@BunniesOfDoom @Finetales

Abigail “Abby” Blavatsky

The reporter was still in a haze from the fight before. Her eyes unsquinting as she stopped glaring at the girl on the stage. A thought in her mind that seemed to make her quite anxious was whether she had a concussion. She had been kicked in the face quite hard. So that would not be something out of the realm of possibility. Her hand moved to the bridge of her nose. And as she did this, she let out a pained grunt. It was broken and would need to be mended. Her finger moved from the bridge of her nose to underneath her nostrils. Wiping off some of the blood leaking out. She looked at her bloody finger with some fascination. This was not the first time she had seen blood. She had killed the occasional rat, bird, or bug several times. Studying their insides and the way their blood splattered on the wall and floor. As well as the many times she saw her blood.

Her finger moved into her mouth, staring at it, and she suck on it in a lewd manner. It tasted quite good to Abby. Her eyes moved back to the angelic hero coming towards the villain. Now, things were going to get very exciting. She brought up her camera and took pictures of the hero’s descent towards the stage. Taking a picture of the impact of her slamming into the girl on the stage. She hoped the photos she took would be good to use in her article. She followed them onto the field by jumping onto the stage and through the canvas. Moving around, she was standing at the side of the battle. She took more pictures of the angelic hero ready to strike the villain.

But she pulled the camera down from her face, looking quite flabbergasted. Watching the villain kissing the hero on the lips. Pausing momentarily, she didn’t know what the villain was planning by kissing the hero. She assumed it was some kind of distraction. A little part of her was pretty jealous that she was being kissed. An embrace like that was something she had never experienced before. It was something she desired deeply. To be loved and embraced like the Princess at the end of a storybook. And was oddly reminded of videos that started with two girls kissing on the internet. Lifting her camera to take another picture before stopping. The thought of the girl trying to escape again was not something she’d let happen. From what she had just experienced a couple of minutes ago, it made her quite livid.

Abby could feel an intense throbbing headache starting to form in the front of her head, like someone applying direct pressure to her skull. The floor rumbled around them as the ground shook The blood from her broken nose was now becoming more pronounced, staining her face, chin, neck, and shirt. Noticeable bulging and throbbing veins were present on her forehead. Her sharp blue eyes stared at the girl with intense hatred. Nearby trees were ripped out of the ground and started swirling around Abby. Slowly walking towards them, making a tree or two fly towards them.

And as this was happening, all Abby could hear was both laughing at her and throwing childish insults at her. The villainous girl's face transformed into the face of one of the doctors who had experimented on her. This, along with the other hallucinations pissed her off quite alot. The girl was her primary target. But she didn't care if the hero got caught in the crossfire.

“You'll have to kill me else I'll do it again. And again. And again. Can you do that, angel? Can you kill someone in cold blood?”

Kate was taken out of the moment with the strange woman's dare and let out a hearty laugh, before looking back down at the woman with her smile gone. "I've killed thousands...one is nothing."

Eris was taken aback by the woman's response, her eyes growing wide with a wild glint. "Oh, that's hot."

Kate tilted her head and contorted her face in confusion. This woman was clearly on a different wavelength than anyone Kate had encountered on battlefields past. She had to admit, it was a refreshing change of pace, but she also didn't appreciate being distracted so much. Thankfully, her mind returned to the situation at hand by the noise she heard...or rather, the lack of it. It seemed the chaos in the crowd had subsided since Kate had tackled the woman. It worked! But she still had to deal with the woman herself. She mentally shook her head at the woman's next quip...a goddess Kate may have been, but she was useless in a medical emergency. After all, she was the goddess of war, not the goddess of healing. But before she could reply, the strange woman pulled her close and...kissed her??? Between the kiss itself and the fact that this woman was apparently melting into the ground, Kate found herself uncharacteristically confused. She clearly still had a lot to learn about this world, and worse still was the fact that she wasn't entirely mad at being kissed. "What...was that...?" she whispered to the woman, a bewildered look on her face.

A sick grin crossed Eris's face as she leaned forward once more, placing a hand on the girl's cheek. She was about to respond about liking a hero who could throw her around when the sounds of tree roots ripping from the ground echoed. Her eyes snapped over to the newcomer and she frowned fiercely.

"I'm gonna need you to hold your breath." She reached up with a her free hand to grab a hold of the front of her outfit before she flung herself back, pulling the two into the ground. Any projectiles thrown their way crashed into the liquid ground and began to sink but they were safe under it all. Of course, they couldn't see since there was no light to be found underground and it wasn't a good idea to keep your eyes open in liquid earth. Eris pulled them along, groping around until she found the barrier of solid earth where her magic ended. She dug her hands in, clawing along the wall until they pushed through the surface again. Crawling their way out of the ground, Eris took a deep breath before looking ahead at the enraged telepath. "Oye! Get your own hero! This one is mine!"

Kate managed to hold her breath just in time, completely unsure of what was going on but hating every second. Somehow her brain had calculated that this strange woman that had just kissed her was more trustworthy than whoever had just thrown what sounded like a tree at them, but she wasn't happy that her brain had reached that conclusion. In any case, the second they left the ground and were back on the surface, Kate shot up with her wings to distance herself from both strange women who were apparently very interested in throwing either things or themselves at her. Before she could say anything to either, the first strange woman called out to the other and claimed possession of Kate? This caused Kate to violently shake her head, wishing for this apparent free-for-all to be over. "I hated that," she said to the woman below her, not even acknowledging the tree-thrower. "And I am most certainly not 'yours'," she said with a snarl.

Eris peered up at the angry angel, a sly grin crossing her features. ""Oh come on! You came to get me first, right? Some crazy telepath doesn't get to keep you just cause she can throw trees-" She peered around at the items flying about in a vortex, ""And signs. Is that a car?" She frowned at the overpowering sight before her as she turned her eyes once more on the photographer. ""Okay, I'm a little jealous. I wanna throw cars! You work with what you got, I guess." She shook out her arms, loosening her shoulders as she smiled at the enraged woman. ""Let's see how we can do this, yeah." She summoned condensed chaos into her hands and launched a bolt at the woman before compressing it down into stepping stones. These stones acted as a trail for her to follow as she stepping up into the air, quickly joining the angel there in the sky. ""You think she can hit this high?"

"I'm not hers either!" Kate exclaimed, growing more agitated. "Are you two fighting over me right now?! Can we just-" She was interrupted by a car flying directly at her. Without time to fly out of its path, in a split second Kate manifested a great sword, set it alight with flame, and sliced the car in two as it reached her, sending the two halves past her on either side. She turned to look at the first woman, who was now standing next to her in the air because of course she was. "You know, I actually do think she can hit this high," Kate said sarcastically.

Eris peered down at the woman, stroking her chin in thought for a moment. She ran a bit away from Kate, watching as the woman followed her path before hurrying back to the angel's side. ""Oh yeah, no. It's definitely me. Jealous?" She said with a snicker as she peered up at the angel with raised eyebrows.

Kate rolled her eyes. "It is not physically possible for me to be less jealous of you than I am right now," she said with an annoyed edge. Finally, she acknowledged the other woman. "Will you stop throwing things?! Whose side are you on??"

Eris chuckled lightly as she turned back to the woman on the ground. ""Yeah! Go away! I had a good thing going here!"

@Finetales@BunniesOfDoom@Eviledd1984

Dr. Eileen Fang

@Omega Man @Crimson Flame

"Deputized? Tch! I don't need no seal of approval from no pig, a 'Superpig', no less," Eileen thought quietly to herself, but Little Guy brought up a good point, Eileen needed legitimacy to enact her plans. But more pressing than that, she had certainly committed vandalism and breaking and entering when she came into this office building, and she didn't want to get caught or fined for property damage. Eileen quietly slunk out of the building and took a twisting route through some alleys before arriving at the parking lot where her car was. Taking off her mask and returning the walking drone carrier back into her car's trunk, Eileen sat in the driver's seat to carry on her conversation with the other two heroes.

As Son of Liberty leapt out of the bank carrying Spellbound, Eileen commanded the drone to latch onto Spellbound's cape. When they stopped, the drone detached and made itself known, so as not to eavesdrop in secret. Eileen didn't want to lose this opportunity to interact with other heroes, especially ones as green as herself. The younger they were and the less entrenched they were with the status quo, the easier they could be shown what was wrong with the world and convinced to do something about it.

At Son of Liberty's question, Eileen decided to be honest, speaking through her drone, "I'm not gonna lie, I am skeptical of the government. But as hero hopefuls, I understand the need to operate with legitimacy, through the proper channels, and in concert with law enforcement. I'll look up this 'Supercop', but maybe we can apply together? Maybe even form a team? Even though I'm a woman of science, I do think that destiny has put us together." While this last bit was maybe a little sappy, magic was real, and Eileen was not so arrogant as to ignore its potential power even if she didn't yet understand it.

@BunniesOfDoom @Finetales

Abigail “Abby” Blavatsky

Abby clicked her tongue loudly when she noticed the tree had missed its target. The top part of the tree was visible above the asphalt after it sunk into the ground. She walked forward a few steps, wondering where they were hiding underground. She closed her eyes, trying to read their minds to find their location. Unfortunately, this was not possible because of how deep underground they were. She stopped walking as she noticed the two of them coming out of hiding. She started to move slowly towards them once again. Her stare was locked onto the villain. It seemed obvious to them that she was in some sort of trance-like state. She seemed to ignore the angelic hero and was focused on the villain. The trees that were not thrown were still swirling around her. She noticed the bolt coming towards her. But it was too late for her to try to dodge her attack. Being hit by the chaotic magic and falling onto the floor. Her whole body was spasming, feeling like there were thousands of needles jabbing underneath her skin.

Abby slowly stood back up while trying to get her bearings. Smiling to herself, she felt her adrenaline rushing throughout her body. Her heart was racing. This whole experience was quite exhilarating for her. Fighting another superpowered human was something she didn't know would make her feel so alive. Fixing her hair while also wiping the blood from her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She put her camera on the floor so it wouldn't get destroyed.

When she looked up at them, her breathing became heavier and hitched. Every time she took a breath, a slight shooting pain was felt in her chest and lungs. Her eyes locked onto Eris as she started flying upwards. The trees that were floating around her crashed onto the ground, floating above the ground, a few feet away from them. The anger from before subsided, and Abby was now eerily calm.

” That was quite a lot of fun. I haven't felt so exhilarated in such a long time. But sadly, we're gonna have to end this little dance.” She said. Her eyes looked over towards the angelic hero.

She could hear a voice speaking to her. ” I am on your side. You want to end this madness, and I want to help you. I have a plan. I'm going to hurl a rock at her head to try and knock her out. She'll probably fall off the stepping stones. And when she does, I want you to catch her. I hope this will be enough to end her reign of madness." Abby used her powers to lift a rather sizeable rock behind Eris. The rock floated up in the air, and with a flick of her fingers, it started flying towards her head.

Queen of Gold

” That was quite a lot of fun. I haven't felt so exhilarated in such a long time. But sadly, we're gonna have to end this little dance.”

Kate looked over at the now airborne woman with a mixture of annoyance and contempt, and replied in a voice laced with accusation. "WE had 'ended the dance' until you started throwing shit. We were done."

” I am on your side. You want to end this madness, and I want to help you. I have a plan. I'm going to hurl a rock at her head to try and knock her out. She'll probably fall off the stepping stones. And when she does, I want you to catch her. I hope this will be enough to end her reign of madness."

Kate let out a sharp laugh. "HELP me?! I don't need any help. Look around and listen for one second...what do you hear? The crowd is no longer at each others' throats, emergency services are arriving...the chaos is over. Which, by the way, was all MY doing, while you stood there with your little camera being of no use to anyone." Kate pointed to the chaos-bringer, while still looking at and addressing the tree-thrower. "I had her pinned down. Her 'reign of madness' was over. We were DONE. All you have done is throw a tree and a car at me, and then claimed to be on my side. You-" She cut herself off mid-sentence as she launched herself at the chaos-bringer, slamming into her mid-air in order to move her out of the way of the incoming rock. "-are such a nuisance!" she finished, glaring at the tree-thrower.

Sensing that the chaos woman would say some flirty comment to her about saving her, Kate explained herself, still glaring at the tree-thrower. "And you have no honor, either! Stabbing an opponent in the back when the battle is done is barbaric, and the work of a coward. If you insist on prolonging this battle further, fight your opponent face to face with honor, as I have. Or...you can run along and go take your pictures somewhere else."

@Eviledd1984 @BunniesOfDoom

The Stalker made her way back towards the entrance of the Bank with her pockets playing host to a few dozen wet and partially burnt fabric slips and a hope in her heart that they’d still be accepted in the resource acquisition ritual the locals did. She also did so with an audible rumbling in her bellies. If this didn’t work out, it would be time for more drastic action.

Unfortunately for her, there was a barrier between her and the food storage places, one that came in the form of a mass of people who turned their attention to the door as she exited, causing her to freeze up in alarm.

The press, paramedics, and pigs (as a certain Dr would call them) all had her description at this point and as the principle hostage, they all had their reasons to seek her out.

Fortunately for her, the press’ desire to get an interview was disrupted by the distraction of all their recording equipment going on the fritz as soon as she came into view. In a way that would also be a ticking time bomb till they (or some other observer) worked out what exactly it was that their cameras did not like being pointed at.

The cops meanwhile had the appearance of a little man who wanted to talk to them (and vice versa) leapt out the door behind her.

She was just beginning to relax when the third group pushed forwards. Well meaningly concerned about the girl who’d clearly been so traumatized that she’d gone non-verbal, the pair of paramedics striding up the stairs towards her intended to try and hustle her from the press so as to not stress her out even more than she already clearly was.

The Stalker, naturally, wanted nothing to do with this, and so as their approach (and calls of "Please remain calm miss, it's going to be ok, we're here to help" that she did not understand visibly agitated her) became more obviously directed towards her, she stepped to one side, then to the other when they moved to copy her, for making a break for it, duking round the pair, dexterously avoiding the hand of one who instinctively made a grab (along with a shout of "hay, wait!") for her.

Sensing a story even if they couldn't record footage of it, only audio, one of the reporters pushed forwards to intercept her next, and was for her efforts shoulder barged aside before the Stalker dove into the crowd of curious bystanders which parted through a mix of surprise as she did so. Thus free, the Stalker picked up speed as she made a run for it, a half dozen burnt wet bills slipping out of her pockets and being picked up by the wind as she fled the scene.

The angel lady was really tearing into the newcomer and Eris couldn't help a smirk cross her lips. It was great to see someone get yelled at like a child, as long as that person isn't her. She doesn't really handle getting yelled at too well. It tends to make her quite angry and she lashes out, usually violently. But it was fine for her to watch the camera woman get thrashed verbally.

Eris found herself caught off guard as Kate rammed into her, causing her to stumble violently and fall off her energy stone. Thankfully, she was still held tightly in the woman's arms so when she lost her footing, she didn't fall out of the sky. When their momentum stopped, Eris produced a stepping stone under her feet once more. Though she was quite taken aback by the woman's actions.

The angel- defended her. Eris stared, wide-eyed at the winged woman, unsure of how to handle the situation she found herself in. The whole time she was just having fun messing with the woman and her ideals but now, now Eris was the one confused and unsure of how to continue. She was entranced. No one has ever stood up for her in such a way- ever. She almost felt a tear coming on. Instead she just sniffled loudly before finally turning her eyes on the camera woman.

“Yeah!” her voice came out kind of shaky before she cleared her throat and tried again. “Yeah! Go ahead and run along!” Her eyes shifted back to the angel for a moment before she began to make her way back to the ground, one stepping stone forming before her and the others behind her dissolving into nothing. Perhaps this game has gone on long enough. Things were getting too confusing. “I'm going home. The fun has died anyways.” As her feet made contact with the ground, her magic pulsed out into grassy landscape. The ground under her began to wobble as she slowly sank into it. She turned to face the angel, blowing a loud kiss towards her. “I'll see you again. You can count on it.” She then turned to face the camera woman, a frown planted on her face. ”And you had better hope I don't find you.” Then she fell backwards into the ground and vanished under its surface, the ground solidifying after she made her exit.

She burrowed through the ground for as long as her breath would old, eventually rising once more deeper into the park. She clawed her way out of the ground, collapsing on her back as she took deep breaths. She had gone far longer underground than she rightfully should have. She just needed to get as far out of that situation as she physically could. The angel saving her made her feel a certain way and she wasn't sure how to handle that just yet. She laughed lightly to herself as she laid there on her back, staring up at the canopy of trees around her. She groaned as she sat up, trying to find a landmark that would tell her where in the park she was. It would be bad if she found herself lost after everything she has been through.

@Finetales @Eviledd1984

@BunniesOfDoom @Finetales

Abigail “Abby” Blavatsky

The rock flew past the two and fell onto the ground. Abby looked angry. Her help seemed unnecessary, even though she assumed the villainess would continue her attack. ” Cretins. All of you are cretins.” Muttering under her breath while tightening her hand even harder. Blood flowed down her hand and onto the ground below. She unclenched her hand and started floating back onto the ground. Frantically, she searched through her pocket looking for her pill bottle. She took a small blue and yellow pill from the bottle and popped it into her mouth. Breaking the pill with her teeth and letting the powder medication dissolve in her mouth. The medication took effect immediately. Her whole body was shaking, letting out a moan of pure ecstasy. Putting away the bottle before walking over towards her camera.

As she picked up a camera, she took another picture of them standing together before walking away. Thinking she could use this picture for her article. During the next few hours, she interviewed the crowd, gathering information on what happened. It seemed like a regular event before things started getting out of hand. One of the people she interviewed mentioned some men speaking to a woman before the incident happened. She surmised this was the woman she had fought before. One of the those men she interview as much as she could as the other instigator was dead.

Taking down as much information as he could in her notebook. After she had conducted her interviews, she was noticed by a paramedic who was worried about her broken nose. As the paramedic worked on fixing her nose, she asked how she was feeling. ” I feel…really good actually.” She said, which got a strange look from the paramedic. Perhaps it was the adrenaline talking. And perhaps she was somewhat high from the adrenaline rush. The reporter rode the ambulance to the hospital so her nose could be realigned.

The doctor was checking her for any other injuries. They noticed the many scars on her head and scalp. The scars seemed to weave together. With the scars moving down the back of her head and towards the base of her spinal column. A particular scar that seemed to indicate someone had implanted something at her cervical curve. To them, it looked like someone performed many craniotomies on this woman. She noticed the tattoo on her arm, which had the numbers “24601.” The doctor wondered how this woman got these scars and what the tattoo meant. Abby, meanwhile, looked distracted. Being reminded of her time being studied by various doctors in her youth. Doctor’s poking and prodding her while also putting her though various mental tests.

“Well, besides the broken nose and bruises, there aren’t any other injuries I can find. So you're free to go, but be sure to put some ice on your nose and take Advil for the pain.” The doctor gave Abby instructions on how to alleviate her injury's pain. Abby thanked the doctor before returning to the venue to retrieve her car. Inside the car, she looked at the pictures she had taken during the incident. Some of the photos were good and could be used for her article. But some of them were unusable.

The ones she thought she could use would need to be reviewed by P.J. first. He always had the final say on how the article was written and what photos could be used. One of the photos was of the villainess kissing that angelic hero. She thought she had not taken this photo. She assumed it was taken because her telekinetic powers activated without her knowledge. This could be used for the article, or perhaps for some blackmail. She started driving back to the Daily Trumpet while listening to some Bach.

Two and a half miles from where the adventure at the bank began, both Son of Liberty and Spellbound seemed surprised when a drone began commenting on the situation. It was the same drone from before, but to Judah at least he didn't immediately trust somebody that had yet to be seen in person. However the female hero mentioned forming a team, which is part of the reason Son of Liberty was doing the superhero thing. Weeks after his mother's death and he was still no closer to finding the culprit behind her murder.

"What do you say, Spellbound? I was actually gonna try and form a New Alliance without any of the UN shenanigans in honor of my mom..." Son of Liberty asked while dropping the hint about who his mom was.

Eli’s eyes went wide when he heard the hint. “Wait… was your mom was Lady Liberty?” he asked. “Like… THE Lady Liberty?” He took a beat before continuing. “I guess that should have been obvious. That explains the torch thing.”

He gave a nervous chuckle. “Wow. Okay. No pressure or anything.” Then, more seriously, “Yeah. I’m in. I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but… I want to do something good with what I’ve got. And I think your mom would’ve liked that. So… yeah. Let’s build something better.” He held out a hand for a shake.

Judah went in for a handshake and knew the kid likely didn't have the greatest grip. He wasn't gonna try and squeeze the guy's hand and be THAT guy, but something firm with eye contact was important in the military in some circles. As the two heroes parted ways along with the drone the Son of Liberty got a call on his ear piece while super leaping back to Bayside.

"Not gonna believe what I found. Your mom was working on something down in the old parking garage. It's likely the reason she bought that parking lot across the street..." said Judah's uncle Sam.

Back at the apartment complex in Bayside the uncle was still wearing his tool belt and standing in what could only be described as the most patriotic headquarters anyone had ever seen. It was that odd seafoam green kinda color.

Two weeks later....

Just as they had planned, the three heroes met up at the police funded Superhero Academy. Essentially the three heroes would spend several weekends learning the do's and don'ts of being a deputy. There were others in the class, nobody that Judah could really get a read on. As the tech powered Supercop continued on about this and that, something he said definitely got Spellbound's attention.

"...and I hate to break it to anyone here under the age of eighteen. While you'll be a deputy if you pass this class, you will only receive a permit until you're old enough to be on-call twenty-four seven. That means you can ONLY operate with other licensed superhuman deputies on the scene." Supercop explained in the small classroom.

He continued explaining what the class was going to put the group through. Basic EMT training, testing the limits of the students' powers, civilian crowd control, etc. was all on the menu for the foreseeable future. The Son of Liberty could tell his younger friend was already feeling some type of way about only being issued a permit.

"We're forming a team. Don't sweat it, bro." Liberty Son said under his breath to Spellbound who was sitting in a desk to his immediate left.

Logically Eli should have figured they wouldn’t let him be a hero full time. He was still in high school after all. That didn’t stop him from sulking about it. “Bro, I seriously need a learner’s permit to fight crime?” He whispered back to Judah with a dramatic sigh. “Do you know how embarrassing it’s going to be to tell villains, ‘Hold on, I need an adult present’?”

Despite the sarcasm, Eli was still grateful to even be there. “But… Thanks. Seriously.”

Elsewhere in Liberty City...

Abby Blavatsky arrived at her apartment. She didn't realize somebody had let themselves in already. Judy Juggernaut, still wearing the spiked helmet of Megaplex, was waiting for her.

"You were harder to find than I expected." the nearly seven feet tall powerhouse stated dramatically. "An acquaintance of mine is putting a team together. It's easier to do with a telepath."

Abby stood in the doorway looking like a statue. Slowly she closed the door behind her, taking a few steps forward. She didn't know how this woman found her apartment, nor finding out she was a telepath.

The blonde stared at her for a few moments before a smile of sinister glee was on her face. "I'm listening."

@Stern Algorithm @EvilEdd1984 @Crimson Flame @Scarifar

Queen of Gold

She turned to face the angel, blowing a loud kiss towards her. “I'll see you again. You can count on it.” She then turned to face the camera woman, a frown planted on her face. ”And you had better hope I don't find you.” Then she fell backwards into the ground and vanished under its surface, the ground solidifying after she made her exit.

Kate watched the strange woman speak to both her and the tree-thrower, her face neutral as her brain continued attempting (and failing) to decipher either of them. After one had melted into the ground and the other walked away after snapping one more picture, Kate took a brief look around before gently setting herself down in the park, recalling her wings and weapon constructs, and letting out a heavy sigh. "By the ancients...what have I gotten myself into?" she said to herself, as she began walking through the park to the north end.

A short while later, Kate was back in her Middle Park East apartment. She had changed clothes and was sitting on her couch watching the news on her television. She expected there to be news about the chaos in the park just now, but then again...maybe any reporters on scene had been swept up in it? She got her answer soon enough; after a brief segment about an attempted bank robbery, footage from Middle Park filled the screen.

"The cause of the brawl remains uncertain," a male reporter said. "Some think it happened naturally, while others think it was the result of outside agitators - maybe even supers." A clip of Kate flying over the crowd, yelling at them, played as the announcer continued. "But the big question on everyone's minds is, who is this winged woman?"

The camera cut to various people being interviewed on location.

"I don't know...I watched the whole thing and she never attacked the crowd. I couldn't hear what she was yelling at them, but I do know that after she flew at the stage the crowd calmed down quickly. I can't tell if she was causing the chaos or not."

"It was HER!" another man (whose bruises indicated that he had been involved in the brawl) said. "Who else could it be??"

"Honestly I think she was trying to stop the fighting. The brawl had started before she showed up."

"It stopped when she attacked someone on the stage. I saw it clear as day."

"Come on, you're telling me that an angel of fire was NOT the cause? I call bullshit. That's like...textbook villain shit."

The camera cut back to the first reporter in the booth. "The identity of this 'angel' is unknown. She isn't on any superhero records, and was not part of the Alliance. Authorities are currently investigating, but have not yet been able to determine the cause of the brawl."

"Well...shit," Kate muttered. The fact that some of the public thought she had caused the chaos in the park, and even that she was a villain, was not ideal. Worse still was the fact that the strange woman who had actually caused the chaos apparently got off undetected. Kate could tell that woman would be a thorn in her side, especially as she was apparently infatuated with Kate. Life in Liberty City was already much messier than Kate expected. It turned out humans were very unpredictable, and Kate needed to get used to that.

@BunniesOfDoom @Eviledd1984

Kersey ran along the city streets, cursing to herself as she made her way to work. She slept in again! That could only mean that Eris was the one who went to sleep and didn’t turn her alarm on. She didn’t even want to think of what the woman got up to the night before. She couldn’t even remember what would have happened the day before to trigger her out. She was getting worried. Ever since the park, her sanity has been balancing on the tip of a needle with Eris clawing at her feet and trying to drag her down below.

Kersey had tried to get the manager to switch her to a night shift but the poor woman said that everyone wants to work the night shift over the morning. Since Kersey was newer to the position, she would have to work the morning shift for a bit until someone on the night shift changed their times or left. She understood and she had to say that the manager was very accommodating. She could tell Kersey was having a very hard time, her disheveled hair and deep bags under her eyes being her usual call signs. That day was no different.

She grabbed a hold of the glass paned door to the coffee shop before she saw her reflection in the clean glass. Her hair was a rat’s mess, her eyes sockets so dark it looked like she might have gotten into a fight before. This was the third day of little to no sleep. Kersey was bone tired.

She sighed as she reached into her bag and pulled out a brush. Using the door reflection, she began to wrangle in the mess on the top of her head. When her hair was at least detangled, though now frizzy, she slipped the brush into her pack before slipping in. The manager spotted her instantly, a deep frown forming on her face at the sight of the exhausted girl. Without a word, she pointed to her office when Kersey made eye contact. Kersey sighed deeply as she strolled through the front and into the back where the manager waited for her in her office.

“Kersey, you look like you have just risen from the dead. When was the last time you slept?” The concerned, motherly tone always made Kersey feel so uncomfortable when talking to this woman. She cared, she really did. But Kersey wasn’t very trusting of anyone, let alone those who claimed they cared.

Kersey groaned lightly as she ran her hand along her tired face. “I don’t know. Three- four days?” The woman frowned deeply, clasping her hands in front of her.

“Is it drugs, Kersey?”

“What?! No! It’s not drugs. I just haven’t been sleeping lately. Think drugs will help?”

The woman didn’t find any amusement from Kersey’s joke before she stepped forward to place a hand on the smaller woman’s shoulder. “I’m worried about you Kersey. You were scheduled for a shift yesterday but you never showed up and now you come in today looking like this.” Kersey stared at the woman in confusion. A shift yesterday? No. No, her shift was today. A bit frantic now, she dug through her bag until she pulled her phone out. Its screen flashed a warning that she was out of minutes and would have to refill it but that wasn’t important to her now. She pulled up the calendar and sure enough, she had lost a whole day!

“I- when,” Kersey stammered as she stared at the date on her phone. Eris had stolen a whole day from him. What had she done during that day? Kersey needed to open her laptop and see if there was any news about people going nuts and killing each other the day before. Kersey clawed desperately at the side of her head with her free hand. The manager watched her with worried filled eyes.

“Look, go order you a muffin and a drink. It’s on the house. Then take the day. Go get some rest! Get yourself back in order for tomorrow when you have a real shift, okay?” Kersey nodded slowly as the manager ushered her out of the back office. The woman gave a sad shake of her head as Kersey slowly walked off in a daze.

After about ten minutes, Kersey was sitting at one of the small tables next to a wall plug. She had her laptop in front of her, opened and plugged in. She took a small bite of her chocolate muffin as she began to open news website after news website. She had to make sure Eris didn’t cause any trouble. She had to know she didn’t kill anyone.

Scanning website after website, after website. She ran through them quickly, trying to find anything that could be pointed back towards them. Buildings falling. People losing their minds and attacking others. Riots. Large street fights. She went through the sites as fast as her reading skills would allow. After about twenty minutes of hunching over her laptop like an old crone, she finally sat back in relief. There were no large news articles that she could logically link to herself. A few other villains were making trouble but they were handled by the heroes. Nothing new there.

With a sigh, she pulled up the article from two weeks ago. The riot in the park.



How many times did she pull this article up to read it through? She had to have done it at least a hundred times by now. That was the biggest event by Eris, as of late. How long would it be before she pulled such a stunt again?

She dragged a head along her face, sighing as she closed the website before taking a sip of her drink. She need to figure out a way to handle Eris. She couldn’t keep doing this to herself.

Collab with @Omega Man

Two Weeks Later….

Abby's article included a picture of Eris kissing Kate, which was published. The headline and article were quite scathing. The article hints that Kate is working with or in a relationship with the villain and that Kate didn’t do a very good job helping the injured concert goers.

Of course, she didn’t care much for the article; it was not as crucial as her current objective. However, part of her got some pleasure thinking about how much emotional pain it would cause both of them for humiliating her. Another article was printed about the recent murder of a scientist. This murder was quite brutal. And the writer of the report, Timmy suggests that perhaps there is a serial killer on the loose. This article made Abby quite anxious, and she would need to keep an eye on him.

Elsewhere in Liberty City...

Abby Blavatsky arrived at her apartment, or rather, Erika Muller did. She didn't realize somebody had let themselves in already. Still wearing Megaplex's spiked helmet, Judy Juggernaut was waiting for her.

"You were harder to find than I expected." The nearly seven feet tall powerhouse had stated dramatically. "An acquaintance of mine is putting a team together. It's easier to do with a telepath."

Abby stood in the doorway, looking like a statue. Slowly, she closed the door behind her, taking a few steps forward. She didn't know how this woman found her apartment or that she was a telepath.

The blonde stared at her for a few moments before a smile of sinister glee appeared on her face. "I'm listening."

“The overseer is aware of your abilities and wants you to turn a few people to our side. Superheroes and government oversight are getting out of control.” Judy Juggernaut explained as she looked around the very odd place of residence. It almost looked as if the person living there didn’t know what everyday life would look like.

“What kind of people are you looking to have on your side? And who is this overseer you're referencing? And how did you learn of my identity?” She asked carefully. Her eyes were focused on the other woman. She needed to tread carefully because if she got angry, Abby would become a smear on the floor. She wondered if she was with the government or perhaps a mercenary for hire. Was she being sent to bring Abby back to the lab? But this brickshit house of a woman didn’t look like any of these. So for now, she could be somewhat at ease.

“Some guy found his superhero mother’s gear and thinks he’s a hero now. Before he tries creating a support group or super team, the Overseer wants to take them down. We found you after that scene at the concert in Middle Park. Unlike the Daily Trumpet, we do REAL background checks. The boss even has some info regarding your past…” the helmeted Juggernaut informed the young girl.

“Mmm, sounds easy enough. Tell me more about this hero?” Her ears perked up at the mention of her past. What kind of information could they have about her. It was a worrisome thought, and something she’d like to learn when the time was right. “Since I will join your little group, I would like a costume like yours. I do want to keep my identity a secret.” Her eyes peered over to the mask tThatwas hanging on the wall to her left. It was a mask made from a goat's skull and painted and adorned with occult symbols. Leather straps were on the back to be fastened to the head. The mask she had bought or perhaps found somewhere, because it seemed to call to her. Wanting to be in her possession. The idea of this costume slowly formed in her mind.

A few hours later.

In her new costume, Abby walks towards the prison where they keep a hero captive. Her first assignment in the Dark Alliance was to break this hero so he would join their cause. Abby thought that could be simple enough, considering her abilities. She adjusts the white tie of her matching suit. “Easy enough." She told Judy as they approached the cell where the hero was being held. The hero whose name Abby learned was Kid Cosmo, could see a figure coming into view. The figure wore a white suit and a strange mask with equally strange symbols.

Abby stood in front of the cell, her mask hiding a smile. She now knew what it felt like to be on the other side of a cell door. A few feet away, the hero could hear a voice starting to speak to him.“You're wondering why you are here? Well, I can help enlighten you on your current situation. Your teammates have abandoned you. They thought you were the weak link in their group. That is why they are not putting any effort into trying to rescue you. However, my employer thinks differently. They believe that you have great potential. And we can help you achieve your full potential.” The voice spoke in a soft and gentle tone. A tone one would hear from a lover. The voice's gender was hard to tell as it fluctuated between male and female. Abby was trying to read his mind to learn more about him. And use that information to help break him.

Their first weekend was half over, and the second day had just begun. It was a Sunday, and hot outside. The previous day they went over the short schedule. Four weekends in a month's time, between sixty-five to eighty hours depending on how long the training goes each day. The class size, as the group was told by Supercop, was on the smaller side. The written mental exam was the previous day, however there were no problems with the class of nine would-be-deputies. They also had to trust Supercop with their secret identities, however some of them were skeptical about who had access to the information. Judah and one other hero were both in the military, which gave them an advantage in most situations.

The CPR class went by in roughly an hour or so. Basic hand to hand training lasted roughly three hours before the group broke for lunch. The group were told the remainder of the day would be spent exploring their powers and putting them in power classes in case they're needed for specific situations. "A hero with healing powers may be called on in the event of an EMS shortage..." was the example Supercop used.

Supercop, aka Alexander Murphy, was a former officer in the Liberty City PD who served the city for nine years. After a terrible explosion mangled his body, experimental technology was used to restore his bodily functions and to make him more than just a cop reborn. Now a man fused with machine, he's a one man precinct that still serves the city to this day performing regular patrols as well as running the Superhuman Deputy Law Enforcement Program. And to his displeasure, the Son of Liberty was taken back by how much of a fan of Lady Liberty this Supercop was. The young man just wanted to eat his lunch and get the day over with...

"I never got the chance to serve with your mom on the Alliance, but we helped each other a time or two here in the city..." Supercop went on as the Son of Liberty was attempting to eat some kind of meat and cheese snack from one of the vending machines.

He looked around hoping that someone would come over and bail him out. The group of young heroes weren't allowed to have their phones during Academy hours so Judah couldn't use the phone call excuse to dip out of the situation.

"Growing up I actually wasn't my mom's biggest fan. It was awesome having a superhero mom, but I couldn't tell anybody about it." Judah finally said before finishing off the snack and standing up. "I'm gonna go grab another drink real quick before we get back out in the field..."

When he first started attending the Academy, Eli couldn’t be happier. He bragged to his Abuela, and was bouncing up and down with joy. Now, the first weekend of Superhero Academy was halfway over, and the excitement of being here was starting to lose its shine under the weight of drills, lectures, and the constant reminder that he was technically too young to do any of this on his own.

The lessons were fine. The written test wasn’t too bad. But the hand-to-hand stuff? He’d tried to keep up, but he was lanky and awkward. He had never been good at fighting with his fists, and being graded on it made his anxiety worse. Even though no one said it out loud, he could feel some of the other recruits already saw him as the squishy magic kid who needed backup. He didn’t like that feeling.

Eli slumped down onto a bench in the courtyard, letting out a sigh. Maybe they’re right. Maybe I’m not cut out for this superhero stuff. He tugged at the edge of his sleeve. But I don’t want to quit. I can’t. He had powers. He had potential. That had to count for something… Right?

Eli looked around and spotted Judah in the distance, heading toward the vending machines alone, after talking with Supercop, looking unamused. Eli stood and jogged over. “Hey,” he said, catching up. “You good?”

Abigail “Abby” Blavatsky

Abby had a hard time trying to break the shapeshifter. The battle inside his mind was something she had not dealt with before. But one thing that helped her was that he was alone in this world with no one like him on Earth. And Abby could use this fact to break him utterly. Using her powers to show him false images of his former comrades speaking ill of him behind his back. As well as pictures of humanity turning against him because he is an alien and not one of them. The ordeal of breaking the former hero took hours and was quite exhausting for Abby. But she was finally able to break him once he started to wear down mentally. She was able to utterly break him down and mold him into a useful tool for the group to use. One thing Abby noted was how helpful Kid Cosmo could be as her bodyguard. She knew she was not much of a fighter, so having a shapeshifting brute would be pretty beneficial.

Judy congratulated Abby. But she didn’t seem to care as she was only doing this to learn more about her past. Although a small part of her quite likes the praise. Something she didn’t get a lot of as a child. For the time being, she needed to rest so she could mentally recover. The villainess fished for her pills,which were now in a steel case. She took a blue and green pill and bit into it as she felt the calming euphoria of the medicine kicking in. Her whole body shook, and not long after, she put the case away into her pocket. Abby noticed she was starting to run low on her medicine.

From the information she had gotten a few weeks ago, the scientist who knew the recipe was living in Liberty City. The plan was to ambush him when he was alone, get the recipe so she could duplicate it, get the location of the other scientists, murder him, and then escape. It would be something she had done countless times before, and this would be no different. Before she left to conduct her plan, she asked Judy for a weapon to help her in a fight. The weapon she chose was a Brügger & Thomet Welrod. She thanked Judy, putting the gun into her newly acquired shoulder holster. She walked to her car, got into her civilian clothes, and then drove off.


A Few Hours Later.

Dr. Harwood was holding a lecture about chemistry at Liberty Campus. Holding the attention of some of the students, although some seemed to be bored out of their minds. The old man was just glad to be teaching young minds. This was a much better arrangement than his previous occupation. Many nights, he has recurring nightmares of what he had seen in the laboratory.

After the lecture, he thanked all of the students attending before packing up his things into his briefcase. Smiling and making small talk with the students who wanted to ask him various questions. He was more than happy to answer and discuss anything involving chemistry. As the students left, he was soon alone in the room. He closed his briefcase when he noticed someone sitting at the far end of the room. From where he was standing, he couldn’t make out the features of the figure. “The lecture is over. You may leave if you like, unless you have a question for me?” He spoke in a noticeable Manchester accent. The figure stood up and started walking towards him. In their hand was a black leather briefcase. He could hear the faint sound of whistling coming from the figure. The tone of the whistling was “Ode To Joy.”

“I just wanted to thank you personally for such an interesting lecture. And I had a question I wanted to ask you, but I was too nervous to ask with all of those people around you.” The voice of the figure spoke. And Harwood noticed it was the voice of a woman. Harwood squinted his eyes because his eyesight was terrible, and even with glasses, he struggled to see.

“Of course, my dear, I am always happy to answer any of your questions.” Harwood smiled, but the woman's warm gesture was not returned.

“Thank you. My question is, do you remember me?” She asked, but the old man only raised a brow. Shaking his head, not being sure if he knew the girl. “Maybe this will help jog your memory.” The figure rolled up her sleeve, exposing her arm. And on her arm was a tattoo of a series of numbers. The man gasped, recognizing the number.

“Subject 24601!” and as he said this, the woman smiled like a predatory animal.

“Bingo! I have a few other questions I hope you can answer. One is chemistry-based. First question, how do you make Lexzepam? And where is Dr.Fuchs?” The woman walked closer to Harwood, making him back up and was now sitting on a chair.

“It’s very complicated to make. I do not think you would be able to replicate it by yourself. And i do not know where Dr.Fuchs is. I have not spoken to him in years.” Now Abby was towering over the man.

“You're lying. You know where Fuchs is.” Her voice rose as her hand curled into a fist. A nearby table was being violently pushed into the wall behind her. Creating a sizeable dent in the wall. Reading further into his mind, trying to gain the location of her target. As well as getting the recipe for her drug.

The old man said he didn’t have any involvement in experimenting on her, but Abby was not paying attention to what he was saying. Finding the information she needed, she had no further use for him. Concentrating as hard as she could, focusing on the man’s heart valves. Using her powers to constrict it and induce a heart attack. The old man gripped his chest, falling out of his chair. He grabbed onto Abby’s pant leg while muttering something under his breath.

“Ple…se…i did…nothi…ng…wrong…do…n’t…ki…l…me…” He said between his short breaths. But Abby was apathetic to his pleas for mercy. Moving her leg away and walking out of the room as Harwood let out his final breath. Walking through the building and to the parking lot, she was satisfied with what she accomplished today.

Elsewhere, Tim was sitting in his office, researching the recent serial killings. Looking through the personal files of the scientist that were killed. Tim noticed that all of them had worked together on a project at Fort Jackson near Liberty City. Recently, Tim had received some classified files that would help with his investigation. The American government funded a project to create super-powered soldiers. One of the test subjects was assigned the code name “24601.” The profile of subject 24601 featured many pictures of a girl who resembled Erika. This led Tim to research Erika Muller further. His research eventually led him to find an article about a missing woman named Erika Muller a few months ago. The exact same time the Erika he knew was hired at the Daily Trumpet.

As time ticked on in the coffee house, at some point, Kersey had rested her head on the palm of her hand, her elbow planted firmly on the tabletop, and had fallen asleep. Even the strong coffee she had been drinking wasn’t enough to keep the poor girl awake. She had been sleeping deeply for quite awhile when she felt her shoulders jostle.

Exhausted, confused, and unsure of where she was, Kersey slowly came back to her senses. An older woman was shoving her with a cane, complaining about how the homeless needed to stay out of such a nice coffee shop. Kersey blinked a few times, her mind still stuck between the realms of sleep and reality. She looked down at the elderly woman, her eyes squinting between fierce blinking.

“Huh?” She muttered quietly as she tried to focus her tired eyes on the woman. That only seemed to enrage the older woman and she went from poking Kersey with her cane to outright whacking her on the back and top of the head.

“Ow! What- Stop!” Kersey called out as she threw her arms above her head, deflecting the cane strikes as best she could. This woman was freakin nuts! ”Someone come get your grandma!” She called out to the general audience that were just standing watching as Kersey was thwacked with the cane.

“Grandma! How dare you, you disgusting street dweller.” The woman brought the cane down on top of Kersey with more power than the elderly woman’s form should have been able to muster and Kersey’s head slammed into the table with enough force to make her vision flash white for a moment. That moment was when the patrons finally stepped up to the woman and pulled her away from Kersey, yelling at her for her terrible behavior.

When Kersey lifted her head back up from the table, her eyes were a deep crimson and blazed like fire. They locked on the elderly woman who went from struggling to get free from the helping bystanders to trying to hide behind them as their gazes met. ”I should help euthanize you. Taking you out of your misery would be a blessing to all of mankind.” She thought as she slid out of the chair, her hand slowly rising to grab at the woman.

She froze when one of the helping bystanders pulled their phone out. “I’m calling the cops on you, lady! You can’t go attacking people with a cane like that!” Eris’s eyes flashed to the younger woman quickly dialing 911. ”We can’t lose this job or be interrogated by the police.” With a final sneer at the elderly woman, Kersey snatched her laptop off the table and tucked it into her bag. She shoved its charger cord in quickly after before slinging her bag over her shoulder and began to head to the door.

“Hey! I’m getting the cops. You need to stay to give them your story.” The woman on the phone said as she reached out to rest a hand on Eris’s shoulder. The girl shrugged the hand off before continuing her path towards the entrance. ”I’m fine.” She huffed before leaving the coffee shop in a rush. Once outside, she took a moment to gather her bearings. She reached up to finger the red spot on her forehead where her head had hit the table. It seemed fine enough. At least there was no knot on her head from it. She grunted before pulling the hood of her crimson jacket up and shielding her face from the general public. She had a plan that day, one that would make the heroes quiver in their boots.

For the last few days, she had been tracking down where the heroes spent most of their time when not out fighting crime. It had originally started out with a slight obsession on finding out where that glorious angel was but quickly turned into a revenge scheme for them daring to call her angel a villain. As far as Eris knew, Queen was the only hero worthy of the title hero. All the rest were fakes who dared smear her name. Slander, every single word of it.

It wasn’t hard to track down where the heroes did their training. It was practically announced with joyous proclamations in the news. New heroes training hard to help keep the streets clear of danger! Look at our new heroes! Working hard to get their hero licenses. It was disgusting. They were selling themselves to the government just so they could go and beat down any person they found unworthy. Disgusting pigs! They weren’t even willing to kill! If you can’t kill your enemy, then what even were you? Letting them loose into the world once again to just repeat their offenses.

As she approached the police training ground, she watched through the fence, her fingers curled around the metal links. Her crimson eyes flicked from one person to the next, gauging who the teachers and recruits were. She didn’t recognize any of them and felt a wave of relief to see that her wonderful angel had not lowered herself to such actions.

A vicious grin crossed her face as she let go of the fence. The ground under her feet began to liquify and she slowly sank down. She raised her hand to her lips and gave two fingers a kiss before finger gunning at the heroes as she vanished below the ground.

Under the surface, she swam along, quietly humming to herself as she slithered through the ground like a venomous snake hiding in the grass. She took a moment to pause, liquifying the ground just above her so she could feel the vibrations of the feet as they thumped along the ground. She waited until the thumping stopped and positioned herself under the feet. She moved up now, pushing her liquidation to the surface and reaching through. She could hear muffled screaming as her hands coiled around the unsuspecting hero’s ankles. She clung tight and began to swim down, pulling him down with her. It was over in a moment. The thrashing man sank into the ground, grabbing at his throat as he took solid gulps of liquified cement and dirt. He gurgled, thrashed a few more times before growing still. Eris used him as a springboard to go searching again, the ground hardening around the man and leaving him buried in his early grave.

Now there were quick moving feet above her, the ground vibrating harshly as panic ensued in the academy. She followed those vibrations like a shark tracking a trail of blood. For a moment, she saw an opening and reached up to grab the next hero, ripping them into the ground and repeating the process. This one was far more violent than the other, grabbing at anything he could get his hands one to keep from being pulled under, his hands only finding liquified ground and nothing solid. He was harder to pull in but eventually his head sunk under the surface and she shoved him down deeper before leaving him to suffocate like the other. She was running out of air and the last struggling man took more out of her than she would have liked. She needed to breach. Time to reveal herself, she supposed.

She swam away from the vibrations of thundering feet before she breached a few yards away from the frantic heroes. One arm then the other rose up from under the ground, grasping a hold of the rim of solid ground as she hauled herself out. Cement and dirt dripped off her as she rose up, her crimson eyes locking on the heroes across the way.

”You dare call yourselves heroes.” She dragged herself out of the pit before straightening to her full height. ”Selling yourselves so you can run the streets and do what you like.” Her magic flared around her, crimson forms dancing behind her as they all focused on the wannabe heroes. ”What are you going to do when your teammates are dying around you? Can you make that final move?! Can you bring your enemy to an end to make sure no more harm would be done?! That’s what makes a true hero! Someone who will do whatever it takes! NONE OF YOUR ARE WORTHY!”

Several weeks had gone by, and over the course of several weekends the young heroes learned the ins and outs of superhero'ing. This last day was essentially registering your superhero name with law enforcement, swearing an oath, yada yada. There wasn't a big ceremony or anything like that. It was more like sitting at the DMV waiting to get your license. Supercop was there, but it was more for show than anything. There were secretaries or rather just regular office workers taking care of the individual heroes. Two of the guys didn't make it, Switchblade and Fire Fist. Switchblade didn't really carry himself well enough, and barely passed the mental exam. That's what was rumored anyway. Fire Fist was just too reckless and couldn't contain his own powers, which he channeled into a large metal gauntlet. Switchblade didn't even bother showing up, however Fire Fist left minutes earlier cussing and acting like a male Karen. He was told to quit playing hero or he'd be locked up for property damage.

"Just think, even if you just get a permit, we're all legit now. My Uncle and I have been working on this secret HQ under our apartment complex the last few weeks since we started the academy and everything." Son of Liberty said quietly to his two allies, Spellbound and Interference.

Throughout the course of their training, Eileen had been wearing a silly-looking hyottoko mask she had picked up at an Asian food festival due to the fact that recording equipment had been banned from the hero training center, and all of Eileen's equipment, including her mask, were technically recording equipment, and she didn't want to give away her identity to every other trainee. As if aligning with the silliness of the mask, Eileen had carried herself through training with an almost lackadaisical irreverence, thinly veiling her distrust of the very institution of policing, but when it came to exams and assessments, her genius and determination helped her lock in. She demonstrated a fine and nuanced control of her abilities without revealing the full extent of her power, mitigating the worry that she could go out of control. She played with light and sound in clever ways, did better with devices augmenting her, and preferred being in the backline, at least, that was as much as she was willing to reveal to the trainers.

She had tried to build rapport with Son of Liberty and Spellbound and they had become closer, practically ready to form a team as soon as they graduated. Son of Liberty had infrastructure and pedigree; even now he was talking about a secret base they could use. Spellbound was young and had access to magic, something Eileen wanted desperately to understand and learn more about. Though she understood the reasoning behind giving Spellbound a provisional license, she also understood his frustrations with it.* "Hey, as long as we're in the same team, I'll make sure no one treats you like a kid," Eileen reassured the magic user, then turned her attention to Son of Liberty, "A base would be nice. There's only so much I can build in a garage without the right tools. I'd love to understand how your powers work and come up with equipment to augment your strengths while covering over your weaknesses. Together, I think we'll be unstoppable."

Eli had been fidgeting with his sleeve, a nervous habit he hadn’t quite grown out of. He looked up at Eileen when she spoke. “Really?” he asked, his eyes went wide. “Thanks. That… actually means a lot. “I mean… I get why they’ve got the rules. I do. It’s just… kind of hard not to feel like a sidekick… But I’m sure this will be great!”

He turned to Judah. “A base sounds amazing. Magic is cool, but even I haven’t quite gotten a handle on how half of it works. So if you’re serious about helping me figure all this out… I’m in. I think we’ll make a pretty good team.”

The trio as well as four other heroes managed to pass the tests. Fire Fist, on his way out of the building while still cussing at anyone who would listen, was drowned in liquified earth between the parking lot and the entrance by an unknown adversary. Pitbull, a smaller feral hero, went down in the same manner but went down fighting after seeing the other guy sink into the ground. Panic ensued into the rest of the building, and while the heroes were on their way out... Supercop yelled.

"The Academy building is under attack from an unknown superhuman! Painkiller and King Bee are already on their way to try and do what they can to save lives. I need the four of you to help me with this tech. It basically shuts down superhuman abilities short term like an EMP does to electronics. I just hope her powers aren't mystic or alien in nature..." Supercop began to say.

"What kind of attack are we dealing with, Supercop?" Liberty Son asked readying his weaponized Torch.

"She's a reality warper, that's all I know. Now, LISTEN UP!! For this to work I need two of these on the roof and two here on the bottom floor on opposite ends of the building." Supercop exclaimed handing the Son of Liberty and his two friends devices that looked like old boomboxes.

The last of the devices was handed to the only other hero from the academy that passed the tests to become a deputy. Stampede was a large man in his early thirties, husky some would say, with enhanced speed and durability. Once he got his momentum up he was nearly unstoppable. He mentioned one weekend he almost chose the name Wrecking Ball but decided against it because of some country singer's daughter having a song by the same name.

"People's lives depend on us right now. Are you ready for this, big guy?" Supercop asked the large hero in leathery looking clothing.

"Let's ****ing GO!" Stampede yelled running towards the far side of the academy building.

Queen of Gold

Since the skirmish in the park, Kate had resumed her normal life. In the time since she had arrived on Earth, she had managed to acclimate to the culture more quickly than she expected, and her day to day life was mostly indistinguishable from a typical rich Middle Park East socialite woman. The only real clues that she was something else entirely were her occasional Khobalian turns of phrase, and her habit of finding street-level crime and taking care of it. And really, she didn't have to work to find crime here; it was so frequent that it seemed to follow her around, attracted like moths to a flame. If this was her new war to wage, Kate had to admit that it wasn't very exciting. She liked doing good of course, but she yearned for real combat. In the mean time, shopping was an excellent way to pass time and get what humans called "dopamine" flowing.

On one such day, she was walking in the fashion district when she overheard the crackle of a nearby police officer's radio. Something was going on at a superhero academy, which Kate didn't know existed until she heard it on the radio.

An academy? she thought, surprised. There are enough superheroes to have a whole academy, and I haven't seen a single one in the months I've been on this planet? What are they doing? Where have they been? Kate had to admit, she was surprised she hadn't run into more villains either. And she was very surprised that that chaos woman who was apparently in love with her hadn't come knocking either.

The cop's radio sounded urgent. It seemed they were under attack from a super of some sort. Multiple heroes already down, dragged into the ground...

"Wait." Kate stopped in her tracks. That sounded familiar. And more importantly, it sounded like a call to battle.

The only issue was, the cross streets that had just crackled out from the cop radio were not ones she was familiar with. So she did what anyone in Liberty City would do: she hailed a cab. She repeated the cross streets she had heard, and the driver sped off. Fortunately for Kate, it was late morning, traffic was light, and like all Liberty City cabbies, this one had a lead foot.

In an illegally short amount of time, her cab screeched to a halt at the cross streets Kate had requested, and after Kate handed the driver a generous cash tip, he sped off to find another fare. After a brief look around, Kate deduced that the academy in question was the building that looked like a police academy, said it was one on the side, and had some commotion going on right in front of the entrance. Still appearing to be a normal civilian with a chic outfit, no wings, no manifested weapons, no fire, and definitely no Khobalian battle armor, Kate walked closer to parking lot separating her from the entrance. She figured there would usually be guards at the entrance to the lot, but it seemed they were very much occupied. She walked closer and quickly noticed some very familiar ripples in the ground, close to the entrance. It seemed her suspicions were, unfortunately, confirmed.

To protect herself from being pulled into the ground again (something she very much did not enjoy the first time), Kate chose this moment to sprout her huge wings and shoot up into the air with an audible whoop. As she did so, she also manifested her Khodalian battle armor, which wrapped around her in seconds. A large, ornate, two-handed battle staff was soon to follow. Kate knew what the chaos woman was capable of, and she figured making a good first impression on the heroes wouldn't hurt either. She just hoped the heroes wouldn't think she was a villain like the news networks did after the park incident. Otherwise, things were about to get very messy.

For now, she had a task at hand. "Show yourself, chaos-bringer!" she bellowed.

@BunniesOfDoom

The start of her chaotic and not fully thought out attack was working perfectly. She had drug two people under the ground and left them to rot. However, unbeknownst to herself, that one of the people she dragged underground was an academy drop out, someone she may have agreed with or possibly would have made friends with.

As she stared down the building, giving a dark grin before she began to casually walk towards it. Her steps were light, almost bouncy as she called out to the heroes within in a sing-song kind of voice. ”Oh heroes! Come out, come out wherever you are! I promise it won’t hurt! For long.” She cackled like a madman before she sent a swift kick to the front door. When it didn’t budge, she allowed an eyebrow to raise in surprise. She should have known that a school for supers would be sturdier than she expected. No bother. It wasn’t something that caused her much trouble.

She raised her hand and rested her fingertips against the door. It began to melt under her touch, slowly exposing the interior to her crimson eyes. When the door was nothing but a puddle on the ground, she went to take a step into the building only to find two supers barreling towards her. She crouched down, lowering her body weight as her lips split in a broad grin. ”I was beginning to wonder who else was here!” She watched as one of the supers began to shrink. With his black and yellow suit, she felt like she was watching a bumblebee come into existence before her very eyes. When she felt the pain from his stinger darts, she understood what he was now. The shock that came from the hit caused the left arm to go numb for a moment.

Her hand shot to her shoulder where she felt tiny little barbs sticking out and she sneered at the flying little gnat. ”Of course! Leave it to the supers to attack like that! Cowards!” She backed back out of the door, not wanting to face two supers in an enclosed space, especially without any idea what the second super’s skillset was. She shook her left arm. It tingled painfully. She needed to make sure he didn’t hit her in any vital areas, like her legs. She couldn’t afford to faceplant in front of these people because he made her legs go numb.

Then she heard it, that enticing voice she longed for. Her head snapped up and she quickly scanned the sky until her crimson orbs finally saw her, her glorious angel. She threw her arms out to the side, laughing victoriously as she watched her gleaming angel taking laps just over the parking lot. ”If I knew you would come to this, I would have done it far sooner!” She bellowed with another laugh. Though her joy was quickly cut short as she felt the intense shock from two more darts that hit her. She coiled her arms in on herself and turned her gaze back to the two supers that were now out in the parking lot. She snarled at them before she cocked her head to the side. ”How about the two of you fight each other for the time being, eh? Momma is busy.” Her power flared out, pulsing towards the two supers. She grabbed hold of the anxiety and fear that any super attack would cause, even in the most experienced of heroes. She gave it a mighty pull, ripping those emotions to the surface and amplifying them. ”I’m done with you. Play with each other!”

As the two heroes entered a panicked state, they turned onto anything in reach which happened to be each other. As they started to brawl with each other, she finally turned her eyes back on the angel.

”Oh come down, sweet angel! We can talk!” She followed Queen’s movements in the sky, stepping out onto a stepping stone of her chaotic energy. ”Where have you been hiding?” She asked a little frantically. She ran along her stepping stones, getting higher and higher into the air. ”You remember me, right?! The park! Come down! We can talk!” She was stopped midstep as she heard the thundering of something large barrelling through the building. She snapped her eyes to the entrance as a beast of a man came stomping out into the sunlight. She watched as he swept his gaze over the two fighting heroes then peered up at her in the sky.

“Stop! You’re under arrest!” He called out but she only growled in response. She sneered at the man as she raised her hand, two fingers pointed directly at him like a makeshift gun. She was getting frustrated with all these heroes. Of course, that was her intention initially but suddenly her Queen showed up! Now those heroes were just a menace she had to rid herself of them so she could have some private time with the angel woman.

Dr. Eileen Fang

@Omega Man @Crimson Flame @BunniesOfDoom @Finetales

Just prior to the attack, Eileen had felt unusual vibrations in the ground, and could barely believe what she was 'seeing' with her echolocation; people being dragged into the liquid ground and left there. But as the chaos ensued, Supercop tasked her and the others with setting up an 'anti-power' pulse field. Turning to Son of Liberty and Spellbound, Eileen stated, "I can't fly or even jump good, so I'll do one of the ground floor ones." Taking one of the devices, she headed in the opposite direction than Stampede as per Supercop's instructions. This took her away from the action, but she was completely fine with this. Without her tech, she had limited offensive capabilities, and even with her tools, she had little to no defensive capabilities; she couldn't imagine how poorly she'd fare against a 'reality warper'. Still, her super hearing let Eileen hear the crazed woman, now hovering in the air, asking for 'heroes who could end her', which sounded like a cry for help, leading Eileen to ponder on the overlap between poor mental health and supervillainy. Just another sign of how the failing system let the downtrodden slip through the cracks, forcing them to resort to violence. But that wasn't important right now.

Cradling the device in her arms, Eileen sent waves of sonar into it to analyze its internal structure, while her eyes scanned it with every light frequency imaginable to determine its composition. She needed to gather as much data on this device as she could while she had a chance and attempt to memorize it so she could attempt to make one of her own in the future. She would likely need such a tool for her eventual plans.