Patriot had said, he found nothing to contest. Nodding his assent, he inclined his head towards Gabe.

"I can generate and maintain a barrier around you, if you'd like," he said, not quite whispering, perhaps endeavoring to make up for their earlier, somewhat embarrassing, communication attempt. It would be too difficult for him to cast projectiles while flying and generate shields for the moving targets of Dot and Patriot, but if Gabe wouldn't be moving much, he didn't think it'd be too much trouble. Then again, he never really went into missions thinking they'd be too much trouble. More often than not, he was proven wrong.

***

The instantaneous teleportation always afflicted Rel with a small sense of vertigo, and the jump to Tunisia was no different. He took a moment to gather himself and take in their surroundings. There was a fence, but Rel wasn't concerned with how to enter the facility regardless (even if he weren't capable of flight), and he was thinking of a good way to draw out any combatants from the building when a horrible screeching sound overtook his sense. He'd place his bets on team alpha, which meant guards would be heading off their directions very soon. Panic setting in at the thought of leaving team alpha to fight off everyone, Rel hastily, and without any forethought, lifted an arm. He felt the force of aether tear through his body, leaving his muscles tense, his balance slightly off, and shot a small mass of the energy in the direction of the building. Then another.

The first collided the fence, ripping an entire segment out from the ground, and the second blew through two of the large shipping containers with a loud, booming noise.

"Ah," he said to the rest of his team, rather sheepishly, "I guess we should assume positions now."

         

XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX

Usually, Golden Girl would have spent more time getting on Shadow's nerves, but she was more keen for this mission than usual; it was her first mission since the siutation with the Inferno, and she was itching to fight with her team once again. Sure, fighting with the Silver Lady was always a blast, but there was nothing like fighting with people the same age as you.

Shadow laid out the mission: covert and kick ass, split into three teams. Gold managed to stifle a snicker when Dusk made the comment about their hero-obsessed classmate's latest fiction. "I'm still reeling from the last fic she wrote about us. Didn't know you felt that way, babycakes." Gold teased at Dusk, her eyes staying locked on Shadow even as her lips curl in a wicked grin. But the next tidbit of info from Shadow set her into a scowl.

Tunisia. Perfect.

Not only would her extended combat session in the morning keep her off her game, but the elevated heat in the mission location would prove to be a hindrance as well. Gold folded her arms across her chest but listened dutifully to her role. Gold never gave up on a mission, especially when she had Shadow to answer to at the end of the day.

With Dusk being on the information-gathering squad, she didn't have anyone to compete with on who could beat up the most bad guys, but she could still kick some butt without her partner-in-justice by her side. Still, being on a mission with such a high difficulty without being able to pester Dusk would be a challenge. She sometimes relied on the other girl and her reactions to keep her mind off the heat, or the soreness in her muscles. She made sure to pass by Dusk before meeting with her team for this mission. "Don't let me distract you. I know you're always ogling my golden muscles." Gold teased, punching the other girl in the shoulder.

The Patriot was the first to pipe up from their group. He proved to be a strong-willed asset, especially compared to the other members of beta squad. She loved Aether and Menon dearly- watching Aether eat kiwis with the fur still on was an interesting form of entertainment, and Menon's horrible jokes could have her belly aching -but they weren't the first that came to mind with the matter of strong wills. The Patriot seemed to have everything laid out, which was fine by her; she wasn't much one for the planning stage of missions anyway.

"Hey, as long as I get to punch some bad guys, I'm good to go." Gold remarked passively. She tested out how sore she would feel by tuning in to the molecules in her fingers and turning all of them gold, a habit she also picked up after losing one of her fingers and having it grow back gold. A nervous ache built in her chest when she focused on that golden finger, so it's easier just to be completely golden. Another way to cope was to joke, and Gold gently knocks shoulders with Aether. "Hope to get some of your famous after-mission toast when we get back. Do you think I can get two slices since we're teammates today?" Gold actually thought that Aether did something to his toast, because no one could ever do it quite the same.