[center][h1][color=#357302][b]Chatterbox[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]
Escaping alongside Sofia as the building collapsed, he had to resist his reflex to protect himself from the rubble and airborne detritus of the collapse. Navigating into the sight of his teammates he saw their clones. His eyes narrowed before he forced himself to relax. As he did so he said words that he didn't want to, but felt were necessary.

[color=#357302][b]"Sofia, open your eyes. We're safe enough for now,"[/b][/color] he said, though he kept her hand in his. She seemed shaken and admittedly so was he.

Looking away from the girl he noticed Thunderbolt confronting their clones even as Headhunter made a beeline for them, clearly on his guard.

Good, he should be. His power was dangerous and he could feel the disgusting mimicry of it  worming its way through his skull. He hated it.

[color=#357302][b]"Stay close Sofia. I'm going to let go of your hand now,"[/b][/color] he said before doing just that. After all, his clone would be as brilliant and conniving as he was so it made sense for him to make even more of a show of good will.

He trained his gaze on Headhunter and, lowering his tone, responded to the man's query.

[color=#357302][b]"Green Fever,"[/b][/color] he said, expression serious, tone grim. He looked away from the sharpshooter, staring daggers at his clone. [color=#357302][b]"Headhunter. It occurs to me that none of you have really felt what my power is like. Now that there is another me walking around. I think when we're back at base, I am going to turn it on for a moment, then back off. You need to know what it feels like so you can notice it when it happens. I will remove the influence afterwards."[/b][/color] He met the man's eyes again.

[color=#357302][b]"Furthermore, I think we need further verification and a proper passcode system for the future. I don't want us to be caught off guard if something goes wrong in the future. As to the verification..."[/b][/color] he paused, trolling his memory. One of the things that only they ought to know were the likely fake names they'd told eachother on that recruiting walk.

[color=#357302][b]"My real name isn't James,"[/b][/color] he said—too quietly for anyone but Headhunter and Sofia to hear. It would only mean anything to Headhunter though. That had been the name he'd told the former mercenary before they'd recruited Arsenal. With any luck it would be something that his clone wouldn't know. [color=#357302][b]"...and yours was Jack Selser."[/b][/color] That said he turned his gaze away once more and tapped out code.

[color=#357302][b]"One of our ways out is headed this way now. We need to get Thunderbolt away from the clones. Unlike me, [i]that fake[/i] is willing to use my power on the lot of you. Headhunter, if you'd tell Thunderbolt to retreat from them, that would be stellar. The more time they spend listening to his voice, the worse this will be for us in the long term."[/b][/color] That said, he'd realized just how much time he had spent getting to that point and he cursed himself internally at just how fitting his damned cape name was sometimes.

This was not turning out to be their best day, that was for sure.[hr][center][h1][color=#3068FF][b]Evelyn Chambers – [i]Tulpa[/i][/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]

Making her way over to the others, her body feeling like lead, she found that she couldn't make eye contact with a single one of her teammates. She'd really fucked this one up. Punctuating the thought, the building buckled and then outright collapsed under its own weight.

That was her fault, not just Messiah's. Her projection had--.... The silver light flashed into her mind's eye, followed by an image of Lillian and—No! Her grip on her arms, crossed under her chest, tightened as she dug her nails into skin, trying to interrupt the thought and banish the images.

She felt even heavier, but she somehow managed to get into the vehicle and sit down.

God she was exhausted.

The mission had really taken a toll on her. Unfortunately, that toll appeared to have been far greater for others....

She would be largely silent for the entire ride back, unwilling to talk or respond with anything aside from nodding or shaking her head. The whole time she would fail to meet anyone's gaze.

Even that small failure. The lack of courage to own what she had done and still face her teammates.

It was crushing and it would be a miracle if she didn't break into tears on their way back.[hr][center][h1][color=#B8EEFF][b]Outsider[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]
Paying close attention, Outsider rushed into action the moment he sensed the cape start to move again. He wasn't having it. However, he quickly slowed as another cape made their presence known. As the electromagnetic field around their body began acting bizarrely in tangent with his sense of the individual becoming slightly fuzzy, he knew it wasn't necessary for him to attack. Instead he let his huge form drift down to the street before—rather suddenly—swapping out. He stumbled slightly, falling from several feet above the ground as he switched forms. The disorientation hit him a moment after, but it only lasted a few moments.

Once it had settled he ended up just...kind of standing there for a few moments with a big ole grin on his face. Not only were Furnace's words something positive after a series of rather unfortunate circumstances, but the feeling of being—both in body and mind—so totally...[i]present[/i] was just...it filled him with joy.

Recovering he cleared his throat and approached the unconscious cape and Furnace. Shaking his head a bit, keeping an eye on the kid, he spoke. [color=#B8EEFF][b]"Thanks for the help,"[/b][/color] and the words were genuine, more full of emotion and presence than his words usually were. Glancing elsewhere he noted one of his teammates heading away. The set of her shoulders and general body language didn't say good things about her emotional state.

He glanced up at the huge hole in the side of the apartment that had been their headquarters. [color=#B8EEFF][b]"I think I'll do just that, Furnace...though with how things are looking I'm not sure if there is much of a [i]we[/i] anymore,"[/b][/color] as he said it the joy started draining from him, replaced by frustration and sadness and worry. He didn't want to operate alone, even if he didn't really have to worry about harm to himself it was better to have teammates rather than having to fight and risk excessive damage to your surroundings all the time.

Swallowing some of those emotions he considered how he was to call the PRT. He didn't want to use his personal phone, that was...not smart. Was there a payphone nearby perhaps? Damn. He really should have gotten something to call with, but to be fair he figured one of his teammates could. 

He glanced at Furnace and smiled awkwardly, [color=#B8EEFF][b]"Um, actually...I realize that I don't have anything to call with. Any chance you carry something around or should I just find a nearby Payphone while you keep an eye on the kid?"[/b][/color] Unsureness, man how long had it been since he'd felt like this.

It was so strange being this aware of his emotions, but he liked it. He liked it better than them being far away. [i]This[/i] all of it, with the bad and the good it brought, was far better than feeling detached all the time. It was too bad that it wouldn't last....

It never did.