Against the Vortex

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AshenAngel

Edgeknight
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The sun was setting over the New York City skyline, bringing a swirling soft orange hue to the previously light blue sky. It was reaching the end of summer, and it was just starting to get cool at night.
A young man with long, silky black hair descended the steps down into Central Park. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a pair of shades, and well as jeans and black combat boots. His posture was calm, relaxed, and in control. He kept an eye out for trouble of any sort as his steps carried him along one of the many paths in the park.
This was Leone Valcrosse, the man with the ability to manipulate darkness. Little did he know that malicious forces had taken an interest in him. Or that they would show their interest tonight.
 
New York City was a change of scenery for sure, the crowded streets as the noise alone made it seem more like an erratic amusement park than a place to live. Vortex's movements had been tracked and a few good sources had led to the belief that there was a powerful "user" that had caught their eye. This intelligence is what brought Agent Sinclair to this major city, and her own experience is what enabled her to locate and tail a few suspicious looking individuals that night.

Wearing her uniform would've made her easy to spot, so tonight she was sporting a pair of worn and tattered jeans, a plain black t-shirt with a hoodie. She had her long brown hair in a ponytail so that it wouldn't get in her way in case things got a little rowdy. Among the agents in her group her power, telekinesis, had grown far faster than the organization had anticipated and thus they were confident in her ability to run point on this mission. That and her commander requested her to run point on this after she had proven herself time and time again to be a valuable resource and good at her station.
As the sun began to set, giving the sky that peach color mixed with approaching darkness, she found that he had fallen a bit behind those she was pursuing. Vivian had lost them at the entrance to a park and wondered if perhaps she had given herself away, but quickly washed the idea from her mind. She wasn't sure what kind of "users" she'd run into, but she was confident that she would be fine, and after sending a quick text to HQ about her current circumstances, she entered the park wondering how this night was going to play out.
 
Leone continued to stroll about the park, the shadows thickening as the sun slowly moved beyond the horizon. He could feel someone following him in the darkness, causing his eyes to narrow a fraction. He decided to entertain his tail for a while, at least until the night had truly fallen on the park.
Walking in the park always brought a sense of calm over the man. It was probably because of the peaceful nature of this place at night. The moon was out of sight, keeping the park and its unlit paths cloaked in peaceful darkness. However, tonight there was tension in the air. Something or someone, other than the person following him, was hiding in the darkness on this night. And attempting to hide in the dark which Leone knew all too well was admittably the worst idea to come up with.
He casually removed his shades, his eyes were an odd navy blue color with a faint silver ring that seemed to glow around his pupils. He could see perfectly in the darkness, unlike those who were hiding in it or following him.
 
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Vivian didn't really like being in dark places, and watching the sun as it was swallowed by the horizon put her a bit on edge. It was one thing to apprehend a subject or engage in combat in darkness since she wouldn't have to worry about her power output, but stalking in the dark wasn't her cup of tea at all. She felt stiff as a board as she maneuvered through the ever darkening park, choosing to take the path rather than hide herself. While Vortex was a dangerous group, they weren't ones to prance upon civilians if unneeded.
The tension in the air seemed to thicken as she continued along the path, and only when the hairs on her arms and neck stood up did she abandon the path. She made her way cautiously alongside the outer rim of the path, slowly creeping along as to not draw too much attention to herself. She would pause every few steps to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness, not wanting to give up the element of surprise so easily.
Up ahead, far in front of her, she thought she could make out the silhouette of someone, and she quickly and quietly pressed herself up against a tree further off the path. She couldn't tell what the person was doing but they seemed to be simply standing there, and not knowing if this was one of the men she had tailed or not, she felt it in her best interest to lie in wait. She could feel that movig any closer to whoever was ahead would give her away, and she had a sneaking suspicion that others were nearby as well.
She slowly crept back to the path, deciding that if anything she could make the first move and take the lead in this situation. Once on the path, she calmly made her way down the path with the air of someone who was simply taking a scenic route home through the park. She figured if it was one of the men she was tailing that she would quickl put him down after identifying him, and if not then perhaps he was the asset that Vortex was after. Either way, this approach seemed a lot more fitting to her than to sit back and watch and hope for an opportunity to interrupt whatever Vortex had planned.
 
Leone hesitated when the person tailing him ventured off the path. He could sense three other up ahead hiding. His eyes narrowed a fraction, not liking this perdicament. His tail had come back onto the path and was getting closer. "I'd suggest you show yourselves now." He spoke clearly to the three people hiding ahead of him and still paid close attention to the person not to far behind.
He was ready for a fight, and really wasn't going to waste too much time humouring those who did reveal themselves. His gaze landed sharply on the two guys and the girl that stepped out onto the path. "You're Leone Valcrosse, right?" The girl asked with a small smile.
"Depends on who's asking and why." Leone replied coldly.
"We represent a company called Vortex, which aims to achieve freedom for those with abilities. You've sparked our interest, so we're offering you a job." The man to the right of the girl spoke up.
"We'd suggest you take it." The other man spoke with a darker note in his voice.
Leone had heard of Vortex before, a small rumor going about among those ordinary people with abilities, and really did not want to stick around in the park, or New York in general. Vortex killed those that refused to join them. Leone took a deep breath, focusing on his ability. "No thanks." He stated coldly, and watched as two fireballs formed in the hands of the girl.
 
Viv stopped a few yards behind the guy, whom she now knew was in fact her intended target, thanks to confirmation from the Vortex agent in front of him. This made her job a lot easier and yet a tad bit difficult as trying to fight off multiple targets and capture one at the same time would prove to be tricky. She hoped that this user would be a lot easier to convince to simply come with her, because she didn't want to have to fight with four people. "Hey, Leone. This may seem a bit hard to believe, but I'm actually one of the good guys here, and I'm going to need you to stay still," she said as she reached in her pockets and withdrew 2 titanium ball-bearings, "Don't move an inch," she fired the two spherical orbs over both his shoulders, aimed at the two goons beside the fireball wielding girl ahead of him.
Telekinesis was extremely useful when she used it in this manner since she had the focus and control to handle such small and heavy items with proficiency and accuracy. The two ball-bearing would zip over his shoulders and meet their targets dead center of their foreheads, rendering them unconscious or worse. She had a bit of a problem when it comes to proper power output, one of the faults of her growing powers. She hoped that Leone wouldn't get the wrong idea, as so many before him have, and find both groups to be the enemy and fight them both or do something as equally annoying and try to make a run for it. There was nothing more irritating than having to chase down another user and subdue them by force, because it was potentially dangerous for both parties.
 
Leone heard the woman behind him speak about being a good guy and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. It was hard to earn his trust, especially when one appeared with a group of enemies. He held still, however, and watched as two of the Vortex goons dropped. The girl with the fire didn't seem too pleased with this and saw fit to throw her fireballs at him. The darkness before him condensed into a protective barrier, blocking the fireballs. Just as swiftly, the darkness returned to normal and a pulse of dark energy bursted out from him, knocking the Vortex woman back a good ten feet. Tendrils of darkness began to snake around the woman, holding her down.
The young man knew better than to stick around, and he wasn't about to consider trusting the woman who'd taken out the two Vortex goons. Tendrils of darkness began to coil around her legs as well. He took off running off the path, able to see perfectly fine in the dark.
 
Vivian wasn't sure what she saw as fire seemed to erupt in front of the guy, but he was somehow unfazed which was good. However, she went to take a step forward and realized her legs couldn't move, and looking down saw what looked like black snakes yet not snakes wrapping around her legs. As she looked up again she could see that Leone was running, she couldn't blame him for this action but it made everything so difficult. "Seriously?" She shouted in frustration as a telekinetic pulse fired from her body, the force enough to repel the dark coils and allow her to escape their reach, "Stupid bastard, you're just making this harder than it has to be," she said aloud to herself as she quickly retracted both of her projectiles before taking off in the direction he was heading.
Chasing a user was never good, fun, or safe for that matter, as the probability of collateral damage climbed as well as grievous injury to both parties. Vivian wasn't too amped to be sprinting through the dimly lit park either, as the spaced apart light post never really gave her eyes time to adjust to the darkness. It was hard to see ahead of her but she was sure she could just see the silhouette of Leone ahead of her. "Would you stop running, I need to talk to you!" She screamed up ahead, holding one ball bearing in her hand, "They always make things so difficult."
He wasn't close enough for her to properly judge how much force to throw the projectile with, so instead she used her powers to break a nearby tree branch and send it twirling sideways at ankle-level of her target. Hopefully she could trip him up or at the very least slow him down, but it was definitely better than possibly impaling him or seriously injuring him with her weapons of choice.
 
Leone heard her running after him and quickened his pace. He ignored her shouts and hollers, determined not to be stopped again that night. He felt something flying low towards him through the darkness. The darkness condensed once more, blocking the stick before dissipating. His mind was racing on the topic of how to loose this woman. With Vortex in the area, it would be smart to try and get her fighting with them and slip off.
 
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"You're really beginning to piss me off!" Vivian shouted, the thought of chasing him down and being pursued by Vortex was really agitating her. Just as he was about to lose her cool he felt the warm sensation of fire on her back and quickly turned around to find three fireballs flying her way. Her telekinesis, acting as a shield, blocked the attacks, but the explosions of fire disrupted her view of her intended target. As the fire and clouds of dust settled, she found herself surrounded by more than a dozen Vortex members. "Can't we work together," Vivian asked sarcastically, "We chase him down, you guys tire him out, and then I beat all you down and take him."
The girl who had thrown the fire at her stepped forward, "You sure do have a lot to say for someone who's about to get put six feet under," she smirked as her hands are engulfed in flames, "let's see if you can still crack jokes after we break every bone in your body and I sear that cute face of yours."
Vivian wasn't happy with the odds, but knew if worse came to worse she could simply go all out and this section of the park would just look like it was undergoing construction. "You think I have a pretty face" Vivian asked, mockingly, "I appreciate the compliment, but that isn't going to save you from being flatten like I did your friends earlier."
If she was lucky she could most of them down quick and without much resistance, because although she was powerful, her body had a limit when it came to using her powers to overpower multiple assailants.
 
Leone could feel an ambush ahead in the darkness, though with flames at his back, he didn't see another option other than to fall into the trap. "Gee, and you claim that you're the good guy?" He sighed in exasperation at her sarcastic comment. Never the less, he focused his attention on the group around them. "You take half, I take half?" He asked her in a low voice, his gaze scanning over the Vortex members. He wasn't planning on sticking around after the fight. After all, he was determined not to humor any requests that came to him.
 
Vivian was almost grateful for the ambush, forcing Leone to stop running for the time being. She liked the fact that he was going to stay and help clean up the place, but she was worried that she'd end up losing him in the fray. "Yeah, I can handle that," she shot back, "Just don't let me get stabbed in the back." She wasn't sure if there was going to be a way to defeat these guys and capture Leone, it was obvious that he wasn't just going to stick around an listen to what she had to say. She didn't have time to think about that now though, and quickly she engaged her half of the ambush party. The night seemed to come to life with a chorus of grunting, panting, over-exterition, and howls of pain. She attempted to glance back over her shoulder to see how Leone was fairing, but she had too many attacks to fend off and dodge to take her eyes away from her enemy. "That bastard is gonna run," she gritted in a low tone under her breath, "You jackasses are getting in my way!" She sent out a shockwave that threw her enemies off their feet, she then took the opportunity to launch as many people as she could as far and as high as she could. Panting heavily with the sweat to match it, she slowly and finally turned hoping that Leone hadn't gotten too far of a head-start.
 
Leone's movements were fluid and strategic as the fight began. He easily defended himself from the ranged attacks of one of the members, using his darkness to block and realizing a fraction of a second too late that long and sharp objects were capable of piercing the barrier, and switched to using the Vortex agents that were close to him as a shield. Every time he managed to drop a person, the tendrils of darkness would coil around them and keep them there. Once he finally managed to get them all down, he used a strong pulse of darkness to send them flying right behind the ones that Vivian had rid herself of. Well, exhausted was one way to word how he felt. Annoyed was another one, considering that his jacket had been ripped when that member who shot out those long metal spikes managed to shoot one through the barrier. Hurt would be the final word for it, as there was a gash on his side that lined up with the tear in his jacket.
He began to walk away from Vivian, not wanting to run and worsen his condition. Needing to take a break from using his powers, he allowed his sixth sense to fade out as he actually relied on what he saw.
 
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