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In the days since the demon attack, or “D-Day” as it had been called by some in the media, Scott had rarely had a chance to walk the streets of the city. In the days following the disastrous attack on Lost Haven, Scott had spent much of his time helping to undo the damage that had been done to the city. Be it helping repair the physical damage to the brick and mortar buildings, or just being visible to the public in an attempt to help raise the moral of the citizens, he had been very busy.

However, on this day, he decided to take some time away from his exploits as Icon, see how things were on the streets. Though the people of Lost Haven were known to be a resilient bunch, it was easy to see that the psychological scars of the attack were still fresh among the city’s residents. 

The city was unusually quiet. There wasn’t the constant noise that normally filled the air. Aside from the occasional honking of a car horn, it was almost silent. It was so quiet in fact, that if one weren’t careful, they might forget entirely that they were in a large city.

It was almost as if the people of Lost Haven didn’t want to be noticed, out of fear of inviting another attack. 

As Scott made his way down Eastern Avenue; towards the heart of Sherman Square, he noticed something that seemed out of place on this particular day. A crowd had formed at on the sidewalk in front of the Chambers Building, the tallest building not only in Sherman Square, but all of Lost Haven. 

When Scott looked up to see what the crowd had been staring at, his heart jumped. Standing on the ledge of the roof was a young woman. The pretty brunette looked to be in her mid twenties, and as she stood on the ledge of the building, with the wind whipping around her, threatening to throw her from the roof, she looked entirely too calm. Then, the unthinkable happened, as she simply stepped off the ledge and began plummeting toward the ground.

[i]Not today.[/i] Scott thought to himself as in a blink of the eye he quickly stepped out of view into a nearby alley. Once he was out of sight, he spun in place, and in what could only be described as a whirlwind, shed his civilian clothes in favor of the familiar blue and silver garb of the hero Icon.

In a flash, Icon raced from the alley and flew up the side of the Chambers Building, meeting the young woman nearly halfway down the structure of glass and steel.

[b]"It’s alright, I’ve got you.”[/b] He said as he caught her in midair, bulling her into his chest. [b]”You’re going to be alright.."[/b]

I didn't really have any doubts. I was sure that he would come. After all I had read up about what superheroes were and he definitely fit those descriptions almost perfectly. But even so I felt a little shiver of uncertainty as I approached the halfway point of the drop and hadn't seen any signs of his coming yet. Then I saw it, the blurred streak of blue and grey rising up towards me and I feel another wave of anticipation and eagerness run through me. Things are about to get very interesting. I don't move or resist at all as the human in blue and grey catches my body and pulls me against him. Though I try, I can't quite control myself and laughter starts to bubble forth from deep inside. It looks like he is taking it for crying at first but then he looks down at me with an odd expression and I know it is time to get things going.

"No," I say half laughing and feel my smile widen even more. "I've got you." I will the fire to come and my hands ignite with crimson flames that I can no longer feel. I raise them quickly and press the blazing hands against Icon's face. In my studies I had learned that humans have this aversion to blows coming at their faces. The shock should force him to respond appropriately and without thinking to lash out at the threat.

Icon was stunned by the sudden attack from the woman. The searing heat, the likes of which he had faced several days before during the demon siege distracted him momentarily, nearly causing him to crash into the side of one of Lost Haven’s many skyscrapers. As he came within inches of the side of the concrete building, he pulled hard to one side, the combination of speed and sudden change of direction caused him to lose control. He tried to right his trajectory, however the damage had been done, and he found himself careening out of control into the nearby RenMart parking lot, which sent panicked shoppers scattering in all directions as Icon crashed into a row of vehicles. 

As he got to his feet amid the wreckage of a number of vehicles, he realized that he had lost sight of the “woman” who had ambushed him. Then, he saw her. She moved lithely towards him, smirking as she advanced on him.

[b]”What is it that you want?”[/b] Icon asked, his eyes beginning to glow with a reddish tint.

I keep the crimson fire wrapped around my hands as Icon crashes to the ground. I am surprised that he did not strike back at me like the information on human reactions had suggested. Was this yet another error in the already problematic and information light bestiaries that I had been provided for earth? Regardless it seems I will have to provoke him further if I am to get what I want. No, a shudder runs through me and my smile widens, what I need. 

But at the same time I have no desire to bring permanent harm to the humans here and a fight will cause damage. The crimson flames lick out to melt the asphalt and it releases a foul and acrid smell as I slowly make my way towards the hero. There is ample time for the humans to have fled far enough and with that concern delt with I can now get things started.

"What do I want?" I laugh, a pure and clear sound even in this human form that distorts my natural voice. "What do I want?" My laughing is louder and my smile threatens to extend too far to be natural. The fire races up and down my arms now, though it doesn't burn me anymore. "Already ready for me to make demands then?" I wink, mocking him with my words. This was another tactic that was said to produce an aggressive response in humans. 

"Shall I take your surrender? I guess the great Icon can't even handle a little heat?" I laugh again, my voice teasing as I thrust my hands forward and the crimson fire erupts outwards. But while the blast of fire may seem chaotic I carefully control it, keeping it in check and focused only on the target, Icon.

Icon felt the intense heat from the woman’s unrelenting hellfire attack. Though the heat would certainly burn most men to a crisp, Icon was certainly not most men. He pressed forward against the assault, feeling the heat intensify with each step he took. 

As he moved toward the woman, he could smell the acrid odor of melting asphalt as he felt his feet sinking into the softening surface beneath him. He was fearful for the people who were still in the parking lot, however, as he forced himself to look around to assess his surroundings, he found that, much to his relief, most of the people had scattered to the safety of the shopping center. 

[b]”You know…”[/b] He strained to say as the hot air from the inferno burned his lungs. [b]”I’m…getting…sick…of…being….attacked…by…every…psycho…who…wants…to…make…a…name…for…themselves.”[/b] He finished as he jumped up and slammed his fist into the ground, buckling the parking lot beneath the impact. The blow to the pavement, even in its softened state felt like an earthquake, and sent the mysterious woman, and everything else within a ten foot radius into the air, leaving Icon alone in the crater he had just created. 

Still nothing? I sigh, my smile fading for a moment as the human wades through the fire but does not strike back or unleash that power of his. This is supposed to be fun, to be a chance for multiple changes and growth, not another waste of time like the red midgets. I see that he is getting closer though and at last he raises his hands and responds to my taunts. 

But the response is offensive. I am no frivolous psychopath or deviant seeking brief fame and human attention. I am May'El'Lin and I am a Shylren highborn. I open my mouth to offer a retort when he finally strikes. But even this strike doesn't actually hit me. The blow crashes down on the boiling asphalt and almost like this thing humans call a trampoline the ground beneath me flexes and then shoots me up into the air.

It is a bit exhilarating, but honestly can't compare to the thrill that a dive from orbit, or even the top of a skyscraper held. Clearly I'll need to turn this up a bit. I focus and the crimson fire erupts downwards with new ferocity, pressing against the ground and actively holding me aloft, again I take care to limit the spread so that the humans are spared roasting, even if I can't see why they dislike such rich sensations. 

How should I respond? More baiting, I decide quickly and smirk down at the hero. "I don't want a name for myself. I already have a name." My laughter sounds again and I let it out freely. "No." I let the flaming pillar fade and drop even as I ignite my foot instead of my hands. "I want you" 

My flaming foot collides with his face and a crack sounds even as he is knocked away to the ground from the momentum as the bones in my leg break. I am filled with a small explosion of sensation and I grin even as my leg sags slightly. "To really fight." 

By the time he starts to get back to his feet my leg is steady again and he likely didn't notice that it had broken at all. "Is that all you've got?" I extend a hand, my smile still on my face as I take a pose that my research tells me is taunting in several contexts in addition to a combative one, and I crook my fingers. "Bring it on Icon. Hit me!" And as I say that my fire flares again around my body as if it too is taunting him.

Icon staggers to his feet, surprised that the kick from the woman was as powerful as it was. He realized that this woman, whoever she was, was much more powerful than he had anticipated. As he looked to the woman, who laughed as she prepared to unleash another assault with her hellfire. 

[b]I don’t think so…”[/b] Icon said to himself as he fired back with a powerful blast of energy from his eyes. 

The direct hit from his optic blast seemed to stun the woman, however, he was not one be satisfied with a single good hit. He charged toward her, hitting her with a hard right cross that connected on her jaw, nearly taking her off of her feet. Then an uppercut to her abdomen, the impact of the blow caused her to lurch forward. As Icon pulled back for another right cross, the air around his fist began to glow with a bluish hue as he struck her with a hard right hand, which had been reinforced with an energy blast of its own. 

The sudden assault sent the woman crashing through the undercarriage of a black Ford pickup truck that had been turned on its side from the impact when Icon and the woman first crashed into the parking lot. 

[b]”Stay down.”[/b] He said to the woman, who had already begun to stir.
I feel my skin sizzle a bit and it is almost like the sensation of fire, just more intense as the optic blast strikes me and I revel in that. This is more like it! My smile only widens as I let myself seem knocked off guard by his blast and then the blow to my face brings out a gasp as the bones crack a bit and a flood of sensation fills me. Yes, this is more like it indeed. 

The blow to my stomach sets off similar fireworks and I smile, revealing bloody teeth now from the cuts in my mouth and internal injuries even as he swings his hand again harder, this time glowing blue to strike me in the face again. This time there is a crunch and the explosion of sensation and feeling is far more extreme. For a brief moment I am driven out of concious existence by the wave of it that engulfs my awareness. That's new, and I'm pretty sure I like it. 

And as I come back to myself, my nerves jumbled and my head slightly hazy from the sensation overload, seemingly engulfed in the wreckage of what the humans call a truck I realize that I have changed. I start to laugh, and the sound is rich even as I call on my new gift. "No." I call out as a blue glow starts to shine from my body, radiating out through the wreckage of the truck. "I don't think so." 

The blue expands and the truck simply melts away before the energy and I step out of the melted truck with a smile on my face. "We are just getting started. The fun has only just begun." I lick my lips and wink, then thrust my right hand forwards as a pulse of blue energy erupts towards Icon.

Icon was more than surprised at the woman’s reemergence from the wreckage of the truck. Somehow, she had changed after his assault. It was an assault that should have put her down for the count, yet here she was freeing herself from the mangled truck.. Somehow, it seemed as though she had evolved with his attacks. It seemed impossible, but as he saw the familiar blue hue of energy that had enveloped her, he knew that somehow she had absorbed his powers. 

However, is shock at the new developments only lasted for a moment as she thrust a pulse of the blue energy at him, sending him crashing into one of the protective concrete guarders that encircled the lampposts in the parking lot, reducing the concrete portion to dust, and toppling the lamppost on top of him. 

[i]So…that’s what that feels like.[/i] Icon thought to himself as he lay beneath the light. 

After a moment, he pushed it aside and got to his feet. He looked at the woman and saw that she was smirking, which only aggravated him further. As he moved toward her, he watched as the blue glow around her grew more intense, as it did when he were about to use the energy attack himself. He ducked to the ground and pulled a manhole cover from its setting and used it to deflect the energy blast, then, with the makeshift shield still glowing from the energy blast, he launched it like a Frisbee, hitting the woman square in the midsection, slightly lifting her off of her feet as it drove her into the ground. 

I'm pleased to see that the energy didn't cause any permanent damage to him. It'd be a shame to waste so much potential, and I'm just getting warmed up. I summon up more of the energy and unleash it at him, but am surprised when he wrenches a chunk of asphalt and metal up from the ground and deflects the energy bolt. I make it dissipate before it can strike any of the spectators. It is curious that one who has a reputation in protecting other humans would neglect to notice what happened with the deflection.

The brief distraction of dismissing the bolt of energy left me open to his counterattack and I gasp, a long exhalation as the great hunk of metal strikes me straight in the chest and lifts me up off my feet before I crash back to the ground with it on top of me. That was quite the hit, and while the sensation was nothing compared to the explosion that had filled me at his last blow it was still a highly enjoyable aftershock. I reach for the hunk of metal and grip it in my own hand to attempt to pull it off.

Strangely this takes almost no effort, I most have gained something new and my smile grows as I climb back to my feet. I smile at the hero, giving a half mocking and half highly appreciate wink and wave, holding the metal disk in my hand. "Ooooo, Oh that was fun. But really now. Show me what you've got!" I infuse the disk with the blue energy and then hurl it at him with strength I didn't have before.

Icon catches the charged manhole cover in his hands, the force of the throw pushing him back several feet. This woman was nothing like any of the villains that he had ever faced before. By and far, they have held very little regard for the safety of bystanders, often times targeting civilians specifically. This woman didn’t do that. In fact, he could have sworn that he had seen her dissipate an energy attack when it threatened to travel too close to the growing crowd.

That was another problem altogether…The crowd had grown significantly larger as the battle had waged on, and as he had seen far too often, they were treating it as entertainment, getting uncomfortably close to the action., making the situation far more dangerous than anyone seemed to realize. 

He knew that he needed to end this, and end it fast. He made a quick movement toward the woman, and then left his feet, rocketing toward her just a couple of feet off of the ground. He plowed into her midsection shoulder first, then wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted off, bringing them both skyward. Within just a few seconds, he had taken them to the outskirts of the city, where the threat of civilian casualties was minimized. 

Once Icon and the woman were clear of the city, where the concrete jungle of Lost Haven gave way to the vast forest, Icon began to plunge toward the ground. Suddenly, he stopped his decent, but gave the woman a hard shove. The woman flew earthward at such a rate of speed, that it sounded something like a cartoon bomb being dropped that one might expect to hear on a Saturday morning cartoon. The woman crashed hard into the side of a massive oak tree, splintering the trunk upon impact. Icon lowered himself to the ground into the impact crater that had been left by the collision, and to his horror, he found that the woman was not as invincible as she appeared. A large shard of the ancient oak and wound up lodged in the woman’s stomach, essentially impaling her. As he approached to try and help her, he noticed that there was a strange golden light emanating from the wound. Within an instant, the golden light erupted in a brilliant show of light and heat, knocking Icon away from the woman, before everything around him turned to black. 

I am caught off guard by Icon's speed as the human grabs me and lifts me up in the air. But as he slams into me I laugh, enjoying the sensations that this battle has brought to me. He flies quite fast and I'm actually surprised by just how fast, and actually feel a flash of envy, this isn't a power that I have, though it is one I wish my body would develop. 

Then I feel the flight suddenly stop as we have left the city. His grip releases and I with the inertia from the flight and what seems to have been a shove am sent hurtling towards the ground. Ah, hello high speed collision my old friend. 

I am still laughing even as I smash into the tree and feel another explosion of sensations of various types. A tilt of my head reveals that I have been impaled and that a long shard of wood goes through me from front to back. The impact had also shattered several bones and damaged internal organs. My regeneration starts to kick in but the damage is enough that my other power triggers. 

My wheezing laughter is broken by an expression of concern as the pulse of destructive radiation erupts to strike the man at extremely close range. Physical resilience and skin like armor doesn't mean he is immune to radiation and I have no desire to kill one who has been so fun, or really to kill at all.

I call up the blue light and the wood that impales me melts away just like the wreckage of the truck had earlier before I struggle up to my feet. My regeneration is already making the injuries fade as the sensation from them dwindles. I move to where the man lies and look down at him with some concern. That was not supposed to happen, there was not supposed to be any death today. 

But then he begins to stir and as the eyes open I drop the expression of concern and replace it with the same smile I had worn before. But I did not drop it so quickly that he would not have noticed it. I raise a hand glowing with blue light and start to thrust it downwards. "Well, come on." I say in challenge before blasting.

Icon struggled to get to his feet amidst the onslaught of energy raining down upon him. As he looked up at the woman, he noticed something about her that he hadn’t seen before…and it confused him. 

For the slightest instant, it almost appeared as if the woman were concerned for him. He didn’t understand this woman at all, but he hoped that the momentary lowering of her guard, involuntary as it may have been, would give him the chance to end this without any further violence.

[b]”We…we don’t have to do this.”[/b] he said as he finally managed to stand on his own two feet. 

However, the look on the woman’s face told him that she disagreed. Realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to end this by reasoning with her, Icon decided to act quickly. 

As she continued to blast him with an energy assault, he reached way back behind him with both arms, and then quickly brought his hands together, the resulting impact caused a deafening clap, which in turn produced a shockwave so powerful that it uprooted several trees and knocked the woman off her feet, if only momentarily. 

Without hesitation, Icon unleashed another optic blast at the woman. This attack was more powerful than the one before. He held his gaze on the woman, bombarding her with energy even as a blue glow began to outline his hands. 

Icon lunged forward, and fired another wave of blue energy from his fists. This was not the short bursts of energy he had used earlier, but a more sustained assault. 

[b]” I think it’s about time we ended this.”[/b] Icon said as his assault sent the mysterious woman reeling. 

I am surprised when he shrugs off the energy that I had used before to send him flying backwards without much effort. But if he is more powerful than I thought it is not a bad thing. Father did say to seek greater foes, and this Icon is one of the greatest I have seen or heard of. I feel a strange vibration and a new sensation as he claps and a shockwave erupts to knock me over.

I don't stay down long, climbing back to my feet with a smile still on my face even as he blasts me with the energy from his eyes again. The heat is glorious, a rich burning sensation that makes me shudder and gasp as it fills me. It is more intense than before and I feel my flesh starting to burn away beneath the force of the beams and I revel in it.

My regeneration quickly kicks in and I feel a change beginning even while I watch his hands erupt in blue light again. The blows strike me as an overwhelming wave of energy that knocked me backwards and pins me against another of the massive trees. The crack as I strike against it means more broken bones and more little explosions of sensation, though nothing quite compares to what had happened when he hit me before. That had been something incredible. 

But as he continues to attack me the burning lessens and the sensation diminishes, the energy he is pouring into his attacks starting to be absorbed at least in part as I feel a new build up inside. I allow him to keep me pinned against the tree even as I smile and raise my arm to wave with some effort. 

"I don't think so." I call out, and tilt my hand differently as if making a gun with my fingers and then making a firing motion. A single bolt of red energy that looks almost like his optic beams just more concentrated fires out and strikes him with enough force to knock him flat on his superhuman ass and I can't help but laugh as he awkwardly tries to avoid landing on a pointed stump from earlier. Humans have such a strange aversion to sensation. 

"Come on now Icon. Show me what you've really got. HIT ME!"

Icon sat on the ground for just a moment looking at the perplexing woman. He didn’t understand her in the least. He knew that she wasn’t trying to kill him, as she had shown concern for his wellbeing after he had been stunned by the sudden explosion of golden light that had erupted from her body. He had also seen her avert energy blasts away from the civilians that had gotten too close to the action while they were in the RenMart parking lot. 

He slowly got to his feet, keeping his eyes firmly on the grinning woman. 

[b]”Sorry ‘sweetheart,’ You can’t handle it.”[/b] Icon said as he fired an optic blast at the woman’s face, then rocketed toward the woman, just a couple of feet off the ground, hitting her with the force of a speeding Mack truck as he drove his fist into her jaw. The impact knocked the woman off her feet, sending her crashing through a hundred year old oak, causing the tree to splinter under the impact. 

Icon was stunned when the woman again got to her feet. Before she could attack again, Icon raced toward her. He clutched her around the waist with one arm as he drove his shoulder into her midsection, and then immediately veering up, where he and the woman accelerated toward the clouds. After climbing for several hundred feet, Icon reversed course, and began racing toward the ground. 

Although every fiber in his being told him to pull up, he pushed forward, slamming both the woman and himself into the ground with such a force that the impact was felt for miles around. Beneath them, the earth buckled, spitting up a cloud of dust that enveloped the entire area. When the cloud finally cleared Icon was kneeling over the woman’s prone body in the center of an impact crater. 

[b]”Don’t move.”[/b] Icon said as he got to his feet. [b]”It’s over.”[/b]

As Icon rises to his feet again, having dodged the stump in a way that was still amusing I am surprised to hear him say that I can't handle what he can throw at me. It is even a bit offensive, too much sensation for a shylren? Blasphemy! Heresy! Some random y words that escape me at this moment! I open my mouth to protest his claim when his eyes suddenly light up and I find myself beset by a burning heat to the face. The sensation is glorious but nothing compared to his earlier blows and I am disappointed. 

Then another blow strikes my face and in an explosion of sensation I let out a surprised gasp from the sheer overload that it brings and bones snap and twist with the force. I am sent flying backwards to smash through a tree as the sensation fills me. Perhaps it would be too much for another, even another Shylren, but I am high born and a child of Vael'El'Lin. I will not be overcome by this. I rise again and my stll mending jaw is forced into a lopsided smile even as the hero charges again.

Well this is new, is my first response as he rockets up into the air clutching my body, aside from the fact that it isn't. Then he turns and plummets towards the ground and my eys widen. Hello high speed collision my old friend yet again. Then we strike the ground with a force that does overload my body and as I lay upon the ground in the midst of the crater my broken body shudders and spasms. 

"There," I say through gasped breaths "Is nothing," I raise a shuddering hand as the overload response continues to flood my body. "I cannot handle." And the golden light begins to leak from my body before exploding outwards in a tidal wave of force that knocks the hero out cold. 

A few minutes pass before I am healed enough to stand and the overload has subsided but as it does I rise to my feat and walk over to the fallen hero. There is fondness in my gaze as I look down, that had been quite, humans have a good word for this, sensational, and I'm sure this is just the beginning. But for now it's time to end this fight, and I have certainly gained much from it. 

I call for the light and scar the ground before him with a message before I turn and walk away, knowing even he will take time to wake up from that one. 

That was fun, let's do it again sometime. Beware of the stumps.
-May

Icon struggled slightly to get back to his feet after he and the woman slammed into the forest floor with the impact of a crashing airliner. He was sore, and he was weary. Though, he had to admit that he was glad to see that it had appeared that his mysterious attacker was just as worn down as he had been. 

The woman looked at him defiantly as he approached her. “There…is…nothing…I cannot handle.” She said as a golden light began to emanate from her body. Though he tried to avoid the sudden explosion, he was quickly overtaken by the golden glow, and almost instantly, he was consumed by blackness.

[center]***[/center]

The world of darkness that had overtaken him, ever so briefly had given way to light. At first the light only appeared in flashes, as he attempted to blink the grogginess away. However, after a moment, he began to recognize the broken trees and upturned rocks that had been created by the crater that had been a result of the high speed impact that he had manufactured, hoping to put the mysterious woman down. 

The thought jarred him back into consciousness. He forced himself to his feet, to be ready for another attack that he had to assume was coming. However, his legs were weak and his head throbbed. When no attack came, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, that relief gave way to worry.

He looked around the crater, and then the surrounding forest, but there was no sign of her. She was gone, no doubt having slipped by him after he had been knocked out by that explosion of golden light. 

When he spotted a message that had been burned into the ground…a message specifically for him, he knew that this was exactly what happened.

“That was fun, let's do it again sometime. Beware of the stumps.
-May”

At that moment, he knew that no matter what her intentions were, he and “May” would be crossing paths again soon, and he had no idea what that would mean.