[center] [IMG]http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk396/Mercinus3/Fletch%20Title%20Drop_v2.png[/IMG]

[img]https://s11.postimg.org/bycd1viyb/War_Pulse_Word_Art.png[/img]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/2DN9izJ.png[/img]
 
[b]Location: Chinatown, Lost Haven, Maine.[/b][/center]

Ten minutes after leaving her motorbike, Fletch had made it to the rooftops close to where the dust and smoke originated from. Panting from all of the running and climbing she had to do, she rested behind the parapet of the building as she looked down at what was supposed to be the middle of a fight between two metahumans. As she looked, she noted that one of the metas had a silver and black suit and recognized the meta as War-Pulse, one of the metas that had helped the city during D-Day. The other meta that the mercenary was fighting was an unknown entity, though it does beg the question to Kayla’s mind: [i]Why is War-Pulse duking it out with another meta in Lost Haven?[/i] She wasn’t even aware that there were other metas in the area, but there was only one thing in her mind in seeing these metas fighting each other, punching each other in the middle of the ruined street: [i]I am so under equipped for this city.[/i]

It wasn’t long before the fight came to an abrupt end. The first thing Kayla noticed was the metal, drone-like objects appearing in the horizon. As they approached where the combatants were, one of the drones appeared to focus on the pair of them. Before she realized, a piercing sound erupted in the area, causing her to cover her ears and flinch. As she looked up to see what was happening, it was when the second drone deployed its own weapons. Her response to the weapons was abrupt, realizing what kind of weapons they were, [color=#E38C2D]”Shit!”[/color] She began running away from the fight, not caring if she was seen or not as it would have been redundant if she was caught up in the explosion that came. The detonation started to level the building that she was on. Thinking fast, Fletch grabbed one of the grappling arrows and loaded it into her bow, attaching the loose strand of cable to the opening in the shaft of the arrow. Not even checking to see if the cable was secured to both the arrow and the cable-retracting mechanism on her arm, she drew and fired the arrow at a building across the street. As soon as she felt the grapple connected after detonating the small charge to destroy the shaft and launch the hook further, she sent the retractor into overdrive. She was yanked away from the building as it began to crumble underneath her feet. Due to the emergency of such a move, she collided with the building she was travelling to, causing her to groan in the impact. Fortunately for her, the building she arrived at was stable enough after the explosion to not crumble. 

Looking up at the fight, she saw the van at the center of the explosion and the men grabbing the unknown meta. A few second later, the van began pulling away, going in the direction of… [i]The Financial District?[/i] That small bit of information alone was enough to confuse the hell out of Fletch. If the men had been smart about it, they would have taken the bridge away from Chinatown and go to the next county. The Financial District was the least likely place where meta-kidnappers would have taken someone to. Whatever the case, seeing the destruction of the buildings, she needed to question War-Pulse. He was the only person who would know the details on what happened here and possibly why the occupants of the van took the other meta. However, she was unsure on how the meta would do once he regains consciousness. She drew an arrow from her quiver and drew it back, the sight aimed at the unconscious man. Slowly, she crept forward from where she stood, the let-off from the compound bow allowing her to hold the drawn bow with ease.

A load groan announced the return of War-Pulse to the world of the conscious, the mercenary groggily pushing his torso to a sitting position.

[color=00aeef]“Ugggh... talk about your explosive climaxes....”[/color] The mercenary growled to himself as he rubbed the back of his head, never one to lose his sense of humor.  [color=00aeef]“Not exactly the way I pictured that fight ending, I was hoping for more of me winning and less finding myself underneath a pile of rubble...again...for like the fortieth time.”[/color]

Of course, this grumbling didn’t bely what had just happened.  Not only had he failed to reign in the dangerous bioweapon, but something had managed to interfere with their fight as well, ending in her escape.  With a strained grunt, the mercenary tugged a piece of rubble off of his lower half, hucking it into the burning piles now surrounding the crater in which he lay.  It was rare for him to feel any sort of soreness, but the amount of fighting he had participated in had worn him severely, and it showed.  His clothes were not much more than tattered rags, remnant of a pristine battlesuit now smudged with ash and dirt.  His skin had held up considerably well, only minor bruising and cuts littering his body, his kinetically charged healing factor would hopefully allow him to recover within a few hours, slowed only by the mass amount of energy he had expended tangling with the young Racheli.  Clearly Warden had not been exaggerating when he explained that the girl was extremely dangerous, everyone seemed to want her or wanted to protect her.  What exactly had given her such power that even he would be taxed by it?

Of course, once he got to his feet, his attention quickly changed to the sight of another costumed vigilante, a young woman by the looks of it.  She was garbed in orange and black, carrying a light load for easy travel, though the most peculiar feature was the bow she currently had drawn, now aimed squarely at his chest.

[color=00aeef]“Oh good, just when I thought I had my fill of costumed vigilantes.”[/color]  The merc jeered loud enough for her to hear. [color=00aeef]“What, you coming in to get the kill steal and take me in?  I just got exploded, Lego-lass, I don’t think the pinnacle of the stone age is going to put me down.”[/color]

Fletch paused her advance when the mercenary announced that he was conscious again. The entire time, she felt nervous, standing this close to someone who made her bow and arrows seem like a toy gun to a tank. She still kept the bow’s aim at him as he removed the rubble that was on top of him and getting up. [i]What are you doing, Kayla?[/i] she thought to herself as the mercenary acknowledged that she was there. [i]This is the kind of person that can snap you in half and not even blink.[/i] She didn’t hesitate when he spoke to her, keeping her cool as he jeered and tried to intimidate her. [color=E38C2D]”Well, considering that you did look extremely exhausted fighting that other meta before getting knocked out by a couple of high-tech drones, [i]this[/i] pinnacle of the fucking stone age is a good enough of an insurance policy in case you went off on one.”[/color] She was cutting it a little bit close, seemingly goading the mercenary on to a confrontation. [color=E38C2D]”Besides, I think I would be the least of your worries considering the direction the van went.”[/color]

[color=00aeef]“Wait, there was a van?”[/color] War-Pulse said, his eyes widening in shock.  The pieces began to click together, the sudden explosion becoming much clearer to what exactly had occurred.  [color=00aeef]“That means...the explosion...that wasn’t a gas line popping...I got sucker punched by a third party!”[/color]

The Merc scoffed in annoyance, soccer kicking a dog-sized boulder down the street in frustration, the sidewalk getting chewed up at the rubble’s landing point with a loud thud. [color=00aeef]“I didn’t even get compensated for my hard work!  Bastards probably let me soften her up to sweep her out from under me.  How did I not see this coming in the city of Freaks, Geeks, and Demon Portals?”[/color]

He turned back to Fletch, who still had her guard up and her bow drawn, still ready for anything the unpredictable kinetic warrior was going to do.  He gave her a steel glare, one that rang out his frustration at the current revelation.  [color=00aeef]“So I’m going to go out on a limb here and you know which way the soon-to-be scrap metal and dead interlopers are, so I’ll be blunt.  Tell me where they are so I don’t have to beat it out of you.”[/color]

[color=E38C2D]“Yeah, there was a van,”[/color] Fletch responded to the mercenary’s question. Her thumb was relaxed, away from the trigger to the release aid. [color=E38C2D]“I guess you didn’t notice that the person who you were fighting, whoever it was, is nowhere to be seen in this rubble.”[/color] As she listened to him rattle on about what she concluded was ‘the job’, she was keeping both eyes on him, trying to predict when he went off the handle and lunge at her. While yes he was much stronger and probably quicker than she is, but launching an arrow from a compound where it can reach its peak speed of 350ft/s in less than 2/10ths of a second at this distance, he would certainly feel it in the state he is in. But would it puncture his skin? That was something she didn’t know and, hopefully, won’t find out.

When she saw his gaze turn to her, feeling the frost coming from them, she remained calm. Yeah, she was nervous all the way down to her core from the mercenary, but she needed to retain her focus on the steps of her shot cycle. As his viable threat was said, she slowly brought her thumb to the trigger and slowly squeezed the muscles in her shoulders, ready to shoot if he makes a move.

[color=00a651]“Owww….my head…”[/color] Groaning could be heard in an alleyway as a figure lied slumped against a wall. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the plant-based hero Evergreen...and needless to say, he looked in pretty rough shape. One of his arms was just gone, leaving a stump where it once was, much of his plant-like body had a wilted, dried-up look to it, and there were a number of gouges all over his body. 

He was having a tough time recalling what had happened with that fight against the merc and his technopath friend. Had he won? Well, he was alive, that was a start...but he couldn’t see Nemesis anywhere...did this mean he had failed to protect her? His reserves were running close to empty and he needed some sunlight...fast. Despite his blurry vision, he managed to make out some rays of sunlight peeking out over the rooftops. 

For a moment, he just lied there, staring, as the sun came up...before groaning, [color=00a651]“Where the heck were you when I needed you like an hour ago…? Nevermind…”[/color] He dragged himself over to the spot where the sun’s rays had landed...and almost immediately, he felt his strength coming back. The wilted sections of him became rejuvenated to a more healthy shade of green as the gouges in him started to slowly close up. He focused and the stump where his arm once was grew out and reformed into a new limb. 

After flexing it to get a feel, he let his cloak reform as he finished adjusting everything, [color=00a651]“Not quite a hundred percent, but it’ll have to do...yo Gaia?”[/color]

A groan could be heard next to him as her spirit self formed next to him, yawning, [color=007236][i]“Ughh...ah, about time you came around, partner. Now, let’s go find that girl before she causes more trouble for us…”[/i][/color] The plant man nodded and scaled his way to the rooftops before taking a look around the area.

Evergreen actually winced at the destruction, [color=00a651]“Ohhh….something tells me Nemesis had a hand in all this..”[/color]

[color=007236][i]“Wow, your deductive skills are truly amazing. You sure you’re not related to Sherlock Holmes?”[/i][/color] Gaia snarkily remarked which caused her partner to roll his eyes.

They headed towards a particularly large cloud of smoke...and down below they saw a crater where a certain mercenary was standing, facing off with a person whom looked like a modern version of Robin Hood...and by the looks of it, things were about to get ugly. Not if he got anything to say about it. 

[color=00a651]“Alright, I think that’s enough!”[/color] The plant warrior called out from the rooftop where he stood before swooping down on a pair of wings and morphing his arms into shields as he landed between the two individuals.

As a third voice rang through the tense air, Kayla relaxed again, thumb shooting away from the trigger. This had been a good thing as the person behind the voice came into view between her line of sight with the mercenary. It was a good thing her thumb flew off of the release aid trigger as the newcomer had a startling appearance of the wings being made of plants. The shield that was facing her would have taken the arrow without any problems, but it was something she definitely wouldn’t do as it would had been perceived as an attack. God knows what would have happened to her then. 

The mercenary’s face scrunched up into a bitter scowl when the plant warrior called out his entrance. [color=00aeef]“Oh great, you’re still here.  I was hoping ol’ tinbucket could take care of you, but apparently technology hasn’t conquered mother nature yet!”[/color]

[color=00a651]“Look...I got no idea what’s going on right now but we all need to relax! And to give you an incentive….LOOK AROUND YOU!!!”[/color] He suddenly roared, pointing to the destroyed scenery. 

[color=00a651]“I think I speak for all of us when I say we’ve caused enough damage to the city for one day...so you got a choice...either zip your lips and listen, or both of you go through me...your choice.”[/color]

Pointing the bow down to the plant man’s feet, she relaxed the compound bow, the strength yanking the string to the string stopper. [color=E38C2D]”I hadn’t been here for what caused the damage and the bow was for my safety in case he went off once he gained his consciousness,”[/color] she responded to the plant man, releasing the aid from the D-loop and placing the arrow back in her quiver. She then turned to War-Pulse [color=E38C2D]”Besides, I would be glad to give you the information about the van that took whoever you were fighting as I was nearly caught in the blast.”[/color]

A tense silence followed after both Evergreen and the bow wielding woman had their say, the force of nature flitting his icy glare between the two vigilantes.  Then, in a deep huff, his face seemed to relax, his frown melting from tense to defeated as his body drooped slightly, the signs of exhaustion more evident now as a weary admission left him.

[color=00aeef]“All right, fine.”[/color]  He scoffed, [color=00aeef]“We’ll play this your way, Greenpeace...for now.”[/color]

With those words, he took a brief hop to get out of the crater he had currently been embedded in, turning his attention to the destruction. [color=00aeef]“Though...as much as I want to know where that van went and what it looked like...cops are probably going to show up within minutes and I’m a few solid explosions from being out here in my birthday suit.  I’d say we leave Lost Haven’s lovely new national monument of destroyed buildings and high tail it to somewhere less conspicuous.”[/color]  He turned his attention back to the other vigilantes. [color=00aeef]“Either one of you got a ballin’ secret hideout we can crash in?”[/color]

[color=00a651]“...Huh…”[/color] The plant man scratched the back of his neck, looking a little surprised with how easily he’d managed to get them to listen, [color=00a651]“That was actually way easier than I thought it would be...guess I’m better at this negotiating thing than I gave myself credit for…”[/color] He took a look around the area before waving to the others, [color=00a651]“I wouldn’t exactly call it a “hideout” but I do have a place where we can lay low and work out a plan. Trust me, it’s the last place anyone would think to look for us. Also…”[/color]

At this, he addressed Pulse, [color=00a651]“I got some stuff back at my place that you can use to patch yourself up...and you look like you need something to refuel with anyhow.”[/color] True, he was taking a gamble by letting the merc in on his turf, but for the time being they were on the same side. Besides, desperate times called for desperate measures. Evergreen was going to get Rach back...and there was no force on Earth, within the Earth, or above it, that would stop him from doing so.

Fletch seemed to be at ease when the mercenary agreed with the notion about leaving the place before people came to the scene. All the meanwhile, she followed the events that led to the explosion, keeping track of the van details that she would then relay to the group. Unbeknownst to the two metas, she blushed slightly when the mercenary mentioned about being close to being ‘in his birthday suit’. It was more because she felt embarrassed about the thoughts that came from him mentioning it. Nevertheless, the plant-manipulating meta suggested going back to his place. [color=E38C2D]”That sounds fine with me,”[/color] she commented, confirming that she would tag along. Suggesting her place would have been a pain as it was on the other side of Lost Haven and the risk of Mia walking in seeing both of them in her apartment as well as her in this outfit. [i]That would be difficult to talk myself out of it.[/i] However, she needed to get to the plant man’s place. [color=E38C2D]”I’ll need to get my bike though, but I do agree that we need to work out a plan to deal with whoever caused this. Especially when the people I saw at the scene might have seen me in the aftermath.”[/color]