[center][u][b]10:32 PM
Home[/b][/u]

"He is no normal human, Karen," Samantha explained, her emerald eyes catching the dim light within their nighttime home. "I watched him slaughter the men who stood against him by hurling entire vehicles through the air as if he were pitching a baseball."

Karen's frown deepened, an orange hue filtering through the blinds as the fires raged outside. "If that's the case, then [i]who else[/i] can stop him but me?"

It had been about an hour since she'd returned home from Spring Grove.

She had watched the police establish a parameter around the crack house, cordoning it off from the rest of the neighborhood. Lurking in the bushes beneath the cover of darkness, she'd simply observed for roughly twenty minutes while they read the dozen plus thugs their rights before shoving them into their patrol cars. Numerous onlookers had emerged from their homes when they first heard the sirens blaring, shocked to see such massive arrest taking place in their previously ignored community.

Everything had gone perfectly.

She had thus been resting soundly in bed when Samantha had awoken her, and it didn't take long for her to figure out why: [i]The Wedge[/i] was burning. She was still in her pajamas as she stared out the window, watching people flee in terror from the spreading fire.

"Come on, Sam, you [i]know[/i] I have to go!" Karen pleaded with the cat who was currently camped in front of the door. She'd tried to remove her, but had been rewarded by a series of scratches on her arms. Transforming in here would surely wake up her dad, so that was a no-go as well.

Samantha firmly shook her head. "I woke you so you would be ready if he came to our house, [i]not[/i] so you could go fight it out in the streets. You've already gone over my head enough as it is with that little raid you pulled off, but this is a level you're not even [i]close[/i] to being ready for yet!"

"So I'm supposed to just sit here and watch my home burn?!" Karen snapped, her heart pounding with raw indignation. She had friends who lived here, most notably Clarissa. What if she ended up caught in the fire? She wasn't answering her texts or calls. "It may be a shithole, but it's still [i]my[/i] shithole!"

Digging her claws into the old and partially molded carpet, Samantha shot a glance to the window. "Your job isn't to prevent humans from killing themselves. Such a thing would be a lesson in futility, even for one of your power. You're here to safeguard the Earth from-"

"Horrors beyond the veil, blah, blah," Karen cut her off. "Well, guess what? This guy isn't behind some veil. He's here right now, and he seems pretty fucking horrible! If I have to just stand here while people die, if I can't even use my powers to at least [i]try[/i] and make this shitty world a better place, then I don't [i]want[/i] them! Now get out of my way you stupid cat, before I kick you through the TV!"

Samantha seemed a little taken aback by her threat, casting her head down. Without speaking a word, she stood and moved from her path. Karen felt a pang of guilt hit her chest.

"Sam, I'm sorry, I just-"

"Hurry," Sam muttered. "If you're going to save [i]The Wedge[/i], then you don't have much time left."

[hr]

[b]10:38
North Central Street; The Wedge[/b] 

Those fleeing from the fire - and the maniac who started it - on North Central Street would be hard pressed to focus on anything other than survival as the flamed relentlessly pursued them, threatening to engulf the entire area. And yet, even amidst their entirely reasonable panic, many were unable to avoid looking to the sky when it flashed with an azure light, the unmistakable crash of thunder soon to follow.

Standing now before the man responsible for all of this was a woman, the Lady in Red. Dressed in her crimson overcoat, she seemed intent on facing the monster before her alone.

~

"Who are you?" Karen shouted over the roar of the fire. "Why would you set fire to [i]The Wedge[/i]?"

A lot of people might [i]say[/i] they wanted this place to burn, but nobody ever meant it. She couldn't imagine why anyone would feel the need to go this far, even if they really did hate it.

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