Episode 2: Utter Mayhem

[Lemon Boy]

KYLE KEYSOR

Mood: Focused; Mildly disgusted


Location: By the Car Park


Company: A few of the constructs defending his body, the occasional person running away and a bird getting shot down.


@'s: @Teh Frixz @Bag o Fruit @Gus @KingHink @Suzuki Mine @Swoob @DJ MagicHat @Zahzi @Unlimited


OOC: Ever so sorry about the incredibly long wait for my post!

Welp, clearly sleeping was NOT the solution to the problem...or at least, not an overly effective one it seemed.


It would seem that in a miraculous twist of fate, Kyle had somehow ended up day dreaming as he literally slept in a snug little corner with birds screaming and a man howling at them; maybe he was a bird manipulator? That, or just some old coot who had a knack for making birds be annoying pests. So much shit had happened that he honestly didn't really want to ask anyone what the hell was going on at this point. Though, a few things did stand out. Specifically, the previously reclusive, shy girl now being the size of a giant and shouting at everyone to leave whilst also smacking birds out the sky like a living flyswatter. It was an amusing sight. The little man who had been not a second early been consumed by snow and turned into a snowman now seemed to have sprouted mechanical limbs from his back and be shouting at the guy commanding the flock. There was something, however, that he really didn't like that was happening among all this chaos.


The obvious abuse of the nude giant, who was now being photographed by numerous people, one the nastier students seemed to be doing it as well, which he didn't particularly like or feel comfortable with at all. Frowning as he slept in the safe little haven in the maelstrom of chaos, he could at least help her out because she looked quite oblivious to the flickering of flashes of people taking pictures for their own creepy enjoyment. With a small, but stinging pang of pain in his head, a black poncho, shirt and a pair of pants suddenly found themselves on the girl, befitting of her colossal size. Least he didn't have to separately control the clothes, just manifest them and put them on so she'd at least find few less pictures of her on the internet.


Now, focusing on more important things, people began to move out the Zoo and going to their cars and he'd rather not be left behind. Making one of his angelic constructs pick him up and carry him closer to everyone was, a group of these angels shot down any attempts of the maddened birds making any attacks on him or those below him. Being dropped off in a more secluded area by the car park that still gave him visual of the area, he continued to command his constructs to guide people away and shoot down any birds that tried anything.

 

[welian]

Flight of the Valkyries

Location: Baltimore City Zoo


Objective: Damage control


Roleplayers: @Bag o Fruit @Captain Hesperus @Gus @KingHink @St Indigo @Suzuki Mine @Swoob @Teh Frixz @Unlimited @Zahzi

Amidst the chaos in and outside the zoo, a lone figure could be seen running around – not like a headless chicken, as one might consider all-too-apt for the situation, but winging it all the same, with a large net and a megaphone in tow.


It wasn’t too terribly difficult to figure out who he was – he wore workboots, khakis, and the back of his winter coat said “Baltimore City Zoo” in three inch tall letters. And it took no time at all to figure out what he was doing. He was doing his best to grab the zoo’s birds as they dive-bombed, trapping them and releasing them into the back of a caged van that had rolled up to the eye of the birdicane without notice. It was slow going though, since catching birds was incredibly difficult and it honestly pained the zookeeper to see such sweet creatures hurt themselves flying into the cage walls to try and escape.


“TERENCE FOWLER,” the zookeeper crowed with the fury of a thousand magpies through a shoddy, crackling megaphone, “I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE YOUR NEXT VISIT TO THE PSYCH WARD WILL BE YOUR LAST!!”


He was done with this man! Too many feathers had been ruffled, and letting these little freaky children visit every month was just – ugh, it was like walking on eggshells, making sure not to upset one of them, in case they went off on you.


“ALL OF YOU, GET OUT OF MY ZOO, NOW!” He was practically rabid with rage, frothing at the mouth. “You’re all banned! All of you! Community service my ass, you always make things worse wherever you go! Just take the spastic retard and go!”


He paused. A white splat splashed smack-center of his newly soiled scalp, and the poor man screamed.

 

[welian]

Tags: @Bag o Fruit @Captifate @Necessity4Fun @simj22 @TerraBooma @ViAdvena

“Always on my vacation! Always!” Scarlet stormed past the front desk of the Commonwealth office. Alarms were starting to go off within the building, urging all agents to prepare for an emergency. The police scanners were on fire, and so unfortunately the limiters at Aegis would simply have to be ignored for now. Little did she know, that it too was just one part of a multi-pronged, coordinated attack.


“Director, wait!” One of the agents by the store stopped her. “You can’t go out there, it’s dangerous! You’re just a C-rank!”


Scarlet stared, and the agent wilted.


“When lives are in danger,” the Director responded, with each word carrying a great weight, “It is my job to protect them. No more bureaucracy, no more paperwork. We have been chasing this thread for weeks, and it’s gone and blown up in our faces. You’ve seen what they’ve threatened online. I’m going.”


Meanwhile, the man in the van finished reading his tabloid. Neatly folded, he tucked it between his seat and the console, and reached for his rifle. He laid it across his lap, checking it over once, twice, before he staged his attack.


He waited patiently.


A girl in a cap walked past, as the police cruiser that dropped her off rolled away. That cruiser would be the first to respond, he was sure.


Eventually, the director of Commonwealth walked out the door. The man in the van watched as she bumped into the girl with the hat, and appeared to apologize quickly.


He almost felt guilty, as he put in the earplugs and donned a mask with bulky goggles.


BANG.


The man in the van blinked. He looked down at his rifle, to make sure he didn’t accidentally pull the trigger. He did not. That, and the discreet flash of a red laser reflecting off the windows of the Commonwealth building told him everything he needed to know.


From his toolbox, he grabbed a stun grenade. He popped open the door of the van and threw it across the street, near the director’s body. Two more quickly followed suit. He shut the door.


The first exploded into blinding, deafening flashes of light and sound. The two others created a hissing veil of dark, smelly smoke. A pair of armored soldiers in black and gold leapt out the back of the van, wearing masked helmets with goggles, and their rifles at the ready.

 

[welian]

Morgan Brahn

Summary

Location:	Political Powers
Company:	Denzil, Cecilia, Michael, Gabriele, Mitch, Aaron (sort of), Ren, Laurent
Thoughts:	Who did this?!
Tags:	@King Of Imagination @ViAdvena @too much idea @Necessity4Fun @RemainingQuestions @Gus @Aldur @Meredith @Sopranos
OOC Notes:	Ta-dah!!

Morgan frowned in sympathy in the teacher swore under his breath. “Right… probably a good idea.” He hated to leave someone in need, but…


The boy glanced out the door again, and saw that a cat-eared girl was helping the man up. Well, that took care of that. Morgan backed out of the doorway so that Mr. de Klerk could come through. Making sure his backpack with his donuts was still secure and untainted, Morgan started down the hallway and down the stairs.


“I hope you feel better sir,” he said to the sick man as he passed.


Mr. de Klerk’s assignment rolled around in his mind, and Morgan pondered what little he knew. His parents were not supers, they were normal people. He felt a pang of guilt, remembering all the times that caused his family trouble because of his powers. At least his little brother only had to deal with being a mad genius… and crippling health problems.


But that wasn’t enough rationale to form a supremacy group, now was it?


“… We could always talk about the Salem Witch Trials,” Morgan offered aloud as he passed through the stairwell. “Since they killed women they thought were witches, just because some of them were supers.”


Morgan stopped at Red’s office door. It was open, and the inside was wrecked. His stomach sank. It was one thing to prank a teacher, but to do all this just because you didn’t like them? And that was the girl he rode with to school yesterday, for the exam! He tilted his head inquisitively, unwilling to use his telepathy just yet.


“Ren… why? What did Mr. Ward do to you? He was just doing his job at the exam.”

 

[Meredith]

[border]


Ren Lee

Location: Red's Office


Mood: Angry/Horrified


Status: Incapacitated


Nearby: Morgan, Laurent


Tags: @welian @Sopranos @Zahzi


OOC: Poor small child.

"I didn't do anything!"


Ren's face flushed with anger, and she whirled around to face Morgan. Her fists clenched, she glared at him, tears springing to her eyes. How dare he accuse her of making this mess? It wasn't even like she had any ability that would make it easier to destroy the place. "What makes you think I would do this?"


Gesturing with her fist (almost as an air-punch) to the mess behind her, Ren turned again, marching towards Red's desk. She righted a pen-holder with a bang, picked up a tissue box and returned it to the desk, reached for the helmet and took a firm hold of it.


For a moment, her sight left her.


Warriors, mumbling, obviously either crazed or just fucked up.


More soldiers, offensive powers, metal bending and breaking and flying, shrapnel?


Necks snapping, blood, yelling, soldiers dying at the hands of the helmet-wearer -


She paused, grasped tighter onto the helmet, took an unsteady breath.


And let out a bloodcurdling shriek. -


Blood, a lot of blood, operating tables.


Words. Bodies, there were bodies, bodies in the basement. You know corpses go downstairs."


There were people bleeding and children and people too late to save and-


-then those soldiers, those mindless soldiers again...


And Professor Red, holding the helmet.


It was his? Or.. a spoil of war?


Ren let out another shrill wail-like noise, tears leaking onto her cheeks as she sunk to her knees. She held the helmet close to her chest, taking quick breaths, too quick. Hyperventilating, she was hyperventilating, but what was...


She was shaking. She was shaking, hard, and gripping the helmet tight with both hands. "I... bodies. In the basement."


As she stared down at the helmet, tears trickled down her nose, dripping into the piece and pooling inside.


[/border]

 

[King Of Imagination]

Michael D'Avolo

Summary

Location: Outside Red's Office


Tags: @welian @ViAdvena @Meredith @Necessity4Fun @too much idea @RemainingQuestions

Michael had to hold back a laugh as the girl blushed and stuttered out a greeting. It wasn't an uncommon response to his presence, in fact people who reacted normally were few and far between. One of the perks of being- Michael considered the terrible joke he was about to make in his own mind, then decided to go for it- devilishly handsome. He instead smiled, and with the same slight lilt in his voice, a surprisingly quiet and soothing tone that also carried quite the weight behind it, said "Cecilia. A pleasant name."


He stepped into the classroom and was moving to take his seat when the plain looking young man told the instructor that there was a man lying unconscious in a puddle of black liquid. Michael, intrigued, glanced out the door again to investigate. Curious. Perhaps a power gone wrong? In any case, he went to take a seat again, only to have the instructor, de Klerk, or something along those lines, decide that they would be going to the cafeteria instead, to discuss pro-super and anti-super supremacist groups. Interesting topic, given Michael's own beliefs, but none the less something expected of... What class was this, political powers? Yes, that would make sense. So, rather than take a seat, Michael proceeded out the door, walking with the same air of dignity and grace that he always did, head high, his feet barely making a sound in spite of his heavy-bottomed shoes.


As he made his way he passed the wreckage of one of the instructors offices, where the plain one and another girl, Ren the plain one called her, were arguing, before she placed her hands on some object, let out quite the shriek, not too dissimilar to things Michael had heard coming from the basement when Gabriele was... Enjoying herself. "I... bodies. In the basement." Now this, this got Michaels attention. He gave an almost impercetable smile and said "Well then. We should go investigate."

 

[TerraBooma]

The world was in chaos.


Kennith, Mary and Kendrick had been secretly following Scarlet, doing their best to lie low. Agent Harry hadn't...really seemed to care that everyone had vanished from sight, and the last thing that seemed to be on his mind was just who was he talking to?


For the stealthy stalking students, that was supposed to have been an advantage. As everything went wrong around them, Kennith was beginning to regret his choice to follow Mary on a stalking adventure. At first, Kennith had froze up completely, it was the first time he had experienced anything close to the chaos and torment that was going on around him. The alarm was blaring and the gunshot still rang out in the air. The flashbang hadn't helped much, and Kennith himself was holding his ears. Fortunately for the Astral Projectionist, his eyes were averted towards the others when the explosion went off. As the smoke began to block their view of the streets, Kennith got one last glance as the Director's body. He went to call out, but stopped himself as the noise was building in his throat. Panicing wouldn't do the director any good...she couldn't be dead now could she? There had to be a chance! His own power wouldn't do here...but what had the others said? An idea dawned on Kennith's head, and he began shouting over the chaos to the others.


"H-Hey!" He shouted, steeling his will and determining himself to save the Director. "We gotta do something! Mary. You made a portal...thing, earlier right? I saw where the director was! If you can make one under her body...we might be able to save her!" He then spun to Kennith, placing a hand on his shoulder "You said you can manipulate toys right? That makes you the best direct fighter of us three. If we run into trouble, do what you can okay?" Kennith then started backing away, "I'll find a first aid kit guys! I heard a gunshot. I don't...I don't know if she's going to be okay...but we have to do our best!"


After a few minutes of frantic searching, Kennith had come back to the group with a first aid kit in hand. With all the labs, it hadn't been too difficult to find one. He ran back to the group, concern on his face.


"We all still okay?"

 

[D. Rex]

Name: Victoria Beckett


Mood: Diplomatic


Location: Baltimore Zoo


Company: Angry Zookeeper


Tags: @Bag o Fruit @DJ MagicHat @Captain Hesperus @Gus @welian @St Indigo @Suzuki Mine @Swoob @Teh Frixz @Unlimited @Zahzi


Plot/Class: Community Service, Flight of the Valkeryie


Other: Smart enough to keep her hood up.

Things seemed to get even more hectic, but she was very grateful that somehow clothes seemed to have appeared on the giantess. She would looked up in awe at the angels flying the boy around, but she wasn't quite brave enough to risk looking up again.


Nearby she could hear the yelling of a man. A man who worked at the zoo and was actually helping! Which was quite the nice thing to see given the situation. Surely he know what to do... well he probably did by his screaming her certainly didn't want them here. Even though she certainly couldn't blame him, she still felt a pang of pain that she was now to be lumped in with the likes of this crazy person and these other students. However she also felt the need to speak up. Maybe. Just maybe she could help bring some order to all this chaos. Or at the very least keep them from getting banned. (Yes. She really did want to see the otters) Also that this was getting out of hand very quickly and he could be a big help if he wasn't so rabid!


"Sir! Please don't mix us (me) in with that freak! We have nothing to do with this and he was here clearly before us. He is putting a lot of people in danger, and we are trying to stop him and get people to shelter! Someone is going to get seriously injured or killed because of him if we can't help these people. Not just the people but the animals, too. He clearly has lost is mind and doesn't seem to care what damage he does!" She said to him loudly over the squawking of birds. "If you let us help, the sooner we can end this and get things back to normal! Especially with you here since you know the zoo and the birds better than any of us!"

 

[yoikes]

Mitch Castle


Current Mood: Curious


Location: Political Powers Classroom -> Outside Mr. Red's office


With: @Necessity4Fun @RemainingQuestions @welian @ViAdvena @Meredith @King Of Imagination @Sopranos


Group: Spooky Scary Skeletons





Seems like the racket coming outside has crossed the line, disruptive enough for Mr. Denzil to announce that he will be moving the class to the cafeteria downstairs. Not like Mitch or anyone is complaining, they could use the change of atmosphere. She took her backpack and quickly head outside the class, curious about who Morgan has found 'passed out in a sea of black vomit', or so he reported. Turns out it was one of the teachers, Mr. Aaron. How exactly did he could end up to passing out in 'a sea of black vomit' (that turns out to be coffee, judging from how it smells), Mitch will probably never knew- Just like the other secrets keep hidden inside Aegis in a true "what happens here stays here".


She followed her teacher and classmates, as they make their way down the stairwell. Mr. Denzil talked about what they are going to discuss today, supremacists group. Mitch respected people's opinion, but she always against those who are 'taking it too far'. Morgan suggested the Salem Witch Trials, which could be an interesting topic. She was mulling over it when Morgan suddenly stops as the passed Mr. Red's office- talking to someone inside. Then suddenly, a scream- "I... bodies. In the basement."





"... That sounds ominous." Mitch commented right before Gabrielle's brother casually suggested that they should head down to investigate. "Wait, what? But we are not allowed down there? Plus, if she said that there are bodies down in the basement, then it should be something we all should be staying clear off."

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Mood: - Utterly undiplomatic


Location: - Maryland Zoo, Baltimore


With: - McNabb, Lucas, Victoria, Katherine, Kyle, Praxi, Eden, Tabby, Leon, Jordan, Crazy Bird-guy.


Tags: - @Bag o Fruit @Gus @KingHink @Ryuuko Shin @St Indigo @Suzuki Mine @Swoob @Teh Frixz @Unlimited @Zahzi @DJ MagicHat


Other: -

Danny Travis

Danny's headlong surge toward the swirling mass of birds and Supers was suddenly curtailed by the coarse shouting and abuse offered by the bird lime-spattered Head of Avian Species. Glasses Girl was trying to talk him down, using gentle words and placating arm motions in an effort to calm the man's ire.


Fuck.


That.





Danny turned and fixed the man with a murderous glare and stormed over.


"Hey, shithead! What's your fucking problem? That fuckwad on the giant fucking turkey started your whole shitstorm, and we just got dipped balls-deep in your little fucking catastrophe. Trust me, there's a billion and fucking one other places we'd rather be right now, but there's fragile normals here still needing protecting from your precious little feather fuckbags, or would you rather have Maryland Zoo responsible for the deaths of a fair number of it's patrons?"


He turned and pointed toward the Supers continuing to harass the Birdman.


"That fucking psycho was responsible for this whole situation and we're trying our best to contain him until someone more capable takes over. Why don't you stop being a total fucking asshole and help get these normals clear? Or better yet, call the fucking cops? The sooner that freak is out of the picture the sooner you can stick you precious pigeons back in their fucking cages!"


Without waiting for a response, Danny flicked the zoo employee his own impression of a bird before running headlong at the mounted Birdman.


"Asshole on the bird, I'm going to fuck your shit up!", Danny shouted as he closed the distance, one fist raised in an image of apocalyptic wrath.

 

[Sopranos]

Laurent Rose


With: Ren Lee, Mitch Castle, Michael D'Avolo and everybody else

At: Hallway - Red's

Tag: @Necessity4Fun @RemainingQuestions @welian @ViAdvena @Meredith @King Of Imagination
​

"- Well then. We should go investigate."


"- You can't..."


Almost immediately, Laurent stopped the boy intention in a low, cold voice, as he folded him arms together, the red head continued.


"- It's not for outsiders to visit, you can only enter if you have an ID card. And I haven't said anything about security or anything that we can encounter when we're in there."


Why does he know about the basement ? Laurent was there, it was the first time he went berserk here, he remembers woke up in cell with both hand locked tightly. The place was cold and silent. He also remembers being lead back to the facility, that's why he knows the way.


"- I can lead you to the basement's location if you want, but first we need to snatch a card from security guard... without anyone noticing. We don't want any teachers or someone know we sneak up there."

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Location: Collateral Damage Class


Tags: @Aldur @welian @DJ MagicHat @Giyari


Mood: Irritated


Group: Skyfall


OOC: burn the witch angel

“Do not touch me again,” she ordered Fire Fist. "Or there will be consequences."





At first, Alexis looked bewildered, that such a tiny little thing dared threaten her. "You? Cause me consequences? Yeah fucking right, bitch." Before Alexis could burn her face off and show her her goddamn place, the cold-blooded killer appeared out of thin air and started barking orders. Alexis, though mildly impressed with her menacing tone, mourned the loss of the opportunity to set the bitch aflame, and let out a bored sigh as Ioana finished her commands with a final "Pasty-ass bitch." after cracking each knuckle individually. Not bad.


Now it was Asher's turn, to attempt to calm the between the three of them. Alexis blinked once he had finished, announcing he accepted her apology but would still like to have a "chat". Had she ever gotten off so easy for doing such a thing? Holy shit. Compared to Viola who'd just merely flicked a spark at Asher's guitar, Alexis seemed to be getting the duller edge of the punishment. Wow.


"...But I digress. Just keep an eye on our new 'friend' here, there's no need for anything more than that at the moment." Alexis merely shrugged, offering no confirmation that she'd follow his rules but staying in place for now. Asher scolded Ioana and then moved in front of the blue-haired girl, asking what brought her here today. Collecting information, apparently. About how supers transcended humanity. How quaint.


“Forgive me, for English is not my first language. An aegis protects, correct? What is it that you all protect here? Yourselves?" Alexis growled, clenching her right fist and allowing a fire to light in her palm, fire bursting out between the knuckles. "Yeah, maybe from shitheads like you." She spat, then glanced at Asher. "I say we gag her. Or at the least, tie her up. Do you honestly expect she'll just stay down like a good little puppy?" Alexis crossed her arms. "Well, I wouldn't mind the opportunity to burn her to bits if she fucks up." She muttered.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

Kendrick Haywood

​

Location: Commonwealth: Baltimore HQ - Near some stairs Lobby


People around: Mary, Kennith, Director Chernov (obviously unconscious)


Today's Toys: Ted, Maverick, Kefir, George and Harry (Miniature of car, made of metal).


Group: Party in the CIA


Interactions: @TerraBooma


Be the castle walls and protect your group!

"Why did I agree to this?"


Kendrick thought as the world turned into chaos.


He had opposed to this, he had opposed SO MUCH!


Yet, when Kennith appealed to him saying he wanted to help, that they all had these abilities for a reason and that since Chernov was doing her best, they should be doing their best too, there was no way to retort.


He had underestimated the boy, Kennith seemed to know exactly how to play Kendri... Or, maybe it worked because he actually cared for the cheerful kid?


Whatever it was, the trio had gone after Director Chernov, and suddenly it felt like he had been transported to an action movie!


The gunshot bang had startled Kendrick profoundly and he let out a loud 'yelp!' closing his eyes for a moment, it had been useful because, before he could even try to calm himself down, there was a blinding flash and then smoke!


So, he could see... AS IF THAT HELPED!


"I knew it, I KNEW IT WAS DANGEROUS AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!", Kendrick panicked internally and froze in place, "Give me a combination of Cantonese and violin! French and Ancient History, ANYTHING, Oh please!, I WANT TO BE ANYWHERE ELSEEEE..."


He watched the situation unfold before him and felt a mix of frustration, fear and a will to do something.


However, along with it came the voices of multiple people of his life reminding him of how truly useless he was, how cowardly he ran away every time he was caught in a tough position, how he simply locked himself in his room and waited for the world to disappear sometimes!


Kendrick was filled with a feeling of impotence.


Amidst his inner monologue though, Kennith had taken a stand and started telling the others what to do.


Kendrick was surprised at how calm and collected the teenager was in a situation like this. The boy beamed with determination and altruism it was very inspiring!


The hand in the shoulder was a little weird and certainly an invasion of personal space, but the teenager's words towards him came 'wrapped' in both trust and hope, and there was no way he could betray that.


He felt important, needed, he wanted to make people proud of him. Kendrick's own determination started to shine:


''If we run into trouble, do what you can okay?''


Oh, he was going to protect EVERYONE!!


After Kennith left the duo and paying no mind to Marianne, who was probably still around, Kendrick took the backpack out his back and opened it:


"Ok. Ted and company, we have work to do!", he said directed at his toys, as he pictured them jumping out of his bag and they obliged.


There was absolutely NO need to talk to them, still, it made him feel better about his own ability, he could pretend they actually had a teamwork going, instead of just him ordering things around.


Kendrick had a dislike for anything that resembled the way his own life was controlled by his family, specially the word 'puppeteer'. He HATED being called that.


The teenager grabbed his conductor hat from his backpack and put it on. He hadn't been allowed to use it inside, but it wasn't as if they were in a normal situation...


When Kennith got back to the group, Kendrick was wearing his hat, with his cellphone in hand, about to call 911, the most determined expression he ever had, and all the toys were standing in the floor, making a half moon in front of him.


He tipped his hat with the free hand:


"Our team is ready and still okay, Captain Kennith. Please, relay your next orders."


Just because the world was in flames outside, it wasn't like he couldn't play around a little, right?

 

[simj26]

Chapter: Party in the CIA


Tags: @Captifate @Bag o Fruit, @Necessity4Fun, @TerraBooma, @ViAdvena, @welian

She hadn't noticed the lady come out of the building. Perhaps she was engrossed with studying the contents of the letter in her hands, attempting to iron out the creases through sheer willpower and her own two hands. A vain attempt, to be sure, but she wasn't one who liked disorder. When the redheaded lady did finally make physical contact by colliding into her as she fumbled around with her paper, she had only looked on, lost in what seemed to be awe at the striking appearance of the lady, forgoing her manners and subsequently forgot to apologise. Red hair was a thing she liked. Glasses were another. Red hair AND glasses? Now that was a lethal combination straight through the heart. The lady didn't seem to be in the mood to stay and talk, however, as she, without waiting for a reply, left after a short apology. She only regained her composure after the lady’s eyes had left her. She turned to proceed into the headquarters, then paused, hesitating. She spun around, and strode towards the lady. She had just come out of the headquarters, and she looked like business, so logically, feasibly, she should be familiar with the layout. She admitted that she might be just looking for another reason to talk to the lady. No harm done. What’s ten minutes for some idle chatting?


She hadn't even reached to tap the lady’s shoulder, before the van she had spotted earlier spat out a canister that bounced across the ground in a familiar clank of metal. She had heard that sound before in her many ‘expeditions’. It was the sound of a stun grenade. Her movement was instinctive- she clapped both her hands over her ears, and turned away from the grenade, shutting her eyes for good measure. Even so, the resulting bang shot into her eardrums, through the shields of her hands. Cursing loudly, she darted forwards to the lady, and took hold of her hand. She had only time to realise just how soft and supple her skin was, before the next two canisters hit the ground. Three explosive ordnances after the other? These guys were going for the kill.


She wasn't going to let them. She spun around, tossing her bag to the ground- she didn't need the extra weight if she was to drag the pretty miss out of this. Her eyes snapped forwards, searching for a clear spot. Anything, anywhere, would do, as long as they were out of the frying pan. Small steps. When the first smoke grenade detonated, spewing its gaseous contents, she cut through the realm of time and space. In a blink, both she and the lady vanished, and reappeared outside the now-growing cloud of smog. She rounded about the lady, as if her small body could protect her much taller quarry.


Grenades weren't jokes, despite the fact that bad ones blew up in front of their owners. Her eyes fell on the stun grenade that rolled across the pavement, its explosive payload already spent. It found itself in her hand without her even moving to pick it up. She raised it up, studying it and turning it about in her hand, before tossing it aside behind her. These weren't cheaply made knockoffs. These were military-grade. And that meant whoever tossed those grenades were probably packing more heat than she gave them credit for. She dipped her cap, and sighed. Out of the slammer, and into a gunfight the day after.


“I think you should go, miss. I’ll handle things here.”She waved to the lady behind her. I think, she did not add.


So caught up was she with studying the smoke for movement, that she didn't notice that there was something off about her redheaded princess’ posture.

 

[Aldur]

Angel with a Shotgun


The very notion of hurling a disc that hologrammed a shitty tapestry of a "Saint" was enough to make Eve break a small part of the column she was holding earlier. At Swan's signal, she motioned her hands up and in a few seconds the exits were covered by a mix of tiles, metal, and concrete. She hurled the piece at the group of terrorists in the back, making sure not to have it too close to the people.


"Hey, FUCKWITS!" She roared, pacing towards them. Suddenly, a pole shaped like a clenched fist erupted from under the disc and launched it in the air. Another punched it in Eve's direction. And that's when she caught it mid-air. She grabbed it with both hands and then pulled aggressively. The poor piece of machinery stood no chance against the vastly superior, endlessly shinier, incredibly bad-ass bear arms. It broke in half, spitting out sparks and generally just dying. The toothiest grin appeared on her face, paired with a crazy look.

Spoiler

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_07/57a8cb65527f6_EvebreakingDisks.gif.02f4326b789a90597546c5363b4dd90e.gif" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="139900" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_07/57a8cb65527f6_EvebreakingDisks.gif.02f4326b789a90597546c5363b4dd90e.gif" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>


Her eyes started glowing and .5 seconds later, a platform launched Eve into the air. Her navy coat flew through the air, giving off the feel of a cape. She positioned herself to land on top of one of the "knights". Her landing was a perfect 10. Left knee on guy's chest, left arm on the head. She put the knee away, choosing to instead grab the terrorist by the helmet and raise him up to her excessive height.


"You won't get to be martyrs today, nutjobs."


A small, yet roughly shaped fist ejected from the ground once more, hitting one of the other knights who happened to take aim at Eve in the groin. She turned her head to face him before walking towards him, while still holding the other guy. He was too busy being in pain to notice her and so she grabbed him by the neck. The two knights were now at the same level. In one swift move, Eve closed the distance between the two, strongly hitting their heads against the other one's and then dropping them.


@Teh Frixz @Giyari @Zahzi @RemainingQuestions @Guilded Clover

Spoiler

 

[Bag o Fruit]

Mood: Teacherly!


Location: Zoo


Company: Angry zookeeper, angry student, angry birds.


@s: @Captain Hesperus

Allen McNabb//Lazarus

Okay. Okay. Okay. Sort these problems. Remember your training... 25 Sure-Fire Strategies for Handling Difficult Students | Scholastic.com Outstanding.


Allen sat up, and subsequently his legs wriggled under the rest of him. He precariously shambled over to Danny, who was in the process of going to beat up the Birdmaster, and pointed at him with the tern, which was still trapped in his grip. He took a deep breath, as Lazarus knew would help him remain calm. As if they weren't completely calm.


"Mister Travis. 'This is upsetting me too, but I need a few minutes to think before we talk about it.' I like you, Mister Travis. However, I must inform you that the words and phrases 'fuckboy', 'peice of shit', 'shithead', 'fucking', 'fuckwad', 'shitstorm', 'balls-deep', 'fuckbags', 'psycho', 'asshole', 'freak', and 'fuck your shit up' are unacceptable in professional conversation. We hope we can all learn from this."


Allen nodded, Lazarus satisfied, and departed to speak with the zookeeper before slipping backwards in bird shit.

 

[Captifate]

Joel Dawson

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_07/1.png.5bab90df4411d4b62bd481900a4a4854.png" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="139934" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_07/1.png.5bab90df4411d4b62bd481900a4a4854.png" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

Mood: Uneasy.


Music: --


Location: Commonwealth office.


Company: Chris.


@s: @Bag o Fruit,@Necessity4Fun, @TerraBooma, @ViAdvena, @welian, @simj22


OOC: *Will update post with Chris and Joel's previous "bathroom shenanigans" at a later date. (Gotta hit activity quota now, whoops.)

Gunfire.


Joel halted in his tracks and rested a hand upon his now-pounding chest. Adrenaline flooded his veins. This wasn't the first time he'd heard a gun go off and it sure as hell wouldn't be his last. Taking a deep breath, he turned back the way Chris and him had came from and said plainly, "I'm heading back. They're going to worry about us if we don't." Without waiting for a response, he took off: Joel felt his skin burn as the world around him began to radiate. Nothing that resembled the smoke and sear of fresh gunpowder stood out to him. (Some small comfort could be taken from the fact that their shooter wasn't within their immediate vicinity.)


Now was when most people argued 'be careful what you wish for'. Of course they'd all jinx it.


Joel would have laughed if not for how unprepared he was. Too bad neither the director nor that agent had shown them where the break room was. (And even if they had, the odds of them keeping baking soda on hand didn't seem likely.) The MacGyvering would have to wait until another day.


Walls felt colder than bodies. Yet even though he knew where obstacles stood, Joel relied more upon his memory than anything to find the tour group. Based on the turns they'd made, steps they'd taken, his classmates should have been--right there. Yet the only bodies he sensed were ones behind office doors, likely agents hard at work. Dammit. Guess they went farther ahead than I expected.


Since there was little point in utilizing heat signatures without a concrete destination in mind - at least no one would be surprised that he got himself lost - Joel decided that heading for the lobby was his best bet at locating everyone. Start with a blank slate and all.


Thus the aimless wandering continued, albeit with one difference: Joel rapped his knuckles against the wall periodically, wanting to get someone's attention if they just so happened to be nearby.


" 'Scuse me? Is anyone there? I got separated from my class."


In hindsight, staying close to Chris would have been smarter. Well, it wasn't like Joel had run off or anything. Someone he knew would stumble upon him eventually, or vice versa.

 

[Bag o Fruit]

Mood: Holy shit!


Location: Commonwealth HQ, second floor and also outside


Company: @simj22 @welian

Chris Kravitz

Halfway down the hall, Chris very clearly heard a gunshot from... across the street. Ish. Then another bang, vaguely familiar, near the entrance. Haven't heard that sound since... well, mom. Flashbangs. He turned to Joel, who had clearly noticed the sounds. He was about to address him when he said: "I'm heading back. They're going to worry about us if we don't."


Chris nodded as Joel ran off back where they'd come from. Wait, he's... blind. Ah well. As long as he was confident in his own navigation ability, Chris was confident. Time for some thrillin' heroics.


He jogged down the hallway until he found a flight of stairs, then took them five at a time to the second floor. After about 20 seconds of navigation, he found the street-facing window and assessed the situation from above, shoving into the minor crowd of office workers who had decided it was a good idea to gather there.


Okay... Guys with guns, a cloud of smoke, a... bleeding Commonwealth director and a punky-looking girl who could be nothing but a fellow AEGIS student. Sometimes you just know. The armored gunmen began to advance into the smoke. Chris stepped back out of the thin film of office workers, stretched up, touched his toes, et cetera.


"Hey. Hey!" he tapped on the desk of a still typing office monkey, then pointed at his filing cabinet. "I need to borrow this."

 

[lazee]

​

Location: Le Baltimore Mall


With: Luci Tolbert (@RemainingQuestions), Red Ward (@Zahzi ), Director Ward (@Giyari), fucking terrorists


Mood: Murderously battle-ready


OOC: Angels with a Shotgun

The Knights of Raguel...Anti-super, pseudo-religious terrorists with a lot of balls to be showing up here. With his luck, this would not be the first of attacks to be in his proximity. There needed to be more preparation in the times to come, but for now, they would have to be neutralized manually. Picking up the Director's sound wave, Klaus nodded and readied himself for action, stealthily approaching the Knights and disabling his limiter while the Director kept them distracted.


In a very classy fashion, he ought to add. It was as if he was giving the bastards a taste of their own drivel. With the Director's resounding voice, it made it easy for the crowd as well as the knights to keep their eyes on him. A rather risky move, however. What was stopping any one of them from shooting him on the spot? Before that thought could entertain Klaus' cynical mind, he heard Ward signal them to action.


Well, then...


As Red suddenly and gloriously leaped down to the atrium and secured the hostages with his metal powers, Klaus scanned his immediate surroundings for any fanatics that may have detected him. Not to much surprise, the majority of them had been easily neutralized by the other super-teachers present. Miss Eve Knox, whose presence Klaus hadn't even noticed up until now, was even able to completely decimate the disk that emitted the image of the fanatic's would-be saint. So much for iconography.


Then, out of the corner of his eye, Klaus saw a lone mook preparing to take aim and open fire. We couldn't let that now, could we? The German poison-man approached the knight from a blind spot and, after removing his headgear, planted his palm on the poor soul's face. Almost instantly, Klaus' hand excreted deep purple corrosive poison, the substance eating away at flesh and tissue while making a grisly acidic sound. The knight let out a bloodcurdling scream as his face was slowly and painfully disfigured, the excruciating pain bringing him down to his knees. Some civilians who had the displeasure of witnessing this remorseless act reacted with horror, but thankfully did not go into a panicked frenzy.


Welp, there goes his PR.


When Klaus felt satisfied by the damage he was doing, he removed his palm and left his victim there, a writhing mess still screaming in pain, but nonetheless alive. The counselor decided to take up the fallen knight's firearm and aimed at the supposed leader of the terrorists that would soon be dealing with an angry, axe-wielding Red. Should the crazed metal man fail to neutralize his adversary (which was doubtful in itself), Klaus was ready to give him covering fire. Let's just hope that, like his youthful look, his marksmanship hadn't faded with the passing of time.

 

[Teh Frixz]

Angel with a Shotgun

Location: Owing Mills Mall


Objective:Well shit...


Roleplayers: @Aldur @Giyari @Guilded Clover @RemainingQuestions @Zahzi

Warning


Blood toxin levels detected


Administering antidotes Now


A sharp hiss emits, followed by a blast of chemical fog over the afflicted Knight's face, obscuring his injured visage. In tandem with the other two knights, all three suddenly kick into overdrive. Each of their suits seem to partially open, the Knights within entering combat mode.


The axe head never actually finds the intended mark, instead the armor on the leaders forearm essentially exploding. A barrage of metal shards disrupt the kinetic impact, pinging harmlessly off Red. Much the same occurs with the attempted head banging by Eve, both of their active armor systems firing thousands of bits of shrapnel directly into her face. The particles flinging off Red launch everywhere else, directly into the crowd with several people falling over with embedded non fatal but incapacitating wounds.


The two previously grabbed now follow suit with their leader, their backs opening and jets firing. All three spin wildly into the air, the Leader continuing to broadcast his laughter.


"I don't think you understand Demons. The old ways are dead, the old Knights are dead. We are the Children, the Knights of Raguel. See what you now have wrought."


Cameras mounted upon their suits blink once, live streaming the results of the all out attack upon their position moments before. They pan showing the destruction wrought by the Super powered, zooming in on the humans injured and showing both the agony and fear on their faces to the world.


"Witness a new age of Raguel"


He casually snaps the neck of the girl and the world explodes.


[media]



[/media]
Carefully chosen, the metahuman labeled as Feedback had one last use in her life. Her dying mind sending out millions of conflicting radio signals, a theory that Raguel had that was now being proven. Dozens of those signals were linked to the real victims of today.


The supers would be protected by supers and to the public, the humans would be the ones suffering from their actions.


Outside the mall, anyone fleeing witnesses nearly two dozen vehicles explode. Bombs wired to blow at the right radio signal. Nails, screws, glass, salt, plastic, metals, batteries, anything the Knights could pack in was flung into the crowds of people that had deemed it wise to run from the Message of the Knights.


The chaos is massive, the toll staggering. The Knights have made their intentions clear.


As the explosions rock outside, all three sprint forward up and out of the glass atrium conveniently cracked open by the overwhelming sonic blast from earlier. Two of the knights make it out.


The third falters and plummets downward. The obscure chemical concoction applied to her face unable to be fully dealt with. The acid also eating the inner workings of her suit, the jets failing as the Knight falls. She lands hard, struggling to get up.


Chaos surrounds those left behind, the Knights have mostly abandoned the Supers in their cowardly metal boxes. A scarred hush now descending on the once bustling mall as the populace look to the stage and see you standing there...

 

[Swoob]

eden trammel

At Baltimore Zoo


With The Ostrich Whisperer (approaching)


OOC TATAKAI, EDEN-SHOUNEN

FLIGHT OF THE VALKYRIE

​

Groping for a handle on his ostrich, Eden gazed up at the churning pillar of birds that loomed over him. His ostrich had stopped shooting around wildly and was now darting straight into the storm. The sky was choked with feathers and the wind whipped around ahead of him, tearing his hat off his head. As he neared the pillar, he mumbled to himself, "I guess it's time to get serious." Within a crevice of his mind, he triggered a certain reaction—like flexing a muscle—and was swallowed up into the tornado of wings.


Millions of painful bursts ignited on his body immediately. With every bird that struck and tore at his body, he immediately cast the energy back out and incapacitated them. Ears blasted by the feathery shrieks engulfing them, Eden and his ostrich bolted through the storm. Slapping a confident hand onto the ostrich's body, he sucked the wounds from it and expelled them into the other birds again, using himself as a medium. Its strong legs surged, rocketing past their obstacles. Together, they shot straight towards the center like an arrow. As they continued, Eden felt a strange, primitive connection between his mind and the ostrich's. "Michael," he said. "I'll name you Michael!"


And so, with a warlike cry, the arrow cut into the heart of the storm.

 

[ManicMuse]

Post Details

Isabella's pleading appeared to have had some impact on the unmovable instructor. Aaron shifted from sprawled out on the hallway floor, to an upright position. Relieved that he was at least not dead, Isabella attempted to swallow her melodramatic cries. Then, he explained to her the reality behind the situation. Izzy's face and inner ears flushed pink with embarrassment, while her expression shifted to one of horror. Even her tail carried a heavy droop of clear regret. She had been trying to squash another student to death. Staring down at the small red welt on her hand, a knot grew in her stomach. Remembering violently shaking her hand, a wave of dread washed over her.


"Isabelle, did you see where she went? I think she is probably pretty scared, and I would like you to bring her clothes to her please.”


Stunned into silence, Izzy did not dare speak what was running through her mind. Still, that did not stop the words from blaring from within, 'I must have killed her. She might have drowned in the puddle. Or her little spider back is broken! What if she is smashed on the bottom of a shoe? How will her family bury her? I killed her. They are going to send me to super jail!'


A yelling cry broke her train of thought and brought a much needed tide wave of relief. Wiping away a few stray tears of relief, Izzy was suddenly lifted out of the mess.


"I am sorry. I thought we were in danger. She is going to hate me.", she paused and took a long slow deep breath. "I guess giving her the clothes might help, a little. Maybe?"


The soiled threads of her own outfit dribbled off a bit of the vile fluid, while she squirmed within Mr. Mallory's grasp. Balancing on his squishy large arm, Izzy carefully collected the clothing from Aaron's other hand.


Mr. Mallory was busy dealing with the warning to those within the bathroom, while Izzy watched over his shoulder, as the students and a teacher filed out of a nearby classroom. Despite the red puffiness around her eyes and nose from the tears shed, Izzy offered Denzil a meek friendly wave, as if this were all quite normal.


Now it was up to her, to deliver the goods, or clothing as it were. Facing the now open doorway, Izzy cranked her head back, attempting to look at Mr. Mallory over her shoulder.


"It's okay Mr. Mallory, I am used to this sort of stuff. I am in gymnastics. Err- I mean, I was until I bit that girl."


With a bundle of cloth wrapped in her arms, she was ready for her mission of peace. After a faint wiggle of her hips, followed by a few swishing corrections of her long tail, causing it to bat Aaron in the head at least once, the cat-girl was off. Like a bird taking off from a branch, Izzy nimbly flung herself up into the air and gracefully touched down, several feet away from the puddle within the bathroom.


Cautiously, she approached the stalls. The throbbing in her hand was a reminder of how violently she had pursued the spider girl. The sobs made it easy to determine which stall contained the naked Hannah. Softly knocking on the door, Izzy knelt and offered the clothing under the gap of the stall.


"I - I am sorry about trying to smash you. I was confused. I thought you were - Well, I did not know you were. Are you okay?" Izzy was attempted to peek in the stall through the crack, to see if she had injured the poor woman, or if she appeared to be still spidery in appearance.


Once the pile was collected, Izzy quickly retreat from the doorway of the stall. Part of Izzy was fearful that once in larger form, Hannah could offer up a more violent bite, in retaliation for the thrashing she had received.

​

 

[Gus]

Aaron Mallory

Location: Just outside the restrooms.


Nearby: DeKlerk


Mood: Sneezy!


@s @Manic Muse @RemainingQuestions @Anomaly @Suzuki Mine

He had been ready for the claws, but had neglected to think about the tail. Like most mammals with a tail, it was critical to her balance, and she swished it this way and that as she lined up her jump, lightly thumping him in the face several times. In itself, not a problem. Aaron had been thumped in the face by some of the strongest villains of his generation, and never once so much as blinked. There was a reason he was a dog person however, and it was not any kind of dislike for cats.


Dander.


Oh dear lord, he was going to sneeze. The hives could be dealt with by antihistamines, but the sneeze... there was no stopping this train. He let the restroom room door swing shut. It opened outward, so that should shield the students from the worst of it. He turned about to face in a safer direction, but there was DeKlerk seemingly swimming toward him through his watering eyes. With only a split second left to act, he spun to his left and dropped to one knee, pointing his face to the ground and cupping he hands around his mouth and nose.


Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the puddle of coffee. With the force of a thousand hurricanes, the puddle was blasted in all directions, mostly through into the men's restroom, as the door swung violently inward. A fair bit spattered the walls, though, as well as back onto Aaron. He blinked and sniffed loudly as he stood up. The floor at his feet was swept completely clean in nearly a five foot radius. At the center of the blast zone, the floor tiles have been utterly shattered, revealing the concrete beneath. He turned back sheepishly to face DeKlerk, rubbing his nose vigorously with the back of his hand.


“Eck-cude bme. Ai amb allerbic do gats.”

 

[Giyari]

Mood: - God fucking damn it


Location: - Owing Mills MAll


Company: - Jericho, Red, and Klaus


@'s: - @Aldur @Giyari @Guilded Clover @RemainingQuestions @Zahzi


Other: - Well'p. Damage control mode: Activated.

Director Swan - Audio


With a flurry of movement, Audio watched as his words did nothing, of course it would make sense to have sound dampening through their helmets, it was armour, explosive noise was just as bad as the shock waves themselves... But the next chain of events was not something he expected to see...


Red went in like a man possessed, crumbling a supportive pillar for a mere weapon, destroying the stage with protective boxes, and failing, like Jason had just done, to take into consideration his targets potential strength. Simultaneously Jericho barrelled into the fray, ignoring Audio's instructions to cover the public and making straight for the other "knights" with all her strength, given that she was one of the Collateral damage teachers, she should have known better...


"Jericho, protect the public I said! Leave them to Re- Fuck!" his words were too late, shrapnel rained from the knights now painfully obvious reactive armour into the gathered crowd. Jason, standing near in the middle of the blast trajectory, raised his arms to cover his face at the last second. Three of the darts lodging themselves into his fore arms and one into his left thigh, he had gotten off lightly.


Falling to one knee, he could only watch in horror as the knights continued to speak, their stupendously advanced suits taking them into the air. The leaders words echoed over the crowds terrified screams, proclaiming their righteousness to the world as they wrought havoc, but it was the following actions that would really send the message home... A single movement of his thumb was all it took.


Jason's hand reached out, stretching hopelessly towards the stage as the girls limp body fell like a rag-doll to the floor. His voice stretched further though, echoing out over the utter carnage unfolding outside as the knights blasted through the glass. So much noise, the smell of burning immediately filled the air from the hole they left in the atrium. The immediate feeling of shock permeating through the witnesses at what just happened was short lived, their silence broken by the cry of a single child clinging to her mother.


"Fuck... Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jason shouted clutching at his arm. This wasn't good. Staggering to his feet, his thoughts immediately switched to damage control, there was no way they could catch up to the three knights, blue badges or not, they were completely under equipped to deal with that sort of threat, he didn't even have his pistol. If this had been 25 years ago though things could have been very different. All they could do now was stop things from getting any worse. Activating his power again, Jason let his voice carry far through the surrounding area, maximising it's range over volume, he let his soundwaves sustain for as long as he could manage.


"This is the Audio, director of Aegis training facility 108 requesting immediate police, Commonwealth, medical, and blue badge support, there has been an anti-super terrorist attack carried out by fanatics calling themselves Knights of Raguel at Owing Mills Mall. To the public, get to safety, help those who need it to the nearest hospital. To any supers nearby, blue badge or not, please, please, I urge you to do all you can to help those who need it." Jason's voice radiated calmly through the chaos, his tone holding steady as his instructions tried to reach anyone they could.


Without any further delay Jason began to make a move to help those in his immediate surroundings, limping as best he could towards the unfortunate hostage, his slow footsteps filled with purpose. This poor girl, he had hoped the knights would abandon their stage show as soon as protest was raised, maybe even target him instead, clearly more of a threat to them than this soul, but he was wrong. Taking off his long black coat, Jason knelt down in front of the girls body, she didn't look much older than some of his students. His brow furrowed in frustration as with careful hands he repositioned her, facing her towards the ceiling, closing her eyes, placing her arms over her body, before covering her with his coat. He should have been able to stop this.


"I'm sorry..." he muttered through clenched teeth, she was still warm.

 

[ManicMuse]

Gavin Dabbs

Location: Stage left against a pillar


@/: @Teh Frixz @Aldur @Giyari @RemainingQuestions @Zahzi @Guilded Clover


Current Mood: State of shock


OOC: Angel w a Shotgun

Despite his less than ideal position, Gavin could tell that things were escalating, and quickly. This meant he needed to do something, sooner rather than later. He did not have much at his disposal, after all he was no Super.


Something under his hip was digging into his side, and was becoming even more uncomfortable than the jerk sitting on his chest. Reaching down, his fingers soon found the fabric of the portfolio bag. An idea struck, just as a counter attack on the terrorists seemed to start. Using the distraction, Gavin began to struggle and squirm. Shifting weight back and forth, finally his frantic hands wrapped around one of the pencil boxes. Screams, followed by panic ripped through the crowd. From the crashes and clanging of metal, it was clear, someone was fighting back. Some of the unwilling spectators had already started to flee, trying to find a way out.


Amidst the madness, the smelly gym jock had become a solo force, in detaining Gavin. After taking a few more cheap shots from his capture, to the stomach and sides, Gavin attacked. With artist tool turned weapon in hand, Gavin swung for bare flesh. The colored pencil, ironically brick red, was suddenly lodged in the over-sized bicep of his enemy. The would-be vigilante was quick to retreat, giving Gavin a chance to get up.


Staggering to his feet in the chaos; Gavin was working to figure out what he had missed. The sound of shattering glass and bending metal came from above. Gavin instinctually looked up, using his arms to shield him from whatever was coming down. Watching as two of the armored individuals fled, a dull ache erupted in his shoulder. Peering over, he could see a shard of what appeared to be glass along with a bent bit of metal now protruding from the black sweater at his shoulder.


"What the fuck is happening?!", Gavin yelled but the words were next to mute, under the roars of combat and explosions, that felt as if they were coming from direction. Holding the arm of the now impaled shoulder in a protective manner, Gavin worked to make his way toward the stage. Seeing that the men in armor had just left from there, it currently seemed like the safest place.


Approaching the stage, he noticed an older man, covering the girl, who had been being held hostage by the leader of the radical group. Clearly, she had not been as lucky. With shock setting in, Gavin did not know what to do, where to go, whether to flee or fight. He had never seen death before, even at a distance.


Staggering over to a pillar, or more so what was left of it, Gavin leaned against it and again inspected his shoulder. In the back of his mind, he remembered watching too many reruns of NY ER one summer. The doctors always said not to remove the foreign object. With a sigh of frustration, he reluctantly left the new statement piece and pulled a handkerchief from within his vest. Wiping the blood from his nose seemed like the best use of time at the moment, meanwhile his gaze scanned the crowd. Searching for anyone he could at least try to help, to make himself more useful that he currently felt.

​

​