[right][h3]Wisp[/h3]Sheila Hopkins

[i]Streets of Denver[/i][/right][hr]


Wisp stumbled when the ground rocked beneath her feet from Behemoth's roar. A nearby woman stabilized her, and looking towards her she briefly thought she had been caught by Alexandria before realising it most assuredly wasn't, though the costume heavily reminded of the Triumvirate. Regardless, Wisp nodded her thanks and made her way to join S&R.


[color=yellow]‘You, you're Wisp, right?’[/color] Inkscape suddenly asked her, when she had been hanging back for some time. 


[color=97d5e6]‘Y-yes!’[/color] Wisp stammered. [color=97d5e6]‘I shoot light, see in all directions, create small illusions of light unlikely to fool Behemoth…’[/color] she rambled on, unaware how much to say.


[color=yellow]‘It'd make us happy if you could talk to us more directly after this, the Protectorate exists to help,’[/color] the octopus case 53 told her, and Wisp recoiled somewhat. This was the Protectorate member she had been the most afraid of, being found while invisible and suddenly tied by his ink… and he was speaking to her so kindly. Wisp was so happy she hadn't come as Creep.


[color=yellow]‘Alright, be our scout! I'll assign you a flyer, so head for the brink of damaged areas, use that perfect sight of yours to find people in need of help and report their locations!’[/color] Inkscape told her, and Wisp blinked in surprise. Surely, flyers had better things to do than carrying HER around!?


Regardless, a flier flew close and landed beside her. A young boy, her age, dark costume, who gave her a smile. [color=slateblue]‘Hi, I'm Persist! I'm a bit of an Alexandria package, though not take-on-Behemoth level. I'm gonna move debris and save people, and occasionally take you along for the ride!’[/color] 


Wisp nodded to him, and also got told to be in contact with Hellbent, another Brute that was in charge of a bunch of rescuers. That was fine. [color=slateblue]‘I'm a villain, though, you don't mind?’[/color] Persist told her. Wisp was suddenly somewhat more worried about being carried by him, but shook her head. 


[color=97d5e6]‘It doesn't matter. Take me around,’[/color] Wisp said. Persist grabbed her and flew, still under the height of the buildings until they reached the area of devastation. … It was horrible. As the one person who had to take in it all, to look over every detail to see who could be saved and who was already dead, Wisp couldn't close her eyes. Soon enough… 


[color=97d5e6]‘There!’[/color] She said, while directing small arrows of light for Persist to see. Wisp took out her communicator. [color=97d5e6]‘Three injured capes needing serious medical attention found in-’[/color] and then she used some street names only someone who knew Denver would know.


[color=lightcoral]‘Where is that?’[/color] Hellbent asked on the other side. 


[color=97d5e6]‘A-at the ray of light!’[/color] Wisp replied instinctively, reaching into her pocket and lighting her powerful flashlight, directing it all up in the sky as a focused spotlight with her power, and if that wouldn't actually be visible she could use the green laser-pointer instead.


[color=lightcoral]‘I see it. Sending rescuers,’[/color] Hellbent said, and Wisp breathed out in relief.


This continued, Wisp carried around and pointing the way for other capes. Numerous times Persist was needed elsewhere and Wisp proceeded on foot for a while, but then he came back. On this journey, she saw many things she'd never have wanted to see. So many dead people that she couldn't help. It was heartwrenching. In the distance, she could occasionally see Behemoth, fighting light beasts and beams and other strong capes. How she regretted that she couldn't count herself among their number.


… Wisp glimpsed Behemoth's eye for just a moment. The eye… Wisp's usual primary target to blind an opponent. There, uh… was no way Behemoth would be blinded if she shot enough light at that, right? No way Legend or other capes hadn't already tried shooting that to see if it was a weak point. Trying to shoot that herself would be reckless, stupid and her time was better spent S&Ring…


Then communications briefly went down. Wisp still announced injured people by flashing light into the sky, somewhat worried Behemoth would get interested by the lights and come her way, but she continued. Then she wondered why communications would go down, and…


And she came around a corner, currently on foot, in time to see the PRT building being struck with a bolt of lightning. In horror she identified Salem, far too close to Behemoth for comfort. Then… Inkscape attacked. Wisp found herself in his path as he went through, draining her costume of white pigment before she could react. She looked on in shock as Inkscape pounded on Behemoth… before finally being bursted, his life ending. There too she saw Salem hit by debris, her insides wavering at the sight.


Wisp had seen all this… by using her powers to look around a corner, from relative safety.


Inkscape was the respected leader of the local Protectorate, whom she had hoped to one day serve under and dreaded meeting during her days as a villain, and had also just shown her kindness. Somehow, she’d always trusted him to keep Denver safe, no matter what happened. She hadn't known him, but she had looked up to him. Salem was her dear friend who had accepted to join her in villainy and capedom despite all it meant for his life, standing solidly though awkwardly at her side, who she'd feel eternally guilty about thrusting into this. She knew him, oh, so personally. Perhaps, one day, she could imagine to even be willing to…


As far as she knew, they were both likely dead at the hands of Behemoth. Wisp made her decision.


So what if Wisp's light probably wouldn't bother him!? WHAT IF her beams of light actually had the property that they blinded the people she hit in all dimensions at once or something similarly dumb, and that somehow allows her to blind Behemoth when nobody else could, and she just didn't know!? What then, huh!? She could have the perfect weapon against him, and just not know it! She had to at least [i]TRY![/i]


Wisp ran across streets to get in front of Behemoth. She lit all her laser pointers and flashlight in her pockets, directing their light to swirl around her. She still reported wounded where she could, shooting some rays of light into the air above, starting with Salem and others hurt on the scene. However, her goal was now separate. As she ran, others only saw a ball of darkness running because Wisp was letting no light out of her range for them to see. It was her ammunition, only the barest minimum was sent to her eyes so she could still see around her and detect wounded. She was going to shoot Behemoth.


Finally, she arrived. She was, on a fair amount of distance, in front of Behemoth. Swirling around her was an unseen massive beam of light, which Wisp was honestly struggling to control, more laser and light joining by the second. She'd never show herself directly to Behemoth, using her power to take aim past a corner, but the time had come. Wisp swallowed.


[color=97d5e6]‘Alright. Showtime, you oversized lightning-controlling piece of-’[/color]


All the light, all the lasers and all the energy currently at Wisp's disposal focused into a single point within her range, swirling around her. She bent the directions of all the light, taxing her Thinker-power to the absolute max so that all the photons or whatever swirling around her converged into a single supercondensed point of lasers and light…!


[color=97d5e6]‘Take this-!’[/color]


She sent the created point forth past the corner as a single burst at Behemoth. No enduring beam, just a single blast focused to be as powerful as Wisp could possibly make it, shot at lightspeed straight into Behemoth's eye. For an instant, Behemoth's eye lit up brightly enough to momentarily blind as Wisp's super-laser burst hit, a burst powerful enough to burn any eye slamming into Behemoth for an instant… 


Behemoth didn't even flinch.


Wisp took a moment.


Then she ran.

[hider]Not away, I'll clarify, she ran to get out of range from Behemoth's possible revenge and then to do more S&R, but that doesn't make for as good a finish to the post.[/hider]