Setting
- 95 posts here • Page 2 of 4 • 1, 2, 3, 4

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

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
Good talks from everyone, glad I donât have to follow that up. Adrian spoke to Jena. Though their optimism slowly changed as the villains then spoke. Icarus mostly just suggested they give time before making a decision, which made sense, everyone in the room had just got done trying to beat the living hell out of each other. But when Aboleth and Red Witch spoke things didnât seem so gleem, but Jena wasnât exactly surprised.
Aboleth mostly backed up what Icarus said, along with adding the point about things escalating, which was a good point. Though the last comment she made Jena knew would get under the skin of her heroes. Then Red Witch added onto her comment throwing another insult at Artemis. She really doesnât like Artemis does she? Yeah, you should have seen them at the town hall fight, the two of them kind of hold a grudgeâŠ
Gemini wasnât sure what they were expecting out of Red Witch, but they definitely didnât get the agreement they were hoping for, with them talking about not wanting to work together, rolling her eyes as the villain threw up air quotes. âFine, whatever. But we ne-â Jena had started to talk but was quickly interrupted as by the villain, speaking about her presence not being needed. Jena let out a sigh as Red Witch shoved her way through the heroes and walked out of the warehouse. She ran her hand over her mask before speaking again. âWell, great. Anyways. Looks like the remaining of us can at least agree on one thing, even if we donât trust each other, we do think we need to work together.â
Jena left the air open to let anyone else get some words out, Adrian suggested some other things in their head, but Jena mostly just ignored him.

xxxwhen i burst into flames
xxxi'll leave you the dust, my love
xxxhope a bit of it will be enough
xxxto help remember the days
xxx
"We need to meet somewhere on neutral ground. I don't want to be accused of favouring one way or another, but I'm sure as hell not walking in somewhere the villains can ambush us. And perhaps somewhere a little less..." She gestured around vaguely. "Grungey?" She said vaguely. "Somewhere a little bit nicer than this anyway. Can we at least agree on that much?" She asked, desperate to just try and get things over and done with.
They eventually agreed on a time and a place, somewhere it could work for both of them and that would put them on a level footing. The meeting time was arranged to be a similar time to allow for them all to do their day jobs as normal then come to the meeting. Cerys sighed, running a hand down her face as she made her way over to Aaron. "Jesus Christ, that was a lot. Can we go grab some drinks or something? I desperately need to relax," she said, running a hand through her hair.

xxxstaring in the blackness
xxxat some distant star
xxxthe thrill of knowing how alone we are,
xxxunknown we are.
xxx
Eventually, the meeting wrapped up, and he sighed with relief. Now that Lucy was gone, he was feeling painfully exposed. He was ready to leave and just walk away from it all. And then he caught Dhani's eye again and... goddammit, Atticus. He knew that he should walk away, knew the thing that made him want to stay was the whole reason he should have left. And he almost managed it, managing to turn and walk out of the building and leave him behind.
But instead he found himself waiting outside, pulling his mask off and sticking to the shadows. And when Dhani came out, Att quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him to one side. "Hey. Sorry, I just..." he trailed off, suddenly regretting his decision. What was he going to say? Sorry I'm a villain? Sorry I didn't mention it?. "That was weird. And I guess... I'm sorry, I don't know what I wanted to say. Just. Didn't want to walk away from this without... I don't know, acknowledging it?"

xxxremember when we?
xxxi don't know what you need to get by
xxxsomething for your mind
xxx
She paid Red Witch no mind as she left the building, not even acknowledging when she asked for Piper and Icarus to keep her filled in with the details of whatever they had left to discuss. She knew that The Red Witch could take care of herself, and was sure she would get all the information she needed soon enough. Piper shot a look to Icarus; she wouldnât call him a friend, but he was also her only real ally here now. She stayed where she was, there was no need to show weakness by moving in closer, but she knew he was better in a fight than she was. Though she would ditch him in a heartbeat if it came to it, for now they needed to be a united front⊠Or, at least, as united as they could be.
Their little meeting wrapped up soon enough, and Piper was out of there as soon as they decided they were done. She spared a passing glance to Icarus, if only to make sure he couldnât accuse her of abandoning him, and started on her way home. After double and triple checking that she wasnât being followed, she removed her mask. It was easier to get around the town that way, and the only thing she wanted was to go home.

xxxcrossing your t's as though it weren't irrelevant
xxxthey say formality, this is what they really meant:
xxxthey can be the walk and we can be the pavement
xxx
After their little meeting, Dhani put his mask back on. It would be easier to get back through the city in full superhero garb than only in most of it. He glanced over to the others, and after making sure they were going to be fine, he headed for the door, but not before giving Gemini a gentle pat on the shoulder, âGreat job.â Gemini had really helped gain some trust from the villains, even if it was minimal, and their efforts really helped everyone become more civil.
Soon after Dhani left the warehouse, he was pulled off to the side, and quickly felt a bit of panic set in. What now? He thought, but quickly enough he realized it was just Atticus. He felt like they were standing too close to one another, even though he was sure they were a total normal distance from one another. Atticus was apologising for⊠Something. Dhani wasnât sure. He wasnât sure Atticus knew what he was apologising for, either. He shook his head, âItâs,â It wasnât fine, though. Not really. âI mean⊠Donât apologize, it wasnât,â He sighed, this was awkward and terrible, and how the hell did Atticus have good hair even after the fight? âThank you. And Iâm sorry that one of my friends held you hostage.â He didnât know what else to say, he didnât want to make things weird, or worse. A part of him wanted to ask Atticus to pretend like nothing had ever happened between them, and yet another part of him didnât think that was fair to either of them. It wasnât as if they had some long history together, anyway. âYouâre not hurt or anything, are you?â He started to take off a glove, âBecause if you are, I mean, I have healing powers,â He quickly looked Atticus over, and grabbed for his hand without waiting for a reply. He let a warm energy flow from his own hand and into Atticusâ, and healed up his hand at least a little. âThere,â He- almost reluctantly- let go of Atticusâ hand. God, why had this gotten under his skin so badly. It was just the shock of knowing someone heâd slept with was a villain. Thatâs what he told himself, anyway.
0000Kieran0Vallenetti 00000000000000000|00000000000000000000|Aaron0 Langdan


Kieran leaned loosely against Aaron as he helped heep her propped up against him as he held her by the waist with one arm as her left arm was slung over his shoulder. They both shot Aboleth a glare on her comment about some acting childish. "Excuse me? Us? Childish?" Kieran called out loudly, "Well...That may be true sometimes but that's a bit rude." she said as she tried to keep herself from falling over. Aaron sighed as be struggled to keep her up, "Not the time for this. Just shut up, got it?" he groaned, as his attention was brought to Red Witch who seemed to be in agreement on them being childish, but it was more so aimed towards Artemis. Which resulted in them both shooting her a harsh glare.
Turning to look as the group spoke up once more about working together, even if they didn't like it. Kieran giving Aaron a look that he would know all too well, even with the assistance of the led mask helping somewhat in displaying her emotions. They both silently watched as Red Witch and eventually Aboleth left, not really paying much attention to what they were saying. Theyâd run into them again at some point. Kieran shot Dhani a look as he walked out after Atticus left as well, something she thought was odd, but didnât care as much as she would have if he didnât even bother to come over and make sure she was okay. Sheâd make sure he heard enough of it later.
âBlud, do we really have to work with them? You know how I am, I donât do well with othersâŠ.Especially people like...WellâŠthat.â she said with a tone of annoyance. Aaron simply sighed as he nodded, âItâs up to you if you want to work with them, but in the end, we donât really have a choice, Malfyre. Itâs what we got to deal with, so so be it.â he said softly. Looking back up a small smile creased his lips as he saw Artemis shoulder her bow and make her way over to the two of them. âOh hey, Artemis.â he said with a tone that showed he managed to cheer up slightly, but not much. He gave her a small nod, âI was actually thinking of that myself. So, it sounds like a plan-â âHello? I am still here with you. Are you really gonna just leave me alone?â Malfyre quipped back at Aaron. Bludwynd gave a small chuckle at her comment, âThink you can walk?â he asked. âI dunno, letâs see-â she started, as she tried to push herself up and take a step forwards, seeing her balance completely tip as she lost her footing. âYou may wanna catch me.â she said as she struggled to fully hold a grasp on his arm.
Aaron chuckled, propping her back up on her feet as he held her arm over his shoulder, doing his best to keep her steady. âYou really are hopeless.â he chuckled. Looking at Cerys for a moment, âDo you mind having her as a third wheel? Iâll bring her home after, promise. I just think we could all use a few drinks.â Aaron said with a smile. âBesides, my nose is still fucked up due to that douchebag and his bitch ass punch. Iâm gonna need you to tell me how bad it really is anyway, BloodWynd. Besides, drinks sound nice but, I donât want to...Ya know, come between anything if you had plans for you two. I can sit out on this one, I donât mind.â Kieran said with a small smile, which was blocked entirely by her mask. âIâm fine with anything, depends what Arty here wants to do. Ditch your punk ass, or deal with your bullshit for a bit longer. What ya say?â

xxxthis could be the last of all the rides we take
xxxso hold on tight and don't look back
xxxwe don't care about the message
xxxor the rules they make
xxxI'll find you when the sun goes black
xxx
The next meeting went considerably better than the first. Fewer injuries, less bickering, and they actually managed to hatch something close to a plan. And the meeting after that was almost amicable, with next to no arguments and them actually forming a concrete plan. They needed to do some recon on a number of sites throughout the city, and it seemed to make sense to divide and conquer. Only eight of them showed up to any subsequent missions, so they divided themselves into pairs. Well, not as much divided as made logical decisions. A hero and a villain as far as possible so they could make sure that neither side was up to anything suspicious. Those who were less suited to fighting had to be put with somebody that could protect them, which Cerys had taken as âunless you have obvious superpowers, you need to be babysat.â
Cerys hadnât been terribly happy about that decision, but she got the impression sheâd been put with Aaron just to stop her complaining. And she was okay with that. It was better than being stuck with any of the villains. She could actually work with Aaron.
They were assigned the task of tailing a potential target to see if there was anything suspicious about them, or if they could potentially give them any more clues about what they were doing. It was about 5 in the evening, giving them plenty of time to follow him for the rest of the evening. It did, however, mean that it was significantly harder to find a good hiding spot.
Cerys was hiding just outside one of the office buildings, hiding in the shadows of a fire escape to give her a slightly elevated angle of view if she needed it. She knew Aaron was somewhere nearby, watching from ground level. âOur guyâs on the move,â she said quietly, before dropping down from the fire escape and shouldering her bow.
xxxi'm blinded by the lights
xxxno, I can't sleep until I feel your touch
xxxI'm drowning in the night,
xxxwhen I'm like this, you're the one I trust.
xxx
And then Dhani started asking about whether or not he was hurt. Atticus began to say no, he wasnât hurt, not really. But Dhani took his hand and Atticus had to resist the temptation to pull away. But it wasnât for the reason he should have pulled away, it wasnât just because here was a hero, making sure he was okay, even though he knew. It was because he was afraid heâd see something that, for some ungodly reason, he didnât want to see. And it was stupid, if he hadnât seen it before, why would he see it now?
But a rush of warmth ran up Atticusâ hand, stitching the skin back together on his knuckles and mending the damage heâd done by punching Malfyre. And then Dhani let go of his hand, and Atticus almost felt sorry about that. âThank you,â he said. There was a moment when he thought about doing something crazy, but instead, he just smiled awkwardly. âWe⊠I should go. Before someone comes out and⊠yells at me for fraternising with a hero. Or at you for fixing up a villain,â he said. âThanks again for⊠well everything.â He had no idea why turning around and walking away was so damn hard. Dhani was supposed to be just another guy heâd slept with whoâd turned out to be a hero.
And then, of course, someone had decided to pair the two of them up for the mission. He had no idea who decided on that, other than apparently he needed to be paired up with a hero who could âprotect himâ given that he apparently couldnât protect himself. As if he didnât have more experience with knives and guns than any of them. But heâd bitten his tongue to stop anyone questioning why he was so upset over Dhani specifically. They had been told to try and get into the basement of a particular building, because theyâd gotten intel that there could be information on them in there. If they found anything, they were to destroy it. Because they needed to look low key, Atticus was dressed a little more ânormallyâ according to Lucy, and he felt deeply out of his comfort zone. The weight of the gun concealed at his hip wasnât doing much to ease that. He was waiting for Dhani at their prearranged meeting spot and was wondering what exactly would happen if he just left and didnât come back. But something made him stay.
LUCIANA MORRISON

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away
Luciana was already at the apartment with a bottle of wine lounging on the couch when Atticus finally showed up, still half way in her villain garb. She said a small remark about him taking so long and turned her focus to him when she asked about if she missed anything else after she left. He went into some detail about what some of the others said but rolled her eyes as she went back to flipping through the channels for something to watch. Lucy was thinking of talking to Att right then about him and his little boy toy, but so much had happened today and didnât have the energy to yell at him at the moment and wanted to relax.
There had been talk about another meeting and after a lot of discussing peopleâs conflicts and dates they finally figured one out, and it was a neutral location that both parties had scoped out so they would both feel comfortable. Luciana could care less as she wasnât worried about the heroes, even publicly saying it, though she knew Att and Piper wanted something more comforting than blindly walking into a warehouse again.
The meeting went as smoothly as Red Witch expected, she mostly played with her cuts and messed with blood around her fingers as the others talked, her feet kicked onto the table. One of the few times she spoke was when the pairing of groups came up and someone suggested Paladin and Icarus being together. She didnât trust Atticus working with this hero, and she definitely didn't trust Paladin, but if he didnât get paired with Icarus, heâd get paired with her, and Icarus didnât want that to happen, probably knowing there would be some accident to happen to Paladin. She sat back as she also noted she âdidnât want to babysit the little humanâ referencing Artemis, which caused another heated argument, but over time the pairs were finally made and she would be working with Malfyre, the hero she held temporarily hostage over during the warehouse situation.
When Luciana and Attitcus got back to their apartment after the recent meeting she quickly had a talk with him, talking about he shouldnât be working with that hero and not to be an idiot. âThey're tools, Atticus. A means to an end. Do you really think we're all going to be the best of friends after this? Like they won't try and turn us in the moment after we're all safe and sound? They're still heroes, Att. Don't lose your head." Luciana didnât really give him a chance to talk back as she said some other things, she promised if he didnât get his shit together, that he would do it for him. Lucy wouldnât admit it outloud to Att, but she cared about him and was worried about what the heroes would do.
Before the meeting came, Luciana visited the record and book store again, seeing the same girl again, Kieran. She mostly ignored her as she flipped through some records, though looking up a few times and listening to her conversation with Aaron. Something with how she spoke seemed familiar, specifically her vocabulary. When Lucy went up to pay her sleeve slipped up on accident and tried covering it, but knew Aaron and Kieran had to have seen it. Luciana put on a fake smile and said some excuse about her cat scratching her, though she didn't own one but they wouldn't know that.
Red Witch took her time getting to her meeting spot with Malfyre, actually showing up a bit late, though not caring if the hero had to wait on her. Their mission was a fairly easy one, though she could have asked for something a little bit more fun. âHey!â She called out, seeing the hero on their phone and distracted, letting out a small chuckle seeing that she startled her. âStealing a laptop. Sounds easy enough.â Red Witch looked over to the building they would be going into, information said their target was on the second floor, and she quickly spotted a fire escape leading up to it.
âSo, we could go through the front, have some fun, and fight our way to the target, or we could go the boring route of the fire escape once it gets a bit darker. What you think little miss hero?â Luciana knew what the hero would say, probably picking the fire escape as the way to go, but was curious how they would pick one scenario over the other.

xxxgod knows we like archaic kinds of fun (the old way)
xxxchance is the only game I play with, baby
xxxwe let our battles choose us
xxx
Initially, Piper didnât know what to think about being paired up with Gemini. Clearly, the heroes didnât trust her (not that she blamed them), and they wanted everyone without strong offensive powers to be paired with someone who was more of a fighter (again, a good idea), but she honestly would have rather been paired with someone less⊠showy. Piper liked to keep her work deep undercover, and she was a little worried that the fire and water would make it hard to stick to the shadows. After all, Gemini wasnât known to be particularly stealthy. Really, most of the tougher heroes werenât, and Piper supposed she understood it. Heroics werenât about getting in and out quickly, they were about saving the day and inspiring hope or whatever. It was probably a rush, and the praise was probably even more of a rush. In another life, with different circumstances, she may have enjoyed that kind of life, too. Too bad the city was turning on them, too. How fickle the affections of the public were.
Piper was at the meeting place early; she liked to have any advantage possible, even against an ally, so she stood just out of sight, mask pulled up over her mouth and nose. She understood why she was chosen for this particular mission: they needed to infiltrate a building, find their target, get some information out of him. This was likely going to go much smoother with her there, assuming everything went as planned. She was a little worried that a vital command may not stick, but that was what Gemini was there for. Backup. She wasnât nearly as experienced as⊠Well, anyone else in this new alliance. Some of them had been hitting the streets and doling out their own version of justice longer than Piper had even been able to control her powers, and it was- rightfully- intimidating. You have more than enough ability to hold your own here, she reminded herself, they need you today as much as you need them. The thought was only vaguely comforting. Piper wasnât accustomed to putting herself in potential danger, so she was more than a little nervous. She tried not to let it show, and she hoped the fact that only her eyes were visible in the mask. She hoped her nerves werenât too obvious; she tried to play at being unwavering and consistently tough (as a woman, you have to either have nerves of steel or be insane to make it as a villain), but times like this reminded her how much experience she truly lacked. Three years working mostly behind-the-scenes hadnât prepared her for this sort of thing, but she supposed there wasnât a better time to learn than the present.
She tried not to get lost in her thoughts; she didnât want to be caught by surprise. Still, she found herself drifting back to the loose plan that had been formulated. You just have to remember the plan, she reminded herself, youâll be fine. Youâre not in this alone.
Setting
0.00 INK

The next few days that passed by, went by as usual. Slow and repetitive as ever. Mix of going back and forth between the shop, and hanging out with Kieran at her apartment, when she answered her door anyway. The days of which they had their small meetings with the villains, which could have gone better, but they also could have gone a lot worse. It was when the day finally arrived that they were to go about their next course of action. He hadn't expected to be paired of with Artemis, but he wasn't upset nor could he have wanted anyone else to be put with, except maybe Kieran. But that was just so he could have watched over her and made sure she didn't do anything too reckless. It was only when he saw that she got paired up with Red Witch, is when a small bit grew in his stomach. He didn't know why, but a small voice in the back of his head kept telling him that something wasn't right. But it was out of his hands.
Aaron simply shrug it off and went with Artemis, the two patrolling the streets, from above and below. Cerys took to the roof's, while he took to the streets. They agreed that going under cover, and dressing in civilian clothing was the best option. Stay out of sight and suspicion of most, would be the best they would go. He kept his head low, only occasionally looking up to make sure he was keeping pace with Cerys. He gave her a nod when she said that the man they were tracking with on the move, noticing that indeed the man he was after began moving once more. He gingerly kept pace with the small crowd that he was in, keeping his eyes on the target ahead, "He's heading north."

The next thing she remembered was being woken up by Aaron at the front door who had food. She groggily answered the door and welcomed him in to the mess of her apartment. They had a small discussion, mainly to see how she was. And after a few snide and quick remarks, Aaron knew his answer. He had to remind Kieran that they were going to have a meeting later that day, and a few later that week. She groaned but understood, as begrudgingly as she didn't want to agree.
The meetings went by quickly, and much to her boredom. It was only the final one that she stood against the wall in the back as the others discussed what they were going to do. Much to her annoyance, Aaron was put with Artemis, who seemed a bit too happy to be paired up with him. She was going to argue, but when it was stated that she was being paired up with Red Witch, someone that was a prime interest for her. As the last few days passed by, she found herself wondering what they were going to do.
It was when the day arrived that she made a quick visit to the music store to make last minute mission details, especially making sure that they were going to catch up later that night. A familiar face came up to the counter as she paid for her items. Noticing a few scratches and cuts on her wrist, which Kieran noted as worrisome. But when Lucy explained that it was due to her cat, she simply nodded. Not fully believing the excuse, but wasn't going to press any farther. There was no reason to suspect anything anyway.
It was later that day that Kieran got dressed in her full uniform and mask, and made her way into the city, simply hiding up on a rooftop across from their target's location. It was simple, get in, locate the laptop, hack into it for the information they needed and get out. That is if everything went to plan. Malfyre stood against one of the walls as she awaited for Red Witch to arrive, looking over several different social media platforms and sites as she waited. Her heart almost came to a stop when she heard someone call out, turning slightly when she saw who it was. "Oh hey. Took ya long enough, thought you were about to dip out." Kieran quipped back, the voice coming back out of her mask like it always did. Seeing how she fixed the mask, and the voice modifier once more, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that it was fixed already. Tucking her phone into her jacket's pocket, as she looked over at Lucy once more, "I wouldn't exactly say stealing, more so borrowing for our own needs. There is a difference...Maybe. KindaâŠWhat do I know?" she said with a shrug, turning back to the direction of their mission. Malfyre let out a chuckle at Lucy's words, especially the part where she was called a hero. "Well first, I'm not exactly a hero. I don't fall in line with their definition of...morals, nor their over all code. So calm it with calling me a hero, alright? Second...As for which wayâŠ." Malfyre muttered under her breath as she paced a few times along the rooftop. After a few minutes of pacing and thinking, she stopped mere inches away from Red Witch, looking down slightly, "As much fun as it would be to just burst in through the front door, guns a blazing...I think we should wait. Things are probably going to go horribly wrong anyway, so...Best to hold off having to fight as long as we can help it, got it? But I'm not entirely against having to get my hands dirty. But what do you think? We are partners in this after all, so what do you think?"

xxxi think you know that you won't be away too long
xxxyou know that i'm not that strong
xxxjust one look and i can hear a bell ring
xxxone more look and i forget everything
xxx
There was some arguing when it came down to pairing up for the missions, and Dhani had tried to suggest some other options, but in the end he wound up being paired with Atticus. It wasnât as if Dhani didnât like Atticus, but he wasnât too thrilled by the idea of having to spend extended amounts of time with him. He needed to create a distance between them, and that was hard to do if they were working together. He was an adult, though, and being a hero was all he had. He wasnât going to let this get in his way. Not when there was so much on the line. But he couldnât stop thinking about Atticus pulling him aside to apologize for how weird things were, or the injuries on his hand (that heâs sustained by punching a friend in the face), or how heâd thanked him, twice. Dhani couldnât forget the look in his eyes, or the way neither of them seemed to be able to look at each other. Maybe it was because they were afraid theyâd give it all away. Dhani wasnât exactly accustomed to seeing the guys he hooked up with at work, and it felt very strange.
Beyond that, he didnât like the idea of Kieran being paired with Red Witch. He tried not to be too vocal about it, but it didnât seem like a good idea to him. He knew that she could hold her own, but when he considered what had happened in the warehouse, it made him a little uncomfortable. He couldnât dwell on it, though, because he had his own job to do.
Breaking into a basement meant he had to stay low key, and not get caught. Dhani hated this sort of thing; he was much more suited for running into fires and punching people, so this was going to be a little out of his element, and he was sure everyone knew that. If he could keep his wits about him, though, he would be fine.
Atticus was already at their meeting place when heâd arrived. Suddenly, Dhani worried that he had been running late, but he quickly shook it off. It was fine. âHey,â The greeting was really more of an announcement that he had arrived than a friendly hello. Dhani smiled, more amused than anything, and leaned in so only Atticus would hear him, âWhy did you dress exactly like youâre planning on breaking into a basement?â He stood back up and took a step back, jerking his head to the side, âYou ready?â

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

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
Jena, who was the one physically present for Gemini during the meeting, was the one who came up with the idea of teams as they would be safer that way then going on solo missions after their targets. There was a little arguments about who should work with who, but in the end it was decided. Gemini and Aboleth, Paladin and Icarus, Artemis and BludWynd, and Red Witch and Malfyre. Adrian tried to voice his concern about Malfyre with what happened before, but Jena didnât share what he said, telling him she would be fine.
Out of all the villains, Adrian didnât mind working with Aboleth, she seemed like one of the more sane ones of the villains living in Barden, and he wasnât too worry about her mind control powers as, in theory, it would be harder to control him or Jena since there were technically two minds in one body. He let Jena take point on their mission with the villain as he wanted to take some time and relax and wanted Jena to be more leading.
Jena didnât mind the mission, and having someone who could easily sway someoneâs mind would make it much easier and hopefully less conflict. Adrian wanted to take a step back and let her have more control, which she wasnât exactly against, but joked around with him about how she has to do everything.
It wasnât long before Gemini approached the meet up spot, arriving right on time as they had discussed, not a minute early or a minute late. They quickly found Aboleth and walked up next to her. âHey Aboleth, been scouting out the building a little bit?â Jena asked as they peaked around. âAnd my other half wonât exactly be here for most of this, heâs taking a little bit of a mental health day, so looks like itâll just be us two girls having a good time.â She said with a smirk.
The building the two would be entering and finding their target didn't seem like it would be too hard to gain entrance to, the front door guarded, but with their masks and outfits Gemini and Aboleth couldn't exactly stroll through the front door. The side entrance had one guy outside, probably armed. The two decided it would be best to just go that way and hopefully get through without too much confrontation. "Well, you're up." Gemini said as she and her current partner snuck to the side.
Setting
0.00 INK
0000Luciana0Morrison 00000000000000000|000000000000000|Kieran0 Vallanetti
Villain | Uniform & Maskx|xhex: #571616 0000000000000000000000000000Anti-Hero | Uniform & Mask | xxhex:#575772


Luciana rolled her eyes as her hero partner complained about being called a hero, talking about having different morals and code. Lucy could care less about whatever morals she followed; she wasnât a villain and she worked with the heroes, so by default Malfyre was a hero, even if she didnât want to call herself one. She kept her eyes on the building as Malfyre continued to talk about breaking in, a small smirk revealing herself as Red Witch heard her say she didnât mind getting her hands dirty.
âIâd much rather just go in and be as disruptive as possible to this whole place, make some people bleed and leave a trail to show we shouldnât be fucked with. But thatâs my usual calling card so might not be a good idea with everyone else wanting to be a little less in the spotlight.â Red Witch trailed off as she walked away and leaned up against an AC unit and slid down in a sitting position. She pulled a lighter out of her pocket and a pack of cigarettes, titling her mask up taking a few drags. âSo I guess we wait for it to get darker.â
Malfyre stood in silence as she listened to what Red Witch had to say, giving small nods every now and then as she agreed, to some parts at least. "Well look, as much as I'd like to blow some shit up, and you'd love to cause some blood. But, I agree. We sit and wait, or at least try to be less...Chaotic?" she said with a slight grin. Watching silently as Lucy sat against an AC unit, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Kieran was never one for smoking, so she simply watched for a moment.
Knowing they'd be there a while, she plopped down against the siding of the roof, looking around. Kieran silently unlatched and removed the bottom half of her mask, which didn't reveal much of any identifiable features. Kieran gently massaged the bridge of her nose, a light bruising still covered the better part of her nose. In the last few days, the cartilage healed and mended itself, causing most of the bruising to go away, but it still hurt like a bitch. Malfyre looked back up, watching the city down below before she turned back to Red Witch but not before putting the rest of her mask back on, trying to garner something that could help lessen the awkwardness. "So uhm..Outside of this...What else do you like to do?" Kieran chuckled awkwardly, knowing that Red Witch would probably just pass off her questions, taking out her phone for a moment as she checked her messages, shaking her head silently at what she read. Putting her phone back into her jacket's pocket.
Time seemed to pass slowly as Luciana finished her cigarette and leaned her head back. She was almost asleep when the hero spoke up and Lucy shot her head up, barely catching what she said. Small talk. She closed her eyes back under her mask. âYou know, normal shit. Listen to music. Kill children. Drink. Normal shit.â She said without missing a beat, no change in her tone. Red witch adjusted her mask and stood up, turning her head towards Malfyre.[color=#571616]âYour turn. What do you do besides saving cats from trees and crying babies from burning buildings.â She asked with a chuckle.
Kieran listened as Red Witch spoke up, surprisingly answering her question. Something she didn't expect but, was happy to have at least helped lessen the awkward silence. "Killing children, eh? Sounds about right." she let out a small chuckle that crackled from her mask. Malfyre gave a small shrug when she was asked what she did, besides saving cats and children from burning buildings. After rolling her eyes at the stereotypical assumptions, even if they weren't entirely wrong. Leaning back against the wall as she held her knees to her chest as she was deep in thought for a moment. "Well...Those are more of Wednesday activities." she said with a small chuckle, turning her head back towards Lucy. Giving a small shrug, "Well, if you go by what people say...I'm nothing more than a nuisance, so I usually just stay home and listen to music. Occasionally hacking into people's systems but, ya know...That's none of your business. Or drinking at bars and...Other things. But that's not for anyone to know but myself." Kieran chuckled slightly, giving a small wink.
Luciana scuffed as the hero replied, with a sarcastic remark and talking about a nuisance. Youâre a nuisance since youâre a hero. Nothing more. She thought to herself, turning away as Malfyre winked at her, eyes gazing across the rooftops. It had started to get a little bit darker, and she was starting to get a bit impatient with waiting and sitting around, with a hero, and doing nothing. âFuck it. Letâs just go now.â Red Witch said to Malfyre as she climbed down and headed over the fire escape. Intel said the laptop belonged to a man who seemed to have multiple meetings with known people who were in with their current enemies. They had no idea what he could have on it that would help them, or anything, but it was something to try.
It didnât take long for the two to get to the fire escape, Luciana stood underneath it looking up at the ladder, but it was pinned in itâs up position, out of her normal reach. The Red Witch could use her blood to reach up and unpin it, but instead turned back to Malfyre. âYou wanna deal with this?â She said in a low voice, referencing the heroes telekinetic powers, hoping she would pick up on what she meant.
Malfyre finally noticed as time went on, the sun had already started to go down. Meaning it was their time to act. She watched as Lucy got to her feet, and without more than just a "Let's go" the two were off. Sneaking over and down the side of the building they were on, and then next to the building that reportedly had their source. Kieran followed closely enough behind Red Witch as they made their way around the building and to the side which had the fire escape.
Looking up, Kieran noticed the latch which kept it in place. Malfyre gave a small smirk and nod of her head as Red Witch asked if she could deal with it. "Righty oh, boss." she said with another wink, cracking her knuckles and with barely even a flick of her wrist the latch came undone, letting the ladder free. Kieran caught the bottom part of the ladder and softly let it land on the concrete below. Looking back at Lucy as she gestured to the ladder, "After you, m'lady." Kieran let out a small chuckle as she waited for Lucy to go up first, which she would follow suit afterwards.
Red Witch watched as Malfyre used her powers. The pin just seemed to come undone magically, no auras or presence was felt at all. It was interesting to focus on the heroes powers, as most of the time she wouldnât be able to since with most heroes they would be fighting or trying to get away from, not exactly together. She rolled her eyes again when the hero gestured for her to go up the ladder. âYou really need to stop.â Red Witch said as she started to climb, and peaked through the window to make sure it was clear.
Lucy was still looking through the window while Malfyre followed behind up the ladder and was placing it back how it was, saying how it would be good to make it seem like they were never there. Though as the hero was standing there, the door inside opened and Lucy knew they would see the hero and blow their cover. Instictly, Red Witch grabbed Malfyre and pulled her on top of her and out of sight of the window. Not much room was around them as they laid mask to mask, waiting for whoever entered the room to leave.
Kieran let out a small chuckle when Red Witch said that she needed to stop with her current antics, "Okay, okay. My bad, my bad." She said with a small smirk and then turned to follow Lucy up the ladder. Following at a steady pace, the two finally climbed up and got onto the landing platform, Kieran turned and used her abilities for a moment to bring the ladder back up and lock it back into its prior placement. "Better to make it seem like no one was here, keep things as low of a profile as we can." she said softly as she turned back to the other woman. Looking through the window for a moment as the two scoped out at the place, she gave Lucy a small nod, and motioned for her to step aside. But without any warning, Kieran was suddenly pulled to the side by Red Witch. Giving her an odd look, until she heard voices in the room that they were about to enter. Kieran gave out a sigh, and moved off and to the side of Lucy as the two listened for the people to exit and leave.
Once more after making sure that no one was in the room, as they waited for a few more minutes, Kieran got back to her feet, giving a small nod. Moving back over to the window, once more she outstretched her hand, and a small click was heard as the safety latch from the other side of the glass came undone.
Kieran slowly lifted the window up with her powers to make sure no hand or finger prints were left behind. Softly slipping into the room and then ducking in, she began to check the rest of the room out as Red Witch entered the room behind her. "Alright, best to act fast and get it over with, Red." Kieran spoke softly as she finished making sure the room was indeed empty for the two of them.
Red Witch stayed quiet as Malfyre rolled off of her and peaked into the window as the voices drifted away and the two slowly entered the room, scoping it out and Luciana quickly finding the laptop set up on the desk. âYouâre welcome.â She said as she sat down. âFor saving your ass.â She quickly got started going through the laptop. Not only was it running slowly, but most things she was opening were empty or nothing important. She quickly slammed her fist on the keyboard in frustration and noticed the hero look at her, phone in hand, once again. âWhat? Itâs being stupid. And what are you doing? Everytime I look youâre on your phone.â Lucy said as she stood up placing her hands on the desk.
Kieran looked over her shoulder when Lucy spoke up, about saving her ass and how she should be thankful. Kieran chuckled softly, "Well, thank you oh so very much. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't pulled me ontop of you!" Kieran said a bit too loudly, quickly softening her voice as she continued to speak, "But really, thanks. I should have been more careful, so...My bad." Kieran muttered, before resting her back against one of the walls, taking her phone out once more to keep Dhani updated, as well as do some more snooping in his private messages. Occasionally looking up at the door to make sure no one was making their way to the door.
Kieran only looked back when she heard Lucy angrily slam her fists into the keyboard, saying how it was being stupid, as well as calling Kieran out for not helping and just being on her phone. With a small groan she rolled her eyes as she made her way over to the desk and laptop. "Fine then. Want to let the one that knows how to work with computers take a crack at it, miss bossy pants?" She chuckled slightly, handing her phone to Lucy as she sat in the chair. "For starters, you're gonna need this-" Kieran said, retrieving a small device from her jacket, and inserted the usb stick into the side of the laptop, "Helps keep it from crashing, as well as from being corrupted. Fuck, we need to make sure this is even the right computer, nevermind information that we need before taking anything." She found herself muttering as she tried to explain things to Lucy, doubting she was even listening or caring to most of what she had to say.
After hearing the smart comments from Malfyre, Luciana just gave her a stare, a little thrown off as her phone was placed into her hand. She started to ignore the hero, not paying attention to what she was doing or saying. The phone was open to a messaging app, though it looked slightly different, but then it clicked. The hero had said something about hacking into peopleâs things, and this must have been someone elseâs messages. As she scrolled a name caught her attention. Atticus. At first Luciana was worried the hero knew about Atticus being Icarus and somehow hacked into his phone, but as she continued reading she figured it that wasnât the case, but something completely different. These were messages of Atticus, but they were to a certain hero. A hero Lucy had told Att to drop and forget about. Paladin.
A scowl quickly formed on the Red Witchâs face under her mask, but she was quickly brought back into reality when her hero partner perked up saying something about finding a guest list for something, and downloading it to the hard drive.
Minutes silently passed as Kieran was busily finding her way through the files on the computer. Occasionally softly muttering under her breath or talking to herself as she had to reread things over a few times. But finally she managed to find her way through a certain hidden file, a smirk covering her face as she went through it. Her eyebrows quirked for a moment as she read the list, it appearing to be names on a list for some unknown party. Turning to Lucy she spoke up once more, "Okay so, I'm not exactly sure what this is for just yet, as it's pretty much encrypted. But, good news is, it appears to be a list for something. I'll have to do a little more digging but, I'll be able to find out what this is for after just a bit of digging." Kieran said as she looked back to the computer, taking out one more usb stick, "Just need to download the files and copy them over, and we can get out of here. Everything looking good on your end, Red?" Kieran asked, not looking up from the computer as she asked her partner for how things were going.
Red Witch tossed the phone back to the hero. âSure.â She responded, with a bit of an edge to her tone, not really caring about what was found but thinking. About how she told Atticus to cut the hero off, and here she had proof he was just doing the opposite. Luciana knew now she had to take things into her own hands. âYou hold onto that, I have something to do. Good work, or whatever.â She continued as she quickly climbed out of the window and kicked the ladder of the fire escape, it slamming down to the ground.
Kieran simply sighed as she was handed back her phone, and nodded as the files had been uploaded onto the hard drive. Perfect timing as any. She turned and watched as Lucy kicked down the fire escape and left. Great, just what they needed. Voices were heard from the hallway, quickly grabbing her things she slipped out the window and was gone the next. Seeing how they got everything they needed, she planned to go home and just drink herself into boredom until she was ready to get to work on those other files. Something she hadn't been truthful about with Lucy, along with the party list of names, she found some other files, and she wasn't prepared to look into those just yet, nevermind letting certain people know what she found..Not yet at least.
000D H A N I 0 B A T R A 00000000000000000000000000| A T T I C U S 0 H A W K I N S


When Dhani leaned in, there was a moment when Att swore his heart skipped a beat, but then Dhaniâs comment made him roll his eyes. Anyone else might have received a scowl. Dhani just received a raised eyebrow. âRed Witch told me I needed to âdress normally.â She figured a guy in a suit would be more memorable and draw more attention. And apparently, âteenage hoodlumâ was a better and more inconspicuous look,â he said quietly in reply. God, he really hated it. âAnd ready as Iâll ever be, I guess.â
Picking the lock was easy, almost too easy, and it put Atticus on edge as he stepped inside, expecting a security alarm to start blaring the minute he stepped through the door. But it was silent, and it did nothing to comfort him. He wasnât sure if the feeling in his gut was just anxiety or his precognition kicking in in the background, warning him of some vague danger. âLooks clear.â
Dhani did his best to hide the laughter threatening to bubble from his mouth. Really, Atticus looked just fine. A little out of his element, but fine. Dhani wasnât about to say that, though. Instead, he just shook his head. He needed to remind himself that this was a mission, and he needed to stay on his guard. Atticus didnât seem too confident, though, and that was a little worrying. He had to remind himself that everything was going to be fine. He could handle this. They would be fine.
Atticus got the door open quickly enough, and heâd stepped inside before Dhani could offer to go in first. Dhani was inside as soon as Atticus confirmed it was clear. He glanced around quickly, there was a little bit of ground to cover. Something in his gut wanted Atticus to stay close, and he wasnât sure if that was because something about this felt off, or because⊠No, this seemed too easy. Dhani glanced at Atticus out of the corner of his eye, as if trying to determine how he was feeling.
Dhani didnât want Atticus to feel like he was being babysat, but he also didnât want to assume that Atticus was comfortable with the situation. But there were multiple rooms to search through, and Dhani didnât want to spend more time on this than they had to. He sighed, âLetâs get started.â
Att was a little glad when they got inside and Dhani didnât immediately suggest splitting up. Heâd never done anything like this. His family had always had people lower down the food chain to do the dirty work. Whenever he had to⊠deal with somebody, he was always in a position where he had the upper hand, where he was entirely in control of the situation. Here, he had no control, and there wasnât a goddamn thing he could do to change that.
He found himself glancing towards Dhani to try and read him, to see his read of the situation. Dhani seemed⊠prepared. On edge but not in the same way Att was. He seemed confident. And that reassured Atticus a little.
âWe should stick together,â he said as Dhani said they should get started. âI mean. We have no idea what weâre walking in to, and weâre more vulnerable alone.â He tried the first door and found it locked, and threw a grin back at Dhani. âAnd I have the lockpicks.â He said with a smirk as he unlocked the door again. Inside were stacks and stacks of nondescript cardboard boxes. Nothing that immediately flagged up anything suspicious. Att drew his knife and cut the tape sealing one.
âNothing here. Boxes of office supplies, by the looks of it. Should we try door number two?â Att asked.
When Atticus suggested they stick together, Dhani nodded. He would be lying if he said that didnât somehow feel relieving. Atticus tried a door and, well, of course it was locked. But the smile Attcus shot at Dhani pulled all the air out of Dhaniâs lungs. For a moment all Dhani could think about was how his sister couldnât be convinced that the reason Dhani couldnât go to dinner with her was that he had a date. Wait. No. What the hell is the matter with me? Well, he had a few ideas, but nothing he could linger on. This was neither the time or place for that.
The room before them just held stacks of boxes. It would be impossible to look through them all, and most of them looked factory sealed, anyway. Still, he looked into the box Atticus had opened. Nothing interesting, âYeah, searching in here any more would probably be a waste of time.â
The next few rooms were equally useless. Chemical closet, a bathroom, more holiday decorations than belonged in one room, outdated office furniture. It seemed like a lot of this basement was used as storage, which made sense, but the longer they spent looking, the more on edge Dhani felt. The longer they were here, the more likely it felt that something was going to go terribly wrong.
When they came upon a room with some old filing cabinets, Dhani couldnât help but feel they were either going to be empty, or filled with nearly ancient documents that would be of no use to anyone, but he knew they needed to check anyway. âOkay,â He practically whispered, before raising the volume of his voice just a bit as he continued to speak, âHow about we each pick a side,â He vaguely pointed to the row of cabinets, not really caring where either of them started, âAnd we can work towards the middle?â
Room after room just seemed to be completely unremarkable, and Att wasnât sure if he was relieved by that or not. If there was nothing here, if the information theyâd gotten was wrong, then it would explain the lack of security. It was entirely possible this was a wild goose chase. But a room filled with filing cabinets presented slightly more of an opportunity. Att nodded at Dhaniâs plan. âSounds good. Iâll take this side,â he said, keeping his voice little more than a whisper. The first filing cabinet was, as expected, worthless. Nothing of use. Nothing that even gave them important information on who they were dealing with. The second and third cabinets were the same. Old resumes, notes from meetings, company circulars. Nothing useful. Or at least, that was what he thought until the last drawer of the bottom cabinet was locked. The lock was new, recently used, and slightly harder for Att to crack. But he managed, and got it open. At first, it was just financial statements.
Then as he sorted through them, one folder caught his attention. Nondescript, easy to miss or just flick past. But a name on it caught his attention. Vulcan. One of the heroes that had recently been found dead. Sure enough, inside the folder was information on the hero. His civilian identity, his powers, his weaknesses⊠his secrets. âDhani, Iâve got some-â He stopped as he looked over at the hero. Or, rather, at the huge, humanoid shadow lurking behind him, a glint of something metallic and dangerous in itâs hand. Everything seemed to go into slow motion. The glint became a knife.
Att didnât think. He didnât have to think, and that was the terrifying thing. He had the trigger pulled almost before it had even processed that heâd drawn the gun. A neat headshot, a wound somebody would have no chance of surviving, just the way heâd been taught. The man fell, the knife clattering against the ground, the sound a contrast to the soft thump of a body hitting the floor.
He knew he needed to say something, wanted to say something. But what the hell did he say? He wasnât sure he could vocalise anything. His head was spinning a little as he just shoved the gun back into its holster, flicking through the drawer at speed to try and find files. âWe need to get out of here, Iâm guessing his friends will be along at any minute,â he managed to force out. The shaking in his hands only seemed to worsen as he found familiar names. Red Witch. Aboleth. Paladin. Icarus. âJust check for locked drawers, and just⊠fucking break them open or something,â he said, his voice cracking a little.
These filing cabinets seemed to be another bust; full of old notes, records of long-terminated employees, and other details that threatened to bore Dhani half to death. He thought about calling it, moving on, but then Atticus said his name. He turned to look in that direction, and confusion filled his face as Atticus drew a gun. Dhani was looking over his shoulder as Atticus shot, and the would-be assailant hit the floor. All before Dhani even fully realized what was happening. He turned to look back at Atticus. What was the appropriate thing to say in this situation? Thank you?
âAre you-â Atticus started speaking, and Dhani knew he was right. They would very likely be swarmed in a matter of minutes. âOkay.â Atticus said to check for locked drawers, and thatâs exactly what Dhani did. He suddenly wasnât very worried about making noise, and when he found a locked drawer, he just pulled the one above it out and tossed it aside so he could get to the files inside. He recognized every name he came across. Side effect of being at this for so long. He couldnât dwell on it. He could let the sadness, fear and anger fester in his stomach later, he didnât have time for that now.
Dhani heard footsteps down the corridor, they werenât worried about being quiet anymore, either. They still had a few drawers to check, and Dhani wanted to be sure they found all the files. âFinish searching the drawers,â He didnât look at Atticus while he spoke, instead he focused on stacking what heâd found in the space between them, âI can maybe buy you a few minutes, but you need to move fast.â He had no idea how many people there were, or what sort of weaponry they might have, but it wouldnât be the first fight heâd run into blind. With any luck, it wouldnât be the last.
He shut the door behind him when he left the room; every second mattered in these situations, and he would do every little thing he could do to help Atticus.
Normally, he would have wanted to try to get a head count so he could get a grasp on what was going on, but the first guy he saw was reaching for something. A weapon. Gun? Knife? It didnât matter, Dhaniâs best shot was getting to him before he had the chance to use it. He broke out into a sprint, dropping his shoulder and colliding with the man. He heard a gunshot go off behind him as they both hit the floor, and was faintly aware of the gun clattering out of the manâs hand. There was a quick struggle, but ultimately Dhani knew he couldnât waste too much time on one guy. That was a surefire way to get your ass kicked.
When Dhani had become a hero, he never thought heâd be the kind of guy that actually liked the fighting. But he did. It made him feel alive. Like he was real. A well-placed punch and Dhaniâs would-be assailant was out cold. As he started to stand, what would have been a blow right to the back of his head hit his upper back instead. He spun around, connecting his elbow to the manâs jaw and watched him hit the ground.
They both became much more careless, throwing the useless files to the floor and throwing the files they were after into the space between them. There were just too many of them and that was making Atticus feel almost nauseous about how many people were subject to this. But they didnât have time to focus on that. He didnât stop as Dhani told him to finish searching, but he did shoot a look at the hero. âDhani, donât-â he started, but he was gone, the door shut between them. Att swallowed and stayed searching. He was torn between wanting to help and that haunting image of the body on the ground only feet away from him, the pool of blood surrounding him. He knew that he couldnât afford to hesitate if it came down to it, and he didnât want to do that to Dhani if he froze up. So he gathered as many files as he could, double checking drawers heâd already checked to make sure there was nothing there. A battered but intact bag was abandoned on the floor, and Atticus shoved as many of them as he could into it, slinging the bag onto his shoulder. And then he took a deep breath and pulled open the door, just in time to see Dhani drive an elbow into a manâs face.
âLetâs go,â he yelled, grabbing Dhaniâs arm and pulling him down the corridor. But at the sight of more men coming towards them, Atticus knew he wasnât getting out of there without firing a few more rounds. He shoved down the sickening feeling in his stomach and drew the gun again. The men facing them down already had their guns drawn. They clearly werenât normal security guards. These were the most dangerous kind of people, the shoot first, ask later type, and Att knew there was no way in hell they were going to be talked down. There was only one way they were going down.
Att aimed and fired. Two shots, a shot to the thigh each. One of them dropped his gun in pain and shock, the other shot at them but apparently decided at the last moment that Att was the bigger target now he had the files. The delayed decision didnât give Att time to react and the bullet hit him square in the shoulder. Not his shooting arm. It was fine. Keep shooting, donât think too much, donât think about it. Shot to the stomach, enough to take him down. The pattern seemed to keep recurring until they finally made it out. Att only stopped to wipe down the gun and throw it in the first trash can they passed. It was disposal of evidence and the fact that he couldnât bear the feeling of it in his hand any more.
One moment, Dhani and Atticus were running through the halls, the next moment Atticus was shooting. Was shot. Dhani didnât have the luxury of reacting in the moment, heâd have to save it for later. Staying calm was sometimes the only thing that stopped a whole operation from falling apart. They didnât slow down much, even once theyâd gotten out of the building. They needed to get as far from there as they could. When they briefly paused so Atticus could get rid of his gun, Dhani couldnât keep a bit of concern off his face. It was a little while before he could believe they werenât being followed, and a short while longer before he spoke up, âI donât think weâre being followed.â Not like it mattered, they knew everything about them anyway.
He pulled Atticus away, out of view from prying eyes, âLet me see your shoulder.â That was maybe a little too forceful, so he added, âPlease,â though he didnât intend on letting Atticus say no. Atticus had gotten hurt, and as a hero whoâd built his entire career on protecting people, Dhani felt like heâd failed. At least he could heal him up, it was the least he could do, really.
It wasnât long before Dhani was staring straight at Attâs shoulder, brows knit together in concentration. He placed a gentle hand on the wound, softly saying âSorry,â before Atticus even had a chance to complain. He could feel the gentle warmth of his powers extending past his hand to Atticus, and he knew that this would take a touch longer than healing some scraped up knuckles. âIâm not much of a careful planner,â He said, almost as if to cut the silence, like he could bear to heal Atticus without some sort of noise to comfort him, âIf not for you, Iâm sure that would have ended much worse than it did.â He cleared his throat, âSo, thank you.â
Att wasnât even sure where they were going, only that they needed to stay moving. He barely even heard Dhani say they werenât being followed, the words only registering as Dhani pulled him out of sight. It was only then that everything seemed to come crashing back down as the adrenaline started to fade. He dropped the bag almost unconsciously, the pain in his shoulder starting to kick back in. The force behind Dhaniâs request surprised Att, but even before the hero said please, Att knew it was out of care. Goddammit, of course heâd ended up with one of the good ones. So many heroes were cocky and overconfident and easy to dislike. But no matter what Lucy told him, Att couldnât hate Dhani. He trusted him. And there was a tiny part of his brain that told him that was dangerous. But as Att managed to pull back his jacket to give Dhani better access to the wound, he realised he didnât care.
Warmth flowed into the wound from Dhaniâs hand, already taking an edge of the pain. Att sighed a little, almost unconsciously. The warmth was soothing, the physical contact oddly grounding. Dhaniâs words surprised him a little. Att smiled a little and shook his head. âIâm sure you would have managed just fine,â he said. âAll I did was fire a few shots.â The echoes of every shot fired, of the too still bodies, of the blood, they seemed to be haunting him more than the fading pain in his shoulder. He knew he probably wouldnât have done anything else to stop them. If he hadnât taken them down, they could have done much worse damage to Att or Dhani. But heâd wanted to leave all this behind. Heâd wanted to walk away from it, and instead heâd walked into all of this.
âThank you,â he said quietly to Dhani. âYou didnât have to do this, I donât think anyone would have blamed you. But you did so⊠thank you. And Iâm sorry I hesitated. I probably could have taken them down quicker but⊠yeah. Thank you.â
Atticus thanking him for the healing was almost too much for Dhani, he wasnât doing it out of some sort of altruism (at least, not in his mind), he just genuinely wouldnât be able to live with himself if Atticus walked away from this with a gunshot wound. Of course he had to do this; it would haunt him if he didnât. Every death, hero or villain, felt so intensely personal. It didnât matter how you felt about a person when they were being hunted down on the merits of having powers and daring to use them. This was different, and Dhani knew that, but it was all blurring together in his mind. Heâd never once questioned his choice to be a hero, even if it had never been much more than a teenage impulse.
But here he was, healing a wound in Atticusâ shoulder, wondering for the first time if this was really worth it. If someone asked Dhani who Atticus was to him, he wouldnât know what to tell them. But he knew that he didnât like hearing Att apologize for hesitating to shoot someone. He couldnât help but wonder what kind of life Atticus had lived that he felt the need to apologize for that. âI try not to nitpick the people who save my life.â Dhani looked Att in the eyes as if he were searching for some deep secret, âYou did fine. Donât ever apologize for being human. Whatever mistakes you think you made, weâre both alive.â He knew the words were just words, and they probably wouldnât help. They never helped him, anyway.
Really, he was just glad neither of them were more seriously hurt.
The healing was finished, but Dhani couldnât bring himself to move his hand; the physical contact was soothing. He may have been healing Atticusâ body, but he felt like he was healing his own soul in the process, too. It was perhaps a touch dramatic, but it was always easier to forgive his mistakes when he could so tangibly make amends for them. âAre you gonna be okay?â
Dhaniâs words were words that Att wasnât sure heâd ever heard from anyone before. Everyone seemed to expect perfection from him, expected him to be the perfect villain, the perfect assassin. So to hear someone saying he didnât have to apologise for being human⊠he had to look away from Dhani for a moment to gather himself. Att could feel the heat fading in his shoulder, the pain all but gone, but Dhaniâs hand stayed there as the hero asked if Att was going to be okay. There was a moment, a thought that persisted a little too long, where Att was tempted to do something that was probably reckless and stupid. But instead, he just forced a smile and nodded.
âYeah. Iâll be fine. I, uh⊠Text me when you get home?â He asked, almost without thinking. âIâll bring the files, have a look through them later, see what I can get from them,â he said in recovery, picking the bag back up. He didnât want to walk away. His feet seemed rooted to the spot. âIâll see you soon, I guess,â he said. âAnd⊠seriously, thank you.â His body finally seemed to comply as he turned away from Dhani and walked away.
Dhani smiled softly when Atticus tried to assure him that he would be fine. He wasnât so sure he bought it, but he wasnât about to pry. Att asked him to text him when he got home, and Dhani nodded in response to that. He would, for sure. He would be texting his sister, anyway. Maybe heâd tell her his date well. When Atticus said heâd take the files, Dhani nodded, âOkay, let me know what you find.â Neither of them seemed to want to leave, and Dhani thought about asking Atticus to come with him, but instead he said, âYeah,â The next meeting would be coming up, and who knows where they would go from there. Dhani wasnât sure he cared so much about the content of any meeting as much as the people that were there.
When Atticus thanked him again, Dhani shook his head, âItâs no problem.â He wanted to tell Atticus that he would never leave him in pain, and that seeing him hurt was the worst part of his evening, but instead he watched Atticus walk away. He checked his phone, Kieranâs mission had gone well, and she was okay. At least someoneâs night had gone as planned. He realized then that he was tired. With a sigh, Dhani turned around and started towards home.
LUCIANA MORRISON

xxx Yeah someone pour it in
xxx Make it a dirt dance floor again
xxx Say your prayers and stomp it out
xxx When they bring that in
xxx Bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away
It took awhile for Lucy to get to the heroes apartment, it was much harder tracking down where he lived. A couple days ago she dug around online tracking him down, barely remembering his name from when he stayed over at their apartment. Dhani. But luckily he did have a unique look so that helped her track him down. All she got was an apartment complex, no floor or door number. As Luciana arrived she snuck into the main building with a lobby and one small light on, scanning mailboxes for any mention of the name Dhani. There was another name that looked familiar but she skipped over it, quickly finding the mailbox she was looking for. Dhani Batra. Had to be him. Apartment number 3-D.
Red Witch found the apartment, there weren't too many buildings so tracking down 3-D didnât take long. She assumed the door would be locked, so she snuck around the back and climbed up a few AC units and found the window that corresponded with his apartment, quickly smashing it and climbing inside, brushing the glass out of her way and walked through the apartment, confirming it was 3-D by some mail left out, and sat and waited for Dhani to get home. Luciana took her phone out and sent Atticus a message.
Att-Att-
Could you pick up some pizza on your way back, gonna be back a little later.
Red Witch probably waited for about 30 minutes to an hour before she heard the deadbolt on the door be unlocked and sat up waiting for her prey to enter, sitting in the dark on the kitchen counter. Dhani walked in and closed the door behind him before he turned a lamp on, and seeing the Red Witch staring him down, knife in one hand and blood flowing around her the fingers of her other hand, an open cut on her palm. Luciana let out a chuckle as the man stumbled and knocked over the lamp, but quickly going over and turning the main lights on.
âCanât be so clumsy Dhani boy, or do you only want me to call you Paladin?â Red Witch asked as her eyes watched the knife she twirled around her fingers. She looked up as Paladin asked her what she was doing here. âWhat? I thought we were all partners now? Heroes and Villains, working together for our own well-being. I canât come by for a cup of coffee?â Luciana trailed on, as she stood up and walked through her kitchen accidentally knocking his coffee pot onto the floor. âOops.â A smirk came across her face, but Dhani couldnât see it under his mask but she knew he knew it wasnât on accident.
Dhani tried to say something but Luciana quickly cut him off. âNo. You listen here. I know about you and Icarus. A hero and villain being so close, honestly makes me sick.â She started talking, circling back around to the counter, scraping the knife in her hand across the counter. âI donât want to hurt you Dhani boy. I just want to warn you. Stay away from the villain. Do your job and forget about him. All that will come from this is more problems andâŠâ Lucy paused for a second, as the blood from her palm started to flow around her hand, before disappearing as she closed her fist. âThere will be bloodshed if you donât.â
Before Luciana could say anything, the door to the apartment opened up and a girl walked in, someone who she was somewhat familiar with. Kieran. The girl from the record store. Red Witch turned quickly, knife in hand ready to strike if either of the people made any sort of move. Barely listening as Kieran spoke. Lucy didnât care about hurting Dhani, but she didnât want to hurt Kieran. âYou know who I am⊠I can tell by the look on your face darling. Which means you know what Iâm capable of. One wrong move, and Iâll bleed you both dry, and nothing this hero can do to save you.â Her eyes darted between the two.
Luciana knew she had to act quickly, she wasnât here to fight as much as she wouldnât mind giving Paladin a few cuts, but Kieran was here too. They didnât know each other well besides saying hi a few times at the store, didnât mean she wanted to hurt her though. âHow about this, you let me walk out of here Paladin, and I donât hurt the girl. And you both forget I was here, say anything to anyone, Iâll reveal your secret to everyone. Just remember what I said.â She watched as the two glanced at each other and knew this was her chance. Lucy threw the knife up at the light, shattering the bulb and causing it to go dark in the apartment and pushed a stool towards Paladin in case he tried to stop her. She moved quickly through the apartment and went out the window she came in through, quickly disappearing and heading back to her apartment. Hopefully this dumbass would listen to her words since Atticus didnât.

xxxthis could be the last of all the rides we take
xxxso hold on tight and don't look back
xxxwe don't care about the message
xxxor the rules they make
xxxI'll find you when the sun goes black
xxx
âOkay. Iâm in position on the roof of the large brownstone, your eleven oâclock. Got a read on our target. Still⊠looks entirely normal. Ten bucks says this guyâs a bust,â she said, not drawing her bow just yet. âSo⊠whatâs the story with Malfyre? How the hell do you two know each other well enough for the other night not to be weird as hell?â She asked. Usually, she would have stayed professional, but she was bored as all hell. So far, this guy had left the office, stopped for groceries, and appeared to be on his way home. These werenât the actions of someone who was planning on doing anything suspicious.
Her curiosity about Malfyre has lingered ever since theyâd brought them out for drinks. Cerys and Malfyre had crossed paths on a number of occasions, when Malfyre had been up to something suspicious. But none of it had been worth Cerysâ attention, not really, and it seemed there was some silent agreement never to mention it. But that didnât mean she wasnât still curious about the whole thing and who they were.
He looked up to his eleven o'clock position, and sure enough he saw the faint figure that was Artemis. Hidden away from basic sight if someone didn't know where to look. Aaron chuckled at her comment of betting some cash that their lead would be a bust, "Alright, I definitely owe you a round of drinks and make it twenty if we're getting fancy with it." he said cooly with an added in shrug. He continued on walking every now and then behind the man, finally seeing him go into one more store, where Aaron leaned with his back against the stone cut building as Cerys asked him a question he wasn't exactly expecting. How did he know Malfyre, and why was it that they seemed close enough for their antics that night that they went out for the bar wasn't as awkward as it should have been, at least on Aaron's end. He bit and licked his lips for a moment as he thought. He didn't want to over speak and give away too much, or say anything that could give any inclination as to who they were exactly.
It wasn't his place, and he wasn't about to expose it now, less Kieran come after his ass for ruining everything. "Well, it's a bit of a long story really." he started as he looked up and then casually just looked around. "Let's just say that we've known each other long enough that, she feels comfortable enough to know that she can trust me to not do anything...Anything that would possibly risk exposing who she is. If it was up to me, I would tell you everything but...It's not up to me, ya know? Let's just say, I think you two could easily be friends if she wasn't so fucking paranoid about everything. You have more in common than you'd think." he said with a genuine smile. Kieran was his best friend, almost like a sister to him, something he never had, and he just wanted to see her reach out of her shell and just be herself with more people. But he understood, that if she even knew that Cerys and Aaron were having this conversation, she'd kill him. "But why do you ask? What do you think about them?" he asked genuinely. He liked to know what others thought of Malfyre. He knew that Cerys and Kieran really would hit it off and be good friends in all reality, as well as be able to keep her identity a secret, just if she wasn't so god damn stubborn.

xxxForgot what I was losing my mind about
xxxI only wrote this down to make you press rewind
xxxAnd send a message, "I was young and a menace"
She unlocked the door and quickly bolt locked it behind her, ripping off her mask and tossing it to the side and onto the couch as she exhaled sharply. "Mo, Lily? Where are ya lazy fucks?" she called out. Not long after, the sound of soft skittering across the hardwood floors were heard as two small furballs ran to her, immediately clawing at her legs. She smiled and crouched down as she quickly pet both of the ferrets and made her way to her room, the rodents quickly following suit behind her. She tossed her uniform into the corner after getting changed into something much more comfortable. Exiting her room she sent Dhani one more message and tossed her phone onto the couch before she made her way into her kitchen, looking for anything to eat before she got ready for the night. Kieran grabbed one of the bottles in the fridge and popped it open with her powers, shooting the bottle cap into the trash as she made her way back to the living room. Kieran yawned softly as she sat down on the couch, Lily quickly clambered onto the couch and made herself comfortable on Kieran's lap, as Mo, the much younger ferret was having trouble getting up onto the couch. She chuckled and scooped up the small furball in her hand and placed him next to her, seeing how he easily nuzzled up next to her. Normally, anyone would else would find the life she had rather lonely and boring, living alone with her two ferrets. But Kieran was rather content with the life she had, even if at times it did get a little, lonesome.
Kieran mindlessly found herself looking through what on the tv, but nothing of real interest showed up. It was only when she was about to finally find something of interest that she heard a faint sound come from down the hallway. Which was where Dhani's apartment was. She shook her head after a moment of looking at the direction of where the main door was, he probably just walked into the door again or something. Shrugging it off she went to pay attention back to Netflix, when she heard something crash onto the floor. Coming from the same place as before. Normally it wouldn't have been much of a bother, but something wasn't sitting right with her about this. Kieran moved Lily off of her lap as she stood up, and began to make her way to the front door of her apartment, slipping in one of her knives into her sweatpants pockets, just in case. What the fuck is this idiot up to?, Kieran thought to herself as she scooped up both of the ferrets, placing Lucy along her neck where she rested happily, and easily stuffing Mo in her pant's pocket, his head just sticking out as he liked to watch as they went on walks in the past.
Kieran slowly exited her apartment, being as quiet as she could. If there was something going wrong in his apartment, she would want to maintain the element of surprise at least. As Kieran closed in on Dhani's apartment, voices could be heard coming from inside. She couldn't tell what was being said, or who was talking, but all she knew was that it was Dhani, and someone else. After a minute, she quickly pushed the door open, and what awaited her was something she wasn't expecting. Red Witch was holding Dhani at fucking knifepoint, of course she was. Kieran shot him a look, one he knew all too well. One which practically said, they'd be talking about this later. "Okay, look. Whatever this idiot did, I can probably guarantee you he deserves it, but c'mon...Be calm, and be reasonable about this. Alright?" Kieran said with a shaky voice, trying her best to act as if she didn't entirely know who this individual was. But apparently she wasn't doing such a good job with it, as the next thing Red Witch said, was confirming that Kieran did, in fact, know who she was. Kieran was going to speak up, but before she could, Red Witch continued, saying how if either one of them made the wrong move, they'd both be killed on the spot. While it was a rather good threat, Kieran knew that Red Witch wouldn't want to purposefully kill someone, nevermind hurt them. If she did in fact not care, why did she save Kieran earlier while they were trying to get the information files? Some things weren't exactly adding up. Shaking her head, Kieran remained silent as she thought about what to do, or say.
Kieran slowly nodded as Red Witch said that if Paladin simply just acted like they didn't see anything, that they'd be let go and without any bloodshed. Playing the part of an unarmed and innocent bystander was something Kieran knew how to do all too well. "I think she has a rather valid point...I don't really wanna die right now, would be a rather disappointing way to end the night, ya know? Especially cuz of your bitch ass." she said with a small smirk, glancing at Dhani. But what she didn't expect, was what happened next. The sound of glass shattering, and the room going dark. "Oh fucking great, did she just-" she exclaimed, not caring if anyone saw, she quickly used her abilities to help stop the glass from making any contact with her or Dhani, as Red Witch escaped through the window and was clearly gone.
With ease, Kieran stopped using her powers which kept the glass suspended in the air, it clattered to the floor the moment she stopped using her powers. Kieran shot him a glare, placing both Lily and Mo on the ground, away from the glass as she told them to return to their apartment, as the door was still open. Slowly, Kieran looked back at Dhani, with a glare he knew all too well. "Are you fucking kidding me, Dhani? What the fuck did you do in those few hours to piss her off, huh? We were just on a mission and-" reality finally hit Kieran. Back on her mission with Red Witch, she handed her the phone, which still had the messages she had been spying on. Fuck, she thought to herself. Quickly regaining composure, if Dhani didn't know, that was fine. All that mattered was that she had a little talk with him. "Dhani, I am going to say this once, and once only. Okay?" She said with a small smirk as she slowly enclosed the space between them, using a flick of her wrist, Dhani was on his feet and held in place. "Do not, and I repeat, do not piss off the woman that could bleed you like a damn animal, okay? Especially if I have to come save your ass? It may be hot sometimes what she can do, but that is beside the point. Next time you decide to piss off a woman, make sure it isn't anywhere even close to my proximity." She said with a smirk, and released Dhani with another flick of her wrist that sent him up to the ceiling and back down on the floor with a thud as she left his apartment and back to her's. "I got what we were looking for, and more. Just let me get to my work and I'll let you know what I find soon enough. Until then, don't bother me again." with that, Kieran shut the door behind her, leaving Dhani alone.
000000000000000000000000Gemini 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Aboleth
000000000000Hero | Uniform & MaskxxHex: #D6130B 000000000000000000000Villain | Uniform & Mask | xxHex:#3E7A4E
0000000000


They werenât going to make it too close without drawing his attention, and Piper was pretty sure it would be easier to keep the situation under control if Gemini hung back. Even though she was fairly sure that Gemini would give her space, Piper still motioned for her to stay back. She requested maybe a little more room than most people would intuitively give, but she didnât want to risk the gaurdâs attention being drawn away from her before she had him. She was hoping that, from a bit of a distance away, her mask would blend in with her top or look like a scarf of some kind. That would help keep things calmer, at least. She knew the guard would see her before she was close enough to really get her powers to work, so hopefully he was in a good mood.
âExcuse me,â She was a little too far away, but she decided that it would be better to get his attention than try to be sneaky when hiding was impossible. âIâm sorry, I thought this was the back entrance to the bar my friend is playing at,â Her voice was syrupy sweet, and hopefully made her sound positively brainless (she hated the stereotype, personally, but it did help throw big strong men off their guard). She approached the whole way, ignoring the gentle protests that she was in the wrong place, and then the firmer insistence that she needed to leave immediately. The guard reached for something, and Piper didnât wait to see what it was. She felt lucky that he didnât look away from her, or yell. She locked eyes with him and firmly said, âStop.â He listened, standing still, a blank expression on his face. Piper motioned for Gemini to join her, âMy friend and I are going inside. Youâre going to let us in,â She paused, her next move was a bit of a gamble. Convincing the guard to let them in the building was easy, getting him to not raise the alarm that theyâd been there in the first place was harder, especially since she had no idea what was on the other side of the door. There could be more guards inside, or there could be nothing, but she didnât have time to dwell on it. âAnd then youâre going to forget we were ever here.â Hopefully it stuck, but they needed to work fast regardless.
Gemini stopped back when Aboleth held her hand up and motioned her to stay back, nodding in agreeance and staying a bit back. She wasnât entirely sure how the villain's powers worked exactly, not knowing if she would need space or something so she just agreed and let her do her thing. She stayed far enough back to barely over head the conversation, and quickly got over to her as she was motioned to come forward, and the two slipped in quietly and the door was shut behind them. âGood job girl, must be great for getting into clubs when the line is long.â Jena joked with a smile as the two walked quietly through the hallway.
As the two walked, they took their time peeking around corners and were surprised when there weren't many more guards patrolling around. âThe target is some politician that has been pretty anti-mutant at some of her rallies recently, and is thought to have some ties to this organization. Probably funding her budgets in exchange for spreading their view and propaganda against us.â Gemini talked quietly to the villain.
Piper smiled at Gemini, and if she could see it, Gemini would have likely noticed it was mostly just a polite gesture; very little warmth reached her eyes. âIt does help me get what I want.â Piper was glad that Gemini was happy to take her time looking around corners and double-checking that halls were clear. Piper had expected⊠More. More of what, she wasnât sure, but sheâd expected more of it, regardless. As she listened to Geminiâs quick update on the target, something resembling dread formed in the pit of her stomach. This seemed over her head before, but now she felt like she was quickly sinking to the bottom of a lake. âGreat.â She mumbled to herself. She was beginning to wonder why sheâd agreed to work with the heroes, so far it only seemed that they intended to put her in more danger than she seemed to be in before.
The hallway had been clear when theyâd started down it, and by the time they heard the footsteps coming in their direction it was too late to double back, and there was definitely more than one person coming, so Piper wasnât sure there was much she could do if they even got close enough for her to try.
For a short moment, she felt frozen in place. She felt like she was going to die, here with a person who- while she seemed nice enough- she didnât know anything about. This wasnât exactly how she had envisioned her life when she was a child. She wasnât sure who spotted it first, but she and Gemini were quickly running into some sort of storage closet. It was a tight fit, clearly not meant for two people to hide inside, but that was the last thing on Piperâs mind. She closed her eyes, taking shaky breaths as quietly as she could. Youâre fine, she assured herself, youâre fine, youâre fine. The words quickly became a short mantra, and she quickly decided that she had been a little dramatic. Sure, the guards here were armed, but the whole point of Gemini being here was because she could fight. Piper didnât dare say a word as they waited, listening to hear the footsteps die off down the hallway. She dared to let relief wash over her; that had been close.
Jena noticed Aboleth stop for a second, about to question why when she heard it herself, foot steps. Of course it had been too smooth so far and they hadnât seen any patrols, so it wasnât much of a surprise when they finally heard someone in this building. But they were in a long hallway and were too far down the hallway to turn back. Luckily there was a door off to their side, they didn't have time to see exactly where it led before they ducked into it, realizing it was a small storage closet. Gemini wasnât sure why, but she put a finger over her lips to signify her partner to be quiet, she probably already knew that.
Time seemed to go by slowly as the source of the footsteps went by, two guards who seemed to be armed. Though they were none the wiser of Aboleth and Gemini hiding in the closet meters away from them. The sound of them faded away shortly after, but Gemini waited a little bit to make sure it was clear before slowly opening the door and peaking out. âAll clear.â She said in a low whisper to the villain. Jena stepped out first and got out of the way of Aboleth. âWell, that was a close call.â She said as she closed the door to the storage closet after her partner got out, carefully closing the door. âNow back to the task on hand. She should be in one of these rooms down the next hallway on our left.â
Piper could feel relief wash over her when Gemini said it was clear. She looked down the hall and sighed, having already decided that next time, she was going to insist any interrogation targets be brought to her. There was nothing that could be done about that now, though. She shot a sideways glance at Gemini; a part of her wanted to ask if they knew which room, but considering they hadnât even known what kind of guards to expect, she thought she knew the answer to her question.
A peak around the corner said the next hall was clear, and Piper had to wonder how quickly the guards could complete their rounds. âWe canât just open doors until we find herâŠâ Piper mumbled, more to herself than anything. Though, honestly, this hallway wasnât particularly full of rooms either. Who is designing these buildings full of empty hallways? It didnât take long to find the office, though.
A middle aged woman sat inside, and she didnât look pleased to see them. She looked at Gemini first, and then panicked eyes darted to Piper. That was her chance. âItâs okay,â Piperâs voice was calm, soothing, âNo need to raise the alarm, we just want to talk to you. And you are going to answer our questions.â
Luckily for the two of them, they find the correct office relatively quickly. As the entered Aboleth quickly got to work doing her thing. Gemini locked the door and kept an eye out, ready to give a warning to her partner at the first sign of any sort of interruption.
It didnât take the villain long to get information out of the target, they would resist a little bit and Aboleth would repeat herself, occasionally referencing Gemini as the bad cop and saying if she didnât answer to her, sheâd have to face the literal fire of the hero. It kind of through Jena off a bit, usually her being the good and villains being the bad, but Aboleth didnât seem like most of villains she met, there was more actual care and empathy behind her words, and she didnât seem to relish in someoneâs suffering or pain.
The villain finally said her last few words to the politician before turning back to Gemini saying she was wrapped up, but before she could respond, alarms started going off in the facility and a voice came over the intercoms talking about intruders. Gemini peaked around Aboleth and saw the target was reaching around the desk, and assumed they had hit a panic button. âWell, this seems like the time to go.â Jena said as she peaked outside the door and already saw some guards to their left, quickly throwing out some fire and creating a wall. âLetâs go!â
As the alarms started blaring, Piper felt her face flush as embarrassment washed over her. Sheâd asked for the politician to let them go, but of course the moment she turned away, the woman snapped out of it. What a time to fail. Gemini said it was time to go, and Piper agreed. She didnât want to stick around to see where this was heading.
As Gemini created a fire wall between them and the guards, she and Piper started running through the halls. This was terrible, and Piper hated every minute of it. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body, and she felt like she was going to vomit; the mixture of fear and unfamiliar exercise was really not her favorite feeling.
As they rushed through the building, Piper managed to say, âSorry,â to Gemini, âI botched the exit there.â
âIts fine, lets just get out of here!â Jena shouted as the two continued to run. As they turned a corner there was more guards blocking their way. âHey⊠could yâall maybe, let us through?â She asked, not expecting them to actually let them through, but they quickly raised their weapons. Gemini reactively threw some small fireballs at the guards hands to make them drop their weapons, and quickly swept two off their feet by kicking under their legs, glad Aboleth was able to take out the other one.
The two nodded to each other as they continued, finally making it out through a side door, different from the one they entered. Gemini didnât stop once they got outside though, knowing theyâd need to get far enough away before stopping to catch their breath. As soon as she knew they were clear Jena looked back ato Aboleth and flashed a smile. âHey, good job in there. I mean it. You probably donât care about this, but I was impressed how you handled her. Someone with your sort of powers could have done much worse, but you donât seem like the type of person. Anyways. Bet to split off and meet up at the next meeting. Good working with you!â She said with a wave before running off down the alleyway and heading home.
Seeing Geminiâs powers up close was incredible, really. Piper never really thought sheâd get the chance, and now that she had, she was sure she wouldnât want to be on the receiving end of that. She was glad that the guards had dropped their weapons, though. While she wasnât much of a fighter, Gemini was taking on two guys at once, so taking care of the other was the least Piper could do. Luckily, he was thrown off by the fireballs. A knee to his stomach, and they at least had enough time to get out the doors.
Piper hated running, and they were doing a lot of it. It seemed like an impossibly long amount of time before they stopped to breathe. Piper raised an eyebrow as Gemini spoke. What could she say to that? That she had done worse in the past? That she wouldnât do something as stupid as using her powers to kill an influential politician right in front of a hero? It would only make her look bad, and would only make the women into a martyr, make her cause stronger. Piper wasnât stupid. But she didnât say any of that, she just nodded, said, âGood working with you,â and headed on her way. Working with a hero hadnât been as bad as Piper expected, and now she knew that she could handle it.[/font]

xxxyou know that i'm not that strong
xxxjust one look and i can hear a bell ring
xxxone more look and i forget everything
xxx
Dhani felt at home before he even made it to the stairwell, and he was glad. He wanted to take a shower, rest, get some sleep. There was going to be a lot of work in the coming weeks, and he wanted to try to be ready for whatever that meant for him.
He considered stopping by Kieranâs to make sure she had something to eat, but he figured she would have already raided his fridge if she didnât, so it was probably best to just leave her alone. She could get weird about people in her space, so he opted to head to his own apartment and leave her alone. She complained about Dhani being too protective and told him to stay out of her business, and then she complained when he gave her space because she could handle things herself, and he generally didnât know what she wanted from him. Sometimes it was just better to avoid her.
He didnât get the vibe that something was wrong until he turned on the lamp by the door. Red Witch was sitting on his kitchen counter, staring right at him.
She scared the shit out of him.
Dhani jumped backwards, knocking over the lamp, which came unplugged and rolled- almost comically- across the floor. Dhani may have been able to find some humor in the situation if he hadnât been confused and scared. The lightswitch was across the room, which was why Dhani had the lamp by the door, but it still only took a few full strides to reach. Red Witch started talking right away, immediately being condescending. He ignored her question about what to call him, instead he asked, âWhat are you doing here?â She made a quip about stopping by for coffee, and Dhani rolled his eyes. âI prefer for my guests to use the door.â Then she broke his coffee pot. He sighed, deeply. This was ridiculous, heâd done nothing to deserve this treatment. âJust tell-â
Red Witch interrupted him, and told him why sheâd come. It was because of Atticus. Dhani wanted to say there was nothing there, nothing to even be upset about. Then he remembered the promise to text Att that heâd made it home safely, and he knew that wasnât something you asked a professional acquaintance to do. She threatened him, then, and that didnât sit well with Dhani. Heâd never enjoyed being threatened, and threats really never did much to deter him from something if he was determined to do it. Dhani wanted to ask her exactly what she meant, try to get her to tell him what she knew, and how, because he really wasnât about to take this lying down.
Then Kieran walked in. She had the worst timing imaginable. Dhani frowned at her when she said he probably deserved whatever was coming. A part of him knew that Kieran was just trying to placate Red Witch, but that didnât make it any less upsetting to have your friend say you deserved to have your home broken into and your life threatened after you just spent your time being shot at. Real great way to end his evening. When Red Witch threatened Kieran, he internally cursed her. Honestly, he could handle getting a little roughed up, heâd probably be fine. But Kieran? Even if she would be fine, Dhani wouldnât be able to live with himself if he felt it was his fault sheâd gotten hurt. Thanks to Kieranâs intrusion, he felt compelled to comply with Red Witchâs deal, and sheâd known he would. Didnât stop her from breaking his light and practically throwing a chair at him, though, which was both rude and unnecessary.
Kieran kept the glass from shattering on the two of them, which Dhani appreciated, even if it wasnât fully necessary; he would have been fine. Then Kieran turned and started to berate him. Excuse me? He felt defensive right off the bat, âI didnât do anything! She broke in here unprovoked and-â He stopped when Kieran said his name, being held in place with her powers wasnât needed to get his attention, but she did it anyway. He listened to her words, and he felt heat rising across his face. Really? She was so focused on how this was his fault? Red Witch had broken into his apartment, threatened him, and Kieran was upset that sheâd had to come âsaveâ him? He would have been fine on his own.
When Kieran used her powers to fling him up to the ceiling, and then back to the floor, it just seemed to rub some salt into the wound. Dhani got the point: he was in this on his own. He stood up slowly as Kieran talked about her mission, all the amazing information sheâd uncovered. My mission went terribly, he thought to himself, we found your file, though.Thanks for asking, youâre such a great friend. When Kieran left, he set his lamp back up, and plugged it in, mumbling, âI didnât ask for your help.â When the light turned on, he looked around the apartment. He had some cleaning to do.
He just wanted to go to sleep.

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
News eventually filtered through that a number of suspects were going to be attending a masquerade ball in the city in a few weekâs time. It was a private affair, but Malfyre had managed to get them all on the list. Under pseudonyms, of course. Cerys honestly thought that Persephone Rothschild was far from the worst, especially because it was believable. Some of the others, Malfyre had clearly had fun with their names and had toed the line of believability. But the ball presented one major issue for her. She couldnât use her bow. She couldnât conceivably smuggle in any weapons, which meant sheâd have to improvise if she came down to it. But her siblings had trained her plenty in hand-to-hand, and sheâd been paired up with Gemini. She knew it was probably only a matter of time before she ended up getting stuck with Red Witch, but she just prayed that day never came.
Sheâd agreed to meet Gemini in there, but couldnât see them when she arrived. Apparently, they were coming as their male form, but she couldnât see either of them. So she stuck to the crowds, searching for a semi-familiar face as she took a glass of the free champagne. It was more for appearance than anything else, she didnât want to cloud her senses. She fished her phone out of her clutch and texted Aaron.
To: Aaron
you here yet? come quick before all the free champagne is gone :P
She felt someone barrel into her, almost knocking off her feet. Her balance was off in the heels, so it took her a millisecond longer than usual to recover. But there was strong hands grasping her as she recovered. She didnât recognize this man. He was too short and the wrong build to be anyone she was working with, and so she flashed them a charming smile.
âAre you alright there, miss?â He asked as he released her.
âYes, thank you. Just was distracted there for a moment,â she said with a light laugh.
âEasy to do. These receptions are always so busy, these things happen. Are you enjoying yourself?â He asked.
âOh, yes, itâs been lovely so far.â
âDid you come all by yourself?â The question seemed out of the blue, and Cerys examined the man for a moment, trying to figure out his intentions.
âOh no, my friends are coming too. I just live the nearest so I got here first, theyâre going to be here any minute now,â she said, her light tone not giving away the suspicion bubbling in her stomach.
âMaybe I should keep an eye on you until they arrive. Just to make sure you donât have any more mishaps,â he said, taking a step closer.
âIâm a grown woman, I can handle myself just fine.â Her polite facade was starting to drop. She wasnât sure if this guy suspected something or if he was just being a creep, but she was starting to think he wouldnât back down. This wasnât what she wanted, and she knew it could potentially complicate things later. But punching him would definitely garner unwanted attention, and that would be worse.
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
Getting ready for the masquerade ball or whatever it was took more effort than Att really wanted to put into it. It needed a new suit and a mask that wasnât just the same one he wore as Icarus. He wasnât going as Atticus Hawkins, though. He was going as William Alexander Goldberg-Jameson III, and that required a slightly different look. He didnât think for a second anyone would recognize him anyway, but he wasnât taking a chance. So his suit was perhaps a little more out there than usual, and his mask was elaborate. But as he got dressed that evening, making sure to look as polished as possible, he felt like he wasnât totally looking at himself when he looked in the mirror. He looked like a different version of himself, and that was what he wanted. Into his inside pocket went his knives. He hadnât gotten another gun yet. He kept putting it off, coming up with different reasons why knives were a better solution all round.
Heâd tried to force visions about the ball on a number of different occasions, but every single time, he saw something entirely unrelated. Eventually he gave up, the emotional and physical toll just too much. He didnât know if knowing or not knowing was better. If he had seen something, would he have even been able to change it?
Atticus and Lucy made their way to the hotel by limo, Lucy insisting that there was no way in hell they were just getting a taxi. They had an image to portray and they were going to stick to it. Att was on edge the whole time, but did enjoy the luxury of the limo and the attention they got as they stepped out was oddly wonderful. Delighted gasps and eyes that scanned them from head to toe and liked what they saw. Whispers about her dress, his suit, their masks. With their masks on, nobody could or would ever recognize them, and there was something thrilling about that. Att had slipped in his earpiece in the taxi, the mic already concealed in his mask.
âIcarus and Red Witch are on site,â he said, moments before they entered the main room together. He could feel eyes turn towards them as they entered, and he smiled. There was a power and a thrill in pretending to be someone else


Malfyre // Anti-Hero // Attire & Mask // Hex: #575772
This is a black black ski mask song
So put all of your anger on
In the truly gruesome do we trust
I will always land on you like a sucker punch
Singing I am the worst, I am the worst nightmare
The following days came and went, Kieran busily trying to figure out what else was encrypted in those harder to get into files. But more importantly, she was assigned getting their names on the list, or at least put names on it that would be assigned to them. At first, she figured she would mess around and put some nonsensical names their for them, but she knew it wouldn't be believable and would show that somehow had hacked into their list somehow. So, she decided to get everyone relatively believable names, making sure that both the heroes and villains got them and knew ahead of time so they could prepare. Sienna Delta May Hopkins, was the name she gave to herself, knowing full well that the others would be rather upset that she gave herself a more believable name than them, but it's what they were given and if they didn't like it, oh well. They could manage to deal with this for a few hours.
Kieran was uncertain what she wanted to do for the event. She wasn't much one for dresses but knew she had to at least play the part for a few hours. And after deciding on a corresponding dress and mask, and tried to help Dhani find a matching outfit. But he was hopeless as ever, and clearly decided to go with his own thing, and who was she to stop him? They'd manage to make it work, they always did. It was one of the things about them that always worked, no matter how much they may have caused shit towards each other, they always managed to pull things of in the end. This would be no different.
Kieran made last-minute preparations as she put on more make-up than she would have liked, and after making sure that she secured some on the spot weapons hidden on her person, she arrived at Dhani's, and the two shortly left after he was ready as well. As they exited their rather shabby apartment, a long, black stretch limo awaited them as their driver greeted them with smiles. "Shall we be making our way there, ma'am?" asked the rather young driver. Kieran gave him a curt smile and nod as the two of them got into the limo and the door shut behind them. Kieran knew full well what was on Dhani's mind, even if he didn't dare question it. Where did she get the money to afford this, and Should I be scared, were two all too common questions she received from him in the past always getting the same answer in reply. "Oh come on, Dhani. Don't act so surprised. If we're going to appear to be rich snobs, may as well play the part, right? Besides, you know better than to ask where I always get the money for this. Just don't, and you'll be fine." she said with a chuckle, looking back at him. "Don't worry, I only get the best that money can buy. This bad boy is soundproof, bulletproof, as well as fully tinted windows. You need to stop being so...uptight about everything and just relax." she said with a shrug as she pulled out a bottle of champagne and two glasses, "Want one?" she offered him a glass, but knew he would reject, but she figured she might as well be nice, so she simply shrugged and quickly downed the first one. Pouring a second one and downed it quickly as well. She always worked better if she had a little alcohol in her system, kept her from being entirely stressed. She made sure to pop in her earpiece, covering it up with her hair, as for the mic, the way her mask was made didn't allow for one to be integrated. She'd be able to hear the others, just not be able to communicate with them. At least not vocally anyway.
Soon enough the limo ride had come to a stop and the door was opened, letting some all too bright and artificial light as they were welcomed to the hotel. Kieran gave some fake smiles as the two of them walked and made their way into the hotel. "I'm gonna scout ahead, see what I can find and anything out of the ordinary. I'll meet up with you later." Kieran gave him a small smile and nod, and separated from him soon after. There were already a dozens of people, all dressed up to the nines, with masks. Making it hard to tell who was here and who wasn't. As well as who was who. Something that may make things a bit harder in retrospect. She knew the others would be here, but had no idea what they were wearing.
Kieran made her way into the main lobby of the hotel, where most of the guests were, making sure she blended in well enough with the others. Something she was never good at. Maybe breaking off from Dhani was a bad idea-Something from the corner of her eye garnered her attention. Some guy seemed to be talking up a woman in a long, grey dress with golden details, and a rather unique mask. She seemed clearly irritated by his presence. Kieran sighed and made her way over to the two. Giving a small curt smile, "Well there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" she said other enthusiastically. Wrapping an arm around Cerys. Looking back at the man for a moment she gave a fake laugh, "Sorry for being late, thanks for keeping my friend company in the meantime. Bye-Bye." she waved the man off, who seemed to give her a small glare and walked off.
Turning back to the girl she gave a smile, "Figured he was bothering you, thought I'd help. Hope your friends get here soon. If anyone else bothers you, feel free to just track me down." Kieran gave another smile and wink, and then turned away and walked off before the girl could properly thank her. She needed to focus on her mission, but as a waiter passed by, she scooped up one of the champagne glasses as she walked around to find something to occupy herself some time for now.




Red Witch || Villain || Dress || Mask || Gloves || Hex: #571616
To escape the world, I've got to enjoy that simple dance
And it seemed that everything was on my side
Blood on my side
She seemed sincere like it was love and true romance
And now she's out to get me
Luciana quickly got back to the apartment, shortly after Atticus and glad to see he did pick up food, even though it wasnât pizza. The two briefed each other on how their missions went, Lucy obviously leaving out the part about going through Malfyreâs phone and stopping by Paladin's place to give him a warning. Att wouldnât exactly be happy if he found out what she did, so she just had to hope Paladin would keep his mouth shut.
The heroes and villains got together again, discussing all they found as a group. Red Witch rolled her eyes at Artemis coming up with nothing, nudging Aboleth and saying out loud she wasnât surprised that the dead weight of the group came up with nothing, loud enough for the hero to hear. She just smirked under her mask as the hero shot her a glare. After everyone revealed what they got, the plan came together about infiltrating a sort of gala fundraiser going on, Malfyre coming up with names for everyone.
Luciana gave Atticus a fist bump as they would be on the distraction team. It was better than sneaking around and she could have some fun since it would be a party. Her only job was to have a good time and then get eyes on her and Atticus, which she a few things in mind. Luciana quickly dismissed herself from the meeting as the main points got talked about, since it was a Monday and Bachelor would be on tonight so she had better things to get to.
Lucy quickly brought her plan of distraction to Atticus the next day and the two got to work on making sure it would go well, something she was actually excited for. It didnât take long for the two of them to decide on a color palette and then each of them going off to find their outfits. Emerald and chocolate would be their colors and after a day of shopping Luciana was excited that their outfits and mask went well together. Though she was having trouble thinking of a way to cover up her scars until Atticus suggested she wear gloves, which she loved the idea of and quickly found some green lace opera gloves.
The day of the gala Lucy spent the majority of the day getting ready. It didnât take her long to get her dress ready, but she did spend more time on her hair and make-up. She did think about letting her hair flow and possibly curl it, but after swiping through pinterest she decided to go with an up-do as it would keep her hair out of the way and would go well with the occasion, and still allowed for a few strands of bangs that would look good over her mask. Also she rarely wore her hair up when not as a villain so the likeliness of anyone putting together that Luciana Morrison is Red Witch would still be low.
As for her make-up, Luciana went with her usual raccoon eye look, but keeping the shade to blend with her mask and a bit of green eyeliner to pop, and sticking with the classic 999 red lipstick as it popped with the green and brown.
It was of course Lucianaâs idea to get a limo, as the beautiful Amethyst Marie Luworen and handsome William Alexander Goldberg-Jameson III wouldnât show up in any less of a fashion. Those were the names Malfyre had given to the villain team, and Lucy going a bit further with their back story, wanting to have a little bit of fun with what Malfyre gave them. Atticus rolled his eyes as they went downstairs and saw the limo. âHoney, what else do you expect from us?â She said with a smile.
It didnât take them long to get to the venue and Luciana basked in the attention as their driver opened the door for Atticus and her to step out, holding onto his arm as the two walked inside. It was beautiful inside, everything and more that she had expected.
As the two of them started to enjoy themselves with a few glasses of champagne and hors d'oeuvres, Atticus whispered to her that the others had arrived. Lucy wasnât wearing any communication device as it would be too noticeable with her look, so her partner would need to convey any information to her. She glanced around and saw some of the others, doing a little wave to Aboleth as she saw them with BludWynd. Lucy turned her head in and whispered into Atticusâ ear. âYou lead whenever ready for our distraction⊠just donât step on my toes.â

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

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
Adrian was happy to be partnered with a hero over a villain, and working with Artemis would be a nice change of pace as the two would be part of the infiltration team and getting what they came here for while Malfyre, Paladin, Icarus and Red Witch would all be distractions as well as Aboleth and BludWynd would be additional
The day of the gala Adrian let Jena get ready first as it wouldnât take him long to get dressed, and would at least keep her from complaining as much during the mission. The two of them had bought matching masks for the occasion, though their choice of apparel did not match, which didnât matter as much. Adrian wore a simple grey suit, but enjoyed the peacoat he would be showing up in. While Jena went a little bit more out, doing a curling her hair with a half-up half-down braid, and buying a new sequined dress.
You look absolutely beautiful babe, Iâm really sorry you wonât be able to show it off. Adrian said as to Jena as she did a little spin in the mirror before letting Adrian take over. Pfft, you never know. She replied as Adrian put some product in his hair and combed it, so it wasnât the usual mess it was. As the two of them finished, it didnât take them long to get to the gala location. Adrian just took an UberLux instead of a regular taxi and just walked up to the front entrance.
âNicholls, Henry Barnabas Nichollsâ Adrian repeated the alias Malfyre had given him for the gala to the door guard and was quickly let in. He grabbed two glasses of the waiters and looked around for Cerys, remembering the short description she had given him for what she would look like. As he pushed himself through the crowd he quickly found her and walked up and wrapped his arm around her, to play the part. âEvening dearest, apologies for making you wait, stunning as ever.â He said with a smile towards Artemis. Hey, hands⊠He heard Jena say to him. Babe, we have an image to keep, donât worry He replied to her.
The two heroes spoke for a little bit as more people tended to show up, Adrian lifted his wrist up to act as he was coughing as he spoke into his watch that he built a mic into. âWeâre good to go whenever yâall are.â
L U C I A N A 0 M O R R I S O N 00000000000000000000|0| A T T I C U S 0 H A W K I N S


Luciana was taking a sip of champagne when she felt Atticus pull on her hand, quickly setting her drink down and walking behind him, heels clicking loudly on the floor as they headed towards the center of the room. As they parted through the crowd, Att held his hand out and Lucy came close to him. âDonât think about it, just let it flow.â She said in a whisper to him. She didn;t doubt Atticusâ ability to lead this, probably one of the few people she actually trusted in the city, and she knew if he did mess this up, he wouldnât exactly be sleeping easy.
He took a deep breath as they got into hold, nodding ever so slightly at Lucyâs instruction. Theyâd practiced enough, he had to trust himself and Lucy. And besides, he told himself, she had to do most of the work.
Heâd never been much of a dancer, but this dance was one hell of a way to start. He had no idea how or where Lucy had found it, but it was striking enough to work. As he lifted Lucy into a spin, he could see that almost all eyes were on them, exactly what theyâd wanted. Malfyre and Dhani would have big shoes to fill. It also made them stand out enough that Att and Lucyâs targets would surely want to talk to them at some point.
The final move was perhaps the most worrying, as heâd dropped her more than once in the apartment. But he held her strong, and applause burst out through the room. He pulled her back upright with a relieved smile.
Luciana smiled as Atticus took the first step and they began. This is what she was looking forward to for the whole night, could care less about their mission. But the attention of everyone and their eyes on her, giving her the rush of adrenaline she had been craving lately. There could be some worry about her or her partner messing up or skipping a step, but she knew that they wouldnât, just had a feeling, regardless the number of times Atticus dropped her on her back
As they went through the steps, Luciana was scanning the crowd, keeping an eye out for their targets as well as seeing if any of the heroes were around, and her eyes quickly finding and setting on Paladin, he had a unique look so it wasnât hard to find him. And the woman next to him in a long and revealing black dress had to be his partner, Malfyre.
When the final step came up, Luciana looked into Attâs eyes and smiled, knowing he wouldnât drop her this time. And when he leaned her down she just continued smiling as he didnât drop her on the ground. As Atticus pulled her back up, she locked eyes with Dhani, smirking with the round of applause that came from the crowd.
Lucy heard a question come from a woman in the crowd. As she walked back to her partner. âOh, he's my fiancĂ©.â She said loudly, running her hand across Atticusâ face and pulling him in for a kiss, knowing the hero was watching.
The comment about him being Lucyâs fiancĂ© was nothing new. Theyâd agreed that was their cover story from the moment theyâd started plotting for this event. But when she pulled him in for a kiss, he had to stop his immediate impulse to pull away. That could give them away. So instead he broke away after the shortest acceptable amount of time, giving her a look. They both knew what it meant, but it wouldnât be overly harsh to any onlookers. âWeâre going to talk about that later,â he said quietly. But now, they needed to target their respective individuals. It was as he turned to scan the crowd in search of his mark that he spotted Dhani. Dhani had to have seen that. But⊠he had to know it was a distraction tactic, right? He made a mental note to try and talk to Dhani about it later. But they had a job to do first.
P I P E R YOUNG

if they think you care,
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzthey'll walk all over you.
After their mission (which, while it was deemed a success, Piper wished it had gone better), there was just the matter of waiting for the next meeting. The information led them all to a masquerade ball; honestly, attending a ball of any kind felt a bit like a childhood dream come true, but this would be a job, and there would be no prince charming to sweep Piper off her feet. Instead, she would be there with BludWynd, and she didnât know much about him.
They were really just meant to be backup; hold back, look out for trouble, neutralize it (peacefully, if possible) if you see any. It made sense to put Piper in this group, and she didnât mind taking a more passive role at all. Running for her life and fighting enemies were not her ideas of a nice evening. But Piper had decided that if she was going to a ball, she was going to look stunning. She spent plenty of time âshoppingâ around for her dress and mask, until she was happy with her choice.
Getting ready for the ball was massively simplified by the fact that she didnât need to wear much makeup, just a little around her eyes. Sheâd hidden a communicator in her mask, made sure her ear piece wasnât too obvious, and she was ready to go.
She gave them her fake name at the door: Clementine Antoinnette Abernathy. It was a bit of a mouthful, but at least she didnât have to contend with anything particularly ridiculous or obnoxious. She could thank Malfyre for that, at least.
The venue was beautiful, elegantly decorated, the music was lovely. Piper felt a bit of envy bubble up within her. The fact that people lived like this, threw these parties and plotted to kill people like her, all while sheâd grown up with barely enough to survive, it made her a little angry. They couldnât see that they were likely contributing to the conditions that made people with powers turn to crime, or at the very least, they werenât doing anything to lessen the spread. Perhaps she was just trying to legitimize the things that sheâd done, but she really felt like the people in that room (at least, the ones whose names werenât added to the list by a particularly skilled hacker) were really blind to the real issues of their city. Piper may not have grown up in Barden, but she had grown up close enough.
Piper met up with BludWynd by the edge of the room. It had taken a little work to find a spot where they could keep an eye on most of the area, but when they did, they locked it down. Piper didnât have a whole lot to say, and most of his attempts at conversation were met with one or two word responses. She wasnât here to make friends, least of all with a hero, no matter how well he cleaned up. She managed to spot Red Witch through the crowd, there with Icarus. If she didnât know better, even she could have been fooled by them. They made quite the couple. Piper returned Red Witchâs wave with one of her own, lifting her hand and wiggling her fingers. She would have smiled, but no one could see it, anyway, so she didnât see the point. Then she crossed her arms and looked around, trying to remember the gist of who and where everyone was. Piper was fairly sure the different groups would be fine on their own, but she couldnât reasonably relax until she knew everyone had accomplished their goals. Then Red Witch and Icarus started dancing, and Piper couldnât help but wonder how long theyâd practiced that.
She joined in with the applause when theyâd finished. That was some distraction. She knew there was another one due any time, and she leaned over to BludWynd, âMalfyre and Paladin are your friends, right?â She kept her voice low, only he would hear her over the music and the chatter. She rested a hand on his arm, fairly sure it would look like flirting to a casual observer, âDo you know what theyâre planning? Iâd like to keep an eye out for it in case something goes wrong.â It was, perhaps, not the vote of confidence they would want; but between how easy he had been to command, and his track record, Piper wasnât sure Paladin could reasonably pull any sort of mission without there being horrible consequences.
Setting
0.00 INK


BludWynd // Hero // Attire & Mask // Hex: #545352
If you knew, knew what the blue birds sang at you
You, would never sing along
Cast them out because this is our culture
These new flocks are nothing but vultures
The days that followed after Aaron's rather, unfortunately, failure of a mission with Cerys, which also left him twenty bucks short, a few rounds of alcohol, and having to indulge Cerys with more stories of how he knew Malfyre and what he could say about them. Even if it wasn't much. He knew that if word ever got back to Kieran about it, she would kill him. The days went by slowly as nothing really happened except for his normal work hours, making sure that Kieran was taking care of herself, and simply doing his own things, as well as the meetings. Which, more often than not he had to drag Kieran out of her apartment as she didn't want to go. He knew to make her work with them was going to be difficult, but he didn't know it was going to be like taking care of a bratty toddler that wanted snacks. He loved Kieran, he really did, but god damn did she sometimes make being her friend difficult at times.
As the days finally came to a close for when the event would be coming out, he was given a name that had been picked out as Malfyre as she handed out little papers with the names and some other small bits of information. Aaron didn't even want to look at what name she gave him, knowing full well it was going to be the worst as he looked at the others' reactions to their names. It was going to be bad. Mr. Finley Darren Avery Martinez II, the paper read. Aaron internally sighed and groaned as he read it. Just as he expected, it was probably the worst out of them all, clearly just to spite him. He hated it, and he knew that Kieran had done it on purpose, she always seemed to love to pick on him more than the others, and he wasn't sure exactly why.
He begrudgingly went along with it, especially after some talking down by Artemis as she told him to not get so worked up over it, especially after some of the bullshit Malfyre had pulled. He made sure to find a suit that was good enough for such a prestigious party, even if he didn't have the money for it. That was until an envelope arrived at his store one day, with no return address or anything. He carefully opened it, and was surprised to see an oddly large amount of cash in it. With a small note on the inside. The writing was almost illegible and had multiple mistakes and typos in it. But he got the gist of it, knowing full well who and where the money came from. While it seemed ominous and suspicious, he knew all too well that it was their way of showing he wasn't going to have anything for the event, and he genuinely appreciated it. Even if he would have preferred the money handed to him by her instead, but he got the point.
The day finally came, and after being able to get a rather nice suit, as well as mask, he was ready. He jelled his hair back, making sure to attach a small mic to the inside of his mask the best he could, as well as having an earpiece to connect with the others. In his suit jacket's pockets, he stored a few small knives and made his way to the hotel, knowing he'd meet Piper there.
When Aaron arrived, he didn't know what he was expecting exactly but knew that this was way over his head and comfort zone. He didn't belong in a place like this, even if he did used to go to events like this with his parents. Coming back to things like this just, felt off. He did his best to blend in with the crowd, taking a drink to hopefully try his best to not stand out from the others. "BludWynd is on the scene. You guys are greenlit to do whatever it is you're doing." he said softly enough for the others to hear with their earpieces, trying to make sure he could tell who was who. As he scanned the room, he could easily spot out Kieran from the crowd. Her red hair was a dead give away for someone that knew her, not as Malfyre, but as Kieran. He gave her a small smile and nod from across the room as they made slight eye contact. And he quickly lost her amongst the crowd as she weaved out of sight. Perfect, he already lost sight of her.
Aaron was minding his own business until someone walked up beside him, fully dressed in a golden dress and mask. At first he wasn't entirely sure what to think, not until he heard the woman speak. Jesus christ she went all out for this, huh? He gave her a small smile and nod as a greeting. Watching as much as he could to make sure he was aware what was going on the entire time, he tried striking up a few small bouts of conversation with Piper, who merely shot them down every time. And when she did answer, it was with one or two-word replies. Clearly not the talking type, at least not to him anyway. Aaron watched silently as two individuals took to the dancefloor, giving off quite a show. He was fully aware who it was the longer they danced, it was one of their distractions, perfect. He clapped along with the audience as the dance eventually came to an end, glad that at least one of their plans went off with no problem.
Aaron turned his head to the side to look at Aboleth when she asked that Paladin and Malfyre were his friends, simply giving a small shrug. "Wouldn't exactly say friends but...More or less me and Paladin do what we can to keep Malfyre from doing stupid shit, or getting herself killed in the process. So...Take that as you will." he said as he took another sip of hid drink. He wasn't one much for alcohol but, if it kept up for appearance's sake, so be it. He shrugged his shoulders as he was asked if he knew what they were planning, and if so what to keep an eye out for. "Honestly? It could be anything knowing those two. Especially Malfyre. Knowing her, things can go smoothly, or she'll pull a classic move and do her own thing. So, best to just keep your eyes out for anything. It's not exactly helpful but, those two are entirely unpredictable."
- 95 posts here • Page 2 of 4 • 1, 2, 3, 4