[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/627389932335529985/643301012274282497/image7.jpg?width=375&height=375[/img] [h1]&[/h1] [img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/627389932335529985/643301011670433808/image5.jpg?width=375&height=375[/img][/center] [COLOR=red][INDENT][B] [SUP][SUB][H3]Memorial Service Day[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=silver]September 9th, 20XX | Memorial Event | [@AmpharosBoy] [@Akayaofthemoon][/color][/sup][/INDENT] She watched him, Mayor Norman Osborn, as he approached the podium and found herself thinking that he looked nothing like how he appeared on TV but maybe it was because she had never paid much attention before. He still was clean cut, shaven, and dressed to the nines but there was something about his eyes that just seemed tired or like something was off. It was like this was just one more stress or worry he had added onto his shoulders to weight him down which shouldn’t have been all that surprising given his position and the company he was a part of but somehow, it was still concerning to Reyna. The discordant cry from the microphone before he started his speech had the crowd hushing, hanging to hear his words about the situation but it seemed he was struggling the further along he went. She wondered if he was just too emotional about this topic but maybe he has lost someone as well or possibly it was more about his health than anything as he had stopped to cough more than once. In any case, he took his leave from the stage as his assistant took over from there. It was a mixed feeling, listening to the speech that was held. It felt good to know that the people lost would be remembered, that it wouldn’t be swept under the rug and forgotten whether justice was found or not. Only time would tell if this promise came to fruition but at least it might give hope to the citizens and families. She hated cops, found them to be useless and two faced but even she had to admit, they had done good. Reyna didn’t know them, she could just pin it as a publicity stunt to make the department look good but it could also be what it appeared to be and that some people actually cared. It wasn’t hard to say that she didn’t trust it at all. She didn’t trust that they were really trying to help. She wasn’t sure she trusted that they were really trying to find the culprits and even if they were, what did they expect to find? Someone who creates and does what they did wouldn’t make themselves easy to find. It was laughable to think that they were even trying to give that empty promise. No, it would take more than cops to handle the situation. Reyna didn’t exactly know the people that would be able to but it wasn’t the city cops. She has to give them props for trying to make things right though. She found herself turning her attention to the crowd while the speaker spoke of togetherness and understanding. It was a nice thought but at the same time it wasn’t completely comforting. Were they really strong? Were they really together? Would they stand together? She didn’t know. Suddenly, she felt like she had been sucker punched and was unable to breath, the world around her being tuned out as if she was floating underwater and feeling slow. She felt panicked, shaky, and a tingling sensation that was telling her to run. She needed to get out of here. No, her eyes setting to the tall auburn haired man next to her, they needed to get out of here. Normally she would ignore the feeling but this was far too strong to pass off. Stretching out her hand, she gently held his sleeve and opened her mouth to speak but stopped short at the light rumble under her feet. That feeling pressed harder, her head searing slightly in pain having a sudden migraine and her guts felt like it was filled with butterflies. Another rumble, harder and larger than before shook below the crowd causing what had started as a gentle tug of Von’s sleeve to be more of a firm hold without her meaning to. The boom had her brown eyes locked to the distance even though the cause was just beyond where her sight reached. The screech of metal and something completely inhuman caused a chill to run up her spine and froze her to the spot even as people rushed past to try and get away from the situation. No one could blame them if this was the same attack as before but even if it wasn’t, it sounded none too pleasant. A curious part of her wanted to check it out, see what was happening and what she could do to help since she felt a tug of longing to go in that direction but at the same time, her being screamed to run and flee from the obvious danger. Besides, wasn’t it like a hero rule that you should keep your civilian identity hidden? Like, who wants their loved ones in danger or their normal lives turned upside down? But what if she could help stop this? Yeah, some weird stuff happened this morning but that didn’t mean she was fit for this situation, right? What should she do?! She noticed a few people rushing towards the danger instead of away and she bit her lip lightly while trying to make a decision before she looked up to her companion. [i]'[color=gray]Don't panic. You're not alone.[/color]'[/i] Those words echoed through her mind and while she shrugged it off as her thoughts trying to calm her down and mixing with part of the speech she had just heard, it did help her feel a bit more relaxed and she focused on what she should do. What felt right? It didn’t matter that the voice was male and not one that she would ever think up. She couldn’t let herself be flustered by that now or worry if she might seriously be going crazy. She could go, try to see if that weird thing from this morning happened again and could be put to good use but that would leave Von alone and she would rather assist him or other people that needed help to get away then go hurling herself into danger when she could make a difference here. She would always choose to protect someone first so why stop now? [color=red]”Von, we should get out of here and get to safety.”[/color] [hr] Adalbert held respect for Norman Osborn; He was a brilliant man, and successful to boot without having a similar worth to dirt like another man he could think of. Speaking of which... Was he watching right now? Von tilted his head to the left, then to the right, eying cameras filming the memorial service and assumedly broadcasting it live on television. The speech surely fell short for a decent amount of the crowd, but Von himself was fairly neutral in the situation. They seemed to be doing their best, but noone's best was exactly enough for a situation like this. All those casualties, and the culprit was probably long gone. Or closer than he'd consider to be comfortable... Maybe it was a few too many movies, but for all he knew, the one responsible could be in this very crowd. Whoever it was and wherever they were, surely they had no intentions of getting caught easily. Though Von himself would love to see it done, he just wasn't seeing it happening. Despite usually hating being proven wrong, he wouldn't mind being wrong this one time. If he heard on the news that the culprit was brought into custody, he'd be relieved. Unfortunately a lot of people were going to be spending their days scared of what the hell could happen next: For however long until people began to put it behind them or it was wrapped up somewhat soundly. He just had to be glad he was alive. For whatever reason he was lucky enough to actually survive, and with those... Bizarre after effects of the incident. He looked down at his hand, recalling the moment of his discovery. He still didn't understand it, but hell, he felt great: And it wasn't from his usual workout. Well, maybe partially? Wall-crawling wasn't a benefit of his weekly routine, though. At least it wasn't until now! Despite the general downer atmosphere, he managed a smug grin due to amusing himself. [Center][h1][color=ed1c24]!!![/color][/h1][/Center] That smugness quickly faded, however. He had no idea what caused him to suddenly feel so down, but something was filling him with what he could only identify as [i]fear.[/i] He could feel himself turning pale, a cold sweat dripping down his brow as the ground began to rumble. He felt Reyna tug on his sleeve, but he only shot her a short momentary glance before focusing on the fact that something was [i]here.[/i] Ungodly metallic noises, flames, more noise that somehow was worse than the metal and burning flames. This wasn't just some sort of bomb, it was like something... [i]Alive[/i] was over there. [sub][color=silver]"Christ..."[/color][/sub] Von spoke under his breath, thinking about what to do. He knew he was... More capable than the average man at this point, but he was feeling a bit naked without the gear he was working on. Plus... He had no idea what the situation actually was. Scouting it out might be ideal, though considering whatever was over there didn't seem intent on stopping anytime soon, perhaps waiting was the coward's thing to do. [center][i]'[color=gray]Don't panic. You're not alone.[/color]'[/i][/center] Von knew the handsome voice that was usually in his head, and whatever just came into his mind was most certainly not it. Whatever foreign voice was in his mind, he didn't take much from it until Reyna caught his attention: Whatever that voice was, it was correct: He wasn't alone. Reyna's insistence on getting to safety made it click in his mind that she wasn't safe here: He knew he had a few tricks up his sleeve, but she was definitely in danger here: He could scout out the situation while he got her out of harm's way. Seemed simple to him. [color=silver]"Right, let's get [sub]you--[/sub]"[/color] He stopped and quickly began correcting himself: [color=silver]"Let's get out of here."[/color] [color=a187be]"You two!"[/color] A voice called out, catching Von's attention: A red-haired woman was looking their way, seeming to be aiding with the evacuation effort. [color=a187be]"It's not safe out here! Get to the tent with everyone else!"[/color] Von wasn't usually one to be bossed around by just anyone on the street, but the woman barked at him like a scolding mother and he needed to get Reyna out of the way of whatever was happening, so for the moment at least he figured the best thing to do was comply. [color=silver][sub]"It's probably the safest spot for the moment. Best to just go with it for now, right?"[/sub][/color] He whispered to Reyna, a quick tilt of his head gesturing towards the tent as he tried to keep himself calm. She gave a small nod and a weak smile, glad that Von had agreed with her. She had been afraid he might rush straight into the danger given he had chased down the photographer which could have been a horrible confrontation if one was not careful. People were capable of horrible things after all. The sudden call of a woman’s voice rang out, her attention drifted in their direction before doing a quick scan if ‘you two’ was seriously meant for her or not before a frown etched on her features. This is why she hated cops, always barking orders but not paying attention to the whole situation. Why had they been picked out? Cause they were closer or what? She also didn’t take kindly at being told what to do either. She wanted to sass back at the red head, tell her that she could do as she pleased but at the same time, the cop wasn’t wrong. It was Von’s whisper that brought her out of her musings. The cop, while right in her statement might have been easy to ignore but having it confirmed by her companion and being rational that it might be the best spot for now, she found herself nodding. [color=red][sub]”Yeah, we should.”[/sub][/color]. That being said, she finally let go of his sleeve and tried to ignore her embarrassment at her earlier reaction and started in the direction of the tent. Von placed a hand on Reyna's back, as a light way of urging her along to get out of here. He couldn't help but turn his head and look back at the carnage behind him, biting his lower lip in frustration. Shit, it looked bad. And that feeling he had right as things began to happen? That sure as hell wasn't normal, at least for him. Whatever the hell was causing that carnage, it was out of the league of the cops. Which raised the question of why that woman wasn't following them to the tent, causing him to momentarily stop and turn to look at her, observing as she seemed to scan the area. [color=silver]"Shouldn't you be coming?"[/color] He questioned, a hint of snark in his voice. The woman turned, seeming ready to shout at him to keep going, but instead she stepped up to him with urgency. [color=a187be]"Did you by chance see a girl? Around five feet, red hair, long-sleeve black shirt?"[/color] She questioned, eyes still darting around. Von realized this was probably someone close to the woman, and couldn't hide the small frown forming on his face. This situation was stressful enough being here with people you only somewhat knew, this lady seemed eager to find whoever this girl was. Despite coming off as a bit pushy earlier, her intentions seemed good. [color=silver]"I'm sure she's been evacuating with everyone else, ma'am. She probably just didn't stand out in the crowd rushing towards the tent. I'll help you look once we're there, alright?"[/color] The woman looked over her shoulder, exhaling a long, stressed breath before looking back at Von. [color=a187be]"Thank you."[/color] [color=silver]"There's time for that later,"[/color] Von replied, turning and picking up his pace somewhat. [color=silver]"What's her name?"[/color] [color=a187be]"Lindy,"[/color] The woman replied. [color=a187be]"She's my daughter."[/color] Von nodded his head. Now he had another reason to get to that tent; A kid was missing. And that was an emergency in itself, as kids didn't need to get caught up in this shit. Now he had two objectives: Get Reyna safely in that tent, and find this girl. If it turned out she wasn't in there already, he... Wasn't quite sure what he'd do. He'd figure it out once he got to that point. All he could do is keep moving. She let herself be led forward, not really minding too much since it helped her not to look back at the mess behind her. If she thought too much on it then she might just do something stupid or foolish that she was not prepared to handle. The pause in steps beside her had Reyna doing the same, her attention turning to Von before he followed his gaze to the woman behind them. It almost looked like she was scanning, maybe she was taking the time to look for more people out in the open? It was still a bit curious. She couldn’t help but smirk a little at the slight snarky question that he shot at the officer but that snapped off her features fast. The cop wasn’t looking for more people, she was looking for a person. A single person. That one made her chill, her blood like ice in her veins and her heart clench. Von was probably right. The girl was probably just lost in the crowded tent and was looking for her just as this woman was searching. She could imagine the person being lost and scare, desperately trying to make sure her mother was alright. Reyna made you her mind, determination in her eyes as she spoke up for the first time since the two started conversing. [color=red]”I will also help you find Lindy. Don’t worry, with three pairs of eyes, we will find her in no time.”[/color], she stated seriously, leaving off the fact that if they didn’t find her inside then she would brave searching further than that. She wasn’t about to let someone get hurt. Not this woman, not Von, and not Lindy. She would do what it took even if it cost her. [color=red]”Come on! There is no time to waste!”[/color], grabbing both their hands and leading them to the tent. The sooner these two were away from danger and the sooner she found this woman’s daughter the better.