[center][b][u][h3]12:35 PM, October 26th Hub City, [url=https://i.imgur.com/0Sc9VyJ.jpg]Silver Leaf Academy[/url][/h3][/u][/b] [color=orchid]“Come on, I know you can do it, Clare!”[/color] Karen whispered her encouragement over the [url=https://i.imgur.com/dlzyHfm.jpg]cafeteria[/url] table. Squinting in frustration, Clarissa seemed to direct her gaze out the window. “It...isn’t all that clear, but I [i]think[/i] the next one’s happening to the North East.” [color=orchid]”North East? Well, that’s [i]something[/i] at least! Thanks. I can tell you’re getting better at using your abilities!”[/color] Karen complimented her, watching her friend needle the side of her head in pain. This was very much a good thing, as she needed all the help she could get. Over the past several days, reports had been filling the news sites about an escalating series of attacks on people by what the media has dub “Mudo”, Spanish for [i]mute[/i]. They had first appeared in Caracas, Venezuela, but soon began appearing in several other notoriously crime ridden cities throughout North and South America. This included Hub City, naturally. Rising from cemeteries without warning, the Mudo - shambling [i]corpses[/i], really - would stagger towards any living creatures before viciously attempting to kill it with tooth and nail...if they even had any left. Worse, it wasn’t just in graveyards. Sometimes the morgues of hospitals would see the [i]recently[/i] dead return to the world of the living. Those tended to be far swifter and more dangerous than their decaying counterparts. She had already been to nearly a dozen graveyards and hospitals around Hub City alone, and it was apparently far worse elsewhere. She needed to start helping out around the world before things escalated out of control. “At least things haven’t gotten as bad here as in that Venezuelan place,” Clarissa muttered, having returned to flipping through her portfolio after that brief period of exertion on her part. Good luck ever getting [i]her[/i] to be a superhero. “I hear they’re practically having a Mudo orgy over there.” [color=orchid]“Caracas,”[/color] Karen muttered in irritation. [color=orchid]“And you shouldn’t make light of people dying! I’m going out there tonight to make sure - oh [i]fuck[/i], Clare, what are you drawing?! Gross!”[/color] Her friend’s beaming grin thankfully offered [i]some[/i] distraction from the horrors coming to life beneath her pen, as Karen released a heavy breath. Sometimes she wondered if it was a good idea asking Zoey to help get Clarissa into the same private school. Unlike Hub City Elementary, Silver Leaf Academy covered grades one through twelve, so they were able to eat lunch together and hang out after school still...for better or worse. So much had happened in her life in these past few months. After Zoey had found out about her…[i]situation[/i] with her father, she had [i]literally[/i] kicked in the door as Grim and laid him out. It was something she should’ve done herself the moment she became the Wizard, now that she had enough time away from his abuse to admit it to herself. She knew, though, that she probably never would have. Even now, she still loved her dad...and maybe that meant there was something [i]wrong[/i] with her. Shaking her head, Karen stared out the distant window. Adjusting to her new life wasn’t going to be easy. Both her and Clarissa were really out of place here. The kids used different slang, they had different standards and expectations...and everyone noticed. She had received more than a few odd looks on her first day here, and nobody would really associate with her. Still, she had yet to be directly bullied. Perhaps because such behavior wasn’t tolerated here. When your parents were dropping tens of thousands of dollars for you to attend somewhere, expulsion was a very effective punishment. She wanted to tell herself that she got Zoey to allow Clarissa to attend with her purely out of concern and generosity, but part of it was definitely so she wouldn’t have to face this place alone. Not that being alone was [i]entirely[/i] bad… [hr] [b][u]3:34 PM [url=https://i.imgur.com/z647bWQ.jpg]Ashton Ridge Apartments[/url], Old Town[/u][/b] [color=orchid]“Phew,”[/color] Karen exhaled, stepping out of the elevator to her [url=https://i.imgur.com/KFGPWam.jpg]penthouse.[/url] [color=orchid]“Home sweet home.”[/color] Tossing her backpack on the couch, she quickly followed after it by landing on the plush, silken cushions. Kicking her feet up on the equally luxurious...table-like thing in front of her, she laid her head back. The dead were usually only a problem at night, so she had a little bit of time before she had to fly out to Venezuela. This was good, because she [i]really[/i] needed to wind down after school. She had always had good grades at Hub City Elementary, but at Silver Leaf she [i]really[/i] had to struggle to keep up. It was like they were practically a grade ahead of where they [i]should[/i] be. It was like she was living in an entirely different world at this point. Even though it was the same city, it might as well be a different state. Old Town was [i]completely[/i] different than [i]The Wedge[/i], even after she had cleaned it up. The people behaved differently, spoke differently, dressed differently. The only one of those she had managed to emulate thus far was the last. Closing her eyes for what seemed like only a few seconds, she opened them again to find the clear - if polluted - afternoon sky replaced with the orange hue of the sleepy evening sun. Pushing off the couch, Karen pushed her arms into the air as she stretched the kinks out of her stiff body. Wandering over to the kitchen counter where a small black remote sat, she took the device in hand and pointed it at a section of the wall. A light hum heralded the parting of the dark marble as a large flat screen slid forward. Flickering to life with reports of escalating violence in the cities afflicted with the Mudo scourge, Karen noted that it was now after six. She’d slept for nearly three hours. Pouring some fruit juice into a wine glass, she quietly enjoyed the feeling of the cherry-flavored liquid sliding down her parched throat while keeping an eye on the television. “Casualties in Caracas have now risen to over fifteen thousand injured, and over a thousand confirmed dead,” the news anchor reported, her face remaining affixed with a neutral-sad expression. “Furthermore, there are reports of those recently killed in the attacks rising up to join the ranks of Mudo. The World Health Organization has issued a statement to all affected regions warning them to cremate all corpses - recently dead or otherwise - to prevent the further expansion of the Mudo threat.” Gulping down the last of the juice in the glass, Karen shook away the last of her grogginess. It was time to go to work. Sliding open the glass door that lead out onto the balcony overlooking Old Town, she couldn’t help but smile. Transforming was so much easier now. Her penthouse was highest point for miles, and the balcony extended out in such a way that nobody below could see her unless she stood at the very edge. Better yet, the pollution in Hub City offered a wonderfully thick layer of smog that kept satellites from being able to easily spot her, not that they’d know to try...hopefully. Now she could stop unintentionally antagonizing the local power companies with her “unexplained electrical discharges”. She was getting worried, particularly after they started installing cameras at her usual transformation spots. Glancing up at the darkening sky, she drew a breath and prepared to speak that word she had grown so accustomed to over the past year. “SHAZAM!” [hr] [b]7:48 PM Caracas, Venezuela[/b] “Keep the line steady! Don’t let them pass!” One officer screamed from behind a row of riot shields, his fellow policemen doing their best to withstand the flood of the undead crashing down against them. From her position above, Lady Arcana could see that they were doing their best to contain the horde, but with all the alleyways and access points available to the Mudos, it was simply an impossible task. She could see that the lights in the normally bright city had grown dim in many areas as people fled. The police were frantically trying to aid in the evacuation even as they - and the national guard - were simultaneously locked in battle with an army of corpses. Descending in front of the line of riot shields and right onto a pair of Mudos, Lady Arcana glanced over her shoulder at their startled faces. Speaking in Spanish, she immediately attempted to soothe their visible concern. [color=orchid]“Don’t worry, I’m here to help!”[/color] Confused murmuring in Spanish filled her ears, but for once she didn’t need the Intellect of Mnemosyne. She was just as fluent in her father’s native tongue as she was in English, after all. [i]The Wedge’s[/i] large Latino population had certainly given her plenty of practice. Feeling several sets of rotting hands grasping and clawing at her as equally decaying teeth gnawed futilely against her unbreakable skin. Stepping forward to carry the group of undead with her, she briefly lifted off the ground to perform a quick aerial spin to throw the lot of them back onto the street. She...wasn’t really looking forward to this. Being seemingly mindless and rotting corpses, she didn’t have to worry about holding back too much. At the same time, she just knew this was going to be a very [i]bloody[/i] mess.... [color=orchid]“Here goes nothing,”[/color] she muttered, balling her fingers into a fist. Diving down at the Mudo-packed street, drove her knuckles into the jaw of one...and his head went flying clean off. Staring at the headless corpse in horror for a moment, she waited for the spray of blood...but it never came. Blinking several times, she dared a glance at the neck of the still standing body. It was a dried out and devoid of any kind of liquid. Of course….these were mostly old corpses! They wouldn’t still have blood pumping through them! Duh, biology 101, Karen! But wait...why wasn’t the body falling? It had staggered back from the impact, but- [color=orchid]“...Oh,”[/color] Karen’s eyes grew wide when it reached out for her throat, the other Mudos turning to close in on her. Pursing her lips as several more began trying to gnaw at her, she rammed her fist into the now headless body with enough force to completely shatter it into pieces. [color=orchid]“There, [i]that[/i] should do it!”[/color] Turning to the countless other Mudos surrounding her, she began to unload body splattering blow after body splattering blow against them all. Without the threat of blood and guts flying everywhere, she no longer felt any degree of hesitation when it came to obliterating these guys. It was...actually kind of fun, in fact! [color=orchid]“Heehee,”[/color] Karen giggled, taking the head of one Mudo and hurling it with enough force to blast a hole clean through several closely packed together undead. But...there was something a bit off here, she was starting to notice. Even when she smashed them into pieces, the individual parts continued to crawl around! In fact, they seemed to be inching their way back to the other severed parts of their respective bodies! [color=orchid]“Wait, then how am I supposed to…”[/color] Karen muttered, glancing down at her hands. Right, [i]magic[/i]. Of course. She still wasn’t particularly good with her spells, even with Raymond’s continued instruction...but she did at least have a basic grasp on channeling! If it was something as simple as blasting some old corpses to smithereens, then she could do it! Narrowing her eyes, she lifted off the ground and returned to the line of shields. Extending her hands outwards, she began to draw power from the laylines that intersected with Caraco...of which there was a surprisingly high number. It actually reminded her of both Gotham and Hub City in that regard. Her palms began to glow with the arcane power she gathered, and with a small shout she unleashed a wave of magic in lightning form. Sweeping over the massive crowd of Mudos, their withered forms instantly ignited on contact with the torrent of power washing over the street, before being reduced to a pile of ash. Lowering her hands slowly, she smirked. [color=orchid]“Try and piece yourselves together [i]now.[/i]”[/color][/center]