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Perhaps at times the city was fortunate, and perhaps at times luck favored those who were having difficulties already with a piece of luck just before snatching everything away again. For whatever reason there was some luck at play. The area of the city had been largely deserted since the terrible riots which combined with damage dealt by the demonic invasion had resulted in an area where very few people lived, either dead from the invasion or fled due to the damage that the buildings had sustained. 

It was this largely abandoned district of the city that the fugitive arrived, fresh from her restoration at the docks had found her way mere hours ago. She had wandered the skies, seemingly lacking in direction in a quite erratic fashion before at last descending to the roof of one of the many burnt out buildings. It was there that the figure seemed to take stock, standing for long moments and looking out at the expanse of the city with what her difficult to read face, cloaked as it was by the protective white layer, showing seemingly a look of confusion. 

After her long moments she began to act however. The set of shards that grew from her head and shoulders detached from her body to levitate and spread out around her upper body in a vertical semi circle. “--- -- ----- - --- --- --.” As her lilting 'alien' voice faded the shards began to glow and she stretched out her hands, making gestures as if she was shaping the air before her. But the gestures did not merely shape the air.

The building upon which the figure stood began to change, it was not rapid, not the forceful and unstoppable change that Mercy brought with a thought, but those who had seen Mercy's power would find this familiar. Slowly pieces began to break away and rise, various components hovering around her where she stood.

In time the building was merely a husk, only the outer walls and the roof remaining as the figure continued to work. Now atop it upon the roof was the framework of a new structure, one that added several stories in height to the building. It was a decidedly odd framework, a narrow tower rising, only to broaden into a great hoop-like structure vast enough to allow a plane to fly through it. The work had only just begun.

But the time for uninterrupted work had ended. Only the lack of people in the area had kept the project from being noticed until now. But the unfamiliar shape on the skyline had attracted attention. Helicopters began to circle the area, and the sound of sirens began to echo through the surrounding area. Interference was coming quickly. 

Lights on the helicopters beamed down, illuminating patches of the construction and flickering over the being who was constructing it. But thus far there was no direct intervention as the police and others attempted to figure out what they were dealing with. Announcements made over bullhorns and other attempts at communication were returning no responses, though the figure atop the building appeared to be quickening the pace of construction.

Icon had flown all over the city since he left War-Pulse, Iron Knight, and the speedsters. He had flown from Carver to Royal Park, from Sherman Square to the infamous Tartarus Island, which housed some of the regions most notorious criminals inside the walls of the Supermax prison which rested upon the rocky shore. He had searched every inch of the city for the device which was set to go off in under 48 hours and supposedly carried a payload that would alter human history forever. 

As he circled back over the city, something caught his eye in the distance. Between Sherman Square in Little Sicily, in a section of town that had felt the brunt of both D-Day and the recent riots, some sort of commotion was ongoing. With his enhanced vision, he could see a number of police helicopters circling an odd structure that hadn’t been there just a short while ago. 
[b] “Gotcha.”[/b] Icon said as he sped toward the new structure. 

As he approached the structure, he could see that it looked to have been built from the remains of one of the burnt out buildings that had sat vacant since the riots had ravaged the city. For some reason, the new structure, which had what resembled a large ring or hoop on top of the building, which for some reason made him think of an amalgamation of the industrial age and the tall, thin towers that so heavily populate science fiction and fantasy movies. Icon advanced on the structure, and as he got closer, he saw that in the bright white spotlights of the police choppers, there was a single figure who looked to be manipulating and shaping the structure with little more than a thought. 

Though his first instinct was to crash through the large, hoop-like structure that sat atop the building, he instead pulled up and hovered above the figure, which seemed oblivious to his presence. He hung in the air for a moment and watched the mysterious figure, and when he had seen enough, he made his presence known.

[b] That’s enough.”[/b] he declared with his gaze fixed on the back of the figure’s head. [b] “You know I’m not going to let you do this.”[/b]

The figure standing upon the roof, clad in strangely fluid garb of crimson and silver, what looked like cloth seemingly flowing like rippling water, and with what looked like a coat of porcelain or some similar substance coating her body turned at the man's words. The halo of shards that hovered around her swirled as well, reversing position even if they seemed to be the same on both sides. 

Then she rose from the roof herself, seemingly hovering as she lifted towards Icon. In the background behind her now the work seemed to have paused momentarily, various pieces hovering in midair and the reshaping of certain segments pausing as well. She rose to the point at which she was level with the hero and came into clearer view. A pair of faintly glowing orange eyes gleamed within a delicately sculpted face, and her expression, though it would be more difficult to read than normal showed something that looked very much like a mixture of surprise and confusion. 

“-- --- -- ----- ------| --- -- --- - ---| - --- -- -- -- - --- --?” The words that flowed from her mouth, the motions of which certainly seemed a bit odd, as if the words were coming out a bit before the outer layer moved, were smooth and flowing, but completely undecipherable. Though the tone would be clear, these were questions, or at least there was clearly curiosity in them.

The figure which he could now see was a woman, turned to face him and gradually rose to meet him in midair. Her strange clothing almost seemed to be alive as it flowed around her, rippling like water. As she approached him, it seemed that whatever she was doing with the strange structure paused while her attention was on him.

Then she spoke. 

The words that she spoke made no sense to him, as they were spoken in a language that he had never heard. However, he did recognize the tone in her words, as well as the look in her strange orange glowing eyes. 

Confused, questioning. 

Icon was taken off guard by her reaction. He was certain that this woman was one of the terrorists, and that this must be the device that they planned to use to turn the population of not only Lost Haven, but the entire world into a meta human. He had hoped that once she realized that she was caught, she would simply comply and turn herself in. However, he had been in this line of work long enough to know that this was not a likely outcome, so he had expected her to attack. What he did not expect, however, was for her to engage him in conversation.

[b] “You don’t have to do this. It isn’t too late, shut this thing down.”[/b] He said, and the way she tilted her head as he spoke told him that he wasn’t getting through. [b] “If you come quietly, I can help you. This doesn’t have to get ugly.”[/b]

And indeed the woman seemed to have understood nothing of what he was saying. Though it appeared that she was not finished with her attempt to communicate as she spoke again a moment later, this time in what was clearly another language, but just as clearly a language that he also had never heard before. “… .. …. .. …. … …… .?” Once again it came across as a question, though this time given the way she had switched, he might actually be able to guess at what she was asking. Though it also seemed that this time there was something of frustration also present in her voice.

In the background though the work began again, pieces fitting together like bits of a jigsaw puzzle as the great construct continued to be assembled. And other things that had not been present before began to form as well, built from pieces that had not been included in the looming construct. What the other pieces were doing would be unclear as afterall that was much more subtle and his attention was fixed upon the woman.

[b] “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”[/b] Icon said to the woman, his hope for a peaceful resolution to this slipping away. 

He looked the woman in the eyes and held out his hands, palms up hoping to show that he intended her no harm. Thus far, the woman hadn’t shown any aggression toward him, only curiosity. His hope was that he could keep this interaction peaceful, despite the language barrier. 

[b] “I don’t want to hurt you,”[/b] he said as he noticed other pieces of the structure moving about, jockeying for position as they continued to contribute to the structure that seemed to be growing more massive as they spoke. [b] “What are you doing?” [/b]


But of course his words had no real impact as she was not able to understand him anymore than he was able to understand her. Her orange eyes did remain locked on his but there was no immediate reply as the construction continued in the background, now smaller pieces being added to the larger framework, and perhaps ominously brief flashes and sparks of energy as certain parts connected. 

She did seem to be doing something in response though. She raised one of her hands, and as he watched the white layer seemed to slough off and fall away from it to reveal a delicate long fingered hand coated in skin that gleamed faintly in the twilight with a vaguely silver tint. Slowly she began to reach out with the hand towards one of the hero's outstretched ones, the sort of slow motion used to avoid causing alarm.

However, in the seconds just before contact could be made, one of the circling helicopters flew much closer to the structure, likely in an effort to get better pictures, and she reacted. She whirled away, and as did her shards. And something changed. A sheet of rippling silver energy pulsed outwards from a smaller device at the base of the structure, a sheet that quickly encased it. 

The helicopter veered away and the woman turned again, but this time it was not an expression of curiosity and surprise on her face it was a look that spoke of something else. A look of disgust possibly, or outrage, it was difficult to be sure with the way the white layer, that the hero would now know was some sort of outer covering not her skin, obscured her features. 

At the same time the rippling clothing had changed as well, silver and crimson still but rippling no longer as it settled into a form that looked ominously like some sort of armor. There were clear indentations where the floating shards around her could reattach, and it was a mixture of practicality and something out of a science fiction film. The hand that had formerly been outstretched towards him now once again was coated in the white substance and was raised in a very different manner. One that spoke of preparation for something entirely different. Though she didn't attack, it was unlikely that the hero was still trying to communicate.

[i]Dammit, no![/i] Icon thought to himself as the sudden intrusion of the helicopter suddenly put an end to any potential breakthrough he was making with the woman. No longer did the woman seem interested in attempting to communicate, the sudden shift in her attire conveyed her preparedness to do battle. Icon slowly raised his hands in a “stop” motion, with his palms pressed toward her. 

[b] “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.[/b]” Icon said in a softer tone trying to calm the tense situation. 

Then, the components of the structure began shifting again, and something else happened within the structure itself. A silver colored form of energy emerged from within the structure and quickly enveloped the structure within its rippling, shimmering form. The sudden activation of what looked to be some kind of energy shield alarmed Icon, who expected the woman to attack at any moment. He knew that with the sudden change in the woman’s demeanor there was almost no chance that this would end peacefully. 

[b] “I’m sorry that it has to be this way, but I just can’t let you activate that device.” [/b] Icon said as his eyes began to glow with a reddish hue, just before a pair of powerful energy beams blasted from them, pummeling the silvery shield with a sustained assault.

As the energy beams blasted outwards from the hero to strike at and batter against the force field that had been erected around the gateway device the woman who had raised it, and who was still raising it, though that would be difficult to tell behind the energy distortion and the rippling of the field in the face of the hero's assault upon it, appeared to have been caught off guard, at least initially. It was difficult to be sure if it was merely that she had not expected the hero to attack the shield, or if she was surprised at the nature of the attack itself, but regardless there was a brief moment of hesitation before she reacted.

Though when she did react it was with brutal efficiency and speed. The distance between the two was not large and her hovering form darted forwards closing the small gap. Then she delivered a series of blows. The first struck upwards a fist connecting with the underside of the hero's chin and knocking his head back, leading to the optic beams firing into the air. Though from that very first hit, it would likely be apparent, strength was not her thing.

Still the first blow was followed up by several more in a rapid flowing fashion that struck at a number of nerve centers and should have temporarily removed the man's control over much of his body while they spasmed. But somehow they didn't and he swung a powerful albeit clumsy punch in her direction rather than dropping.  She slipped it, dropping in the air with an ease that spoke to experience in aerial combat maneuvers and then the shards around her flared brightly. In an instant thin streams of something lanced between them to collide and then shoot forth in a brilliant if thin and rather short lived beam of energy that struck the man straight in the chest.

The impact temporarily knocked the hero away, and seemed to have at least temporarily caused him to fall from the sky, a moment that she took advantage of. The force field surrounding the structure fluctuated for a moment as several things flew out from inside of it and over to her. One was a long 'spear' of some white material, with veins of bluish silver lights running through it and a wider top than the bottom. The other was small by comparison and something that definitely looked like it was from a science fiction movie, it was probably a gun of some kind, similarly made from a white material. 

With these things in hand she steadied herself, apparently winded, though whether it was from the physical exertion, or whatever the energy attack she had used was that it done it, no one knew.

Icon was taken by surprise by the woman’s sudden attack. The series of blows that she had thrown at him had managed to knock him off balance, but caused him very little pain. When Icon regained his bearing after the woman’s initial attack, something was different about her. She was now holding a long white spear in one hand, and what looked like some sort of pistol in the other. Icon moved toward her, and as he did she pulled the spear back as if to stab him with it, but he put his shoulder forward and rammed into her, sending her crashing into the rooftop. 

His counter attack had proven successful; however the woman was already trying to get back to her feet. 

[b] “We don’t have to do this.”[/b] Icon told the woman as she quickly fired a pair of energy charges from her pistol. Each shot hit him directly in the chest, and would likely have proven fatal had it not been for his near invulnerable skin. He rushed the woman, grabbed her by the shoulders and tossed her back to the ground. 

[b] “You’re done.”[/b] Icon said to her, hoping that his words were beginning to get through to her. [b] “Stay down.” [/b]

But as it seemed that she was about to hit the roof of the building again her momentum abruptly halted as the shards that formed a halo around her pulsed again. She raised the staff like object in her left hand and pointed it as the hero spoke. What came next was likely not what the hero had expected from it. 

There was a pulse of something, a vague ripple in the air, and then a wall of force struck him with a force not dissimilar to that of being struck head on by a train going full speed. Perhaps had he been well braced it would have less impact, but with the man floating in the air after his successful bull rush attempts it hit him hard.

This time however his opponent seemed disinclined to give him the chance to recover and kept up the offensive. Her pistol continued to spit bolts of energy at him and she began to, now that she had a measure of his speed counter his charges with waves of force from the 'staff'. This would likely go on for a few moments before it might become apparent that she wasn't fighting to win, or even trying to do significant damage, since the weapons she was wielding clearly couldn't do lasting damage to the man, but that she was likely trying to buy time.

For in the background, behind the force field the device inched ever closer to completion.

Icon struggled against the force of the woman’s staff. From the moment that he lay eyes on her, he had assumed that she was one of the terrorists who had planned to detonate the device to turn Lost Haven’s population into meta humans, but slowly, doubt began to creep into the edges of his mind. This woman didn’t match the photos of any of the metas that War-Pulse had previously encountered, and she didn’t seem to be fighting like a fanatic. In fact, it was becoming obvious to Icon that she was simply buying time, he just didn’t know for what.

Then it dawned on him. The structure that she had been molding was continuing to grown and change, and as he looked at the device through the shimmering silver energy shield, he could see that it looked as if it were nearing completion. 

Perhaps he had been correct in his initial assessment and this woman was one of the terrorists, and this was in fact the device that would bring about the evolution of the human race. In this case, Icon knew that he had to destroy the device, and he also knew that he didn’t have much time to do it. 

The woman continued to pummel him with the force from the staff, and Icon stopped fighting against the current of force pushing against him. In fact, Icon retreated, at least momentarily. He flew away from the woman and the structure, traveling about a half a block away. He needed to get through that shield, and he hoped that if he hit it hard and fast enough, he would be able to get through. So as he circled back around and went back toward the structure, Icon lowered his head and increased his speed. 

He rocketed toward the structure, moving so fast that he nearly broke the sound barrier. He traveled so fast that everything around him almost seemed to be going in slow motion. The traffic below him seemed to be at a standstill, even the choppers surrounding the strange structure appeared to simply be hanging in place in the night sky. His focus was on the silvery glow of the force field surrounding the structure. Almost like a moth to a flame, Icon raced towards the glowing structure. As he flew passed the woman who had been assembling the structure, the thought did occur to him, [i]what if she isn’t with the terrorists? Who is she? What is she doing?[i] The thought was fleeting, interrupted by his impact with the silver tinged energy shield, and a fraction of a second later, the structure itself.

Surprisingly to the hero, after he had breached the force field that was protecting the gateway device he did face one last barrier, a barrier that spoke of desperation and a certain amount of self sacrifice. The woman who had been opposing him appeared in his path, interposing herself between him and the structure and there was a harsh shower of sparks as he collided with her first. And then the continuing momentum carried them both through it. With a single strike, the heart had been torn from the structure and the energy that had begun to gather in the center of the massive hoop faded away. 

And as the structure failed the hero would find himself on the other side of it upon the roof, with what was likely to be rather horrifying to him. His fist that had been meant to strike against the device had picked up another passenger and was impaled through the woman's chest. It had punched straight through her strange armor, through the odd layer of white that coated her body, and into her innards. A dark bluish black fluid seeped out around his fist as the woman's fading orange eyes looked up at him in what could only be described as shock and what seemed almost to be despair at failing. 

But then when it seemed like she would have breathed her last there was a feeling of incredible warmth, almost burning in intensity that began around Icon's hand and then swept through his body, a sensation that seemed to root him in place and make movement impossible. And with that warmth came an odd distance as the world around him would seem to fade away in a wave of odd pleasure and hazy visions. 

Aurelia knew what she was doing, the art of the hostile communion was something that was abhorrent, but it was dubbed necessary for situations such as this, and to learn how to stand against the corruption, she knew what to look for in the mind and body of those she forcibly communed with. Icon on the other hand did not. While she teased out memories and knowledge that she needed he was instead met with a series of likely rather surprising and alien images and memories. 

They were fragments, snapshots and snippets grasped from the mess that he found himself immersed in. The first was a shining city, a realm that seemed to glow with splendor and majesty, a place where even the buildings looked as if they were masterpieces of technology. There was a clear sense of pride, an emotion that came along with the memory, pride in the greatness that he now saw before his eyes, not necessarily as it truly was, but as it was remembered. Stretching above it and as far as the eyes could see was a dome of silver energy that would seem familiar. 

Another flicker… He saw for moments a smaller place, a town to the prior city, though here the vision was more faded and less clear, and the emotions were a strange mix he likely would not be able to quantify. 

Flicker…

Now the same place as before but blackened and ruined, strange shapes darted about and beings that moved in impossible ways, beings that hurt the mind even as half remembered shadows advanced towards. Terror and grief resounded ther-

Flicker…

Beams of destruction, weapons of force, giant craft that soared through the skies, all visible, all firing. And against them he saw things, things that here were falling back. But the sensation was not one of triumph it was one of relief and sorrow as the vision shifted to show a panorama of death and the fallen. Fallen who looked an awful lot like the woman he had just fought.

Flicker…

A great parade, thousands of soldiers marching through the streets, a view from the middle and a sense of pride with cheers resounding. But at the same time one of growing despair and desperation. This was not a march of the victors-

Flicker…

A broken sky, a broken land, bleached and twisted beyond recognition. Things roaming, then charging, moving in impossible ways. A sense of despair more crushing now as the vision shifted, showing a portal a hole in space-

Flicker…

A shining city in battle seen from above. Things swarming as the shield failed. Grief, resignation, hatred, as something fell towards the city and then- 

Flicker… Flicker… Flicker… They were coming faster now, more jumbled and less sensible as the visions overwhelmed his mind and then abruptly faded along with the warmth. 

And when they did and he awoke the woman was gone. Her blood was there, as the was the wreckage of the device but she was gone. And he would feel weakened physically as if his reserves had been emptied.

It took several moments for Icon to regain his bearings after the strange connection that he had made with the woman. The visions haunted him. There was so much destruction, so much hopelessness. Though it seemed to him that the woman had made a last ditch effort to communicate with him, he wasn’t entirely sure as to what exactly, he had seen. 
Or felt, for that matter. 

Was the hopelessness and despair that he was feeling his own, or the woman’s? 

The only thing that was clear now, was that this woman was not one of the terrorists that he had been looking for, and he had not destroyed their device. Guilt washed over him as he wiped the woman’s blood from his fist, at least he thought it was blood, as it was not like anything that he had ever seen before. 

Icon’s legs felt heavy as he got to his feet, he assumed that his fatigue was a side effect of whatever it was that the woman had done to him. He may not have known exactly what the device she was building did, but he was beginning to think he might understand. That mattered little at the moment, as the device was destroyed and the woman had vanished. He would be able to try to track her down later, but as for now, he had a bomb to try to find and a terrorist to bring to justice. So he gathered his wits as best he could, and took once again to the skies to try to end this crisis before it truly started.