[hr] [center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/8zfY3hBF/Untitled-design.png[/img][/center] [hr] [color=gray][center][h2][i][b]You're Golden [/b][/i][/h2] (( ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: Lightning Girl/[@FourtyTwo], Asteroid/[@SonnetNSunbeam], Hat Trick/[@BigPapaBelial], Madcap (sorta lol)/[@Auragreedia] | ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: [various] ))[/center][/color] [quote][color=gold]"Blackstar. Fuck. You're hurt. And you...thanks."[/color][/quote] Alaine shrugged in reply, buzzing with enough cosmic energy that she didn't entirely feel everything that was wrong. Aside from that annoying blood in her eye, anyway... Lightning Girl, though, that was a different story. The white-haired heroine was clearly in pain, bloodied in multiple places -- perhaps most concerningly at her side, where it looked like she'd done a little first aid on herself. Blackstar zeroed in on the injury for a second, the light behind the lenses of her mask flaring briefly. Anger started to blur the lines of the constellations in her eyes. Blackstar's jaw clenched, the taste of copper on her tongue as she struggled to rein that all-consuming rage back. [i]Not again. Not again...[/i] Lightning Girl offered a distraction in the form of removing her mask. There was a moment of respite between the clowns Blackstar had just slaughtered and the next wave, and she felt herself falter a little as she stared at the woman behind the mask. LG looked... the same, somehow. Alaine wasn't sure how to explain it, but -- it just... looked like Lightning Girl, still. Not so much like a faceless persona had been given a face or the mask had been removed to reveal something completely different. She still looked like LG under the carbon mask, maybe just a little more human. Like a woman who'd been nice to her, helped her out, offered advice and given her a stuffed panda. Alaine sucked in a breath, fists clenching so tight they hurt, even through the haze of power. All her emotions felt magnified -- the fear, the confusion, the [i]fury[/i]. If Lightning Girl looked more human, Blackstar suddenly looked less. It was happening again. Her gaze slipped to the side, to a clown twitching on the ground nearby, maybe trying to drag himself away, maybe just spasming in death. Her fists shook with the overwhelming urge to run him through, to hunt down every single last one of them for hurting her [i]friend[/i]-- Lightning Girl's hands landed on her shoulders. Alaine jolted like she'd been shocked, yanking her arms back behind herself as she scrambled to mentally will away the dark blades protruding from her fists. All that rage had instantly become panic, terror that she'd accidentally turn that violence on LG. [color=gray][b]"Wait--"[/b][/color] She wasn't sure what she expected from such a hands-on gesture. Maybe the unmasked heroine was about to demand she stop the killing, or maybe she knew about Arizona somehow and was about to make her face it-- [quote][color=gold]"Listen to me, Blackstar. We're gonna get through this. We don't have any choice, we're the best shot at saving people right now...you did what you had to. I've got comms. I'll raise the team. We're doing fine. We're...."[/color][/quote] Alaine was holding herself very still, eyes wide under her mask. Well, one eye wide. She felt like the other was swelling a little. It wasn't the confrontation she'd been expecting. It was... encouragement? [i]You did what you had to do.[/i] The words made Alaine's throat feel tight. The stars that had been clouding her vision started to flicker. LG coughed, faltered, spat blood to the side. She was leaning into the shorter heroine slightly and Alaine could feel it; automatically her hands jumped up, catching hold of LG's arms to steady her. She realized, in enormous relief, that she'd successfully dismissed her cosmic blades; instead her hands were just her hands, the white fingers of her gloves now an ominous red. [quote][color=gold]"Okay, maybe not quite fine. But we're enough. We're gonna find those tunnels and I'm.....we're going to turn Gaggles into vapourware. Take a breather, and look at me, Blackstar. We're gonna be okay. Take a deep breath. We need to keep going, and we need to protect them. Find the team. Save the day. We can do this. You can do this. Yeah? You can. You saved my arse there. You're golden."[/color][/quote] Lightning Girl wasn't looking at her like a monster. Alaine wanted to hold onto that realization, but something sharp in her mind pointed out that the other heroine was just trying to hold things together. Who knew what she really thought, deep down... [i]You saved my arse there. You're golden.[/i] Blackstar opened her mouth to say something but -- what? What could she possibly say? [i]"Thanks for not treating me like the murderous monster I am, LG, that's real nice of you."[/i] Right. Instead she just cleared her throat, keeping her steadying grip on the other heroine until Lightning Girl was ready to move. [color=gray][b]"Thanks, that's -- I... Th-Thanks,"[/b][/color] Alaine managed, then promptly shut her mouth. She wished she could say more but it wasn't the right time, really, and she just... she just couldn't make her brain work to put the right words together. Like back at the Ferris Wheel earlier; LG was being so genuine and brave and encouraging, and all Blackstar could do was stand there mute, like she didn't care. She [i]did[/i] care. Lightning Girl knew that, right? With another word of encouragement and a suggestion to stay close, LG lightly pushed herself off of Blackstar's shoulders. Blackstar felt like she'd just been through a salad spinner and turned slightly to keep the other heroine in sight, fists shaking at her sides again -- not so much from protective rage anymore, just... well. Everything. [i]She should say something[/i]. Maybe grab LG by the cape and drag her back because what was she [i]doing[/i], going up like she was about to start fighting again? She should [i]not[/i] be fighting. Alaine could handle it -- she was [i]gonna[/i] handle it, she was gonna murder every fugly stupid clown she saw-- [quote][color=ed145b]"Two for one....and I thought Lightning Bitch didn't have a pretty face. Shame we can't see Starfucker's because we all would love to.....oh, the shame. Well, we're gonna make you look hella ugly when you girls ain't gonna put up a fight. Prepare to die. We'll be smiling."[/color][/quote] Alaine didn't even hear the Starfuck bit, her light-smoking eyes zeroing in on the speaker the second he said Lightning [i]Bitch[/i]. She didn't like that word, especially not in relation to her girls. Of which Lightning Girl was now apparently one of, without Alaine even making the conscious decision to add her. But that was how it went, wasn't it? Stars screaming in the back of her skull, Blackstar turned fully as the cosmic blades flashed back into life on her arms. She recognized LG's protective stance, mostly because she was doing the same, like they were competing for who could be the most defensive of the other while being severely outnumbered and, really, in no shape to still be fighting. But, if nothing else -- at least the white-haired heroine seemed to have caught a second wind. Blackstar tried to let that ease her concern, but the cosmic energy coursing through her still struggled to regulate her emotions. [color=gray][b]"Don't die,"[/b][/color] Alaine said to Lightning Girl shortly, voice maybe a little unnervingly flat. She'd forced past the momentary weakness because she knew the time for it had quickly passed, and now she was focused on figuring out how the heck she was supposed to spill guts while fighting [i]with[/i] someone. She had to -- she had to keep LG from getting hurt worse than she already was while she was still able to, but she absolutely couldn't be the one who did the damage, no matter how accidental it was. LG moved before Blackstar was ready, and the black-clad heroine hesitated briefly, afraid of charging in and causing damage where she didn't need to. But Lightning Girl, as Alaine should've known, seemed to have gotten back in the groove -- looked like maybe LG had some power on standby. When she swung that otherwise comical little putter, she sent clown brains flying. Alaine had seen too much gore at her own hands to be traumatized by the sight, and there were too many clowns closing in to stay solely focused on her coworker. Luckily they were coming from the opposite direction too, so Blackstar could focus her murderous rage safely [i]away[/i] from LG. [quote][color=gold]"Three for one. At least get our names right, scumbags."[/color][/quote] Alaine took the line as a sign that LG was successfully holding herself together. Shrugging off the body of a clown that stumbled into her when her cosmic blade went through his gut, she twisted slightly to cast a periodic glance at her companion; LG was stumbling a little after taking out several more assailants and Alaine swiftly adjusted, falling back to guard the other heroine's injured flank. She could do this. [I]Take her example.[/i] Hold it together. They fell into a kind of rhythm, rotating around each other, catching the blows the other couldn't, throwing enemies left and right with all the energy they had left. Alaine leaned back to avoid the clown LG tossed past her, glancing around as another lull in the face-painted villains gave them a few seconds of respite. She was breathing heavy, veins still burning, still trying to blink the blood out of the lashes of her right eye. The tears had stopped at some point, but now there were some disturbingly bloody trails streaked down the unmasked lower half of her face. She could feel the dark energy reaching its limits; after so long suppressing it with all she had, it wasn't as long-lasting as the situation would've ideally called for. [quote][color=gold]"Team, me and Blackstar are grouped up, by the big Helter Skelter. We've found a way to find Gaggles. We need to stop this before we keep climbing higher..."[/color][/quote] Lightning Girl spoke into her comms and Alaine spared her another glance. The white-haired heroine didn't look much better as far as energy went, and Blackstar could tell LG was feeling her injuries more than she currently was. [i]It'd hit later.[/i] Her mind turned to her coworkers in an effort to avoid dreading the near future. She hadn't seen anyone but LG yet, though she was pretty sure she'd heard some pumping music from somewhere else not too long ago. Hat Trick, maybe? What about Payback and Fenom? She couldn't imagine Fenom being overwhelmed by those clowns like the rest of them seemed to be, but she worried about Payback. Maybe the two of them had been able to team up and help each other out. Yeah. That was a nice thought. Eclipse had been in the back of some corndog stand, last Blackstar had caught a glimpse of him. She knew Asteroid had been with Madcap before... if either of them were still conscious, she had a feeling they could probably hold their ground pretty well. She hoped they could. And Jet. The thought of him made the sick feeling she was barely keeping at bay threaten her stomach. The cosmic energy latched onto the new burst of gut-churning concern, colliding with the desperate determination and the still-pounding rage in veins. It was a maddening combination. Her vision was spinning again -- despite standing still and menacing for the moment, she was screaming in her head. [i]Panic.[/i] A new emotion to feed into, and Alaine realized the mistake too late. Nightmares and memories and the present moment were starting to blur again. She was distinctly aware of her lungs rapidly rising and falling, hyperventilation setting in. In an oxygen-thin atmosphere, that was the [i]last[/i] thing she needed. The sound of a hundred mirrors shattering gave her attention somewhere to go. Her swirling vision tumbled together into something steadier as she turned, a little disoriented, looking for the source of the sound. [color=gray][b]"Did you hear...?"[/b][/color] Her question to LG trailed off, maybe not even loud enough to be heard at all. She tried to clear her throat, tried to speak louder, but all she tasted was the blood in her mouth. She wondered how bad she was hurt -- wondered how bad it was [i]going[/i] to hurt when she came down. [i]Panic again.[/i] Quickened breathing, stars flickering, movement out of the corner of her eye-- Alaine caught herself just in time, seconds from launching a blade as a projectile right at Lightning Girl. That made her freak out more and she stumbled a little, one foot coming slightly off the ground -- like the cosmic energy in her was trying to take over, pull her up. But then... Gravity. She felt it, or something in her did. That cosmic energy changed course, like a star finding something to orbit. The sole of her boot settled on the ground again, head clearing. Maybe it was temporary, but while she had the clarity she focused all her will on that sense of gravity. A few more clowns were running up. Blackstar's eyes flashed as she threw an arm out, sending a dark blade their way; it went right through the heart of the first and took the leg off the one behind him, and she tossed another that stopped the third in his tracks with a head split right through the middle. She'd like to say she didn't know she could do that. If she did, it'd be a lie. [i]Gravity[/i]. [color=gray][b]"Where are you?"[/b][/color] Alaine breathed the question, backpedaling from her previous attempts to ignore the stars and instead retreating inward; not sure what she was doing and acting on instinct as she closed her eyes, her brows furrowed. [i]There it was.[/i] A tug in the cosmos, something searching. Blackstar's eyes snapped open. Instead of clinging to her own emotions, the cosmic energy boiling in her veins latched onto that gravity. A quick scan of the area told her she had a moment, and a glance to Lightning Girl nearby revealed the other heroine still upright. A little wobbly but alert and, at least for a beat or two, clown-free. Blades dissipating, Blackstar pulled out of the protective formation they'd been in, drifting off the ground as she exclaimed quickly, [color=gray][b]"Asteroid's here -- I'm gonna go get him. Tell him I'm coming!"[/b][/color] One more look around to make sure the coast was clear, then she honed in on that gravitational pull and shot off like a comet. She wasn't high off the ground, just enough to propel herself as fast as possible towards Jet. She knew it was him. And there he was -- it looked like he'd dropped to his knees outside of a mirror maze, and she could see shards of glass sparkling all around the maze's entrance. The sound of all those mirrors shattering had drawn more than just her attention though, and she could see more clowns coming. They just never ended... how had Gaggle found all these thugs...? Alaine touched down and skidded a little ways in her haste, quite nearly running into Jet but managing to avoid the collision. [color=gray][b]"Hey,"[/b][/color] she choked out, grabbing his upper arm. [color=gray][b]"Hey, you okay? C'mon, you gotta--"[/b][/color] The front of his mask looked darker. [i]Splotchy[/i] darker. Like he was bleeding under it. Whatever clarity she'd momentarily found almost left her. First Lightning Girl had been hurt, [i]now him--[/i] Alaine reached down, grabbing his arm with both hands. It helped. [color=gray][b]"Lightning Girl's over here -- the other guys are coming. C'mon, Jet, I've got you."[/b][/color] Whether he got up on his own or she had to pull him, Alaine stomached her unwillingness to cause any discomfort for the sake of getting him to somewhere safe -- well, safer -- and made sure he got up, warning him quickly before pushing off the ground and darting back over to where she'd left LG. Soon enough Hat Trick made his way to them too, but the clowns just never stopped coming... although they did seem to be thinning out. Alaine stuck close to Asteroid, partially because that gravity about him kept her head clear -- and made it feel less like she was about to lose her mind and put her teammates at risk. Which she was immensely grateful for as she'd put herself on double-time, attention mainly split between Jet and the unmasked LG; every last bit of energy she had was being put towards keeping the clowns as far away from the two of them as possible. She knew she should probably hold on to a bit of that power, keep it stocked up for the cool-down when it was all over, if only to make the crash a little less devastating for herself... but that was a secondary concern. Tertiary, even. If using every last bit of the energy she had meant her injured teammates stayed alive, then that was just the way it was. She'd be fine. She could handle a little pain. A clown swung a bat at LG from behind and Blackstar threw herself that way, catching the blow on her shoulder before running the thug through and tossing him to the side; there was another with a knife running up behind him. She twisted back towards Asteroid and pushed off the ground, using small bursts of flight to jump between the two as fast as possible -- blade flashing out, she removed the knife-wielding arm of the threat before giving him a kick that sent him flying back into another pair of clowns. Hat Trick, as far as she could tell, seemed to be faring better. Or maybe it was just because he was so big and impressive-looking that it was hard for her to tell if he wasn't. In any case, she kept an eye on him to, and on any other of their hero coworkers who managed to get to them. The earlier observation that the clowns were shrinking in number seemed to ring true as the gaps between them got bigger by the second. It made sense to Blackstar, considering how many they'd been killing. It felt like half the population of Claremont had been employed by Gaggles. [i]Oh God[/i], that was an awful thought. What if that [i]was[/i] where he'd gotten all the clown support? What if there was some kind of mind-control going on and they'd been killing civilians dressed up like clown goons? Blackstar's boots touched the ground briefly as she stumbled back next to Asteroid, breathing heavy. Hazy vision scouring their surroundings, she paused as something caught her eye. [color=gray][b]"Does -- does anybody else see that?"[/b][/color] She pointed with a bloodied hand out at the one clown in the near-distance who didn't seem intent on swarming their group. In fact, he appeared to be busy flying upwards -- only to smash down to the ground somewhere out of sight, sending debris flying. Gaggles. Had to be. She could only imagine what on earth he was doing, but hopefully he wasn't pounding one of their teammates into the ground... Blackstar looked down at herself, then over at that cloud of dust and debris. She had enough juice to make it over there, if she flew. Gaggles looked distracted with... whatever he was doing. Maybe she could catch him by surprise. Her glance darted to Hat Trick. He got around on ice, right? Maybe, if he could make some kind of path for them-- or at least put some kind of icy block between the team and clowns-- [color=gray][b]"Team!"[/b][/color] She had no right to be making plans or taking charge, even for a minute. But it wasn't the time for hesitation then, not when she'd been the one to spot their target out there. Her flight path would give them the direction. [color=gray][b]"Gaggles is over there -- I've got enough energy to fly, I can make it to him!"[/b][/color] Whether or not she had enough energy to do anything when she got there was a different story, but she didn't bother mentioning that. [color=gray][b]"Hat Trick -- can you cut a path through these clowns so the rest of you can follow me? I think I can catch Gaggles by surprise, but..."[/b][/color] She glanced out again, then back at the rest of the team. [color=gray][b]"I figured we all wanted a chance to hit him a bit."[/b][/color] It was a lamely-humorous cover for the truth, which was that she might just straight-up pass out when she got there. Especially since jetting over to Gaggles meant leaving Asteroid, and she was a little -- [i]a lot[/i] -- nervous that her mental clarity wouldn't hold out without his gravity giving her something to orbit. Blackstar inhaled deeply, gathering the energy she had and bouncing briefly from one foot to the other. [i]Alright. Alright, you can do this. You're golden.[/i] No time to hesitate and sand around working up a solid plan. They were getting higher every second, more and more people were dying and getting put at risk, her teammates included. [color=gray][b]"I'm going,"[/b][/color] Blackstar exclaimed, giving them a heads-up then pushing off the ground. No blades, no thinking, nothing but flight. [i]Focus on flight[/i]. She shot off the way she'd seen Gaggles, putting all her energy into it. One of the clowns on the ground threw something at her, but she was high enough and fast enough that it didn't matter. [I]There he was[/i]. She spotted him as she approached the settling dust and debris. Yeah, that was the same clown she'd seen earlier. And-- Wait a second, was that Madcap down there? Was [i]that[/i] what Gaggles had been doing, jumping up and down on poor Madcap? Not okay. Alaine threw the last dregs of her energy at the clown. Diving down, she slammed into him full-force, sending the two of them soaring off Madcap and tumbling to the side, her velocity resulting in several rough rolls over the ground before they crashed into some stand off to the side, full of carnival prizes. Dislodged from Gaggles, she bit back a groan as she shoved a board away and shook some accidentally-obliterated stuffed animal out of her face. Ow. [i]Ow ow ow ow [b]oh God OW.[/b][/i] Ooooh boy, yeah, she could feel the pain now. As she'd predicted, that last burst of flight had used up just about everything she had. Normally she handled pain sarcastically. There was no such thing for Alaine as a genuine expression of pain, unless she was completely alone. [i]It never hurts bad enough to ruin the vibe[/i] was her motto. But right now? It hurt bad enough to ruin more than a vibe. So bad that she tried to push herself up and physically [i]couldn't[/i]. Not good. Where was Gaggles? Her head was such a mess. Had that stupid clown killed Madcap? She wanted to be angry but she was kind of busy just struggling to breathe. She just needed a minute...