Bzzzt.

Amaris was always aware that there was something ugly about it all. Inherent messiness beneath the glamour of the surface was to be expected with something like Talents and Heroes and Fame. It was, perhaps, for the best that the drones were more invested in Elpis than they were in the Moon Arrow. A soft breath in, a longer one out. She tried to ignore the specks of light dotting the tips of her fingers as she allowed her voice to give form to words.

“Hm. I suspect Aspera won’t be pleased about that.” Even tone. No stresses, no emphases. For all intents and purposes, the Moon Arrow was as distant as her namesake in the moment despite the rampaging heartbeat savagely pounding at her ribs. “But I’m sure GAG will be able to discuss that with the appropriate personnel.”

The sound of hard heels clicked against the road as Amaris made her landing, the length of her coat trailing behind her. For a moment, she had to stop herself from moving further as a countdown ticked in her head with a steady silence, each number acting like a measure of her breathing. Slowly, the riotous thundering in Amaris’s chest began to subside, the fires it stoked put into a vice grip even as they wrapped unseen fingers tight around the talent’s throat. Hot. Scalding. Someone less disciplined than the night-haired Hero might have screamed in response to building pressure.

It was an ugliness she had to keep in check, even if the red-eyed beast with razor claws and vorpal fangs roared and writhed against such restraint in the pit of her stomach.

"We will work on that smile someday."

Elpis, the Maiden of Hope, wasn’t it? That pleasant naivete was easy enough to work with.

Amaris choked down bitter fury like medicine and trampled the chthonian monstrosity back into its place with determination tempered by visions of starlight and phantoms. Vile. Flawed. Everything grated against her with an abrasiveness that left her reeling, but it didn’t matter. Silvia Alba didn’t have the luxury of refusing any of the noxious tools in her reach.

“Elpis.” The name was spoken through their own channel, the next words soft; closer to a mentor’s recommendation than a teacher’s instruction. “The driver needs immediate medical attention. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting most of the drones to follow you if you take him. Cleanup crews will be able to start work sooner if all these drones clear out too.”

She still needed the lifeline provided by such grotesque undercurrents in the end.

“I’ll contact my agency for support on clean up. Aftermath is more our wheelhouse than Aspera’s, so it should be fine.”

And she’d swallow as much poison as she needed to keep it all burning to the end.

---

Somewhere in the back of Elpis' mind, there is a part of her that feels she messed something up that she deviated from the image that she and Aspera painstakingly made. Not that she didn't have time to contemplate as her body made contact to the railing and pain surged to her body, while she is more durable than an ordinary man getting involved in a car accident still hurts like beep!

Yes beep because the other b-word might be too vulgar for the example she wants to set, better to be found in meme for censoring herself than get called out for swearing.

She pushed the now unmoving vehicle back and stumbled a little bit. Letting herself a deep breath before looking at the drones and posing, she needs to show that is fine after her debut after all. And she cannot afford to slack just because the hard part is over. Time to see how the driver is doing and see what she could do.

Oh no.

He's bleeding in the head and it seems that the airbags didn't work. He's still breathing but it is clear that his situation is delicate.

Ok the training tells her to not touch the victim and just turn off the car, emergency services should be on their way now so she needs to make sure that nothing would make the situation worse. The second part would be documentation and the drones can do that without her.

“Elpis.” The name was spoken through their own channel, the next words soft; closer to a mentor’s recommendation than a teacher’s instruction. “The driver needs immediate medical attention. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting most of the drones to follow you if you take him. Cleanup crews will be able to start work sooner if all these drones clear out too.”

Moon Arrow was fortunate that she is talking to Elpis from a line, if she was any closer the maiden would sense her inner conflict with her powers and might feel that something is amiss from her counsel. Unfortunately it unknowingly allowed said maiden to operate under the curtain of innocence and naivety.

"Negative." she spoke from the communicator as she took the key and handed it to a drone. "Moving him might aggravate his injuries and with emergency services on their way, it would be better to leave his transfer to the professionals." she rebuked as once again checked the victims airflow, pulling out the seatbelts should be fine.

"...and I can still feel my leg's pain. Moving too much and even flying might be too much for me." she shyly admitted.

What was left unsaid is that Boss Orwell will definitely yell at her if she ruined her 'real' debut by leaving so early.

Physical limitations hadn’t exactly been on the forefront of Amaris’s mind when it came to pushback. Between her own dogged stubbornness and the talents more inclined to help someone with a personality like her own, the Moon Arrow had never thought to consider that her tolerance for fatigue and pain might be the one out of the normal range. Such were the perils of working alone, she supposed. Expectations were easy to make unreasonable without a frame of reference.

Nevertheless, the dark-haired Hero gave only a restrained click of her tongue as a signal of the annoyances piling up on her shoulders. Attempts didn’t mean much when results were what spoke, but there were limits on how much someone with Amaris’s skillset could do. Again, something repulsive reared its head, an uncomfortable pressure settling over the woman’s chest in response.

This was why working with people outside of AGC was hard.

“Tsk… having him on scene when the cameras get here won’t go well for him. AGC usually has some talents on site at hospitals for treatments in case trainees get a little too enthusiastic, but…” But what? Would spelling it out be any use the scheme of things? Frustrations painted her thoughts again. “…things could get dicey for him if his identity gets out, and that’s harder to fix. Car companies tend not to be very nice about taking care of PR, and I don’t see either of our agencies trying to fight that for no return.”

Despite the control Amaris displayed, she couldn’t hold back the tired sigh that came across their communications.

“Part of taking care of the victims is making sure they don’t get burned by us after the fact.”

The memories such thoughts brought to the surface were unwelcome, at best. Then, the corner of Amaris’s mouth twitched as the seedlings of a plan came to mind. Physical limitations could be worked around, and they might even have a good photo opportunity. The thought of Remington’s taunting voice came to mind in response. If things worked out, he was going to be so annoying about what came out of it.

‘Wow, I hate this plan already.’

“Mmmh... It'll be tough if your legs give out here too. If you can’t move much, I’ll carry both of you. It should be fine if you play up his injuries a little and hold him steady while we move. Less damage in the backdrop too.” It might have been good that the drones weren’t focused on her and better still that they had their own lines for communication. Nobody but Elpis heard the strained notes that came with each of the Moon Arrow’s next (near-strangled) words. "And our agencies will… love… the optics… and the public won’t… focus on him then…”

---

“Tsk… having him on scene when the cameras get here won’t go well for him. AGC usually has some talents on site at hospitals for treatments in case trainees get a little too enthusiastic, but…” But what? Would spelling it out be any use the scheme of things? Frustrations painted her thoughts again. “…things could get dicey for him if his identity gets out, and that’s harder to fix. Car companies tend not to be very nice about taking care of PR, and I don’t see either of our agencies trying to fight that for no return.”

Despite the control Amaris displayed, she couldn’t hold back the tired sigh that came across their communications.

“Part of taking care of the victims is making sure they don’t get burned by us after the fact.”

Moon Arrow would see from afar Elpis' face slowly twist from shyness to realization, new to the game she might be but she is not blind to cloak and dagger games played behind. Kinda hard to ignore with her brother working at the government and the Theorist encouraging the public to use critical thinking.

She waited for a signal or a directive from her agency but it appears that they want her to fly solo on this one, a test? An assessment on how she would react to the dark side of being a Talent or the subtle strongarming on her?

"And our agencies will… love… the optics… and the public won’t… focus on him then…”

Did she even want to do this?

So how should she approach this, should she take the olive branch and save herself the pain? The entire time the Moon Arrow would see the Maiden touch her chin in contemplation as weighs on her options. There was a subtle change in her mannerisms, as if someone gave Elpis a brain and she's using it to the fullest.

But first what's actually happening?

Because honestly the idea that the victim will get any attention here is bullsith. Watching the typical news would show you that the heroes are the ones they will put on display while disregarding most of the background. So what's the play here.

Car companies being vicious for PR...

A clean up crew instead of emergency responders...

They are planning to wipe the scene clean before anyone finds it! This is the type of sheep that gets featured in a Theorist video gone right!

So with that established what does she want?

She wants her debut to go smoothly, she needs to show her face before the camera. She cannot let this incident be swiped under the rug especially for the interest of someone else.

So what should she do...

While she was gathering her thoughts, a considerable amount of time had passed and that would be the springboard of Elpis' own plan.

"Are you sure you want to do that? I had long figured out that you're camera shy so..."

That's right, she will deflect and small talk her way until the ambulance arrives!

Or the agency tells her to get herself down and be a damsel whatever goes first.

The moment David finished speaking to Armada, the man's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas. This was his chance to take the reins and show just how manipulative he could be, but this could also be the right moment to broker peace with one of his fellow heroes. If there was one thing that was guaranteed in this business, heroes connecting always brought fandoms together which could mean a greater level of popularity. Armada's eyes darted back and forth between both women before giving them a sly smile. Suddenly the lights near the TEAM RESPAWN station began to twirl around and change color, giving all those looking a show, and giving Casanova a moment to usher eyes to the front of the TEAM RESPAWN station where Armada took a slow, extravagant walk to.

"Come one. Come all. Won't you all like to see your lovely heroes go head to head? Have you ever wondered who would win between Ladyice and Myself or,"Armada made sure he made complete eye contact with both female heroes, "Or Ladyice vs Zephyr."

The lights would stop, giving way to a flashy appearance for Armada's next few words.

"I bet you all are wondering what I have up my sleeve. I'd like to formally announce TEAM RESPAWN's next invention, the future of VR aka Re:Arcade. With Re:Arcade, you can create experiences that feel as real as the world around you. You could even say..fight stop a dastardly villain alongside your favorite hero. But I think there is a better demonstration. Ladyice. Zephyr."

Armada would raise his arms to Zephyr and Ladyice, his hands outward to beckon them to stand beside him.

"See these fine ladies will be giving a demonstration tomorrow of Re:Arcade. It is not often that our three agencies decide to work together, but this will be a show like no other. And as a plus for you the fans, whoever wins during the demonstration will be doing a special collab stream with yours truly, a stream for the ages. Maybe their fued is a ploy. Maybe you'll see a heated match between two fantastic heroes. Be sure not to miss it."

This would place both women in a tight spot. While they wouldn't know if their agencies had approved this behind their backs, it would look bad if they turned this down. Even worse for someone like Zephyr who's popularity was so much lower than the ice queen and the technological marvel; a stream with Armada could boost her numbers exponentially. On the other end was the ice bitch herself. A stream between those two would gangbusters and just may rehabilitate a bit of the attitude issue. In reality, Armada didn't care at all who won because in the end this would only make things better for his own popularity, and possibly give rise to taking the number one spot.

‘Ugh, I don't have time for this. At least give me an excuse to bail...’

Maybe it was still a little too early for Amaris to be playing the senior to anyone, all things considered.

“Sure, camera-shy. Something like that.” Maybe if the higher ups would just approve a mask, hide-and-seek with cameras wouldn't be such a necessity. As it was, she needed either more time or more Fame before the cameras were a net benefit--not that Amaris could say as much out loud. “Your image is better for this sort of thing, but I’ll get him off scene and to a hospital on my own if I have to.”

The tone was distant, maintaining the guarded air that permeated most of the woman’s interactions. A company that was bold enough to skip a manager or agent and go directly for a talent before a situation resolved was both confident and brazen. Amaris didn't exactly trust that cutting to the quick was the only bold move they'd make if she didn't succeed in their request. AGC's likely reaction aside, she doubted anyone on the scene had more credibility than GAG in the present situation. Try as she might, it was hard to put aside the idea of an unknown person being buried over a blip in the grand scheme of things. That cut a little too close to home, and it was infinitely frustrating. Infuriating. The impulsive desire to scream into a pillow to try and alleviate the building pressure came to mind despite the obvious obstacles to such a course of action.

Still, the woman had to keep that ugly outrage in check. Amaris the Moon Arrow didn't have nearly enough power to do anything more than grip the scraps left to her like a lifeline.

“I’m not asking you to care. Most talents don’t,” Amaris started without much intonation. The “little stuff” was the job of their agents and management, as far as most talents were concerned. She knew that to the point of revulsion, and yet acknowledging it still left her bitter. “But I’d rather the media run ‘the altruistic Maiden of Hope can even get the standoffish Moon Arrow to care' than risk their investors trying to smear the driver. Plus, you’ll get follow-up interviews instead of a one-and-done and our agencies get collaboration avenues for the future.”

A pause. That did feel gross. How Michelle put up with it on a regular basis was beyond the Hero. Part of her wondered exactly how “convincing” GAG expected a new talent with a personality known to be less-than-friendly to be. It wasn’t like a statement on or off the scene would make much difference either—maybe it would? Should she have asked Michelle? With neither the time nor the insight to reconsider, Amaris had little choice but to fall back on the more direct nature of the image AGC allowed her to cultivate.

“Work with me or don’t. I'll do what I need to.”

Thus, the Moon Arrow’s feet started to move her toward the car. If all else failed, she would simply have to work with what didn't.

---

Still no comments or directive on the other side, that means that she should simply just trust her gut and deal with the consequences later. While she appreciates her relative freedom compared to other heroes on the other hand, the pressure to not mess up her image is getting close to her. Regardless, Eplis kept her face in the game as she counted the minutes that had passed. Considering the average response times in the city, she only needs to hold for one or two more minutes before the ambulance arrives.

So the plan remains the same, hold her ground, keep the mouth running and hope for the best.

“I’m not asking you to care. Most talents don’t,” Amaris started without much intonation. The “little stuff” was the job of their agents and management, as far as most talents were concerned. She knew that to the point of revulsion, and yet acknowledging it still left her bitter. “But I’d rather the media run ‘the altruistic Maiden of Hope can even get the standoffish Moon Arrow to care' than risk their investors trying to smear the driver. Plus, you’ll get follow-up interviews instead of a one-and-done and our agencies get collaboration avenues for the future.”

“Work with me or don’t. I'll do what I need to.”

Even if the Moon Arrow marching towards here seems like she is anticipating the worst.

"Don't you think this thing is getting a bit silly?" The Maiden spoke in a bit of a wary tune as she looked around her, seriously where are the sirens?!

"There are a lot of traffic incidents that occur in this city and GAG is a large company in the car market." she pointed out trying to channel the spirit of her brother inside of her, that statement is true even if said company is on a decline.

"So it would be common sense to say that a lot of their cars were on the road and these cars get into an accident sometimes, especially the older models. So what's with this incident that they seemed so gung-ho to cover up!" She spoke not just to her senior but to whoever is listening or watching their conversation.

There was also the fact that Elpis believed that the driver is not entirely blameless, the fact that he forgot to remove his seatbelt before jumping tells her that he wasn't experienced on the road and probably made some mistakes on his own side. Not that she is going to say it aloud right now.

"Do they really need to make a cover up that might blow up if someone finds out or blew the whistle rather than I don’t know let the scene play out as one of today's many car accidents? Is the effort hiding this incident really worth it!” Elpis let out a sigh before realizing that she might have spoken too much.



“Sorry for the outburst but I really cannot see the logic of hounding a man who is already in an unfortunate situation.” Elpis spoke to Moon Arrow using the comms, her voice were a little weak, a little tired.

“But I’m not lying about my injury so if you still want to go ahead I won’t fight back but I think I bought enough time.”

The Moon Arrow would feel a small laughter on the other side by the end and when asked Elpis will admit she wasn't sure why she's laughing that time.

Oh, great. Now the other buffoon in attendance was getting involved when no one asked him to. Though Sheena supposed she should've seen it coming. The worst part was that his little gambit was working: as the hero with the lowest numbers involved, she couldn't afford to turn down these opportunities as they came. Not if she wanted the higher-ups at Carmine to stay off her ass, at least. In a non-sexual manner. Being around Ladyice was seriously having her rethink any innuendo, even in her own head. Bitch.

...Was Ladyice in her head now? Absolutely goddamned disgusting. How did someone bleach their own mind? She didn't want anything the hag probably caught.

"God, shut up. I'll play along until you make me regret it. Now do me a favor and don't fuck things up for us for the next bit I've got."

ZEPHYR gave a very visible roll of the eyes, straight to the cameras, as Ladyice went on with the penetration joke out loud. Ignoring her completely, she turned to Armada, her gaze narrowed.

"...You're on. On one condition, of course:" Fine, Armada wanted to force them into this? She'd play hardball. "You're participating too. Unless RESPAWN doesn't want their own golden boy to test their tech. Second and third place," ZEPHYR gestured to Ladyice and herself respectively before pointing straight towards Armada. "Fight first. Unless you don't think you can take on both of us on your own home turf."

Sheena wasn't an idiot: one-on-one against someone with over three times her fame? In a straight match, she'd be crushed. But if she had the scores right, her and Ladyice ought to be an even match for Armada on paper. Much better odds for herself, and if shit went wrong? Public out of blaming the skank. Maybe that would get Isabela to shut the fuck up for a week or so.

‘What is this speech supposed to be?’

Common sense? A cover up and whistle-blowers? Amaris couldn't entirely follow exactly what far-fetched conclusions Elpis had come to. Hounding a man—did this girl even hear what she was saying? Common sense was that companies didn’t like bad press. Common sense was that they wouldn't hesitate to bury a man in return for their reputation. Common sense was ensuring there was no reason for anyone to think twice about him, and that using their reputations to stir something more exciting than a traffic incident was an easy way to deal with it.

And to have the gall to call any of it something as petulant as silly, regardless of whatever half-baked scheme or speech the girl had... It would have been nice to think Elpis’s head was only full of flowers, but Talents never proved themselves deserving of such optimistic faith.

Amaris thought of her too-big apartment. Of men in suits and whispers at the dining table and of the day she saw specks of illumination dotting the tips of dark locks. She thought of a radiant smile. Of the smell of cigarette smoke fading over time. Of late-night searches and of AGC Rising. Of a phone call. Of staring into a mirror and forcing herself to acknowledge her own uselessness.

Her skin crawled, each word from Elpis raking across her like sharp barbs. Naïve and innocent, but there was nothing trustworthy about them, was there? Revulsion and disgust rose like bile in the back of Amaris’s throat as she worked, her movements gentle and precise as they always were when it came to aftercare despite the fury boiling her blood. Surface level first aid, easily removed parts of her coat stripped or severed with thin bolts of moonlight to turn into makeshift support or supplies, a quick perusal for identification to bring in case the hospital might need it; the movements were well practiced, even for an AGC Rising debut Talent.

This wasn’t out of her usual methods of operation; whether she was acting as Silvia or Amaris the Moon Arrow, it had always been the same: minimize the number of people affected, reduce collateral damage with precision, and above all else, people before press. She’d sold it with some difficulty to marketing before her debut—if she was going to try and hide her face, then it made sense for her to prioritize differently than the average Talent. A slower initial growth in exchange for long-term credibility when it came to her unscripted work, she’d said. If Amaris the Moon Arrow was gone before the press for the same reason every time, then she could always point to her previous efforts for an explanation. For all intents and purposes, laying the foundation was the only thing keeping her in check at the start. It was more for her own conscience—perhaps one day, the distaste would turn into white noise she could ignore—but the convenience couldn’t be understated.

Which might have been why she felt little more than revulsion over Elpis’s outburst. Wretched. Revolting. Vile. She should have known better than to be drawn in by the initial act at any measure. Maiden of Hope? A Talent that cared? That had been little more than a fraying thread to grasp to begin with. Hope was a stupid, idiotic thing to hold onto, and she should have known it. Long before she came to AGC and she was sure that long after Amaris the Moon Arrow fulfilled her purpose and faded from Neo-Astraea, Silvia Alba would always know only one thing to be true:


She shouldn’t have bothered with anything more, but perhaps Amaris, Silvia, whoever she felt more like in the moment had held onto a fraction of goodwill for too long. All she could feel as she adjusted the injured man’s position in her arms and prepared for her own departure was a sense of abhorrence. The façade of guarded distance chipped, a sharp trickle of long-held odium managing to faintly paint the her final words with the only emotion that Amaris had ever carried toward her own ilk.

“Enough. I get your act already.”

She really did hate Talents after all.

---

_{@PapiTan@Digmata}
There was nothing else to be said. It was the space of a few meters, perhaps, but in that moment, in that frothing, seething moment, Elpis could feel it.

A chasm. A chasm unfathomable, one that could not be circumnavigated no matter how grand one's wings were. An alien gale whipped through sheer cliff faces, while beneath bubbled black waters whose toxicity caused birds themselves to plummet to their doom. Such was the hatred, the spite, the obsessive rage lying beneath the surface of the Moon Arrow, that all thoughts, all mirth, all childish petulance was silenced by the shadow within Amaris. There was no coming back from that. No coming back from this.

And perhaps, there never was any chance to begin with, that they could have been any friendlier than what the executives demanded. Not with this innate disgust would colour every interaction, past, present, and future.

The sirens caught up by then, the police having slowed their chase once Talents involved themselves. There was no need for Neo-Astraea's law enforcement agencies to be involved in anything more than the cleanup and aftermath. Two approached Elpis, still stunned by what she had peaked within the dark side of the moon, and statements were given, evidence gathered, the scene cordoned off. Within another fifteen minutes, traffic started flowing through this artery of District Mu. Within the hour, there were more exciting incidents for media drones to track.

They all left, leaving the Maiden of Hope alone, lost in the thought that she did something wrong.

_{@Taka@Psyker Landshark@Yu Narukami}
A hundred cameras were recording, and countless more were watching all across Neo-Astraea. Re:Arcade? The next advancement in VR gaming technology? Now THAT was something worth getting excited about in Play/Tech! There was not a single person under the age of 30 that hadn't fostered dreams of becoming a Talent, of becoming a superhuman worshipped by the masses, and if there was a simple device that could safely let one experience all that?

Well, of course people would get excited!

Even as the air seemed to be a couple degrees colder than it ought to be, the fervor of the crowd ramped up. News reporters were pushing forwards now, demanding answers to their questions about this new invention, the specifics behind the pseudo-scientific principles that it ran on. Fans online were already starting up their own little wars, especially with Zephyr's own gauntlet thrown down to challenge not just Ladyice, but also Armada himself, the KING of gaming. Sure, he didn't show up nearly so often in realheroics, but who could deny his skill in virtual environments, where he could literally supersede the code? It was the sort of overconfident brashness that people loved.

Both positive and negatively.

Which way it all fell, in the end, depended entirely on the three Talents performances in Re:Arcade tomorrow.

...

Anyone with a brain, of course, would understand then, that the victor would be decide before this demonstration of a fight began.

---

//News Round Up

---

A family diner clandestine sponsored by Aspera



Moon Arrow's parting words kept echoing in Phoebe's head. She would be lying if what she said weren't painful but that wasn't what keeps living in her head rent free. What keeps that moment playing on her was what she had seen with her 'sixth sense'.

An endlessly deep chasm where both she and Moon Arrow are standing in opposite edges, chilling winds dissuade any thought to cross as count spikes promised a messy death. If she need to use words the ones she will use are deep seething hate.

She expected to something like this to happen but on a villain not to a fellow hero like her.

She needed a second opinion and after some deliberation she decided to ask for hers.

She doesn't want to go to her brother unless there no other options.

Sir Boris and the management would only step in when the situation is serious or to provide them information.

And Scheherazade is immediately thrown out because she will definitely use it in a scheme. If she was asked, she would make a brilliant villain with her 'flair'.

So she took a seat at one of the tables as she waited for Pandora because a villain might give her the foresight she needed.

Her wallet is going to cry she just hopes she won't add take outs like last time.

She probably should have gone home, but Amaris had somehow managed to win her stare down with Michelle that evening. It was a petulant and childish action perhaps more accurately described as a stubborn tantrum, but it wasn’t unexpected. Rare were the moments where Amaris wanted to go back to her apartment. Some of the newer staff members whispered about it when they thought she couldn’t hear—why did Amaris refuse to relocate if she was never going to spend time there in the first place? It was easier to pretend she didn’t hear them than to try and acknowledge the reality.

‘Ugh… but can’t we do something about these aftereffects?’ Amaris ran a hand over the back of her neck, her nerves jittering in oversensitive protest. Cornerstone to her persona or not, piercing anything substantial as her own arrow always left a messy aftermath of hypersensitivity. The evening breeze might have been nice, had it not felt like rubbing raw skin on cheap canvas. Nevertheless, Amaris kept to the skyline, a fresh coat heavy on her shoulders and the dull sound of reports buzzing in her ear. Distant scratches at the corner of her mind to try and wear down the anger still burning in her gut.

It was annoying, really, that the best distraction from her distaste of Talents was to act as one herself.

“Did you put me somewhere quiet so I’d get bored and go home?” The question was directed to an absent presence as Amaris’s feet settled on a rooftop. A soft, bitter scoff given by the dark-haired Talent was the only response. There was no doubt that the staff members obligated to deal with her peculiarities knew how she would respond. Going home would let the anger fester into a toxin that threatened to eat her whole. Without giving herself the time to hesitate, the Moon Arrow rose into the air again, one hand securing her coat more firmly against her body. A shower of sparks spread beneath the surface of her skin in a prickling swarm, yet the woman’s expression barely shifted to show the discomfort.

‘I’ll go back when Remy’s out of training.’

Just a bit longer. She could manage it all for a little bit longer.

---

_@PapiTan
Neo-Astraea at night was, for those Talents with heightened senses, perhaps worse than it was during day. Regulations by the Ministries meant that the majority of businesses shut down before 5PM, after all, leaving only entertainment and service facilities open and occupied still. From low-stakes gambling to simulated horse racing, from gorging at buffets or clanking mugs of frothing beer, the six hours of leisure that every working adult had to themselves was spent as if in celebration of the very prosperity that the city promised all its residents. Neon lights chased away the gloom of the evening, while even now, Talents clashed over the cityline, a mythic theater playing out overhead.

Tonight, three Districts were restricted from interference from other Agencies, due to bookings by various events. In the meanwhile, the Battle Tower once again featured sub-300,000 Fame Talents challenging the legends enshrined within, seeking to 'awaken' the latent powers dwelling within through suffering and hardship. The daytime concerts that a Talent like Kirara showed up for were dwarfed by the sold-out lives for Cabaddu the Carnivorous, who mixed horridly gluttonous displays of cooking with slasher metal. And, of course, all that noise, all that fervor, were simply appetizers for the midnight release of Scheifele the Coruscant Fatality's latest arthouse film: "Breakwaters Upon the Pentacle", where the famously reclusive and masked Talent (whom nevertheless peaked at 2,639,337 Fame) was rumored to finally do a face reveal!

And Amaris, her senses stretched taut by the worship of her followers, could feel that thrumming of the city, celebrity consuming heroism, greed and parasocial joys causing so many to turn a blind eye to smaller faults, crimes on an individual scale. Corporations, who manipulated belief just as freely as Agencies did, and the personal losses that would occur due to that.

It had been nothing if not fortunate that Elpis kept her mouth shut. She had failed to move the naive fool, but things turned out in such a way that the GAG representative was likely to not make any immediate moves. That young man came away with just a concussion and a cut to the head; likely, they would send an agent incognito to simply...redirect his memories of the accident in a fashion where it was only himself who was at fault. He'd be out a car and there'd be a mark on his driving record, but as far as such things go, it could be worse.

There were many times where things turned out for the worse.

Sparks spread, fell, burnt out. She was a comet too, flying, disintegrating.

Her personal device buzzed, a message from the idiot who somehow turned out to be her only friend.

lol so im in the hospital right now. get me my gibblewhizzler? sneak a couple beers in too pls.

_@Digmata
"Good evening, Miss Lunetta."

Phoebe didn't have to wait long for Pandora, otherwise known as Pearl Blanchflower, to arrive at the humble diner. Dressed in a dark blue tracksuit and with her black hair tied up in a ponytail, it was clear that the girl had been spending after hours at the gym again, even if she had at least done the courtesy of getting a quick shower before joining her fellow Aspera Agency Talent for dinner. A smudge of blue facepaint laid on the side of her neck, standing out against her pale complexion, but perhaps it wasn't facepaint at all, but simply a physical 'alteration' that was made permanent as Pearl and Pandora became closer and closer to being a merged identity.

While Magical Girls had the ability to Transform, the same couldn't be said for Fallen Magical Girls, after all. They had thrown away their civilian lives at the height of despair or wrath, abandoning their humanity for greater power...or so the lore went, at least.

Sitting in a prim and proper fashion with her back straight and her hands folded upon her lap, Pearl's sheltered upbringing was still clearly at display here. "Well, I am here. What's been troubling you?"

---

in collaboration with @Crowvette

In hindsight it would be apparent that the two heroes were lucky to be able to chat as they were. It wasn’t a casual conversation, not exactly, and it certainly wasn’t candid with the way that Kirara’s agents hovered at her shoulder as she spoke. Not only was the idol on a time limit before she had to make an appearance before her fans once again, and the aspiring hero apparently had gotten backstage under near-false pretenses, but for two people that should realistically be rivals the others in the room let them speak without interruption.

Cas considered Kirara’s response. When she talked about idols having their own spins on their careers, his features fell a little. That was about what he expected - it was, after all, the norm. People becoming heroes to make money, sell a product, get famous. One could hardly blame the individuals when corporations incentivized such things.

She did mention helping people, though. Honestly he hadn’t even thought about the fact that her songs themselves could help. She was right too, there were tons of stories about people healing through art of all kinds, especially music. Cas blinked, touching a hand to his chin. ”Huh, I never thought about it like that before.”

Maybe he should get into art too, and then get others in on it. Maybe assist in starting a neighborhood art therapy program if there wasn’t one around already…

His thoughts were cut short by Kirara’s counter question. He blinked once more, a small smile returning to his face.

”Me? Well, because… I wanted to help people too,” he said. If he was at all embarrassed about the simple answer, it didn’t show on his face whatsoever. He was direct and earnest as he spoke. ”Be a real hero, not the kind behind a screen.”

Kirara put her hands together at Cas’s response. “Oh! I think that’s wonderful!!” Her eyes almost seemed to sparkle. “Such a pure motivation is perfect for a hero! It’s brilliant!!” She was visibly leaning forward with every exclamation, perhaps without realizing it. She took a moment to gather herself a bit. “Being honest and straightforward like that is what lets people really shine, don’t you think? I hope as a hero I can inspire people to be like that.”

She meekly rubbed the back of her head after a moment. “Though, I’m still a complete novice as a hero… If anything, you seem like you’re more fit for the job already.” While she was no stranger to pressure, Kirara did betray a little nervousness about being a hero - it was still new to her. She hadn’t really had such a chance to casually converse with another hero, and perhaps she was letting that nervousness show as a result.

It might not have helped her worry that her conversation partner appeared a little taken aback at her reaction. From her overly enthusiastic motions to the particular words she chose. Cas blinked as her face inched closer and closer, tipping his head back when it seemed like their noses might even bump together. His face flushed slightly, a mix of feeling flattered and patronized at once. Maybe he'd been spending too much time around agents and offices of Summit (he definitely had been), but... it was hard to tell if she was being genuine or not.

After a beat Cas chose to take her praise at face value, returning a smile. "Ah, thanks. That means a lot."

Though for Kirara's insecurities, there wasn't actually much that the red head could do for her. He laughed, lightly and a little awkwardly, before saying, "I've only seen you on stage so I can't really say, but if you're healing people through your music and inspiring them to be better, don't you think that's already enough?"

Kirara furrowed her brow on those words, thinking on it with her eyes closed. “Hmm… It may seem like ‘enough,’ but…” She opened her eyes and gave a confident look. “Doing more than ‘enough’ is what makes a hero! Or at least, the kind of hero I’d want to be…” Kirara put her finger to her chin in thought, seemingly only processing what she had said after it was already out of her mouth.

There was a moment of silence as her eyes wandered, before returning to fix her gaze on Cas. “...Were you perhaps leading me to that thought to reassure me?” She leaned in a little and flashed him a sly grin, as if she had caught him red-handed. Whether or not it was intentional, it seemed clear that she considered it to be true. “You’re good! I do feel a little more confident now that I’ve said it out loud!”

Of course that wasn't actually the case. The young man's question was certainly to test Kirara, but not to nudge her in one direction or the other. In fact, Cas had assumed her answer might be sugary lines pre-fed to the idol by her agent, or something like that. Instead he was faced with a passionate and sincere girl, and was overcome with a feeling of embarrassment. Definitely, definitely spending too much time with his own suits. How could he have questioned Kirara’s resolve? How could he have possibly thought that she was just another 'hero' chasing fame when she felt the exact same way he did? Going above and beyond was what pushed Caspian to get out of his comfort zone and learn all kinds of things to help all kinds of people, and it was the pursuit of getting to a place where he could do the most good that he even accepted the old man's offer in the first place.

Suddenly Cas slapped both of his palms to his face. If she was any less used to it, Gianna might have startled at the movement. Instead she sighed through her nose, half fond, and barely managed not to roll her eyes. When Cas pulled his hands away there were soft red marks on his cheeks, but he was beaming at Kirara.

"Nah, you got there all on your own!" he told her first. "You're right though, and that's what I think too! Always giving it the extra mile when you can." And even when you can't, though Cas left that part of his experience out. "Man, I'm glad I came to talk to you. You might even have a new fan."
Kirara thought she had said something wrong at first, with how Cas responded. She almost spoke up to apologize before she managed to grasp the situation from Gianna’s reaction. Kirara obviously couldn’t tell what exactly Cas was thinking, but she was glad that he took what she said well.

Kirara returned the same beaming smile back to Cas. “That’s amazing!” She grabbed his hands excitedly, nearly bouncing with energy. “I’ll definitely be a fan of you too!!” She was overjoyed that another hero was happy to talk to her, let alone saying they’d be a fan of hers. Some of the ones she had researched seemed rather scary to talk to, in her opinion.

Seeing her now, one could barely imagine that she had just walked off the stage of a live performance. Turning from Cas and towards her producer, she put up her fist in a pose of determination. “All right! I’m fired up all over again!! I feel like I could do another set entirely!”” Seemingly, she had forgotten that the next event was a handshake event and not more music.

---

"Come on Pearl, you knew that could just call me Phoebe. I think our experiences together warrants that." Phoebe let out a sigh of relief, it seems that she's currently on her 'prim and proper mode’ which means the talk could start on a good footing. She probably needed that for the night.

Nobody was sure when and how Pandora emerged so suddenly. Her only public knowledge is a cleverly placed foreshadowing in a single line of ‘Maidens of Might and Magic’ lore book and an already deleted video that somehow guessed her existence with wrong information. It seems the video was deleted too late because Pandora latched onto Pearl.

The problem is that she is not meant to be Pandora, the smug girl now known as Scheherazade is supposed to be. It was a chaotic mess when everyone found out. If there is a silver lining, it is that both are weirdly enthusiastic about the switch-up compared to her. Due to time constraints, Aspera decided to deploy her first in the meantime.

“But yes, let me explain why I asked for this, unfortunately I think Pandora is the one who is likely to know the answer” Phoebe opened before taking a deep breath, here goes nothing.

“So remember that I was supposed to be in a joint patrol with another hero?” She started the conversation.

“Well by the end of that I saw from emotion sensing something that might be equivalent to what you’re about to make me see. An impossible chasm…”

A chasm. A chasm unfathomable, one that could not be circumnavigated no matter how grand one's wings were. An alien gale whipped through sheer cliff faces, while beneath bubbled black waters whose toxicity caused birds themselves to plummet to their doom. Such was the hatred, the spite, the obsessive rage lying beneath the surface of the Moon Arrow, that all thoughts, all mirth, all childish petulance was silenced by the shadow within Amaris. There was no coming back from that. No coming back from this.

“What does that thing supposed to mean?”

For all her time doing patrols and “real” hero work, it was always when she chose to be out and about at night that Amaris realized exactly how far the faith of her believers pushed her. At under 300,000, she didn’t hold a candle to big names, but still the night was too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too busy. Every time she was out for work at night, it seemed like the city was out to overwhelm her with a little more force than the last.

Logically, that was a good thing. Her senses had been growing sharper ever since her debut. Realistically, it made moments without direction trying at best. By all means, Amaris was aware that handling small, individual crimes, was a worthless endeavor for her purposes. They might remember her, they might even become a believer, but what was a single voice against the crushing weight of all of Neo-Astraea?

Despite that, Amaris persisted when her senses tuned too far allowed something to slip through.

Her boots clicked on the pavement, stumbling footsteps following behind the sound of her own landing as a would-be thief all but crashed into the floor. Three too many beers in his system, she imagined. Near the front steps of the nearest agency—far enough from the main streets in case the drink fueled another clumsy attempt, close enough that there was no risk of being lost.

If the agency had no one to deal with a single drunk, that was their own problem.

“Just be good.”

Then, with a glance at her personal device, Amaris clicked her tongue in equal parts exasperation and concern. Remy being in the hospital was… tragically common, all things considered. Actually, considering the things he got up to, he was there far less often than one would expect.

‘His… what is that again…?’ And beers? Had he gotten a concussion and forgotten who he was talking to? ‘Ah, wait, there might be a few from when he was over last time?’

That was fine then. Amaris felt her feet lift from the floor again before a streak of moonlight cut through the skies.

---

Sylvia kept her mask on and her hair carefully braided to hide the cosmic pinks and purples that had long become permanent additions to her hair color as best she could. With sunglasses out of the question--sunglasses? Indoors? At night?--it was about the best she could do.

With any luck, it would be enough to keep any nurses working their third consecutive shift from recognizing her as she looked for Remy.

---

_@PapiTan
Shedding her outfit and going incognito best she could, at least, helped dampen some of the influence of the Moon Arrow's sensitivity, and the hospital that Remington's had sent her the address to was a smaller, more exclusive one, no doubt meant for celebrity athletes to recover in.

The front desk receptionist, working her 7th shift in a row (Ministry-approved, due to the Nursing Union's negotiations two years back), did in fact point her towards the fourth floor, third wing when she mentioned Remy's name, and the rest of the journey went without much in particular to note. Machines beeped and buzzed, tablets sounded quietly through rooms, patients coughed and wheezed and dreamed. A few of the staff she passed nodded or smiled at her, but none of them appeared to guess that she was a 200,000 Fame Talent. Or maybe they did, but had seen enough other celebrity-types to no longer bat an eye when one visited.

And as for Remy himself?

In a warmly lit room with a window overlooking a budding garden, the dark-skinned athlete reclined upon the hospital bed, a conspicuously round hump bulging out from his covered body.

"Ah, Silvia," he smiled, gently, maternally, the incandescent glow making him akin to the quintessential expecting mother. "Surprise. I'm pregnant."

_@Digmata
Pearl pressed a thumb against the underside of her chin as Phoebe spoke, her own expression knotting in a mixture of confusion and concern. While every Talent at Aspera had been coached to expect some degree of enmity as one became more and more popular, her understanding of the Moon Arrow (because of course the Agency would share information on other Talents they were partnering up with) was that of someone who was brusque and professional, focused on realheroics. She wasn't a drama hound or she'd stop wearing a hood, and if she wanted money, fame, and sponsorships, there were far better ways to handle it than going on patrols and detaining petty thieves. And while there may be some tensions between the Moon Arrow and the Maiden of Hope, at the same time...

What Phoebe was describing sounded really bad?

"I do apologize, Miss Phoebe," Pearl spoke, compromising best she could, "but I'm not certain I possess enough information to really be able to make sense of this. Did the manager mention anything to you?" Her brows knotted, dark eyes narrowing in deeper thought. It was hard to tell how much of Elpis's empathy was 'real' from the perspective of someone who had nothing of the sorts; certainly, these perception-related abilities didn't stand up in court. Yet if it troubled her this much? If it was actually as dire as her visions seemed to make it out to be?

"Amaris isn't a Villain, is she? Or, well, even a Villain wouldn't harbor such feelings in the depths of their heart. It's just not professional or healthy to feel that towards any one person." Oh, but on the other hand... "But maybe it's just the influence of her Fame? Did you manage to have a talk with her after work?"

It wasn't unheard of for the perception of fans to start molding the inner personality of a Talent, after all. Perhaps a lone wolf persona like Amaris's somehow ended up developing an intense antipathy towards anyone whom she was forced to partner up with, and her managers simply didn't realize that side effect yet?

There was no doubt that Silvia was still concerned over Remy, even as she used the heel of her shoe to soften the closing of the room’s door behind her with the wry smile that was so commonly on her face when it came to Remington Beauford. Crossing the space of the room with a few even strides, Silvia placed the bag of personal items she’d brought for her dearest, darlingest friend on the chair just out of reach from the bed. It wasn’t much, the items within it a fairly random assortment. Three items he'd left in recent visits (she still didn't know exactly what the buttons on one of them did), an insulated thermos she didn't remember buying, a tablet, and whatever she could get to accommodate Remington's request for beer from her own fridge. "Ice cream stand", the pale blue can read beneath the brewery's logo.

“Wow, and you never introduced the other parent to me? I’m wounded,” Silvia said with a tone between sarcastic and playful. Despite her usual demeanor, warmth found its way into the woman’s cosmic eyes as she tapped the side of the bag with the tip of her finger. Though muffled, a particular metallic ping came as a telltale report of the not-so-authorized beverage in the satchel of offerings. “But should you really be asking for this in your condition? You have to think of the baby.”

Something familiar lifted the pressure that had been building in Silvia’s chest as she allowed herself to indulge in a life only half a step away from her identity as Amaris. For all the headaches he might cause her, Remington’s presence was always a relief. Only a few moments, and the conflagration she’d been keeping in check was smothered by a heavy blanket. Present—it was always present—but too weak to compel her.

Behind the chuckle and exasperated shake of her head, Silvia couldn’t help but wonder if she relied too much on her friend.

“You’re not in here for something serious, are you?” A pause. One hand gently pinched the bag's opening shut with two fingers and angled it away from Remington with a slight lean in a fluid motion. “I’m not handing anything over until you answer, by the way.”