freedomliveson

Shadows moving in the dark(Fabricant451/Freedomliveson)

"I would assume the both of us. Normally when one of us gets thrown under the bus, we all go together...but for all of them to attack Themyscira like they did was much more targeted." Clark felt another shock of pain go down his spine, his shoulders slumping forward as he reached to his back, feeling the all too familiar stickiness that accompanied a deep wound. He wasn't feeling weak per se, but he was certainly willing to take a nap...sooner than later. His eyes fluttered slightly, shaking his head to clear the mental fogginess that was beginning to envelop him. To think that these were the effects after one wound...it was a testament to Diana's strength that she was able to stand. He placed a steady hand on her shoulder, gazing into her tired eyes. He knew she would want to fight, but then again, would she be able to? Not like he could stop her anyhow...

He would have to go with her.

"We can go back, but you're not going alone, especially not in the condition you're in." Police officers were filtering into the hallways, checking on those who were in their rooms as they made their way down to the two heroes.
"Wait here a moment." He walked to the room that he had placed the captives in, opening the door to find the cords he had tied with all of his strength severed, the window open. Cursing silently, he strode to the window, looking down. There was no railing or fire escape that they could've relied on...could they teleport? Did they have air support?
"Diana...come in here for a moment, would you?" His brow furrowed in concentration as he strained for any hint of the marauders, but to no avail. He turned, telling his companion:
"I wrapped them up in here with everything I had and they managed to get free. Not only that, but they escaped through the window with no way to get to any other rooftops or the ground without falling to their deaths. Which makes me think..." He folded his arms across his chest before he asked:
"Do you remember how they got on the island? It's not as if Themyscira is easy to find, yet you say they just...appeared. Maybe if we can find out how they got there, we can root them out at the source. That, of course, would probably require us to get there." He snorted a laugh.
"That didn't accomplish much, did it?" He sighed as he continued:
"Well, no going around it: we're headed there. You'll be ok to fly or will you need a lift?" He shot her a teasing smirk.

Shadows moving in the dark(Fabricant451/Freedomliveson)

"Yes, you're in Metropolis. I found you on the shore a few hours ago and you've been in this bed ever since." He smiled slightly as he ran a thumb over the top of her hand. It was good to see her back in the present, but it seemed as if the past was on her mind as his was.
"Return where, Diana? What on earth happened to you?" He could see that her body was slowly patching itself up, but some of the gashes didn't seem to be closing as fast as they normally did. Was her body impaired somehow? Was she-

A scream assailed the man of steel's ears, prompting him to let go of Diana's hand and open the door only to have three circular objects be thrown in his direction. He managed to neutralize them mid-flight with miniatures bursts of heat from his eyes, which only distracted him from the black blurs wielding katanas dripping with a green liquid. There were four of them, one of which made an attempt at stabbing Superman in the chest. He grabbed the attacker by the arm and threw him to the ground before slamming his fist into his chest just hard enough to render him unconscious. The triage surrounded Superman, hospital staff fleeing into whatever room they could find to avoid the carnage.
"This can end peacefully." He felt like he needed to say that. One of them snorted a laugh as he lunged forward and slashed at Superman's shoulder, the hero dodging the blow as he attempted to grab the man's shoulder only to grasp thin air, the warrior slipping behind him and slashing at his back. Clark felt a searing pain jolt down his spine as he whipped his right arm around, connecting with the offender, throwing him back several feet into a nearby wall where he crumpled to the ground. With Clark off balance, the other attackers jumped forward, slashing downward. One connected with Clark's shoulder, but that would be the last hit either would be delivering as Clark blasted both with concentrated bursts of energy from his eyes, the duo collapsing to the floor after being sent through the air.

Breathing heavy, the hero assessed the damage to find that the unconscious attackers hadn't made any on this floor a victim, which meant that either Clark or Diana were the targets...or both? In any case, Clark needed to ensure that the attackers were put in a safe place when they awoke. As hospital staff re-emerged, he urged them to call the police before placing the squadron of sword wielders in an empty room nearby, wrapping them up as tightly as he could with cord before walking back into Diana's room with an apologetic smile.
"I suppose they might be related to your current condition?"

Shadows moving in the dark(Fabricant451/Freedomliveson)

Yay for starting!

Loved your opening post, by the way! :)

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Justin had expected more of a conversation between the two of them, but then again, the moment Cam left was when he drifted back to sleep. One of this last thoughts was to thank Cam for her being there for him when he needed her most. She was a good person...and she was really gro..ww..ii..ng...on..hi..

_____________

"Justin, we've got a situation!"

The voice sounded fuzzy, distant. The voice rumbled a few other things before he felt something cold and metallic poke against his ribs, prompting the scout to sit up violently, eyes opening to find Paul Smith, a wide eyed twenty year old guard, inside his bedroom with his pistol drawn.
"Woah there, Paul...what's...what's going on?"
"Manny got killed on patrol and his...his eyes were scooped out of his skull and arrows...all these arrows..he got shot with them and..."
"Wait, wait...breath..." Justin rose to his feet and rummaged through a rickety wooden dresser before clothing himself with loose fitting cargo pants and a breathable light blue t-shirt, all the while hearing faint shouts of command. To his credit, Paul had stayed quiet, albeit nervously. He placed himself outside the bedroom, gun extended in front of him as Justin came alongside him, adjusting the scabbard on his belt as he asked:
"So Manny had arrows sticking out of him?"
"The lady you're traveling with...Cameron, right? She said that you guys had run into another guy like that."
"We had..." The scout withdrew the fourteen inch blade as he asked:
"Are the rest of the guardsmen out on patro-" The last syllable fell to the ground as Justin caught a slight pounding in the air...the pounding was beginning to grow in intensity along with a kind of primal scream that Justin remembered all too well.
"Get to the south gate and fortify the entrance! I'll round up some others and cover the north. Hopefully we can fend them off without them getting inside." Smith complied, sprinting out of the store and to the right while Justin followed suit in tempo, banking left and down the street, the main square laying straight ahead. As he got to the entrance of the square, he saw sinewy forms with bows and arrows gliding over the stone wall that separated the square from the outside. There were two bodies near the wall, arrows jutting out of their necks. Cursing silently at himself for not bringing a firearm, Justin planted himself against the wall of one of the many buildings that flanked the square, tossing alternatives through his mind. They were more than likely attacking from multiple directions, which meant that he could either engage this squadron here with his knife and face certain death or...

The armory.

He sprinted across the square, arrows shrieking through the air, one singing the sleeve of his shirt as he made it into the base of operations, which was now beginning to come alive with a few of the guards stationed to command now on their feet.
"Justin?" Jessica, a tall brunette with arms just as muscular, if not more, than some of the strongest men in Omega, approached Justin, wooden rifle in hand.
"Jes, good, you're here. Get the rest of your squad ready to go, we've got an incursion at the south entrance and the square."
"Thought I heard some trouble brewing."
"What gave it away, the screams of agony or the faint sounds of gunfire?" Jes rolled her eyes with a smirk as she motioned to the four guards filtering out of the barracks down the hall opposite from the council chambers.
"We take care of the attackers in the square, then fortify the south entrance! Move out!" Justin arrived at the armory, selecting a rather gleaming pistol along with two clips of ammunition, silently thanking Yessenia and Gerel for their crafting abilities as he ran back to the entrance. Jes and her squad had taken out a couple of the attackers and were now in cover behind some of the sandbags left over from the previous siege. Justin could only hope Cam was faring just as well as they were now...

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

So you genuinely surprised me with the savages making an attack...I like it

See, this is why I like writing with you xD

Shadows moving in the dark(Fabricant451/Freedomliveson)

It was odd seeing her like this.

No, odd wasn't the right word for it...humbling?

Yes, that was it. Humbling. To see this powerful, imposing figure reduced to laying on a hospital bed hooked up to medical equipment was a humbling sight indeed. It reminded Clark that even with their array of powers, gadgets and weapons, heroes could still be thrown down to the pavement just like any of the people they strive to protect. Of course, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen Diana injured before, but this was different. He was on his way back from the Fortress of Solitude and was within a mile or two of his apartment when he heard cries for help issuing from the beach close by. When he arrived, he found Diana's limp body, blood oozing out of massive gashes, bruises littering her body. Her chest had been moving extremely slowly, her breath seeming to be labored. After shooing the crowd away, he scooped her up in his arms took her to the nearest hospital where they managed to find an open bed and injected all sorts of fluids into her before stitching up some of the more vicious wounds and telling Clark that they would be back "as soon as they could". He was sure that they were going to convene about the benefits of treating a superhero, including how they could bill the Amazons for a last minute addition to their catalog of patients. They would be disappointed, of course. From what he understood, Amazons didn't stay down for long, especially not Princess Diana. He had seen her suffer through asteroid storms, beams consisting of raw energy and other such morbid threats without a scratch. To think that someone or something could have reduced the Princess to a wounded carcass was troubling.

His gaze averted to the window where the sun's dying rays were obscured by the tightly drawn shades. It had been four hours, Clark not leaving her side for a moment. She was a good friend of his, one that had stuck with him through some of the darkest times in his life. She was the one that took Kara in and trained her to be not only a proficient warrior, but a wonderful woman. Diana took care of the funeral arrangements for Lois, ensuring that his deceased wife was paid all the respect in the world. She counseled him through his grief, aided him in making Metropolis one of the safest places to be in the world and...

He heard Diana's heartrate quicken slightly, her muscles beginning to activate. He rose from the chair he had been occupying and went to the side of her bed, taking her hand gently.
"Diana?"

Dc Superhero team up of epicness(MxF)(18+)

A bump of sorts

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

With the council deciding to reconvene in the morning, Justin actually had some time to check up on the status of the settlement, which was a relief considering that he hadn't been able to walk around the place since their attackers were shoved out. When they had stepped outside, a middle aged woman with dark skin and bright green eyes came up to them, telling Cameron she had a place to stay.
"Glad to see you made it in one piece, Sarah." The woman smiled maternally.
"And I'm glad to know that you're not being served up as the catch of the day at the local cannibal feast." He snorted a laugh.
"You see any meat on these bones? I'm a stick. A rail, if you will." Sarah chuckled in her deep, hearty way as she looked to Cameron.
"Come on, honey, let's get you sorted out. And you..." She pointed at Justin.
"You try to get some rest, too, scout."
"I'll see what I can do." Justin placed a hand on Cameron's shoulder as he told her:
"I'll be around if you need me. Just ask some of the guards. They'll know where to point you to." His gaze lingered for just a brief moment, noting how the dull glow of the lanterns posted around the square seemed to illuminate Cameron's facial features at just the right angle. He had never noticed how soft her cheeks looked, how her eyes seemed to sparkle with a subdued intensity. Shaking himself internally, he turned around, blowing out an exhale as he snaked around the department store he and Mike just a few days earlier had used as cover from the armored menaces.
"She's pretty...so what? Why would that...why would that bother me?" He muttered to himself as he walked past the old dumpster and hung a left to get back onto the main street that was flanked by the remnants of old brownstones and townhomes that had been converted into living quarters of the post-apocalypse. Missing walls had been fortified with sheet metal or tightly nailed together wood planks, doors loosely swaying in the breeze due to their not matching with the original doorway. He glanced around, spotting brief signs of activity through open windows. At least most of them were alive. That counted for something...but would they remain alive if they left the confines of their settlement? Sure, staying complacent was dangerous, but they were trying to establish themselves as a beacon of stability and hope. Would they be able to offer that if they merged with Avery and her band of former scientists and laborers? Would they compromise on their ideals?

His reverie was interrupted by catching sight of the remnants of a small convenience store at the end of the block, Justin walking through the open doorway to find the living area was completely empty. Most of the others were probably on scavenging duty, which gave Justin some welcomed solitude. He walked past the worn out couches and chairs to the rear of the store, opening another door to reveal a makeshift bedroom with a full size bed frame and homemade mattress that, when Justin laid on it, he sunk into.
"Home." He mumbled as he sat up and unclothed himself down to a pair of shorts that went down to mid-thigh before collapsing into bed on his back, eyes closing for just a brief second...

It was a couple of hours later when he heard Cam knock on his door and walk in, the scout rubbing his eyes as he sat up groggily.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep. I keep thinking about everything, and...what do you think they’re gonna do?”

"I dunno..." His upper half fell back onto the mattress, eyes half closed.
"Sounds too good to be true." A wide yawn escaped his throat.
"But...I mean, if this is the ticket to restoring civilization, then why not?" He turned his head to look at his companion, examining her for a moment before asking:
"Why are you still here?" He thought about the question for a moment, then added:
"I mean, here with me? You didn't have to go with me up north, you could've stayed here, helped with cleaning up. Now you're in my room talking to me in my underwear and you aren't batting an eye. It's not that I...I don't appreciate it, it's just...I don't know, with the experiences you've had, I guess I wasn't expecting you to take to me that well. I mean with the men in your village basically being scum." He shook his head.
"Is ANY of this coming out right or do I sound like I'm awkwardly hitting on you?"

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Awesome! Will get a reply here in a bit :)

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

No worries at ALL! I totally understand being slammed by work. Have fun with your new responsibilities...I guess? xD