[h2][right]Guilt //[/right][/h2]

'It's happening. Whatever it is, it's happening.'

Those words woke Guilt up from her light sleep. Had it happened so soon? It had only been 18 days since her meeting with the High Island, so she should have 3 days left. Had the High Island's prediction been wrong? Was Traveller wrong? Or was this only the beginning of an even larger event? All of these thoughts raced through Guilt's head as she shot out of bed and rapidly moved across the globe. She was able to move from continent to continent in less than 5 minutes, and yet that still seemed like far too long. When she did return to Epic City what would she find? Would everything be on fire? Would an army of monstrous Freaks be invading? Would the High be crushing innocents? With how vague the Island had been, nothing was impossible. And thus there was no limit to the amount of ridiculous scenarios that her subconscious was able to conjure up.

Arriving, Guilt realized to her relief that things were not on fire, at least. And there didn't seem to be an army at the gate. All good things, of course, but Traveller would not have called without reason. So Guilt moved across the city's rooftops in her usual pattern, checking high and low for signs of danger. It didn't take long before she found it.

In this case, 'it', was an angry fellow covered in a dust cloud. An Epic or Freak, clearly. Hard to distinguish features with the cloud of debris around him. However it was clear from the power he displayed, as well as probing with Void, that this was a powered individual. That cloud wasn't the result of some advanced technology. Going on a rampage through the city like this, it seemed this villain cared little for the lives of innocents. Nor did he seem worried about retribution from the High. An attitude rare in Epic City, where anyone the High considered a nuisance was swatted like a bug.

So was this the 'it' that Traveller had called about? Certainly this couldn't be all. He certainly looked dangerous, but a single powered individual going on a rampage... even if they had been too powerful for Guilt to handle, the High would have no trouble with something as small as this. Nothing about this situation seemed like something the Island would be worried about. That meant that either Traveller was referring to something else.... or there was something here she was missing. Was it possible that this powered individual was far stronger than they seemed to be? Regardless such a rampage couldn't be tolerated, and if the High weren't going to stop it then the responsibility to do so would fall on her. Whatever she was missing, she'd have to face it in a moment anyway.

But before Guilt could make her move, a new person entered the scene. Guilt had never confronted Finch, but she did recognize him. Wasn't that the minor criminal who'd performed that abduction not long ago? He'd gotten completely ignored because of that incident with the hammer-man, but still. What was scum like that doing here?

Wait. Did the criminal and this new threat know each other? Clearly there was a connection there. An offer was being made. Hpmh. This kind of skulduggery would not be allowed in her presence.

"The only 'New World' either of you are likely to see... is the afterlife." With a flash of purple light and a sound like the crack of thunder, Guilt appeared in between Finch and the strange new menace. She kept an eye on the strange new menace, but several motion sensors had been placed near Finch as well. He might only be a low-level criminal, but even a weak attack could kill her if she wasn't watching it. "Of course, if you cooperate, you may be allowed to explore the confines of a prison cell first." This was unusually cheesy for her. Maybe it was Maya's influence, with her childish ideas of being a 'superhero'. Oh well. Even Guilt was willing to indulge such schlock once in a while. And it didn't make her statements any less true. If this person gave her the information she desired, then she would be happy to leave them their lives. Leave the Island to come up with some way to contain this guy.

"Of course, we could also do this the 'hard way' if you want." Now that she had shown the 'carrot', it was important to show the 'stick'. No criminal was going to surrender if they didn't fear her. As such, Guilt had grenades appear in a large circle around both Finch and the new threat. Luckily the pins were still firmly in place, but it would be easy for Guilt to change that. "Surrender immediately, or be executed."