praxitilies

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

@Unknown
I just want to know how much damage would be appropriate for the Hydra to take. I don't know how durable it is compared to a similarly sized animal. He's basically just dumping lightning on it.

@Mr Nim
No problem. I've been keeping busy with Joshua anyway.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

Does anyone else want to add anything before Tobias brings down the Hammer? Also, how much damage should actually be done to the Hydra?

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

September 19th, 2019 - 10:00 PM

International Waters, North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey.

"Unidentified aircraft. This is McGuire Airforce Base, identify yourself." Came a voice through the helicopter's radio. Kelly nervously looked over her shoulder at the passengers in her helicopter and desperately fought against the compulsion that had kept her in her seat for the last five hours.

"Answer him. Tell him you have evacuated researchers on board." Gepetto's languid voice filled her ear as he lifted one of the ear cups of her headset off and whispered his orders to her while gently massaging her shoulders. Her ability to resist eroded and her eyes unfocused slightly as she opened the voice com.

"McGuire Airforce Base, this is November-One-Two-Three-One-One-Four-Romeo-Foxtrot. Please switch to encrypted frequency and provide an operator with Top Secret clearance. Authentication Romeo-Delta-One-Zero-Three-Delta. Over."

There was a hiss of static for a moment as the operator checked the clearance code and swapped the broadcast over to a secured line. In the back of the helicopter, Lucas and Joshua sat facing each other. Lucas' eyes were dull and unfocused while Joshua's were wild and wide. The dim lighting of the helicopter's interior was illuminated by the blazing gold of his eyes as he practically vibrated in his seat with the exertion of trying to free himself from Gepetto's order.

"It's quite incredible how resilient you are, Joshua. Even bound by my orders and having been exposed to me for so long you're still desperately trying to free yourself." Gepetto said as he walked back into the passenger space of the aircraft, an arrogant smirk plastered across his face. "You may speak."

Joshua opened his mouth full of teeth like serrated knives and spat in Gepetto's face.

"You killed her. You killed her AND took prey from me." He growled, eyes burning with hatred. His hands dripped dark, viscous ichor from his claws digging into the flesh of his palms. Gepetto frowned and wiped his face with his sleeve before whipping his hand out and slapping Joshua across the face with a resounding clap.

"Mind your manners around your betters, Joshua. Yes I killed her, but it really wasn't that great of a loss. How sad, the next stage in human evolution still desperately clinging to the ashes of the past. Don't tell me that you weren't just as disgusted as I was watching her fawn over that human." He said, wiping the blood off his knuckles from where he had split Joshua's lip.

"She was mine." Joshua's eyes and nostrils flared with fury as he spat the last word. His lip had already closed again, and he spat again at Gepetto.

Gepetto sighed and wiped himself off again before producing a familiar-looking blade. The same one that had been embedded in the forehead of the real Joey before they boarded the helicopter. He took a moment to examine it, scraping the pad of his thumb across the edge, and then plunged it deep into Joshua's chest. There was a dull crack as the blade broke through Joshua's sternum, and the Hunter cried out in rage and pain.

"What did I just say, Joshua?" Gepetto asked as calmly as one might comment on the weather outside. "Mind your manners." He violently twisted the blade to the side, the sound of bone and cartilage popping and snapping filled the interior of the aircraft. Joshua thrashed in his seat and gnashed his teeth, desperately trying to lash out at Gepetto. As he snarled, vessels in his eyes ruptured, turning the sclera of his eyes a deep, reddish black.

"I'll kill you! I will tear you apart piece by piece and make you suffer every moment of it! I'll make you-" Gepetto rolled his eyes and slapped Joshua across the face again. A loud crack is heard as the bones in his jaw shatter and teeth are sent scattering across the floor.

"That's enough, Joshua. Your empty threats bore me. You will forget everything that has happened since you boarded the helicopter." Joshua's head snapped back to his seat as his eyes rolled back in his head. He clutched at his temples and dug his talons into his skull, a maddened half-scream and half-laugh escaping his lips as Gepetto's order scrambled his mind and memory. His body convulsed as his laughter descended into wild, mindless mirth. His dislodged teeth began to regrow even as sinew and tendon popped and snapped while his jaw reassembled itself in its proper place. Bloody tears ran down his cheeks as his eyes snapped open, wild and unseeing as he howled with laughter. Then it was over, he slumped in his seat, head on his chest, breathing heavily and giggling to himself. Gepetto excused himself to the cabin again while Joshua began to stir.

"Tell me what happened." Gepetto ordered Kelly, taking his seat next to her again.

"We have been cleared to land. They're sending an escort out to guide us in and a special task force will be waiting for us on the ground." She responded, almost robotically as tears tracked through the filth that caked her face.

"What a shame we won't make it all the way to the base, then. Continue your course, and do not attempt to escape the helicopter. It would be strange if the crash has no bodies in it, don't you agree?" Gepetto asked, standing up and taking a parachute from the wall behind her seat. He strapped it on and walked back into the body of the helicopter, holding up his hand as Joshua suddenly leapt to his feet. "Gepetto?!? How-"

"Stop. Climb out onto the outside of the helicopter and disable the rotors. Then wait until the crash and die with these humans that your precious Witch worked so hard to save." He said, interrupting Joshua's outburst. Joshua's eyes flared gold with wrathful intensity as he extended his claws and stepped to the side of the aircraft, opening the door and hooking onto the outer wall.

"You will stay where you are and go down with the ship." Gepetto said, turning towards the door Joshua had just began crawling through. Lucas looked up at Gepetto, nodded, then looked back at the same empty stretch of wall he had been watching since the flight first began. Walking over to the door Gepetto looked out as Joshua was making his way along the outside of the bird, claws tearing into the metal walls and creating makeshift handholds for his journey to the rotors.

"I thank you, Joshua, for your essential aid in my escaping the island. I truly couldn't have done it without you." He said, smiling cheerfully as he leapt from the helicopter and started his descent to the earth far below.

Joshua screamed in hatred as his body refused to obey him, carrying him ever closer to the motors that were keeping the aircraft aloft. Once there he drew his arm back and began hacking away at the armor around the motors, each time tearing away a bit more of the metal and exposing more of the sensitive electronics and mechanical components that maintained the vehicle's defiance of gravity. Plumes of black smoke began to pour from the exhaust vents as he set to work tearing apart the engine. Inside, Kelly watched on in impotent horror as warning lights and sirens began to sound while her craft rocked from side to side with each blow Joshua delivered to the rotors. Finally, with a great blast of fire and heat the fuel lines were severed and spewed hot oil and gasoline into the air where it burst into flames and sent the helicopter careening towards the shore.

Joshua's claws were torn from the metal by the force of the violent spin the helicopter had entered and found himself in free fall. He shook his head and found his mind free and clear of Gepetto's control, the wind whipping past him loud as a gale. As he fell, he spotted a pitch black raven that was flying directly at him, and tilted his head curiously. The raven had an injured wing and piercing red eyes as it approached, seemingly dead set on reaching Joshua's tumbling body as the ground was racing up to meet him.

"Hello pretty bird. What can I do for you?" He asked, laughing as he shouted over the roar of the wind and reached up to hold on to his hat only to find it had been blown off by the helicopter's rotors previously. He frowned and feigned patting his body down as though looking for something before shrugging and glancing down.

"Speak up, I appear to have a rather urgent meeting to get to. Tragically unavoidable it seems." He said cheerfully to the raven that had now entered into a dive with him. It looked at him through those strangely familiar red eyes before suddenly pecking him right on the nose.

"OW! What the hell! Get off of-" Another peck interrupted his tirade and Joshua lashed out with claws exposed at the bird, which darted away and tore off towards the ground.

"Hey! Get back here you-" Joshua's eyes widened as he realized where the raven was flying. Straight for a broad parachute below him, lazily drifting towards the treeline at the edge of the shore. His eyes flared to life again, light shining in the darkened skies above the New Jersey coast. A laugh, little more than a chuckle bubbled up in his throat, as he folded his arms flat against his sides and aimed himself at the wide canvas target below. His laughter rose in intensity and volume until he was practically screaming his malevolent cackle into the night when he crashed into the figure beneath the parachute with claws and teeth bared.

"What- How did you-" Gepetto's words were cut off by the sudden presence of Joshua's fangs tearing through canvas and flesh as he tore into the Puppeteer's throat. He frantically tore into fabric and tissue both as he savaged the shape beneath him while the struggling pair tumbled through the air towards the rapidly approaching ground.

"Come on baby! Don't fight it! I'll show you a great time!" Joshua screamed as he laughed, teeth and lips dripping with the dark ichor that had replaced Gepetto's blood. Gepetto mustered his strength and attempted to throw Joshua off of him, grunting in pain, but he only succeeded for a moment as Joshua clung to the canvas and dragged himself back to the silenced monster. "Stop struggling! Can't you see it's better this way!? You and me, here at the end of the line! I'm the only one that's going to get what he wants tonight!" Furious screams and insane laughter accompanied them to the earth as Joshua's claws finally tear through the canvas separating the two fighting undead. Gepetto's eyes shone blue and gleamed with unrestrained hatred and malice even as he opened his mouth to speak. Joshua's hand whipped up in an instant and his claws found their mark, tearing the Puppeteer's throat open and spraying them both with black fluid.

"Shh! Shh, baby! It's alright! No more words need to pass between us! Just shut up and let this happen!" He screamed, cackling wildly as he tore Elliot's knife free from his chest and lashed out at Gepetto's face. Gepetto yanked his head back in time to avoid a killing blow, but the knife's edge traced a line of searing agony across his face, splitting his left eye like a freshly peeled grape. Gepetto's hoarse, straining voice shrieked and gurgled through his ruined throat as they began smashing through tree branches on their way to the ground. The sound of breaking wood and snapping bones filled the woods as they tumbled into the dirt below, where Joshua's vision went dark.

September 19th, 2019 - 11:20 PM

Bass River State Forest, New Jersey

Joshua opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear the haze and blurriness of his vision. He felt like he had ten shades of shit kicked out of him as well as the familiar tenderness that accompanied his healing. He quickly looked himself over and frowned at the tears and dirt that were now marring his mismatched dress clothes.

"Guess I'll need a new wardrobe." He thought, giggling a bit at the implication before his hands shot up to his head where he realized there was a distinct lack of a hat.

"Oh motherfucker." He swore, looking around at the dark forest before suddenly jumping to his feet and scenting the air. His eyes narrowed and began to glow in the dim light. "Gepetto." He growled, eyes darting around the dim forest as his nightvision came in. As his eyes readjusted to the darkness, he could finally see again just as if the sun was shining in the sky. He tracked the source of the scent to a shattered and felled tree, splattered in gore and a dark sticky fluid; the same liquid that had replaced the blood of all the successful subjects on the island. A few feet away was Elliot's butterfly knife, still slick with Gepetto's blood. Joshua crouched low and looked around for the body. A few yards away, Joshua found what he was looking for. Or at least, he found a pile of splattered remains that were still occasionally wrapped in the clothes Gepetto had stolen from Joey.

"Good riddance." He said, spitting on the remains as he stooped to pick up Elliot's knife. He played with it for a second before his fingers slipped and the blade bit into his hand. He swore and stuck the wound into his mouth before being struck by the most profound deja vu. He thought back to his initial meeting with Elliot, and tried to think of how the assassin had flourished his knife to put it away. He picked the fallen blade back up and tried to copy what he had seen, leading to a satisfying click as the blade closed itself up. "Not quite as stylish as you might have done it, oh fearless leader." He thought, stowing the knife into his coat pocket before sighing sadly at the realization that he had lost his hat.

A caw in the dark.

Joshua's eyes whipped around the gloom, beginning to glow again, until they came upon a tree branch on which sat a large raven with red eyes. Dangling from the branch upon which it perched was Joshua's hat. He looked at it, incredulously for a moment, before glancing back at the raven, which alighted with another caw and darted towards him. He brought his hands up to shield his face, only for the bird to peck the top of his head as it zipped past, flapping off into the darkness and out of sight.

"That was... unlikely..." He thought, giggling a bit at the ridiculousness of the situation in which he found himself, but with a leap he had his hat back. All was right with the-

His stomach growled. His eyes pulsed with light.

It was time to hunt.

A grin crept up onto his face.

"Well, I guess it's time to go shopping." He said, his fangs descending into place with a click of sharp teeth against teeth. His grin became a wide eyed smile as he darted off, deeper into the woods, his laughter echoing in the dark as he picked up the scent of cooking meat and wood smoke.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

September 5th, 2019 - 10:30AM

[Redacted], North Atlantic Ocean.

"Hey Joshua, have you entered the school?" Nekona called up to Joshua, who was perched on a tree branch a few feet above the one she stood on. Behind them was a swath of the forest that was in the process of dissolving in to a putrid smelling ooze, the remnants of plant matter whose atomic structure had been sundered by The Witch. Her skin was pale and flawless like a porcelain doll, with piercing red eyes and a filthy mop of dark hair. She wore a torn black dress that must have once been an expensive gothic piece before the previous months of blood, gore, and cytoplasm had ruined it.

"No? Why on would I go there? Place is crawling with spiderlings. Literally." He answered her, shuddering at the mere thought of Arachnea's foul offspring. "Nothing to eat and full of spiderlings. No thanks."

"I didn't know you're afraid of spiders." Nekona cooed, a wicked smile on her face, as she phased up through the tree to join him on the higher branch.

"I'm not. Those things aren't spiders." Joshua replied with a scowl. "The way they chitter and move around is just unnatural. It's nine different kinds of fucked to hell. No thanks."

"Aww, I think they're just adorable!" Nekona giggled malevolently as Joshua wiggled his fingers to illustrate the skittering of the arachnoid undead. "Anyway, I only ask because there's been rumors that a pilot survived and has been hiding out in the school until now. I hear she may have made it to the forest. Speaking of, did you check if any of those humans you caught earlier knew anything?"

Joshua gave her a blank stare, thinking about the two groups of meatbags he had killed in the last twelve hours.

"...Did you even bother to check?"

"She didn't look like a pilot."

"How would you even tell the difference?"

"Feathers?"

"You're impossible, you know that?" Nekona spat as Joshua descended into a fit of giggling. "I'm going to investigate the school and see if I can't find a way off this rock. With or without you." She said, leaping down to the forest floor and beginning to walk towards the ruined school building.

Joshua watched her go for a moment before frowning and hopping down after her, holding his hat to his head as he fell.

"You'd better not be taking me off somewhere to kill me, Witch. And if we find anyone that isn't the pilot I get to eat them!" He called after her as he followed her at a distance. She laughed a bit and the pair walked off towards the building in the distance.

September 5th, 2019 - 1:30PM

[Redacted], North Atlantic Ocean.

Joshua was slowly climbing out of his rectangular prison, an old elevator shaft coated in spider silk and the splattered remnants of the creatures he had been trapped with for the last half an hour. His claws tore gouges into the concrete wall as he created handholds for his climb while he muttered murderously to himself.

"Leave the forest she says. Humans are fun she says. The spiders are cute she says. The Witch is trying to kill me, I just know it. What's worse, that bastard played me. He shoved me down an elevator shaft and tried to feed me to the Spiders!"

Soon enough, the Hunter was sitting cross legged in front of the open elevator doors, picking spider silk off his clothes. As he cleaned himself off, he found a butterfly knife sticking out of his back and his earlier fury returned. "And that bastard stabbed me too?! He ruined a perfectly good coat!"

He rose to his feet, a predatory smile on his face.

"He hunted me. He tricked me and hunted me. Is this what they call 'love at first sight'?" He cackled as he crouched low to the ground and scented the air, seeking the man who had left the parting gift in his shoulder.

September 11th, 2019 - 12:00PM

[Redacted], North Atlantic Ocean.

"Nothing to say, Hunter?" Nekona demanded even as she flinched at the sound of Elliot screaming in the other room. The scent of freshly spilled blood wafted into the hallway they were waiting in while Eva performed the emergency amputation of the bitten limb. "What, don't tell me you're afraid?" She stepped forward, holding up a blood soaked hand between the two of them and watched as the dark fluid ran down her fingers and her slender wrists.

"Mirabel has this odd illusion that I am weak, inferior even to the Infected who feed mindlessly. Do you think I am as well? Too human or weak-willed?”

"You are a fool, attached to transient beings that are beneath us. You do not understand your place at the top of the food chain, or even that they do not care for you as you do for them." Joshua responded solemnly, taking hold of Nekona's hand and staring at her, a stern look on his face.

"I've seen already what these hands are capable of, and what the humans think of us. Clinging to the illusion that you can simply become one of them is ridiculous." He released her hand and started off in the direction of the muted screams.

"But I know that you don't listen to what I have to say anyway," He said with a grin, the serious tone and focused eyes gone, leaving only the question of which was the mask, and which was his face, "So lets go have some fun. I'll bet we can even eat the arm after it's been removed!" He giggled, gleefully skipping towards the survivors.

---

Joshua looked around, observing the splatter of blood and struggle that adorned the makeshift operating theater. The other survivors were busy digging through old supply closets and grabbing what little had been left behind by those who had come before.

"Elliot wasn't the only one the Jackals got a hold of." He said, licking the blood and sniffing it.

"At least 24 hours ago. There won't be much left of him... they may not have inherited my winning smile or my sense of humor, but they have certainly inherited my tactical brilliance," he said smirking, crouching low and watching the event play out in his mind.

"Looks like some idiot was in deep and got lured out by them first, then chased into an ambush." He motioned for the others to follow him, "But this is the first time I've seen them operate in more than two or three." He muttered darkly. Turning about to face the others, a grim look on his face, he gave them the bad news: "We don't have much time. If my Jackals are working together, food is extremely sparse now. You lot may be all the humans left. The rest of the infected population will be making their way here, looking for survivors and hold outs. Especially since we may have been watched as we came here, to say nothing of the infected who have sharp noses just tracking the scent of Elliot's blood."

“Then we leave now,” Nekona declared. “If we move fast enough, we can get to the heliport before the other Infected find us.”

"You heard mommy, children. Time to go!" Joshua ordered, laughing as he does so. "You too stumpy!"

"Don't call him that." Nekona chided, glaring at the taller man.

"Lefty?"

September 19th, 2019 - 2:00 PM

[Redacted], North Atlantic Ocean.

Eva and Lucas were examining a pile of dried blood and stained bones that lay against a wall, still wrapped in the shredded remains of a labcoat bearing the Facility's logo on its breast. The name badge on the coat, coated in the remnants of flesh and dried blood, identified what little remained of the body as the Principle Investigator of the facility.

"...What does it matter? If we get out of here, you can wash your hands of all of this." Lucas asked, turning to face Eva with a frown. She had been ignoring his questions the entire time they had been down in the old facility and it was wearing thin.

“Are you daft?” Eva retorted, her voice rising. “You really think I can ‘wash my hands’ of mess when we leave? I am a researcher who was heavily involved in a governmental project. You can bet your ass that I’ll be dragged right back into this once those Infected wreck havoc on the mainland. Why do you think I’m studying them right now? I need to figure out how to stop them before they go on a rampage and destroy what we have left of civilization!” She began to pace, gnawing on her thumb.

“This was such a good project,” she muttered to herself, seeming to forget about Lucas entirely. “The topic of genetics is interesting in itself, but to manipulate the base fundamentals of life as we know it? To essentially invoke evolution? Brilliant! Dr. Ryman outdid us all with his proposals. But then he had to go nuts and rush the end! If he had just taken time to stabilize the mutagens introduced into our subjects, or put fail safes into the nanites, we wouldn’t be in this mess! Everything would have been fine if he wasn’t so impatient! We had the parameters, the precautions, everything! We could have contained anything but the large scale Outbreak that led to all this. Luckily, we have-”

She abruptly stopped and hurriedly took out her journal, skimming the dates of each of her entries as Lucas watched, confused by her sudden silence. Eva silently mouthed off numbers while counting off her fingers. “Actually…” she starts slowly. “We don’t. Wait…” She looked back at her journal, mumbling to herself. “No… this can’t be right…”

“What is it?”

“I mean, I didn’t do them myself, but I do remember our safety orientation. We were assured that even in the event of a failed containment, aid would be provided as soon as possible. I remember because I asked how they would know if things were amiss. They told us that someone would be appointed to submit monthly reports. If one was not sent, then they would immediately detonate... But… it’s been almost four months. Even assuming that a report was submitted the day before the Outbreak, they should be missing at least three reports.” She looked up at Lucas, bewilderment swimming in her eyes.

“What is happening?”

Lucas frowned and thought about this new development, answering her in a much more measured voice than she had.

"So what you're saying is that either you were lied to at your orientation... Or someone on the island is still reporting the all clear?"

---

"...We were just wondering why there’s still a coat on Dr. Ryman when you said you took it.” Eva asked Nekona, trying to avoid the topic of the countermeasures on the island.

“I put it back,” Nekona replied, sitting up and crossing her legs. “After I left the control room, his body looked a little sad without the coat so I put it back on him.”

“…what were you doing in the control room?” Eva asked

“Opening the facility door! I thought we already established this? How else would I open that thing?”

“…I thought you didn’t go into the control room?”

“Of course I didn’t go to the control room. I haven’t been there at all.”

“But you just said…”

“What?”

“You said you were in the control room to open the door.”

“You’re wrong. I wasn’t-” Nekona suddenly stopped, blinking in bewilderment. “I… I was never at the control room, but… but I had to have been to open the door… but I’ve never been to the control room…”

An onslaught of throbbing pain tore through her head and Nekona pulls her knees to her chest, her hands curled up by the sides of her head in an attempt to block out the sudden hurt.

“I was not… but I had to have been…”

Awoken by Nekona’s soft cries, Elliot opened his eyes and instantly sat up, his gaze arrowed onto her form. Sensing her distress, he wrapped his arm around her and glared at Eva and Lucas.

“What did you do to her?” He demanded.

"She's suffering an extreme case of cognitive dissonance." Joshua quietly said, glaring at Eva.

A deathly silence filled the room as the survivors turned to look at him.

"When your memories are tampered with, implanting false memories or altering existing ones, it can cause a good amount of pain. Do it enough, and it can turn someone a little... funny..." a Cheshire grin spread across Joshua's face and he began to laugh quietly even as he clutched at his own head.

"At least, that's what I heard the doctors saying every so often. Too bad I didn't ask more questions before I redecorated the room with the entrails. You might want to start explaining to the mere mortals here Doc." His grin began to take on a malicious quality as he spoke.

"I recognize that, and I know you do too. I still remember bits and pieces of the fun games you and your friends played with us. We both know that you're just as responsible for what happened here as any of us." His grin widened.

"You're no different than the criminals you kept here, or the monsters you created. At least we're honest about what we are."

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hedged. “I have nothing to do with what Nekona has going on.”

"Then who else would tamper with her memory? That's what's going on here, and that was you and your friend's MO." Joshua's grin soured as he snapped back at the scientist, jabbing a clawed finger towards her.

“I. Did. NOT. Tamper with their memories,” she snapped “That was not the point of this project!”

"You're right!" Joshua laughs malevolently, "The point was to make weapons! Wasn't it Doc?! You wanted the ultimate weapons that you could send out to do whatever the fuck you felt like and then just wipe their minds and do it again!" He extended his claws and carved a deep gouge into the wall. "The ultimate assassin! Running down and hunting a target before anyone could possibly react! Too bad all those mind wipes fuck with the brain a little too much huh? Could have really been something wonderful!"

"The best infiltrator you could possibly create!" Joshua laughed, pointing at Nekona's unconscious form, "Literally able to walk through walls and steal whatever she wanted to! Any government in the world would pay top dollar for a few of her! Hell, I'm surprised you only made one each of us!" His giggling doubled him over, and he attempted to collect himself again as he turned to look at Eva, advancing on her as he did.

"You got exactly what you wanted, and honestly, I think you like seeing us out in the open, don't you Ms. Frankenstein? You wanted this to happen, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of you sick fucks set us loose and then fucked with her head one last time to cover your tracks!" He grabbed Eva's face and squeezed her cheeks, digging his claws into her skin as he forced her to smile while he laughed uncontrollably before turning away abruptly and stalking back over to his corner.

Angered by Joshua’s words, Eva nearly tripped as she tore a shoe off of her foot, smirking in satisfaction when the heel of her shoe struck his head. Joshua returns her assault with a frightening glare, but she stood firm with her shoulders back and her chin up.

“Don’t you dare accuse me of these things,” she began, her voice dangerously low. “We wanted superhumans, yes, but we didn’t want mindless killing puppets. You can’t even begin to comprehend the applications of this project!" Fueled by her own tirade, she yanked off her other shoe and threw it at him. Joshua merely batted it away and began to advance on her again, growling as he did so. Despite this unspoken warning, she continued.

"You think I want you out in the open? You’re disgusting! You are less than human, you sub-par, lowlife, vapid imbecile! If I knew you were going to be the way you are, then I would have cut off your oxygen line eons ago! No! The only reason why you are all out in the open is because of her!”

She pointed at Nekona with a finger, still trembling in anger as her voice rose higher.

“You’re so sick in the head that I’m willing to bet that you cannot even THINK about what love is. And so you cannot comprehend the depth of love Dr. Ryman had for his daughter! Why else would he rush human trials?! Why do you think the ever careful Dr. Ryman rushed? He was desperate to find a way to save her. He became a man possessed and worked furiously until he found a viable mutagen that wouldn’t kill its host! A system that could distribute it to every last cell of her diseased body! Fifteen years this project would have taken and that brilliant man managed to do it in three! So don’t you dare insult us and liken us to your sort of perverted mindset! You have no right! None!”

September 19th, 2019 - 3:00 PM

[Redacted], North Atlantic Ocean.

“This doesn’t make sense…” Joshua said, watching Joseph with keen eyes. “I should have-”

“Been able to sense me? Yes, your instinct was quite troublesome. I couldn’t get rid of it entirely, so I shifted your suspicions to Mirabelle.”

“…how?”

“I am not Gepetto the Puppeteer for no reason,” he replied, fondly tucking away his knife. “Now, be a dear and give me the pilot, then wait for my next instruction.”

Joshua suddenly felt an overwhelming compulsion. A drive that forced itself into his mind, and he could not help but drag Kelly forward by the arm to present her to Gepetto.

“Stop it!” Nekona hissed, grabbing Joshua and digging in her feet, halting his efforts. “Snap out of it!”

“Nekona, hands to yourself.”

The Witch hissed and snapped, but her arms fell to her sides and she watched helplessly as Joshua gave Kelly to Gepetto. The girl noticeably shivered and struggled, but a quick command from Gepetto halted her fight. He gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, cradling the pilot’s face with careful hands.

“Strange,” he mused. “How a fragile human such as she can be the key to my freedom.”

“Who are you?!” Eva demanded, watching in horror at what was unfolding before her eyes.

Gepetto looked up from Kelly and smiled. “Didn’t I say? I am Ge-”

“I know every Subject created in this facility,” Eva responded angrily, “But you’re not in my records. I thought it was weird that I didn’t recognize you, but I would have remembered someone of your abilities. You were the goal for my project! You would have been designated-”

“Subject 0001?” Gepetto interrupted her, lazily rolling his eyes.

“…that’s right.”

“Well congratulations. You succeeded. If I recall correctly, all of you threw a party in my honor.”

“What? No we didn’t. There was no-”

“But of course you wouldn’t remember. I did erase your minds. Such malleable things minds are.”

As Eva’s mouth dropped, Nekona’s eyes widened. “You…You were the one I met in the control room.”

“Ah yes. I do remember you, little Nekona. I had quite the amount of trouble opening the door, but luckily you came along to do just that for me.” Gepetto sighed, wrapping his arms around Kelly’s shoulders while absentmindedly twiddling with the ends of her hair. “But imagine my frustration when I discovered that we were on an island. I was at a loss, in a predicament. I wanted so much more than this tiny plot of land.”

Eva quickly recovered from the shock of the revelation and started doing what she did best. Ranting. “How dare you! To invade the sanctity of the mind with the powers we endowed upon you! You can’t possibly tell me that you were able to do that! We had you under heavy sedation and we guaranteed that you wouldn’t be able to-”

“Shut your mouth and off yourself. Your babbling is irritating.”

Eva’s mouth instantly snapped shut and she reached into her pocket, her fight against his compulsion resulting in seizure-like shaking, but she eventually produced her pocket knife. She flicked out the blade and a muffled whimper escaped her as she aligned it with her eye. Her breaths came sharp and shallow as she switched her panicked gaze from the knife to Gepetto and back again, her eyes pleading.

“Do it.”

Eva couldn't quite contain her screams as she shoved the knife into her eye. Her eyeball popped in a burst of blood and aqueous humor, and she drew it out to shove it deeper into her socket a few more times before she fell, her eye a bloody mess. Joey watched in horror and backed away, pausing to look briefly at Kelly.

“K…Kelly…”

“Cover your ears, Joey, Lucas.”

They are barely able to clap their hands over their ears before deafening gunshots sound next to them. Elliot emptied the weapon into Gepetto, but the monster remained standing, even rubbing at the holes decorating his chest.

“Ouch…You’ve got spunk, human. I can see why Nekona likes you. Such a shame you have to die. Nekona, kill him.”

“Elliot…run…”

The assassin made a break for it, but didn't get far before Nekona caught him, sinking her hands into his abdomen.

“N-Neko…”

The Witch gasped, her eyes dilating as his blood splattered across her face. “E…Elliot. I…”

Even through her sobs, tears falling onto the open wounds in Elliot’s stomach, she couldn't stop herself when she began pulling out his intestines, plucking out his organs one by one. Gepetto shook his head.

“Ah, young love. As for you, Joshua. You’re free to go.”

“…what?”

As Joshua shook off his previous compulsion, he looked at Gepetto with suspicion.

“Why?”

“Hmm… I’m feeling generous. It’s a pity that I must kill off all of my equals… well almost equals. In fact, I’ll even spare those two humans there,” he nodded at Joey and Lucas. “They can be your food source for the time being. Now, I’ll be taking my leave then. Goodbye. But, before I go… Nekona, you can stop. Do admire your handiwork.”

Immediately, Nekona yanked her bloody hands to her chest, staring down at Elliot in horror. His eyes were starting to lose focus, the light that sparkled in them seeming to dim. The man twitched and drew in one strangled, shuddering breath after another, but each heaving breaths only served to make his wounds bleed more profusely.

“I…I…No…”

Half-insane, Nekona brought her fists to her temples, unable to take her eyes off of Elliot as he reached up his bloodstained hand to her face. A final smile, and he was gone.

September 19th, 2019 - 5:00 PM

[Redacted], North Atlantic Ocean.

Joshua had chased that bastard for over an hour through the forest. He had reached him and been saved from his control by the quick thinking of the human he had carried. Oh the indignity of it all! But now was the worst of the insults. There lay Gepetto, Elliot's knife sticking out of his forehead at the base of the helipad. One of the humans had gotten the drop on the monster and done what he and Nekona had failed to do. He growled his displeasure even as he kicked the son of a bitch on the ground.

"You, girl, quit your sniveling and get this bird in the air. I want out of this hellhole right this second." He said, jabbing his finger at the pilot they had just saved. The humans nodded and piled into the craft, whose rotors roared to life as the helicopter began its pre-flight checks.

"You know you don't have to stay here." He said, not turning to look at Nekona who was crouched low and examining Gepetto's body.

"I promised him we would be together until the end." She answered, standing up and smiling a small smile at Joshua. "Besides, more prey for you on the mainland right?"

Joshua looked down at her face, and the two embraced for a moment before the Hunter climbed into the helicopter behind the humans. He paused one last time to look over his shoulder at her as the helicopter lifted off from the platform and began its journey back to shore. Nekona sighed and thought about the events of the day.

"At least we got revenge for you. I'll just have to explain it all when I get there." She says, setting off back towards the facility where Elliot's body was waiting for her.

Then, a rumble in the deep, followed by a blazing heat as the island erupted in heat and light. The last thoughts that came through Nekona's mind as she was consumed in nuclear fire were three words that echoed in her memories. "I am Joey."

---

Joshua was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement as the helicopter made its way across the sea towards the shore, singing the praises of everyone involved. “I still can’t believe that we’re getting away! Especially with all the trouble from that Mirabelle girl and that Gepetto fellow. That was well done, for a human that is." He said, laughing as his eyes glinted a faint gold for a moment. The others in the helicopter joined his laugh, though with much less enthusiasm as he had. Then there was a thunderous noise. An explosion of light and heat flashed through the sky outside, and the entire craft shook violently with the force of the shockwave that tore through the air. Kelly gasped from the cockpit and the others rushed to the windows to see what had happened. A mushroom cloud was forming where the island had been mere minutes before, and the waves were already rushing out in all directions from the pressure wave.

"Jesus! What the fuck just happened!?" Lucas exclaimed as he watched the aftermath of the detonation.

Suddenly, Joshua's hair stood on end, and he whipped back around to face Joey, who hadn't gotten up from his seat. In his hand was a small metal button, his thumb was holding it down.

"Everything is alright. The site's nuclear failsafe detonated because it hadn't checked in after four months, remember? Eva told us all about this before Gepetto got her. There is nothing to worry about. I am Joey."

The passengers of the aircraft suddenly realized that there was nothing to be alarmed about, after all, Eva had warned them this might happen. That's why they needed to get off the island so badly. There was nothing to worry about. Joey smiled at them, and his eyes seemed to shine an electric blue.

The helicopter continued its journey to the mainland. There was still so much to do.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

September 4th, 2019 - 7:20PM

[Redacted], North Atlantic Ocean.

"Go! Just keep running!" A young man screamed to his friends, lungs burning in his chest even as he ran after them. Perhaps friends was too strong a term for them. Acquaintances. Classmates. Fellow inmates. Fellow survivors. In any case, four youths fled through the trees in the gathering darkness of mid autumn. The blood pounded in the young man's ears even as his breaths came harsh and hot. His fellows were ahead of him, their forms fading into the gathering darkness of the twilight forest. His scream of warning seemed to be swallowed up by the oppressive silence in the trees, the sounds of animals and prey creatures had long since fallen silent on the island. Now the surviving creatures remained silent in fear, and the sound came from the infected. There was a low, quiet laughter that seemed to echo through the trees around the running teen. The chuckle grew in volume and seemed to grow closer and closer to the young man, whose fear prompted him to break into a cold sprint, desperately trying to catch up to his allies.

---

A young woman crouched behind a tree, clutching a larger teen tightly. The laughter had stopped, as had the screams of her friend. Now the only sound that could be heard was the whisper of the wind in the trees. Leaves rustling as they broke free from their branches and joined the soft bed of decaying plants on the forest floor. Her shoulders shook as stifled sobs wracked her frame and shivers of terror coursed through her spine. "Oh God, it got Craig..." She whispered, eyes streaming even as the older boy held her close.

"Shh, it's ok. We're going to be ok. He bought us time to hide." The larger teen whispered in her ear as he looked around at the empty forest around them. The quiet felt like a physical weight on his ears, his own heartbeat thundered and his breathing seemed to be as loud as the screams that their friend had released when the... thing that had been chasing them had caught up to him. He had to control his breath. He had to be quiet and keep Sandy as still as possible. It could still be out there.

"Both of you shut it! What if it hears us?" The third boy hissed at the others, knuckles white around the bent iron rod he was clutching. A poor excuse for a sword clung to like the last piece of driftwood in the grasp of a drowning man. He wiped the sweat from his eyes as he peered around the trees they were taking refuge under, scanning the shadows for movement. His ears strained against the silence, desperately listening for the tell-tale signs of a hunter stalking its prey. His eyes were wide as dinner plates and his vision blurred with each pulse of his racing heart.

A quiet chuckle broke the silence. A low staccato of mirth, malevolent and dripping with malice. The trio clustered closer to each other as the young man with the iron rod stepped back towards the tree, eyes darting around the gathering gloom.

"I know! Just look what my loud mouth got me!" Came a mocking cry from the shadowed canopy above the terrified survivors. Twin pinpricks of gleaming gold shone out from the darkness like sunlight reflected from polished coins. The trio look up at the sound, and a wet thud drew their attention to the ground again. The severed head of their fallen comrade gazed up at them through unseeing eyes that are still locked in their final moments of terror, while the mouth gaped open leaking blood from its missing tongue.

The girl screamed as the loud cackling returns. The pinpricks of light vanished as a rush of displaced air whipped past the vision of the three. A thud and a crunch of fallen leaves are the only sounds before another rush of air and the burly boy is forced to the ground by a shadowed blur with a choked scream that lasts mere instants before interrupted by the awful sound of flesh and sinew tearing. A splatter of meat and blood is cast across the forest floor as a clawed hand tore the youth's throat from his body. The young man with the iron rod releases a cry of fury and terror as he swung his makeshift weapon with the desperate strength of a cornered animal at the hunched figure savaging the young man on the floor. The rod whistled as it parted the air and then abruptly stopped as the clawed hand of the monster caught it mid swing.

"Now that wasn't very nice." The creature said quietly, rising to its feet as its latest victim lay gurgling on the forest floor. The boy's chest had been torn open from navel to throat with chunks of gore and torn flesh floating in the gathering pool of blood in his exposed chest cavity.

The screaming girl turned and ran from the monster, muscles burning as her breaths came sharp and shallow. The creature's head whipped to the side and watched her go, releasing the rod and wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of it's mouth. "Aww, I just wanted to play a little..." It whined, a predatory grin on its sharp features. Teeth, serrated and pointed like those of a shark, dripped with fresh blood as he watched her go. The boy with the rod seized upon this opportunity and swung the rod again at this murderous creature only for the rod to sail harmlessly through empty air.

---

The girl was running. She could hear the last survivor screaming something at her. Her heart was in her throat and she could feel cold sweat pouring down her face and chest. Her foot caught an exposed root and with a sickening crack and electric jolt of agony she tumbled to the ground. She curled into a ball, hands clutching her head and desperately trying to blot out the sounds of mad laughter that drew closer and closer to her. The laughter reached her side then darted off into the distance before approaching again. Her eyes were screwed up tight and she abandoned any attempt at quiet as she sobbed. Fear and despair felt like a cold mass of writhing serpents in her stomach, and she retched between ugly cries and desperate moans for help. Her ankle throbbed with pain even as a fresh sensation entered her perception. The feeling of a cold claw tracing a thin, shallow line of angry red along her spine. She could hear her clothing tearing even as the putrid scent of decay and fresh blood filled her nose.

"Aww, you're crying..." The creature's voice dripping with contempt joined the sounds of her tears. She could feel his breath on her neck as his claw continued its agonizingly slow journey up her back. She retched again and bile filed her mouth as her empty stomach purged what little remained from her system. The creature made a noise of disgust and she felt the claw in her back pull back as the scent of death retreated a bit. "Oh come on now, really? It's like you want me to lose my appetite." The creature spoke to her like a frustrated parent of a toddler that had made a mess. She felt the air rush past her, and a strong hand grab her chin and lift her head from the dirt and dead leaves. Sharp claws stabbed into her face as the creature forced her face up towards his, where shining golden eyes with slit pupils met her own green eyes wide with terror. He smiled cheerfully, teeth straight and spotless, before vanishing entirely with a chuckle that faded away into the distance. She felt a blinding pain as the claws tore free from her face followed by the rush of air that lifted the leaves from the ground, rushing back in the direction she had come. She lay there, eyes glassy and skin clammy as shock began to take hold, while her friend screamed with shock that suddenly became a strangled cry before gurgling to a stop.

She heard the quiet laughter returning to her side. Slow, deliberate steps that crunched through fallen branches and dry leaves approached her while silent tears leaked from her eyes. She felt the spreading warmth of the blood leaking from the shallow cut on her back spreading out even as the steps stopped just behind her. She lay there, still and quiet and the creature seemed to wait for something.

"Get up." It snarled. The sound of bark being torn by claws filled the silence of the dark forest while wood chips fell onto her legs.

"I said get up!" It shouted, kicking her in the ribs and flipping her over on her back. Contempt was etched into the furious, bloodstained features of the slender man at her side. His eyes were like a pair of golden fireflies as they bore into her own. He wore dirty and wrinkled pants with a stained white shirt tucked into it under a long dark trench coat and a worn black vest. The brim of his hat cast his sharp, angular features in shadow that accentuated the hard lines of his face. The girl looked up at him and simply wept, the strength to even cry out failing her.

"How boring. You could at least scream until the end, like the last one did." He scowled down at her before turning on his heel.

"Fine. Be that way. Lie there until something else finds you. See if I care." The creature began a languid walk away from the girl on the ground, hands in his pockets and muttering darkly the whole way.

Soon enough he would fade away into the distance, and the battered girl would lie there on the forest until another group of survivors found her. For the briefest instant she felt a twinge of hope as she heard their hushed whispers approaching her clearing. She felt a flutter in her heart when the helped her to her feet and started walking with her deeper into the forest. There was a moment of joy that she had escaped the same grisly fate that had befallen her previous companions by some merciful twist of fate.

And then, in the gathering dawn, she heard it again.

Laughter in the trees.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1, 2020, 7:50 PM.
Midtown Metropolis.
Interactions - @Unknown100 @Mr Nim @Zero Hex

---

---

Tobias frowned for a moment at being told what to do by this stranger, but his grin returned to his face as quickly as it had faded.

"Lights and spectacle are what a showman does best!" He declared, planting his cane into the ground where once again the shining runes and geometric lines flared to life. The storm above crackled with thunder and the angry lightning that was coursing through the clouds.

"Now lets just see how mythical this beast really is! Molniya!"

With a word of power that echoed through the shattered and collapsing buildings, Tobias raised his cane and pointed it at the hydra. A peal of thunder tore through the same as a bolt of blazing white filled the air with heat and power while the sigils at Tobias' feet leapt from the earth and encircled the lightning, guiding it to the destination Tobias directed. The Hydra shrieked in fury and agony as billions of volts of electricity coursed through its body, the head directly struck erupting in a fountain of gore and viscera as lines of angry red tore through its flesh seeking the quickest route to the ground. The sizzling and charred stump of the head fell limply to the ground while the others roared in pain, blood leaking from scorched vocal chords and eyes bubbling with boiling vitreous fluid. The beast thrashed blindly even as its body convulsed with residual electricity from the blast, and Tobias gathered his magic to strike again.

"Nadvigayushchayasya burya, molot Zevsa, razdirayut Nebo i b'yut Zemlyu! Kak vverkhu, tak vnizu!"

An echoing chant as runes sprang to life around the beast, a cage of light and mystic signs slowly rotating around the creature even as the storm seemed to pulse with a furious heartbeat. The electricity that gathered in the streets caused lampposts to light and burst even as the hair of those observing stood on end. The wind whipped up and the rain fell in sheets even as Tobias wove pale blue light in his hands, like a puppeteer controlling a marionette as the energies for his spell ran shining strands of power between the sigils around the hydra and the mage whose eyes glowed with the same.

"Clear the air! I'm about to let the hammer fall!"

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

Someone's up!

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1, 2020, 7:46 PM.
Midtown Metropolis.
Interactions - @unknown100,

@Zero Hex

---

---

"Showtime!"

A resounding crack like a gunshot filled the air as a flash of light and multicolored smoke erupted from the ground before the rampaging hydra. A white gloved hand stretched out from the smoke cane in hand and points it at building after building around the hydra, where suddenly hovering stage lights flashed into existence.

"Lights!" Came the cry from the smoke as each light took a sweep of the air above the hydra for a moment before swinging down and focusing on the center of the smoke.

"Camera!" Another gloved hand extended out snapping its fingers and a giant neon sign popped into existence facing the news helicopter flashing: "Cheers & Applause".

The two hands came together and the cane was brought down with another resounding crack that blew the smoke away in a single instant, revealing Tobias standing alone before the beast, hat tipped down and a sparkling grin on his face.

"Action!" He exclaimed as a flash of light erupted from underneath his feet, forming three huge geometric sigils in slowly rotating concentric circles around his feet. Electric blue light flared to life from the lines and symbols of the intertwined circles as he held his cane up into the air between himself and the hydra, a sudden flare of wind whipping through his coat and blowing it back dramatically.

"Groza!" He called, his voice echoing as though he stood in a vast theater. Dark clouds swirled together from empty sky above the hydra, whose many heads looked up at the sudden darkness even as electricity began to crackle in the shapes above it.

"For my next trick-!" Tobias shouted as he spun his cane in hand, while the buzz of a live wire filled the air between the clouds and the hydra

"Molni-"

A blur of motion as one of the heads of the hydra suddenly lashed out at the magician, who leapt back from his circle with a shout of surprise, cutting off his incantation mid-syllable. The shining magic circle crackles angrily and begins to flicker as Tobias lands on his feet a few yards back, floating down slower than he should have. The conjured storm above booms angrily as lightning crackles menacingly from cloud formation to cloud formation and a drizzle of cold rain begins to fall onto the battlefield. Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashes through the air and strikes the dimming sigils on the ground with a mighty peal of thunder that cracks the sky even as the bolt shatters the pavement where the symbols had been laid.

"Hey! Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to interrupt someone!" Tobias shouted angrily as the spotlights and signage fade away.

The hydra screamed a defiant challenge as a few of its heads turned to face the newcomer.

"So much for the easy way..." Tobias thought as he dashed to the side to avoid another lunging head.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1, 2020, 7:45 PM.
Broadway, Lower Manhattan.
Cameo - @unknown100

---

---

It was a brisk night even through Tobias' coat as the young mage continued his walk towards the docks. Pedestrians clogged the sidewalks even as the cars and cabs rolled through the streets. Bright flashing lights adorned the theaters and storefronts of the street and the sounds of the city joined the low rumble of conversation from the crowds of people lining up to see this show or that, or those that had just left an earlier show and chattered excitedly about the spectacle. Tobias kept his hat down and didn't look around much, deep in thought about his conversation with the blind scribe.

"Young mages... You always underestimate the skills of the Little Folk at spreading rumors and gossip."

The Little Folk. Simple fae that tended to hide in plain sight or in the shadow at the corner of your vision. Tyresius was right, Tobias hadn't given much thought to the small pixies and elves that could be found just about anywhere in the world, though they tended to shy away from the bigger cities like New York. Perhaps it would be wise to make a trip to Central Park before he proceeded down to the docks. Small faeries would likely find ample room to hide and play in the parks after dark, and nothing the old coot ever said was by accident. If he had planted the idea of the faeries in Tobias' imagination, there was something worth investigating there.

"Or the Queen put a bounty on my head and Tyresius wants to collect." Tobias thought grimly as he paused to watch a small family exiting a theater. A well-dressed mother and father accompanied by their young son, certainly no more than eight, who was excitedly going on about the show they had just watched. He smiled for a moment, memories of his own youth coming back to him. The smile soured as he recalled the start of his training and the circumstances of his adolescence, but there were some warm memories to dwell on at least.

"...An ancient evil beyond most people's understanding..."

That snapped Tobias out of his reverie. His head jerked up and he frantically looked around for the source of the voice, a dull scarlet flaring to life in his eyes. He shook his head and the light faded even as he spotted a large display on the side of an electronic's store showing a statuesque woman with black hair standing in front of some kind of capsule. A gentle wind blew and her hair waved like an actress in a movie, made all the more cinematic by the dramatic words scrolling across the screen: "BREAKING NEWS... WONDER WOMAN IN MIDTOWN METROPOLIS..."

"...There is no question that the seal will break, and once it does there will be a fight that is not meant for mortal eyes..."

The scarlet light flared back to life in Tobias' eyes even as terror dilated his pupils as wide as they could go. How could she have known? Who else knew? How much time did he have before--

"...I call upon my friends in the Justice League. If you can come, please do so. But I also call upon others: I implore every strong arm and sharp sword to stand with me. Those who can fight do so. Those who cannot... run. If you live in Midtown Metropolis, do not hesitate. You take your loved ones and go. Do not look back. Run for your life."

The camera zoomed in on the canister behind Wonder Woman, a stone cylinder emblazoned with what appeared to be Ancient Greek and most worryingly an icon of the Ouroboros.

Tobias' eyes blazed scarlet as he tapped his foot in agitation. She was in Metropolis, hundreds of miles from him, and was likely referring to whatever was inside the container behind her. He shook his head and held his eyes closed until the anger subsided. The fear had soured and begun to ferment in his chest and had become a solid mass of fury and hate, both his and worse. The camera again panned to show a newcomer had joined Wonder Woman, before both were set upon by a massive beast and the camera's connection was lost.

"It's none of my business." Tobias thought, closing his eyes and trying to regulate his breathing. After all, there were other heroes in the world. Heroes that Wonder Woman had called for and would likely be coming to help her. Besides, he had some pixies to interrogate and dark magicks to stop.

"You could be useful out in the real world... Use those tricks for the greater good!"

Tobias growled as the news station shifted to the view of a battle from a helicopter. The beast was attacking both the heroes on site, and when one head was removed, two more grew to take it's place.

"I don't need to go deal with a hydra. They can work it out them-"

The hydra began to attack itself, ripping and tearing at it's own heads and spawning an ever growing number of menacing jaws with which to strike.

"-selves."

Tobias sighed, then a rakish grin slowly spread over his features. This would certainly make his shows more attractive he supposed, though to whom he couldn't imagine. He watched the battle unfolding through the lens of the Helicopter's camera with the rest of the gathering crowd that murmured in concern at the events before them, searching for a suitable spot. He didn't dare take a jaunt through the Wyldes, not with likely half or more of Winter's forces out for satisfaction, but it was too dangerous to risk a blind jump with that monstrosity rampaging.

He spotted a likely location and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and focused on his destination as he gathered his magic about him, his coat and hair shifting in an unseen and unfelt wind, before opening them and bringing his cane down on the pavement with a resounding crack that filled the air, even as he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Showtime!

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

I've made my edits. Tobias visits the library around 7:15. Plenty of time for him to make an appearance in Metropolis. I just had to remove some references to the fight that breaks out at the concert around 7:30.

I likely can't post my arrival tonight, so someone else feel free to start off the party and I'll try and put words to paper tomorrow.