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Dhani Batra

I know, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us.

0 · 1,881 views · located in Barden, VA

a character in “the wicked game”, as played by phosphene

Description

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divisionary (do the right thing) | bite hard | safe and sound
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"As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary."
As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.-Ernest Hemingway

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i d e n t i t y
xxxxx|| Name || Dhani Batra
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xxxxx|| Nicknames || Don, Donny, Paladin
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xxxxx|| Gender || Cismale
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xxxxx|| Age || 27
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xxxxx|| Birthday || October 12
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xxxxx|| Sexuality || Homosexual
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xxxxx|| Hometown || Barden, VA
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xxxxx|| Ethnicity || Indian
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a p p e a r a n c e

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xxxxx|| Height || 6'3"
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xxxxx|| Weight || 190 lbs
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xxxxx|| Hair Color || Black
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xxxxx|| Eye Color || Brown
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xxxxx|| Identifying Features || n/a
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xxxxx|| Description || As a child, Dhani was a mess of gangly limbs, and while he’s certainly grown into himself, he still tends to carry himself the same way he did as an awkward child. He’s tall, perhaps taller than he would like to be, and stronger than people typically expect him to be. He built himself for function over intimidation, and honestly doesn’t care about being underestimated. Years of too much work and not enough sleep has begun to visibly wear on him: he looks as exhausted as he feels, though would deny it. He’s often somewhat disheveled, always looking as if he dressed himself in a rush and didn’t have much time for personal grooming. Still, he tries to look nice, and for that reason he typically keeps his style simple, so that at least he doesn’t look like a fashion disaster. His hero gear is mostly practical, with a form-fitting royal blue suit, padded with light armor, but that mostly serves to keep him from completely destroying it, matching combat boots, and a half-mask that keeps his hair and a good portion of his face covered: he tried to full mask, but he felt like he couldn’t breath. He wears gloves, but often sheds them to use his powers, so it’s been said that no one knows why he even bothers with them.
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p e r s o n a l i t y

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Dhani has always been the type to act quickly, and often without thinking things through completely. This has carried into his life as a hero: he’s the sort that will rush into a burning building, or run right into a room knowing it’s a trap. He’d rather put himself in danger than someone else, and if he thinks he can help, he will. His powers make him feel almost invincible, and he certainly acts like it. Rushing into danger, helping teammates and friends with little to no regard for his own health, safety, or energy levels. While he no longer purposely does things that endanger his life, he also doesn’t seem to possess a healthy amount of self-preservation. He often recklessly stands up, and speaks out, for what he thinks needs to be done; consequences be damned.

In his personal life, though, he can be pretty reserved. One may wonder if his outspoken opinions are some sort of character, or if-perhaps-the costume makes him feel braver than he really is. He tends to be quiet, and only speaks up when necessary (either when he’s addressed, or something absolutely must be said). He comes off as completely genuine in all that he does or says, however, and there is no mistaking that he is genuinely kind. He’s a very good listener, and seems to be able to be completely invested and interested in anything a person says, no matter the subject. Some things may fly over his head, and sometimes he may not grasp anything, but he feels that if it’s important enough to talk about, it’s important enough to listen to. He’s not the best at small talk, or casual conversation, but he tries.

He’s always been the sort to put himself last, and will push himself past his limits to help those around him. Whether it’s in combat, or just helping a friend through a rough time, he tends to be the first to show up and the last to leave. He tends to be protective of his friends, and will help most anyone-no questions asked. He just cares about people, and always tries to do right by them. He’s always quick to offer a reassuring smile, or an affirming word, or even a hug.

He’s never been one for waiting: he wants problems solved, and he wants to be the one solving them. That’s what led him to hero work in the first place, seeing problems he knew he could help to solve. He tends to get himself into trouble by refusing to wait to see if a situation will resolve itself, but he never seems to learn. Dhani is a man of action,and in general just doesn’t like to wait: lines, cooking, commercial breaks. Waiting around, and having to sit or stand still in general, makes him a little jumpy. He likes to keep things moving, keep life flowing smoothly, and quickly. He can be a little paranoid, looking over his shoulder as if he assumes he’s being followed, but he tries not to let it run his life: he wants to live as normally as he can, all things considered.

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f l a v o r

xxxxx|| Likes || Dhani has always loved music and dancing, and much of his childhood and adolescence was spent dancing; both in his room and at family events. He loves the snow, and has never minded the cold if he gets to see some snow as well. He’s a big animal lover, and has been a vegetarian for much of his life. He loves savory foods, and loves them even more over the holidays. He used to love going camping, though he hasn’t gone in years. He wouldn’t be able to function without coffee, and he loves how comforting a bowl of good soup can be.
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xxxxx|| Dislikes || Dhani hates the heat, it’s uncomfortable, it causes extra chafing, and just is all around unpleasant. He hates traffic; sitting still in any vehicle is just a recipe for disaster, in his mind. While he used to love movies, he just can’t sit still in a loud, dark room long enough anymore. His financial situation is less than secure, and every new bill he gets just fills his heart with dread. He also can’t stand unfamiliar places, doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and never really got a taste for alcohol.
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xxxxx|| Fears || his identity being compromised, failing to protect his family and friends.
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xxxxx|| Secrets || His biggest secret, of course, is his identity. Beyond that, he’s mostly an open book.
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a b i l i t i e s

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xxxxx|| Superhuman Durability || While Dhani isn’t bulletproof or anything like that, he is much, much more durable than an average person. He’s harder to hurt, harder to knock down, and much harder to keep down than some others. Paired with his healing abilities (which often subconsciously work on himself, though he can choose to use them on others), he can be a fairly unstoppable force. While he can still be hurt, he’s just less likely to take serious damage from the sort of work heroes typically do.
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xxxxx|| Healing || Dhani’s healing powers are most often used on himself, healing up minor scrapes and bruises fairly quickly, and any more serious injuries much faster than an average human. He can also use his abilities on other’s: sacrificing his own energy to speed up another’s healing, and often much more quickly than his powers work on himself. While he can’t bring someone back from the dead, he can potentially stabilize someone, stop bleeding, heal wounds. This power is absolutely draining, and can have some serious side-effects for him if he isn’t careful. Still, he often uses his powers to heal others until well beyond when he should’ve stopped to rest, and he’ll very likely do it again.
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xxxxx|| Talents || Dhani is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as well as just generally being in excellent physical shape. He doesn’t have many skills that don’t revolve around hero work, though he is a decent dancer, even if he doesn’t do much dancing anymore.
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xxxxx|| Strengths || Kind, compassionate, able to think quickly, good instincts.
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xxxxx|| Weaknesses || Doesn’t stop to rest, too quick to act, tends to be easily manipulated.

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h i s t o r y

Dhani had a pretty normal childhood, his parents and his two older sisters were constantly fluttering around, and they lived the best life they could. Dhani never had any heroic ambitions of his own, but he always looked up to the heroes growing up. He never dreamed he’d be like any of them (in fact, he used to dream of being a teacher), but he loved the idea. He was a shy child, always hiding behind his mother and oldest sister, and he didn’t come out of his shell until his teenage years.

Dhani was already fifteen when his powers started to manifest, and at first he had no idea what to do with them. For a while, he did things like let his friends hit him with baseball bats, jump out of trees, all sorts of stupid stunts. Being a hero didn’t even occur to him, at first. He was too shy to talk to anyone who hadn’t been his friend since kindergarten, how was he supposed to stand up against crime and injustice? But it turned out he couldn’t ignore things happening around him when he had the power to stop it. It started simply enough; stop a mugging in progress, save a kitten from a house fire, and before he knew it, he was feeling equipped to do the hero thing.

He was in pretty deep before he realized he wasn’t ready, and he spent a lot of his teenage years running around, fighting crime. He mostly shadowed other heroes until he turned twenty, then he started setting out by himself, though he still prefers to work with others. He feels almost like he grew up fighting crime, having spent the end of his childhood learning to be a hero. His parents never understood why he seemed to be throwing his whole life away: sleeping in class, suddenly failing assignments. He never told them, but he knows they’ve caught on; still, they just carry on their lives as if no one knows.

He put his entire life into being a hero. He gave up opportunities so they wouldn’t get in the way, a social life, potential relationships. He’s struggled holding down a job that fits with the hours he puts into hero work. He never found a good balance, instead he threw himself fully into heroics, never looking back. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if he has to stop, what he could do. Being a hero has been his entire life for over a decade, and it’s all he has.


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writer: nonconformingrole - fc: Rahul Kohli - hex code: #b85c9e

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So begins...

Dhani Batra's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

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00J E N A 0 W A I N W R I G H T 000000000000000000|000000000000000 A D R I A N 0 R O B L E S
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xxx 'Cause I'm a fighter, a tiger, see me walk through fire
xxx Try chain me up but I'll burst through, I'll defy ya
xxx Set me on fire
xxx Watch them conspire
xxx I will defy ya
xxx I'll set them on fire

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBRN - AViVA

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xxx Are we just drowning?
xxx Can you please save us
xxx Black walls surrounding
xxx Can you please save my soul?
xxx Causing our own demise
xxx Causing our own

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDROWN - AViVA

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G E M I N I

H E X
#D6130B 0 | 0 #0018BE

O U T F I T
Jena 0 | 0 Adrian

M A S K
Jena 0 | 0 Adrian





Adrian turned his head Aboleth spoke, saying she heard a train. She was right, there was one in the background, but Jena and Adrian must have been too distracted by the Red Witch to what it. He flashed her a smile and a thumbs up before Malfyre began talking and taking a bit of control over what was happening and giving what she thought.

What Malfyre was saying made a lot of sense, and Gemini mostly stayed quiet and just nodded. It wouldn’t be smart to head directly to wherever they were keeping Red Witch, acting on emotion and anger would cloud their thoughts and impact their actions, it was good to sit on information for a while. But he didn’t feel exactly comfortable just sitting tight, maybe even scouting out a bit at the warehouses in the north end or west end to help them prepare. But before Adrian could say anything, Icarus quickly spoke up, and not exactly in a calm manner.

Adrian
 you might want to do something. Jena quickly spoke up as Gemini watched Icarus yelling at Malfyre. “Hey hey, calm down there cowboy.” Adrian said, stepping between Malfyre and Icarus a bit, hoping things wouldn’t get physical, especially with everyone’s tensions a bit higher than normal at the moment. He was a bit relieved for a moment when Artemis began talking, hoping to himself that this would distract Icarus, but the information she shared wasn’t exactly all the uplifting to the mood.

Artemis spoke about how they knew they were at the gala, which wasn't exactly a surprise as Gemini had a literal run-in with some of the guards, but confused how they knew Icarus was there. Which caused Icarus to speak up again, both Gemini able to hear the venom in his words behind them as he spoke.

“Enough. Both of you.” Adrian commented towards Icarus and Malfyre, glancing a bit at Paladin hoping he could try to keep Malfyre from pouring any more gasoline on the fire before he’d had to put it out. “Listen. We were all in danger the second these guys targeted other heroes and villains, from the second we joined forces and began working together. We know what we signed up for, including Red Witch.” He said looking around the room before stopping again on the Icarus, “But Icarus, I promise you we will get Red Witch back. No one left behind, regardless of them being a hero, or a villain. We are all in danger regardless of who they knew went to the gala.” He paused for a second as the people in the room glanced at each other. Babe, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you took a speech class before we dated. Jena spoke up, finally revealing herself to Adrian, causing him to smirk a bit.

“Anyways. Malfyre can’t just immediately track the location of the call, if it was that easy any of us could do it. But I’m assuming if she searched a smaller area, might speed up the tracking process. And with the train horn Aboleth pointed it, we can probably figure out a general area since most trains in this city run on a strict schedule. Is that right Malfyre?” Adrian finished, looking towards the hero.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Luciana Morrison
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0000Kieran0Vallenetti 00000000000000000|000000000000000000000000|Aaron0 Langdan

Malfyre | Attire & Mask x|xhex: #575772 00000000000000000000000000000000BludWynd | Attire & Mask | xhex:#545352

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Kieran knew what she said would more than likely make Icarus angry, it would only be a valid reaction to being told your friend could possibly die, but the level at which he lashed out was uncalled for. And her own rage began to brew inside of her, especially when he more or less called her lazy and doing nothing but sitting on her ass. Assuming she was going to do nothing and just act like it was nothing. She was taking this seriously, even if her attitude didn’t seem like it. Aaron immediately shot her a glare, and even interjected himself in between Kieran and Icarus, as well as Gemini did the same, now in their male form as they tried to mediate things between them, clearly being able to tell how fast things were going to escelate. The look in Aaron’s eyes was a familiar one that Kieran had seen time and time again, ever since they were kids. It was his way of telling her to just calm down and let it go. Kieran shook her head as she pushed Aaron to the side, “Fuck that, shit. You know better than anyone how I am, BludWynd. I’m not not just gonna take this shit.” Kieran said coldly, stepping past Aaron.

Malfyre shot Icarus a look before looking at Gemini, giving him a small nod of her head at his question. Of course if she could do it in a matter of seconds, she already would have done it, nevermind not even letting it all get to this point. Looking back at Icarus, Kieran cleared her throat before stepping up closely to him as she stared him down as she spoke, “Just like Blue Boy here said, if it was that simple, I would have done it already and you’d all already be there by now.” Kieran said coldly, before taking a small breath, needing to calm herself down. “The sooner we can get her back, the sooner it will happen, trust me. I don’t like the idea of this any more than you do. While we may be on opposite sides of this shit, I don’t want to see her die any more than you do. The sooner we get her back, the better. If I could just snap my fingers and have her back here, I would have done it.” she snapped, turning to look at the others for a moment, focusing on Dhani for a minute.

Looking back at Icarus again, this time with a look even he’d be able to sense behind her complex mask, “I do uh...Know a bit more than I originally let on, but do not take that out of context before I explain.” she quickly retorted, crossing her arms as she paced slightly, “I know how these types of people work, I’ve...I’ve done some similar things before, alright? They won’t kill her, not yet. Or even at all. If they wanted her dead, she’d already be dead. They want her for something else than just a ransom, if it was as simple as a ransom they would have killed her then and there. They need her kept alive, for what I don’t know yet.[/b] she said as she paced around more. “Give me...A day at most and I will be able to toss you some direction of where to look for her. Cuz trust me, I want to get her back just as much as you do, even if she did try to kill me a few times.” Kieran chuckled slightly, more of a nervous variety which was clear.

Malfyre stopped in her footsteps after a moment of thinking, Aaron cocking his head to the side inquisitive as he studied the change in her posture and movements. “What’re you thinking of, Mal?[/b]” Aaron questioned, watching her as she thought for a moment. Malfyre turned and looked at him for a moment before speaking again, “I don’t know how I forgot this but, the day that me and Red Witch went on that little
.mission a few weeks back? We uh, we found some things. More than just that party list.” Malfyre stated as she quickly moved back over to where her backpack was, rummaging through it for a moment before she pulled out what looked to be a hard drive of some sort. “Obviously this is just a copy, as the original drive is back at my place, safe keeping and all. This is everything that we managed to get from our source who was so lovely and generous to give to us.” Kieran said as she held up the harddrive, before crushing it in her hand. Pieces of plastic and metal bits crumbling to the floor as she walked back over to her computer. “Again, I have another copy, but what on that drive was too dangerous for anyone to see. Even I shouldn’t have seen what was on it, and knowing what’s back on that computer?” Malfyre shuttered for a moment.

Turning back to look at the others she took a deep breath for a moment, “Like Artemis here said...They already know of our presence at the party, but there’s more than that. They uh...They know a lot more than we thought. They know who each and everyone one of us are, and where we live. They know it all.” Kieran finally stated as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “There’s no point in hiding anything anymore. The fact they know who Red Witch is, as well as the rest of us, especially me? If they wanted us dead, they would have done it already. They would have killed us all already, or taken us captive, or tortured, or even worse. If they know who we are, and they haven’t killed us all yet, there’s clearly something they want from us. Killing us isn’t their prerogative, we just need to find out what it is, and use it against them. Which is starting out by getting Red Witch back, and then we can figure out the rest as we go.” Malfyre took another deep breath as she tried to calm herself down, if she tried to say she wasn’t freaked out by all of this, she’d be lying. Ever since she checked out what that drive had, hadn’t left her mind, not until just now with that small dispute with Icarus.

Kieran looked over at Aaron to try and gauge some sort of reaction out of him, but by the look on his face, which was so pale it was almost gray gave her all she needed to know. Aaron’s stomach turned itself in knots at what Malfyre said, how whoever took Red Witch and had set up the party, they knew everything, and then some. Who was to say this wasn’t all some big trap to get them all in one place and then just go for the killing blow? But the fact that they hadn’t done anything yet was just as alarming as it was a relief, but it didn’t frighten him any less. “So, what does that mean for us then? If they already know so much, how do we know any of us are even safe? Who’s to say it’s not just...some trap?” he questioned, his voice wavering as he spoke. Malfyre simply just shrug her shoulders, “I don’t know. All I know is, Red Witch is gone, and it’s our job to get her back, that much I’m certain of. I’ve been working double time with everything, trying to figure out who this is and...I don’t know yet. All I know is that we have lots of work to do...If it’s any consolation, I didn’t look at anyone’s files. I simply looked at my own and, everything was correct, so I can only assume it was the same for all of you as well.” Malfyre crossed her arms once more as she leaned against a pillar, trying to wrack her brain of what she could do. “All I know is, I’ll be doing what I can to figure out where she is, starting now.” Malfyre muttered as she walked over to her laptop and began to look over anything she may have missed earlier, thankfully she had recorded the call and video end of it all and could receive it as many times as she’d have to. They’d find her, she wasn’t going to give up on this until she was brought back alive. She had to..






Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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P I P E R YOUNG
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do not show weakness. as far as anyone knows,
Abolethx|xoutfitx|x#3E7A4E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.zzzzzzzzzzzyou are emotionless.
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Being called blondie reminded Piper that she really needed to schedule an appointment to touch up her roots. She made a mental note to do that once they got Lucy back, and she hopefully had some time to breathe. Really, Piper thought that Malfyre was just doing their job, but Atticus apparently thought that the heroes should be moving heaven and earth, and doing the impossible to get Lucy back. To an extent, she understood: Lucy was their friend, and she was in trouble. They didn’t have any time to waste, but they also didn’t have the time to rush and make stupid mistakes. Then Artimis spoke up. Piper figured that, with all the things that had gone wrong during the mission the night before, it was only a matter of time before they pinned down several of the others as being there.

Piper had decided that one half of Gemini was okay after their mission, and now, as she listened to his little speech, she was thinking that the other half might not be so bad, either. He was trying awfully hard to assure them that the heroes all considered them to be one big team, but
she had to wonder if they all felt the same. She quickly glanced around the room, even over her shoulder, where Paladin still stood. Really, she didn’t trust any of them to truly be on her side if things went south. There were a few that she figured would help her if she were in trouble, but it was hard to trust the people that had been trying to put her in prison a few weeks ago.

Piper rolled her eyes as Malfyre went on to defend themself from Atticus’ accusations. Really, it was unnecessary. They all knew Atticus was just panicked- and why shouldn’t he be? Honestly, Piper would have been lying if she said she wasn’t bothered by all of this, too. “No shit she’d be dead if they wanted her dead.” As far as Piper was concerned, viewing this thing as anything but a potential trap was stupid and dangerous- but unfortunately, if it was a trap, it was a trap they were very likely going to have to walk right into if they wanted Lucy back.

Malfyre kept talking, going over what she and Luciana had found on a computer a while back. Piper’s blood went cold: obviously, she knew that whoever was doing all of this had to have information on her, but for Malfyre to have those files, that was different. Piper glared holes into that stupid mask of Malfyre’s as they crushed a copy of the files- what was the point of that? It was clearly just for show, as if showboating would earn any trust. They assured the group they didn’t look at anyone’s files, but it didn’t sit right with Piper.

Malfyre went back to the laptop, announcing their intentions of finding Lucy. Piper didn’t want to interrupt that, finding Lucy was, obviously, going to be top priority. Before she knew it, though, she’d said, “How are we supposed to trust that you won’t use those files against us in the future?”





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D H A N I BATRA
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you know as well as i do that it has to be done,
Paladinx|xoutfitx|x#B85C9E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzand somebody's got to do it.
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If it hadn’t been for the others, Dhani might have reached out for Atticus, tried to do something to comfort him. As it was, he didn’t want to draw more attention to that relationship than he needed to. He knew that Kieran wasn’t always the best with her words, but he also knew she was trying, and probably didn’t deserve to have Att go off on her like that. He never knew what to do in these situations: he wasn’t much of a leader, and even if he knew a good half of the people in the room would listen to him if he spoke, he wouldn’t know what to say. Lucky for him, Gemini decided to be the one to try to keep the peace. He noted the look Adrian shot him. If he needed to, Dhani knew he could probably physically break up any fights, and he could hopefully get Kieran to shut the fuck up if she said anything that the villians in the room would consider offensive.

Kieran didn’t need to defend herself, not really. Nobody thought she wasn’t really going to do her best (expect maybe Atticus, but Dhani could understand the desperation to find someone when they were in danger), but she still explained how it wasn’t that simple.

When she admitted to having done similar things in the past, Dhani found himself shifting uncomfortably where he stood. He didn’t like thinking about what the people he knew were capable of. He knew that everyone in this room was capable of- and more than a few of them had done- some pretty fucked up things. Kieran wasn’t wrong, though. This was about something.

Dhani wasn’t personally too worried about the files- he didn’t have much to hide from Kieran- but he was a little uncomfortable with the concept of her keeping them. It seemed like Kieran was hoping to just sweep the information about the files on them all under the rug, and she quickly went back to her computer to find Red Witch. He considered saying something- he’d called for the meeting, things got a little tense, maybe he should try to patch things up a bit, even if it was only to once-again assure Atticus that they would do whatever they could to find Red Witch.

The Aboleth spoke, and Dhani figured she had a good point. She didn’t have a single reason to trust Malfyre. “I wouldn’t worry about the files, Malfyre-”

“It’s not just Malfyre, it’s all of you. How do I know that you won’t use the files and turn on us the second all of this is over, if we don’t all die.”

Dhani didn’t know how to answer that. “Well, uh,”

“How do I know that they won’t look and decide we aren’t worth helping based on our pasts? I know you have nothing to hide other than that you’re tall and stupid, but some of us have real things that could be used against us.”

Dhani frowned, “I know you’re scared, but-”

Aboleth shook her head, “And you aren’t? Look around, guess how many people in this room I trust to have a dossier on me? I don’t trust any of you that much.”

Dhani didn’t know what to say to that; of course he was scared. None of them were fearless. “Yelling at me isn’t going to help anyone.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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atticus hawkins
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hex: #88c878xxxxxoutfit: herexxxmask
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xxxthere is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
xxxin the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
xxxonly then am I human,
xxxonly then am I clean.

xxx
Att just glared at Gemini as he stepped between him and Malfyre, telling him to calm down. They didn’t seem to understand how urgent this was, that this wasn’t him overreacting to the call. Gemini gave another one of his grand speeches, telling them how they all knew what they were getting themselves into and how they were all in danger. He knew that the hero was just trying to stop things from escalating into another fight, but he was angry. He felt that if it was a hero that had been taken, they all would have been trying much harder. But because it was one of them, it didn’t matter as much.

He stared Malfyre down as she stared at him. He wasn’t scared of her, and he wasn’t going to back down just because the heroes told him not to be so angry. Malfyre said that she didn’t want to see Red Witch dead any more than he did, but it felt hollow. He just raised an eyebrow as she said she couldn’t see any reason that they’d kill Lucy, but fresh anger burned in his throat. They weren’t taking him seriously. They still thought he was over-reacting, and now they were just trying to de-escalate the situation. “It doesn’t matter that we don’t know why they’re going to kill her. They will kill her unless we do something. That’s how it works, and I have never been wrong before.”

He might have let it slide, had Malfyre not then produced a hard drive, stating it was a copy of all of the information she had on them. He didn’t understand why she crushed it. Probably just another display of power. The only bit of information that Atticus really took from Malfyre’s little speech was that she had access to information on them, information that they’d all tried to keep buried. He was glad when Piper spoke up and said exactly what he was thinking. Malfyre said she had only looked at her own, but he didn’t fully believe that.

Dhani tried to placate Piper, but seemed to only make things worse. Att trusted Dhani, probably much more than he should have done, but the others didn’t get the same privilege. Piper made the point he was thinking. Best case scenario, they looked and viewed them all differently. Atticus knew that they all underestimated him, not knowing how dangerous he was, and if they found it out
 well, he didn’t know how they’d react. He glanced at Dhani, almost subconsciously.

“We have much more to lose if our secrets, our identities are leaked. Me and Paladin burned the files we found because we didn’t think anyone deserved to have that much power. You keep saying we’re all in the same position, we’re all in danger, and then you reveal that you have compromising information on us? How are we supposed to trust you if you have that information at your disposal? All we have if your word that you won’t read it and won’t leak it and won’t use it against us.” He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair.




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cerys day
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hex: #c7bbb4xxxxoutfit: herexxmask
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xxxoh don't you wonder when the light begins to fade?
xxxand the clock just makes the colors turn to grey
xxxforever younger growing older just the same
xxxall the memories that we make will never change

xxx
Artemis tensed as everyone else seemed to ready themselves for a fight, almost instinctively bracing herself into a fighting stance. But it didn’t seem to get to that, Icarus and Malfyre seeming to prefer to stick to just words for now. But a divide seemed to be rapidly growing between the group. She visibly winced as Malfyre revealed that she had information on them all, and claimed she hadn’t looked at them. Aaron seemed to believe and trust Malfyre about this, so Cerys would return the favour, but she didn’t particularly like the idea of someone having that much information on her.

Icarus and Aboleth, however, were very obviously not happy about it. And in some ways, Cerys almost didn’t blame them. Dhani tried defending Malfyre, but couldn’t quite stand up to Aboleth. The villains didn’t trust the heroes, that much was clear. Did they really have more to lose? Or did the heroes have further to fall from the podium they’d be put on?

“Listen. We can’t afford to let this come between us, and Red Witch sure as hell can’t afford it either. Trust me, I’m not totally happy about someone having that much information about me either but we need to work together, if only long enough to get Red Witch home safely. But we need to know that our secrets are safe and that nobody will use them against us. I don’t blame anyone for wanting that assurance.” She said, folding her arms. She knew that it was the villains that wanted the reassurance their secrets wouldn’t be used against them, but she also wanted to know that if the villains got their hands on the heroes’ secrets, that they’d be offered the same respect.

“So. Has anyone any suggestions? Or can we just agree to at least trust each other for a few goddamn days to save Red Witch’s life?”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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00J E N A 0 W A I N W R I G H T 000000000000000000|000000000000000 A D R I A N 0 R O B L E S
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xxx 'Cause I'm a fighter, a tiger, see me walk through fire
xxx Try chain me up but I'll burst through, I'll defy ya
xxx Set me on fire
xxx Watch them conspire
xxx I will defy ya
xxx I'll set them on fire

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBRN - AViVA

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xxx Are we just drowning?
xxx Can you please save us
xxx Black walls surrounding
xxx Can you please save my soul?
xxx Causing our own demise
xxx Causing our own

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDROWN - AViVA

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G E M I N I

H E X
#D6130B 0 | 0 #0018BE

O U T F I T
Jena 0 | 0 Adrian

M A S K
Jena 0 | 0 Adrian





Adrian was starting to get annoyed at the moment, taking a step back and pacing around the others are they continued to talk, well more so argue. He had his hands over his mask and going through his hair when Malfyre produced a hard drive, talking about her and Red Witch finding something. He was glad, it could possibly lead to making their lives easier as more information on their adversaries meant better. But when she crushed it saying it was too dangerous for any of them to see he just tilted his head in a confused fashion. I’m confused Jena spoke to Adrian, though Adrian didn’t respond, just paying attention to Malfyre as she continued to speak.

When Malfyre revealed what their enemies had on them, then Adrian started to get worried. Not entirely because their enemies had files on them as Gemini didn’t have much to hide, besides being two souls trapped within one body, but because he had a feeling the villains wouldn’t take too nicely to one of the heroes having information on them. A little glimmer of hope came up when Malfyre went back to the computer, though that was quickly dispersed when Aboleth spoke up, questioning about the files. This isn’t good, is it? Adrian just shook his head, about to step in again and attempt to calm down Aboleth.

Paladin spoke up first, trying to reassure Aboleth about Malfyre and an argument quickly coming forth, getting a bit heated between words. The female villain was making some valid points, but none of them had the answers they wanted at the moment, especially about hypotheticals coming up. But then Aboleth her tone from bringing up good points to insults. It wasn’t long until the insults, and hopefully it wouldn’t lead to that. Adrian took a step forward to speak, but the other villain spoke up this time, discussing what he and Paladin did with the information.

The arguing back and forth was starting to annoy Adrian. They didn’t have time for this, and the only thing that this would lead to would be more conflict. “Enough!” He said loudly, stepping forward, between the main people arguing. Gemini formed a small amount of water and flicked it at the main people arguing, Paladin, Aboleth, Icarus, and knowing Malfyre, a little bit at her before anything else was said. It wasn’t anything that would soak them, but just a little mist to get their attention and get them to calm down or check themselves, sort of like a spray bottle for cats and dogs. “We get it, this information isn’t just something to have laying about. And I’ll be honest, I would be cautious if Red Witch or any other villain had information on me and my partner. But that’s an issue for another time, we don’t have time for all of you to be arguing like little god damn children.” He looked around the room, pausing at the villains. “Icarus, Aboleth. I promise we will discuss this later, but our attention needs to be on Red Witch and letting Malfyre. Afterwards, we can decide on this information Malfyre has.”

Adrian was breathing mostly through his nostrils and was relieved when Artemis also spoke up, mostly echoing what was being said by everyone, but as well as staying neutral. “Exactly. Now as Art said, let’s just be civil for five fucking minutes, or I might have to bring someone else out to turn up the heat.” Gemini finished, referencing having Jena come out. He let a out a deep breath as she turned around and back towards the edge of the room. “As Artemis said. Any other suggestions or ideas? Think it might be good to call it a day now, maybe even do a little recon around the areas while Malfyre works. But that’s just me.” I forgot how sexy you get when you get mad. Jena said with a giggle. “Shut up
” Adrian whispered under his breath as he leaned against a wall and waited.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles Character Portrait: Luciana Morrison
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0000Kieran0Vallenetti

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Anti-Hero | Malfyrex|xOutfit & Mask | hex: #575772


Are you just gonna take that?
Make them take it all back
Don't tell me you believe that
Are you just gonna take that
Or will you fucking fight back?





Kieran was head focused on what she was doing that she initially ignored Aboleth's comment towards her about using the files against them. But the moment she began to argue with Paladin was the moment she had enough. She closed her computer, remained sitting down, but shot Aboleth a hardened glare. "You don't fucking move, pretty boy." she said in Bludwynd's direction, sending a small wave of telekentic energy his way that caused him to sit back down. "You fucking sit this one out." she said coldly, looking back at Aboleth. She wanted to fight back, tell Aboleth off and prove that she was done with all of their bullshit and how they were treating her like she wasn't trying her hardest to get their friend back from this. As much as Malfyre wouldn't admit it, Kieran wanted to get Red Witch back. She couldn't explain it, but something about this made her unnervingly nervous and uncomfortable.

Malfyre let out what sounded like a crackling hiss from their mask as what felt like water was sprayed in her general direction. "Dude! Really?? You mess this mask up, I swear to god..." her voice trailed off as she turned around, examining her mask slightly to make sure there was no water damage before she turned back around with her mask placed back over her face. Malfyre kept her focus on her breathing, if she kept her focus on herself and not everyone around her, just maybe she wouldn't kill them all in a blind fury.

Malfyre crossed her arms over her chest, foot tapping as she listened to the others continue to bicker as Gemini, in their male, water elementalist form try to settle things down. Which, she had to give him credit, he managed to do it as well as she could have hoped for. "Look..." Maflyre said softly as she took a deep and heavy sigh, keeping her fists clenched by her sides. "I'm sorry for seeming like I don't care, or that I'm not taking it seriously." she said as she looked at both Aboleth and Icarus. "I'm just...Avoiding being serious is my specialty and how I deal with high stress. Keeps me from...Bugging out, shall we say?" she said with a sigh, what was she even trying to say? She sucked at conveying anything, and god damn was it showing.

"What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry. But I don't owe any of you shit. I easily could have not shown up, and maybe it would have been better if I didn't. But I am going to help you get her back because this whole situation involves all of us now. I don't like it any more than any of you do. But we're all in their spotlight and none of us are safe, not even me. If they find out who has the information, they'll come after me next and I am fully aware of that." Malfyre took a deep breath, clenching her jaw underneath her mask as the led lights in her mask flickered through several different emoticons until they rested on what could have been taken as a stressed expression. "I'll do what I can starting now to give you all some sort of location to start your search, like Gemini said. I work behind the scenes, what I do best, and you guys scout out the areas that I have an idea on what could be where she is, or was being held. We'll get her back, and when all of this shit is over with...I'm done. You'll be able to go back to being the heroes and villains you all so desire to be."

Malfyre crossed her arms over her chest for a moment, "And about the files? They're all encrypted and can take up to twelve hours to crack, and fuck that shit just to know who you all are. Right now, I couldn't give two fucks about who any of you are. Right now, all of our lives are in danger, and right now Red Witch is on the chopping block, clock's ticking." she tapped on the watch on her wrist as she walked back to her computer. "By the way, I already sent the locations to your devices, you'll get them in about...three seconds. You'll receive constant, in real time updates on the progress that I'm making and the information and coordinates I receive will be immediately sent to you all. The sooner we get her back, the sooner we can get all this shit taken care of, and go back to our happy little lives." Kieran put her things back into her backpack before putting it back on.

"Some of you know how to contact me, let me know if you need anything, I'll get to work as soon as I get home, and at a proper computer. And I'll send you a video of me burning the files if it makes you feel any better." Malfyre gave a small salute of her hand and began to make her way out of the warehouse. "I'll let you know what I find. Seeing as I won't be sleeping, I should get it done within twelve hours."


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Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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P I P E R YOUNG
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do not show weakness. as far as anyone knows,
Abolethx|xoutfitx|x#3E7A4E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.zzzzzzzzzzzyou are emotionless.
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xx
Piper knew that there was no way the heroes understood her stance on this. They outnumbered herself and Atticus, and several of them had bonds strengthened by years of working together. All Piper had was a flimsy relationship with her friend’s roommate. They only even trusted each other out of necessity, if she were being honest. They’d never worked together, and wouldn’t even know one another if not for Lucy. Piper would have his back here out of principal, but she wasn’t sure she could trust him to do the same. She simply didn’t know him well enough to trust that he would. That was the nature of the beast, wasn’t it? The heroes formed close bonds, friendships, and had fierce allies. What did villains get? A life in the shadows, professional contacts, and usually nothing more. Piper figured it was because of the higher burnout rate of “villainy.”

She appreciated Atticus taking her side, though she knew it was likely as much about his own privacy as anything else. When Gemini spritzed water at the group, Piper shot a glare in his direction. She understood that he wanted to keep things civil, but was that really necessary? She rolled her eyes when Malfyre complained about the mask getting wet. It seemed impractical to have a mask that couldn’t withstand the elements, but it wasn’t any of her business. It surprised her when the other heroes spoke up, seeming to understand their point of view. It made sense, really; if they were supposed to be some kind of team, they all needed to cooperate and quell each other’s fears. It was time to treat this like a business meeting instead of a high school cat fight, apparently. “I can let the files go for now, so long as it is addressed after we have Red Witch back.” Piper didn’t care if they were already destroyed by then. Apparently they all needed to have a talk about each other’s comfort levels and how soon they should disclose any sensitive findings.

Gemini suggested that they call it a day, and honestly Piper thought that might be for the best. Maybe she could take Att to lunch, see if she couldn’t get him to settle down a little. This whole situation was proving difficult for both of their nerves, and while she didn’t know him exceptionally well, she figured they could both use a friend.

Then Malfyre started talking. Piper figured that they’d never learned when to keep their mouth shut. Malfyre started to apologize for their whole attitude, and Piper was willing to relent and accept the apology: this didn’t affect them all the same way, so Piper was willing to let it go and forget about it. Then they decided to emphasize the fact that they didn’t owe any of them anything, and Piper resolved to remember that if Malfyre ever needed her help. Piper may not seem like much, but if there was one thing she was good at, it was being petty and spiteful.

“I appreciate the help. But you have to understand that Red Witch isn’t just some villain to me, she’s my friend. This is personal, and not just because we’re all in danger too.”

The line about going back to being the “the heroes and villains you all so desire to be,” really rubbed Piper the wrong way. As if she’d wanted to grow up so poor she’d had to use her powers just to have enough to eat. That was it, wasn’t it? The rest of them had enough of a choice that they didn’t see that some of them didn’t have much of one. Piper knew that most of the people in the room wouldn’t ever view her as anything but someone who used her powers to lie and steal. It shouldn't have bothered her, especially since she was pretty sure Malfyre was just lashing out because they were making the job more difficult than it “needed” to be. Piper didn’t know Malfyre well, but people weren’t very hard to read.

Piper wanted to tell Malfyre that if they didn’t want to help, then they shouldn’t bother. Instead she settled on a terse, but genuine, “Thank you.” Regardless of how they all felt about each other, at least Malfyre was helping. Piper decided to remember that, too.

She figured that Atticus would want to get to work on scouting out locations right away. “I don’t expect it, but if anyone’s willing to put in the work to help scout out locations, Icarus and I would both appreciate it.” Normally, Piper wouldn’t speak for Atticus, but she wanted to be a united front on this issue. He said he was never wrong about his visions, and she believed him.







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D H A N I BATRA
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you know as well as i do that it has to be done,
Paladinx|xoutfitx|x#B85C9E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzand somebody's got to do it.
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xx
Dhani had really wanted to get this situation under control, but like always, he didn’t have the nerve to actually stand up to the confrontation. He handled hero work just fine, but personal confrontation? That was scary. He was happy enough when Adrian stepped in (though he wasn’t sure what he did to deserve being sprayed with water), he was just all-around a better leader than Dhani could hope to be.

Dhani’s perspective on Kieran having the files wasn’t going to help anyone. He trusted that she wouldn’t do anything with them, but he figured he’d already expressed as much. Aboleth seemed willing to let it go, at least for the time, so Dhani was hopeful that things would calm down. At least on an interpersonal level.

He couldn’t tell if Kieran was trying to make things better or not with her words, but he hoped that Att and Aboleth wouldn’t take it too personally. He didn’t like the idea of the lot of them being in danger, and he wondered to himself if they would stop at putting them in danger. Whoever these people were, they didn’t seem too concerned with morality or ethics. Dhani didn’t personally have much to hide, but he did have people he’d like to be kept safe.

Kieran seemed intent on being done with the whole group after they found Red Witch, and Dhani made a note to talk to her about it later, once she’d had a chance to calm down. He still needed to apologize for yelling at her the night before; that hadn’t been fair. As it was, Kieran had something set up to send them real-time updates of her progress, which he hoped would do something to ease Atticus and Aboleth’s minds.

Dhani had to admit, he was tired. He was tired of how often all of this erupted into infighting, he was tired of not feeling safe anywhere, even in his own home. He was ready for this thing to be over and done with, one way or another.

As Kieran left, he shot a look at Aaron. One of them probably needed to check on Kieran. She could be a pain in the ass, but she was his friend.

Aboleth said that she’d appreciate help, and Dhani immediately nodded his head, “I’ll do whatever I can to help. We’re gonna find her.” He shot Atticus the most reassuring look he could manage with his mask. He wasn’t the type to give up easily, and he wasn’t afraid of a little danger. He probably should have been more afraid than he was, but he’d been through too much for this sort of thing to shake him too much.

It probably helped that he wasn’t overly attached to Red Witch.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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atticus hawkins
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hex: #88c878xxxxxoutfit: here
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xxxwe are deaf
xxxwe are numb
xxxfree and young
xxxand we can feel none of it

xxx
The splash of water might have been enough to snap the others back to reality and minimise the arguing, it just brought Att back to earth and to the realisation that he felt like shit. Even if the aftermath of the vision had faded, the fact that he hadn't eaten in almost twenty four hours and hadn't slept particularly well the night before was starting to take it's toll. Throw in the anxiety and the stress of the whole situation and, well, it probably wasn't surprising he was feeling so terrible. The minute he saw an appropriate moment to leave, he did so. On the way home, he stopped to get food, texting both Dhani and Piper that he was fine. Piper and him weren't really friends, not really, but he knew she'd have his back and figured she probably deserved to know. And he'd seen the glances and reassuring smile that Dhani had been shooting him throughout the meeting. And he knew that from a logical, strategic point of view, that had been foolish, that the others mightn't react so well if they found out, that it could splinter the group. But... what was there to find out, really? Nothing had happened since they found out each other's identities. And in a hostile situation like that, where he felt so outnumbered and outmatched, it was nice to know that someone else might have your back.

The evening was spent preparing for the following day. He called in to work telling them that he wouldn't be in the following day, and decided to call in a few favors. A few sets of eyes and ears... and a bulletproof vest. With his family, he'd never needed one, because he'd always been totally in control of the situation. When he'd been acting as Icarus, he'd always made sure to meet in public areas where they wouldn't dare touch him. But this was different. He knew that almost everything about him and about his body was just as normal as anyone else, and going in unprepared would be a death sentence.

To give Malfyre their due, they did get the location figured out pretty quickly. A quick scout out around and information from his contacts confirmed there had been some unusual activity in the area. They paired up in advance, figuring that dividing and conquering was probably the best way to cover as much ground as possible as quickly as possible. He ended up being put with Malfyre, which he wasn't totally happy about, but he wasn't going to argue about it either. He knew by their reputation that they were powerful, and they'd already shown that they stuck to their word, which was really all Atticus cared about for the mission.

It felt odd, getting ready for the mission. The weight of the vest was unfamiliar and uncomfortable, while the weight of the gun at his hip was becoming all too familiar. He reached for the suit almost instinctively, slipping back into what his family had taught him too easily. He knew that it would be beneficial for this- but the thought that he really hadn't come that far at all was disconcerting. He shrugged the feeling off and made his way to the prearranged location to meet Malfyre.





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cerys day
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hex: #c7bbb4xxxxoutfit: here
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xxxthey lose their minds for us
xxxand how it plays out
xxxbut now we’re in the ring
xxxand we’re coming for blood

xxx
Gemini flicking the water at the bickering heroes made her chuckle, but she was also hyper aware of the tense energy that persisted in the warehouse as people began to leave. It felt like the tension had been put on hold, not broken, and it was sure to emerge at the next given opportunity. Cerys just prayed that it wasn’t going to be during the mission.

Malfyre impressed her with how quickly they managed to get the information out to them. Nobody wasted any time in setting plans and groups set out for the rescue attempt, which was reassuring. The bickering didn’t seem to be getting in the way of things and they could actually do their job in peace. Even still, Cerys was glad to find herself paired up with Dhani. They hadn’t worked or even trained together in far too long, and it wasn’t like the tension would interfere with them working together.

They’d scouted out the building and had identified three potential entrances, dividing the building into thirds for each team to search, with earpieces and microphones allowing them to communicate with other teams. It was significantly more elaborate than anything else she’d ever been involved in, but she was oddly confident in the team. They’d survived and gotten themselves out of every situation they’d encountered so far, she was optimistic about this one.

She geared up and slipped along back streets and alleys to get to their designated meeting point, her bow strapped to her back and a knife up each sleeve to be safe. The adrenaline coursing through her veins had her feeling almost excited for the mission, even though she knew she should probably be more concerned or on edge. Dhani was probably going to be leaning towards the latter and would probably be serious enough about the whole thing to keep her grounded.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Aaron Langdan
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0000Kieran0Vallenetti

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Anti-Hero | Malfyrex|xOutfit & Mask | hex: #575772


They say I did something bad
But why's it feel so good?
Most fun I ever had
And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could
It just felt so good, good





Kieran was ready to leave the warehouse when she heard Aboleth speak up, surprising Kieran that she was now thanking her. After moments prior being angry and upset with her past comments. A small sigh escaped her lips as she bit the inside of her lip, "No need to thank me...If it were me out there...I'd want someone to do the same for me. We'll get her back, I promise." she instinctively smiled, even though in reality her face was entirely covered by the mask. But she could only hope the sincerity in her voice obvious enough. She wanted to get Red Witch back, even if she was a villain. Being captured and possibly threatened with death wasn't something Kieran would be able to live with. It was still a life being taken, and she wasn't going to stand by and let it happen. "We'll bring her home, I swear. Adios, amigos." she called out, with a wave of her hand and she was gone.

The moment Kieran made it home, she removed her mask and tossed it onto the couch as she made her way into the kitchen and began downing three glasses of water. She was never going to drink like that again. Having to deal with that entire meeting with a pounding headache, and feeling nausious during it had only made her feel worse. She was already stressed and pressed for time, the hangover didn't do her any favors. After waning out the
remainder of her headache, taking a few painkillers and eating some food, she felt better and was ready to get to work. She had a lot of work to get done, and she was regretting it immediately.

Thankfully, as it turned out, everything seemed a bit too easy for her to find and locate. It almost seemed far too simple, getting all the proper coordinates down and sent to the others in a record of eight hours. Even Kieran was impressed with herself, but she wasn't going to tell anyone that. She had an image to uphold after all. Once she managed to crack into everything, and had it all sent off to the others, she sat back in her chair. Eight hours of looking at coding, numbers, letters, and a bright screen in an otherwise darkened room had caused her eyes to burn and dry, but she ignored it as she didn't have time. Even going as far as to ignore the dozens of texts she had recieved from Aaron asking if she was okay after the meeting, noting she seemed off the entire time. She'd talk to him later, maybe.

Kieran rose to her feet and stretched, feeling every knot in her body, every ache and all the tension just unwind. Almost like a twisted plastic water bottle that had quickly untwisted itself snapping into place. A soft, high-pitched yawn escaped her lips as she stretched and made her way over to the kitchen of her small apartment. Opening the fridge as she searched for something to drink, and grabbed a pitcher of water and downed the whole thing in one go. Tossing the container in the sink as she made her way into her bedroom and finally changed out of her outfit and climbed into bed. She'd need some sleep before the mission the next day.

---

In what only felt like a few hours, which it may have been, she found herself waking up to the blaring horn of her alarm. Kieran grumbled, cursing under her breath as the alarm clock levitated in the arm before crumbling into multiple broken bits of plastic and electronic parts. "I fucking hate mornings.." she muttered as she slowly sat up. At least this time it wasn't a hangover, just a headache from lack of sleep. Seeing as it was only about mid-morning, she'd have more than enough time to get what she needed done. First taking a long and well deserved shower, ate some breakfast of well, a less than healthy serving of whatever it was that she could find in her apartment. Which was more or less knock-off brand poptarts and a juice box. She'd pick up some food on her way to the mission later.

Kieran walked over to a large wall in her home that was oddly blank compared to the rest which either had some pictures, signed posters, or vinyls in glass frames. Placing her hand against one of the panels, a soft blue-ish light scanned over her hand and a part of the wall opened up to a secret compartment, one of many that resided in Kieran's apartment. Something neither Dhani or Aaron were aware of, and she'd prefer to keep it that way. Kieran looked up at the new suit she had been saving for something, she just didn't know what. But seeing what today was, well, it was time to properly test out the new upgraded suit she had been slowly melding and piecing together over the past two years. It had some of the best body armor, consisting of kevlar patches to keep against the elements, explosions and minor slashing damage that other suits would render her useless to. It was heat resistant and even came in with some of the best tech she could get her hands on. Essentially, it was a suit she personally made and acquired legally and was rather proud of.

Kieran undressed from her pajamas and immediately began assembling the new uniform, putting it on layer by layer, as it would take some time. After making sure it was in fact as stretchable and intact as she desired, it was already time for her to get read to go see Icarus and meet up with him for the mission. She grabbed the reinforced katana off of the mantle that was above where the suit was, and strapped it to her back. It was more for intimidation/torture than actual use. But if she needed to get in close and go with a weapon, it made for a great blunt and swift weapon.

Making sure she had everything she'd need on her, she quickly left her apartment through one of the small exits she had built in her apartment, through the walls and out through a hidden door only she knew about that lead to a backalley. She walked over behind a small dumpster, and pulled it away from a wall, placing her hand on another pannel against a brick wall, which quickly faded its facade and revealed a small garage like base of opporations in one of the buildings behind the apartment complex. To say she had multiple hidden places for things around Barden, was putting it lightly. Grabbing onto a tarp, Kieran pulled it off to reveal a motorcyle and dusted it off. It had been a while since she got to take it for a spin.

After checking to make sure it was in proper order, she took off like a bullet and made her way down a few side-streets, going at a much higher speed than she should have been going. Looking up just in time to see a large semi-truck making its way across the street, "Shit..." Kieran mumbled, quickly acting and got off of the bike, while still holding on and pulled on the side of the handlebars with her left hand, as her right hand held onto the back and quickly squeezed herself and the bike under the middle of the truck and onto the otherside within seconds. Hearing the loud, blaring horn of the semi as the driver looked back at her. "Sorry, bud! I got places to be!" she shouted, as she got back onto her bike and quickly tore down another small alleyway before dissapearing out of sight. Kieran slowed her motorcycle down as she came up to a small foodtruck that was pulled off to the side. Making her way up to the window, she gave a small, silent wave to the old woman that was resting in the small compartment. "Can I get one steak Chimichanga and one chicken Chimichanga, please?" she said with her hands gesturing to the sign, the led lights of her mask indicating a small little happy face. The woman gave the masked hero a strange look for a moment, before nodding and quickly got to making the food before wrapping the food up and handing it to her in a small brown paper bag. "Thank you very much. Keep the change. Malfyre said as she dropped a 50$ bill on the truck and quickly left.

It only took about five or so more minutes for Kieran to arrive at the meeting place. Parking a bit off to the side and out of sight as she killed the motor. Resting in the shadows for a moment. Her eyes scanned the area for anyone in the general vacinty. And her eyes easily caught the form of a man in a suit, facing away from her. Icarus. Only one person would go around dressed in a god damn suit. She hopped off the bike, carrying the small bag in her hands as she made her way over to him. "Sorry I am late. I figured I'd grab some food on my way here as a way of being....two minutes late." she said awkwardly, handing Atticus the burrito shaped food item. "I don't know what you like exactly so, I just went with a safe bet. People usually like chicken so...I hope you do too?" she gestured with a small shrug of her own as she sat down against a small wall, pressing her back up against it.

Kieran took her own food from the bag and pushed her mask up a bit so she could take a few bites. Pausing for a minute mid-bite, she swallowed and put the food down in her lap as she looked up towards Atticus. "Hey uh...There's something I gotta say. So, let me just get it out of the way before you say anything, alright?" she asked, a genuine tone of sincerity in her voice. Which, may have been a bit surprising for Atticus. Kieran sighed softly for a moment before she began speaking again. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? About before. For a lot actually. We got off on the wrong foot, and I am truly sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like I didn't care about getting her back before. And I'm sorry it didn't seem like I was taking it seriously." she sighed again, rubbing the back of her neck. "Truth is, I am worried about getting her back just as much as anyone else. I know she isn't my friend, but I meant what I said the other day. If it were me out there, I'd want someone to come look for me too...I just...if I pretend like I don't care, or just avoid how I'm really feeling, I can focus on the topic at hand and get it done. Sort of, taking my emotions out of the situation entirely, so it doesn't become personal and I don't get sloppy and make things worse." Kieran finally said.

"I don't expect you to believe me or take anything I say sincerely, and I don't expect you to forgive me. But I meant it, we'll get her back. And we will make the people that took her pay for it. But until then, we need to focus on getting her out of there, then we can work on revenge. So, I guess...I'm sorry for fucking everything up, at the Masquerade mission, to that meeting. Everything. I know we're not on the same side, but right now, we need to work together to get your friend back. And I will do my damndest to do so." Kieran took one last bite of the food before she crumbled it up and tossed it as she stood up, moving her mask back down over her mouth.

"So, Icarus. You ready to get Red Witch back, and kick some ass? But this time, make sure to not break my nose again, or I will in fact throw you into a wall and leave you stuck in there, got it?" she gave him a wink. Malfyre stretched one more time as she yawned, finally looking in the direction of the building. "I'm ready to kick these motherfucker's asses. You ready?" she gave a grin, even if it was hidden behind her mask.

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Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day
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D H A N I BATRA
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and sometimes i get nervous
Paladinx|x#B85C9E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzwhen i see an open door
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Getting that text from Atticus, that he was home and he was fine, was more of a relief to Dhani than he could have said, really. He cared entirely too much, and he was aware that he cared too much. It was a risk, letting himself care, being so invested in helping. It went beyond doing the right thing, and he had to wonder how much of it he could get away with before the others started to notice. If he were smart, he’d put a stop to all of this, but as it was he was constantly fighting the urge to call Att up and check on him.

But here they were: they had their location, they had their teams, and he was going to be working with Cerys. It had been
 Probably years since they’d even trained together. He and Helen had been friends, and that meant Cerys often had to deal with him joining their training and patrols. It was strange, knowing it was just going to be the two of them this time. Dhani knew he could trust Cerys, and that he could work with her, so he was sure they would be just fine. In truth, he was more worried about some of the others. He’d been a hero for years, and he hadn’t gotten the hang of not feeling responsible for everything that happened. He had no real desire to lead, or to be in charge, but he still felt responsible for the wellbeing of those around him. He liked to blame the nature of his powers for that.

This whole operation was a little intense, and that was the way it should be, but it had Dhani feeling a little jumpier than usual. This wasn’t average everyday stuff, it was “stay in constant communication or someone might die” stuff. Dhani didn’t doubt that they could handle it, but he did hope it would be a quick job.

He had a million things on his mind as he geared up, but that was pretty normal. He’d calm down once he was in his suit, he always did.

Cerys was already at the meeting spot when he got there, which didn’t really surprise him. Cerys looked pretty confident, and Dhani shot her a smile before saying, “Looking very badass, as usual. How you feeling? Ready?” Now that he was here, Dhani finally felt just about ready to do this. So long as they didn’t get ahead of themselves, they’d be fine.

Dhani would’ve been happy to wait a moment if Cerys wasn’t ready, but after confirmation that she was, it was time to move on. They had to get in place. This whole mission was a team effort, so it was best not to leave the others waiting. The warehouse in question was pretty quiet, so far. Dhani wasn’t sure whether to mark that as a good or a bad thing. “What do you wanna bet that Malfyre’s gonna be late?” He asked, even as he fiddled with his earpiece; he didn't fully trust the thing to work properly.

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Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins
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atticus hawkins
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hex: #88c878xxxxxoutfit: here
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xxxwe are deaf
xxxwe are numb
xxxfree and young
xxxand we can feel none of it

xxx
Malfyre was late. They weren't that late, Atticus knew that much, but on a day like today, even only being a few minutes late was enough to set him on edge. But then he heard the approach of footsteps and turned to see someone in a familiar mask, albeit in a slightly different suit. He raised an eyebrow in surprise as she handed him the food, and grinned despite himself as he unwrapped it. "Chicken is great. Thank you," he said. He hadn't realised how hungry he was until the smell of food hit him. He continued eating as they started speaking, apologising for their behaviour and their attitude. He knew that he'd overreacted, but it was still nice to hear them take it seriously. He didn't need more flippant behaviour today; he probably would have reacted worse than he had the day before, and that could have seriously jeopardized their mission. So the sincerity was nice, if a little surprising.

"Thank you," he said as they finished. "And... I'm sorry for overreacting. But... the visions always stress me out, even if it's a total stranger. So seeing something like that happen to your best friend..." he trailed off, crumpling his wrapper into a ball. "And then to add to it, we already feel outnumbered. There's three villains, and five heroes. Six if we count Gemini as two people. So if anything happens to one of us, it puts us on our guard. At the end of the day, we've been fighting each other for so long, it's hard to completely forget that and forgive you guys. It's not an excuse, it's... an explanation."

He nodded as they asked if he was ready, cracking a grin as they warned him not to break their nose again. "Don't go jumping on me from any heights, and we should be just fine," he said. "Let's go kick some ass." He put a hand to his earpiece to activate it. "This is Icarus and Malfyre, we're in position and ready to move, entering from the north entrance. Is everyone else ready?"





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cerys day
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hex: #c7bbb4xxxxoutfit: here
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xxxthey lose their minds for us
xxxand how it plays out
xxxbut now we’re in the ring
xxxand we’re coming for blood

xxx
Cerys returned Dhani's smile. It felt good to be working together. It had really been far too long. Considering that she'd seen so much of him growing up, she basically considered him another brother, and the least annoying of the bunch to boot. On a mission as dangerous and as risky as this, Cerys knew it was important to have someone you knew would always have your back, and she knew that they both knew that about the other. His compliment just widened her smile momentarily.

"Likewise. And... yeah. I know this is a dangerous one but... I think we can handle it." They moved to get in position, Cerys drawing her bow to have it ready at a moment's notice. She smirked as he asked if she thought Malfyre would be late. "Without a doubt. Have they ever been early to anything in their life?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "And leave your earpiece alone, Granddad, you're going to break it. They're the same as the ones we used the other night, they're going to work," she teased. Sure enough, Icarus' voice came through only a moment or two later confirming that he and Malfyre were in position and ready to go. "Unusually punctual for Malfyre," Cerys muttered, before speaking into her own mic. "This is Artemis and Paladin, we're also in position and ready to move, approaching from east entrance," she said.

She hadn't seen anybody entering or leaving the warehouse yet, which struck her as a little unusual. Then again, activity out of what appeared to be a fairly disused warehouse from the inside could have drawn other unwanted attention, so maybe it make sense. At the confirmation that the last team was ready, she looked over at Dhani. "Ready to get moving?" She asked.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles Character Portrait: Aaron Langdan
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0000Kieran0Vallenetti 00000000000000000|00000000000000000|Aaron0 Langdan

Malfyre | Attire & Mask x|xhex: #575772 0000000000000000000000000BludWynd | Attire & Mask | xhex:#545352

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Malfyre gave Icarus a small nod when he thanked her for the food. "Don't mention it." she said calmly. She listened to him as he spoke, nodding as he explained he was sorry for over-reacting and that the visions never left him feeling not scared, but whenever it involved someone close to him, she couldn't blame him. As much as she wanted to speak up, she let him continue on. It was his turn to speak, and she wasn't about to interrupt him.

Kieran left out a soft sigh as he continued to explain everything in further detail. Explaining how they felt outnumbered and felt wary of them. It made sense, even if Kieran didn't exactly fall under the hero title, she understood his point. She happened to side with them more than anyone else, so it only added to that fear. Malfyre nodded again as she looked at him, "I get it...I really do. Life is already a shitstorm, add on the fact we've been at each other's throats for no reason...Well...I'm sorry." her voice crackled from beneath the mask. She licked her lips for a moment before she heard Icarus' voice suddenly appear in her earpiece, as well as the others. "Well hello, assholes." her voice crackled as she let out a small laugh. "Paladin...Artemis..." she started as a grin formed on her lips, "Hiya. Also, Paladin. I don't think your negative attitude about me being late all the time is a good vibe to have, sir."

Malfyre looked at Icarus, "Let's get this shit done, eh? And I'll try my best to not drop from a height up place again but...No promises. Just keep your head low and I'm sure you'll be fine."




Over the next few hours that had passed, Aaron didn't know what to expect from Kieran. Seeing as her mood at the last meeting had well, been all over the place, he just didn't want to bet on one thing, while it was something entirely different. But with the way the meeting ended, and her attitude towards the end, one even he knew was genuine, he was surprised to say the least. He even sent a few texts her way later that evening to make sure she was okay and not pissed off, but after about the fifth or sixth text, he knew it was a lost cause to try and get an answer from her. She was busy with work, locked in her tunnel vision she'd get whenever she sat down in front of a computer for hours on end. He honestly wondered how she did it.

But as his phone eventually buzzed to life with messages and directions of where to go, he set out with the others. Until they came to the conclusion of one final place to check. They all agreed to go in teams for this. And he was pleasantly surprised when he was assigned to work with Aboleth and Gemini, but not dissapointed. He had worked with both sides of Gemini a few times in the past, and they were easy people to work with. As for Aboleth well, he didn't really have an opinion on her, aside from being able to tell she wasn't one for much conversation. Which, he didn't mind. The following morning he geared up, stowing away his knives in the inner pockets of his jacket, and took his mask with him as he left for the place he'd be meeting the others at.

Aaron stuck to using the shadows to travel around the city, it made travel time easier and kept him from dealing with people as walking would have provided him. He silently stepped out from the shadows he formed together and gave the others a small nod as he folded his arms across his chest after he put the earpiece in its proper place, hearing the others confirm they were in place and ready to go. "Ready to go when you are." Aaron finally spoke up, breaking the silence from his end. There was a short pause before another voice sounded in his ear, "Oh look who actually showed up!" Aaron rolled his eyes at the voice, "[color=]Like you're one to talk. Lemme guess, ran a bit late today?" Aaron teased back. There was another short pause, "I hate you." the voice crackled before going silent again. Aaron chuckled and shook his head before looking at his temporary companions, "Want me to go first or...?" he asked with a raised eyebrow before giving a small nod, "I'll go first...Yeah..." he stammered out as Aaron looked around once more, before using his abilities and disapearing from sight, before reappearing close by the buildings' edge where a darker patch was due to the siding of the building. Giving just enough for him to work with. Aaron placed his hand against the cold ground below, shadows slowly spreading out from under his fingertips as they stretched along the pavement.

This allowed for him to feel for any vibrations or movement that they couldn't see with their own eyes, acting as almost a form of echolocation. He could sense a few vibrations within the building, but they were a lot farther away, which gave them more than enough time to get inside. Aaron finally looked back up to the others as he gave them a nod to signal for them to make their way over and find a proper way inside.




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Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day
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D H A N I BATRA
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and sometimes i get nervous
Paladinx|x#B85C9E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzwhen i see an open door
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xx
Cerys’ crack about the communication devices had Dhani rolling his eyes. “What ever happened to respecting your elders, huh?” He shot Cerys a wink, “I always break these damn things. It’s a wonder anyone trusts me with them.” He wasn’t too worried about the communication devices, really, it was just something he felt like he could control. At Cerys’ observation that Malfyre was surprisingly punctual, Dhani cracked a genuine smile. “Icarus must be a good influence,” A pause- as much as he wanted everyone to be able to work together, he wasn’t sure he was ready to give off the impression of liking any of the villains overly much. But before he could add anything else, Malfyre’s voice was crackling in his ear, making some quip about his negativity. “If you’d show up on time every once in a while,” He spoke into his mic, “I might have a better vibe.”

Nothing was happening in that building, as far as he could tell, and that made Dhani uncomfortable. It felt an awful lot like going in blind, and he didn’t like the idea of that. He tried to tell himself that it would be fine, and he’d feel better once they got underway. This was how he felt about anything that wasn’t terribly straightforward. He had Cerys and he knew she would have his back. When she asked if he was ready to go, Dhani just nodded.

It had been a long time since he and Cerys had worked together, but it quickly became apparent that they hadn’t forgotten how. Maybe it was because he was often there while Cerys was still learning the ropes, but Dhani found he still felt he knew what she would do. Something about it almost felt like coming home: Dhani had trained a lot with Helen when he was first starting out as a hero, and her influences were obvious in Cerys. Getting into the building was easy enough; there were no real barriers to prevent their entry, and no immediate guards either. Dhani didn’t like that one bit. He shot a look at Cerys- if Red Witch wasn’t at stake, he would have suggested they pull back, regroup, and rethink this plan right then. It wasn’t even as if he cared that much about Red Witch, but Atticus’ desperation to find her (which was another thing that bothered him just a bit. Probably more than it should have.) had Dhani jumping in to help.

Dhani took the lead through the building. It was a habit, really; he’d always had a tendency to put himself between the people he cared for and any potential danger. He felt a little extra protective over Cerys, though- a testament to the blurred lines of friend, family, and “coworker” that come with beginning your hero career in your teens.

It wasn’t long, though, before they rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a couple of guards. They needed to take care of that before they sounded the alarm. Dhani backed up a few steps and said, “Artemis,” Before breaking out into a run towards one of the guards. This was, of course, his way of saying “I’ve got this one,” Momentum could be a great weapon. Dhani dropped his shoulder and body checked the guy, took a brief moment to regain balance, and a quick struggle later, he threw in a quick jab to the jaw. As quickly as it started, it was done. “You good?” He called back to Cerys. He didn’t doubt that she was fine, she knew what she was doing, but no matter how sure he was, he always liked to hear it.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles Character Portrait: Aaron Langdan
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atticus hawkins
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hex: #88c878xxxxxoutfit: here
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xxxwe are deaf
xxxwe are numb
xxxfree and young
xxxand we can feel none of it

xxx
The banter and snark between Malfyre and Dhani just made him roll his eyes and smile a little, shaking his head. But as she suggested they got started, he just nodded, drawing his gun. He took a deep breath and moved towards the entrance, watching the whole time. He glanced back at Malfyre, holding up three fingers. On the count of three. Silently, he counted, before pulling open the door and stepping inside, already bracing himself for a fight. The hall was empty, but before he could comment on that, somebody appeared at an entrance down the hall. Att had his gun out and two shots fired before the guy had even drawn his gun.

"That's bound to have drawn some attention. We better get moving, as quickly as possible. On your guard," he said, turning to look at Malfyre for a moment. He kept his gun drawn as they moved down the hall, constantly on watch. But nobody came running at the sound of gunshots, and he didn't like that. "This is too easy," he muttered, half to himself, half to Malfyre. "This is wrong." He put his hand to his earpiece. "Guys, be careful. Be on your guard for ambushes or traps. This is too easy."

They kept moving down the corridor, waiting for someone to come out, for someone to pull an alarm, for someone to appear from nowhere and start firing. But it didn't come, and that was putting Att on edge. He was almost relieved when someone did appear, putting up more of a fight than the first one, but they still took him down with some amount of ease. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all," he said. "This is all wrong."





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cerys day
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hex: #c7bbb4xxxxoutfit: here
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xxxthey lose their minds for us
xxxand how it plays out
xxxbut now we’re in the ring
xxxand we’re coming for blood

xxx
She just smirked as Dhani shot her a wink, chastising her for not respecting her elders. Even when they'd been younger and training together, he'd always said the exact same thing when she'd teased him after outpacing him or beating him at some dumb competition. Cerys didn't take any notice of his comment about Icarus, but there was something in the second after he mentioned him that made Cerys wonder. But then his joke about Kieran made her smirk and she figured that this wasn't the place to talk about it one way or another.

Dhani took the lead, and Artemis fell in step, neither of them having to say anything about it. The fact that it was far, far too easy for them to get in immediately had her on edge. instinctively, she drew her bow, returning Dhani's look of concern. She wouldn't have blamed him for suggesting they leave there and then, and for a moment, she considered making the suggestion herself. But when he stayed going, she trusted his instincts and followed him.

They turned a corner and saw a few of them, both of them already preparing themselves for a fight. Dhani called her and made a run at one of them, and she nodded, slamming the bow across the face of the one nearest her. He fell heavy and didn't get back up. She nodded as Dhani asked if she was okay. "Yep. You?" She asked. She stared at the two unconscious guards as Icarus' voice came on over the headset. "Could be shift change or something?" She suggested, glancing at Dhani and shrugging a little. "Let's keep going and get out of here as quickly as possible," she said, bracing herself.

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Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles Character Portrait: Aaron Langdan
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P I P E R YOUNG
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i am afraid
Abolethx|xoutfitx|xmaskx|x#3E7A4E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzbecause i know i can't fight forever
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Piper figured she was starting to get used to working out “in the field.” It was still a little weird, randomly hearing the phantom voices in her ear; typically it was just when she forgot she was even wearing an earpiece that someone from another team spoke up. She wasn’t sure how she felt about hearing the others bickering in her ear. It really made them feel
 Human. Did all of this humanize her to the heroes, she wondered. She was trying very hard not to be too human, not to appear weak in any way. But then it was time to go inside, and BludWynd was offering to go first. It made sense, given his abilities, and Piper just nodded in agreement.

Gemini’s reply to her joke made Piper smile, and though she knew the other woman couldn’t see she smile, somehow she knew that Gemini would know.

She stayed relatively close to Gemini. Piper had proven- both to herself and others- that she could handle a fight, but she still wasn’t so sure how well she’d fair if she were surprised. This was pretty calm though, and none of them found anything. It was weird- this wasn’t the kind of place you’d have anyone at for any length of time, it just wasn’t set up for it. Maybe there was more to be found in the rest of the building. But then some guards rounded the corner, and they had to deal with that before Piper could go worrying too much about about what the others may or may not be finding.

Gemini tripped up a guard, sending him stumbling right to Piper. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm, she repeated, like a mantra in her head. But when it came down to it, she had no idea what to do. The guard regained his footing with enough time to swipe at her with his baton, but he’d overestimated something, and she ducked underneath it easily enough. They went back and forth for a few moments before Piper decided to go with a dirty move and kick the guy between the legs, and then bring a knee up to his face, hoping he’d stay down.

It wasn’t long before they’d taken care of the guards, and Gemini was changing. The male half of Gemini thought something wasn’t right, and she had to admit he was probably right. “What are you thinking?” Something in her didn't want to be the one to voice that it could be a trap. She didn't want it to be true. If this was a trap, they had all of them here in one location. Pretty efficient, really.





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D H A N I BATRA
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and sometimes i get nervous
Paladinx|x#B85C9E
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzwhen i see an open door
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xx
Dhani smiled when Cerys confirmed she was alright, and nodded when she inquired about him, “I’m good.” Really, there was nothing like a little fight to clear the mind. He really didn’t feel better about the whole thing, and Atticus’ warning over the com system didn’t help. Dhani shrugged at Cerys’ suggestion that it might be a shift change, and said, “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Dhani nodded in agreement when Cerys suggested getting this over with quickly, glancing down at the guards on the ground. It really had been way too easy, hadn’t it? “Yeah, I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.”

As they kept searching, Dhani couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. He was sure everyone was feeling about the same way, by now. Every time they turned a corner, or opened a door, Dhani half expected to see another group of guards. Anyone they did encounter went down way too easily.

They didn’t find much of anything, either. Stacks of boxes, tables set up with weird amounts of chairs, computers that probably didn’t even work anymore. They went through their section as quickly as they could, but every second that passed felt like a second too long. Dhani had wanted to call it from the moment he stepped foot in the building. He didn’t like it; he didn’t like the others being here and potentially being in danger, he didn’t like the risk that he was doing all of this for nothing, he wasn’t sure he liked Red Witch enough to be doing this for her at all. “Do you think,” He started at suggest that they call off the search even as they opened a door, “Oh my god.”

Dhani had just about convinced himself that there was nothing to find, but once they’d opened the door they found a woman tied up to a chair, blonde hair peeking out of the bottom of a dark hood. For a second, Dhani didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know which one of them moved first, but he and Cerys were both rushing into the room. Was that her? It had to be. They found her.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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0000Kieran0Vallenetti 000000000000000|0000000000000000|Aaron0 Langdan

Malfyre | Attire & maskx|xhex: #575772 000000000000000000000000000000 Bludwynd | Attire & Mask | xhex: #545352

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Malfyre looked at Atticus when he began to move forward, nodding silently as she crept up to the building shortly behind the villain. Giving the both of them enough space to stay spread out, as well as not being able to be overtaken so easily if they had stayed so close to one another. Kieran stayed along the side of the building, keeping her back tightly pressed against it as she kept her eyes and ears open, making sure to watch their surroundings as Icarus began to open the entrance, following his mark, she quickly stepped inside as well. No one. Not a single soul, which she immediately took of note, as well as alarm. This wasn't right. Why was it so silent? Her initial question was soon quickly answered, as someone rounded the corner, attempting to get to his gun but two bullets had already pierced through the enemy's armor as Atticus was a quicker shot. Kieran smirked, and gave him a small nod of approval.

The two silently and carefully began to make their way down the hallway. Malfyre was thankful she didn't need to resort to using a weapon to do anything, but seeing as not everyone could rely on offensive powers, she had to admit they helped more often than not. Malfyre nodded as Icarus commented to be on their guard, which caused a small chuckle to come from her, "When am I not?" Malfyre joked, but immediately shifted on their feet, "Uh, ya know what? Don't answer that. Let's just...Get on with it." Malfyre rolled her eyes under her mask as Icarus kept mentioning how none of this felt right, and how it felt all wrong. Well obviously none of this was right, they wouldn't be allowed to just meander on in with no problem if things were going their way. But she knew it was best to keep those thoughts to herself, last thing she needed to do was piss him off again. Keeping her mouth shut was proving to be more difficault than she thought, but she could keep it up for a little bit longer. She was capable of that much at least, even she could admit it.

Malfyre and Icarus continued down the corridor, and as they turned, another figure appeared. Who quickly went for his gun, but Kieran flicked her wrist and the man was sent flying into the wall with a small burst of telekenesis, and was put down from a single shot from Icarus. Malfyre looked back at the villain and smiled, knowing full well her mouth was covered, the led display for her eyes on the mask flickered through a few different 'emoticons', which would have been enough of a give-away for her giving Icarus a small bout of praise. Before turning her head back to the hallway, she raised her hand up, signalling for Icarus to stop walking forward. Something felt off to her. More so than before. Malfyre reached out with one of her partially gloved hands, and touched the concrete floor beneath their feet, trying to sense anything as she sent out a few pulses. Kieran waited for a few moments before shaking her head, slowly standing up to her full height, "I don't think-" it was then that one of the side-doors in the corridor that was next to them flew open and another figure jumped out. Getting a single good swing in at Kieran, which caused her to groan as he got a good right hook to her abdomen. Kieran rolled her neck and shoulder, unholstering the reinforced weapon on her back and in a few swift motions, hitting the man on the back and then going for a low sweep of his legs that let out an unsettling cracking sound, he fell to the floor with a groan. With one more quick motion of her arm, Malfyre took the blunt, metal end of the weapon in her hand and slammed it down into the man's back, pressing a small button on the handle, and a short burst of electricity shot down through the strange weapon and into the man, rendering him unconcious. After a moment or two of silence, Malfyre looked back up at Icarus for a moment, catching her breath before she spoke up again, "Okay...Looks..Looks like my senses are a bit off today but...We really should get the fuck out of here. There's...There's nothing in this side of the building. Not that I can sense anyway." she said flatly, reholstering the strange weapon onto her back. "Shall we go?" she questioned, looking back at Icarus for a moment, before something in the room that the enemy had sprung out of caught her attention.

Malfyre walked passed Icarus and into the small room, which was aglow due to a strange light. At first, she didn't know what to think as she stepped into the room, but seeing a few monitors lined along the wall, she understood. Looking to Icarus for a moment, "This...This is a...They've been watching us this entire time...Fuck-" she suddenly turned, putting her fingers up to the position of where her earpiece would be intergrated into the mask, "Guys! Guys?? This whole thing has been a setup. They've been watching us this entire time-Guys?? Guys??" Malfyre repeated into the mic, to only receive nothing but static and radio silence from the other end. Turning to look back at Icarus, "We need to go, now." she urged, quickly turned on her heels and making her way out of the room. They had to find and locate the others. Something wasn't right. There was no reason their communications would be cut off like this.




Aaron watched from across the street as the other two made their way over, and after a few more moments had found a way inside of the safehouse, quickly following the other two inside. Their collective footsteps were surprisingly soft as the three inspected the building, looking in most of the rooms which seemed to be currently unnocupied, which caused an immediate wave of unease to fill Aaron from head to toe. He kept to the wall the best he could, keeping a short pace behind the others, would easily allow him to react to anything that may happen within a moment's notice. His attention was taken aback when a group of what appeared to be guards rounding the corner and met them halfway down the corridor. Gemini seemed to be the first to react, and caused a small burst of flames to appear on one of the guards as he was busy smoking a cigarette. A small smirk appeared on his face, smart thinking on her part, he had to admit. Aaron rushed ahead, forming two shadow blades, one in each hand and went for a rush, slashing two of the guards' legs, which caused them to fall to the ground quickly, and formed what only could be described as shadow caccoons to envelop the two guards he was busy with.

He managed to look up just in time, to see Gemini being grappled into a nearby wall, and with a flick of his wrist, what can only be assumed to be a hand made of shadows appeared behind the guard's shoulder. Which, tapped the guard on the shoulder, which was enough for him to be distracted long enough for Gemini to get the upper hand and subdue her enemy quick enough. Bludwynd shot Gemini a small nod of his head. Slowly rising to his feet he dusted his hands off as the two women had easily taken care of the remaining guards. Aaron gave Gemini a small nod of his head as she thanked him for the help, keeping his guard up now more than ever as he began to eye the place over. Keeping his hands down by his side for a moments notice of action as he walked around. Keeping his eyes and ears open for anything. It was only when Gemini swapped forms that Aaron began to fully catch onto what the other two were talking about. He thought for a moment before turning to look down an empty hallway. Placing his hand down on the ground in hopes of feeling any more vibrations. After a few moments, he sighed and shook his head before looking back at the other two. "There...There's nothing. I don't feel anything." he shook his head once more as he paced around for a few moments, "You don't think this is a-" it was at that moment that his ear-piece crackled to life, with barely intelligable words coming through. Something about 'Getting out' and 'It being a trap'. Bludwynd looked at the other two, before looking back at the others, "We need to get out of here, now." he motioned, and began to make his way back.

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Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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00J E N A 0 W A I N W R I G H T 000000000000000000|000000000000000 A D R I A N 0 R O B L E S
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xxx 'Cause I'm a fighter, a tiger, see me walk through fire
xxx Try chain me up but I'll burst through, I'll defy ya
xxx Set me on fire
xxx Watch them conspire
xxx I will defy ya
xxx I'll set them on fire

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBRN - AViVA

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xxx Are we just drowning?
xxx Can you please save us
xxx Black walls surrounding
xxx Can you please save my soul?
xxx Causing our own demise
xxx Causing our own

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDROWN - AViVA

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G E M I N I

H E X
#D6130B 0 | 0 #0018BE

O U T F I T
Jena 0 | 0 Adrian

M A S K
Jena 0 | 0 Adrian





Gemini stood quietly for a moment as Aboleth asked what he was thinking. He wanted to just say the first thought that came to mind, but knew now wouldn’t be the time to do it; either they had to find Red Witch and get out of here, or call off the mission and re-evaluate what was going on. Adrian was about to ask Bludwynd thought, trusting him a but more than Aboleth at the moment, but he quickly spoke, saying he couldn’t feel anything with his powers and was interrupted when some distorted words came through their ear piece. Artemis yelled, telling them it was a trap. “Wait, Art, what’s going on?” Adrian tried to reply but only heard static white noise now, something was now blocking their communications. Bludwynd spoke up saying they should leave and started in the direction they came, but Aboleth had other plans.

Adrian quickly picked up one of the guards weapons and broke the water fountain next to them, causing water to spill out and used the water to make Aboleth slip, but catching her and shoving her back towards their exit. “No! We have to get out of here, if Artemis says it's a trap, she means it. We leave and re-group when we get communications back, if it’s a trap like she says, Red Witch isn’t here anyways.” He stared at her. If this was a trap, they didn’t need any others being caught alongside Red Witch, plus he still had his suspicions. He was relieved when the villain decided to listen and turned back, following after Aaron, but Adrian took a moment. What are you thinking babe? Jena asked, but not getting a response from him.

He knelt back down to the guard and dug through his pockets in case there was anything else picked up a phone-like device. Adrian wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the initial message on it made him worried as well as frustrated. He heard the others yell towards him about getting to go and quickly pocketed the device as he stood up. Adrian
 you don’t think that
 I do
 He responded to Jena as he followed the other two down the hall. As they turned the corner they just about ran into Malfyre and Icarus, a bit relieved to see them. They exchanged a few words and all agreed on continuing to leave. “Any word on Artemis or Paladin?” Gemini quickly asked as they all ran down the hallway.

When they got outside and a good distance away, the static in their communications seemed to be gone. “Hello? Artemis? Paladin? Guys!” Adrian just about shouted as they entered an alleyway. But there was a response. “Fuck!” Gemini kicked a trashcan as he cursed. Calm down, let me take over. Fine. Gemini discussed with themself and Jena quickly took over, looking back to the others. “They
 they might just have a communications problem. Let’s just meet back up tomorrow, I’ll continue trying to reach Artemis. Malfyre, I know you’re a bit closer to Paladin.” Jena spoke, trying to take control and take over the role Adrian usually had, but he was a bit preoccupied with himself at the moment.




Throughout the night and into the next day, Gemini kept trying to get in contact with Artemis and talking to Malfyre about Paladin, both of them not having any luck, as more time when on it began to look more and more like they didn’t make it out, and like Red Witch, was captured. Adrian and Jena also discussed their thoughts and what was on the phone. Adrian furious about what they had found and Jena wanting to take it slow and ask more questions and try to get enough information. Jena also didn’t want Adrian to be the one to walk into the meeting, but he quickly shut down that request and that he needed to be there, needed to be the one talking to the others.

Whether it was on accident or on purpose, Gemini was the last one to get to the meeting, but made themselves known as the door flew open, Adrian not looking happy beneath his mask and with his body language. Babe, wait
 calm dow- Adrian interrupted Jena and spoke towards Icarus and Aboleth. “You two want to explain this?” He tossed the phone across the table. The phone screen showed what Gemini had found, messages about not hurting the villains in the group, talking about targeting specific heroes and multiple mentions of her. “Seems a lot like the second Red Witch is ‘captured,’ they only care about us heroes.” Adrian asked, putting air quotations with his fingers around the word captured.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Luciana Morrison
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╔═════════════════╗
We'll never get free
Lamb to the slaughter
What you gon' do
When there's blood in the water?

╚═════════════════╝


Red Witch ║ Villain ║ Hex: #571616

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When Luciana opened her eyes, all she could see was black. For a second she just thought the room was dark, but she quickly felt something wrapped around her head, and that it wasn’t dark in the room, but some sort of mask was covering her face. She reached her hands up and felt around the mask, feeling the cold metal of it and seeing if there was a way to take it off, but it had some sort of latch in the around the back of her head that she wasn’t able to open. Once again removing her eyesight to remove the threat of her powers. Lucy slowly stood up, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. She ran her hands over her body, feeling she had some sort of jumpsuit outfit, and felt the cold floor on her bare feet. There were also some sort of metal bands on her wrist but not connected. She was laying on a bed that had some sort of wood frame and felt around a bit and bumping into what she assumed was a table and almost falling over, cursing aloud to herself.

She finally felt along the wall to what seemed like a door, banging a few times on it. “Hey!” She shouted, and waited for an answer for a few seconds. “Hello? I know someone can hear me.” Luciana shouted again, bang a few more times until she heard a beep and some static. “Hello Miss Morrison. The door is unlocked. A guard will escort you.” A voice came through what Lucy assumed was an intercom, a little annoyed she didn’t just try opening the door. She felt around and found the door handle, turning it and pushing the door open, quickly feeling the change in the floor. “This way.” A voice said to her, she reacted and swung towards them, missing, and being told to calm down. Luciana obviously didn’t and swung out again, but this time afterwards she felt a shock from both of her wrists causing her to kneel over shortly after, the pain dwindling away after a moment. “Hey! Not too much.”[/color] Another voice spoke around her, speaking to the first guard, she recognized the voice, the suited man from the warehouse before. “Let’s go Miss Morrison.” He said, almost caringly as he helped Luciana up and guided her forward.

“Sorry about the pain, but a lot of people are scared of yo-” “And they should be.” Lucy interrupted him. “As I was saying, yes people are scared of you, and for good reason. But, now is a time where being feared is more beneficial than working together. Now, into here.” He grazed Luciana’s arm towards the door she heard open, and then guided her hand to a chair in front of a table to sit at. “Now, as you already know my name. I am here to present a proposition and show you some trust, in exchange for the same for you. On the table in front of you, are some items. A key to unlock the facial covering you are wearing, a set of clothes to match your villainous name, and a temporary mask.” Lucy sat and listened, the key being the main thing she wanted, but a bit intrigued why she would need a temporary mask. “And if I agree, what’s the catch?” She asked, hearing the man scoot back in his chair and stand up. “We show you a grace of good will, and you will consider working with us.” The man continued to speak, professionally and concise. “Fine. But I don’t make promises.” Lucy said quickly, holding out her hand for the key.

It didn’t take Luciana long to change, but being told she will keep the metal bands on her wrists as a fallback if she tries to fight back. Being warned not to try to draw any blood to use her powers or she will be punished. She felt comfortable having her eyesight back and took a look around, going over and speaking towards the outside of the door. “I’m ready. Now what is this so called good grace you have for me.” Red Witch asked, watching the door open and finally seeing the man again and confirming it was the man she saw from the warehouse. “I was told to show you rather than tell you.” The man spoke to her, leading her down another corridor. “By who?” She asked quickly, following him and noticing that two guards joined behind them. “Now, that’s for a later time.” He said shortly, just leading her through the maze of hallways until they came to a room that had a red light above it. “Into here, Red Witch.” He spoke, knocking on the door, asking if the guests were ready. She was confused for why he all of the sudden called her Red Witch instead of his usual Miss Morrison, but as she walked into the room, she saw why. Paladin and Artemis.

The two heroes still had their masks and outfits on so they seemed like the actual heroes, but she couldn’t be hundred percent sure. They were sitting in two chairs back to back restrained to the chairs. “Here they are. Paladin and Artemis. Left their masks on for you.” The man said, walking around and picking up a clipboard and writing something on. Red Witch shocked to see two of the heroes captured here. Before she could say anything, she heard muffled words obviously directed towards her from a woman tied up. She ignored them as walked over to Paladin, quickly pulling off his mask over his head. “Dhani
” She mumbled as she tossed the mask to the side, seeing it was him. “How did you get them?” She asked, walking over and standing in front of Artemis now, and making eye contact. “We set a trap for them, easy with the video we took.” There were a bit more muffled words from the two, particularly angry or annoyed ones from Artemis. Red Witch ignored them as she pulled Artemis’ mask off as well, revealing the hero's true face to her.

Red Witch was a bit surprised at who Artemis was. It wasn’t someone she knew, but she didn’t expect one of the people she despised to be attractive, though the dark haired woman was able to pull off the slitted eyebrow. She let the mask slip back down onto Artemis’ face, not really caring about placing it back correctly or comfortably. Lucy turned back and went towards the man. “What about the others? Icarus and Aboleth?” She voiced her concern. “The other heroes got away. And while Icarus and Aboleth put up a fight as I’ve been told, they were not harmed. Now, we have one more place to go as per our agreement. If you are done with your prey.” The man set down the clipboard and opened the door out, waiting for Luciana. “Once we leave, move them to the other room so they can relax a bit. And take the gags out of their mouths, we aren’t barbarians.” He said to the guard and led Luciana down the hallway. Red Witch taking a glance back at the two heroes for a second before following.

“That’s your good grace for me? Two people I strongly dislike?” Luciana spoke quickly as the hallways seemed to change. Going from rows of rooms, to a more administrative look; more offices and conference rooms and less barred doors. “Yes, exactly. To show good faith your enemies are our enemies, and we didn’t touch your friends. Now, onto the person who wants to meet you and set all of this in motion.” The two walked in silence as the man pulled out his phone and called someone, letting them know he was on his way with ‘her.’ They stopped at a room with a glass wall, but the blinds were closed. He knocked once before a female voice called them in, and what Luciana saw inside shocked her more than seeing Artemis and Paladin. “Hello Lucy.” A tall blonde woman said, leaning against a desk. “Mom?”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles Character Portrait: Luciana Morrison
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PIPER YOUNG
zzAboleth - #3E7A4E
zzzzzzzzzoutfit - mask

open your eyes.

there is fear. there is great sorrow. there is a catalogue of sins and a host of great terrors eating at your soul.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It seemed as if the moment they started to sense something was off, everyone decided it was time to go. Piper’s earpiece crackled to life, with broken warnings of a trap, urges to get out now. That was probably the best decision. Panic gripped Piper to her very core: if they gave up now, what would happen to Lucy? Piper knew there was always the chance that they wouldn’t find Lucy, or that they’d find her dead, but she wasn’t willing to just give up. So when Bludwynd said it was time to go, Piper shook her head, and started to keep walking down the hall, “No, I-” But before she could go far, or say much, Gemini had broken a pipe somewhere and caused her to slip and fall. At least he had the decency to catch her so she didn’t hit the floor.

She frowned at his words, and thought about fighting him on it. Luciana was her friend- maybe her only friend. Leaving didn’t feel right, but Gemini was right. “Okay,” She said, not offering any indication of whether she thought he was right or wrong, and turned to follow Bludwynd- presumably out of the building. Guilt began to settle in her chest. This felt wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It felt less like surviving and more like giving up, and Piper felt like a child again. Powerless, out of control; she could almost imagine she was still walking around with faded clothes and shoes one puddle away from falling apart.

They eventually met up with Icarus and Malfyre. Piper didn’t know if the worried look she shot at Atticus would translate with only half of her face showing, but she didn’t think any of the heroes here cared even half enough about Lucy to understand how worried they were.

But everyone agreed it was best to leave. Gemini asked if there was any word on Artemis and Paladin, and something about that made Piper deeply uncomfortable.

But Gemini’s little outburst in the alleyway was even more uncomfortable. Piper knew that tensions were going to be high after something like that, but this was different than the role he usually seemed to fill. As Gemini’s other half took over, Piper found herself just nodding in agreement to whatever she said. Everything was fine. It had to be fine.

But it wasn’t fine. This was a disaster, and Piper couldn’t help but think this meant that they were all slated to die. But she had to go home, get some rest. They were going to be meeting again the next day, after all. Hopefully someone would be able to contact the missing heroes, and they could hash out a new plan together.




Sleep didn’t come easily. That gnawing feeling on the back of her neck like she was being hunted wouldn’t subside, and Piper spent much of the night laying stiffly in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe I should move back home, She thought to herself, At least no one ever captured my friends or tried to kill me there. A part of her remembered that her life in West Virginia wasn’t so great, either. It seemed she was doomed to suffer.

When it came time for the meeting, Piper found herself waiting uneasily, looking around at who was present. She tried to tell herself it was a coincidence. Nobody else could be missing. She wasn’t sure she believed herself.

Piper flinched when Gemini slammed open the door. The way he stalked into the room confirmed what Piper knew in her heart: something was very, very wrong. But then he immediately jumped to accusing her and Atticus. Piper was taken aback. “Excuse me?” She said, letting Att have a chance to look at the phone in question first, “So the moment something goes wrong, you’re going to throw us under the bus.” It was an accusation, not a question, and it wasn’t a surprise. She took the phone from Atticus when he’d finished reading the message on the screen and shook her head. She didn’t know anything about this, though she had to admit it did look rather damning.


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zDHANI BATRA
zzzzPaladin - #B85C9E


i have never understood where the line is drawn, between sacrifice and self-slaughter.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cerys asked Dhani to cover her and, of course, he always would. Everything about all of this was too easy. Not enough guards. The door wasn’t locked, nothing seemed to be rigged or trapped in any way. But they had to see it through, and they both knew it. If this did go wrong, Dhani just hoped that Cerys would listen to him if he told her to go ahead without him.

It was tense. They were both waiting for an alarm, or a swarm of guards, maybe an explosion or a bullet to the head. The silence in the room was palpable, you could almost taste it. Dhani heard Cerys gasp and time seemed to move in slow motion for a moment as the pieces clicked together in both of their minds. Dhani wished they’d called it sooner. He knew he’d feel responsible if anything happened to Cerys. Hell, he already felt like he’d failed her.

Things went really quickly, then. Cerys called the whole thing off, and before he knew it, she and Dhani were running back out the door. Cerys had grabbed onto Dhani’s sleeve, he let her. It was more important than ever that they stayed together.

They didn’t get far. There were so many guards. This wasn’t going to end well. If he had the chance, there were a lot of things he might have said, sorry for a lot of things he logically knew Cerys didn’t- or wouldn’t- blame him for. He was sorry this was ending this way, that Cerys couldn’t have been with another group that might stand a chance of making it out. He was sorry he couldn’t keep her from this fight. He was sorry he wasn’t there with her and Helen that night, he still wondered if he might have been able to make a difference. Instead he steadied himself for a fight and avoided looking in Cerys’ direction so he wouldn’t lose his nerve.

There were too many of them, and Dhani knew this fight wouldn’t last long. Still, he bulldozed his way through several of the guards before he felt a sharp pinch, and down he went.




At first, Dhani was halfway convinced he’d dreamed the whole thing, but he tried to move and found himself restrained, and realized very quickly that there was someone tied up behind him. He assumed it was Cerys. There was something in his mouth. Bound and gagged? He thought he might have rather they killed him than whatever it was they were planning here. He had no clue where he was; the only familiar thing he could see was his boots. There was a knock at the door, the announcement that they were ready. Ready for what? Then Red Witch walked in.

Dhani wasn’t entirely sure what he was feeling, if he were being honest. He just stared at her, though he closed his eyes as she took off his mask. He shot her a pleading look when she said his name, and started to try to call out to her even as she walked away; he didn’t know why he thought he could appeal to her, she hated him, and she couldn’t understand a thing he was saying anyway. But he thought if he could get the idea across, Please, we’re on the same side in this!

It did occur to him that she may have had a part in all of this, but he didn’t have the energy to worry about that, too. If she had any power in this situation, he wanted to focus on trying to see if she would consider letting them go free. There was, at least, the comfort of knowing the others were safe. That Kieran was safe. Atticus was safe. They’d made it out.

It wasn’t long before Red Witch was gone, and he and Cerys were being led away to some other room.

Once they were secured in the room, Dhani gave Cerys a moment to rant, or search the room, or do whatever it was she planned on doing. Personally, Dhani sat down on the nearest surface. He still felt a little dizzy and nauseated, and wondered what exactly they’d done to him.

He was scared, really. If he were alone, he might have cried. As it was, he felt the need to stay strong for Cerys. She’d come a long way, but he still felt somewhat responsible for her, like an older brother who promised his mother he’d look out for his sister on her first day of school. So instead he asked her, “How are you- Are you hurt?” He was fairly sure he knew how she was doing, and there wasn’t much he could do about that. There wasn’t much he could do about anything, and he was desperately grasping for something he could do.


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Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kieran Valanetti Character Portrait: Piper Young Character Portrait: Dhani Batra Character Portrait: Cerys Day Character Portrait: Atticus Hawkins Character Portrait: Jena Wainwright//Adrian Robles
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atticus hawkins
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hex: #88c878xxxxxoutfit: here
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xxxwe are deaf
xxxwe are numb
xxxfree and young
xxxand we can feel none of it

xxx
The minute Atticus saw the screens, he knew that his gut had been right all along. Artemis’ panicked cries of it being a trap only confirmed that, before their comms abruptly shut off. His grip tightened on his gun as Malfyre turned to him and said they needed to go, already following her down the hall. Even if there hadn’t been much communication between them before, the silence in his earpiece suddenly seemed deafening. He’d known something was up, and they’d still walked into a trap.

They had gotten out of the building and a short way away from the building when everything suddenly came crashing down on top of Atticus. Lucy didn’t have long left. It might already be too late. Maybe they’d already signed her death warrant by attempting to rescue her. His vision was still clear as day in his head, the sensation of a hand that wasn’t his holding the gun against her head. And then Artemis’ panicked warning echoed in his head. Dhani had been with her. How many death warrants had they signed?

He had to stop suddenly, his stomach lurching and the nausea threatening to overwhelm him. He instinctively braced himself against the alley wall as he tried to catch his breath and just breathe through it. It was only then he remembered Malfyre’s presence, and he looked up at her, recovering his composure somewhat as Piper, Gemini, and Bludwynd showed up. Att caught Piper’s worried look. He shook his head ever so slightly, because what else could he do or say? They hadn’t saved Lucy. They were probably too late.

He made it home before his body finally gave out on him. He made it to the bathroom just in time to throw up, his whole body shaking. Still sitting on the cool bathroom tiles, he managed to pull his phone out of his pocket and send a text.


To: Dhani
“Please tell me you’re okay.”


It was the first of several texts he’d send that evening, begging Dhani to just reply if he was seeing the messages at all, just to let Att know that he was okay. Every single one of them went unanswered. As time went on, Att just became more and more sure that Lucy was dead and that it was their fault. Maybe if they hadn’t made any moves, they would have approached them, they would have been able to save her. Maybe if they’d moved quicker in the first place, they could have saved her.

He didn’t sleep much. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was violence. His hand on the trigger, someone else’s hand on the trigger, people he cared about, people he’d never met, what was the difference? He got a text at some point with the details for the meet up. He managed to get into clean clothes and drink some coffee before the meeting, but he didn’t eat anything. He couldn’t stomach anything. His hands were shaking as he made his way into the warehouse, and he didn’t know, couldn’t tell if it was the caffeine on an empty stomach, the tiredness, or the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins ever since he’d had that vision. Dhani and Artemis weren’t there, and judging by the tension in everyone’s frames, they weren’t going to come.

Atticus would have struggled to deal with Gemini’s words and attitude on a good morning as the hero stormed in, throwing a phone at them and blaming them. He said nothing as Piper responded, glancing at the messages for only the slightest second before handing it to Piper. His reaction was delayed, possibly by exhaustion, or just as he attempted to process the consequences. And then his elbow snapped back and he sank his fist straight into the unmasked half of Gemini’s face without even saying a word. He swore he heard bone crack as his knuckles collided with Gemini’s cheekbone, probably his hand, but he didn’t care, barely even felt the pain. His other fist went into Gemini’s stomach, and as the hero’s balance was thrown off, Att tackled him to the ground, pinning Gemini to the ground with a knee on his chest.

He wasn’t entirely sure that he had meant to attack Gemini like this. It felt like he almost blacked out, resorting to the violence like he’d always been taught. And he wasn’t sure that he was sorry about it either. Maybe now, people would take him seriously, a voice in his head said. Maybe now, they would listen. It was only when Piper’s order rang through his hand that he even could process what had happened and what he had done. Obediently, he stepped away from Gemini and instinctively stepped back towards Piper. “Sorry,” he mumbled, the apology directed mostly towards Piper, the exhaustion suddenly coming crashing back in. His hand was beginning to ache, and he’d managed to tear the skin on his knuckles. Examining his hand, he suddenly remembered the first meeting and how Dhani had fixed up his hand then. He swallowed around the lump in his throat.





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cerys day
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hex: #c7bbb4xxxxoutfit: here
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xxxthey lose their minds for us
xxxand how it plays out
xxxbut now we’re in the ring
xxxand we’re coming for blood

xxx
One thing that Cerys had learned over the years was that her body tended to break down medication and drugs quicker than other people. Their attackers didn’t seem to have realised that, and as a result, she was beginning to come around even as they dumped her onto the chair, tied her to the chair, and gagged her. She was vaguely aware of it happening, but nowhere near conscious enough to even consider fighting back. But it meant that she was around and conscious for what felt like a while before she felt someone stirring behind her, presumably Dhani. She attempted to look around as she heard somebody come in, but couldn’t see the person who came in. The voice, however, was concerningly familiar, and she furrowed her brow as the woman mumbled Dhani’s name to herself.

And then, as the woman moved around to look at Cerys, Cerys realised why she was so familiar. Red Witch. For a moment, Cerys forgot the gag in her mouth and went to tell Red Witch exactly what she thought of her. Her words came out muffled, and she swore again as Red Witch just left her mask sitting awkwardly on her face. There was the brief reassurance that the others were all safe, which was something. They’d gotten out in time.

Dhani and Cerys were led to a different room, and Cerys expected for a second to be tied to another chair. They were ungagged and left to their own devices. For a moment, Cerys considered going for the guard’s eyes, but reconsidered given how heavily armed they all were. The minute that the door closed, Cerys took the opportunity to let out a string of curses, pulling off her mask and tossing it on the floor. And then she scanned the room. No windows, no furniture other than two mattresses on the floor. The door seemed to be reinforced. She sat on the mattress across from Dhani to think. She looked up as Dhani spoke, raising an eyebrow at his question. She shook his head as he asked if she was hurt.

“I’m fine.” She fell silent, trying to figure what else she was supposed to say. Nothing came to mind, and she studied Dhani’s face for a few moments. She wouldn’t have said this to anyone else, but if she’d had to pick anyone to be stuck here with, it was Dhani. He was basically family to her, and he was one of the few people Cerys felt really understood her. She got up off of her own mattress, and instead moved to sit beside Dhani, bumping his shoulder against his for a moment. “I can’t believe Red Witch stabbed us in the back like this, though. I honestly thought she was actually on our side,” she said. “More fool us, I guess. Do
 do you think Icarus and Aboleth are in on it too?”