Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Gardevoiran
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Gardevoiran The Forbidden One

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The Wards


Dodging


"Catch!"

Mastar turned to face wherever she heard Evelyn's voice for a moment after getting smacked in the head with her tar, seemingly knocking the hero down to the ground as she went liquid, becoming a mere puddle. For a moment, the puddle laid dormant before it started to reform, moving back slightly to try and get a little more distance from Protean before slowly forming back into the standard shape of Mastar... minus one whole arm. Guess that's how much tar was used in the removing of some of Protean's mass.

She looked to the side to see Tiger Lilly coming back with... a confoam grenade?! Where'd she get that? It was a smart idea indeed, but how well would it work, too? Mastar wanted to help contribute to the plan, but she was fairly certain that she'd throw another slice of chaos into it and it'd just murk up the plan. Quickly, Mastar looked around the hall before noticing the ceiling tiles. She knew that they opened up, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say that she could definitely crawl through them and possibly get the drop on Protean.

"Welp, see you guys in a second~!" Mastar commented as she stretched out, two legs quickly shrinking down to one pillar and her arm stretching out, knocking aside the panel she was under. With one fluid jump, Mastar slinked her way into the ceiling and started to move towards Protean.

As soon as she was above him (or as soon as she guessed she was, anyway), she began to gently shift some more of the ceiling tiles. There was a lot of ruckus going on below, so she didn't think he could dodge out from under her, though if he did start to change shape, Mastar would drop another arm of globbed tar down onto him quickly. If he didn't and simply stood there, Mastar would wait to see the effects of everyone else's attack on him. In the case that the projection and containment foam worked, Mastar wouldn't drop. She'd just go back to her allies. If nothing worked and she had an opening, she'd lob a much heftier amount of tar onto him, most certainly two limbs worth, in an effort to try and keep him on fire and further weaken him.

As much as she wanted to get down to invade him, she realized that if she took any collateral she'd be done for. It was sucky, sure, but she did appreciate Messiah and the other's powers and assistance. Maybe they could still do this...
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Belladonna
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Belladonna Autumn the Fall leaf

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She chuckles internally about how the biology comment Metanoia had made resisting the urge to read out her phone number and tell them to call her. She shakes her head and snaps back to attention.

“Nice to meet you too, as for learning about my breaker form that will have to happen another time, I can show you it in the complete form if we ever get in another fight together.” She says hoping maybe she can work with this cape more in the future.

“As for after fights... uhh it usually takes a little to get out of this for, a down side will explain another time, but after that I just back to whatever I was doing before. I mean we could go get something to eat? I have a spare change of clothes in my bag for emergencies?” She offers, looking out over the town to see if any places stood out too her.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by BCTheEntity
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BCTheEntity m⊕r✞IS

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Alessa Heather: PRT HQ

Agh, damn it! He had an answer for every strategy! And yet, he was still regretful, even as he continued working against them - clearly he had some distaste for Patriarch, and clearly he was still fond of the Wards, but that just made it so, so difficult to go all-out against him! Everything in her was screaming that maybe he could be saved, maybe he could be convinced to go back to normal... and that was the insidious part, wasn’t it? How could she know if that was true? And even if he did, he’d already done the damage to the Protectorate; she imagined he’d be lucky if he wasn’t taken to the Birdcage once they- if they put him- God, why did that lump of flesh remind her of the damn warehouse now?!

And everything was still happening at once. Tulpa hurled what was left of Mastar’s mass back to her; Mastar caught it and clambered into the ceiling; Lillian hurled a grenade roughly at the would-be hero, and for some reason a gun across the floor; and as the projection leapt at Protean, Evelyn called on her to hit it.

This was it, then. No freezing up now, girl. “Appropriate force” - or, so to speak, all-out. Just to make the point in her mind, she called out ‘Hit him with everything you’ve got!’ to nobody in particular. Margrave, ultimately, since all other parties had their plans.

One hand aimed at the projection as it charged Protean, an invisible beam of heat striking it and setting off its destructive aura at full-tilt. The other didn’t even move - she waited until she was pretty sure Protean wasn’t about to move before a spark of overwhelming heat and light and radiation left her eyes, and an infinitesimal fraction of time later, a trail of plasma two feet thick marked the path between her and him, at least where he ought to have been when she fired it off. A much-refined form of her attack from the warehouse, ironically, containing about half of her remaining reserves. Protean ought to survive, albeit massively reduced - and assuming he hadn’t suddenly moved. Anything else it went near would probably either melt before impact, or else survive long enough to take the spark direct and be vaporised in the ensuing explosion. And of course, she did her best to ensure she didn’t interfere with anyone else in the process... she hoped she hadn't, anyway.
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by LemonZest1337
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LemonZest1337 Fresh and Zesty

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Mire hissed as she didn't feel any of her attacks connecting, not being able to see fucking sucked. She would continue stabbing into the dome even after a beam burned through her. Suddenly the dome was on the move, the speed it was moving meant they had to be running and more importantly, standing up. Shifting an arm into a massive cleaver she got ready to send a slash into the dome at around stomach level, but was rudely interrupted when something crashed into her head. It'd come from the same direction as whatever had blown a decent amount of her mist back. Obviously someone in that direction wanted to get perforated.

Mire had heard Creeps words telling her to fall back, and had chosen to ignore them until now. While Mire very much wanted to stab whoever it was that hurled the object at her head, she wanted to stab the shit out of the shit stick that had blinded her more. Letting out a growl Mire swam through her mist and burst through the front of the building, landing on the ground and taking a moment to let her mist spread out.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by PlatinumSkink
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PlatinumSkink

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Creep
Sheila Hopkins

Outside Rockers HQ



No attacks came after them. That’s nice. However, they probably heard, so there was no reason to become complacent.

Unfortunately, there was likely no chance to rescue anyone else from the building. The only one there was still hope for was Mire. There were at least four hostiles here, the two in the lobby Mire was fighting were not the same two that her grunt in the building had reported about. They would lose an extended encounter here. She needed to think of the bigger picture. The Community was attacking all over, right?

She quickly took out her phone and typed “current state and location?” and sent it to the shortcut for all Rockers. Sure, that meant Salem would get it, too, but she needed to know the state of her forces. Forces that didn’t reply meant either taken out or unwilling to continue fighting. The latter was an acceptable choice, all Rockers knew that, because she had told them earlier. If in a group, only one per group needed to reply. The intention of the messages was to get a grasp of how many usable forces she still had, and where they were. Her own phone was still in the state that the only reaction to getting a message was the phone screen lighting up.

That’s when Mire burst out of the front of the building, making Creep flinch but also making her realize the time for action was here. This wasn’t a fight they wanted to fight, so if they could get Mire to pull back, that’d be great. To start with, Creep directed light so she’d show herself to Mire while still hiding herself in other directions, and made a wave with her hand to indicate the direction to move… only to realize Mire’s face was covered with some form of light. She looked like she couldn’t see. Darn it, Creep cursed internally.

‘Block the entrance,’ Creep whispered sharply to Salem, then pulled his arm to follow because she still intended to hide him behind her as best she could, trying to keep herself in-between the HQ and Salem as they hurried. She attempted to get as close to Mire as possible without getting gassed, while also putting some distance between herself and the HQ so the enemy couldn’t overhear.

‘We need to leave, fight them where we have the advantage. This way, follow my voice,’ Creep started, hoping to lord Mire was listening. She made ready to dodge arrows or projectiles while also keeping view of all around her to look for where an enemy might peek out, but otherwise simply prepare to run away with Salem if Mire actually obliged.

She was invisible and tried to hide Salem too for the entity of this post, though her range is only one meter.

@BCTheEntity@Lemonzest1337@Spiffy
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by BCTheEntity
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Chad Belton: Rockers HQ

Well... now what? He knew there were repercussions for harming or killing others... who had said that? Visage, right? And what was her exact wording? He didn’t recall. Even so, he figured killing those inside might not be frowned upon under the circumstances. Melting them down, dissolving them to puddles of boiling flesh in his lava. Not like he could do much else, without just charging right into Mire’s gas. But Sheila would never allow it, would she?

Oh. There was Mire. Nifty, yeah, cool stuff... and it looked like Mire had some sort of marker over her face. Could she... see through that? Damn. But at least he had a course of action now: block the entrance.

Slight problem: there was more than one entrance. He could tell, because he could sense the individual chunks of rubble through the wall when he looked in that direction. The fact he didn’t need direct line of sight helped there, even if he needed to look in the direction to sense it all... so, block off an entrance, but there were many possible entrances... the solution was obvious.

Within the entrance hall, those still inside would likely be shocked by the sudden appearance of what amounted to a square ring of lava, two meters wide on all sides, and encasing a pretty substantial area maybe fifteen by twenty five meters large, give or take a meter either way, including the entrance doors. No pressure wave erupted from the ring, but a wave of roiling heat certainly did, hot enough even from a distance that moving near, let alone passing over, should be incredibly difficult, especially from inside. It didn’t quite get everything he wanted to get, but it was enough of a hazard that passing through should be nigh-impossible.

‘Okay, let’s go.’ With that muttered out, Salem followed on after Creep, leaving the building and the bastards that invaded them to whatever fate they all met. If they melted, fine. If they were crushed to paste, fine. If they escaped, that was fine too. Just another opportunity to fucking murder them and rip their muscles off of their bones, or bend their joints back on themselves until they snapped in half one by one by one... gyeuh. No. Not now. Not yet, anyway.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Crusader Lord
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Crusader Lord A professional, anxiety-riddled, part-time worker

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Mina Kreiger (Alloy)





As Chatterbox spoke about Thunderbolt and Whimsy meeting for...something, she supposed, Alloy suppressed a retort. All these bombs going off, and apparently how this guy was dropping em', what could thunder do right now?! Jump into a portal and tackle the guy??? Nonetheless, it wasn't like she had any idea more than "shoot electricity into the portal and hope it sets off his bombs on his side", and she wasn't about to try to disrupt things like this. Not like she had a choice if they wanted to smoke this civilian-murdering asshole sooner than later before he turned up a larger body count. So with that, the metal-covered heroine bolted towards where Thunderbolt was, holding Whimsy closer against her body to try to protect her from shrapnel and flying bits kicked up by the bombs. Save for Alloy's right arm, her metal skin was good for taking the physical brunt at least.

"Coming your way, Thunderbolt, Whimsy in tow. We better haul ass if we're going to do this.

But in case this doesn't work, i want to suggest attempting to detonate his bombs before he throws them through? If i send enough of jolt through a portal that is."


She felt it was...worth the brief suggestion as she followed Chatter's plan. Just as a backup idea. She just hoped she'd get to Thunderbolt in time to do this thing. Especially as Chatter started barking signals at Headhunter.




Allison Mead (Excaliblast)





Allison hit the floor and slid towards the side wall, though it wasn't as if she'd totally missed the issue. She could virtually feel the shrapnel whiz by her at high speeds as it embedded itself into the walls and space near her. It rung in her ears like a school bell, one of the old metal ones that ya had to avoid standing next to if you wanted to be able to hear next period. Except in this case it left her much more wobbly than the old school bells ever did, though she couldn't afford to stop. Her sneaker gripped the smooth tile flooring just enough, as she scrambled to get back up as soon as she could.

This asshole, this damn asshole had come to her school, called out the headmaster and her family and was trying to make it all a living hell. Not that she didn't understand why...but based on her goading attempts and the lesson about the Community her class had....she had to move fast. Or become deaf, which was equally as bad for someone trying to not get shot. Or find something to block her hearing enough to not fall to the next things she could end up hearing over the intercom. Regardless of the potentially imminent doom, Allison shot several long blades out behind her into the floor as she began to climb the stairs. This to try to block being followed, at least quickly. The girl kept one wrist up and ready to fire at anyone, at least anyone she saw that looked like they were with the jokers back downstairs that is, her legs still moving as fast as they could as her other hand was used to stabilize herself as she moved.

Despite the wobbling on her part, which was fading a bit as she rapidly climbed the stairs, she was gunning for the floor with the offices. She knew the way by heart...not that it was the best thing to know, but it was useful right now at least!!! She'd managed to piss off the bitch on the PA system, it seemed, and that didn't feel like a good thing considering who that person was.

Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by LemonZest1337
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LemonZest1337 Fresh and Zesty

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Sylph catching a glimpse of the kinds in the closet and upon seeing that she knew she had to get Eyeblight out of this particular room if she wanted to enact her current plan. "Luckily" for her Eyeblight was already heading straight for her, so all Silvia had to do was backpedal into the bedroom she'd just come from and then try and enact her plan. Though as she took a step back Eyeblight's command to look at him worked on Silvia. The agonising fear caused her to slip up and tumble backwards, falling into the bedroom and landing on her back. Sylph frantically scrambled backwards, her resolve finally shattered. "N-no! Get away!" Silvia cried as she raised her hands to cover her face, she couldn't hold out against his power any longer. Though with her eyes no longer focusing on Eyeblight her wind barrier started reforming, though at the moment it'd feel like a hairdryer.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Old Amsterdam
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Old Amsterdam Coven Witch

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Jason



Jason stopped for a brief moment as Hunter disabled the bomb, only to immediately turn and start running as bomb after bomb started appearing. By the time Chatterbox had started calling for him, he was already almost there. Grabbing Whimsy, he put the on his back and started moving.

"Do what you do best, Whimsy. We're ending this," he said quickly.

As he ran past Alloy he scooped her up under his arm, grunting at the added weight and the interruption of his momentum. Flipping his power, he was off.

They moved faster than any human could hope to, each step taking them a good dozen feet forward.

There was a pattern. A clear pattern. Jason didn't go for the next appearance spot, no, he went for the one after that, so they'd be there before it was opening.

He set Alloy down, crouching as he took her hand.

When the portal opened, he'd dash in and grab the little bastard, yanking him out and back into their reality. And he'd make sure he stayed here, one way or another.


The Community Strikes Back



@PlatinumSkink@Spiffy@BCTheEntity@solokolos@Lemonzest1337
Chapter Two: The Rockers
Everyone around seemed to come to the decision that the HQ was a lost cause, and that continuing to battle there would only result in a worsening situation.

Swarm and Firefly exited unmolested by the hallucinatory gas that Mire produced, and we're lucky enough thanks to the blinding to avoid being skewered.

Mire promptly followed, crashing through the front doors in a blind rage. Her gas followed, quickly spreading out in the direction of her momentum for several seconds before it would start to fill the street. The unconscious Rockers from the reception area, who were in the street, were quickly blanketed in the gas.

At that point, Sheila's phone alerted her of a reply. It seemed the bulk of her forces had condensed together, and had followed protocol to only reply with one message for a group. All in all it seemed only six were unaccounted for, not counting Visage or Pester. Two were in the street, however, but there was no word on the other four.

As Chad blanketed a large portion the only remaining intact portion of the bill HQ in lava, things suddenly changed. Another loud crash sounded from the building, and moments later an impressive figure rose above the ruins. Her appearance, from the wings to the general eye-catching nature of her appearance, filled everyone looking with a sense of "Friend / Ally".

A well known independent hero, Angel had made her official showing as she flew slowly forward. She was here to help! With a smooth movement, she pointed down towards the groups on the street.

And in a burst of smoke, an edge-lord looking man appeared, bow in hand, at street level. Rend, former member of the Minutemen before their disbandment, raised his weapon directly at the gas cloud. He fired before he disappeared, arrows flying from multiple directions towards Swarm's bubble of safety inside the gas, and at Mire before her form was obscured.

"Stand down!" Angel commanded as she landed the concrete with enough force to crack it. Rising from her 'superhero landing', she crossed her arms. Keeping just out of reach of the gas.



@Lemonzest1337@Yoshua171
Chapter Three: The City
As Sylph blundered, Eyeblight cackled and continued his approach. This was a bad situation all around, but Sylph's mind was already freying at the edges. How could she hope to beat what she couldn't see? She had to know that she was at the limits of what she could take without having her mind ruined from his power. If she could get back to the hole, maybe Outsider could help subdue the madman.

As it turned out, that wouldn't be necessary. As Sylph's barrier started up, she could faintly hear a strange sound. Almost like gas?

And then a bright light flared against the darkness of her eyelids, accompanied by the sound of a woman yelling. And then came the scream. A raw, primal sound filled with terror, not unlike the sounds of Eyeblight's victims. But it was in his own voice?

If Sylph opened her eyes, she'd see a man in a burlap ragdoll outfit that was on fire. His body was already covered in 3rd degree burns that didn't look fresh, and he was running towards her in a blind panic. Behind him was a stream of fire from a homemade flamethrower that the girl had managed to make up.

It seemed Eyeblight had abandoned his Breaker form, was insensate with terror and panic, and was going to jump out the hole in the wall.



@Crusader Lord
Chapter Four: The Girl
As Allison ran, she could hear footsteps pounding after her, followed by a scream and the sound of something wet hitting the floor. It seemed her barriers were working, at any rate, but for how long? There were a lot of ways through the building, and there were bound to be more goons coming for her.

As she went deeper towards the source of the PA system, the sound of many sirens would reach her ears.

"TROLL! WE HAVE THE BUILDING SURROUNDED. SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY OR BE TAKEN BY FORCE, YOUR CALL!" a voice called out from a loud speaker. It seemed the PRT had appeared.

"Everyone relax and stay where you are. If you're not with the Community and Troll, you have nothing to worry about," the calm voice of Morales came over the speaker.

"Oh fuck you, you fucking cumsponges. Go fuck a firetruck you goddamn neanderthal," MB's voice sounded over the PA system almost immediately in response.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by ProPro
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ProPro Pierce the Heavens with your spoon!

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Interlude 4: Purge


Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Repetitions of the bench press went up, then down, then up again with very little delay between the motions. Rapid breathing accompanied the movement. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Speaking of Exhale, a knock came at the door of the gym, which currently housed but one man hard at work. The mafia leader known to the public as “Purge” lifted the weight up one last time, then set it to rest in place. He sat up, wiping the sweat from his brow using a nearby moist towelette with disinfectant.

”Enter,” he said rather plainly, grabbing his nearby water bottle and chugging down the precious liquid.

The door opened with a slow, meek push, revealing another parahuman, one of only two people in the entire organization to have seen Purge without his mask on: Exhale. The gas based villain slowly approached, taking note of the weights. “995 pounds?” he asked, clearly impressed. “If you’re not careful, you’ll be breaking a world record soon.”

”I have no interest in advertising myself,” Purge responded. ”It is merely to maintain as healthy a body as I can.”

“Of course, of course,” Exhale nodded, wringing his hands together. “But I did not invite myself to your recreation room in order to commit to small talk.”

”I imagine you did not.” Purge stood up and began to clean his gear with a fresh wet wipe, disinfecting the entire rig. ”What is your report?”

“Expansion is going smoothly. Better than expected, even. A number of properties were simply abandoned by the Community members stationed there as soon as I showed my pretty face.” Exhale sounded proud of himself.

”Wise course of action. Then have we completely absorbed the district?” He had moved on to sterilizing the barbell itself, and wiping down the weights even though they were never touched at any point.

“There is but one hold out property, admittedly. I’m certain that I could have cleared the whole place in no time, however they requested a parlay with you, and your instructions were very clear on that matter…”

”Very well then,” Purge interjected, standing up straight and approaching the adjoining shower connected to his gym. ”I will depart immediately after I have made myself presentable. Be at the ready to accompany me in case this is a ploy, and let Benito know as well.”

“Shouldn’t he stay here to manage business affairs in your absence?” Exhale tilted his head slightly. He did not like sharing the company of Benito. “And what if we’re attacked while we’re out? His new powers would be instrumental in defending our assets.”

Purged waved off Exhale’s concerns, turning on the hot water of his shower and dropping his workout pants, showing no shame. “The likelihood is low, whereas if we show up to parlay in force, it will further discourage foul play. Apart from that, I trust my men to defend our base. They would not be in my organization otherwise.”

Exhale frowned, feeling defeated but knowing not to argue the point any further. “Understood. I’ll let him know and we’ll… Get the car ready.”

”Thank you, Linas.”




A black Sedan rolled up to the curb of a rather unassuming laundromat in one of the more seedy parts of town in the early morning. Though its posted hours of operation stated that it was supposed to open at 6:00 a.m., the building remained locked with all the lights out. A few figures could be seen inside, but remained motionless. Inside the car were three men, each dressed quite well, and each wearing a mask.

Exhale, of course, wore his standard lab coat and gas mask. It was entirely superficial, but it kept up the act that he was a tinker who made gases, rather than a blaster who made gases from his mouth. Purge sat in the back seat, his black suit and white featureless porcelain mask as normal. Already he was applying a healthy dose of disinfectant to the inside door handle. The third man, the one at the wheel, wore a mask that held a deep night time sky blue on the left side, which gradually faded toward the right until there was only white.

”Exhale, Vanish, let us parlay.” The mafia boss opened his door and got out, followed closely by the other two parahumans.

Exhale reached for the door handle first, but found that it was locked. Squinting his eyes, he saw the people inside but they did not move to let the trio in. With a grumble he knocked, but they still did not move.

”Do not waste your energy, Exhale. If our hosts will not be courteous to us, then we shall let ourselves in. Vanish, if you will please.”

”Consider it done, boss.” The newly named Vanish stepped forward, placing his hand on the door, which completely, well, vanished from sight. With a small flourish he gave a bow, allowing Purge and Exhale to enter first. As soon as he crossed the threshold himself, the door snapped back into place as though it had never been missing to begin with.

“Alright, what’s the big idea not answering when we came, eh?” Exhale angrily asked, taking a threatening step forward.

”Manners,” Vanish chided, causing Exhale to break his stride and slump in frustration. ”You do not speak for the boss.”

Purge casually strolled forward, adjusting his tie. Four individuals stood in the back, shrouded in darkness, still refusing to budge even an inch. How ill mannered these Community folk were. ”I have come as requested for your parlay. We may now begin negotiations. You will find that, so long as matters remain civil, I am a fair and reasonable man to deal with.”

Still no answer. Still no movement. Something wasn’t right here. ”Exhale. Vanish. Prepare yourselves.” Purge placed a hand in his pocket, drawing out a small rock, and casually tossed it to the nearest of the men. The rock bounced off the man’s chest, and he rocked back and forth as though on a pole or a pendulum.

”Mannequins?” Vanish asked, cautiously approaching until he was close enough to confirm his theory.

“Take cover!” Exhale called out. Everyone dove down behind the service counter just as several rounds of automatic fire ripped through the glass walls, signalling assault rifles that had to number at least four.

Purge felt his hair stand on end, he was getting antsy. On the floor… They made him get on the floor! Do you know how many different strains of bacteria are on the floor?! Microbes, pathogens, viruses, insects, threats beyond counting, the enemy converged on every side! This was unacceptable. The pounding of bullets hitting wood, metal, and drywall was as a minor humming compared to the pulsing adrenaline screaming for Purge to escape the germs.

”Exhale.” One word, one name, but it wasn’t an addressment. It was a command, one which Exhale picked up on instantly. Still huddled on the floor, he pulled out a small canister and tossed it over their cover.

“Scatter!” Yelled one of the assailants, the gunfire pausing. A large cloud of dense black smoke quickly spread out from the broken canister and Purge stood up, unable to stay down any longer.

A large wall of black amorphous smoke stood before him, impeding all vision. It was only normal smoke, albeit it highly condensed, and thus not terribly dangerous unless inhaled in large amounts. Of course, the shooters didn’t know that. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for the hardest damn decision he’d have to make that day. Purged willingly walked into the cloud of smoke.

Exhale turned back to Vanish. “Looks like we’re taking all the fun, unless you want black lung disease.” With that, he rushed into the black cloud, readying another canister.

”Please.” The new parahuman followed closely behind, hands outstretched. His hands carved out a safe path for his face, making a tunnel not unlike a vacuum where the smoke simply refused to fill, only to reappear behind him. All three emerged on the other side.

Four armed men, and a fifth nearby apparently calling the shots, had backed up a decent way. As soon as Purged stepped out of the smoke, the enemy leader laughed at him. “You’ve got a death wish just walking out in the open like that! From what I hear you’re faking the cape identity! Fire men!”

Bullets rang out once more, and the sound of metal echoing off metal filled the streets. “What the?!” Purge chuckled in response to the gunman’s surprise. True, it wasn’t every day you saw someone using a whole washing machine as a shield, yet here he was advancing forward with the huge appliance in tow blocking 95% of his body.

“Don’t underestimate the boss,” Exhale spoke with a creepy reverb through his gas mask, canister in hand.

”He doesn’t need to waste his power on the likes of you.” Vanish broke through the smoke barrier, prompting the attackers to train their guns on him and Exhale. If they couldn’t shoot Purge, they would shoot who they could.

The gas master opened another canister before the triggers were pulled, releasing a large condensed green gas, concealing his exact positioning. The bullets that rained down upon Vanish simply disappeared just before impact, only to continue their trajectory once he passed through the space the bullets occupied.

“Gah!” came the cry of pain from the green smoke. Exhale was hit. It didn’t matter too much. The gunmen had chewed through all their ammunition, and Purge was close enough to take advantage.

The Mafia boss rushed in with alarming speed. Before the men knew what to do, he was already upon them. The closest was disarmed in an instant and clubbed with the rifle, knocked unconscious with one blow. The second tried to back up as he fumbled with the magazine, but was simply unable to fight back as a powerful fist struck him in the solar plexus, down for the count.

The third had only just gotten his new magazine loaded and looked up to see a white porcelain face up close and personal in a devastating headbutt. Three for three one hit knock outs, but one thug remained and he already had his rifle trained on Purge.

“Don’t move, or you die where you stand!” He stated firmly. After seeing what his enemy was capable of, he didn’t want to take any chances. Before he could pull the trigger, the man suddenly dropped down into a big hole that wasn’t there before! Vanish sat nearby, hand on the ground.

”Do hurry yourself, Exhale, and sedate the poor man. I cannot reverse my power while he’s still armed inside this hole.”

Exhale limped forward, clutching his left shoulder in pain. Blood seeped outward from the wound, staining his white lab coat. He breathed out a gas which sterilized the injury, then applied a lighter to cauterize it, wincing in pain.

”Sometime today, please.”

“Fuck off, I’m coming.”

Purge opted to ignore the bickering of his two lieutenants in favor of focusing on the fifth and final man. A white fellow with short blond hair and reaching for his handgun, a simple 9mm glock. He trembled, clearly terrified.

“Don’t move, I’ll shoot!”

Oh Peter. Peter Peter Peter.” Purge advanced unflinchingly, shaking his head and pulling off his left glove. ”I am so disappointed. Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you? You may have been one of the street men, but you are still part of my family. That’s what the organization is, you know. A family. Why?”

“You don’t know anything about family!” Peter spat back. “Father wants you all dead. He owns this city and you’ve all been fucking with him. He says, he says this is discipline!”

Peter waved the gun threateningly. Purge just grabbed it gently by the barrel and guided it to his own forehead.

“Are you stupid or something?! I’ll shoot, I’m serious!”

“I know you will, Peter. Just like I trained you to. Go ahead. Prove to me which family you truly hold dear.” The mafia leader’s voice did not waver once. There was no nervous tick, no insecurity, no fear, not even a hint of anger. He spoke as though it were another business exchange.

Click. “Huh?” Peter pulled the trigger, the mechanism worked as intended, yet the bullet did not fire.

”What a pity.” Purge snatched the gun from Peter’s hands and popped open the chamber, claiming the bullet and tossing the rest of the gun aside. He held the bullet up for Peter to see.

”I can see you are confused, so please humor me with your attention for but a minute as I explain to you. You see, there are a few basic components to any bullet, all of which must be present to function. There is, of course, the bullet itself, the metal bit on the tip that goes flying into your target. It gets propelled by the gunpowder, which is ignited by the primer when your gun’s firing pin strikes it. I can see you do not understand why I am explaining this to you. The reason, my dear, sweet Peter-“ Purge ran his hand down alongside Peter’s cheek. ”Is because this bullet here? Is missing the vital gunpowder needed to create the explosive propulsion. It is a dud, if you will.”

“But… but how could you know?”

”Simply because I removed it myself. I needed to test your loyalty after all, and you failed.”

Peter squinted, trying to think of when the boss could have emptied the gunpowder from his bullets. He had his pistol on him all day and all night. Furthermore, did Purge already question his loyalty before this very moment? Well, it’s not like any of that truly mattered. Not anymore.

“I suppose you’re going to kill me now,” he muttered, looking at the ground.

”Still such a disappointment. No, not at all. Peter, I’ve already killed you. The same power you doubted ever existed, which I used to destroy your powder, will cause a slow, agonizing death. You’ll be feeling it any moment I should think.”

Peter’s eyes opened wide as realization set in. He felt… wrong. His skin was getting more itchy all over. His stomach, oh the nausea. The sensation was small, but he could feel it growing. What was this?

Purge wiped his hand off with disinfectant, then spoke as simply as a man discussing the weather. ”You made me get on the floor.”
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Belladonna
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Belladonna Autumn the Fall leaf

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A Long-winded Breakfast Date




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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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By some miracle, the attacks of the Margrave's allies met their mark, scoring a few crucial hits on the turncoat and diminishing his assets considerably. Then again, it wasn't just 'some' miracle—it was the indomitable innovative spirit of the Margrave himself, that oh-so-stupid power of his allowing him to wallop his foe with an inexplicable brick wall and open Protean up for attack. If they could just hold on to their momentum, they could gouge away enough of his mass to render him mostly harmless, but to assume themselves out of the danger zone just yet would be an error of elephantine proportions.

The other Wards knew it, and pressed the attack. Tulpa's projection recuperated from its grievous wound and pressed on, hemming Protean in when Messiah powered it up. At some point both Tiger Lily and Mastar disappeared, but the keen eyes and razor wit of the Margrave allowed him to discern mucky imprints on the floor and shifted ceiling bits that hinted where the latter might be hiding. Not completely banal, he mused. This newbie might not be a waste of time after all. His leader's shout cut in on his observation, pulling him back into the fight. While thinking, the Margrave had been fiddling around in his pockets, looking for whatever he could find. Melee wasn't an option, since he wouldn't survive proximity to the projection or Messiah's attacks. Caltrops would do nothing. No cars today, which was a shame since cars were problem-solvers to say the least, but his fingers closed around something else.

He produced a couple of tiny plastic minifig tools, including hammers and wrenches. Growing them one by one, he hurled them at Protean. His aim left a little to be desired, and compared to bullets (hello again, Lily) and energy beams they lacked in stopping power too, but doggone it, he was doing what he could.
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The Wards came together in a coordinated assault from multiple directions. Messiah knew it was time to unleash everything she had on him to burn away his excess mass. In the midst of his transformations, Mastar dropped another large load of the black flammable substance from above, giving him a nice coating which caught ablaze. Even Margrave, who lacked the sheer damage output of the others, could still lay claim to assisting as the various tools he tossed grew back to full size and chipped away at small amounts of flesh. The projection came barreling toward Protean, its energy field further intensified, burning flesh up into black smoke all around.

That was the biggest indicator that Protean wasn’t out for the count yet. They haven’t noticed the thin membrane I’ve spread across the whole floor and walls. How I’ve been feeling their presence while otherwise blind. When that projection expanded across the whole hall I thought my plan was done for, but once it shrank and I reconnected with my severed tissues I knew they had no idea what’s in store.

The containment foam grenade landed nearby, signalling its presence to Protean as he felt it strike his membrane of flesh. This was it, then. No turning back now. Do or die. All across the hallway, from the floor to the walls to the ceiling, thousands upon thousands of little bumps grew out of the flesh membrane. Colobopsis cylindrica: the exploding ant. With a cocktail of five different venoms and hardened carapace shrapnel mixed into the explosion…

”I’m not going down alone!” he cried out, the sacks of flesh vibrating with contractions.

This is it. This is… The crucial moment! Director Kens’ eyes intensified, as though he were burning a hole in the wall with his gaze alone. He took hold of the pistol tossed toward him by Tiger Lily, took aim, and fired on Protean… Completely missing the brute’s main body, instead striking the floor near his foot with the experimental foam bullet.

Both the grenade, and the bullet, began expanding in a mass of patented containment foam. Truly a marvelous invention, strong enough to restrict the movement of all but the most dangerous brutes, spread on contact, and yet still porous enough to breathe through. It quickly spread up the turncoat’s legs and waist, expanding ever further up the torso and his nearing his neck line. Protean seemed shocked, as though something was wrong.

”What happened? Why haven’t my b-” And thus the changer-brute was silenced, his entire body encased in the foam. He knew not to try to break free by changing shape, as it would only pop the cells of the foam and cause more expansion. He was truly and utterly beaten. The thousands of bumps coating the walls, ceiling, and floor shrank back down, inert and inactive.

Soft footsteps signalled the arrival of Director Kens, pistol still in hand as he clutched his wound. The bleeding had only gotten worse, and his skin was turning white. ”Good… Job… Wards…” Their boss slumped over onto the floor, the pistol skidding along until it hit the wall, stopping to be just as motionless as the director himself. No doubt about it, the man needed immediate medical attention. Still, he pushed himself far harder than any man his age, or as injured, should.

”Secretary… Community. Shot me… Got her back.” He wheezed, not looking up. ”More important. Patriarch… Confirmed master… Not their fault… Brainwashed.”

The director slipped into unconsciousness.

9:03 a.m.







Bang. Bang. Bang. Bomb after bomb dropped, only to be immediately destroyed safely thanks to Headhunter’s absolutely invaluable power. The Jacks could not have asked for a better answer to the problem at hand, which meant they only had to figure a solution to Doctor Dean himself.

The pattern was simple, predictable, and easy. Tracked and reported by Chatterbox’s loyal fans, Thunderbolt had little trouble in chasing down his target even with his two burdens. Skipping past one bomb to be better prepared for the next opportunity, the chance came exactly as the rest of the pattern suggested it would. A bright white light signalled the opening of a portal, and Thunderbolt was ready for it. Thanks to Whimsy’s power allowing him to interact safely with the portal, the brute’s massive hand reached in and grabbed the villainous tinker by the face, shoving him straight into the ground. The palm attack came with an audible crack as the power armor helmet snapped, and probably some bones as well.

As Thunderbolt reeled back to slam his fist into the murderer, Doctor Dean attempted to press another button located on the palm of his hand, only to be interrupted by another bolt of electricity from Alloy. Once he stopped convulsing, the readout on the inside of his helmet went black: his equipment had finally completely died. He was alone, injured, unarmed, and helpless against the onslaught of the Jacks. A pummeling which he rightly deserved for casually killing hundreds of people just today alone.

For the first few hits, the tinker tried to mount up a defense, to block with his arms, but it proved fruitless. He may as well have been tissue paper fighting back against a tidal wave for all the good that it did. Only two more slugs from the 6’10” goliath and Dean couldn’t muster up even that much strength. He was barely alive, bleeding out within his broken suit, bones splintering, and going into shock. But there was still one trick left up his sleeve.

Defend me from these villains! The mental command echoed through the annals of reality, pulling into possibilities of never-weres and always-there. The command reached a recipient chosen at random, thrusting that one out from where they stood.

A new arrival now stood nearby, in striking distance of Thunderbolt, Whimsy, and Alloy. They held two curved blades, glowing with a neon blue energy, bronze ornate armor, a featureless reflective mask, and red leather costume with matching cape and hood. With one sword they quickly jabbed toward Thunderbolt, only to stop just short of slicing the brute’s neck. They paused for a few seconds before speaking.

”Something is wrong.” His voice sounded perfectly identical to that of Doctor Dean. The man pulled his blade away, looking around at the carnage and destruction, then back to the Jacks. ”I see. Well, I think not.”

He plunged his right blade down into Doctor Dean’s arm, nailing the tinker to the ground. It sliced through his armor and body like air, as though it weren’t even there. The murderer gave a final sputter, then died with a whimper.

”He summoned me to kill you in a last ditch effort to defend himself, but my power informed me of the destruction he has wrought, and I refuse. I cannot offer enough of an apology to you all for the trouble this one has caused.” The newcomer kicked off Doctor Dean’s mask, revealing his true face beneath. He then pulled off his own mask to reveal an identical face, though he wore a scar over his left eye, which appeared to be blind.

”We are both Dean Ryder. Different versions of the same person from different realities. Some Deans carry the ability to summon others to battle for them, but this is a death sentence. Paradox kills us in under a minute, and the power transfers to the last living Dean. I suppose I now possess this unholy ability, as I am now stranded on your earth. I do not know what name this vile creature went by, but you may call me Chivalry.” Chivalry placed his mask back on and reclaimed the sword he left buried in his doppelganger’s arm.

9:03 a.m.




I Own This City

@Spiffy


”Are we all set?” An angry voice inquired of several people running about the television station.

“Very nearly, father,” answered a harried man as he quickly flipped a number of switches.

”Remember that the broadcast needs to be cloned across every local station! No excuses!” he snapped back, the rage boiling just beneath the surface, threatening to lash out at anything that might displease him.

“Of course, sir! Connor is on it right now!” The man went back to his work. “Almost ready. We’ll be on the air in 2 minutes!”

”You have one.”

And so the exchanges went back and forth, until they were fully prepared. The station’s security were posted just outside the doors, allowing the operations within to occur. Media personnel ran about the station making all the adjustments that they could. Nearby two well know, powerful villains, Sonika and Xolotl, oversaw that things were progressing according to the timetable. Finally, it was ready.

“We’re live in five. Four. Three. Two.” The man silently mouthed the word “one” then pointed at the man they were filming. All around cameras lit up. The broadcast had begun.

All across Denver city proper, all the adjoining suburbs, all across Northern Colorado, all television active television screens lit up as a single program interrupted whatever scheduled shows were currently playing. A single man stood on an open set staring directly into the camera. The single most infamous man in the state.

Good morning, Denver. I trust no introductions are necessary, but just in case any of you remain ignorant I’ll indulge anyway. I am Patriarch. According to the public, I am the leader of The Community. While this is true, it minimizes my role to an insulting degree.” Though he spoke calmly, anybody with an ounce of social intelligence could feel the rage brimming within him. ”You’ve all made the mistake of assuming that just because I united all the gangs in Denver that The Community was itself a gang, but you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s all in the name.”




”Wards, there’s been a new development you need to see!” Decoy called out over the communicators. A nearby projector animated Patriarch’s broadcast on the wall.




”The Community is exactly that: the community in which we all live and thrive. This very city. My power maintained a certain status quo. Kept the peace, as it were. But there were you ungrateful heroes who decided that I am not entitled to the luxury of reward for my actions, that I am a villain! And to all those who fly the flag of being a villain, they refuse to see the beauty in my rule and try to usurp me! Ungrateful the lot of you! He slammed his fist into the backdrop wall, which collapsed onto the ground with a shaking rumble, revealing the back set of the tv station… As well as a single individual tied up and unconscious on a gurney.

”This is the worst offender of you brats, an FBI agent by day named Judah Raines. I would say you may know him by his cape name Mantis, but you probably don’t. This hell raiser has made a name for himself among my people for slaughtering them wholesale!”




Miraculously, the tv monitors in the airport were still more or less functional. As the broadcast went on, Chivalry tilted his head at the ravings of the lunatic on screen. ”It seems this world is in need of justice.”




”You have all suspected it for some time now. I’m not certain how the word got out, but it did and I see no reason to deny it. I have a certain influence on people. I make you see things my way, which I’ve used to unite everyone together, but it seems there are those who are desperate to cling to violence and chaos, much like Mantis here. That is why I have showed you all the error of your ways today, shown you where your lack of respect and discipline takes you! Now that you’ve seen the punishment, I am sure you’ll all see things my way, one way or another… Just as Mantis is about to.”




Denver Geological Survey Center


“Are you seeing this batshit crazy talk, Jim?” A black woman in business casual sat at her desk, commenting on the broadcast as she looked over the recent survey records.

“No kidding,” Jim sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. “The streets are a warzone because he’s sending all his crazed flunkies out off the leash, and it’s our fault?”

“I’m just glad nobody has been attacking us here,” the black woman said. Jim nodded, pursing his lips.

“Hey… Hey, are you seeing this?” she called her partner over to inspect the live readouts. “Does this look right to you?”

Jim squinted, taking a closer look. After a moment, his coffee cup hit the floor and shattered, ceramic and hot coffee spilling everywhere. “Marsha, we have to alert the PRT!”

Marsha reeled back. “You mean-”

“Yes, I do!” Jim interrupted, rushing toward the nearest phone.

“Oh god oh god, I… I gotta call my loved ones!” she fumbled with her own cellphone while Jim grabbed the office phone. He dialed the emergency number given to connect directly to Decoy’s system.

“This is Jim Cavanaugh at the Geological Survey Center. We’ve got a big ass problem, and by my calculations less than an hour to get ready for it.”

“This is Marsha Wilkes. You need to get a message to Father right now.”




Thousands upon thousands of eyes were glued to their screens as Patriarch approached Mantis. Meters became feet. Feet became inches. He teased with his hands, reaching closer to Mantis before pulling back like a cat toying with a mouse. Then it happened.

All across the city, sirens went off. Sirens that were built to warn of impending threat, but not just any impending threat.

Behemoth was coming.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by LemonZest1337
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Silvia trembled as she heard Eyeblight creeping ever closer then the sound of... Gas! The sound quickly changed to a much more lethal sound, like that of a flamethrower. Opening her eyes she saw Eyeblight out of his breaker form, he was running and screaming in pain as parts of his flesh burnt and blackened. The villain was going for the hole in the wall trying to escape, Silvia wasn't about to let that happen. Jutting out her foot she curled her talons, trying to catch Eyeblight by the leg to stop his retreat. Whether or not the claws connected Silvia would stop dead as the sirens sounded off, Behemoth was coming.

Scrambling to her feet she'd look at the girl who'd toasted Eyeblight but she'd not be able to bring herself to make eye contact. "Go! Get out of here I'll finish up here, thank you for the a-assist by the way." Silvia would then call out the window, "Outsider! We need to get this monster locked up!"






While people were doing some talking Mire wasn't doing a lot of listening, she was far more interested in getting the glowing shit off of her face. She let out a howl of anger and started clawing at her own face, making her fingers into razor sharp blades. She cleaved parts off of her face mist visible leaking out of the gashes, this rather brutal method seemed to be working as she flayed the glowing muck from her face along with most of her head. Only when the majority of her head was no longer on did Mire stop and let herself reform, the glowing orbs that were her eyes instantly fixated on Firefly. "You!"

Mire's right arm morphed into a massive barbed pike, she wasted no time in launching a stab in Firefly's direction. Not even the sirens were going to stop her from killing this fucker.
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by PlatinumSkink
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Creep
Sheila Hopkins

Outside Rockers HQ



A situation emerged. The two in the lobby had emerged. The archer finally appeared, and Creep finally recognized him. He was a former member of the Minutemen, she had seen him due to Viola being a fan of them. That, and another hero she recognized appeared. Guardian Angel, who had been sighted around Denver. They had fired on… that was Swarm, wasn’t it? Swarm and an ally. That meant they were not on the same side. Two possibilities. The two heroes had teamed up to take on the Rockers and Swarm had been there by coincidence… or they were there because they were attacking by orders of the Community. Either way, it didn’t really matter, all that mattered was that Mire pulled back-

The sirens rang. Sirens that Creep knew the meaning of, but had always assumed she would never have to hear them. No matter where in the world it would sound, it couldn’t be in her Denver. Her eyes widened, as she realized all which this meant. An Endbringer was coming… and she was in command of a gang that had the power to help. She had the power to help. Oh, god.

But before all of that.

Mire was clawing at her face, and Creep realized with a start what she was going to do. Creep panicked.

‘Mire! Stop!’ Creep shouted out, putting all the sharpness she could manage into her voice as she dropped all invisibility for the moment and stepping numerous steps forward. The mouth-mask and voice-changer she had over her mouth underneath her blindfold was blocking some of the sounds, and she wanted to shout as clearly as she could, so without thinking she gripped and pulled it down to shout the next part. ‘YOU’LL BE MARKED FOR DEATH!’

Of course, Mire wasn’t listening. That’s about as much Creep may have had time to do before everything else in the scene had to happen.

@BCTheEntity@Lemonzest1337@Spiffy
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Sofia Stien - The Airport


Sofia was shuffled around like some sort of baby animal, clinging to its parent for protection. She was only able to listen the cracking of tech and bones as Jason went to work. It seemed they were winning. Another voice showed up, but they seemed to be on the side of the Jacks? Sofia listened to his explanation carefully, opening her eyes towards the end of his speech as it seemed her services were no longer needed. "So we won right?" Sofia asked cautiously. And then some incredibly loud alarms sounded, causing Sofia to wince. "Huh? Are those... the Endbringer thingies?" Sofia asked
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Old Amsterdam
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Jason



Jason felt his hand close around the head of the villain, and he pulled. The ensuing beat down was a blur as his rage consumed him, and he didn't even stop when the new arrival appeared. It was only when he started talking that Jason tilted his head to look at him, listening.

He was about to reply to the newcomer when the TVs kicked on.

Patriarch.

He watched in surprise, blood dripping from his gloved hands, and abject horror as the hand came ever closer. Ever closer.

He was about to see a man's free will ripped from him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Yeah, Whimsy, we won," he muttered as the girl spoke up absently.

And then the bad that had turned worse became the absolute worst case scenario.

Sirens. The sirens.

Endbringer sirens.

"I know you just got here, kid, but this is all hands on deck if you're willing to risk your life," Jason said quickly. "A monster is coming to kill us all, and we need all the help we can get."

Activating his comms he spoke to his team, letting his voice carry to this Chivalry.

"I'm going. If anyone needs help getting to the staging area, now's the time. I can take two. Chatter, you'd be really useful with the evacuations."

He'd wait to see if anyone wanted to join him, and then he'd be off to the PRT Building. The staging grounds whenever it was in the US.





Lillian carefully turned the safety on, slinging the rifle across her back by the strap, and she made her way around the spreading confoam carefully, but quickly, eyeing the hidden Protean warily. The... Things that he'd started, as well, she watched for signs of activation before she broke into a run towards the Director. Sinking to her feet, she started pulling at his shirt to expose his wound, pulling on all the first aid classes they'd had to take. Compression. Stop the bleeding. She listened carefully to his breathing, making sure he didn't stop while she did what she could. She pursed her lips at the realization that she couldn't do enough here, not with what she had at arms reach, and she looked up at Alessa.

"Messiah, burn the wound. I can't stop the bleeding and he's lost too much already. I can't —"

"Wards, there’s been a new development you need to see!” Decoy called out over the communicators. A nearby projector animated Patriarch’s broadcast on the wall.

Lillian's face went paler than it already was as she saw what was going on before she turned her attention back to the Director. She wished she could just ignore what that madman was doing, but she could still hear everything. But she couldn't do anything about that, she couldn't help that man, and she had to focus on what she could help with as she continued to do what she could for the Director.

"We need to get him to medical," she said distractedly to no one in particular as she stared at her bloody hands.

And then things got worse.

"No! No, this can't be..." she muttered in disbelief. "Decoy, what do we do?"

She was frozen in the kneeling position she had taken, rooted to the spot in terror.

An Endbringer. Here.

How?
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As Swarm and Firefly made their escape, they heard the sound go off. "Peculiar. The city is under attack and there is something to send a warning about..." Thought Gabriel.

Damien replied in his mind, "What purpose is a warning during an all out war?!"

Mrs. Faulkner responded, "Haven't either of you perceived in our study book, parahuman encounters of a third kind, that this is the standard warning for an endbringer?!"

Damien smiled maliciously, "We have no need of this city or her inhabitants. We will leave it to its destruction and return to take it over from the ashes."

This all happened in the battle of Barry's collective. The others protested but to little avail. Damien had the override of the mind. However, Barry still had a little fight left in him.

"Everyone! I know we have been at odds but we have to stay and help the city! What good is there to be noticed by being cowards? We will be remembered and if it is in the memory of saving a singke life I will take it."

Damien scoffed in reply, "Like I would let you..you are weak."

Even during all of this Mire continued her bloodthirsty onslaught toward Firefly with a giant barbed spike.

Barry knew that this would be one of his only chances to go on his own terms. The others aided in the clash of wills in a final desperate struggle to deny Damien his need for power...but more importantly, to leave in peace. Perhaps uplifting another's life to live something worthy of their sacrifice.

That's when Barry leapt in front of Firefly and took a giant slash of Mire's makeshift lance to the left side of his chest. The Kevlar tore through and blood splattered. However, he was still kicking.
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Chatterbox
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The plan was carried out with brutal efficiency, which became quite literal as Thunderbolt laid into the Doctor with far more savagery than was necessary. Though, perhaps not less than the bastard deserved. However, he had little time to dwell on that as Patriarch was put on screen, whom he scoffed at. The bastard had the city in his hand, but it would all be quite temporary.

This other cape though, they could be problematic. Turning his attention there, Chatterbox held back, forcing himself to listen to the man's words rather than begin planning for new eventualities. Apparently the man was also Doctor Dean, in a fashion, at least...an alternate version of them. Strange, it must have been something similar to the clones of him and Whimsy they'd dealt with after the warehouse.

This, on the otherhand, seemed beneficial. Perhaps they could use this...Chivalry. Perhaps they could bring him to the Broker or he could enthrall him. Either could be quite advantageous. He smiled and moved to close the distance, perhaps get a handshake and give a greeting. That way they could start a dialog--....

The thought trailed off into silence, replaced only by the wailing sirens. A dreadful sound, not just in pitch and volume, but in what it symbolized.

An Endbringer attack.

"Fuck."

He broke out into a cold sweat and turned to his teammates all his schemes briefly forgotten.

"What do we do?" For once he was utterly bereft of anything to say. He was stricken by the situation and likely still quite in shock by it. The gravity was just too much. After all what could he possibly--....

Thunderbolt spoke and the words—his name—rang through Drake's head for a long moment, as if suspended in an infinite echo chamber. He ground his teeth, his jaw clenched, his eyes focused and he let out a shuddering breath. He'd stepped onto this path, there was no turning away from it.

"You're right." He responded simply before he switched communication channels and simultaneously rattled off orders and tapcode to his many...many thralls and inductees. Those within the airport would begin organizing themselves and moving towards the evacuation points in as fast, but calm, a manner as his control could manage.

Chatterbox had begun organizing the evacuation.

All across the city people got calls, texts, and other notifications. Responding swiftly they made calls or bid others nearby to go to the bunkers. Those at the outskirts of Denver packed up and started driving—well before panic could properly settle into the population. The empowered of the mastermind's cabal made contact with as many people as possible, seeding their influence and smoothing the edges of every interaction they could. They were often as loud and commanding as they could manage without seeming terribly strange. Then again, given the circumstances, people would be too shellshocked or preoccupied to notice.

With their Master's help, many more lives would be saved without combat intervention than was typical in situations such as these.

Of course...in the longterm, there very well might be a price to pay for that blessing. So perhaps, rather than a gift, it was an exchange.

A freudian bargain, perhaps.

Only time could tell and that mistress was often silent.
Evelyn Chambers – Tulpa


Things went so fast that she was really only able to translate what had happened a few moments after. Confoam Grenades—multiple???—went off, her projection acted, two guns were fired and ultimately Protean was contained. Moments after all that her projection noticed the widescale attack that the traitor had been about to mount. They'd only avoided it very narrowly. It was something of a miracle and she found herself forcing a long, deep breath—having forgotten to breath for a moment there. Relief flooded through her and she even felt her anger and disgust with Protean assuaged somewhat, fading into the background. With things taken care of pretty neatly, she stood from her crosslegged position and dismissed her projection, which swiftly shimmered and then flashed out of existence, becoming once more a silver glow in the air. As she made her way through the halls and to her team Decoy contacted them.

”Wards, there’s been a new development you need to see!”

"Oh," Evelyn said as a projector activated on the wall near her. Relief was quickly replaced by bile in her throat and a clenching of fists. "Patriarch," she growled, before choking on her own disgust. Forcibly she calmed her breathing, making it even and slow. Gradually the anger relaxed and settled into something cold in her chest. Her jaw remained clenched, but her fingers relaxed.

From the villain's words she understood one thing, the man had corrupted Denver. Still, it wasn't beyond saving, she reasoned. In that moment she vowed to save her hometown, her city. She promised to save it from people like Patriarch and those who had allowed him to remain in power.

At the thought, the light of her projection shifted, and then slid into the ground only to surround her in the next moment, wreathing her in faint silver-blue light.

The tyrant kept talking, but she was done listening.

Evelyn continued on her way back to her teammates. After maybe a minute she arrived to see blood...lots of blood, and the Director at the center of it. Her eyes widened and she ran over.

"What happened," she demanded, but the Director was already losing consciousness. Mouth gaping, Evelyn took a step back and Lillian stepped up, trying to staunch the bleeding and help the man while she floundered for an explanation.

Then came the sirens, accompanied by a sinking dread, and followed swiftly by cold fury.

Evelyn knew what she had to do.

"I can't help here," Evelyn said, turning her back on the Director. He was corrupt anways, just like the rest of the PRT.

"I'm going, I'll leave comms on." Then, her shoulders squared, she walked into the elevator, pressed the button—using her projection to sense which one without turning—and let the doors close without a single look back at her team.

She was going to get a vantage point and then use her projection to help evacuate as people arrived to help fight Behemoth.

After all, an Endbringer was the greatest evil wasn't it?

So who better than her to fight it?
Outsider


Waiting, hoping for good news, Outsider hovered just outside of the building. Then the screaming started and the sound of flames. He frowned, then something far worse occurred. Sirens. If he'd had a face his eyes and mouth would have opened wide, but as it stood he merely got a whole body shiver, which was saying something due to his size. Flashes of memory struck him. Drowning, screams, the struggles of his grandfather, the sheer destruction as water drowned a big part of his ancestry, his culture, and then the long wait after the pain—both mental and physical—of that fateful experience.

He couldn't swallow down the terror and having been dull for so long he found himself paralyzed by it. It was not until Sylph called out to him that he snapped out of the stupor. Delayed a moment, he finally acted, tendrils snaking into the building where they reached Eyeblight's human guise. Precise waves of force burst out from the tips of his tentacles, blasting away the flame even as one tendril socked him over the head hard enough to knock him out. Then one massive limb wrapped itself around Eyeblight like a cobra, leaving only enough space for him to get air, before hauling him out the window.

With the villain dealt with, he turned his mind to the greater problem. Now, steeled against his fear and able to rationalize that this wasn't Leviathan and that he wasn't that helpless boy anymore, he flew up somewhat.

"Sylph, we need to get Eyeblight to the PRT where he can be safely contained, but I can do it faster than you. You should evacuate whoever you can to the safehouses in the city."

He didn't wait for her response, but instead stretched his senses to the brink, oriented himself, and then blasted into motion—though slower than usual so as not to give Eyeblight a concussion. Swiftly he accelerated, holding the bastard against the underside of his form, still entombed by a limb. His acceleration didn't decrease as he kept flying, pushing his Vessel as fast as he could. Soon he reached the point where he could sense the HQ, at which point he slowly started decelerating. He arrived safely, touching down just outside. Gingerly he used one of his head tendrils to open the PRT building's door.

"I'm leaving Eyeblight here, he's unconscious and needs to be detained immediately." His hollow voice boomed with an alien authority as he snaked the tentacle directly into the building and then laid Eyeblight inside. That done, he closed the door just as gingerly, turned, and shot into the air almost like a bullet—blurring as he suddenly accelerated all at once.

He was on a mission and his first goal was to get as many civilians as possible to the bunkers.
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Gardevoiran The Forbidden One

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The Wards


Day of Reckoning I

Mastar slunk down from the ceiling with a gleaning smile as she slowly morphed back into the smaller form of Kendall, mask now gone and hooded cloak pulled down. They were feeling pretty proud at the current situation, considering Protean was advertised as the strongest cape that the PRT had, if not the strongest. Shame he had to fall like this though... wait, was that the Director?!

"Oh carrotsticks!" Kendall rushed over to the side of Lillian and the Director and plopped themself down. They would've put their hands on Kens and tried to help him out, but unfortunately they were at a loss of arms right now. Tragic, but it was true. All they could do was watch as the Director was having a hard time staying alive... dammit, why did this have to happen! Why now?! Today was just not shaping up to be g-

”Wards, there’s been a new development you need to see!” Decoy called out over the communicators. A nearby projector animated Patriarch’s broadcast on the wall.

Son of a radish! There was more?! Kendall watched the broadcast intently as if it was the textbook They needed to study in order to pass an exam. Not that there was anything honorable and dutiful about the broadcast that was going on, especially since Patriarch had a parahuman that he was about to... they didn't even know what was going to happen to Judah / Mantis. No matter what it was, it certainly wouldn't be good, and that's without considering that Kendall was 90% certain he broke some of the Unwritten Rules in his clever plan to show his dominance over the city. God, Kendall just wanted to beat the living tar out of him... wait, something else was happening...

The sirens. No...

There was an Endbringer coming.

Kendall panicked. There couldn't be! There just... couldn't be! How was it so perfectly timed that on the day of a Community Attack en mass on Denver that one of the Endbringers just decided to rear its ugly face around here? Why'd it have to happen?! Why did this day just have to escalate from the trash it already was?! In their panic, the tarry facade of Mastar slowly crept back out into the world, Kendall's hood coming back over their head as their strained voice started to lower one octave, and their body began to grow.

Even if the tar was running black once again, Mastar's panic was set aside when she heard Lillian speak.

"No! No, this can't be..." she muttered in disbelief. "Decoy, what do we do?"

Tulpa was running off, Tiger Lily was asking Decoy what to do... everything was disorganized and out of order. Even if it wasn't her place to speak, she felt like she just had to. She felt like she knew what to do, and she couldn't help but just blurt it out.

"Fuck it," she started with her disgust of the situation clearly evident in her voice. "I'll tell you what we do, Lily. First, we're getting the Director as far away from here as possible, meaning somebody here's calling a goddamn ambulance and we're getting that on a one-way trip to the nearest PRT we can get it to. Hell, if we can get a teleporter here that'd be just as good, if not better. After we know the Director's gonna be safe, we're going in and we're giving this Endbringer a taste of what Denver has to offer." Mastar turned towards the remaining Wards with a confident smile across her mask. "Regardless of how fuckin' dangerous this is gonna be, it's our damn jobs to fight whatever threatens the lives of the masses. I'm hella scared, and I know I'm not gonna be able to do much, but I'm getting my ass in there and I'm gonna help as much as I can."

She let that hang for a moment before she turned to Messiah. "Messiah, I'm gonna need you in my room for a bit. I'd make a saucy joke, but it's not the time. I can't defrost my spare tar in time to help the evacuation of the city, and I'm gonna need you to help me with that. I'll see you up there." Mastar quickly turned heel around her and ran towards the staircase, reverting to her more liquid form as she scaled the flights quickly.

After a quick run to her room, Mastar dropped her facade for a few minutes as she ran to the phone she had kept in the room. Kendall quickly pressed in the number they needed to call, placing the phone up to their ear immediately after using a new arm, their leg shrinking into their body before it was gone.

It rang, and it rang, and it rang one more time, before Kendall's mom finally picked up.

"Did you hear the sirens, Kendall?"

"Yeah mom."

"... then... w-what're you going to do?" Their mom was already on the verge of tears, her voice just gave that away immediately.

"... we didn't discuss this, since it wasn't a likely thing the other week when I joined... but I'm staying. I made a commitment to Denver, and... while I'm afraid of this, I'm going to keep it."

"... n-no..."

"Mom... I'm sorry I'm not coming-"

Their mom interrupted Kendall mid sentence. "No... i-it's alright! I'm... I'm just... proud of my baby..."

Kendall's face went into a soft smile, tears forming in their eyes. "You're... proud of me?"

"Kendall, me and your father have always been proud!" Kendall's mom's voice finally gave in, her crying becoming audible through the phone. "We've seen your grades, your actions, hell, we know you've always had a heart of gold and you've always liked sharing that with others! We only grew prouder of you when you became Mastar! You were bringing direct change to Denver, and we... we... oh my god, I'm so sorry I'm crying baby..."

"... I'm... I'm almost there too mom." Kendall chuckled softly before they hushed.

"... we're just... we know you're gonna do great things, and if we... if we don't see you again..."

"Mom... don't say that. We're gonna see each other again." Kendall couldn't hold it back anymore, and the softened sobs broke through the line.

"K-Kendy... this is something that kills thousands p-per attack... w-we might not see you again..."

"I-I'm... I'm..." They couldn't even say anything.

"... we love you Kendall." The mom was full on bawling on her end of the phone. "If me and your father don't make it, don't forget that..."

"... I love you guys too... I always will..."

"Now go..." Her mom sniveled, trying to regain composure. "Go be a hero! Go do what you need to do!"

"I will! I'm gonna make you guys proud!"

Kendall hung up the phone before reducing themself into a puddle and just... sinking into the ground. They couldn't cry when they didn't have tear ducts.





The True Martyr I

Fran stood in front of a TV station, staring at the televisions behind the window. Patriarch's grand show was finally going on, and even Fran had to admit it was disgusting to watch. She knew probably the most about her Father, and watching this event go on in front of her eyes was something she'd never have thought she'd witness on the other side of the spectrum. It was... more wrong than she had ever imagined.

"... I-I... I don't know what to say..."

Typical. Men. Stealing free will from others because it's their so called right. Bullshit. Fucking bullshit. Fucking worse than Mantis ever could've been. Whip wasn't too fond of the broadcasting, either, though it was clear she had her own brand of disgust towards Patriarch. He wasn't a good person, even without regards to what he was, and she loathed everything that he had directed the Community to do. Even with that, she hated the very mention of his name more than any others could ever imagine.

Oddly enough, Gaia was silent. She was seething with anger at Patriarch for revealing Judah's real name to the world, but she stayed silent all the same. She had already lost her brother, and she wasn't ready to say goodbye to another of her friends, absolutely not.

Axel was watching, too, and was very audible as he stood on his hind legs and scratched away at the glass. He was scared and worried out of his mind, and not even Gaia could calm him down.

Just before Patriarch did Mantis in, he was interrupted by something loud and blaring.

Endbringer sirens.

"Oh no..."

What.

We've gotta get Mantis. Gaia finally chimed in, saying what she felt was necessary. It seemed like a flash of movement before Fran was replaced with a limping Gaia, still bleeding from the shards of glass that impaled her skin. She was still in a lot of pain, but she didn't care one bit. She didn't even know where to go, but she was determined to trail her blood across the entire city, to every TV station, to every box, and even to Behemoth itself, in order to save Judah and get them out of there. Axel was right beside her too, walking with her every step of the way.

Whip immediately protested. Leave him. He's worth nothing. Always has been and always will be. And, fuck, look what he did to you goddammit! Look what he did to us!

"I don't care, Jen." Gaia, for maybe the first time, referred to Whipstitch by her actual name. "He's all I have left, and I'll be DAMNED if I let either Patriarch or this Endbringer kill him."

Gaia, you're not going to even make it down the block, let alone to the station Patriarch is at. We can save more people than this, we can save my family. Let me take the reigns.

Gaia still stayed in control, still moving forward despite the pain she was in. "He's my family, Fran. He's my only family. I'm gonna save him, and you can either help me or just SHUT UP!"

Fran stopped. Did Gaia just call Judah family? T-that was absurd! How could someone as twisted as Judah ever be treated as Family to someone like Gaia? As she pondered the thought, more and more similarities came up between Gaia and her. Judah really was the only person Gaia had left.

The Community had pretty much killed everyone she knew except for Healer, who was only with the crew for a short amount of time at most. Whipstitch was physically killed in the last fight. Excaliblast was being targeted right now and, for all Fran knew, was probably dead. Sparce was killed in the last fight, too, except he wasn't able to come back like Whipstitch. Kozel was killed indirectly by the Community's actions. Like it or not, she was the only one left of her ragtag assemblage of vigilantes, and Judah was the only one that she had left that she cared about. Maybe... maybe this was one thing that should go right for her.

... ... I know where they are.

"So... you're willing to help me?" Gaia asked as she pulled out her burner phone, using her teeth to pull the antenna out before dialing a number that she never thought she'd use again.

We can save my family at the station, too, but even if we couldn't... we're gonna save your family, goddammit!

"Thank you, Fran..." As the phone started ringing, Whip couldn't help but speak up again.

Fine, whatever. If you two really want to help his dirty ass, even after everything he's done to us, then fine. Let's save the fucking prick bastard.

Gaia smiled. "Glad we're all on board. Just need to make one more call..."

The voice on the other end finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Genevieve. Mind if I ask your help for one last job?"
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