Collateral ( A Super Hero RP with Consequences) IC

Vanessa O'Toole aka Emerald Dream.

Nessa came out of the ladies room. She had freshened up as much as she could. Changed into black tights and a minidress. Her boots had changed color. She had a sleeveless blue shirt as well as her hair no longer was bright green. Lastly wearing a pair of extremely high tech blue sunglass style goggles.

She had come out just in time to hear the yelling. It rather confused her. She was aware that Anna and Meghan had started to argue earlier at the museum. It was not apparent then to her either.

She first went over to where Victoria and Valerie were sitting. She whispered inquiries to Victoria who whispered back a brief inadequate explanation and request to keep out of Meghan & Anna's business.

For Nessa, this was entirely unhelpful. Here they were trying to have some sort of powwow about the situation and the hostess was getting drunk.. Correction... Stupid drunk.

She watched carefully from a distance when Meghan came out. Her unskilled assessment was that talking at Meghan would be unproductive. So.. Something would have to be said to Anna. This wouldn't be done by the lawyers who seemed to be busy with girl chat.

She was trying not to think too much about her new friend Spector as he reacted oddly in Nessa's opinion when she took off her butter smelling top. Something about the reaction read as embarrassment to her. It was about this time Spector floated up through the roof. Several moments later, back down again.

Uggh, slightly frustrated, she gets out something that looks like a 1960's star trek tricorder. She starts wandering around the room looking for bugs or hidden cameras.
 
Valerie
Victoria
Valerie Newmann | Victoria Murphy
April 3, 2018 | afternoon | Manhattan, NYC—The Nook

collab with @Gands
Spectre (@Astroblaze), Emerald Dream (@Gands), Nicholas Harris (@LuckycoolHawk9), Catherine Harris (@LuckycoolHawk9), Meghan (@Huntress), Ana (@Huntress), Mystification (@LuckycoolHawk9), Firefly (Michale CS)

At Victoria's comment toward her, Valerie had turned around in her seat to observe the conversation, drink in hand. She struggled to restrain a grin at Spectre's disconcerted reaction to Emerald Dream's somewhat thoughtless gesture. Something about her friend being awkward in his hero alias was exponentially more amusing than in his civilian one.

As Spectre stepped away, returning to his apparent captive, she caught Victoria's eyes, lifting a hand to indicate the seat beside her in an inviting gesture.

Victoria gracefully sat next to her friend. "This crowd will continue to need tending I think. Some of them have few social graces." She looks over towards the ladies room. "You didn't look so hot coming in, anything not black and blue bothering you?"

Valerie shrugged, quirking a reassuring grin to the other woman. "Nothing in particular, just a lot to process. Thanks for the files and the footage, by the way," she added more seriously. "I'm not sure I'll have time to get into my office today, though, so I might have to go off of whatever you have with you."

Glancing at Spectre, she inclined her head slightly toward Victoria. "There is one thing I wanted to ask you about, though," she continued, lowering her voice. "It concerns—" she nodded discreetly to the mutant— "my spooky friend over there and your lady in green."

Victoria did seem more relaxed now as she sat and listened to her friend.

"This has to be the strangest business I have ever been involved with since you and I did an underpants raid on Bob Carnegie's dorm room. As for the data, I didn't hold back on you and I was serious about partnering on this business. Outside of Emerald's sixth case, which she picked up at the park."

She motioned gently to the bar man for a drink.

"Now that we have the business part mostly out of the way, ask away—just between us attorneys."

Valerie pressed a fist to her mouth in an only partially successful attempt to restrain a snort at the reminder. "You still remember that? God, we were so young... Dad most certainly would not have approved of that particular escapade."

Chuckling, she shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment before turning back to Victoria with a smile. "I'm sure you wouldn't hold out on me," she affirmed, assuring her friend. "Always happy to work with you, Vick."

"Anyhow," she continued, spinning her stool to face the bar, "I don't suppose you've noticed anything... unusual in his interactions with her? The way his eyes light up whenever he sees her, how fidgety and awkward he gets when he talks to her..." A grin spread across her lips despite herself as she deliberately approached her point, watching Victoria's face in search of the moment when it would click.

Victoria chuckles and her own grin gets wide. "Oh my god, she is so oblivious. She is into gauging social reactions right now. Beware: she might well run up and kiss you, just to see what happens. Both with you and herself."

"Here's hoping she doesn't do that to him," Valerie chuckled, picturing the heroine surprise-kissing the mutant and him just freezing red-faced. "Don't tell her, though," she cautioned Victoria. "Not yet. He told me he wants to wait to tell her until once this situation with Myst has calmed down somewhat so they can figure things out without distractions or interruptions. I just wanted to ask you for any—" she absently circled a hand, looking for the right word— "hints I could drop for him that might help him gather confidence in how he approaches her."

"Hints... Well, I would say because she has no skill with people, let alone relationships, approach her with talk of normal things, catch her interest and proceed from there."

Valerie nodded thoughtfully. "Well, they seem to have common interests, so that may not be too-" She started in her seat at a sudden outburst from the kitchen, stopping short as she recognized Meghan's voice. Wondering what in the world happened, she couldn't help but listen in for a moment, frowning as she picked out Ana's voice quietly cutting in between Meghan's shouts. She grimaced, concerned for the pair. "Yikes... She's more upset than I realized."

Victoria too was a bit startled at the sudden increase in noise from the kitchen. Just then, Vanessa came over and Victoria motioned her over, whispering in her half sister's ear. Valerie could catch "Keep out of it" emphatically whispered.

Victoria ushered her younger half sister away for a bit and turned back to Valerie. "Do you remember the curse 'may you live in interesting times'?"

Valerie humphed, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "It sounds familiar." She shook her head with a wry chuckle. "It's certainly become true for just about everyone, hasn't it?"

"Alarmingly so, really. On the surface of this, we have been outmanuevered quite a bit. I know this is just the start.. But none of our side looked particularly good. Prior to today, I was unaware just how bad this Harris guy was. I am curious what your take is."

"You probably know more than I do," Valerie admitted with a shrug. "I never got into the park event, and Mrs. Harris gave us both the same information. Nicholas Harris is hardly a small name, though," she added. "I studied a couple of his cases in law school. If he's working with our current biggest bad, our hero friends may be hard-pressed to keep collateral at a manageable minimum. And of course, that'd be just our luck, wouldn't it..." she noted with a sigh.

"Lets look at it from another point of view. We have here... Three meta humans. We had another but I am no longer able to track her through the phone we gave her. Are we even certain who our enemy is? Myst has the shape shifter and some world-class computer hackers. If it's Harris... We've seen today what he can do on a whim. I am concerned, Val."

Val nodded, pursing her lips wryly. "So am I, Vick... Spectre mentioned 'others', though, so maybe we're about to have more help. I certainly hope that's true," she confessed earnestly.
 
Victoria Murphy

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" Well Val, it seems someone is going to have to get us back on the path"

with that, she drinks the last of her drink and gets up. She looks up with something of a frustrated expression, taking her expensive shoes off. Leaving her shoes on her seat, she starts walking towards the back door.

Emerald/Vanessa watches her go but does nothing for now. Setting a timer on a watch. Her sister is stubborn and independent. She would not appreciate a little sister baby sitting her, even here.

Victoria picks up an empty bucket and heads outside. She tosses the bucket on to the roof. She then proceeds to climb up a ladder to the roof. She sets the bucket down upside down and sits on the bottom facing Anna.

" Hello, my name is Victoria Murphy. We don't know each other. My client is Emerald, we have known each other a long time and I am very fond of her. Val, I have known since law school. This seems to have randomly landed in you're and Meghan's lap. For that you have my sympathy. I think very little of this has happened by accident aside from your participation though."

Whatever glares or withering dirty looks Anna throws her way don't seem to phase her.

"That Harris is involved, that his wife is involved to try and stop him... Who the hell is Myst ? This is going to get more dangerous and out of control before the end. They tried to crash an airplane today, full of people. Emerald is ridiculously smart but she does not have a wealth of experience. That Phantom guy, he seems very powerful.. That being said, they are going to need you. I think people I care about are going to need you. Further, this whole damned city is probably going to need you. I can appreciate your personal crisis Anna. but things will be worse for everyone without your participation. "

She takes a deep breath now.

"There, all done. I suppose you can attack me now for being a nosy busybody. If not, I am going back inside to have another drink."

It should be noted that her expensive skirt has a couple of places where seems have ripped.

@Huntress
 
April 3rd - 2018 – The Nook, NYC

She didn’t want to talk to anyone, she didn’t want to see anyone. As much as she hated being lost in her own thoughts, over analyzing and having no answers Ana didn’t want anyone there. But of course when one was surrounded by do-gooders, being alone was difficult. Spectre, a.k.a John was quick to show out of nowhere, literally, a suiting moniker he had chosen. Anastasia’s silence remained during his presence, despite her attention coming to him briefly before staring off into the condensed concrete structures that surrounded them. Clenching her jaw she swallowed back as she caught him fade away. Flared nostrils were a sign of a deep breath that led to a heavier exhale. Her legs sliding across the roof to drop parallel to the gravel. Ana’s head thunked back against the metal box as she closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

Was it so wrong for her to want to keep Meghan safe? She owed her so much, yet the one thing she could offer her…wasn’t wanted. What was she supposed to do? How did she repay her for something that was beyond money? There was another sigh as she looked to her right before re-adjusting her position, crossing her legs and leaning forward slightly. Her eyes darted across the pebbles beneath her. Perhaps her best option would be to give Meg back a lump sum of money for all the inconvenience she had caused her, along with the answers she sought and then vanish. Meghan had made it very clear that she wanted the truth, answers and probably the reasons behind lying, she could give her that. Did she want to? Her heart stuttered with a quick breath. No. Why not? There was another sigh as she shook her head and closed her eyes tightly with a frown and a subtle whimper. A calming inhale followed as she stopped herself from going any further.

A deep plastic thud had her attention, eyes opening and glancing towards the sound. A dark brow came up at the sight of a random bucket laying on the roof. Looking towards the rattling ladder Anastasia grew more confused. A woman eventually clambered up onto the roof and adjusted the bucket to sit on it. Ana’s eyes narrowed in sheer confusion towards this unknown person who soon began to speak. Clenching and unclenching her jaw the brunette watched the red-head as she spoke.

This situation hadn’t randomly happened to Meg and herself. They had been through an almost identical case. They had all found out that this whole thing, whatever it was, had been orchestrated, planned and researched to be executed in a certain way. Despite Mystification stating that they were surprised with Ana’s involvement, the former heroine had a feeling that what she had written wasn’t true. Her gut was telling her that Myst knew she would insert herself into this situation, whether she liked it or not. There was a part to this scheme that hit a little too close to home. Perhaps this woman, Victoria, needed to get her facts straight before barging in with such confidence and words, regardless of her intentions. Not that it mattered anymore. Victoria’s little pep talk went nowhere. Anastasia knew that she wasn’t a benefit to this ordeal, if anything she was a hindrance. Short-fused, actions before words and stubborn were not traits that would help this heroes in their cause.

Ana shook her head, looking at the woman opposite her for a moment before her gaze drifted beyond Victoria. “No.” Her words were simple, blunt and perhaps a little cold. “I am definitely not needed.” There was still no emotion behind her voice. “You don’t know me. No one here knows me.” There was a hint of frustration in Ana’s voice as she swallowed back the exhale that followed was subtle. “There was only one reason I involved myself in this and that’s over. There’s nothing more for me here so I won’t be participating. I understand what could come of this whole situation, trust me I do.” she clenched her jaw. “But having me around isn’t going to help.” Her eyes met the deep green ones opposite her. “Points for trying though.” She nodded towards Victoria with a subtle sad smile.

Based on what she had already seen, Anastasia was confident that Spectre and Emerald Dream were more than capable enough. Whoever else they recruited would certainly add to aiding them in their cause. Ana was a wildcard, a seriously dangerous one. She would, without a doubt, cause more problems than help. That’s something she knew they didn’t need. The further away she was from here, the less likely it was that she would be involved in a reenactment of that cursed REDACTED case file. She also didn’t want to be present when they read that file in full. She had dealt with enough bullshit from that situation, she didn’t need it to happen again, especially with Meghan present.

“Come on.” Ana stood up with a small sigh. “Grab your bucket, let me take you down.” She stated as she put her hand out towards Victoria.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The bottle clunked against the laminate top of the table in her booth. A little less than two thirds remaining in it. Meghan couldn’t finish it. She had had enough, sitting in the booth felt like she was on a merry-go-round. Her right foot was on the couch, knee up, right elbow against it as her hand covered her eyes. Her left foot was firmly planted on the ground, an attempt to keep her world stable, something that was failing. Her left arm was across the table. A long groan escaped her as she swallowed back and dropped her arm from her face sloppily. Blurred eyes eventually focused on Charles at the bar. Almost knocking the bottle over she motioned for him to come over. The man was quick to make is way towards her.

With a heavy sigh she spoke. “Chawrls…” She scoffed with a sloppy smile. “I’m veeery a little bit drunk and I” she pointed to herself somewhat as she took a deep breath. “I think I need to eat something.” Meghan nodded vigorously. “Can you make me something? I don’t care what. Chicken fingers and fries? Yeah. That’s what I want.”

The man watched her speak, he paid close attention and nodded when she was done. “I can do that, sure.”

“Ugh! You’re the best Charles! Thank you. Mwah.”
She blew a kiss towards him before flopping back into the booth with a sound of some sort of content.

Nodding to her request Charles pushed off the table and moved towards the kitchen. Looking around towards the patrons through the service window he took in a small breath of air. Preparing Meghan’s order separately, the man took some time to prepare a few more food items, a mix of a few things for everyone present. The man assumed that if Meghan had gone straight for a bottle upon her arrival, she must’ve been through something hectic, and she was most likely the weakest one among them all. He couldn’t imagine what the rest of them could’ve possibly dealt with. Food was the least he could offer them.

The door to the back opened, it was enough to garner Charles’ attention. Peeking around the corner he saw one of the ladies that had come in with Meghan, and Anastasia following close behind. His smile was brief, glad to see that Ana had come back in, but upon getting a better look at her he realized her somber expression. Nodding to himself he returned to the food he was making, choosing not to say anything as the two walked passed him. His gaze followed Ana’s form as she walked into the main bar area.

Noting that the envelopes hadn’t been taken by anyone Anastasia picked them up and approached Valerie and Spectre. Placing whichever envelopes she had collected before them she looked between the two before exhaling sharply. “I found these at the zoo. I’m not sure how helpful they may be, if at all, but I’m sure you guys can figure it out. Good luck.” Her eyes shifted between the two of them once again, lingering on Val a little longer than they had on Spectre. Nodding towards them, the brunette glanced over her shoulder at the mess that Meghan was. Her deep breath was followed by an exhale that was just as long. Her heart began to race as she walked towards the booth.

Meghan hadn’t been paying much attention to her surroundings her eyes were closed, an expression of discomfort across her face. Why had she done this? This feeling was horrible. Her elbows were firmly planted on the table as she cradled her head with a groan. Hopefully the food would help her stabilize a little.

“Hey.”

The voice was startling enough to get the blonde’s attention. Its familiarity was bone chilling in this moment. Clenching her jaw she gathered the courage to look up at Ana. Swallowing back she looked at her in silence, eyes narrowing to help her hazy vision focus.

“You uh—” Ana cleared her throat but kept her distance, staying behind the booth that was before the one Meg was sitting in. “You said you wanted answers.” she spoke softly.

“Right now” Meg looked away from Anastasia “I just want to eat something and hope that I don’t feel like death tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay. Umm…I’ll just go then.”
Ambers turned away from the other. Taking in a subtle breath she chose to say nothing more before stealing one more look at the blonde. “I’ll see you around.” She frowned, her gaze glinting with a hint of hope.

“Yep.” Meg’s response was blunt.

“Yeah.” Ana whispered as she walked through the bar and to the kitchen in a heavy silence. Glancing at Charles as he was prepping plates she stepped closer to him. “Make sure she stays safe Charles. Please.”

Finishing with the fries he put the bowl down and looked at Ana. Choosing not to speak up he simply nodded. “I will.” His response was a whisper before he turned back to what he was doing.

Nodding to herself Anastasia looked at Charles and Meghan one last time before making her way out the back door.

Bringing out a couple large orders of wings the cook placed them on the bar and then brought a few servings of fries as well. Taking Meghan’s order to her, he slid the plate across the table and also put down a glass of water next to it before he made his way back to the bar. He wasn’t sure if Meg had realized that Ana wouldn’t be coming back and he was positive that it wouldn’t be taken well. In truth he could’ve said something, but he knew that Anastasia’s mind wasn’t so easily changed. Hopefully this was nothing more than a break, a chance for both of them to take some time and further understand themselves and each other. He hoped this separation wouldn’t last long.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
INTERACTIONS:

ANASTASIA
- Gands - Victoria Murphy
- Astroblaze - Valerie Newman / Spectre

MENTIONS:

N/A
 
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Victoria & Vanessa

Victoria comes back in behind Anna. She is immediately texting. There is a look of deep concern on her face. She walks over to Vanessa who is wandering slowly around the room.

They both stop, Vanessa taking in the expression on her sister's face then her own expression becomes serious. The older sister whispers into Emerald's ear.

The both take a moment to watch Anna & Meghan talk... Anna walking out...Victoria resuming her whispers to Vanessa. The discussion getting heated but still in whispered tones.

After a few moments, it becomes clear that the attorney has won the argument. She and her sister head over to Val, the other attorney.

"Val, on my advice, my client and I are leaving. Our presence here puts this place and these people in danger. This as you know, potentially exposes us to a considerable lawsuit if things go wrong. Emerald may well be still in the game. You can contact me in the morning of course. I do hope your client can recruit someone else to the table, I sincerely do. "

They don't wait long for a response, should they get one, there is only a brief..." We will talk in the morning" after words, as they head for the back door.
 
JohnR
Valerie
John Reidenbach/Spectre | Valerie Newmann
April 3, 2018 | afternoon | Manhattan, NYC—The Nook

Ana (@Huntress), Victoria (@Gands), Vanessa (@Gands)
Meghan (@Huntress), Warren/Wildfire (@LuckycoolHawk9), Twiggy (@LuckycoolHawk9)

Having accepted the letter from Ana with a word of thanks made hesitantly perplexed at her odd phrasing, Spectre watched the brunette exchange a brief word with Meghan before leaving out the back door, his mouth drawn in a thin, concerned line. Though hardly the brightest in terms of reading body language, he could tell that something was seriously wrong.

Stepping away from Wildfire's booth with a sigh, he crossed the bar to lean his forearms into the counter next to Valerie, who had swiveled back around to observe the goings-on after her chat with Victoria. "I'm sure you know I want to go after her," he quietly admitted to her, glowing eyes still watching the doorway through which Ana had disappeared, "but she wouldn't listen to me. She's made that abundantly clear." He lifted slightly, gaze flicking to her sharp with an idea. "Maybe you could, though. She knows you."

Valerie released a snort at that, wry grin mostly hidden behind the lip of her glass. "Hardly. She saved my life once. That's just something heroes and allies do."

"You've shared several experiences so far, above and beyond that one," Spectre pressed. "Certainly more than I've shared with her. Besides, I saw that look she gave you just now. She might be willing to listen to you in ways she wouldn't care about from me."

Valerie let her glass fall to her lap to turn a quirked eyebrow to her friend. "She can fly, Spectre."

"Then you'd better hurry before she starts doing so," he urged, jumping up and extending a hand toward the door.

The young woman released a sigh. "Spectre..." Setting her glass on the counter behind her, she slid off the stool and turned to him, lifting a hand to his tensed shoulder. "I know you don't like letting things go, but she just needs space right now." The look in Ana's eye, though the amber gaze had locked onto hers for only the briefest of moments, had been that of a haunted woman. Valerie was no stranger to that expression and knew that pressing the issue would only make matters worse.

Spectre seemed to cast about uncertainly for a moment before finally folding his arms tight across his chest, shaking his head with a worried frown. "She's leaving, right when we need her most. That's not a good sign."

"You have her number, right?" Valerie reminded him. "I'll just call her later."

Lime irises pulled away from dark, flickering somewhere about the tiled floor. "That's no guarantee she'll answer," he murmured.

Valerie pursed her lips, lifting her other hand to squeeze his shoulders reassuringly as she paused to consider her next words. "John—" the mutant lifted his head in a startled jerk at her use of his real name— "it's going to be okay. I promise. A real hero can't keep themselves away from where they're needed no matter what they try. You've experienced this." She paused to let that sink in, watching recollection flash through his eyes at her prompting. "If she's meant to, she'll come around. But you have to give her time to figure herself out."

The hero was silent for a long moment. Valerie was well-accustomed to his tendency to fret over details but also aware that he trusted her analyses. It was part of how they'd made such a good team over the years.

Finally, Spectre's shoulders sagged in a heavy sigh. "Alright."

Turning to the counter as Valerie stepped back, he reached for the letters that Ana had given the two of them. "Well, let's see what these letters are about."

Before he could do so, Victoria's approach attracted the pair's attention to the two women. Spectre jolted up straight at her announcement, eyes wide in shock. "What!" His mouth worked for a moment, but ultimately he just wordlessly took a step back, lifting his hands to his temples as he struggled to make sense of the blindsiding news.

Seeing that he wouldn't be much help, Valerie hurried after the sisters, touching a staying hand to Victoria's shoulder. "You're not at all a danger," she hastened to assure the attorney. "We need your help. Both of you," she added, including Vanessa as well. Glancing over her shoulder back to Spectre, she leaned in urgently. "Spectre needs to have someone by his side right now," she confided, "someone he can trust, someone who can have his back if things turn ugly, and especially someone who can help him figure out what the hell is going on and what to do about it. He'll work alone if he must, but he's seriously out of his element here." She waggled her head, predicting the response. "Yes, he has me, but I'm not enough. I don't have any powers. If push comes to shove, I won't be any help, even if he wouldn't be specifically trying to keep me out of harm's way." She glanced to the drunk blonde in the far booth, guessing who Victoria meant by 'lawsuit.' "I'm sure we can work things out with Meghan to prevent unpleasant legalities. She's on our side, you know, no matter what her drunk brain is sending out of her mouth right now."

Forcefully shaking his head to jerk himself back into the moment, Spectre followed Valerie after the pair. "I'm waiting to go into detail until the others I'm expecting arrive," he declared, "but just know that I have a plan, and I have reason to believe it will be successful." Considering what he just said, he elaborated, "Yes, I'm expecting at least one more hero—maybe more if we get lucky." His mouth quirked in a sheepish smile. "I guess it would've been helpful for me to have mentioned both of the above earlier..."
 
Vanessa O'Toole aka Emerald Dream

The younger woman frowns listening to Val and then Specter. Her older sister is about to speak, she extends a hand and stops her, the older sister Victoria frowning also. Vanessa turns back to the other two.

"Specter, you seem to be a decent guy. Valerie seems to think you don't know exactly what's going on. But you already have a plan and you weren't even at the Zoo at all. You have people joining us, who we presumably don't know. Val is worried about having someone here to watch your back. There were what, four of us who decided this morning we wanted to figure this out ? Two are already gone. Firefly, we don't know what happened to her, we can't reach her at all . Anna for more personal reasons. Yet, you have it all figured out mister Specter. The guy Victoria hired never bothered to answer her text, that's one more we know nothing about. All we are saying at this point, perhaps it would be nice to go and meet someplace in the morning, after some of us less super, less brilliant and without a plan yet to have a moment of peace after a long day. It might be nice to meet someplace different as well. right at the moment Neither Victoria or I feel at all comfortable here. Personally I feel rather like a fifth wheel despite our losses. I am not leaving the case, I am leaving this bar for this moment. Since you already have a complete plan, a full set of other allies coming, you hardly need me around to clog up the works. "

Victoria, having remained silent for this brief fit of her sister's, remains silent for just a moment, considering. She looks at Valerie, looks at her sister, distinctly doesn't look at John, the finally back at Valerie. and starts to speak to her old college friend, her hand holding Vanessa's.

" Nessa, you know Val is an old and dear friend. Please reconsider. We can stay a bit till Specter's friends show up, then we can leave. We owe Val that much at least. "

Vanessa looks at her sister, a variety of emotions running through her system at the moment, also doesn't look at Specter. Valerie knows both women. Nessa is unhappy, frustrated and clearly ran out of sorts sometime after noon. Further, she is considerably younger than either Val or Vicky. The younger woman looks over at her sisters' friend and again starts to speak.

"Alright Val, sorry, it's been a long ugly day and part of an ugly week. Mister Specter shouldn't need me around after all his new friends show up at least. "
 
  • Sympathy & Compassion
Reactions: Astroblaze
Reed
KCameron
Icarus
Felix
Reed Overton/Agent Fury | Kameron/Vengeance & Cameron/Violence | Icarus Valaith/Shielder/Plant Overlord | Felix Valaith
April 3, 2018 | early afternoon | Manhattan, NYC—Central Park Tower

collab with @slifer and @jeshem, Derrick (@LuckycoolHawk9)
Victoria (@Gands), Mystification (@LuckycoolHawk9), Spectre (@Astroblaze)

Rocketing across the sky, Vengeance flew back towards the city with an unconscious Derrick in tow. One hand was still pressed against his side, gently applying pressure to his injury and creating a sort of telekinetic brace. The sooner this was over with, the better.

He pulled out his phone and started typing up an email. Fury and the teenager with him weren't exactly informative about what was going on. The boy did, however, mention something about Shielder. Maybe Vengeance could get some answers there.

If the kid is an acquaintance with Shielder, he may not be too happy when he finds out what went down at the zoo.

Then that will be his problem.

The email he sent Shielder was short: 〔We need to talk. Top of Central Park Tower.〕

Then, another email was sent as if an afterthought: 〔Fury and kid.〕

A vibration from his phone distracted Icarus when he was safely away from everything else, high up in a tree and resting. Victoria had found out about his association with Fury. This was all going south very quickly, and he didn't like that one bit, especially since he had to do damage control for being neutral.

A smile rose to his lips at a simple text from Agent Fury. Whatever happened, he had Reed in his corner. The man's antics always made him smile. Reed was like his own personal bad boy: drawing him into doing things whether he meant to or not.

〔Sure, I'm up for it. Tell me the details.〕 He hit send and waited expectantly for the reply like a teen waiting for a reply from his crush, lessening the hateful feelings inside of him, at least for a little while.

The phone silently vibrated in his hand, causing him to glance down at it. His blood froze at the name on the screen. He picked it up, and hearing Felix's scared voice made the protective side of him come out with claws bared. He listened to his boy's words, his anger igniting at what he was hearing. It was all he could do not to show any of his anger to Felix. He had to be the supportive parent, even though he wanted to hurt, to destroy. It was difficult like it always was, but he forced the pure unadulterated rage into a laser-like focus directly aimed for Vengeance. Somehow he managed to calm down Felix with the fact that he was coming over to him before reluctantly shutting off his phone.

Vengeance hadn't physically hurt Felix, but psychological scars would be there for a while. As for Fury—Reed—the thought of the man being hurt made his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. The two most important people in his life had been in a life or death situation. Damnit, he was a mess right now and none of this was helping. Too many people were tugging at him, so he had to knock all of his problems out of the way, one at a time, starting with the little shit known as Vengeance.

A special notification from his work email popped up, giving him the chance to focus on something else, just as Fury sent him a text. Quickly he sent a text to Reed, as Felix was the biggest concern here: 〔Keep Felix safe. I'm heading towards you. I'll deal with the piece of shit later.〕 Then he quickly opened the email to see who would bother to email him.

Curiously, the work-related email was blank of any real name. The contents, though, had Icarus seeing red for a moment. The email was from Vengeance, and it had the man's location. Perfect: now he could make some goals, ones involving protecting Felix and beating the living shit out of Vengeance if it led to that. He hoped the man had an incredibly well-thought out reason for doing what he had done, otherwise he'd nail the man's head on his wall back at his apartment.

Icarus replied to the email simply 〔YOU BETTER HAVE AN EXCELLENT EXPLANATION FOR THIS〕 before sending it. Casually he took out some trail mix and a breakfast shake after he had climbed down from the tree with ease and started walking towards the Central Park Tower, eating his snacks for more energy as he did a quick Google Search on what exactly was on top of the tower. From what he could see, there were plants up there: something he could use on the man if he needed to. Either way, he was going to make the man wait as he walked to said tower and then proceeded to take the elevator up there, taking a hold of his powers and forcing them up to the surface as he prepared for the meeting the meta had called with a razor sharp focus that only came when it involved people he cared about. He had an edge over Vengeance, but he would have to burn a lot of energy to keep that edge.

Agent Fury was nearly under the brick arches of the zoo's entrance when his phone buzzed. Retrieving it from his pocket, he scanned Icarus' return text with a humph. Abruptly turning on a heel, he dropped back against an arch, leaning casually against a brick pillar. Upon opening his messages to reply, he found another text from the man, seemingly sent while he was preoccupied with rescuing Felix from Vengeance, confirming an interest in the penguin rescue. That at least brought a slight smile to his painted face: he always knew he could count on his ally to be in for a good time. No use responding in text: they could draw up assault plans in person when Icarus joined them. Of course, that required retrieving his penguin first.

An irritated glower quickly replaced the smile at that thought. That white-suited bastard had gone behind his back, terrorized his charge, stolen his prize, and then had the audacity to act like it was he who was in the wrong. The most aggravating part: Fury had absolutely no idea where the hero had scuttled off to. His main idea had been to chase after the psychic in the direction that he had flown, but who was to say that he continued in a straight line? And so, he was forced to wait, the one thing that he despised the most vehemently, especially when the ones making him wait were doing so to gain some form of advantage at his expense. This was all just one massive goddamn waste of his time, and at the one time he had the least to kill. He checked the clock on his phone: nearly quarter past three. Damnit, he had no reason to believe that this event would wait for him, no matter how much it ought to. Hopefully Icarus would show up in a hurry so they could figure out where the hell that son of a bitch scattered off to.

Several minutes passed with no sign of Icarus. Damnit, what the hell was taking him? The last place Fury had seen his ally was the fountain, which was barely a stone's throw away from the zoo—albeit that Fury could throw a stone several lengths farther than most. Had something come up? Felix had brought up Shielder—perhaps Vengeance had gone to confront him? If that snow-clad prick had fucked with his ally- Fury's teeth ground, lips peeling back in a snarl as his hands balled into white-knuckled fists behind his muscle-bound arms where he had them folded across his chest. Impatient in both anger and worry, he snatched his phone from his pocket and shot a hastily constructed text to Icarus:

〔Okay, where are you?〕

Icarus made it to the entrance of the tower, purposefully going slow so he could finish off his snacks quickly. Seeing the message from Agent Fury made him sigh, forcing him to stop for a moment to reply before going into the elevator.

〔Vengeance sent me an email to go to the Central Park Tower so I went there. I want to hear his explanation on what happened. The only reason I won't kill him is because neither you or Felix have been hurt.〕

He sent the message before pocketing the phone and entering the elevator, cutting off all communication for now.

At Icarus' return text, Fury's mouth curled into a triumphant grin distorted to hideous extremes by his paint. 'There you are, you son of a bitch.'

〔Don't fuck him up without me. We're on our way.〕

With that, he dropped his phone into his pocket and, pushing off of the pillar, turned to Felix.

"Change of plans," he declared. "Icarus isn't meeting us here, but I know where he is going. I'm running out of time, though, so I'm gonna expedite the process a bit." Before the boy could protest, he promptly scooped his charge into his arms. Cradling him protectively close to his chest, Fury turned and sprinted from the zoo.

A few minutes at his steady, purposeful lope brought them out of the tree-shade of the park into the strong afternoon sun. Ignoring the nervous backward glances of the people they passed on the sidewalk, Fury weaved naturally around the blocks until he finally stopped in the shade of a massive tower.

"Here we are," he noted, setting Felix back on his feet as his eyes scanned the building all the way up to the distant edge of the roof. "Stay behind me, and stay close."

With that, he stepped through the door. As he paused to locate the elevator, a receptionist and two security guards shot to their feet upon sight of him. The mercenary lifted a placating hand. "Just passing through." Not as if they could stop him, but he didn't have time to waste evading them.

With frequent backward glances to make sure Felix stayed close at his heels, he crossed the lobby and called the elevator, stepping in when the doors slid open and guiding Felix in after him. Commanding the car as high as it would go, he leaned against the back wall and waited.

Kameron sat on the edge of the building with his feet dangling over the edge. An invisible field of telekinetic force swirled around him as his attention retracted inward to his twin.

Well, this is a mess. Got pulled into something we know nothing about and into a fight with a criminal, and now getting shit from another hero for something or another.

Calm down. What happened with Fury has already happened. Shielder, on the other hand, should be easier to talk to, even if he is upset. We'll just get our answers from him and decide what to do from there.

Kameron let out a sigh and got to his feet as he heard the elevator ding behind him. The swirling force abruptly held still as it formed an invisible barrier that completely surrounded him. Whoever exited the elevator would see that he was up there by himself, Derrick nowhere to be seen.

Icarus used his breathing exercises to calm himself down to a point where he wasn't going to go for Vengeance the moment he saw the man. He would find his answers first, and then if the situation warranted it, he would hurt the man and it would feel amazing. His stomach felt kind of bloated from the overeating of snacks, but that would soon dissipate once he started to use his powers. Thankfully the building was tall enough that he actually had time to think and calm down.

Three floors away from the top prompted him to let his power work, letting it slowly spread over his skin until a purple shield was all around him, outlining his whole body. It was a skill he needed to practice, but it let him use more of his shield and protected him better than being able to turn into diamond. He held it there, loving the feeling of using his powers. Now all he needed was to find plants on the roof, and he would use his other power to let them grow while he talked, manipulating the plants to whatever he wanted.

Finally the elevator doors slid open and Icarus walked out confidently as Shielder. He saw Vengeance by himself, without the penguin man that Agent Fury had mentioned. He stopped some feet away from the antihero and didn't say a word, waiting for an explanation even as his plant powers reached out, found plants all around him and teased them into more violent shapes.

A quick, scanning glance about the roof as Fury stepped out of the elevator drew his attention first to the figure of Shielder standing a few feet away, tinged in the familiar faint purple of his forcefield ability. Shit, now that he had rejoined his ally in person, the mercenary realized that Shielder might prove more of a distraction than a help. 'Snap out of it, Fury. You're better than this. Stop thinking like a lovestruck goddamn teenager.' At least the other man seemed nearly as pissed as Fury himself. That would come in handy when it came time to make the psychic pay.

The psychic in question stood near the edge of the roof, a considerable distance away from Shielder and himself. 'Keeping a safe distance, are we...' At least the antihero had gotten that through his thick skull. If he had, then he'd likely be shielded as well, which might prove a bit of a stumbling block but hardly enough to be a concern, considering how easily he'd shattered the previous attempts. The humanized penguin who he had taken was nowhere to be found, however—damnit, what did that masked bastard do with him. Clearly he intended to force Fury to negotiate with him. Fine, Fury would allow it this one time only because he was left with few options, but he'd better be ready to pay for this humiliation.

Ushering Felix into a secluded spot to keep him safe in case Vengeance decided to try something else unheroic, Fury stepped forward to stand somewhat in line with Shielder. "Where's my prize, you son of a bitch?" he growled. "If you want anything out of this arrangement, you'd damn well better give back what you stole, and be snappy about it."

The white costumed man stood silently measuring the duo in front of him. He'd already encountered Fury today and knew that arguing with the man would be less than productive. Time to see if the fellow hero would be more cooperative.

"Hello Shielder," Vengeance began as he approached the mercenary and the hero. The two of them can feel the air press against them as Vengeance's telekinetic barrier kept both of them at a distance from himself. "I don't want to waste your time so I'll just cut to the chase. I'm sure you've noticed the hacking of all the electronics earlier this morning by someone calling themselves 'Myst.' This 'Myst' directed a few of us towards the city's zoo where we found letters addressed to each of us. Whatever was in the letters Fury and I received evidently sets us at odds."

Kameron looked up at the duo, his stance relaxed with his hands folded in front of him. The invisible barriers erected surrounding him were shaped in three layers: the outermost layer was a paper-thin wall in front of Shielder and Fury that acted as a trigger, while the layer behind that was significantly stronger, rivaling the one Vengeance used to hold up Fury back at the zoo, and formed a 3 foot radius dome surrounding Vengeance. The final layer was a layer of dormant psychic energy that covered Vengeance's body, awaiting a certain signal to activate.

"I'm not going to lie: I don't trust Fury. I'm not even sure if I should trust you, but at least I know you're a hero. Tell me what is going on."

Fury gritted his teeth. He was just being snide when he called the psychic 'dense' earlier, but perhaps the insult actually held a ring of truth.

"No, jackass," he snarled, "you set yourself against me when you assaulted my charge!" He drew up straight, eyes widening sarcastically. "But oh sure, the one in the wrong here is totally the one hired to protect the kid. God forbid it ever be the one who literally made him scream for help." He tossed his head, releasing a scornful scoff as narrowed violet eyes glared down at Vengeance. "You're no hero. I'd say you're as bad as me, but at least I'm fully aware and open about being a threat."

He huffed, folding his arms. "But anyway, I don't know what the hell your letter said, and if it was anything like mine, I honestly don't give a damn. I don't need to read more lousy psychoanalysis attempts by this manipulative superbitch who thinks she's all that and the bag of fucking chips."

Shielder was the picture of calm at the moment, merely because he had transcended angry and was close to losing his shit on Vengeance if the man said the wrong thing, and all of that would be with a serenity that bordered on madness.

"It's quite simple. Are you going to give back the penguin man or not? We're not going to hurt him, but if you plan to, that makes us enemies. Somehow, Myst knows about things that we wish to keep to ourselves, but in the end they are notes."

Meanwhile, all around them the flora twisted and turned under Shielder's power, bulking up with thorns, snaking poison ivy, oak, and sumac, with nettles and hogsweed mixing in with more deadly plants like the gympie, which with a touch at its concentration could cause an allergic reaction and enough pain to absolutely destroy Vengeance and whoever else touched it, and a Venus Flytrap larger than most people. His research and experimentation on regular and irregular plants with his abnormal mutation had brought about monstrosities and dangerous plants.

"Though really, if you haven't figured it out yet, then I suggest you change careers."

Even Fury's presence, one which calmed him significantly, couldn't do shit to make him feel even a smidge better.

Vengeance let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm afraid you're going to have to learn how to be more cooperative, Shielder," he says, vaguely aware of the shifting greenery. With a mere thought, the second and third layers of Vengeance's barrier began to move. To Shielder and Fury, the air in front of them would appear to shimmer as if under the effect of rising heat.

They've made their decision. They don't wish to talk. We should just take our leave before this escalates any further.

You're being hasty. We still hold all the cards and they're damned fools for not recognizing that. Wait a while longer and if they don't fold, we'll just get answers from Myst herself.

As the brothers held their discussion, Vengeance began to float upwards, the movement of his barriers increasing in speed and ferocity as he did. "You want the penguin. Fine, but I get my answers first."

And now they were back here, full fucking circle, not the slightest notion of advancement. If anything, they were in worse condition than before. Fury resisted the urge to let out a literal hiss in irritation.

"How long is it going to take to get this into your thick skull?!" he roared. "The only reason we are currently at odds is because you're insisting on being a self-righteous prick!" His voice only continued to rise as he spoke. "I thought I'd already been plenty clear about this but fine, I'll spell it out for you, again: give me back my fucking penguin and I'll tell you what you want to know. Capiche? I can do arrangements—recall that that's my fucking job! But I don't have time for this fucking bullshit!"

Emphasizing his final words, his hands shot out and slammed nearly full-force into the barriers that he could feel attempting to push against him.

The moment Fury's hands met the surface of the first barrier, it shattered before him like sugar glass. Immediately the ears of the duo filled with a thundering crash as Vengeance's second domed barrier burst outward, tearing at everything it washed over. Fury's skin would save him from everything save for countless scratches, though his clothes might be a different story. Shielder's power would protect him completely, though any plants unshielded would surely be torn apart.

Shielder held out a hand to Fury before speaking. "Agent Fury, stop!" Though it was too late to stop the man from breaking the shield, it was easy enough to curve a shield around Fury so that Vengeance's telekinesis didn't hurt him but also as a little deterrent for Fury so the man wouldn't try to attack again.

He turned to face Vengeance and took in a deep breath with an even longer exhale before continuing to speak. "As you can tell, I am quite upset with you. I am furious, in fact. Right now, though, I am giving it one last shot: an equal exchange of information. I can see that Myst has written something to you about the penguin man. You have him and we want him. I can ignore the fact that you made my charge emotionally suffer simply because you did not know better and it is a mistake you did not mean to make. I will give you this one peace offering. You can stand as far away as you need to be, but we will all be within speaking distance. No fighting. We will all give each other information. I can understand that you mean well. I will show you an act of good faith now."

It would be clearly understood that if Vengeance didn't take the deal, then Shielder would absolutely come at him. Shielder waved his hand offhandedly and the plants all subsided, morphing into vines and ivy that wrapped around the building, heading downward and away from the center of the tower. It hurt to see them so torn because of Vengeance's power and he had to shove back the urge to go after him—unless he retaliated, of course.

Meanwhile, Felix was hiding behind what he was hiding behind, clearly not an idiot. He knew what Shielder was capable of and wanted to be out of the way as not to be used as a hostage. If that happened, then Shielder would wig out and all hope for peace would be demolished.

Did he really just try to set the conditions?

Either they don't understand that we could just leave right now or they have a backup plan.

Do you think they've actually planned for that?

From what they've shown us so far, no. They're desperate. This may be something we can push.

"I asked a simple goddamned question. Why is it so hard for you two to actually answer it?" Vengeance sighed as he lowered his hand, storing the power he had been gathering. "I don't need to read your minds to know how desperate you two are, though. Fine, I'll indulge you this time."

Vengeance's last barrier was harmlessly dispersed as his feet made contact with the roof again. "We'll talk here. I've got better things to do than run around and I assume you do, too. First, however, drop those shields. After that, I'll tell you everything I know so far, including what Myst told me. Then you'll tell me everything you know, including what's so important about the bird. Once you're done, I'll tell you where I stashed the bird. If you don't like that, I'll just leave now."

The warning shout accompanied by the purple hue that flooded Agent Fury's line of sight startled him into a slight step back, right as the thunderous roar swept over him. His hands tightened into fists at his sides, recognizing it for exactly what it was: that psychic asshole had just tried to attack him.

"You never fucking once asked any 'simple goddamned question,'" he snarled. "All you've done so far is wasted my time with insults and underhanded attacks." He pinched the painted bridge of his nose in impatient irritation. "But at least now that you've finally decided to cooperate, we can actually fucking get somewhere." If continuing to be a fucking prick counted as cooperation, that is. This son of a bitch was lucky that Shielder had deemed to give him the time of day. Oh well, he'd make it work. This whole fiasco had gone on far too long as it was, so he might as well just take what he had and get it over with.

He folded his arms, shifting his weight more onto his heels. "Honestly, I don't think I give a shit about what the latest superbitch told you," he declared. "If you want to make yourself useful to all the other goody-two-shoes, go find the ghost-man Spectre: he seems to be coordinating some sort of attack against her. But that's only my problem so far as this penguin man is involved. I'm sure he can tell you more if you really care that much."

"What Ghost-man told me in the park is that Superbitch is recreating the five worst collateral cases in legal history. This penguin man is stage two in a scavenger hunt one of her accomplices put together, probably just to add more roadblocks and delays to buy her time if I know anything about villainy." He bared his false fangs in a wide grin, appreciating his little bit of irony. "Whoever gets the penguin back to this Harris fellow gets the two case files set as the prize." He lifted a gloved hand in a reassuring wave. "Don't worry, I have no intent to sabotage them. In fact, I've already made arrangements with Ghost-man: as soon as I get those documents, they're going straight to him. I've still got a business to maintain, you know. He saves the world, I profit." Grinning, he spread his hands. "Win-win."

He let his hands drop, lifting them to his hips. "But there: that's all I know. So, where's my prize?" He eyed the white-suited psychic sidelong, daring the man to go back on his word again.

Never asked a question? I knew Fury was bullheaded but not deaf.

Something isn't right. I thought he was supposed to be a professional, experienced. Yet he ignores what's being said, is oblivious of the gravity of his situation, and lets his emotions act for him. Shielder seems to have better control, but a fool keeps the company of his own.

Is that disgust I hear from you?

Disappointment.

Vengeance mused over what Fury said. "Hm, she told me something similar to that, though it seems she left out some details," he muttered to himself. He looked up and resumed speaking to the duo. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it? I thought I was going to go first, but—" he waved a hand as if brushing away the idea. "As for your prize..."

Vengeance walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked over the city as if trying to remember where he had left the penguin man. Abruptly, he stepped off the edge, plummeting towards the ground. A moment after he disappeared, Derrick came sailing up over the edge, landing gently in front of Fury. He was dazed and confused as if just waking up from a deep sleep but has otherwise remained unharmed. Vengeance would not reappear, but there was a note stuck to Derrick's back: "That was fun. Let's do it again some time. ;)"

Fury couldn't say he was surprised that the psychic made a break for it like the little coward he was. Surely he knew exactly what was in store for him after his obnoxious behavior. Unfortunately, Fury himself had no way to stop him, but—he considered his green-suited ally standing nearby—he knew someone who did.

Ignoring Derrick for the moment, he stepped forward to scan beyond the edge, painted mouth curling into a hideous sneer when he soon located the fleeing psychic. "Oh no," he muttered, "you're not getting away that easily."

Straightening, he turned to Shielder, grin turning more mischievous. "Well? What do you say we secure some 'vengeance' of our own?" He nodded toward the space beyond the edge of the roof, certain that his ally would know exactly what he meant.

Shielder thought about it quite hard for a moment, desperately wanting to give in to the hateful part of himself. But in the end it felt wrong, especially to be breaking his word like that. He was honorable in his word and didn't want to break that right now. Felix was here, watching, and he didn't want the boy to see him make promises and then break them. That was when lives were on the line. Vengeance had did what they had asked, no matter how much of an asshole he was about it, though that wouldn't garner the man any favors, especially for being an idiot. Lower his shields? The man must be as stupid as he was nuts, especially since he had no clue how close Shielder had been to actually reacting and bringing him down to earth, so to speak. A flash of imagination—a shield around Vengeance's face, suffocating him without even being nearby—was amazing to even think about it, but he let it go somewhat reluctantly.

"Leave him. You have to get paid, don't you? He's not worth it. Believe me, he hasn't given us a reason to go after him. He gave us the penguin. I'm sure Spectre is waiting for you."

Fury had to learn that he couldn't attack anyone just willy-nilly. When there was a reason to, you unloaded everything on your enemy—which Vengeance had made out of them, but that was besides the point.

The mercenary studied Shielder's face for a long moment, smile slowly fading into a more thoughtful expression. With a quiet humph, he turned back toward the edge of the roof, gloved hands finding their way into the pockets of his trousers as he watched Vengeance disappear into the distance. He still longed to teach that overconfident son of a bitch a lesson he wouldn't soon forget, but... Icarus was right: that delusional prick wasn't worth his time. Perhaps he'd get a chance to knock the hero down a couple pegs at a later point, but for now, he had bigger fish to fry.

"Yeah, you're right," he sighed. "He doesn't deserve any of the shits I have to give." The snarky grin quickly returned in force, however, when he turned back to Shielder. "We'll get him next time, right? But in the meantime—" Turning on a heel, he strode toward Derrick, still seated groggily sprawled on the pavement.

His shadow falling across the penguin man as he stooped to pick him up seemed to startle Derrick awake the rest of the way. The man instantly scrambled away from the looming figure, a hand lifted in a feeble attempt to guard himself against the mercenary with a panicked "No! Don't hurt me!"

Fury stopped, closing his eyes for a moment with an exasperated sigh as he shifted back onto his heels. "I'm not going to hurt you," he sighed. "This whole thing with the guy in white has just been a continuous stream of bullshit. He stooped awfully low, lower than I would've anticipated for a so-called hero." He smirked wryly at Derrick. "But honestly, never trust a guy who takes justice into his own hands, right?" He tilted his head. "But me? If I meant you harm, I would've done it already. I might be a criminal, but at least I'm straightforward."

Noting that that seemed to calm him at least somewhat, he stepped forward and deftly scooped up the man, ensuring that he was securely cradled against his chest before fully straightening. "Come on: I've still got documents to retrieve before I can rescue you."

Turning, he approached Shielder. "Shielder, this is the penguin man I texted you about. Calls himself Derrick." He grinned. "He's the one we'll be snatching out the jaws of hell, as it were. Though," he added with a slight frown, "maybe you should take Felix from here: don't want to drag him into whatever shit we kick up at the park." He perked up, remembering one last detail. "Oh, and dinner: I'll have to stop by the apartment to get changed post-heroes, but I can pick you up from your place at—" he waggled his hand slightly under Derrick— "six o'clock? Sound good?"

He glanced over his shoulder to the empty space beyond the edge of the roof, mouth widening in the mischievous grin of an idea. "One last thing: are we heading down normal way or dramatic way?" He winked to Shielder. "Your call."

Shielder finally dropped his shields now that he was reasonably sure that Vengeance had left. Though he wasn't about to attack the man, he did not trust the meta not to be waiting around for them or something. He had to keep his head in the game, especially since he had a freaking date with Agent Fury himself later tonight. Even now he wasn't sure how he had let himself trust Reed enough to let him in, to let the man find out his identity and even enough to agree to a date. He tended to focus on the here and now, only thinking as far as he did because he had another person directly tied to him. When the time was right, he would most certainly get back at Vengeance, but he could wait patiently for that day to happen.

Returning to the present, Shielder walked up to Derrick, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible.

"We'll get you out later. I'll do my best to get you out." Hopefully the man believed him, especially after they didn't just beat the shit out of Vengeance to get the penguin back.

He shot a grin to Fury, thankful that the man actually remembered what was going on after all of the shit that happened today. "Six sounds good. I'll be waiting for you. As for going downstairs..." He tried to be dramatic, but in the end Fury would probably be able to guess what he would say. "The elevator is the best way to go. It would be better if we were alone, but we can't all get what we want. Felix, come on!"

He blew a kiss to Fury as Felix rushed toward him, entering one of the elevators alone with Felix, which would give the boy time to vent.

Fury stood staring after Shielder long after the elevator doors had slid shut between them, thankful for the makeup that he was certain hid a reddening face. He was starting to regret taking up the antihero on his dinner request. How was he ever going to get through the evening without giving himself away?

He shook himself back into the present. He'd make it work. He always did. He was Agent goddamn Fury, he could manage this.

Ignoring the odd look he could sense from the man in his arms, he took a moment to wander around the empty roof, stalling for distance between himself and Shielder. It'd be difficult for the antihero to find work if he was suspected of connections to a notorious criminal.

Pausing near the northeastern edge, he scanned the sprawling park far below. Bethesda Fountain stood just barely visible in the distance, swarming with the red and blue flares of emergency vehicles. Hopefully the cops hadn't scared off the event orchestrator: it'd be just Fury's luck to have gone through all this bullshit with Vengeance only to miss his opportunity.

Finally he headed back to the elevator. When it arrived at the roof, he stepped inside and set Derrick back onto his feet with a warning "Stay close to me." As the doors locked shut and the car started downward, he took a moment to check his phone. He still had time before the 4pm cutoff, but not much. He needed to move, and quickly. Once they cleared the building, he'd pick up Derrick again and then straight off to the park with the two of them.
 
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That was a mess.

We got what we wanted. That's all that matters.

Vengeance's trajectory curves as he near the ground, turning his plummet downwards into flight parallel to the concrete below him as he mentally went over what he had been told. Shielder and Fury were working for Spectre who Myst had promised the files for completing some sort of task concerning the penguin. For Vengeance, Myst had made a similar offer though the task was evidently made to force him into conflict with the other two.

This really is a game for her. What should we do next?

We should play but we don't have enough to ensure this wouldn't happen again. You go find Spectre, see what he can tell us and make our plan from there.


And you?

Going to catch up with some old friends.


Spotting an isolated roof top in a quieter neighborhood, Vengeance alters his flight path to land. Vengeance's feet soon meet the concrete as he jogs to a stop. As he walks towards the stairs, tiny black splotches begin to rapidly appear on his white suit as if someone had begun flicking ink on him. By the time he reaches the exit, Vengeance's white suit is gone, replaced by the black suit of his brother. Violence eventually finds himself on an empty street. Choosing a seemingly arbitrary direction, Violence walks as he begins to work his power through his own body, decreasing its tangibility and allowing him to sink into the ground.

By the way, did we bring out our wallet? I hope we didn't forget it.
 
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JohnR
Valerie
John Reidenbach/Spectre | Valerie Newmann
April 3, 2018 | afternoon | Manhattan, NYC—The Nook

Vanessa (@Gands), Victoria (@Gands), letters from Mystification (@LuckycoolHawk9)
Mystification (@LuckycoolHawk9), unnamed allies (implied Twiggy (@LuckycoolHawk9), Ian (@LuckycoolHawk9), Catherine (@LuckycoolHawk9)), Ana (@Huntress), Samuel (@Astroblaze), Felicity (@Astroblaze), Wildfire (@LuckycoolHawk9)

Spectre listened quietly to both women, his expression thoughtfully somber.

"Thank you," he responded sincerely to Vanessa when the two had finished. "Though honestly I'd say you have me passed up in the intelligence department. Even so..." He paused, glancing downward to one side with a slight, self-conscious smile. "Your perspective is very important to me."

His smile vanished as he turned back to her. "I'll be honest, though," he admitted: "I don't have it all figured out, not in the slightest. All I have is something for the immediate to retrieve those last two documents, assuming, as I suspect, that none of our allies manage to do so. Beyond that, we'll all need to put our heads together to solve Myst's puzzle. That's why I'm seeking other minds: the more the merrier." A wry grin pulled at the corners of his lips as he considered the ironic word-choice. "Well… you know what I mean."

Brilliant eyes softened sympathetically as he studied her face, though, recognizing the frazzled weariness in her eyes. "Perhaps some of that can wait until tomorrow," he conceded. "But not for long. We are working against the clock here."

He then turned away, stepping back toward the bar where the mysterious letters had been left. "In the meantime, let's see what Myst has to say."

With a quick glance over the small pile, Spectre took up the top two letters, passing the one to Valerie as he leaned back against the bar and broke the seal on his own, brow puckering slightly in concentration.

Dearest Spectre,
If I were a lesser person, I would start the letter with a terrible pun about your own dual nature as a man and a ghost. But it seems so cliche to work that into the narrative. Compared to most of the others I write my letters to, I do have a great deal of respect for you. A person who likes to help people and minimize the damage. You were one of the first to rush to help others.

Some fundamental level of you is wired for good. Perhaps that is why I won't be one to beat around the bush. These five cases I have given you: they all show a flaw in our wonderful system. (And yes, that was entirely sarcastic in case you couldn't read between the lines.) There is a road map and there is a purpose to everything that I do. But just know this: whatever I'm doing, it has no intention to harm anyone. I want these recreations to be stopped, but more than anything, I want a safer world for the generation of tomorrow.

XoXoXo Myst

P.S. If you're stressed, just breathe, remember that thing called oxygen.


Meanwhile, Valerie had done the same for the letter Spectre had passed her, labeled with her own name.

Dear Valerie,

Well, Ms. Newmann. It feels good to be writing a letter to one who doesn't have a storied past with being a hero or a villain. The thing about writing this to another person who isn't good or bad comes down to one key fact: we are on the outside looking in. Just another face and name that nobody thinks twice about. You have to wonder why I bring this up. Of course, there has to be a purpose to every letter.

Well, let me get straight to the point. No cryptic clues. You may think that you are worthless, but you are worth something. It took me a long time to realize that about myself, so I felt that it was important you heard it. There was a time where I believed that the Collateral laws were perfect. 'Isn't it funny you believe that it was real?' is definitely something I would tell myself. But perhaps it's important to remember that all disasters have an upside. I hope that you can find it… and the broken system can be fixed.

Sincerely, Myst.


Spectre humphed, refolding the letter. "This is interesting. It reads as though she wants us to stop her, almost like we've been roped into a performance of a sort as a demonstration."

"Maybe she's making herself the scapegoat," Valerie agreed. "She speaks of a broken system needing to be fixed like this will be the catalyst." She turned to the sisters. "Did you two get letters as well?"

Meanwhile, Spectre had turned his attention to the other letters that Ana had left, and his blood ran cold at the next pair of familiar names waiting innocently on the counter. He snatched up the letters, wide green eyes staring appalled at the names "Samuel" and "Felicity" inscribed on the envelopes. His hands trembled as he opened the former and removed the folded slip of paper within.

Dearest Samuel,

I have taken and written this note so many times, but you are the most difficult to write to—well, you and your sister. It seems that despite having the potential to be a great hero, you choose not to be. Unlike others, where I have taunts or remarks, I draw a blank for you. But if I know anything… It is that no matter how hard you try, there is no escaping choosing a side. I thought that a long time ago.

And I'm here to set one thing straight.

That won't be feasible forever. Eventually, you will have to make a choice… as will I. Family or your powers? 'Whichever way you choose, you cannot win.'

XOXOX Myst


Dear Felicity,

I don't normally write to a civilian, but you seem to be an interesting case. I have torn up this letter many times, debating if it was even worth sending or leaving. It isn't going to leave anyone with much of a clue. But I write it.

Do you ever feel that you live in the shadow of this city? Or perhaps it is the shadow of your older brother? One who has powers and you—you're just normal. But then again, maybe you like not being a superpowered being… or maybe you want more. Maybe you find yourself wondering if things can get better. 'Isn't it funny—aren't you funny? Pathetically naive and desperate to believe you can always find some good' is something I often think about. To think that living in a world with heroes makes a difference. But perhaps… You find some solace in it. How can I know? Maybe I just wrote this as a way to just vent.

Sincerely, Myst

E………

P.S. Just ignore that random letter, nothing to worry about there.


Well, neither letter read as particularly threatening, but that meager relief didn't prevent the mutant from sagging back against the bar, barely aware of the counter edge digging into the small of his back. She knew. She knew that the siblings had been present at the fountain.

Valerie's brow furrowed at the look on her friend's face. "Spectre?" she prompted gently, touching his arm to get his attention. "You're whiter than your namesake. What's wrong?"

The vigilante wordlessly handed her the letters, eyes still trained blankly somewhere where the far wall met the ceiling. "Samuel can't know about this," he finally murmured as she hesitantly accepted them. "Neither of them can know about this."

Though a myriad expressions flickered across Valerie's face as she read the letters, she remained silent, leaving Spectre to his thoughts.

Myst knew that the Alerios were at the park. She must have seen them. She must have seen them interacting with him. She must know now that they were associated with him, and it was entirely his fault.

"Damnit!" he spat, shoving away from the bar in a sudden burst of anger. Valerie's attention startled back to him at the curse, deep brown eyes wide with eyebrows arched into her hairline.

Spectre paced a few agitated steps away from the rest, pressing the fingertips of both hands to his forehead. He took a deep breath, then released it in a heavy sigh, shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry," he murmured over his shoulder to the others. "It slipped out."

He folded his arms tightly across his chest, shaking his head. "I'm angry at myself, really. Those poor kids... I should never have gotten them involved." Pale features twisted into a pained expression as he lifted a hand back to his head. "God, what was I thinking bringing them along?"

"You were thinking they'd be safer with you than alone," Valerie interjected, familiar with where this was going as she approached him.

"Well, clearly I was wrong," Spectre countered, grimace turning frustrated. "I wish I'd just left them in Chinatown... but even then they likely would've been in just as bad a situation if not worse." Catch-22: his hands were tied as so often they seemed to be. No matter what he did, it wasn't enough.

Valerie, meanwhile, had decided that this had gone far enough. "John," she firmly stopped him, clapping a hand to his shoulder and locking gaze when his eyes darted to hers. "Don't beat yourself up. What's done is done. Now we just need to work with what we have."

Spectre studied her face for a long moment before his gaze dropped, mouth drawn in a thin line, but he didn't protest further.

Valerie took a step back, folding her arms as she considered what Spectre had just informed her. "Okay, so the Alerios were with you at the event. Where are they now?"

Spectre's jaw tightened as the question stirred up deeper concern. "...I don't know. I had to leave them to deal with Wildfire and the airport." He grimaced, recalling that particular turn of events and what immediately preceded. "And worse, it all ended up being... too much for Samuel. He..." He released a breath. "He exploded."

Valerie's eyes widened. "Oh God."

Spectre nodded, mouth twisted in agreeing sympathy for the poor young aerokinetic. "I know he's had outbursts before, but that was the worst one I've ever seen. Something must've set him off."

Recalling more of the event, he turned his attention to Vanessa. "I saw you approach Ana at the park. Did you see where the Alerios went? Did they seem okay?"
 
Vanessa O'Toole aka Emerald Dream

She has something more of a twinkle in her eye now listening to the letters.

"Yes, I have a letter, and thank you for the nice words Specter. Val, do you remember the strange presentation at the Museum ? The wife of that industrialist was there, rather apologizing for her husband. What if Myst isn't the evil doer of this piece ? Coincidence we were all lured to the Park to watch the beginnings of that crazy man's presentation of instant superpowers ? She has had very skilled hackers working for her to get information. I've never had my phone hacked before today, not ever. She knows who I am. another thing that's never happened before. Yet there is no mention of using it against me. Here, Victoria, please go ahead and read my letter quietly to them."

Victoria nods and pulls out the letter, opening it and reading it quietly.

Dear Vanessa, Life has certainly been cruel to you. It seems that every time you think you take a step towards me that it is thwarted. You probably are ready to give up. I know I would be in your shoes. You made some friends only for them to vanish. Your relationship or love for someone is being ignored for now. Life is hardly fair, but how about a little advice? “We have to adapt to survive.” It’s the only way you are going to get anywhere. So I’ll let you know something. All the files, even when all the pages are there…. Are encoded. So I’ll let you know this- you’ll need to leave to find your answer. But don’t worry, everyone has their part to play.

" So there is that to consider. Why encode them? Part of the game ? Now, on to the next part. A goon working for mister Crazy Industrialist gave me another file, telling me it wasn't part of the original five. { She pulls it out and hands it to her sister} Something we can look at later and something to consider when we think about the who, how and why. "

She paces a little bit, thinking.

" I don't like how Myst is doing this, a fine manipulation. Involving friends and family in this way. Now the boy Samuel and his sister? He kind of skinny and has major Wind powers ? Yeah, I saw him, I bonked someone who got a little close, but I didn't stay long, I was in a hurry to catch up to Fury. That didn't work either. Last I remember Ana was tending to them. If I remember right, there was another guy there too. Seemed friendly thought. If they didn't get out before the cops got there, they might still be there... "

At this point Victoria goes to order some food from the man working the bar, quietly asking the others if they want something, Vanessa indicates positive and that Victoria knows what kinds of things to get for her.

Vanessa looks over at John.

" You know as well as I do, what is done is done, no use dwelling to heavily on the past Specter. "

} Of note for Valerie, this behavior is fairly natural for Vanessa. Her own social skills haven't completely developed or emerged yet and sometimes her moods can turn on a dime }

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Astroblaze @Huntress
 
Jonas Harris, Matthew Harris/Twiggy Colton Blake, Catherine Harris, and Ian Booker

Ian, Matthew, Colton, Catherine and Ian would walk into the bar.

For the briefest of moments, there seemed to be a fundamental shift in the air and a new person would just appear in the bar. "
You know for heroes, you certainly knows how to pick the dumpiest of places for your secret meetings. Bar that anyone can get into," he replied, spinning a glass in his free hand.

"
Jonas, what are you doing? Well, other than being an annoyance as normal," Matthew replied, looking at the case files and then back at Ian to get them out of here. He didn't trust his "brother" to not try and steal them.

"
Oh come now, we're all friends and family here. Of course, I like to help the heroes, it makes these things so much more fun. The classical hero versus villain would be so boring if we just get kept to the script. So I'm going off book top help you. I'm sure you all know the term McGuffin? You know that movie term for an item that seems to be super important but turn to be insigficant. You have all been so focused on them,, that you didn't consider something. What is Myst tryiing to distract you from? Has anyone seen dear sweet Aimee, or what about the cynical Cyndee? Perhaps some of you remember Miss Penelope. Or for that matter, how did Warren get himself mind controlled? None of you bothered to check, so focused on the cases, on the files like they hold all the answers to your problems. Get the files, get the files. Hell, some of you didn't even bother to stop to help stop Warren because the files= the files were so important. People were on the line, but god forbid, you lose the files. And here you are, down three allies. Oh, I must not forgot, Detective John Clark is in the hospital."

" Wait, wasn't the Detective the one who was bringing in Logan Campbell, our dear shapeshifter at the Met? Are you telling me that he escaped form custody and he's on the loose?" She asked.


" Mother, you win the door prize. It's only five dollars- but still the door prize. Ahh- where was I? I nearly forgot, our poor foreign exchange student who just wanted to go home, in the hospital. But the files. You know, I might as well tell you what makes these case so special since you all seem so obessesed with answers."

""That seems very helpful..."

" I don't trust it, what's the catch?" Ian asked.

"
No catch. As Myst has already done, the first case was the destruction by mind-control of an airplane. Oh yeah, a copy so you don't have to wait for the other two, scrambled of course. The next case will take place in the Bronx. It's a recreation of the case which showed another hole. Are you liable for the damage if you didn't know that you had powers in the first place? Who is liable in that damage? The next two will be in the lovely Staten Island and Brooklyn. Both deal with the concept of " What if powers that normally didn't interact, interacted and caused destruction, but neither party knew what did it. And the last case- that's a secret. But it's very close to something that one of you know about it. Bronx Island Mall, Coney Zoo and of course the Island. I'm sure a room of smart people can figure out. Oh, one more thing, the next three will happen at once" Jonas would disappear in the same glitch, leaving two organized files, the Queens and Redacted one.

" I think with that help, we can look into the case files. It's enough for me to figure it out. It looks like the Queens file is all here, but that being said, we still have three scrambled files and the redacted one. I'm still working on decoding hat one. Perhaps with those clues we can figure something out. Also, this seems very important, but with the spacing being as it is, we need to figure out where to go and whom should go where. We don't know the when yet though. And we are down three heroes as well, this is going to be a diffcult undertaking."


" That is if we trust Jonas's information. He could be lying."

@Gands @Astroblaze @Huntress @Nook
 
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"It's doubtful that she used a meta ability to accomplish the feat. This scale of hacking or broadcasting is just too much for any one person. It's more likely she hacked a number of radio towers or had some help from the inside and broadcasted her message through that."

"Or she could have been some kind of technomancer."

"Even then, she'd need some sort of amplifier to cover the entire city. Like I said, unlikely."

"But not impossible."

The other man simply shrugged his shoulders and leaned back.

On the other side of town from the other heroes and their allies, Violence is lounging in the booth in a different bar. Lazily holding a small glass of whisky, the black suited twin enjoyed the plush velvet cushion and dim lights. The bar Violence was patroning was split into two parts. The first floor of the building was a seedy pub who's only entrance faced a dirty alley. Hidden on the second level, however, was an exclusive club with a strict dress code and even stricter policy of secrecy. With soft music, high-end alcohol, and staff with tight lips, people like Violence found these places to be ideal for doing business.

"So what do you have for me?"

"Spectre was one of the individuals Myst contacted," Violence finally says after a pause. "Now he's got a team of heroes and mercenaries running around doing errands for him."

"Oh? Sounds like he's building a team."

"I don't think he's the one building it. From the looks of it, the ones he's recruited were also contacted by Myst."

"You think the Spectre's roster was planned by Myst?"

"It's possible," the twin states. Both men sit in silence for a moment, enjoying the soft music that filled silent void between them. Violence begins to speak again. "Agent Fury and Shielder were running around together today. Had a kid between them."

The other man spits out his drink. "Violence," he coughs between laughter. "I don't think that's how biology works."

Violence merely returns an unamused look. "The kid's name is Felix. He's related to the two somehow."

"Family?"

Violence nods his head as he remembers his interaction with the teen back at the zoo. "Not with Fury though, I think. What do you know about Shielder?"

"Besides that he's got more powers than his name implies? Digging deeper for you is going to..." the man trails off rubbing his thumb and index finger together. "What exactly did Myst contact Spectre about?"

"Find out what connections Felix has with the other two and I'll find what Myst wanted with the hero."

"I like the sound of that."

With that, their conversation came to a close. The two men continue to sit there for several minutes, sipping their drink. Eventually Violence's associate puts his empty glass down on the table and wordlessly gets up to leave. Violence himself remains in his seat for several more minutes before following suit.
 
Back on the street, Cameron takes a moment to reorient himself before walking briskly to the nearest bus stop.

Where to now?

After our run in with Fury and Shielder, I don't think it will be very wise to go see Spectre without some...preparation.

Anticipating a fight?

Anticipating a less than stellar first impression.


Having arrived to the bus stop, Cameron walks pass it up to an unmarked telephone pole. He raises his hand and raps his knuckles against it twice followed by drumming his fingers across its surface.

So you're going to prepare.

If the meeting does become complicated, we have no guarantee if our powers will work on him. Our abilities are psychic while his are more...difficult to classify.

Cameron turns to see a crack form in the air. The crack grows in size and tension until it bursts open to reveal a swirling crimson portal.

Fortunately, I know some people who are like him, or at least dabble in the less defined.

Stepping through the portal, Cameron disappears to his destination as the portal, having served its purpose, crumbles away leaving nothing but an empty bus stop and an unmarked telephone pole behind.
 
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Valerie
John Reidenbach/Spectre | Valerie Newmann
April 3, 2018 | afternoon | Manhattan, NYC—The Nook

Vanessa (@Gands), Colton (@LuckycoolHawk9), Twiggy (@LuckycoolHawk9), Ian (@LuckycoolHawk9), Catherine (@LuckycoolHawk9), post to GRC (NPC), call with Martin (@Astroblaze), Victoria (@Gands)
Myst (@LuckycoolHawk9), Draku (@Draku69), Samuel (@Astroblaze), Felicity (@Astroblaze), Ana (@Huntress), Agent Fury (@Astroblaze), Jonas (@LuckycoolHawk9), Wildfire (@LuckycoolHawk9), PW (@LuckycoolHawk9), John Clark (@LuckycoolHawk9), Aaron (@Minerva), Meghan (@Huntress)

Spectre struggled to control his disappointment. 'Love for someone'? Who was Myst referring to? Who did she know about that he didn't? Of course, that didn't necessarily mean romantic, but it struck him as such a phrase. He didn't want to make things awkward between himself and Vanessa if it wasn't him, and it'd be entirely too easy if it were.

Realizing he'd allowed himself to get sidetracked again, he mentally shook himself back into the present in time to take note of Vanessa's comments. He nodded, recalling the same. "If my memory serves me, the other individual was a vigilante who goes by Silent Thunder," he explained. "I've been wondering if he might be interested in helping us, but from what little I know of him, he doesn't seem to be all that active so far as heroics go."

In that case, the Alerios were safe, or would be by now, most likely. He made a mental note to check in on them once everything had settled down later that evening. If only Ana had stuck around long enough for him to ask...

Valerie, having missed much of the heroes' activity due to her own engagements, was paying close attention to the exchange of information and frowned at a familiar name.

"Agent Fury's gotten himself involved?" she asked Spectre.

The vigilante grimaced. "Yeah. He probably has the documents by now as well."

"Lovely," Valerie sighed, rolling her eyes.

Spectre's eyes flicked toward the kitchen at the sound of the back door swinging open and he found himself straightening his posture as a quartet of individuals walked out into the bar, one of whom he recognized as the warlock Colton, and another... He looked hard at the thin blond, analyzing his face until his features finally matched up to Twiggy. These must be their other allies, then. He dipped his head to the group, murmuring a word of greeting.

He started to lean toward Valerie but stiffened as with a buzz and a wave of disorientation, a new individual stood in their midst. His gaze sharpened suspiciously on the man, his initial bad vibe about the newcomer only encouraged by Twiggy's snapped retort to 'Jonas'' snide remark.

Listening to the dialogue between Jonas and the other four, Spectre turned his head slightly toward Valerie, keeping his eyes on the ongoing conversation. "I recognize the blond and the warlock, Colton," he murmured. "The blond is the metahuman speedster Twiggy—he helped me deal with Wildfire—and Colton helped with the shapeshifter here last night. Do you know the others?"

"That's Ian Booker and Catherine Harris," Valerie quietly explained. "They were PW's stand-ins at the Met. Dunno the monologuing teleporty guy, though."

"No, neither do I," Spectre hummed. "Twiggy seems to, though. He may be the individual who texted him at the airport."

With a final and rather alarming set of remarks about the next three recreations, Jonas disappeared as suddenly and dizzyingly as he had arrived, and Spectre turned his attention to Ian and Twiggy. He nodded in agreement with their observations, retrieving his phone from his belt. "First things first, whether or not we choose to believe this Mr. Jonas' information, better safe than sorry."

'"Bronx Island" though? That's not right. This guy needs his marbles replaced to scramble those names so badly.' Mentally compiling the locations that Jonas had listed, he took a moment to unscramble what the man must have meant, then quickly unlocking his phone, he pulled up the GRC app and drafted a new post, using speech-to-text to hasten the process.

LabSpook0117 has created a new thread "URGENT - NEED SURVEILLANCE" in the subforum "Spectre's Network"

LabSpook0117 said:
I need eyes on Staten Island Mall, Bronx Zoo, and Coney Island, as many as can be spared. Something serious may be going down there shortly involving accidental power-use and powers clashing respectively. Any hero intervention at any of those locations would also be appreciated.

Brief announcement complete, he hit send and held up his phone. "In a matter of minutes, whether or not something does go down, we'll have people ready and waiting to let us know and take preventative measures."

Valerie's lips quirked in a knowing grin. "Your very own network. Sounds like someone else we know."

Spectre shot her a smile, returning his phone to his belt. "Hey, if it works."

His periphery caught sight of Wildfire tucked away in a corner, reminding him of the potential threat the man posed even while unconscious.

"We should be careful what we discuss in front of Wildfire as long as Myst has her hooks in him," he cautioned. "The likelihood that she can hear what we're saying through his ears is extremely high."

Valerie choked on her drink. She turned on the vigilante, eyes wide. "Sorry, you arrested who now?"

"You heard me right," Spectre affirmed. "I wouldn't wonder if Myst is the reason he's been missing for so long."

Speaking of whom... Stepping back to the booth where his captive lay, still swaddled in the blanket he'd snatched from the ambulance, Spectre laid a hand across the man's brow, his own tightening in a concerned frown.

"It's been at least a quarter-hour," he observed, mostly to himself. "Shouldn't Wildfire be awake by now? I didn't hit him that hard."

A buzzing from his hip drew his attention back to his belt as he retrieved his phone from its pocket. The vigilante released a breath of relief at a familiar caller ID. "Sorry, I have to take this," he addressed the rest of the group, stepping back as he accepted the call. "I'll just be a moment."

With that, he turned his attention to the call. "Martin, thank God. Can you get away in short order? It's urgent."

"I'll do my best," Martin sighed. "Head office seems to have grown accustomed to this, at least. What happened? Where are you?"

"No no, I'm fine," Spectre hastened to assure the Irishman. "I have an unconscious captive. He was mind-controlled, so I was forced to knock him out to bring him in, and I want to make sure he wasn't concussed."

"How long has he been unconscious?"

Spectre winced. "At least fifteen minutes, if not closer to a half-hour."

That got the nurse's attention. "He's been unconscious for half an hour."

Spectre grimaced at the alarm clear in Martin's sharp tone. "Exactly. I'm starting to get worried."

"Right." Spectre could picture his harried friend pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "I'm on my way."

"I was also hoping you might be able to give us some insight on how he's being mind-controlled and thus how we could rescue him from it," the vigilante added.

"Biochemistry is not my area, Spectre," Martin noted wryly. "What could I do?"

"I know," Spectre conceded, "but it seems like the type that requires some form of biological alteration, and if anyone can find something in or on a body that doesn't belong, I'm confident it's you."

Martin sighed. "Well, I appreciate your faith in me. I'll see what I can do. Where am I going?"

Spectre had to smile a bit at the question. "You know that bar the three of us have visited every now and again—the Nook? Yeah, we're there."

Martin chuckled. "Small world."

"Certainly seems to be." Speaking of which— "Also, I've just been informed that Detective Clark and the exchange student who was passed out at the airport were admitted to the hospital. Do you know anything?"

"Is the latter of the two Japanese?" Martin clarified. "Detective Clark and a young Mr. Aaron Shimazu were assigned to my team. We just got them out of the ER a short while ago."

Spectre lifted his head. "How are they?"

"Mr. Shimazu was simply dehydrated—he should be alright with a few hours to rest. The detective, though..." Spectre could envision Martin's sympathetic grimace in his tone. "well, he was in a car accident. He'll be on his back for a while."

Valerie, meanwhile, turned her attention from her preoccupied friend to the others present. "We non-metas can stay here and sort out the files we already have," she suggested, lifting a hand to the messenger bag at her hip. "It'll be tricky without the pages still in the other two files currently in Agent Fury's possession, but I'm sure we can get somewhere."

Spectre, meanwhile, was wrapping up his conversation. "You're coming from work, right?"

"Of course," Martin affirmed. "I expect I'll be there in ten minutes or so."

"Great. If I'm not here when you arrive, Valerie should be, along with a few of our allies."

"Alright. I'll look out for her."

"Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Martin." With that, Spectre ended the call.

Guess it was time to break the bad news. The vigilante turned to the others present. "Well, I'll just get to the point," he announced. "Since none of us have the final two documents in hand, that means that most likely Agent Fury has them by now, or is trying his darnedest to make that the case. Fortunately, I spoke with him at the park about the matter, against my own desires, and he is doing so in order to sell them back to us—for a steep price, of course," he added wryly. "Given the time-frame of the event, he expects us to meet him at his office at around four o'clock." His phone had listed the current time as about half-past three. "I can lead the way. I tracked him back to his office once a while back—eavesdropped on a meeting to gather information about how he conducts his business," he elaborated. "I've always suspected he knew I was there, though, and his 'you know where to find me' at the park a couple hours ago only confirms that. That also means we can assume with relative safety that he is still working there. Of course," he noted, lip twisting in annoyance, "there's always the distinct possibility that he's just using my knowledge to screw us over, but he also wants to get paid if I know anything about his priorities, so any deception should be a temporary prank at worst. I was assuming that we would all rendezvous back here when everything is said and done, but that was before—" he nodded to the far corner booth— "Meghan got drunk—" to the back door— "Ana left, and—" to Vanessa— "you expressed discomfort about keeping the bar involved." His gaze swept over the group. "Any recommendations for an alternative?"
 
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Vanessa aka Emerald Dream

She seems to take a deep breath. Her small laptop is out and as she listens she is busy tapping away at it with a furious speed. When John stops, she looks up still tapping.

" You seem to be fairly confident that this Fury fellow is more trustworthy than not ? Since I don't know him at all, I will trust your judgement there. I am right now letting loose a squadron of sophisticated drones towards Coney Island. They won't be of as much use anywhere else. Victoria or Ian can run them while I am out with you. I am making an improvised brain wave scrambling projection device. In case mister flying mental powers guy shows up and isn't friendly, there is a chance they could be helpful. I can make two, maybe three. They will look like headbands. I don't know if it will stay with you { looking at John } when you use your powers. "

Then she looks at the unconscious Wildfire. " I am not an expert on mind control in the least mind you. But I have studied a bit on the subject. It may or may not help your unconscious friend. You may want to check his body and clothes for a more electronic solution since he is unconscious anyway. "

She pulls out her bug detector and hands it to Victoria.

"In the off chance it is electronic in nature, you should be able to detect broadcast with this, it's my spare'

Back to looking at John. " I suspect we'll have to go in costume" ( Her face grows an irritated expression ) "That Minotaur guy at the Zoo knocked me into a popcorn stand, my uniform smelled of melted butter. { she turns to Victoria } Not one word ! I'll need a few minutes to finish drying it off before we head out to that meeting ? "

She looks over at each of the others, checking if she missed anything...

@Astroblaze @LuckycoolHawk9 @Huntress
 
Reed
Icarus
MrHarris
Reed Overton/Agent Fury | Icarus Valaith/Shielder | Nicholas Harris
April 3, 2018 | afternoon | NYC—Bethesda Fountain, Central Park

collab with @slifer and @LuckycoolHawk9, text to Victoria (@Gands), Fey (@Astroblaze)
Vengeance (@jeshem), Jonas (@LuckycoolHawk9)

Fury slowed to a halt in the gold-tinted shade, setting Derrick on his feet but maintaining a firm grip on the transformed penguin's arm as narrowed violet eyes darted about his environment. Bethesda Fountain rose clear in the afternoon sun only a stone's throw away from his current position, visible through the trees and the red and blue flaring lights of the emergency vehicles lining the side of the road. More squad cars sat parked alongside the fountain than when he had scanned the park from the tower roof but the activity about the area seemed to have died down somewhat, panic-fueled rioting mostly dispersed and most troublemakers already removed from the situation. Squinting across the grounds toward the fountain itself, the mercenary could still make out the form of the orchestrator standing nearby. Excellent: the guy hadn't made a break for it with all the blue present.

Turning away to the left, he stepped into the treeline alongside the wooded path, aiming to make a wide arc toward the fountain hopefully to avoid any cops that might want to make nuisances of themselves. As he walked, gait calm but driven, he pulled out his phone and texted Icarus:

〔As soon as I have the documents in hand, you nab penguin guy. Good?〕

Shielder looked at his phone, checking out his texts. Before he could go to Fury's text, he saw one from... Victoria. Reading the message made him groan at the missed opportunity. Felix was more important anyway, and he had a tight schedule today: this, then the date, then his special meeting... Speaking of, he might want to ask Fury about it later. For now though, he had to focus.

It took him some time, but he responded to Victoria's message, going brutally honest and saying that Felix was in danger from Vengeance and that he was sorry for just seeing the message now, which was 100% the truth. After the apologies and the request for a meeting, Shielder responded to Fury, doing a quick look-around from the tree he had climbed in before responding to the babe.

〔No, this is not good! We need a plan! I could get him out, but that would be obvious. You have a suggestion?〕

Fury quirked a painted eyebrow at the response. 〔Icarus, have you ever known me to be concerned about being obvious?〕 he texted back. 〔I couldn't give two shits what Mr. Orchestrator thinks. I'm not here to be nice to him. At least, beyond what serves me ;)〕

Shielder needed a plan. That was fair, and the mercenary already knew what to tell him. 〔I have a plan, and it's very simple: we go in, dodging cops and idiots as necessary, meet with this Mr. Harris guy, and exchange Derrick for the two documents. He knows we're coming, you know. But here's the part he doesn't know: soon as I've got the docs in my possession and his back is turned, we snatch Derrick right back and get him the fuck out of there ASAP. If I gotta crack some skulls to achieve that, I right as hell will do. Don't stress: I've got it all figured out :]〕 He paused, remembering a detail, and added on 〔And hey: if that name is as familiar as I think it is, he ain't exactly a nice guy. Rescuing our poor Mr. Penguin can only benefit your rep.〕

Icarus sighed, walking a bit further until he received Fury's text. 〔It's not you being obvious, it's me. Though at this rate with the drones and Emerald Dream's meddling... we should be able to go ahead with it. What do we do with Mr. Penguin when we have him? You have to front me and give me coordinates. We do have to set it up somehow, and my big, scary tree monster isn't here right now. Going through trees with other people is difficult. Deposit him under a tree and I can do what I have to do to get him to safety... which is where?〕 Evidently, Icarus had more questions than answers, which made him wish they had more time to plan this.

Oh, of course: he hadn't considered Icarus' tree-walking ability. 〔Doesn't matter where you take him,〕 he texted back. 〔Just out of sight. Maybe carry him off into some back alley in the city. Give him time to bolt so the guy can't snag him back immediately.〕 Icarus seemed awfully stressed out about this whole affair. Fury had full confidence in the antihero's ability to handle himself, but if he really needed the assurance... 〔I was gonna pretend not to know you, but if you really don't care about being seen working with me, I can be less subtle about distracting Harris to buy you time.〕

Icarus thought for a minute before replying. 〔Fine. I'll try to bring the penguin to a safe place. Like I said: you give me a general idea of where you'll be and I can find you. Tell the penguin so he doesn't fight me when I grab him. It would be awkward if he tried to run and that made all of a waste of time. I'm sure that the trade is going to happen soon. I need to know this stuff now.〕 He huffed and waited, thinking of all the plans he had laid out for that day—with and without Fury involved.

Derrick whimpered. "I don't want to go back to the mean man. I don't wanna go. He did bad things to me, horrible terrible things," he said, not liking the fact he was just an object to be traded.

Fury glanced down at the young man trembling at his side, quirking a skeptical eyebrow.

"Buddy, it'll be fine," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're not staying with him. My friend from the roof is snatching you as soon as I've got my documents. Do yourself a favor and listen to him."

〔The trade is happening as soon as I reach him, yeah. Penguin knows, tho whether he chooses to listen is more up in the air.〕 Violet eyes darted about his environment as he hit send, rapidly becoming uncomfortably aware of how long he'd been standing still. 〔But I gotta move—this place is crawling and I don't have much time before Orchestrator'll probably just fucking leave.〕

The merc hesitated there, staring at his messages with Shielder for a moment.

〔You got this.〕

The moment he sent the text, he could've smacked himself in the face. 'Why the fuck did I just say that. Agent fucking Fury is not a soft and encouraging person.'

Dropping his phone back into his pocket, he pinched the bridge of his nose, lip curling in a slight, exasperated snarl. That man confused his fucking head. Why did he have to be so damn attractive and make his life so difficult?

He shook his head with a sigh. 'Figure out where Icarus stands in your life later. Right now, it's time to fuck with some heroes.'

Straightening, he set off at his usual strong pace on the final curve of his trek toward the fountain and his target, Derrick in tow.

Harrison
Nicholas Harris was gone, or at least the man everyone associated with the appearance. There was something good that Nick had learned to conceal his actual appearance under many layers. This was just another appearance in the long line he had programmed in the arsenal. For now, if anyone asked, he was Harrison Reynolds—though that was subject to change.

He did still have the files, but he had purposefully placed them down. He waited for them to arrive.

Shielder looked at his phone the second it vibrated. He looked at the message, quickly scanning it. A warm feeling filled Shielder at the sign of the message, making his heart pulse almost painfully with the almost disgustingly happy feeling. Reed believed in him, and somehow that felt better than almost anyone else telling him he had this. He had to admit, sometimes he really did feel like he didn't have this, but then again, he had accidentally caused his own father's death, so that was a thing.

Shaking his head to clear himself of the negative thoughts, he sent Reed a ❤️ emoji before he thought it through. Then he did a quick Google Maps search, looking up where he was in comparison to the Bethesda Fountain. After getting the general location, he tucked his phone away and started to walk briskly, soon disappearing out of sight into a tree.

As Fury neared the edge of the wooded area, he frowned to himself, eyes narrowing at the stranger who he had from a distance assumed was Mr. Harris. 'Huh...' Either the man could shapeshift or camouflage himself—he was a known meta with largely unknown abilities, after all—or he had in fact skipped the park when the police started arriving, leaving a proxy in his place.

His phone buzzed against his hip as he stepped out onto the brick, keeping a firm grip on Derrick's wrist. Damnit, another text from Icarus. He couldn't check now, otherwise Harris might suspect a ploy. Hopefully it wasn't important.

An observant glance about his surroundings as he strode toward the waiting figure drew his attention to the barren nature of the crowded expanse. Shit, there was nowhere he could conveniently deposit Derrick to leave him within striking distance of the trees. Oh well, Icarus was fast: he could handle slight inconvenience.

In a few confident strides, the mercenary stood over the blond stranger, violet eyes staring down coolly at him. "Gonna guess you're either Harris or one of his people," he observed brusquely. "I got your penguin, though it was much more of a damn pain in my ass than I originally anticipated. You got my prize?"

There was something about layers that amused Nicholas. If there was one thing he learned in life, it was that you needed to have plans in place. He hadn't been using his real form for the longest time. It was easier to have some sort of disguise in this world. If nobody knew what you looked like, then nobody could pin blame on you, or for that matter, make things worse for your family.

The name Shadow wasn't his superhero name because he was good at controlling the night or making shadows appear. His name was Shadow for one simple reason: Nicholas Harris wore layers, the actual man a shadow that nobody knew about—not even his own children. Well, that was a lie: Jonas knew the real him.

Of course, there were two acts he could play now. He could admit that he was the same man Fury was looking for and let the ruse go. He wasn't going to let that happen. The other option was to play dumb, and he was especially good at that one. Being clueless was something he had mastered perfectly.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, but there was a man here earlier—gray hair, disheveled scientist—he shoved these in my hand, spoke some nonsense and mentioned that if someone came and mentioned a penguin to let them know to take the files. It seems he doesn't want the bird: something about a bigger game. As I said, nonsense." He gestured for the files and the penguin looked over, picking them up and giving them to Fury. The man who didn't say his name would walk away for a moment before turning back. "He mentioned that whoever brought the bird could keep him. Though I don't know what that means. Name's Colin Cuyle."

Well, shit. So much for that plan. Fury already had his phone out texting a quick message to Shielder as his other hand tucked the documents safely into his vest.

〔Call off the heist. Harris says we can keep him. Though if you want to still be playing enemies, feel free to snag him from me ;] 〕

Honestly, that 'Cuyle' fellow's whole spiel sounded rather like a classic playing-dumb act, unless Harris was legitimately stupid enough to cast off important business onto some random dude and expect it to go well. Fury wasn't going to think too hard about it, though, because he didn't give a shit. 'Bigger game,' though? That sounded like fun—unless it had any association with that bitch Mystification, in which case they'd have problems. When you're a criminal interacting with other criminals, there are some things you just don't do, and she up and did one of the big ones.

"'Kay then, li'l birdie," he humphed, releasing Derrick's arm and lifting his hand in a vague gesture about the park at large. "Fly, be free, I guess. Do your shit, make some friends, make some trouble—it's more fun that way." He flashed the young man a devilish grin.

Icarus felt his phone vibrate, prompting him to stop for a moment and duck behind a tree. He opened his phone and read the message, reading it again before sighing. Well, this was kind of a waste of time. 〔I'm not coming. He's not in danger. I will get Felix and get ready. Love you. ❤️ Icarus texted before walking away, his new goal to pick up Felix and get ready to spend some time with Agent Fury, otherwise known as Reed.

Fury was distracted from Derrick's fleeing figure by his phone buzzing in his hand. Glancing over the first part of Shielder's text on his lockscreen, he nodded to himself. That wasn't much of a surprise.

As he turned away from Cuyle—Harris, Harris' accomplice, Harris' random stranger, whatever—he lifted his head at eyes on him and spotted a young officer staring at him tensely from across the mostly empty brick-paved expanse, hand on her radio. He coolly scanned her, observing her nervously stiff but ready stance and the afternoon light glinting off of the strange, cracked discoloration that framed her face, and smirked. After so many years in his field, he knew a metahuman when he saw one, even one that had skipped on the costume. Dipping his head to her, he promptly turned on a heel and strode off into the park.

Once the woodland hid his figure, he opened his messages to read Shielder's full text—and nearly dropped his phone at not one, but two heart emojis on his screen. He clapped a hand to his mouth, face rapidly heating up under the paint. 'Fucking shit. What is he doing? Why is he flirting with me? Does this mean I-' He shook his head briskly, dispelling the train of thought. 'No, don't assume. People flirt sometimes. It's not like I didn't start it.' But after everything that had happened... Fury shook his head again, releasing a frustrated sigh. 'Heroes first, then Icarus. Don't get distracted.'

Gathering himself, he set off again, course set for his office.
 
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Fey
Fey Maslan
April 3, 2018 | afternoon | NYC—Bethesda Fountain, Central Park

Templar (@Minerva), Agent Fury (@Astroblaze)
Spectre (@Astroblaze), Emerald Dream (@Gands), Draku (@Draku69), Nicholas Harris (@LuckycoolHawk9)

Well, that had cleaned up relatively easily. Fey was grateful she and Templar weren't really needed, if she were honest: there were enough high-profile personalities involved here that any complications would have escalated to serious concerns in a matter of seconds. She had been surprised not to have encountered any of the heroes that had been named as actively present, but hey, they were busy people: their concerns must've moved on. There were really only a few individuals unaccounted for that she was specifically interested in, like oh shit when did he get here.

The young cop hastily elbowed Templar's arm, wide eyes trained on a familiar muscular suited figure standing mere feet away. "Templar," she hissed urgently. "I've got Fury in sight: one o'clock by the fountain."

She clasped the radio pinned to her shoulder, turning toward it. "I'm calling it in."

Upon returning her attention to the mercenary, she found herself staring straight into violet eyes. She froze. "Shit."

Agent Fury looked her up and down, his gaze uncomfortably sharp even over the distance. Then he nodded to her, his painted mouth curling into a grin, and was walking away at a brisk clip toward the treeline. Snapping back to the present, Fey grabbed her radio. "I've got Agent Fury leaving Bethesda Fountain headed east." With that brief report, she turned her attention to Templar, waiting to see what he would do.
 
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JohnR
John Reidenbach/Spectre
April 3, 2018 | afternoon | Manhattan, NYC—The Nook

Vanessa (@Gands), Twiggy (@LuckycoolHawk9), Colton (@LuckycoolHawk9), Valerie (@Astroblaze)
Wildfire (@LuckycoolHawk9), Martin (@Astroblaze), Agent Fury (@Astroblaze), Silent Thunder (@Draku69), Shielder (@slifer)

Spectre found himself smiling as Vanessa continued. She was so clever, thinking of all that and putting it into action. He couldn't understand for the life of him why she was so convinced she was an extraneous part of the team. Though maybe that was in part caused by his own feelings for her...

'No, stop it, this is not the time for sentiment.' With some effort he managed to swallow back the smile in favor of a serious and professional expression, giving her a brisk nod. "Smart thinking. Yeah, we have a little while until we have to go. Don't worry about the headband staying on: I can control what does and does not turn intangible so long as it's in contact with me. And fortunately so: otherwise, I'd, uh—" he looked down at himself— "well, I'd have some trouble keeping a uniform."

He glanced toward Wildfire at her mention of the metahuman's state. "I wouldn't worry about him hiding any electronics under his clothing because—" he winced— "he's... not wearing any." Wow that was uncomfortable to say. "That's why I called my friend to take a look at him, alongside making sure he's not otherwise injured. Martin's a nurse at a nearby hospital—any strange marks, surgical scars such as from an implant, or the like, he'd recognize a lot more readily than I can."

"As for Fury... Trust him?" He shook his head, lips pursed. "Absolutely not. But I know what he's like. He may not always be predictable, but his motives are straightforward enough."

He looked about the bar, observing everyone present before focusing on the other two metahumans. "Twiggy, Colton, can you join Emerald and I to meet with Fury? Assuming everything goes smoothly, we should be back here within the hour." He glanced to the wall clock, noting the time. "I'm guessing Silent Thunder and Shielder will not be joining us. If they were, most likely they'd be here by now." He turned his attention to the others of the group. "The rest of you will stay here, keep an eye on Warren and Meghan and sort out what you can of the information we have thus far. Val—" the young woman lifted her head— "can you keep an eye out for Martin if we leave before he arrives? I'm not sure when he'll get here."

Val nodded. "Of course."

Spectre nodded to her and turned back to the group at large. "When we return, we can relocate to another rendezvous point, or disband until tomorrow. Either way, we'll have all our information and we can move forward from there as necessary."
 
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Samuel
Felicity
Samuel Alerio | Felicity Alerio
April 3, 2018 | late afternoon | Queens, NYC—Samuel's home

each other

Felicity had planned to drive herself and Samuel back home, but her brother insisted on taking the wheel when they reached his little green Subaru. The teen kept a nervous eye on him for the first several minutes, but he drove remarkably steadily, though his hands clutched the wheel with a white-knuckled grip.

All the same, she found herself releasing a quiet breath when they finally pulled into the driveway of his modest suburban home. Samuel threw the gearshift into park and stepped out onto the driveway, and, hugging herself in an attempt to retain some semblance of body heat, Felicity hurried around the front of the sedan and followed him up the sidewalk into the shade of the front porch. She watched him worriedly as the young man cursed anxiously under his breath, shaking hands fumbling with the keys in the doorknob. When he finally managed to get the door unlocked, he dropped his backpack haphazardly on the floor and stumbled into the living room. Felicity shut and locked the door and returned his keys to a pocket of his bag as she set it up neatly against a wall before following Samuel into the living room as he collapsed into the couch. She shivered as a momentary gust of wind turned the soaked sleeves of her sweater to ice.

The teen looked down at her clothing and had to grin at her state. Standing here in the comfort of her brother's quiet home, the chaos of the park seemed distant and unimportant. She felt like she'd been hit by a fire hose, but it was just water, and she looked a bit ridiculous fully clothed and soaking wet standing in the middle of the living room.

"Wow," she giggled. "That was really cold." She squeezed her shoulder and winced. "I think I might have a bruise, too."

Samuel didn't seem to have heard her, long fingers tangling in fistfuls of curly brown hair as he curled trembling into himself.

Felicity tilted her head, observing him with lips pursed, then huffed and stepped over to him, plopping down onto the couch beside him.

"Why the long face, sour puss?" she pouted, draping herself playfully over him.

Samuel started at her touch and seemed about to jump away before he recognized her. "Felicity, get off me," he snapped. "I'm not in the mood right now."

Felicity blew a raspberry at him, shifting more of her weight onto his shoulder.

"Get off me!" Samuel snarled in a sudden burst of anger, shoving her away. Felicity's heart leapt into her throat as a sudden gale doubled the force of his push, nearly throwing her roughly onto her back. As she recovered from the sudden fright, shock turned to irritation. "Sammy, come on, lighten up," she protested. "I'm fine, you're fine, everything's okay."

"No! It's not okay!" Samuel shouted, throwing his hands into his lap. "Because you almost got yourself killed!" Springing from the couch in a fit of energy, he whirled on her, a burst of wind whirling with him and rattling the shade of a nearby floorlamp. "I'm already scared of myself and everyone else, and then you go and do things like that and nearly give me a heart-attack!" He gestured erratically, pale eyes wide, staring straight into her own but not quite seeming to see her. "Felicity, you don't understand what it's like for me. I have an incalculably deadly power at my fingertips and I have absolutely no idea how to control it. Every time I have an emotional outburst like that I have a chance to- to- t-t-to kill someone!"

His hands were trembling now. Slender shoulders shook with uneven breaths. "Do you have- any idea how it feels, to know that I have- I have that kind of power and I'm completely unable to control it? I-I just- I don't want to- I don't- I-" Tears tracked their way down his pale cheeks now as his words turned to incoherent stuttering, fingers almost tearing at soft brown locks.

Felicity was at his side in an instant, letting him cling to her as she held him. "Whoa hey, Sammy, it's okay. I'm sorry."

Samuel couldn't form a response, only pressing closer into her shoulder as shaky gasps wracked his thin frame.

"I'm sorry," Felicity repeated, more quietly. "I don't know how to help you. I just want you to be confident in yourself."

Samuel was silent for a long moment, just struggling to breathe normally. "I just want to be normal," he finally managed to whisper.

"You're still human, you know," Felicity reminded him. "You can just, you know, make the wind do your bidding, which is heckin' cool. I gotta admit I'm a little jealous that you got powers and I didn't."

"It's heckin' scary is what it is," Samuel weakly retorted, "and I hardly control it. The wind will just as readily knock me off my feet as whoever I'm trying to aim it at." With a heavy sigh, he pulled away from her, hands on her shoulders and eyes downcast. "I wish I could give my powers to you: you'd be so much better with them than me."

Felicity's mouth twisted in pain for her brother. "But it doesn't have to be that way, Sammy. You can do it. I believe in you."

"No! I can't!" Samuel pulled away, but the new brightness in his pale eyes was fear, not anger. "You don't understand, I'm not like you." He looked away, hugging himself with brow furrowed. "I'm no hero," he muttered bitterly. "I'm not strong, or brave... I'm just a scared kid with powers he doesn't know how to control." His head sank lower. "That's all I've ever been."

"Oh, come on, Sammy," Felicity sighed. "You're selling yourself short."

"Am I?" Samuel snapped his head back up, a sudden rushing wind setting the mantlepiece decorations wobbling precariously. "Am I really? I'm not even active and my record's already stained. I'm a prime target for way more hatred than I ever asked for simply because of genes I didn't want." He looked away again, impatient energy fading as rapidly as it had come. "I wish it would just go away and leave me alone."

Stepping past Felicity, he collapsed back onto the couch, posture curled inward and head bowed, a gentle, unsettled breeze tousling his curly hair and tugging at the hem of his jacket.

Felicity turned over her shoulder toward him, face drawn, wishing she knew what to tell him. She sighed, turning her attention to her soaked clothing. "I need a hot shower, and a change of clothes."

"Leave your clothes outside the bathroom," Samuel mumbled absently. "I'll throw them in the dryer."

"Okay."

Felicity turned toward the hall but hesitated, looking back to her brother. She had to say something, but what could she even say in response to all this?

Samuel gave no indication of noticing her attention, and eventually Felicity, sighing, gave up on the right words coming and stepped out of the living room, familiar paths leading her to the main bathroom. The teen paused with a hand on the door frame, looking back longingly toward the living room. Samuel remained slumped unmoving on the couch, head in his hands.

Felicity's lip twisted, grieving for her brother, as she turned back and stepped into the bathroom.
 
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