[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210704/13350b3180ac178e15e786ba11151834.png[/img] [indent][sub]September 21st, 2064 Aboard N-Train Brookside, South Castle Island[/sub][/indent] Sonic blasts, at the right amplitude and aimed at the right place, could easily be lethal. If not resulting in casualties, sonic blasts were more than strong enough to snap bones as if they were balsa wood. Miles wasn't sure [i]exactly[/i] how much damage had been done by the pirate, but it was pretty bad. Miles felt a wave of intense pain shoot through his body as he fell to the ground, body slumped against the wall, a few droplets of blood trickling from his lip. His right hand felt around his jacket as the man aimed the sonic blaster at him again. Though Miles was in pain, he was not in fear, as he had noticed the door to the traincar had opened, something the pirate clearly did not. Miles instead just closed his eyes as he heard a very loud [i]crack,[/i] and when he re-opened them, he saw the armored man lying in a heap on top of his buddy. The young hero gave a weak smile. [color=D2042D]"Th-that was pretty sick,"[/color] Miles expressed fondly as he continued to pat his coat, eventually finding what he was looking for and removing it- a clear cylinder, about as long and somewhat thinner than a soda can, full of some sort of red liquid. Miles avoided Sophia's eye contact sheepishly. [color=D2042D]"Y-you might f-find this weird. Err, you c-can look away,"[/color] Miles said with a tinge of red flooding his cheeks for the who knows time that afternoon, before pressing the cylinder to his lips and drinking the substance. If the sight wasn't disturbing, the clacking sound of bones welding themselves back together, would most certainly be enough to bother those that were not blessed with a particularly strong stomach. Miles' veins and eyes emitted a faint crimson glow. The vampiric teenager stood, stretching his arms. [color=D2042D]"Thanks for the hand, Soph,"[/color] Miles quipped with more confidence now as he scooped up the downed pirate's sonic blaster, aiming it at the door. [color=D2042D]"Oh, and cover your ears,"[/color] he added before firing a powerful blast at the door to the train's cab, knocking the door right off its hinges. Two pirates immediately rushed to see what the commotion was about, but they were promptly dispatched with another sonic blast that caused them to howl, clutch their ears, and topple over at Miles' feet. [color=D2042D]"Looks like the conductor's down. Maybe you could amplify him or something?"[/color] Miles noted, his voice sounding more like Harrison Ford and less like Porky Pig as he stepped over the downed guards and entered the cab. Indeed, the conductor was also sprawled on the ground, his body occasionally twitching to show that he was not gone, just likely electrocuted very, very badly. Miles made his way over to the dashboard, running his fingers over the holographic keys. [color=D2042D]"Good news, still getting a read on the bomb, which means that whoever's defending it is doing a pretty good job. Sent out an alert to Assistant Director Blum, the police, and the ATF, so I think that means we're in the clear. Nice defense work."[/color] Miles propped himself up onto the table, running a hand through his coal-black hair and facing towards Sophia, presenting himself with a swagger that was simply not there before. Whatever was in that cylinder (hint: it was blood) had clearly caused some sort of change. Most likely temporary, but a change nonetheless. [color=D2042D]"So, about those tapes,"[/color] the pale youth said with a confident smirk. [color=D2042D]"I'd love to stop by and watch them. Maybe we could get a bite to eat, too? There's a new Fogo de Chão opened in New Athens, heard they have drones that zoom around with the meat skewers. Sounds sick,"[/color] Miles proposed. [color=D2042D]"How does that sound?"[/color] The extra dose of blood in Miles' system almost functioned as alcohol, inhibiting what would have been a wall of shame that would have prevented the offer from even coming from his mouth. However, blood did not grant Miles 360-degree vision, and with Miles facing inwards towards Sophia instead of outwards towards the window, he could not see that there was a woman standing on the tracks. The woman was massive (Miles would guess a few inches taller than himself), with coal-black skin, a muscular frame, cropped dark hair, and a huge silver prosthetic in place of her right arm. This woman was Commander Angela Woods, also known as Lightning Rod, a mercenary with the power to fire powerful bolts of lightning through her robot arm and a second-in-command to the Captain, Sam Everett. Miles also could not see that this woman was pointing her robot arm, which was equipped with a powerful cannon function, directly at the back of Miles' head, a thin blue laser reflecting through the traincar window's glass and lining up with the teenage hero's skull. Meanwhile, inside the train car that the heroes were [i]supposed[/i] to protect, an entire siege was underway. Shrieking blasts of sound resonated through the car as the soldiers fired, but a few of the pirates were incapacitated. One of them was smacked upside the head with a baseball bat and crashed into another, one was hit in the guts with a blast of ice and toppled to the ground, another was stuck inside the ceiling, and another pirate, very embarrassingly, had collapsed after having an allergic reaction to one of the chemicals in the vape smoke still lingering in the car. Despite their experience, the men were losing. Not only losing, but losing badly. The sound of a chainsaw revving would quickly restore the morale to the remaining pirates. A blue blade of energy slashed through the wall of the traincar, cutting a huge circle into the side of the car. When the new opening fell, standing there was a burly man wearing a shoddy leather mask and holding an energy chainsaw. One of the other Commanders of the Rocketeers, Sawyer Briggs, a.k.a. "Chainsawyer." Chainsawyer had gone on a killing spree back in the 40s before being caught, but the Rocketeers destroyed his prison transport vehicle, and inducted him into their cause. Chainsawyer is well-known in the criminal underworld for being absolute and totally insane. Chainsawyer swung his laser-edge chainsaw behind him, cutting the coupling behind him and causing the caboose of the train holding the weapon to lurch away from the rest of the car. The deranged man revved up his chainsaw, looking at the four heroes onboard as he revved the blade. "It's time for some fun." With that, Chainsawyer lurched forwards, swinging his dangerous lumber-cutting weapon around the room wildly. The tip of the blade caught Viper and sent a smattering of blood and guts across the inside of the car. The maniac turned before rushing directly at Marcie, chainsaw at the ready, with no qualms as to who his next victim was and in how many pieces they ended up in. [/center] [hr][hr] [center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210709/b22ae4be00e0e4b32bde4de9ad8fe516.png[/img] [indent][sub]September 21st, 2064 Academy of Young Heroes Lighthouse Island, Castleburg[/sub][/indent] The ringleader of the group, Ricky, the redhead (or alternatively, the one that was smoking profusely) made a face. "Too many questions. Seriously. I mean, did we kill people? Hell no. We don't do that shit. Did we get away with stuff? I mean, if I told you, I'd have to kill you," Ricky added with a smarmy smirk. "We've already discussed this, though, and we're not gonna be, like, goody two-shoes or anything. Superheroes are lame. You guys are getting schooled by robot cops. I mean, that's kinda embarassing right?" Ricky laughed as the rest of the kids murmured in ascent. At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Principal Lee stepped in for a moment. "I see you guys are already getting along! Isn't that just lovely? Anyway, why don't you guys head out to the yard? You can use all the equipment to show them how to use their powers for good! Plus, there's a bouncy castle out there! It was for another student whose power is jumping, but if there's one thing I love, it's multi-use items! That, and English literature, but I gave up those dreams a while ago." As Mrs. Lee spoke, she quite stealthily passed a piece of paper to the person nearest to her, which happened to be Lucas. The scrap of paper read:[/center] [quote=Principal B. Lee]planning 'fake' villain attack. show them how exciting superheroes can be. try not to do too much damage. pass it on. [/quote] [center]Principal Lee smiled warmly and handed Rory (like all teachers, she quickly picked favorites) the cell key, before turning to Jeremy. "Mr. Lindall, can I borrow you for a moment?" Principal Lee then walked off, leaving the rest of the kids to go play with their superpowers in the yard before guiding Jeremy off in a separate direction.[hr] The yard was an excellent place to test powers out. A large open area in the courtyard of the building, with all sorts of small things set up. Obstacle courses, target practice, all sorts of things were spread out on the grassy area. On the rooftop of the building, a few individuals in fake SWAT armor examined the yard. They were masquerading as abductors as part of the plot to turn the kids over to the side of good, though in reality, they were part of a much more sadistic and evil occupation- orchestra teachers. Unfortunately, the Academy's funding for the arts leaves much to be desired, so the orchestra teachers were helping out for an extra check bonus tacked onto their salary for being human punching bags for these superhuman teenagers. It was like proctoring the SATs, except less painful. Luckily there were no [i]actual[/i] threats on the island, though, right?[hr] Meanwhile, Principal Lee guided the older teacher in the opposite direction, back where they came from, towards the front of the school. As she walked briskly, she spoke a bit more casually, though it was clear that she was still quite stressed. "I hope you found your...I guess we can call it a sabbatical? Your sabbatical enjoyable. Or at least, you accomplished what you set out to do. We're glad to have you back, either way." Barbara gave a shaky, stressed smile as she opened the front doors of the building. "Anyway, somebody heard you were back and wanted to meet you." Barbara stepped out onto the front lawn. There, in the late summer sky, an object was speeding towards the Academy; in fact, it was heading directly towards Jeremy. It was seeming more and more like the worst assassination attempt ever until the object swirled around midair and landed on the ground elegantly, revealing itself to be not an object, but a person, albeit one that was heavily armored with what appeared to be large black crystals welded together by some sort of purple energy. These strange crystals covered the entirety of the mystery person's body, including their head, with the crystals forming a strange, dragon-like mask. The mystery person glared directly at Jeremy for a few moments before snapping their fingers, and as if by magic, the crystals split apart and crumbled off the person's body. As the crystals fell, they shifted into each other and compacted into a small cube of black crystals, revealing the person beneath the armor as a slender young woman in her early 20s, wearing a dark bodysuit. She had bushy mahogany-brown hair, pointed Asiatic features, green eyes, and a healthy smattering of freckles. Anybody in Castleburg that didn't know who this girl was had either been living under a rock for the past year or was on some sort of crazy adventure, as the biracial young lady was none other than Cloudrunner, the famed S-tier superhero, world-class telekinetic, and one-half of the famous Hero Twins alongside her partner Dimension. To those that knew her, though, she was just Jenna Rees, the daughter of two well-known superheroes, a prodigal pianist, polyglot, and all-around nerd. She was also a hugger, which was evidenced by the fact that as soon as the armor had escaped her person, she engulfed the older man in a hug. [color=a187be]"Mr. Lindall! It's been forever! How are you? Oh, Mom and Dad said hi, by the wall. Charlie also told me to say hi, but he's...well, you know what he's like. I heard you were back from your trip and I had to come to say hello! How have you been? What was it like? Where did you go? I have a lot of questions. But I'm so glad you're back safe and sound!"[/color] [/center]