Fractured Dimensions

rissa

the clairvoyant pterodactyl
Original poster
VENGEANCE
DONATING MEMBER
MYTHICAL MEMBER
In the everyday haste of city life, of metahuman and human relations, of superheroes, sidekicks, and their villainous counterparts, one must remember to never let the mediocrity of life stand in the way of excellence.

Because your best is not enough — Your all is not enough — Your hope is not enough.

If you must fight, you must give every ounce of your being to the thrill of battle.

If you must terrorize, you must give every ounce of your being to the call of destruction.

If you must defend, you must give every ounce of your soul to protect your fellow brothers and sisters.

If you must witness and never assist, you must give every ounce of your being to document, report, and aid those who can.

Because in this world, hope only gets you so far — it’s the real tangible results that move you along the path Fate has laid out for you. Continuous improvement upon yourself is the only way to live, the only way to die, and the only thing to strive for.


My father once told me the second most dangerous thing in the world was mediocrity— the first? Hope.

I never quite understood what he meant, but now… I think—I think I do.​


N E V E R N O R M A L
Side Arc: Fractured Dimensions
Phase 1: Ex Malo Bonum​


MILLENNIUM CITY, NEW YORK

Millennium City wasn’t your average city, even if you took into account the advancement in society over the past five decades. The hub of metahuman relations, superhero culture, and the capitalist nature of its denizens led the way for Millennium to become something straight out of a comic book. Its skyline jutted into the heavens and its bowels dug deep into the earth, and the people that called the city home found comfort in the constant commotion, in the barrage of chaos, and the realization that for every supervillain hellbent on their destruction, there was a superhero to save the day.

Most cities were pretty; pretty clean, pretty messy, pretty busy or pretty lame— but Millennium, she was gorgeous. By day or night, morning or afternoon, before or after the destruction of half a borough due to villainy and heroism, Millennium City was a sight to behold, an experience to witness, a breathtaking wonder that defied the expectations of so many.

No matter the day, the city thrummed with continuous energy; excitement and fear and curiosity and courage — the great city has everything to offer — excitement bubbled in the hearts of visiting tourists, witnessing Millennium for the first time, in children who hugged their favorite super in the form of a plushie tight against their chest, and fangirls and boys, who stood in line to receive an autograph from their favorite superhero or heroine.

The city was always abuzz, always alive, always waiting for the next…

!!!BREAKING NEWS!!!

—MCTK Radio—

“Aaand we’re back! Sorry folks, but our bosses would kill us if our sponsors didn’t get their time on air.”

“That’s right, Kel, but let’s get back to the news at hand — Our eyes on the ground are reporting three separate disturbances this afternoon! Trust City Bank has been robbed, downtown is in a scramble, and something—“

“—Or someone—“

“Is causing a raucous across the bay from Star Tower!”

“Our eyes on the ground haven’t given any specific details regarding the disturbance near Star Tower, but downtown is in shambles according to Miss Scalley here on HoloTel —the pictures she snapped are horrifying, take a look if you’ve got your holowatch connected to HoloTel News!— and the MetaCity Police are documenting the crime scene as we speak. Surely they’ll be calling in the Agency to get a super out there A.S.A.P.”

“Oh I have no doubt about that, Kel! But it looks like we need to take another sponsor break — this is Eli and Kel with MCTK Radio — and we’ll be right back with more local news!”


Monty hunched over with his hands on his knees, breathing deeply and erratically, alternating between deep inhales through his mouth and shallow coughs from overexertion. He flung the cream-colored backpack off his back with distaste plain on his face and took a seat beside it. With a soft moan be grabbed a protein bar from his pocket and nibbled on it, head swinging back and forth as he surveyed the alley he was told to wait in.

Years worth of dirt and grime clung to the pavement, as did flyers, crushed HoloTel News discs, food only worthy of rats, and things he didn’t dare try and figure out.

“That wasn’t a very nice way to handle my merchandise, Monty.”

The young man in question jumped slightly and glanced to his left — even in the early afternoon the light found it hard to permeate this location — and out of the darkness came a figure. Tall, neither thin nor bulky, skin reminiscent of brushed bronze, and wearing a suit that was tailored for him and him alone.

“Erm,” Monty squirmed a little, his instinct telling him to get up and run, but somehow, even after all this time, the man's presence gave him pause. He could feel himself beginning to vibrate — not out of fear, though of course there was some of that — but because he’d been sitting for nearly five minutes now, and per usual, five minutes was too long. So he stood up slowly, grabbed the cream-colored backpack as he did, and handed it over without looking.

“Nice job kid,” The man said slowly, though he didn’t reach forward to take the bag. “You’re always on time, never get caught, and don’t talk back. I could use a man like you on my team full time.”

“Sorry,” Monty replied a little too quickly, “I already work six jobs—“

“To take care of your family, yes, I know. But why work six when you only have to work one? One job with me will give you enough to move your family out of those old Rosewood Heights apartments and somewhere nicer. Could even afford better doctors for your ma’. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

For once, Monty froze and didn’t move. He’d never told the man where he lived, nor that his mother was sick and needed to attend doctor appointments three times a week. The man in front of him laughed, took the bag from him at long last, and shrugged his shoulders before turning to go.

“Give it some thought — in the meantime, laylow and wait for my next call.”

When the man finally disappeared, Monty turned to go as well, in the opposite direction, shoulders slumped with worry. He walked — he didn’t want to run, he had ran all the way to Virginia and back to ease away the guilt before coming here — through the seedier parts of Millennium City, hoping that was the last job he ever had to do for Mr. Brachlan. He knew it wasn’t though and no matter the difficulties Monty ran into, it was hard for his mood to stay sour.

So by the time he was three blocks away from that alley, Monty had a pep in his step once again, and wondered where he could get a decent meal.


In the hustle and bustle of the ever growing city, where do you stand? Where do you belong?

CALLING ALL METAHUMANS
Feel free to introduce your characters however you wish! React to the happenings in the broadcast (or ignore them), take action, or simply have your character performing their day-to-days.

Monty is approachable, but I would like you to get your solo introduction out first! Hit me with any future collab ideas or concepts — the next GM post will come after the next few rounds of posting.

If you have any questions, hit me up in the server!
 
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MILLENIUM CITY, NEW YORK

Valeria sat at home, staring out the window of her penthouse apartment. The veranda was filled with luscious plants, all cared for with an extreme sense of carefulness. A scene of perfection, a glimpse of vitality, and a view that could kill. Someone falling from such a height had no chance of surviving, not in the slightest. Valeria pondered what kind of things she might contemplate if she saw her life flash before her eyes. What kind of epiphanies might she have? All of it interested her. She had no interest in throwing herself from such a height though. She just simply sought to better herself. After the death of her husband, she couldn't focus on anything else.

Ria....

Valeria continued to stare. She wished an epiphany would hit her, maybe in the form of sending a new husband her way. She grew a small bit lonely, even being surrounded by the upper class in Millenium City. All the parties were boring and filled with people who could do nothing but waste away their time, unable to burn all through all of the money they accumulate. They wanted for nothing, and Valeria grew tired of that sentiment. A cheery woman on the outside, Valeria still held a bitterness for people who held money. All her life, she worked hard to become the best and obtain what they all had. Now that she had it, things stagnated. Growth was nonexistent. It was disappointing.


Ria! Eat!

Valeria blinked, bringing her out of her stupor. The bird sitting on her windowsill seemed to be calling out to her. "Oh my goodness! Humphrey, I'm so sorry! I'll go fill the bird feeder right away! Now go go go, go tell all your friends I'll have a tasty little meal for them if they decide to give Aunty Ria a visit!" Valeria got up from the table and dusted off the pencil skirt she was wearing. It wasn't a business day, but Valeria expected to go out some time during the day. She got over to her kitchen and dug through the many cabinets she had to find the premium bird seed she bought for her feathered friends. Oh goodness, I hope this is enough for everyone. If not, I suppose I could always go out and get some more. This is probably also a good opportunity to let Thelma know that I'll have to cancel all of tomorrow's appointments. I owe it to everyone to treat them to something special. The park's probably a good place for the event. I'll let everyone know later today. By the time she finished this thought, she finished pouring the bird feed into the feeder.

Letting out a small yawn, she put the bird feeder back on the hook. As she hung her head out the window a little bit, a large flock of birds started heading toward her. Valeria smiled, waving to the birds and ducking back inside. Valeria went back to her kitchen and got a big bowl of water for all the birds. It was enjoyable to watch them all play about in it as they spoke with her. She took her spot on her seat, setting the bowl of water on the table before her. The Mourning Dove that came to visit her almost every hour of the day, Humphrey, led the pack of birds. He was by no means the fastest, but the other birds acknowledged that he had a special relationship with Valeria. Humphrey flew into Valeria's lap and all the other birds took to resting onto anything near the window. One even crashing into the pool of water and exclaiming, "Wheeeeeeeee" as it landed. Valeria laughed as she stroked a drop of water that landed on her as a result of the emergency landing.


"Hello everyone, I hope you're hungry!"

A wave of "Yes ma'am"s, "Mmhmm"s, "HUNGRY"s, and "FOOD"s came back to her. Most people would just hear a smittering of chirps and calls from all the birds, but not Valeria. She stroked Humphrey as she lifted him to the bird feeder to begin feeding. The rest of the birds rushed to the feeder, tearing it apart practically. A smaller blue jay seemed to be struggling to fly from the table. It seemed it came on the back of a larger bird that was headed this way. Valeria scooped up the small bird in her careful hands, smiling at it. "Oh dear... You seem hurt. Anything I can do to help?"

"No, alright. Aunty Ria."

Valeria pursed her lips as she held the bird in her hands. "I can help you little blue, if you only let me."

"I... I no help."

Valeria stared at the injury the bird seemed to experience. There were no cuts thankfully. Everything seemed to be in order, with the exception of one of its wings. It seemed as though the wing was stiff from a bone that was pointed in the opposite direction toward the end of the wing. "Let me grab you something really fast. I'll get you in top shape in no time at all. It'll only be a second." The blue jay hopped off of her hand onto the table, letting her go grab her veterinary kit. Valeria grabbed a light numbing cream from her bag and headed back. Without another word, she asked the blue jay to extend her wing for her. She complied and she rubbed the cream on the portion of the wing she would be adjusting. "This might hurt a little bit, but hang in there for me for a second little blue. I promise I'll get this fixed up in no time at all!" Valeria focused, gaining laser focus on the injury in question. Her fingers moved over the wing, pressing a bit to see if the bird experienced any pain. It seemed it was alright, so she quickly moved the bone back into its regular position. The bird let out a loud cry as she adjusted the wing. "OUCHHHHH!!!"

Valeria smiled. "There! All done!! That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

If the blue jay could smile, Valeria was sure that she would've. "Thanks, Aunty Ria!"

The blue jay seemed to fly up to the bird feeder with little trouble after her small adjustment. Humphrey found his way back into her lap as she finished and he pointed his beady eyes up toward her. He cocked his head to the side a little bit and said, "News, Ria. Star Tower."

Valeria turned on the radio to hear of a disturbance near Star Tower. That wasn't far from where she lived. Valeria's mood seemed to grow extremely excitable for a moment before she forced herself to calm down. "Seems we need to pay a visit there. I'll head out after getting changed." The outfit she was wearing now wasn't suitable for making a good impression. Valeria searched through her enormous wardrobe, throwing out piece after piece after piece. She even threw one on top of Humphrey by accident. He wasn't very pleased about that. But after searching through her clothing for a few minutes, she found a pink dress that showed off just enough skin and paired perfectly with a pair of perfect long white boots she owned. Valeria threw in some gold hoops, a gold necklace, and some gold bracelets for balance. Using her power, she curled her hair in an instant. She wasn't usually able to manipulate sound in such a way, but it was an extremely acute application that she figured would come in handy. Valeria then stepped out of her apartment, waving goodbye to all the friends Humphrey brought. She told them they could stay and eat as long as they didn't cause trouble or destroy anything. She trusted them not to shit on her table either. That had been a big problem in the past after eating, but she resolved it by making her apartment building notorious for "bird bombings" in the afternoons. She obviously didn't want to have anyone be shit on, but she couldn't control where the birds aimed. They only understood about 10-20% of what she said anyway. It was a miracle she was able to get them to stop shitting on her table.

As she walked to Star Tower, a dog came from around the corner of her building to greet her. It was a Blood Hound and it walked straight by her side without a leash. He never once strayed from her side and never looked in any other direction than the one they were walking in. Valeria smiled and picked up the dog at her side, Humphrey perched on her shoulder.
"Hello Howard, I hope things are going well?"

"Yes ma'am. Escort."

Valeria scratched him behind the ears and smiled. "Thanks Howard. I appreciate it."

"Ria appreciates me!"

"I appreciate Humphrey."

"Yay! Ria appreciates!"

The one thing Valeria hadn't gotten used to was the strange looks she would get as she spoke to her animal friends. Maybe they weren't used to hearing someone speak to animals before. Valeria wasn't ever able to figure that out for some reason.
 


-Millennium City, New York. Earlier in the day-

Sometimes, Voltaeiche really hated her roommates. Especially when they would come home and let the door slam shut like artillery fire. Shooting up with her heart rate, Voltaeiche sighed as she tried to relax into the couch again. She’d spent the majority of her morning at a shoot, and now she really wanted to let her spine decompress and release all of the tension. She’d juuuust gotten the right stretch and hook a foot over the edge of the couch when her roomates had gotten home.

“Oh, hi Voltaeiche.”

At least they finally managed to finally take the ‘iche’ off when they said her name. Hearing ‘Voltaic’ got very frustrating. It was her name, it wasn’t impossible. Poking her head up, she gave a weak smile and wave.

“We were just about to go out and get some lunch and do some shopping. You want to come with?”

Voltaeiche thought she did her level best at not flinching as she mulled it over in her head. On one hand, she really wanted to spend her day at home, recharge, catch up on some shows and have a nice lunch and dinner of dry cereal.

...on the other hand, she’d had dry cereal a few days in a row and the threat of scurvy was on the horizon. Plus, her producer had asked to make sure she was sticking to a diet…

Realising she’d been silent for MUCH too long, she cleared her throat and blinked out of her thoughts before giving another smile. “U-hm, sure. That sounds uh...yeah...uhm...could you give me a few minutes?”

-----

Lunch had been...fine. The restaurant was fine, the food was fine, the company was...comparatively fine. She’d known worse, which wasn’t saying much, but...fine. They’d moved on to shopping, and while she’d found a few nice pieces, she also wasn’t really looking to buy, so most of the items she tried on went right back on the rack. At least everything matched jeans and a white T.

-hree separate disturbances this afternoon!

Voltaeiche frowned as she turned to look at the screen. After listening to the rest of the news story, she pulled out her phone map. They were a dozen blocks away from Star Tower, so they were probably fine...still, she’d prefer to be further.

If only ‘rushed’ was part of her roommate’s vocabulary. If anything, the giant pile of clothes they had taken to the dressing room was only one of many, many more. Hemming and hawing for a moment, Voltaiche finally sent them a message that she was heading home early, with the ongoing news story attached. As much as she enjoyed window shopping, she valued her life above that much more.

And honestly, her laptop was much better company.

Satisfied she’d done at least the minimum to clarify her whereabouts, she strolled out of the mall, plotting her path home to give her a reasonable berth around Star Tower. Hopefully she’d make it home before things escalated…

With that thought, she pulled down her cap and broke into a light jog. The faster she got home, the better.
 
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The corner table of a quaint cafe...
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...That was where Bella found herself this afternoon. A fresh latte (soy, extra foam) lazily expelled steam into the surrounding air. The smell was pleasant and the taste wonderful, not to mention the magic it was working on her headache. True bliss was the only way to describe it. This secluded little corner of the city seemed almost suspended from the unending business that permeated Millenium. It was like a sanctuary where anyone could stop to take a breath. The lack of street-facing signs as well as the somewhat hidden front entrance most likely attributed to this. As with most smaller shops like this, a moderate group of loyal repeat customers were the only thing keeping the business afloat. Bella thanked them for their service. This little shop was a miracle and one of her favorite escapes from the superhero life. If you could call it that, The term 'Superhero' had always seemed so flashy. Definitely something beyond the reaches of her own ability. Infiltrator? Saboteur? Spy? Those titles were most likely more suitable.

"Ariel," Bella spoke with a cheeky smile as the only employee the owner of this little shop could afford approached her cheerily, "Could ya turn the radio up kid, I'm gonna need to know what kind of shit the city is in before really starting my day."

Ariel responded with a frown and a cock of her head. "You do realize it's almost 2, right Belz?" Her adorable southern accent was always a treat. She was like a fiery ginger cowgirl. Bella instinctually didn't voice the thought. Even a loudmouth had a certain understanding of self-preservation. Picking on a short redhead from the south? That was basically suicide in any situation.

"Time is relative. Just help me out here." Bella pleaded, "I am a paying customer, aren't I?"

"More of a generous family friend at this point, but sure Belz, just a moment. Sugar for that latte?"

"If this is another jab about my bitter demeanor before the reasonable hours of the day I swear to-"

"Reasonable is what again? Shortly afternoon? OR was it just before supper?"

"Hah."

Ariel cackled as she finished unfolding the stepstool needed to reach the radio above the service counter. Bella had been defeated once again. She sulked for a moment and sipped the latte that had, once again, been prepared perfectly as requested. Fun banter, gentle atmosphere, Perfect coffee. This place was too good for her.

The sound of her least favorite radio wave duo interrupted the wholesome thought.

" ... three separate disturbances..."

"... Star Tower..."

"... Down Town..."

"...Central Bank..."

She had become quite good at tuning out the nonessential banter those two insisted on pandering on their program. At the very least they provided a reliable stream of up to date information on villain activity in the public perview. Star Tower was near here and based on the report whatever was accross the bay near there was well outside the area ofher own expertize. Well, she had the equipment to perform basic reconnassaince.

"Big Bro better be greatful for this..." Bella mumbled under her breath as she sat up to leave, being careful to retreive the unmarked black briefcase at the side of the table. A single look of regret towards the still steaming latte was all she allowed herself while turning to leave.

"Headin' out huh?" Ariel commented while slightly blocking the doorway. "Dont forget this." The girl handed her an exact replica of her original order, but in a to go cup. "Had it made shortly after the first, thought somethin' like this'd happen."

"You woman, are too good for this world." Bella said, completely genuine.

"Finally someone gets it!" Ariel exclaimed while rolling her eyes, "Now get outta here you workaholic."

Bella rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah, didn't need your permission. Tell pops to take it easy today Ariel, we don't need a repeat of last month."

"I could say the same to you." There was a pause, Bella and Ariel both averted their eyes.

"Yeah. I know." Without another word she left.

Grey yoga pants. Running shoes. A light blue tee and a grey hoodie. That was her ensemble. Dressed for a day off with nothing but her briefcase, Bella rounded the corner at the alleyway near Cobble Pop's Coffee and quickly made it to the street on the other side. She hailed down a Drivr parked nearby. The system was super convenient and their operators were killer behind the wheel.. In the good way. "Get me to millenium bay, accross from Star Tower."

"But ma'am there'-"

"Yes, I know, get me as close as you comfortably can. I'll find my way from there." She paused almost as thought considering something and dropped a 100$ bill on the guy's lap from behind, "and make it fast, Im not too worried about traffic laws."

"Um! yes Ma'am! Of course!" She'd be charging Big Bro for this later.

The drive took about fifteen minutes with the man's knowledge of route's, aggresive driving, and the tempting tip from Bella. She hopped out, about another fifteen minutes on foot from where she assumed the destination of this disturbance would be. A tall industrial complex offered an awesome vantage point just a few buildings up. Bella ran for it. The latte had really hit the spot. She hoped the crash wouldn't be too bad today.
 
Current Identity: Willem La'Tour
Millenium City, New York
Downtown, in a park


"Things are just boppin' today."

Willem's mind snapped to focus around the voice beside the hot dog cart. Jennison Toondori, software engineer, twenty-two years old, too loud for his own good. He was scrolling through his watch, connected to HoloTel, beautiful downtown ambling about around them in the park they had stepped into for lunch. He had chosen a suit - as always, impeccably dressed - while Jennison was in a t-shirt depicting some children's cartoon and a pair of shorts, the 'uniform' of the software engineer.

"What's going on?" Willem asked with concern, eyebrows drawing inward to showcase his worry.

Jennison chewed a hotdog in disgraceful slops, swallowing with mustard stuck to a sorry excuse for facial hair. He wiped it with the back of a hand, and immediately Willem wished to take the butter knife on the cart and jab it into the man's eye. Disgusting. Reprehensible. Barely human.

The bespectacled engineer looked up through thick glasses and stated, "Looks like there's a rumbling around Star Tower, a bank heist, and something else bizarre going on. Ohoho man. Today's going to be busy. Might as well turn in for a late night because traffic is going to be wild."

"You've got that right. Ugh, and I wanted to get home early..." Willem bemoaned softly. "I hope nobody's been hurt yet."

Not a total lie. He didn't want anyone hurt. There was no point to it. Senseless, without purpose, no growth. Pain should always be a lesson. He rubbed a shoulder under his white shirt, feeling the tension. He had truly wanted to get home early. He needed that alibi, a security cam and a doorman to vouch for his whereabouts. He checked his watch one more time. Compulsively, he had been looking it over.

"What, you got something going on? You've been looking at that watch all day," Jennison asked with a waggle of his thick eyebrows. "Like... a date, maybe?"

His grin was wide as he nudged Willem too hard. He used the opportunity to take his hotdog from the cart owner to tamp down the urge to wrap his hand around Jennison's throat and back him away. The facade was perfect, too perfect, as he shrugged his shoulders and averted hateful eyes to the ground.

"Is she hot? Or is it a he? I don't know what you're into, man--"

"No, no, I just - it's not important. I guess. Yes, she's very hot," Willem chuckled, trying not to gag on his own words, while Jennison playfully punched his shoulder, congratulating him. He waved his hands at him, looking away as if bashful. Jennison continued to hound him as they started to walk from the stand.

"Who is it? Mac from Accounting? Nah, she's kind of heavy - not that there's anything wrong with that, if that's what you want!" Jennison guessed, trying to mop up some spilled sauce from his bright blue shirt with a finger. It stained. Willem deserved an Oscar for maintaining his composure, for not teaching this slob a lesson about being a complete human being and all it entailed.

"No, you - "

"Betsa from HR? She's been eyeing you forever, man. Glinda? It's Glinda, isn't it?"

"Hahaha, Jen, you wouldn't know her," Willem helplessly laughed with a pinch of nervousness - not all faked. No, he did have a date.

He had picked it carefully. Immunocompromised man, with no children in the home, taken care of by his sister, who was influential in local politics in the southern borough of MCNY. A canister, underneath his recliner, rigged with a motion sensor. He sat in that chair often, to watch the news. Many of his pictures on his profile - set to private - showed him in that exact chair taking a selfie from the 'dad angle', camera facing up awkwardly beneath the chin. Nice man, it seemed. Horrible this would happen to him. Insensate pain, from seemingly everywhere. Blisters.Not life threatening - scarring, likely.

It was necessary.

"Alright, alright! Fine, but you oughta show me pictures sometime, tell me how it goes, dude," Jennison stated, as stopped at the street. Across from it, a sleek building made halfway of glass and gorgeous masonry, as if hodgepodged together, rose into the sky. Across the very top of the building - which was completely glass with masonry finishing - stated the company's name, YouViz.

"I will, I will," Willem afforded, putting his hands up. "First date, first. Okay? By the way - you're going to be explaining that new security protocol, right? The one that Edds is bringing in? I'm still not sure I get it."

Health system. Insecure. Horribly so. They patched that after his last break-in.

"Yeah, yeah. It's really cool, man. Elegant," Jen stated. "I'll just have to show you."

Cars bustled past them, streetcars on lines still running despite the downtown scramble. They waited for the light to change across the street. Willem's black eyes stared up at YouViz's logo - an eye encircling a stylized person.

"Thanks, man. Definitely sounds like it."
 


JOLENE MOON

Millenium City, NY




Jolene had been shaken from sleep by nightmares at the uncomfortable time of 5 o’clock in the morning, and she was feeling the exhaustion hit her extra hard now. She found herself wishing for a hot cup of coffee as she walked side by side with a particularly chatty coworker from the advertisement agency she worked for. They were in the fancy parking garage, walking to their vehicles, and Jolene was involuntarily listening to her coworker ramble.

“….And you know, Ms. Moon, this might make me sound like some kinda weirdo, and it’s a bit off-topic, but true crime is one of my favorite genres! I really wish there were more shows on true crime— and you know what else? I wish they’d do a documentary on Malchance’s history! At the risk of sounding like a Malchance Minion or whatever,” he paused, glancing at Jolene to see if she was listening.

Jolene was staring at him with an intensely unpleasant feeling, “Jerry, you should really—“

Jerry cut Jolene off, immediately continuing from where he left off and using his hands to talk, “Ms. Moon, you gotta listen! The Theories surrounding Malchance are insane! There are theories that she’s one of those legacy-type aliases, you know, where the title is passed down from person to person? No one really knows though, because she always just disappears and shit, leaving more questions than answers— “

Jolene internally snapped, unable to listen any longer, and while Jerry aggressively tried to explain the villain, her eyes briefly glowed red. Jerry fell face-first into the concrete. There was an audible crunch as his nose connected with the ground, and Jolene smirked ever so slightly with satisfaction. Jerry let out a pain-laced sob as he brought himself to sit up, holding a bloody and most likely broken nose. She leaned down to Jerry’s eye-level, irritation in her eyes.

“You should really tie your shoes, Jerry. Maybe you won’t keep tripping like this if you could do that simple task, right?” she asked, cruel sarcasm coating her words. She gave a forced smile, but frowned when Jerry chuckled and waved one hand passively.

“Hah! Ms. Moon, you always say that!” He seemed to be willfully ignoring some obvious facts.

Jolene sighed and straightened, then continued walking to her motorcycle without Jerry, “And you’ve yet to figure out why” She huffed in annoyance.

As quickly as she could, Jolene situated her messenger bag so that it was tightly strapped to her person, and she put her helmet on. After starting the bike, she peeled out of the parking garage. She made use of the holodiscs within her helmet, and tuned into the news.. She listened carefully while keeping her senses keen on the road, not caring too much for the bank or anything happening downtown— but whatever was happening across the bay piqued her interest. Downtown was almost always enduring some sort of chaos, and there was always a bank robbery, but the third disturbance seemed like something she’d want to know of and maybe do something about.

With a zing of excitement, Jolene revved the engine of her bike and took off past other vehicles towards whatever was happening near Star Tower. Before she arrived on the scene, she decided to park her bike not too far away, but far enough so that it wouldn’t be spotted. She swung her leg over the side and stood up, switching from her bike helmet to a white rabbit-like mask that she produced from within her bag. She always kept a spare mask or two on her person, just incase anything were to happen. And thankfully, a mask was the only thing she typically needed to conceal her identity. She made sure that the rabbit mask was secured, and pulled the up hood of her warm black coat. Aside from her mask, Jolene was dressed in all black.

She spent another minute or two making sure that the location of her bike was well hidden before starting off towards the industrial park on foot, her eyes glowing red through the dark eyeholes of the mask, and her heart pounding with curious excitement the closer she got to her destination.
 

-Millennium City, New York-
-Afternoon-

"Gah...better detour around downtown too," Voltaeiche mumbled as she ran, pulling her phone out to map before grumbling to herself. It'd be a hell of a detour, and she really should've just taken the subway...but she'd made her bed, she'd sleep in it. At least she was getting exercise like her photographer wanted...

-----

An hour of jogging (at least there wasn't any incline) wasn't what Voltaeiche expected her afternoon to turn into, and fuck she hated it. But hey, she was finally home. Voltaeiche sighed happily as she ducked back into her apartment. Happily and very tiredly; jogging on a diet that mostly consisted on dry cereal was hardly something she'd do ever again.

"But safe," she thought, heading to her room as she tossed her jacket and hat into the laundry basket. An hour of jogging to get away from whatever shit was going to go down around downtown and across the bay from Star Tower was well worth it. Plus, her laptop was waiting; she was finally getting into the latest season of the Baking Masked: Millennium’s Metahuman Bake-off . Ms. Freeze's ability to quick-freeze her dough to put it in the oven was putting her well on the way to first place, but Spider's aesthetic detail was hard to beat.

Loading the latest episode on her laptop, she was just about to jump into bed and settle in when she remembered she'd just ran for an hour, and sighed before putting it down. "Shower first," she mumbled, grabbing her towel as she ducked out to the one bathroom in the apartment. That was another benefit to coming back first; she got to hog all the hot water and take her time to relax.

It was looking to be a really good day.
 
  • According to Plan
Reactions: rissa
Atombreaker // Miles Haverstach
Millennium City
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************


Hero work isn’t frequently easy. Every time you put on the mask, you do so with the intention to stick your nose into a criminal’s business. Hero work can have dire consequences--lethal, even--if you bite off more than you can chew, so whether it’s your first day on the street or your thousandth, you have to go into the job with the mindset that it might be your last. It’s an age-old agreement, and one every hero makes. Still, for all the danger involved, the perks for a successful hero are undeniable and unavoidable: money, fame, adoration, and gratitude. All it takes is one televised takedown to catapult a costumed hero into the mainstream, and once you’re there, it becomes impossible to imagine yourself doing anything else. The television spots, the super-rallies, the day parties, the merch deals. You end up so high, there’s no coming down.

Somehow, Miles had managed to walk away from all that years ago. It had been hard, of course, but he’d gotten out. He let the buzz die down for a year, and by the time he got back to the street, the dissolution of his group was ancient history. Miles had been strategic about it, choosing to set up shop in the small borough of Greencaster on the far North-West side of town. Miles knew it was a small area, and when he got there it was a bit of a fixer-upper, but over the last three years the area was steadily gentrifying as spillover from the neighboring borough of Evergreen Heights began to displace the old with the new. This meant less crime, which, in turn, meant Miles could expect a robbery or two a week and--on a bad day--perhaps a car chase. Costumed villains were rarely interested in such an unimportant area.

Unfortunately, if a car chase classified as a bad day, then today was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day indeed.

It started maybe an hour ago. Miles’s had been relaxing in his one-bedroom apartment, finishing up his breakfast when an unusual report came over the local Agency app. Public disturbance, large group, moving south towards downtown from Evergreen Heights. Twelve injured. EMS en route.

I could have just stayed home.

Miles wished he could say he didn’t know why he answered it. The report was out of the ordinary, the lack of specifics belying the weird nature of the criminals--or rather criminal--he was in pursuit of. He should’ve pegged it for villain activity from the moment he saw it. In fact, he did. And yet, he slipped into his costume, transmuted his trusty fire poker to steel, and fetched his custom bike from it’s hidden garage without a second thought. His complacent lifestyle and years of easy pickings were beginning to blur the reality of that age old agreement in his mind, its dangers now so far off in memory.

It’s more than that. I want this.

Miles grimaced beneath his motorcycle helmet. He was lying to himself and he knew it.

Fine, I need this.

As the low, brick and stone buildings of the outer boroughs began to gradually turn to the gargantuan, monolithic skyscrapers whizzing by in his peripherals, Miles knew he was getting close. The young man rarely had reason to go downtown these days, but as he got closer and closer to the heart of it, he didn’t need to follow the wake of overturned vehicles to know where his quarry was headed. Of course they were going to the middle of downtown. There was always some asshole trying to rip that place up. It was astounding to Miles that the government didn’t post heroes on every downtown block every hour of the day with the way the heart of Millennium City seemed to attract the lunatics like flies.

Despite the carnage this villain was leaving in his wake, the one plus side was the way in which he’d left a mostly unobstructed path in his wake. There were emergency respondents on the scene of course, but Miles expertly wove his motorbike in-between cop cars and ambulances, never once letting up on the throttle. The young hero had named his bike a couple times, but nothing ever seemed good enough: with little else to do in his downtime, Miles spent most of his time modifying, and accessorizing his bike in the garage. Did he need more friends? Maybe. But for all the time he spent with his baby, Miles was proud of how it turned out. Even if he wasn’t looking forward to seeing himself on the news, the thought of how good his girl looked ripping it up on 33rd street did bring a smile to his face: Miles’s bike was a sleek black power-cruiser, accented with the same color orange as his glow, and modified with all sorts of goodies, not the least of which was the smart-glass screen he’d installed as his windshield.

As Miles got nearer and nearer to Central Plaza, a bright red notification icon began to pulse in the corner of the screen, indicating an influx of news alerts for the area. Beneath his helmet, Miles frowned. It had been a long, long time since he’d fought a villain capable of wreaking this level of havoc, and he'd practically fallen into it. Maybe he wasn’t ready.

No time to think about that now. People are getting hurt.

As Miles turned off of 33rd and into the Central Plaza area of downtown, he couldn’t help gasp: this was the heart of Millennium City’s downtown, and the opulence of it all reflected as much. Between the glittering neon lights, towering glass and steel buildings, gargantuan television screens, and marble walkways, there was little about this place that wasn’t beautiful on an average day. Today, unfortunately, it was a little worse for wear. Miles parked his bike in one of the many narrow alleyways between buildings, and took off his helmet. From across from where he stood, he saw his quarry:a single villain, surrounded by--or perhaps directing?--a cadre of massive, quadrupedal creatures. Miles twirled the steel fire-poker in one hand, before getting low to the ground and assessing the situation. The one plus of going in alone was that the megalomaniac types almost never saw you coming, and Miles had a feeling that was precisely the sort of villain he was dealing with.

Alright. Go through the motions. Read the situation.

As Miles surveyed the area, he counted maybe five of the ape-like constructs in the plaza, and all of which seemed to be in the throes of a wild rage of some sort. The creatures were buck-wild, tearing into automobiles of every size and shape. This was bad news. Were they devouring the passengers? Kidnapping them?

Damn! I need to move-

Miles stopped, one leg protruding over his cover mid-leap. It was then he realized: there was no one here. Besides the villain, who was on nearly the other end of the plaza, the only other sounds were that of the beasts, shattering and destroying every car in their path. It didn’t make sense. Was everyone already dead? The thought sent a shiver down Miles’s spine, but somehow that felt wrong. Miles slid back behind cover, this time focusing on the nearest beast to him. After a moment or two, the creature pulled itself from within the car clutching the driver seat in one hand and the passenger seat in the other. The beast, having found it’s treasure, hungrily began to bite into the upholstery of each, pausing only to once again notice the other chair in its hands, and to switch from one snack to the other.

Indeed, as Miles began to look around him, all of the totalled cars in the plaza nearest him appeared to have had their seats removed, or at least partially destroyed. Handfuls of polyester, leather and polyurethane foam were strewn across the ground in every direction. Miles had mistaken it all for being a part of the general mahem, but as he focused on the creatures, their seemingly chaotic destruction was in fact uniform: they were eating the upholstery in the cars.

Every. Single. One.

Miles rubbed his forehead with one hand, and let loose an exasperated breath. In Miles’s experience, there were three kinds of criminals. There were the ‘honest’ ones, who didn’t hide behind a mask or false philosophies to justify their crime. Miles liked dealing with these kinds the best. Then there were costumed villains--or, as Miles called them, dickheads--who hurt people in the name of some higher plan or calling when in reality they were all just a bunch of self-aggrandizing psychopaths. Miles hated these guys, but once you heard their phony philosophy, you could get a sense of their patterns; their victim-ology, their code, and their preferred methods of douchebaggery.

Then, there was the third kind.

“Goddamn it.” Miles stood up from behind his cover. There was no point in hiding himself. The villain was too far to notice him anyway, and--given that he was a complete lunatic--Miles doubted the guy would even care he was here. There was no pattern to this attack. No skewed philosophy driving this. It was just a guy sicking his army of upholstery-devouring constructs on the cars of Millennium City because why the fuck not?

Miles would’ve laughed, if he wasn’t already groaning. Back when he was a kid, he and his friends had dealt with their fair share of costumed madmen. Taking them out was more sad than satisfying, but someone had to get them the help they needed. Miles came to a stop behind one of the creatures, it’s attention still fully trained on the rapidly-degrading chairs in each hand. From up close, Miles could see it’s head was little more than a mouth lined with perfectly pointed teeth. Its skin was a dark brown color, and completely sheen: the light from the neon signage and electronic super-screens seemed to reflect off its surface as if it were glass.

Whatever this thing was, Miles felt pretty confident it wasn’t actually alive. Probably a construct of some sort. That was good news as far as his powers were concerned.

Thank god.

Still, it was the size of a gorilla, and neither its teeth nor its claws looked any less life-threatening for it being non-living. Despite standing less than twenty feet away, Miles was surprised to see that the creature hardly noticed his presence at all. It made sense now why he hadn’t seen any bodies: the monsters had never been after the people. Miles breathed a sigh of relief, before smacking his rod against the frame of a car that had been turned nearly inside out. The shrill cry of steel on steel caught the creature’s attention for a moment, it’s passive, featureless mug turning in Miles’s direction for just a moment, before going back to its meal.

To no one in particular, Miles whispered under his breath, “Alright then. I suppose I have to go first.”

Then, Atombreaker took three steps back, and--with a running start--bounded off the uneven roof of the busted car and through the air towards the creature, his fire-poker raised overhead like a spear.

***

Credit to @Doctor Jax for coming up with the villain concept. I'm a lazy boi.
 
  • Thank You
  • Spicy
Reactions: rissa and Sairento
As Voltaeiche neared the bathroom door within her shared apartment, a humming noise could be heard — soft at first, but recognizable, until the moment her hand touched the doorknob, wherein the sound turned sharp and haunting and the touch of the handle sent reverberations throughout her body. The door opened at her touch, violently, and sent her staggering forward. Instead of revealing the bathroom, however, it revealed a stark yellow-white portal that sucked her in the moment she crossed the in-between.

With a jolt and a hook behind the naval, Voltaeiche would find herself in a darkened city street, where there were no sounds, no lights except from an artificial sun in the sky, and no one to be found. The landscape, surrounded by buildings and shops that mimicked those in Millennium City, were grey-washed and lifeless, there but somehow not, and not one of them had an entrance.

“IMPOTENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED — FIND THE DOORWAY OR STAY FOREVERMORE.”



@Sairento
 
LOUIS BAUVER-CALDWELL
nearby @Monty

Superhero paraphernalia was the last thing you saw waiting in line at checkout at the grocery store and the first thing you saw on your day to day walking to work. A simple stroll in the bustling streets of Millennium City would likely greet you with a lot of options for post-card purchasing. Tourist merchandise was everywhere, at every corner. And because nobody in this city gave a shit about who you were and why you were purchasing the most rinky dink postcard and a packet of Star Gummies, Louis, for the first time in a long time, wasn’t freaked out about it.

He wasn’t so great at this whole hiding-in-plain-sight thing, but he’d gotten much better at it over time. It had been a year since the whole… shabang. And the SPME was such a shithole that they had bigger fish to fry than one runaway kid who wasn’t currently exposing them or whatever else they might have been afraid of at first. Louis had proved himself a beautifully cowardly, shrimpy, unthreatening threat. So unless he really started jeering in their faces now, it was probably back to normal, as normal as it could get, and that only started one way.

Dad,

Hi.


Maybe hi was too informal.

Hello.

Wow, now he sounded like a robot. Uhm. Maybe he would just scrap the greeting and jump right into the thick of it.

I promise I am not a criminal. I promise I’m gonna come home, at some point. Someday. I know that sounds incredibly cryptic and vague, but as you probably know, there are some people looking for me. Bad people. That school…

What was he doing? This was a postcard, not a testimonial. Anyone could read it. This was shit to save for the diary.

Louis frantically took the eraser to the cardstock and erased his words, jaw tensed with concentration. The remnants of his heavy hand were still etched into the paper as he started again once more.

Dad,

I’ll come home soon and explain everything. I love you.

Lou


“Jeez, you look particularly sad today.”

Louis jumped nearly three feet in the air. “Jesus christ, you scared me.”

A hearty laugh boomed over him. “It’s my bar. You should know by now I lurk around.”

Tony. A giant of a man, standing at some ungodly six foot something. Owner of the Glass Belly, and, in short, his savior. The underground had been his home for the past year and it was Tony he had to thank. He’d taken him in, given him a job, and introduced him to a lifelong community that had helped him steer clear of the SPME and so much more.

“Don’t tell me you mean to send that to someone.” Tony continued, pointing at the postcard clutched a tad too tight between his fingertips.

Louis sighed softly. “And if I do…?”

Tony thought a moment, and then shrugged. “I ain’t got much say in it, kid. Just please, for the love of god, don’t put a return address.”

Their laughter tangled together in a almost regretful harmony. “Come on, I’m not that bad.” Louis stood and pocketed the card, heading for the exit. “I’ll be back in time for evening opening, promise.”

He did not get past Tony without a customary ruffling of the hair, which Louis made sure to huff about as he exited the Glass Belly.

Physical postage was a rarity nowadays. More novelty than anything, there remained few post boxes for people to send items that weren’t carried out by a digital service or robot shipping center. A post box was most likely going to be found in a bit more of a trashy area in town, one where it hadn’t been ripped out to be replaced with a fancy holoboard or something of the sort. It was better like this anyway, less eyes, less hubbub, less attention. Hands in his pockets, Louis strolled through Millennium, trying not to overthink all the things that could go wrong.

Ah. There.

He walked up to the post box and looked at the postcard one last time. He hoped it reached his dad. The thought of him, alone, watching all the news reports on TV… did he really think his son was a criminal? Louis hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t be true. That one day he’d get to go home and it’d be like nothing ever happened.

Louis slid the postcard in through the slot, a certain weight lifted from his shoulders as the action. He sighed deeply, about to turn around when… something felt off. Oh god. Oh no, please, not now — he raised his hands up to his face… and found one finger missing.

Oh fuck! “Oh fuck!” Louis cried, scrambling back to the post box, where he knew, he just knew that his fucking ring finger had slipped inside. Shit! Frantically he tried to reach a hand in the slot but it wouldn’t get past. The old metal creaked and rattled as Louis shook it to no avail. How the fuck was he gonna get his finger out?!
 

-Who knows where-
-Who knows when-

<Co-written with @rissa >

Voltaiche gasped as she was tossed through the portal, towel in hand. Stumbling as she hit the ground, she gave a quiet whimper as she inspected herself and then looked around.

"Okay okay okay..." she mumbled, flicking her gaze around the twisted city. "D-don't worry, you're just...b-bleeding to death on the bathroom floor...near death coma" she mumbled, giving a nervous laugh as she slowly got to her feet, trying to keep her breathing steady.

"Okay...he said a...f-find the doorway, or s-stay forever..." she mumbled, nervously walking to the sidewalk on her bare feet. "W-whoever he is...oh jeez...f-forever..."

Spying a shoe shop, she quickly made her way over. If she was going to have to walk around this city, she'd want something so that she wouldn't blister her feet. Frowning at the lack of a door, she carefully approached the window. "...I hope this doesn't do anything bad..." she mumbled, wrapping her fist in her towel before she hit the window as hard as she could.

The window in question barely shuddered against the pressure Voltaeiche inflicted upon it. Her reflection stared back at her, though grey-washed and lonely, like the rest of her surroundings. There was an odd expression within the reflection, however, one that surely didn’t stem from Voltaeiche herself. It seemed to say, is that all you got?

Voltaiche pouted at how little the window gave, and sighed as she tried to remember her highschool chemistry lessons and not the rest of highschool. She could do this, right...?

Placing her hand near the glass, she began to let power flow, careful not to actually touch the glass. She may not suffer as much from intense heat, but she didn't want to risk it. Picturing a tap in her mind, she slowly eased it open, letting a trickle of water flow out. Lines of blue light began to crackle and flicker off her hand and strike the glass, and she held her breath as she let the electricity flow.

Once she thought the glass was weak enough, she squeaked the tap shut, and attempted to hit the glass again with her toweled hand.

Voltaeiche’s reflection once again stared back at her, though this time it was stuck between curious approval and disbelief. As the toweled fist struck out, something solid and hard blocked the impact and the sudden reverberations running through Voltaeiche’s arm was likely a shock. The Voltae-refection stared at the softened glass and then back at her double, wondering what the issue was.

"If you're so smart then you do something," Voltaeiche grumbled at her reflection, before gently facepalming herself. Talking to a reflection; what was she doing?

Cautiously reaching her hand towards the hot glass, she frowned as she felt the odd wall that was blocking her. "...weird," she mumbled, opening the tap again as she tried to shock this new barrier.

And as if the Voltae-reflection was waiting for this very act, she smiled and disappeared, leaving behind only Voltaeiche’s actual reflection, color and all. In the moment between her disappearance and the next, the entirety of the glass shattered, a small shockwave plowing into Voltae’s center of gravity.

Voltaeiche made a small oof as the shockwave hit her, quickly closing the tap to her powers before she lost all of her control. Picking herself up, she brushed herself off and carefully made her way into the shop, trying not to step on any broken glass.

"Weird...weird weird weird..." she mumbled to herself, shaking her head as she went to grab a pair of sneakers. She'd need some socks too...maybe a shower...maybe she'd find a gym later. But the sneakers would do. Tying and double knotting her shoes, she sighed in relief, feeling much more prepared before making her way back out.

"Doorway here I come," she murmured.

-----

Voltaeiche sighed as she walked the empty city. Even if it was a little foreboding, she'd somehow gotten use to it being just...very quiet. And slow going. There were no doors, she had more or less no hints...

It wasn't as if she minded terribly. Quiet was good. No annoying roommates to deal with was good. She was getting hungry though...

Spying a pastry shop, she could almost taste the sugary sweetness of a cinnamon bun, running over to the glass to stare at the pastries as she prepared to burst in.

The Voltae-reflection from before could be seen for a half-second, if actively looking, before disappearing while looking curiously pleased. The pastry shop in question was as empty as all the shops around, though their shelves were full of bagged coffee grounds, pastries in every shape and size, and a refreshment stand in the far corner where customers could customize their orders to their hearts content. The only difference, of course, between this shop and the real one, was the wash of grey that permeated this entire realm.

"Please still taste like normal food," she mumbled to herself, her hand crackling with energy again as she tried to break the window.

Maybe she should've been more worried about constant B&E. But honestly? Since she came to this...weird...depressive...grey dimension place, she sort of rationalized it as 'not my world, my actions matter less'.

Especially since it seemed like she was alone. Save for her weird reflection. Maybe she could get a mirror to try interact with it.

The glass shuddered but didn’t crack. Like before, the glass had been softened by the energy output, but didn’t seem to want to break. For a brief moment, the Voltae-reflection could be seen, features warped as she appeared in the softened glass, and glanced at her counterpart curiously.

Voltaeiche blinked. "Hiiii...?" she said as she watched her reflection.

The reflection titled her head in acknowledgment, but seemed unable or unwilling to speak. She simply stared at her, curiously, as if trying to figure out what she meant to do.

"Uhm...so I wanted to get some food," she started. "And uh. Well, while I got you here. Are you me...?"

The Voltae-reflection nodded her head, as if in answer, and then vigorously shook it.

"Uhm. Hmm. A version of me?"

The reflection smiled, nearly relieved, and after awhile nodded towards Voltaeiche’s hand — the one she used to soften the glass. She half-turned, stopping to stare back, before nodding and disappearing.

"Fricken. Surreal," she mumbled, shaking her head before she reached forward to see if some random invisible barrier had erected itself to block her off from the glass, like last time.

Unlike before, the invisible barrier that stood between Voltae and the softened glass came with a bite. A jolt of energy, familiar energy, could be felt once in contact.

Frowning at the shock, Voltaeiche waved her hand back and forth to cool it as she regarded the barrier, her eyes glowing for a moment. "Huh," she mumbled, watching all the yellow lines spider in front of her. "I...can I get through this...?" she thought, her hand crackling again as she started to fire energy into the barrier.

Slowly and then all at once, the glass cracked. It spider webbed due to Voltaeiche's crackling energy, but didn't explode like the previous one had. Perhaps one more jolt would allow her access.

"Oh thank goodness," she mumbled, timing her powers as she prepared to give the system the small jolt it needed, taking a step or two back just in case it blew up on her again.

The glass shattered with a final almighty crack and indeed jolted Voltaeiche sharply backwards. The glass now broken, she was free to do as she pleased with the goods that laid within.

A scream rented the empty space around Voltae not a couple seconds after the blowback of energy, and if glancing upwards, towards the artificial looking grey-white sky, she would see a young man, falling through a yellow-ringed portal, flailing and hollering all the way down. Before he crashed bodily into the pavement not a couple hundred feet before her, did another portal open and swallow him whole.
 
Millennium's Chinese Finger Trap
With @rissa

"Fuck! Oh fuck!” Monty turned at the frantic sound, his heart jumping at the panic residing in whoever’s voice had cried out. Half a block past, a kid, who seemed to be slightly younger than himself, was hunched over one of those old-timer boxes. The metal was flaking and the blue paint chipping, and every time the kid tried to reach inside, it made an awful creaking noise. So Monty, being Monty, appeared beside him a second later, worry plastered upon his features. “Hey! Hey, is everything okay? What’s going on bud?"

“Gah!” Louis jumped at the voice that suddenly appeared at his side. Instantly he shoved the hand with a digit missing into his jacket pocket and stepped away anxiously from the box. Bud? Really? What, did he look twelve? “I... u-uhm... I dropped my... p-phone. Phone in the box.” Louis stuttered. “Can’t stick m-my hand in... I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh! Sorry for spookin’ ya— Here lemme see if I can...” Monty reached into the post box, but the concave slope made it impossible for him to reach in, let aline touch the bottom. “Darn.” Monty said with a determined sigh. “Maybe I can—No—I’m not sure if that’d work—But maybe! Wait no, no that definitely would- But hmm. Wait, how do those post guys get the letters out? Maybe I can, erm, shake the lock loose or something...” He turned distractedly, realizing too late that he was rambling, and took in the anxious look on the kid’s face. “Don’t worry! We’ll get your phone out A.S.A.P!”

“It’s... fine.” Louis squinted at the young man, slightly surprised by his... er... chirpy demeanor. He seemed almost like a comic book character. Luckily he hadn’t shed much blood, except for a few droplets on the ground and maybe one or two on the box. “Uh... we?” Louis murmured. “It’s... it’s fine. I’ll...” Shit, what was he gonna do? He had no way to get inside this box, unless he maybe went full dark and threw it against a wall or something. “I mean... do you know how to pick a lock?”

"Erm, well, not really - I never really needed to..." Monty glanced over at the kid beside him and gave him a shy, lopsided grin. "I can try something but um, I'm not sure if it'll work. But we'll get your phone out of there one way or another!"

Louis swallowed nervously, pulling his hoodie up with his one good hand. At least this kid seemed not to know who he was... and was just generally trying to be a nice guy. Fuck. He was gonna have to tell him it wasn't his phone he was reaching for, wasn't he? "Er.. b-be my guest." He said softly. "Th...thanks?"

“Okay, okay,” Monty said aloud, to no one in particular. He stood from his half crouch and shook out his arms, bouncing from one foot to the other. “Actually,” he said after a moment or two, “Maybe I need a running start... Yeah! Yeah, that’ll help.” And then he was gone — for half of a second — and when he returned his hair was windswept, and a stray lock hung over his eye, which he brushed back with nervous impatience. Monty took a deep breath, knelt on the dirty pavement, and held out his right hand. It did nothing at first, but then Monty exhaled and it began to vibrate — slowly and then entirely too fast for anyone but Monty to truly see. After thirty seconds, Monty reached forward, to where the lock was located on the side of the postbox, and slowly inserted his hand through the metal. “Wow,” Monty said softly, eyes alight with wonder. “It actually worked!” Another couple seconds of fidgeting with his hand intangible, and he could hear the telltale sign of the lock unlocking.

Okay, so. He definitely had powers. Awesome. Could be very helpful. Could also be a total crackhead. But maybe a helpful crackhead? He blinked out the dust that suddenly blew into his eyes as Monty appeared and reappeared. Fuck, his finger was hurting now, but he looked hopefully to the young man who had come to his aid. Was trying to at least. Louis watched him intently. As his hand jutted out. Then began to vibrate, shake, whatever. He could barely see it properly anymore as Monty reached forward, and actually inserted his hand into the thick metal of the old postbox. "H-holy shit." Then there was a click as the box unlocked. Louis' jaw dropped. "Holy shit, dude, t-thank you! Holy..." Oh. Oh no. Oh, the finger. His finger. "L-let me just um -- if I could look -- you did awesome thank you so much please let me look--"

"Um," Monty said slowly. "Is that a finger?" Monty was surprisingly solid for as manically flighty as he seemed. He reached forward but hesitated, as he wasn't entirely sure what to do. So he looked up at the kid trying desperately to move him and asked the only thing he could think of. "Are you okay? Do you need a hospital or um. Um, 911?"

“Uh! Well — uhm —“ Louis just shook his head and pushed past Monty, if a little bit harshly, to snatch up his finger and start jamming it against the stump lf his band in an effort to reattach it. Sometimes it didn’t like to happen immediately. This, annoyingly and aggravatingly, was one of those times. It might have looked a little crazy to Monty that Louis was just standing there trying to shove his finger back into its socket, with no avail. “No hospital! Do not call 911. It’s fine, I-I’m fine. Please don’t call 911.”

“Okay — okay, no 911, no cops, no hospital,” Monty replied softly, almost soothingly. He reached into his back pocket and procured a small hand pouch. It was an old thing, the leather worn and faded, and even had an old-timey clasp. Monty undid the clasp and reached inside, pulling out a thin bandage wrap. “Um, I’m not sure if this’ll help but — maybe it’ll help it stay in place until... it uh — erm — I mean, I’m guessing you can, um, reattach — uh — it somehow?” Monty put the pouch away and held the bandage wrap ready. He took turns staring at Louis’ finger stump and Louis himself and his expression laid somewhere between nauseas and outright nervous. But there was something else too — sympathy, as if he was used to taking care of someone.

Louis was much more shaken at this point than Monty seemed to be, which was strange. It should have been the opposite. But he had just exposed everything to a random stranger on the street; that he had these wonky powers, that he didn’t want police... he could be so easily identified now. After everything. And yet, this stranger was incredibly kind, and radiated an energy that made Louis feel... safe. Eyes softening as the bandage was extended, he offered up his shaky hands, the other holding the finger in place and hoping that Monty would help him to wrap it. The stump was not red or bloody; aside from a few droplets that were scattered along his palms, the knuckle was black, radiating a strange energy that seemed to be struggling to call the finger back into its rightful place. “S-s...sorry. Y-yeah. My body kinda... does what it wants... like... fingers jumping i-into post boxes.”

Monty laughed at the weak joke offered up and moved to wrap the bandage around both finger and stump. He was surprised at the lack of blood and even more surprised at the black energy coalescing around the kid's knuckle. It wasn't necessarily a surprise, to realize he was a meta; so many were nowadays, though most did try to keep it a secret. When he was finished wrapping finger and stump together, Monty took the wrapper and shoved it in his pocket, and glanced at the kid in question.

"Don't worry, alright? Secret's safe with me. I know what it's like to be blackmailed into, er -- uh -- submission, and it ain't a good feeling. Just uh, lemme know how it goes with your finger, okay? Hope everything is good soon enough!"

Louis’ finger dangled awkwardly from the bandage, as if it was hanging on by a thread. It didn’t make him nauseous to look at anymore, though it did before. “Er... right.” This was where they parted, then. A wonderfully terrible interaction to haunt him every time he laid awake staring at the ceiling. “Look, um... please just... do me a favor, d-don’t... tell anyone you saw me? Just... It was nice to meet you, but...we never met.” Haha. Smooth, Louis, real smooth.

Monty looked at the kid with a lopsided smile and nodded in agreement. “I never even saw ya!” Monty said aloud, a laugh bubbling from his lips. It struck him weird that the kid was so nervous, so paranoid, but hey, maybe he had strict parents and a... four pm curfew. Either way, it didn’t matter much to Monty.

He took a few steps in the direction of home and waved all the while.

“It was nice to not meet ya!”

Louis took a few steps in the opposite direction, back where he'd come from, eyeing the young man warily but appreciatively. "It... it was nice to not meet you too." Louis murmured, bowing his head in thanks for a moment, hand clasped over the other before turning and speed walking away hastily.

When both boys reached the end of the respective block, an audible click could be heard by both. A ripple in the air in front of Louis could be seen, just barely, and a faint outline of yellow. It was too late too falter, to step back, and swallowed both of them bodily. Louis would feel a hook behind his navel and a jerk forward as he was flung into an alternate dimension, one that perfectly mimicked the street he had just been on prior, but grey washed and empty, not a soul — not even Monty — around.
 
MONTY

Monty fell.

And continued to fall for what seemed like forever.

He'd passed through several dimensions now, only two of which had been occupied. The first one had been entirely black, and he screamed so long and hard that his throat felt raw. The next one, that had scared him even more, perhaps because he could see, though everything felt just a bit off; it was Millennium City... but it wasn't somehow. He thought for sure he was going to die, falling like a rocket to the concrete, just a few feet away from a woman he'd never seen before. But just as he was about to splat onto the ground, he saw another portal open up, and it swallowed him whole. It spat him into another dimension, again from above, and he fell wildly, before recognizing Louis, the kid he had just helped, and the process repeated itself.

Over and over and over again.

Monty couldn't even scream anymore. His throat was on fire. He'd long been hoarse and mildly wondered if he'd ever be able to speak again.

He barely felt the queasy feeling of falling and wondered once more if that meant he was dying.
 
WHAT ARE YOU, MY DAD?
with ze lovely @rissa

"YOU LACK THE COURAGE TO FREE YOURSELF. REMEDY THAT OR STAY FOREVERMORE."

The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at once. The artificial landscape before Louis seemed to reverberate with the sound, but otherwise laid completely still and static. The grey-washed buildings mimicked the ones in Millennium City perfectly, every nook and cranny accounted for... but whereas Millennium strummed with life, this place radiated emptiness. It was neither hot nor cold, bright nor dark, and the artificial sun that floated above was eerily white, but did not hurt to look upon.

It happened too fast for Louis to do anything about it, which is basically how everything ever in his entire life went.

What was he, a fucking ragdoll? Sure seemed like it. Betrayed by his own body and just about everything else. If he had stayed in the Underground would this have all been avoided? Maybe if he just stopped putting effort into existing people would finally forget about him. But no. Noooooo. He had to get yanked into some other world, yanked into someone else's game. Why couldn't he just... just... be free for once?

Even though the tug wasn't harsh he still hit the ground. Pulling himself up with a grunt, Louis could immediately tell this was Millennium but not. It was familiar and freaky all at once. Monochrome. Before he could think a moment more a voice erupted above him, making him flinch and dive back down to the ground for some nonexistent cover.

Lack the courage? Remedy it? What the fuck? "Wh- WHO ARE YOU?!" Louis shouted angrily, cheeks hot with embarrassment. He wasn't a coward, he was courageous, he was -- who the fuck was he arguing with? He stood up with a renewed sense of purpose, shouting at nobody.

"I -- YOU WANNA CALL ME COWARDLY BUT NOT SHOW YOURSELF?! WHO'S THE COWARD HERE, HUH?!"

In the reflection of the nearest building, a strange occurrence was taking place. Louis, and then an unfamiliar woman, and then the stranger he had just said goodbye to moments prior, were blinking in and out rapidly, as if someone where flicking through HoloTel channels. The expressions varied, one looked pleasantly happy, another terrified, and the last, Louis himself - or rather, a mimic of himself - simply looked smug.

The reflection continued to flip through the three metas who were now trapped in Julian Armine's dimension, until finally it settled on Louis' form and beckoned him forward with a finger. The same finger that was bandaged on his own hand, though this one coalesced with a yellow-white energy.

Louis watched the show before him in a sort of muted horror and confusion. This was fucked. Fucked to hell. Somebody was fucking with him, whether it be his own messed up brain or maybe somebody sent to torture him from the SPME. Maybe this was one of their horrible simulators, or maybe they had sent a meta after him to strangle him back into submission.

Either way, Louis had no plans to follow an evil reflection of himself into a damn window pane.

"Nope. No, no, no, no. Nope. Nu uh." He muttered as he did a full 180 away from the building and started nervously power walking away.

Louis' altered reflection followed him. In every storefront that he passed, in every reflective surface, the Louis-reflection was there, alternating between beckoning him forward and watching his discomfort with pleasant smugness.

"No, no, no, no! No no no no! Fuck off!" Louis snapped at every reoccurrence, increasing the speed of his gait until he was just about full blown sprinting. He would do anything not to be back in the SPME. Back in their hands, watching them pick away at his mind and body as he floated above himself with a detachment so terrifying he feared he would never float back down to his body again. This was his worst nightmare personified, his own fears come to taunt him.

"Leave me ALONE!" Louis shouted, keeping his gaze as close to the ground as he could as he ran through the strangely endless sea of skyscrapers.

A blood curdling scream rented the scene and for the first time since Louis entered the dimension, he wasn't alone. Monty's form, whether recognizable or not, fell from a portal above, and flailed wildly as it fell. The body in question flipped and turned and for a moment, seemed to notice he himself was not alone either.

"HELP! HELP ME!"

But there was no time. He was gathering speed at a definitive rate and just as Monty reached ground-level, another portal opened up, not a few feet in front of Louis, it's edges burning in that telltale yellow, and swallowed him whole.

Suddenly, in every reflective surface as far as the eye could see, Louis could see himself, staring curiously. And then, as if drifting on a breeze, though the air was still as could be, a burning scent wafted through the air.

At the scream Louis jumped out of his skin in fright. He whipped around to see the flailing form of the boy who had helped him mere moments ago. Desperately Louis tried to lunge and reach him, but he disappeared too quickly, leaving Louis panting and grasping at empty air. Fuck. What the fuck? What the fuck was this?

He was surrounded by himself, by evil creepy pictures. Staring. Burning into his soul. This had to be some twisted dream, this couldn't be real, this couldn't be real...

Burning... something was burning.

"What do you want from me?" Louis whispered, standing once more, trying to find a corner that seemed suitable to back away into, feeling his own eyes digging into his soul.

With every passing moment the scent became stronger, although so far nothing in sight was visibly burning. Not yet at least. A few seconds after Louis' whisper, a voice boomed from above, though there was a slight inflection within the voice, stuck somewhere between calming and reassuring.

"FOR YOU TO GROW, TO EVOLVE. YOUR PAST MAY HAUNT YOU, BUT IT NEEDN'T HAUNT YOUR FUTURE."

This was feeling less and less like the SPME's doing every second. It was either a really terrible nightmare, or a creepy creepy guy who knew too damn much about his tragic past. Louis' posture shrank, arms wrapping around himself as his throat tightened.

"W-who... who gave you the right?! Why's it your job to fucking -- meddle in my goddamn business?" He snapped back at the voice, though his tone had risen an octave in panic.

"WHO GIVES ANYBODY THE RIGHT TO DO ANYTHING? GOD? THE GOVERNMENT? THERE IS NO GOD HERE, NOR THE GOVERNMENT, NOR THE ONES YOU FEAR. THERE IS ONLY YOU. HATE ME NOW, BUT IN THE END YOU WILL THANK ME. NOW, RUN."

The cadence in the booming voice was hard to decipher, but it seemed as though there were two sides to whoever was speaking. Nonetheless, the warning at the end did ring true. Flakes of ash were falling from the artificial sky, and the horizon from whence Louis had come was now a dark grey, flickering here and there with flames. Everything seemed to be aflame, the skyscrapers, the pavement, even the sky. It was as though the realm was devouring itself.

It was still a bit away, but sooner or later, it would catch up.

It was easy for Louis to run. He was good at it, physically and metaphorically. He was lanky, thin, but could carry some speed. He was scared, haunted, and it made it easier to leave things behind than stick around and fight. But this Millennium was fake, and so was this hellfire, and he felt like if he were to run, he'd be running like a rat on a wheel. In circles.

Louis didn't move, even though his brain screamed RUN, YOU IDIOT and his legs almost started sprinting just of their own volition. He just stood.

From where Louis stood, a reflection of himself appeared in the storefront across from him. He looked wary, eyes burning yellow-white, as he took alternate glances between Louis himself and the burning skyline to his right. After a moment or two, the reflection seemed to be nodding the young man forward, onwards, away from the flames that were licking closer and closer with each passing second.

Ash fell steadily, slowly lining the boy and pavement in it’s grey-white substance. If it touched Louis’ skin it would burn — for a moment or two — and if it got in his eyes, it would sting. It would get harder and harder to breathe, as the air grew hot and ash-filled.

The reflection stared at him, worried, it’s eyes flickering pure yellow, and then white, and it’s expression reverted back to its original smugness before disappearing completely.

So -- standing his ground did not really seem to be the option. He began to flinch and wince from the ashes that slowly rained down, and what started as a tickle in his throat became a painful urge to cough. His eyes burned and watered, and he stood.

He thought about dying, and wondered if he'd be okay with it. He really wanted to be okay with it, but it was hard to be. Eventually he started running again, in the way his stupid evil direction had pointed. He tried to avoid the flames but the thick smoke he inhaled with every breath made running a little more complicated, and he had most certainly given away his head start. Yellow. White. It wasn't him, it wasn't his glow. Someone was taunting him, teasing him, killing him.

He jogged further, wheezing and coughing.

The flames inched their way closer, bit by bit, and though the streets were endless in either direction, things seemed to be coming to an end. As the dimension began to cave in on itself, the flames grew hotter yet, until the very air itself burned as one inhaled.

Sooner or later there would be nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Sooner or later, Louis would burn.

He ran. He ran and he ran and he ran and he felt stupid as all hell for doing it, but he didn't know what else to do. Okay. Maybe that was a lie. He had an idea, an idea he hated the very thought of and honestly would prefer to burn. He'd put up a pretty good fight, right? Escaped the SPME, lived it out for a few years... it wasn't too bad of a story. But Tony would be sad, and Dad would be sad, and Dad would never even know what had happened, why it had happened... not like Louis was really gonna know either if he died like this.

God, did he really want to die like this?

Tears streaming down his face from the pure agony of the hot air and stinging ash, Louis finally slowed, heaving in gasps of breath that did nothing to calm him or fill his lungs. Sooner or later, he'd burn. Sooner or later, he would die. Everyone died sooner or later. But what point was there in dying sooner if there could be a later?

Hands on his knees, chest heaving, eyes burning, Louis' skin began to shift. It started at his fingertips, turning black and consuming the rest of him, a slow and agonizing process in this state. The darkness slowly climbed and swallowed him whole, until his feet lifted and hovered off the ground and not an inch of his skin was left visible. The little dark voice in his mind, the one that was thrilled to be let out of its cage and into the world, berated him for not letting it take control sooner.

In the time it took Louis to shift, the flames had caught up... caught up and encircled him whole. The city was now entirely aflame, although in his new form, Louis would barely feel the lick of fire and the endless stream of ash.

Slowly, the realm fell onto itself, buildings crumbling, glass shattering... chaos itself was free and wrecking havoc unto the dimension.

But for once, Louis was free from it all. Just before the glass storefront in front of him shattered from the blazing heat, his reflection reappeared and bowed to him in respect. Almost lazily, he waved his hand — and everything crumbled, burst into flame, and the very air shuddered as it disappeared from existence.

Louis, in his new form, was phased into another dimension just as the old one parted, and was plunged into icy waters.

The cold gave Louis a chance to cling back onto reality and shove the darkness back into its box. As he swam to the surface, the dark consuming his skin receded, and when he broke into the cool air, Louis was back to his old, shrimpy self. Now truly shrimpy, because he was soaked.

All the pain of the fire and ash that had seemed to consume him seconds ago vanished in the blink of an eye, and now Louis was cold. Freezing. Shivering as he struggled to keep himself afloat, trying to remember how to do the egg beater thing with his legs, Louis gasped and relished in the fact that at least he felt like there was air to satisfy his lungs.

The water was as cold as the fire had been hot and the only reprieve in sight was a gargantuan statue, some fifteen yards away, that Louis might be able to grab onto and potentially pull himself up. In every direction he looked except up, there was only water. Above, the artificial sky from before had been replaced with an artificial night sky, with a moon that barely shone and no stars to grace the heavens.

Okay. The cold was nice at first. Not so nice anymore. Quickly enough his teeth began to chatter and his fingertips began to grow numb. He swam towards the only thing in sight, the statue that lay ahead, and when he reached it he began to try and clamber up onto it, limbs slippery and tense, though he still tried with all his might. All he wanted was a place to collapse, catch his breath and soothe his mind. He hoped this was at least a pause in the sick game he had been forced to play.

The base of the statue was large enough for Louis to lay upon it. From this angle it was hard to tell, but it depicted an assemblage of people in uniform, staring up into the dark heavens with proud faces. Six figured made up the entirety of the statue and some even shared Louis’ features.

From his vantage point, Louis could finally see a way out of the icy waters. Oddly enough, he seemed to be in a fountain, one that would have spanned several city blocks. The statue laid in it’s center and the fountain’s lip, in each direction, could just barely be seen by the horizon.

The moment Louis could collapse on dry land, he did. Staring up at the frozen faces of the statue, Louis heaved until he finally felt like he could breathe properly, limbs sprawled like a starfish. No scary reflections. No burning sky or crumbling world. Just water and this lighthouse of a landmark in the middle of the ocean.

Or... not quite the ocean. A giant fountain. He felt... small, little, like Alice plunged cruelly into Wonderland. Strange how those faces looked so... familiar. In the same ghostly way that the hollow Millennium had.

So. This was his fucking lot in life now. Enjoy some nice psycho mind games.

He stayed in place and just stared up, trying to process what the hell had just happened to him.

For awhile there was nothing, no movement except for the lapping of water against the statue's base, no sound except for Louis' own heartbeat and inhales, and no scent except for the sharp twang of fresh air. For awhile, everything was still. And then, as though the heavens had parted, a clap of artificial thunder rented the sky above and within moments there was a downpour of icy cold rain.

Louis desperately savored the moments of calm. He treasured every inhale because he could feel in the back of mind that something was lurking. There was no way this chaos would let him be peaceful too long, but time seemed to drift and Louis was still laying peacefully on this little island of a statue. He let his guard down, relaxed, closed his eyes...

And then nearly fell back into the water with fright as thunder boomed ahead and icy rain began to fall heavily onto him. The shivering resumed quickly and Louis was suddenly blinking through his sopping mop of wet hair. His little reprieve was over... the only thing he could do was pick a direction and start swimming again. Goddamnit.

Louis inhaled deeply, steeling himself against the cold water, and then dove back in. Fucking hell.

As ever, the cold water was a shock to the system. Now that Louis knew where to go, it seemed as though it would take forever to get there. No matter how far he swam, the edge of the fountain continued to loom in the distance, the rain falling in heavy torrents all around him. For a moment, as a decent size wave emerged ahead, the yellow-eyed reflection stared at him, curiously, before disappearing as the wave crashed over top of Louis' head.

He swam until his arms ached, until his breath was short, until his eyes were blurred and lips were blue. It never ended, even though he was sure he had seen a way out. And then, there it was again. His awful, taunting reflection, looking over him just before the wave of doom swallowed him whole. He spun around and screamed mutedly into the wave that seemed insistent on dragging him down, though by some miraculous grace he fought his way back to the surface and coughed up the water that had infiltrated his lungs.

He swam forward again - at least he hoped it was forward, eyes burning with determination. He could do this without his stupid darkness. He didn’t need to call for help again. He could get there. He could get there.

The closer he grew to the lip of the fountain, the more frequently waves crashed over him. Each and every one had his reflection staring back at him. Every expression was different, however, and every time it appeared the glow of its eyes alternated between yellow and white and every variant between.

Every other second he was choking on the waves that flung were full force at him by his own reflection. Louis couldn’t fully grasp each expression or color but he felt that they were all looming over him, teasing him, pushing him down further and further. Somehow, he was still breathing, still swimming. He didn’t know what else to do except keep swimming.

After awhile, the lip of the fountain came into full view. It was tall, taller than expected and suddenly, a final wave crashed into Louis, this time from behind. It pushed him into the hard concrete, but gave him enough momentum to reach out and grab the top of the lip.

Panic seeped into Louis’ brain past the adrenaline, and when he finally felt like he couldn’t swim anymore the biggest wave of all was suddenly looming over him. He tried to paddle faster, to escape it in some other direction, but there was no way. But somehow, instead of swallowing him whole, it shoved him forward, and frantically grabbing at anything, anything at all that would save him from being drowned by the current, he grabbed the concrete lip in just the nick of time and hoisted himself up with shaking limbs. He collapsed once more, this time trembling like a wet dog.

"YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT FOR. LOOK," the voice boomed from all around, "LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE JUST ACCOMPLISHED."

From his vantage point just over the lip of the fountain, Louis would be able to see the statue he had previously been laying upon, far, far out in the tremulous waters beyond. Even from here the statue loomed huge, though there was something in their faces that bespoke kindness and serenity.

The rain still fell, but from the moment Louis had escaped the fountain, it had lessened. It was now a soft drizzle, caressing rather than lashing out. If he were to look beyond the fountain, he would find himself in a large expanse of nothing but concrete. No skyscrapers, no buildings, nothing but the fountain, the statue, and concrete as far as the eye could see.

Dear god. He was going to lay here forever, thank you very much. Screw the great big boomy voice above him. Scree the stupid challenges and the great big statue and endless, endless fountain. Louis gaped and heaved and gasped for air and it never seemed to fully fill his lungs. His arms and legs ached. But he was on dry land, breathing, somehow alive in the midst of this game.

“Fuck you...” Louis spat, rolling over onto his side to cough out the last of the water before weakly pushing himself up. The first attempt had his limbs wobbling and he flopped back to the ground, but with the next he managed to sit straight.

“You... r-really showed me... how great of a swimmer I am...” He wheezed, and then collapsed onto his back once more, staring up at the faces above him. They seemed... nice, now that he wasn’t in mortal danger anymore. And familiar somehow. He almost wished they were here.

For a long while there was nothing, nothing but the soft rain and the artificial moonlight. And then, just as things seemed to be over, another audible click could be heard. Not a few feet away, a yellow-ringed portal appeared, it's inner circle white-washed with harsh light that was entirely too fuzzy to make out what laid beyond. But if Louis wanted to leave, it seemed like going through it was the only way.

Louis lifted his head to look at the portal, and then resumed his starfish-esque position. "In ten minutes." He announced. "Maybe twenty."

"NOW."

"What are you, my dad?" Louis snapped. "I-I'd like to catch my fucking breath first!"

At his remark, the artificial moon disappeared, sending the landscape into utter darkness, save for the light that the portal itself gave off. It happened slowly, but sure enough, the light began to fade as the portal, centimeter by centimeter shrunk.

"Motherfucker..." Louis hissed, forcing himself to sit upright. "What, you gonna punish me? Take away the portal for the next level and make me do this one over? I-I've played enough video games, okay! You're not clever!" He growled, watching the portal thin. "I can stick it out here with my nice concrete buddies! You suck anyway."

There came no answer from above except the continual shrinking of the portal and the fading of the only light within this realm.

Louis laid still, praying to whatever god could hear him that being a stubborn asshole wasn't going to absolutely murder him.

Perhaps praying to god wasn't the right answer. The portal continued to shrink, while the ground began to shake. Still lying so close to the fountain, he could feel splashes of water, until finally, one large wave crashed over him, soaking him to the bone once more.

He let the wave crash over him, and sputtered with scrunched-shut eyes once the water had dissipated around him. "I'm still not going!" He yelled.

"YOUR REFUSAL TO ACT WILL SPELL THE DEATH OF ANOTHER. I HOPE YOU CAN LIVE WITH THAT ON YOUR CONSCIOUS."

Louis instantly shot up. "W-woah! Wait! I-I -- hold on, we weren't -- it's just me here, right? I was just talking about it b-b-between us! I t-take it back!"

The portal continued to shrink, though it was still large enough for Louis to enter. And though as proof, the haze within the portal's center fell away, and in stark crispness, revealed a young woman, badly injured, outside a broken storefront window of what seemed to be a clinic.

"Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit." He'd thought for a moment the evil demon-god-satan voice above him had been talking about the young man who bandaged his hand, and the thought absolutely ate away at his insides, thinking he'd get hurt because of him. But the introduction of a new person, a terribly hurt person, and a hopefully innocent person, hurt... pretty much as bad.

Muttering curses, Louis dove for the portal.
 

-Who knows where-
-Who knows when-

<Co-written with @rissa >

Voltaeiche sat in silence as she sipped her black coffee, two pastries on a small plate in front of her. Her mind was still on the events that had happened not a few moments earlier…

Voltaeiche spun around as she heard the screaming, her eyes zeroing in on the messy entanglement of electric signals before she blinked again to turn it off. It was a person, a girl judging by how high pitched her screaming was.

And holy shit she was falling.

Voltaeiche's mind blanked as she watched the figure fall. She was too far away, she wouldn't be able to reach, oh god someone was going to die and all Voltaeiche could do was watch and scream and…

And then another portal opened up. And they disappeared.


Voltaeiche frowned as she sipped her coffee. Was the person okay? Was that going to happen again? Were those portals her way out? Sighing to herself, she dug into one of the pastries, eager to refill her energy after using her power so much. She could deal with the other things later.

The pastries weren't exactly tasteless, but they weren't exactly good either. Like everything within this dimension, everything seemed to be bland and colorless, grey-washed and lifeless. After awhile, the Voltae-reflection blinked onto one of the pastry shop's windows, looking half frightened. And then the ground began to shake.

"Of course the pastries are disappointing," she thought, sighing as she nibbled into the croissant. Normal croissants in Millennium City were already disappointing enough, but these grey ones were really taking the cake. If only they tasted like cake...maybe she'd bake some if she got the chance…

When the ground began shaking, Voltaeiche blinked, watching the pastries begin to tumble onto the floor. Frantically looking around, she spied her frightened reflection, frantically grabbing two or three more croissants on her way to the window.

"W-what's going on? W-where d-do I go?" she stammered to her reflection. Was this an earthquake? Why was there an earthquake? Was this what she got for taking too long?

The ground continued to shake. Though not harshly, it was enough to topple tables and chairs and vibrate the glass out front. The Voltae-reflection blinked between windows and glass, and although she seemed worried, there was no reply.

“I-Is something coming?” she asked, desperately trying to get an answer. Looking at the shattered glass from before on the ground, she pointed to one of the larger pieces. “C-can you fit in those?”

The reflection merely shrugged, as if she didn’t know herself, and seemed to be waiting for Voltaeiche to pick it up before attempting.

Viltaiche wrapped her hand in a towel, carefully tiptoeing through the shaking ground to pick up the shard. “P-please be able to...” she mumbled, juggling three croissants in her other hand.

The reflection blinked into the shard of glass with an almost surprised expression, but before long, said expression turned sour and she blinked away just as a violent jolt surged through the ground. From somewhere far off, there was a momentous crack before everything fell silent and still.

Voltaeiche flicked her eyes between the shard in her hand to the glass pane, before finally in the general direction the crack came from. "Maybe she didn't like it because it was too small...?" she thought, carefully wrapping the shard in her towel anyways. She'd hold onto it in case she was ever without a glass or mirror to look at.

Turning towards the direction she thought the crack came from, she took a deep breath before her eyes began glowing again. She imagined herself like a balloon now; light, easy to lift. She imagined charge around it, clinging to the surface. Like someone had rubbed it on their head so it would cling to the wall. Except…Voltaeiche made the wall, the ground, the same charge.

Sighing as her feet left the street, she began pushing and flying towards the direction of the crack. Whatever it was, it was the first sign of...something since she came to the dimension. Maybe it was a clue to the doorway out...although she doubted it.

-----

At first, everything seemed normal. The grey-washed landscape was the same from above as it was below, though just inverted in perspective. Everywhere she looked, Voltaeiche would see the dull grey cityscape of Millennium City. It seemed wrong and lifeless, but perhaps she was used to it by now.

As she flew closer to where the crack had ensued, she would realize that perhaps it wasn’t the best of ideas…

A building, one that would have been HoloTel News Headquarters if this were the real city, began to crumble. It swayed dangerously, as it’s lower levels cracked and fell in on itself. And then, all at once, the skyscraper toppled forward, in Voltaeiche’s direction, and began to fall in earnest.

In every window and reflective surface that Voltae could see, her reflection stared back at her, its face curiously devoid of emotion from previous encounters and its eyes burning yellow-white.

"Fuck. My. Life."

"Okay okay okay. What was it people are supposed to do again? That old movie stuff. It was a...Prometheus school of running away, which mea-FUCK YOU'RE STALLING."

Snapping herself out of whatever daydream she was having when a building was falling down on her, seconds wasted just floating in mid air, she frantically shot towards the side.

She didn't try to hold back, she didn't try to limit her powers or think about a faucet or a balloon. All there was in her mind was the frantic instinct to do everything she could to not die.

She dared a glance as she watched herself reach the edge of the shadow, paling as she looked at her yellow reflection loom in the glass panes of the sky scraper. She...she…

She made it!

She almost let out a cheer of relief as she shot past the edge, her own shadow outlined clear on the ground beneath her. She was safe! She made it out!

She was an utter idiot.

Slowing for a moment, she was immediately caught in the almost torrential rush of air behind her as the building fell. Flung by the giant mass of air and seeing the ground come rushing towards her, she used as much of her powers as she dared to slow her ascent…

Bouncing twice off the ground, she finally skid to a halt on the sidewalk, unmoving and silent for a moment. Eventually, she let out a loud keen, curling up into a ball as pain fired off all across her body. It was a miracle she'd lived, it was a miracle she (probably) hadn't broken any bones, but with the burns on her back and the bruises along her body…

Pushing herself up, she crawled closer to the nearest store front, trying to get closer to a glass pane so she could get a better look at her injuries.

The Voltaeiche-reflection stood and stared down at the bruised Voltae, her head shaking back and forth as if to convey disappointment. With the ground finally still after the crash of the fallen building, all that remained was the billowing cloud of dust and dirt, though oddly enough it seemed to be flowing in the opposite direction one would have expected it to. It was a minor reprieve for Voltae, as bruised and battered as she was, but the fact remained that she was no closer than she was before to exiting this wretched dimension.

Voltaeiche shot her reflection a dirty glare as she gripped the edge of the window sill, pulling herself into a more upright position. "Eat shit and die," she muttered in French, letting out another yelp of pain as she pressed against a bruise. "...I suppose you're actually trying to kill me," she mumbled, staring at her reflection as she pulled her shirt up to her shoulder to look at the burns on her back.

Who, me?

The reflection seemed to say as Voltaeiche mumbled and took a gander at her newfound injuries. They were indeed bad, but thankfully nothing immediately life threatening. No bones seemed to be broken, though flesh was bruised and scratched and burned. Though there was no one around, this place was a replica of Millennium City, and Millennium was riddled with hospitals and clinics for those unfortunate few who got caught in some villains villainy -- or some hero's heroics. Voltaeiche would simply have to remember how to get there in relation to where she was now.

"I don't see anyone else. And that building didn't fall by itself," she replied, trying to remember where the nearest clinic was. She didn't have any medical expertise, but at least she could try to disinfect her wounds and get some bandages. Maybe there'd even be painkillers, though given the quality of everything else in the grey scale city, she doubted how well it would work.

The reflection shook its head in retort and disappeared, leaving Voltae alone in the street. Alone with her pain. She wouldn't return for a long while.

Voltaeiche sighed, resting her head against the cool glass. She tried to focus on it instead of her injuries, a minor respite from the burning pain. "...two...two blocks..." she mumbled, planning her route to the clinic as she began crawling forward slightly before she let out another whimper. Her clothes brushed her burns and her body pressed against the bruises no matter which way she lay…

"Please have enough please have enough," she mumbled, closing her eyes as she felt throughout herself for whatever energy she had left. Letting out a weak groan as she came up dry, she gently knocked her head against the ground. "Rest for a bit, then start moving," she thought, doing her best to relax her entire body while also not causing herself any pain.

Minutes miserably passed as Voltaeiche lay on the ground, occasionally shifting and whimpering as she tried to find a comfortable position.Deciding she had enough in the tank, she carefully used her powers again, floating a few centimeters off the ground as she guided herself towards the wreckage.

She'd have to break in to the clinic, and she definitely wouldn't have the power to do it. Once she thought she was close enough to look but far enough to not get crushed, she began scanning for a rock to make her life easier.
-----
Voltaeiche let out another quiet whimper as she let herself down in front of the clinic, a rock clutched in her hands. Doing away with all of the subtlety, she did her best to pull herself to her feet as she clutched the rock, preparing to try break into the clinic the old fashion way as she tried to smash the glass.

It boinked off without a scratch.

Letting out a despondent wail, Voltaeiche took a deep breath before she felt for her reserves. Like before, it was still barely anything. She needed to use her powers too often, and it was making it impossible when she hit her limits. "Okay...okay...more force..." she mumbled. She needed to get into this clinic. Charging the rock with as much negative charge as she could, she then put the slightest positive on the window, watching the rock fly from her hand to smash into the glass.

The clinic's storefront webbed with cracks from the impact. It didn't shatter, however, but it seemed to waver, tremulously. Perhaps another hit would suffice. The rock Voltae had launched landed a few feet away, and before she could move to get it, a loud booming voice echoed from the sky above.

"YOU MUSN'T FORGET HOW POWERFUL YOU TRULY ARE."

"Oh fuck off," she mumbled to herself in French, crawling forward to pluck the stone. She knew (if vaguely) how powerful she was, even if she didn't let herself cut loose, and she hated it. She hated the fact that she had a power so strong that it burnt so much her every time she used it without thinking, without control. The scars on her back were an undeniable reminder of that.

Touching the rock again, she slowly repeated the process, only letting out charge in a tiny trickle to the rock as she used her powers to fling it into the window again

The window burst with such finality that even as far away as Voltaeiche hovered, she could feel the jolt of energy pass through her. The rock clambered away, farther than it had before, but Voltae needn't worry, as the glass had fallen away and littered the ground in front of the storefront. Her way was now free.

Letting out a loud moan of relief, Voltaeiche slowly floated up and into the clinic, carefully righting and touching down on her own two feet as she tugged her shirt off. Now that she finally wasn't outside and could get some treatment, she didn't need to worry about infection, and could finally free her back of the pain from her shirt rubbing against it.

Plus, there wasn't anyone around so she didn't really need to worry. Besides that one girl(?) earlier who fell from the sky, but...she was probably fine.

Stepping into the waiting room, she paused as she regarded the space. "Of...course...the stuff isn't here," she mumbled, leaning on the counter as she glowered at the handle-less doors behind it. Maybe they were push...? Carefully sliding over and brushing over her bruises again, Voltaeiche gingerly made her way to the featureless doors.

It didn't give.

Too tired to scream again, Voltaeiche slowly slid down next to the door, pulling her shirt around her like a blanket. "Rest...then try...something..." she mumbled, leaning against the door on her least bruised side. After she got enough power, she'd be able to try...something.

From out of nowhere, a lean, lanky, almost malnourished looking young man dove into the clinic. He was soaked to the bone and deposited none too kindly onto the hard tile floor.
 


JOLENE MOON

Industrial Park Southwest Entrance





Jolene made her way through the seediest part of the downtown area, heading towards the park’s southwest entrance. SHe had been this way once before, and so she knew what to expect upon arrival. That is, except for the undulating and perpetual scream that rang in her ears, and echoed in her mind. Everything else was near silent, and so the scream held a stomach-churning eeriness. Despite how off-putting the scream sounded, Jolene pushed forwards, remaining in the shadows and she snuck to the gate.


The southwestern gate entrance could possibly seem imposing to those of a weaker composure, but Jolene wasn’t like that at all. The entrance’s chain-link fencing was towering, and the top of it was decorated with barbed wire— a threat to those who would try climbing the fence. Having arrived at the gate, Jolene didn’t even spare the barbed tops a glance, instead she moved to try and fiddle with the lock a bit. She found that it was of course locked, but there was a section of the fence loose enough to squeeze through, and so she pushed through the fence, her small frame making it easy to do.


On the other side now, Jolene looked ahead, finding three paths to choose from. One path seemed pretty normal for this area of town, dark and disrepaired, another path was littered with shattered glass from windows, and the third path seemed to be where the scream was coming from.


She only pondered her choice for a moment before deciding to follow her instinct down the path where the scream seemed to be originating from. She took confident, but cautious steps, readying to defend herself from a possible opponent. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around, which either meant she was the first on the scene, or that anyone else who’d arrived before her was already dead or wounded.


Jolene noticed a smell in the air, and inhaled through her nose, finding the scent to be salty. It wasn’t an entirely odd smell to come across in this area, as it was on the water, though she wasn’t sure how close this particular part of the park was to the bay. She exhaled slowly, and continued on the path, grimacing just slightly because the further she proceeded, the louder the scream got.
 
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Battle Buddies, Part 1

a collab with @radiojelly

Willem bounced down the steps of the building, heart beginning to race steadily. He had been kept far longer than he had meant to be. Mr. Movdai would not be home until rather late due to a doctor’s appointment which his sister would take him to, as her ChatWe log had stated to her cousin regarding possible plans to have dinner. He needed to reach the home well before seven o’ clock. Everything was ready in his vehicle, and he needed to get going to make it to that portion of Millenium City.

Every step brought him further into the city, and his eyebrows slowly drew closer together as he realized there were fewer and fewer pedestrians. Not only that - this was a busy area he had parked in. His mind rewound to the earlier newscast. Trouble in downtown, possibly hostile. No. No, his car couldn’t be --

It most certainly was. He rounded a corner, and there stood a massive ape-like construct, a monster with a single giant eye and massive teeth near several cars. A madman in the middle of the street, a whole army of his flunkies… eating the cushions out of the cars. For some reason.

God, he hated people.

And, as if to compound things, to his left, he heard the sound of metal squealing under feet, and he turned in time to see the Boy Scout of all Superheros in mid-leap. Oh, COME ON-

With a satisfying squelch, Miles--and his improvised javelin--connected with the automobile annihilator. The fire poker slid through the creature’s sternum like a hot knife through butter, and Miles, anticipating far greater resistance, ended up crashing into what would have been the construct’s left pectoral. By some miracle, he didn’t lose his grip on the rod in his collision, and managed to slap one of his gloves hands against the cocoa-colored abomination’s ribcage.

Just as the monster lifted an arm the size of a grecian pillar above the Atombreaker’s head, Miles managed to send a jolt of transmutative energy into its ribcage. Battling a construct was a double edged sword for Miles: he could affect them with his powers, but such creatures came in many (and often very complicated) forms. The young hero pushed off of the creature’s abdomen just in time to avoid its outstretched palm, flipping backwards through the air one time before skidding to a halt on the pavement.

Miles gulped. Whatever this thing was, its body was in a state of almost fluid-like movement. The beings looked relatively amorphous, but Miles was hoping that there was some kind of pseudo-musculature beneath the surface, or at the very least that the surface was uniform in state. Unfortunately neither was true.

Miles was about to formulate a plan when the beast, who had been rooting around in its own chest cavity, pulled free the submerged fire poker and flicked it some forty feet south-bound at a speed too great for the hero to track with his eyes. It was at that exact moment that Miles caught sight of movement in the corner of his eye, turning around to find not another construct but another human being.

Incredulously, the young hero stared at the stranger, mouth agape for a couple moments before realizing he didn’t have time to marvel at the one human being in the whole city who somehow didn’t get the message that Central Plaza was a shitstorm today. Atombreaker waved both of his hands in the direction the newcomer had come from.

“Hey man, plaza is off limits right now! Go back! Go back

Miles didn’t have time to see the civilian off the premises--even as he shouted at the stranger, he could feel the vibrations of the construct’s thunderous steps in his direction. The young hero turned back towards his quarry, dashing at the creature’s legs without another moment’s notice. The bulk of the beast might’ve been too fluid for an effective combat transmutation, but Miles was willing to bet his life that if he could dig deep enough he’d find some kind of skeletal structure keeping the behemoth together.

In the meantime, that ‘civilian’ was too busy looking at the car that was right behind the two battling each other. His eyes locked onto the passenger seat. There was the canister, with the cap still on, undamaged. It looked like his vehicle had survived… But that meant trying to get around these two to get to it.

He huffed and checked his watch. He had forty-five minutes total. Maybe thirty. It would have to be good enough.

With a startling amount of calm, he jogged around the two, Atombreaker rummaging through his attacker. Will’s hope was that he would think he was merely a shell-shocked pedestrian, or possibly just stupid, rather than attempting to commit an act of terror. He walked to the passenger’s side and hit his fob--

The world slowed around him, the hairs on his neck raising, gooseflesh exploding across his skin. A flash of cold iced his veins as every nerve screamed ‘LOOK OUT’ into his adrenaline-soaked brain. His legs moved for him, leaping atop the hood of his car as the construct’s massive arm swung backwards in its attempt to get away from Atombreaker. With unnatural balance, he stayed planted to it as the arm scraped the side of his car, Will’s gaze stormy as he realized that getting out of here was going to be much harder than he had anticipated.

Can he not kill this thing ANY faster?

Miles ducked and weaved between the beast’s legs as best as he could, narrowly avoiding being turned into a human pancake beneath the construct’s formless feet. While he moved, Miles struck the creature’s semi-solid form with his fists, reaching for mere seconds at a time into it’s body before having to duck, dodge or dive his way out of another incoming attack. It was a precarious dance, but the monster was just slow enough—and dumb enough—that as long as Miles kept moving, he knew he could keep a handle on it. As the motions became more fluid, and the young hero’s muscle memory began to kick in, it dawned on him he could do a lot more than ‘keep a handle on it.’
He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but trying to take down the automobile-munching automaton felt fresh and challenging in a way that taking down gangbangers and petty thieves simply couldn’t be. It was an accident getting roped into this big a mess on his own, but the chance to dust off the cobwebs and get his hands dirty with some real supervillain action in a space was beginning to feel less and less like an absurd chore, and more and more like a homecoming to him. Indeed, as Miles thrust a fist into the creature’s lower back, he felt it: something solid and made of a different material than the rest of the beast’s body. A weakness. The hero felt an adrenalized wave of euphoria wash over him, and it was only then he realized he was smiling.
 
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Battle Buddies, Part 2
a little more of a collab with @Doctor Jax
Unfortunately, it was at precisely that moment Miles saw him. The civilian, standing atop a car not ten feet from the monster, trapped on the other side of the fight. Miles froze in surprise, and one of the beast’s sheen knees struck him square in the sternum. The Atombreaker went soaring off his feet, before landing in a bundle several feet away.
Of course.

It was practically rule number one of being a superhero in Millennium City. If things feel like they are going too well, they probably are. If only he had watched the citizen leave. If only he had made him leave. Now, there was an innocent—if albeit idiotic—man in danger of losing his life to a monster.

“D-damn.” Miles cursed under his breath, before stumbling to his feet. He needed to get behind the creature, and yet with the civilian on the other side he couldn’t let it turn around. Then of course, there was the question of how exactly he was going to extricate the object he felt from inside of it. Miles, though on his feet, had been badly winded by the monster. As he rapidly tried to catch his breath, the monster began moving towards him again. Miles grimaced; the thought of endangering the civilian was unpleasant, but it was time to admit that he wasn’t in the same shape he used to be. Over the thunderous steps of his approaching assailant, the Atombreaker called out to the stranger in between haggard breaths.

“I-I need to get behind it…” Miles spat into the dirt, before snatching up a long shard of a shattered windshield. “Either get its attention so I can kill it… or Run. Away.

Will stared at Miles, hearing the words. Run away… he didn’t have the cannister. That was not an option. He needed to get inside, and that would take time. If he dispatched the creature - had Atombreaker focused on it -- he could drive away. Time was running out.
Fine.

Will sighed through his nose, feeling his throat begin to shift, change, deform. The creature hunkered low, preparing to attack the downed hero. Fists raised up to hammer down on the spot where Miles stood. The dark-haired young man drew in a massive breath.
And he screamed.

It was ear-piercing, a high-pitched skull-rattle of a shriek that had the creature perking up and looking in his direction instead. In fact… it seemed to have gotten the attention of just about every other creature in the plaza as well.

Good. More distractions.

The creature turned to swing at him, and he dropped from his car, the sound abruptly cut off. There was a thrill there, he had to admit. He had always found hero work… exciting, but for all the wrong reasons, and he was far too principled to pretend to do good things for others. He wanted the rush. Of course, in a way, this was doing good for others, if in a roundabout way and for a cause he believed in.
There was little time to waste. Willem’s deafening release had stolen the attention of every single person and car-munching-robot in the vicinity. Every single person, except one.

The sound of steel-toed combat boots slapping against cracked asphalt and shattered glass briefly pierced the otherwise quiet battlefield. Each footfall was arrhythmic, but cacophonous as it came down upon the upturned stone and strewn debris—the mad and desperate dash betraying an equally desperate of not equally mad runner.

Then, in less than five heartbeats, Miles Merrin Haverstash slid to the base of the automaton, and drove a ten-inch shard of glass down the base of the beast’s back, the improvised weapon breaking apart as it slid through the strange, semi-solid form of the monster. The automaton immediately spun around in surprise, but Miles dove through the gap in-between it’s colossal legs. Once again behind the beast, the atom breaker shoved both gloved hands into its fresh wound, his bloodied fingers pushing through the monster’s taught flesh—if one could call it that—before wrapping around the same cylindrical anomaly he had felt before.

The automaton spun wildly, trying to flail its thick, if unwieldy arms at the small, costumed hero riding his lower back like a mechanical bull. The pain from the earlier blow was like a fire in Miles’s rib cage, but he knew that if he let go for even a second—relaxed for even a second—he’d lose his grip on the elusive machinery within.

Thankfully, the creature did most of his work for him: as the beast spun this way and that, Miles propped one foot against its glutes, and pushed. The Atombreaker, using the creature’s own wild momentum to provide the inertia he needed, ripped free the mystery object from its back and—once more—went flying onto the ground.

The cylinder, which thrummed beneath his grip at the movement of unseen machinery, appeared to be merely the base of a much longer and more convoluted organ. Long, ropey cords of entwined wiring came trailing after it, the entire structure like some kind of cybernetic spine.

The effect was immediate: the creature reared back, a sheer howl escaping its lifeless jowls before it collapsed to its knees. Hauntingly, the automation continued to crawl some ways towards Miles, it’s massive hands reaching out to where he had landed. Thankfully, the monster’s faux-musculature began to lock in place, freezing the monster mere feet from where Miles sat like some horrific statue, it’s grasping claws petrified in place.

Miles’s breathing was ragged, and his exposed fingertips were slit from where they had wrapped around the glass blade, but for all intents and purposes he was still alive. The Atombreaker pushed himself to his knees, pausing on all fours to gently prod the menagerie of fresh bruises he could feel around his chest.

Fuck.

As he stood back up on shaky legs, Miles turned back to where the stranger stood. The Atombreaker’s gaze darted from the his ally to the other advancing beasts—each drawn by the meta’s scream.

“N-nice trick,” Miles leaned back, stretching his arms overhead while wearily looking in the direction of where he’d last seen the plaza maniac. “-but you should go now. You have an opening, you need to use it.
 
Last edited:

-Who knows where-
-Who knows when-

Co-written with @CloudyBlueDay

Voltaeiche blinked for a moment, not believing her eyes. "Must be more tired than I thought," she thought, rubbing her eyes as she stood up to look again.

Nope. Random guy was still there. Wet and on the floor.

Letting out a loud shriek, Voltaeiche frantically moved to put her shirt back on, her shriek turning to yelps of pain as she rubbed against her burns again. "W-who are you?!" she shouted, frantically looking around. Was this punishment? Was this the weird voice in the sky getting revenge on her for her talking shit? She was out of power and way too weak to get out...god she didn't want to die!

It took him a few seconds to get his bearings and peel himself off the hard floor. He was shivering now, cold and soaked and tired like all hell, but as much as he wanted to kind of just splat onto the floor and stay there, there was an injured lady and it was all his fault and he was going to do something about it.

Louis was not prepared for the shrieking. He should have been, but he wasn't, and he flinched and scrambled back, which triggered a few moments of wheezing just as he cleared the last remnants of water from his lungs. Uhm, she had been sort of naked. Guess that was why she was screaming.

He put his hands up in front of him in surrender. "U-uhm, uhm, my name's Louis and I swear I don't know how I got here, the creepy terrible voice said that y-you'd be hurt if I didn't go through the portal so I went through the portal, alright! I just want to h-h-help!"

Voltaeiche narrowed her eyes for a moment before wincing again from her back. Letting out a long sigh of pain, she eventually got her white t-shirt down far enough to be modest. "W-why should I trust you?" she mumbled. "How d-do I know that the c-creepy voice isn't messing w-with me?"

Louis winced along with her wince. Just watching her struggle with the pain was enough to make him cringe, which was strange, because he had a pretty high tolerance. For his own pain, he supposed, and not much for someone else's.

"I-I don't know. T-the voice is a voice, and I-I'm standing here and trying to be nice to you, which the voice has not been thus f-far, so.... he also just threw me in a burning city and then an endless ocean... fountain... whatever. If th-that makes you feel any better."

Voltaeiche continued to glower for a few more moments before she nodded, letting her eyes fall to the ground. "I believe you. S-sorry...it's just...been a long day," she mumbled. "Burning city and stuff huh. He dropped a building on me earlier," she grumbled.

"My name is Voltaeiche. I-If you want to help me, I need medicine. Burn medicine and gauze and stuff. I g-got in here but then the doors were like that so..." she mumbled, waving at the handleless door.

"J-jesus, a building?" Louis croaked, though it didn't sound too far out of this guy's league. He was surprised he had made it out with barely any injuries. Just some very achy limbs. Actually, he was sort of surprised they were still attached.

"U-uh... right, yeah, of course. I c-could totally help look. The doors were like... uh... what?" Following Voltaeiche's -- weird name -- gaze, Louis looked to see... a perfectly normal door. Stepping forward, brows furrowed, he reached out of his arm for the handle -- only for it to fall out of its shoulder socket and flop uselessly to the floor.

He stared at his arm on the floor for a silent moment, eyes burning with anger for its fucking comedic timing. "U-um -- fuck, sorry, this happens, d-don't freak out!"

Voltaeiche blinked, rubbing her eyes again before she looked again. "D-did your arm just fall off?!" she said, her voice raising in pitch before she stopped again, groaning. She was too tired for this, and screaming was giving her a headache.

"I...uh...t-this happens often?" she said, pointedly looking away from the arm that had fallen off and up at the ceiling. "A-are you sure y-you don't need b-bandages or something?"

Louis hissed a few curse words and bent down to pick up his arm. He tried to... gently... jam it back in, but it wouldn't really take. It always took too long, especially when someone was watching him and freaking out about it. "Er... no. Yes. S-sometimes. I'm f-fine, it's fine... it'll s-stick back on eventually. F-for now... just..."

With a huff Louis tucked his arm under his other arm and grabbed the handle of the door, opening it. "Seems to be working. Come on, w-we'll find you some gauze."

Voltaeiche blinked as she heard the door swing open, her head snapping down to face him again. "W-wait, how did you do that?" she said, before wincing as she looked at the arm tucked under his...arm. "D-does that hurt?" she mumbled as she moved to enter the room of supplies to find medicine. For the both of them at this point.

"I... turned the... handle?" Louis muttered, looking at her in confusion briefly before entering the room and moving towards a shelf that seemed fairly full of medication. "...Kinda?" He offered, trying to put his arm back into its socket again. No go, so he started to sift through the medicine. "...So... um... did you just get swallowed up into this through a portal, like me?"


"But there is no handle..." Voltaeiche mumbled under her breath as she slowly walked down the row to find the medicine she needed.

"Y-yeah," she mumbled. "I-I was at home, and when I opened a door it just...sucked me in," she said, sighing as she found gauze. "D-do you want gauze?" she called from her spot in the rows. "I-Is your arm b-bleeding?"

"No handles...?" Louis echoed. "There... were definitely handles. Guess the Big Man is still playing his tricks." He muttered with a small roll of his eyes. "I'll be the doorman for the day th-then."

However morbid it was, he was sort of glad he wasn't alone in this. For a moment, he realized he'd totally forgotten about his predicament in the world - about being hidden, about barely interacting with the outside world... did this count as the outside world? He wasn't really sure. He wasn't really even sure what he could do to get out of this, or what he could do in terms of protecting himself.

Nothing, really.

"I-it doesn't... bleed that much, when it happens like this. I'll t-take the gauze when you're done with it. Actually..." He grabbed a bottle of something that said burn relief on it, and some other medical jargon he could not decipher. "If I can just... maybe tape my arm together, I can try and help y-you with your stuff. The burns are on your back, right?"

Voltaeiche blinked. There...were handles? Turning towards the door again, she double-checked that in fact, she couldn't see any handles. "I...I guess he is screwing w-with me," she mumbled, shaking her head as she found a bottle of pain killers.

"I-I...uhm..." she stuttered, trying to get over the mental step of being half-naked while a stranger applied burn medicine to her back.

She couldn't.

"I-I'll do it myself, th-thank you," she stammered. "H-here, take the gauze first. I-I need to go...wash and d-disinfect first..." she said, turning and searching for alcohol swabs. "S-since you can g-get the doors, c-can you go open the uh...bathroom?"

Louis blinked, taking the gauze with his one useful hand as he looked at her nervously. “You... you’re sure you don’t want any help? I-is it because of the arm? I-I swear this is normal, it’s c-cuz of my stupid powers... are you sure I can’t help?”

"N-no, th-that's not," she said, frantically shaking her head. "I uh...l-look, I just m-met you and...you're v-very nice but uh...I-I d-don't really w-want to l-let you see me uh...sorta naked. A-again," she said, her face slowly transitioning from rosy to crimson as she spoke.

Louis stared at her, cheeks reddening slightly just through second hand embarrassment. “Um... yeah, okay... sure. Just... holler if you need anything? I-I’ll be... right outside. Don’t really have... anywhere to go...”

Louis cleared his throat and brushed past her to unlock the door that seemed to lead to the restroom. Then he moved away to wait near the corner of the main room to attempt to start shoving his arm back together.

Voltaeiche quickly ducked into the bathroom, her cheeks still hot as she regarded the interior. Sink, mirror...looked like a standard bathroom. Moving to the sink, she sighed as she rolled her shirt up over her shoulder, turning to regard the fresh burns on her back.

Turning on the tap for cold water, she took a deep breath before beginning to wash it across the angry red marks that had long since spread across her back in jagged marks, overlaying the lighter scars beneath.

Letting out quiet whimpers, she continued the practice, splashing cold water despite how it stung before she pulled out an alcohol swab to begin disinfecting. "H-how's your arm?" she called. "D-did the gauze help?"

Louis vaguely wandered around the medicine room. He wondered briefly if he should grab some of these things for the next time he got thrown into a new portal. For the inevitable moment when he would be injured by this psycho's games. But he didn't even have a bag. Should he go looking for a bag?

None of this made sense.

It physically pained him to hear the little whimpers that came from the girl in the room right beside him, and it bothered him that she had insisted on doing it alone. Luckily, his arm had actually taken to being jammed back into place without the use of gauze, so when Voltaeiche's voice rang out, he perked up slightly. "U-uh, didn't have to use it! It w-went back in. No w-worries. Do you need it yet?"

"I-in a second," she said, using a bit of tissue paper to dry her back before she ran the swab across it. Every time she brushed against a new burn with the alcohol, it felt like it was fire, heating all over again, and she could almost feel the lines across her back. "I should've taken the painkillers first," she thought, letting out a loud sigh of relief as she got the last line.

"O-okay. Pass it h-here?" she said, carefully stepping back and pulling down the front of her shirt so that she was mostly modest again as she reached a hand out from the doorway.

Louis offered the waiting hand the roll of gauze, then closed the door once it had disappeared, forgetting that she couldn’t see any handles. He stood just outside a little while, trying to run through some possibilities in his head. Had time passed in the real world? How much time? How long had they been here? Was that nice speedster here too? Were they gonna be stuck here forever? Was there any way to get out?

“... You from Millennium?” He mumbled weakly, attempting to tug off his shirt and wring out some of the water from it. Maybe there was another set of clothes here somewhere.

"N-no, b-but my family moved here w-when I was young," she said, carefully spreading the burn cream across her back before bundling the gauze and wrapping it around her entire torso to cover the burns securely. "Th-they thought it would help me safely develop my uh...powers," she said. "A-are you from Millennium?"

“...Ah.” Louis murmured, nodding in understanding even though she couldn’t see him. Boy, what a load of shit moving to understand his powers had done for him. “No... Washington, actually. Ended up in Vermont for... er... school. For my powers, too. Then... went down to Millennium.”

"Sounds...interesting..." she said as she continued wrapping, pulling the gauze a little tighter. "Washington, I mean. I've never been," she continued.

"S-so what were y-you doing before you g-got uh...well...portaled?" she said, sighing as she finished the last bit of gauze, biting and ripping it off at the end to tie it off before she sighed and popped two pain killers, hoping it would help and wouldn't be as disappointing as the croissants.

“... Yeah, er, it’s nice. Grew up there. Gets pretty rainy, I guess. I liked it.” He offered meekly. “Uhm... I had just... send some mail. And I was walking... home. And then I just got... shoved into it. What about you?”

"Uh...bathroom. I was going to take a shower after running," she mumbled, her cheeks lightly tinged before. "He said I had to uhm...find the doorway out or something, or be trapped forever more." Turning to the door, she paused. "Uh...can you open this again?" she called.

Bathroom. Ouch. Ironic, almost. No... very much ironic. “Oh! Yes. Yeah.” Louis pulled his cold and wet shirt back on, and then jumped forward to unlock the door for her. “For me he said... I lack the courage to free myself, or be trapped forever more. And a bunch of other shit. Seriously, who does he think he is?” Louis sighed annoyedly, then looked up at her, a little bit of worry in his gaze. “Uh... you better now?”

Voltaieche took a deep breath, nodding as she faced the guy. "Y-yeah. Better than before at least, thanks," she said, sighing again. "Y-you? Your arm feel like it's going to uh...fall...off...again? Because otherwise I kind of want to get out of here...there was a pastry shop I uh...ate from earlier," she said, before scrunching her nose.

"Actually, anywhere other than that."

“I’m fine, it’s fine, don’t even worry about it.” He saved his hand dismissively, proving that it was good and working. Louis looked at her somewhat baffled as she described a pastry shop, but then just shook his head, deciding not to press on the topic any further despite slowly realizing that he was sort of hungry.

“Well... if our friend in the sky isn’t gonna portal us somewhere new, I guess we should just... walk around? Explore?”

Voltaeiche wrinkled her nose again. "I was doing that...but well...there are too many doorways for me to try..." she grumbled. "Well. Sort of. There's a lot of lack of doorways for me," she said, sighing as she rubbed her head. "Maybe I have to find my bathroom door again...?"

"...I just wish I had more hints other than trying to run blindly around the city," she mumbled, looking at the broken window as she carefully stepped her way through the broken glass and outside again.

Louis smirked lightly at the idea of Voltaeiche’s only quest being to find her own bathroom again. “I doubt it’s really that simple.” He murmured, watching her crouch through the broken glass which he somehow only noticed just now. “Well, um... maybe your curse is being able to see the right door but not being able to open it, or something. So now if you see anything that catches your eye, I can... open the door?” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Is there a clothing store nearby? I’d kind of like to change.”

"Oh, uh...yeah, I know some places," Voltaeiche said. "There's a mall a couple blocks that-a-way," she continued. "Nothing's running so it'll be a bit till we get there..."

"I don't know if it's a curse. But I've been wandering pretty aimlessly around the city for a while now, it's all been grayscale. I thought maybe I'd find the door because it'd be like...shining or something, but...well, nothing's really given off that feeling, and Millenium is pretty big. Only notable things that have happened were the earthquake, the building falling and someone who was falling through a portal, whatever those mean."

“It’s alright. As long as there’s someplace to get some dry clothes...” Louis shrugged. He didn’t mind a walk much, as long as it wasn’t going to become flooded, burst in flames, come tumbling down... Who knew what else their friend in the sky would throw them. “It doesn’t really sound like the Big Guy would make it so obvious. Despite his dramatic flair w-when almost murdering us...” Louis shuddered, looking ahead at the grey cityscape before them.

“He must be a meta, right? Some psycho who’s playing a game with some very powerful abilities.” He mused quietly. “Maybe it’s like... dream walking? He’s in our heads? Our bodies are probably somewhere out there then, right?”

"Probably," Voltaeiche mumbled. "...if this is like dream walking, the pain and stuff is frighteningly real," she said, pinching her arm. "As is the hunger. And stuff."

"If our bodies are out there, there'd be a chance that someone would find us, and then try to wake us up or something right?" she said as they strolled down the street towards the mall.

“Hopefully.” Louis murmured, rubbing his hands against his arms in an attempt to create some warmth. He wanted to go home. Home for real, back with his dad and away from this mess. But he knew this was only the beginning, and the thought brought anger up to his throat. He pushed it back down.

“This it?” He said, pointing to a building that seemed to have racks of clothing inside. All he needed was a dry hoodie and a pair of pants, that was it.

Voltaeiche nodded, glancing inside the store. Man, all the window shopping she was doing...at least this trip would hopefully be faster. Bringing her hand up to begin blasting the window with electricity, she paused. "You see a door?" she asked, glancing back and forth for a moment.

Louis instinctively flinched away as Volt’s hand went up and her eyes glowed blue. His arms went up to protect his face and it took him a moment to peer through the cracks at her words. “U-uhm,” he stuttered, throat dry as he inched towards the door and turned the knob. It swung open readily.

Voltaeiche hummed, watching a wall open up into the mall. "...surreal," she mumbled, walking forward. Glancing around the shop, she quickly beelined to a section of simple t-shirts. She really needed it; even though she couldn't feel it stick to her back anymore, she knew there had to be some blood showing on her current one.

"Hit the food court after this? Doesn't sound like you ate through the uh...fountain and burning and stuff," she said as she glanced up from a rack of graphic tees.

Once Voltaeiche’s eyes had stopped glowing, Louis cleared his throat and straightened his posture slightly, trying to shrug off the frantic thumping of his heart. He wanted to ask what her powers were, what she would have been able to do, but he couldn’t find the words so Louis simply shuffled into the mall. He started the grab clothes off the rack - a shirt, a hoodie, a pair of pants he hoped would fit. If not, there were other sizes to try. He peeled off his wet clothes quickly behind a divider and took a moment just to enjoy the feeling of dry cloth on his skin.

Shaking out his hair like a wet dog, his stomach growled audibly on cue as he emerged. “You think there’s actually gonna be food?” Louis murmured hopefully.

"There was food in other places," she said as she came out from the changing rooms, having exchanged her white tee for a grey one, the original folded and tucked under her arm. The back had indeed been marred considerably with scorch marks and blood, which would be hellish to clean afterwards. "It was pretty bland and tasteless, but it was food so. Still something."

Louis moved further into the mall, now letting his rumbling stomach lead the way. A sense of hopefulness renewed within him as they reached the food court, thought he couldn’t help but wonder, what if it was just fake? Voltaeiche said it was tasteless, maybe they were just eating nothing at all. Despite these worries, Louis still headed straight for a little pizza restaurant, diving for the freezer and praying to god that the oven worked.

Voltaeiche instead headed for a sandwich shop, looking forward to something more simple and satisfying than the croissants earlier that day. That, and her cullinary skills still had much to go so...sandwich it was.

Hopping over the odd half-wall, she got to work on her sandwich, cutting and placing meats and cheeses on the bread before throwing it in the oven. As she stood there waiting, she blinked.

The oven was working. There was power here.

Waiting for her sandwich to finish being toasted, she quickly tossed some greens and salt and pepper to finish it before inspecting the wall outlet. "...yeah, I can do this..." she thought, using her entire body to shift the oven before unplugging it.

And sticking a fork in.

Jumping slightly from the initial shock, she sighed as she let the power flow into her, slowly munching on her sandwich in her other hand. "At least I'll be able to do something later," she mumbled.

Louis found dough in the freezer and ingredients in the fridge. He wasn’t much of a cook, and would have much preferred a few boxes of frozen pizzas. He kneaded the dough, accidentally poking a few holes but managing a lumpy circle. He poured sauce on. He dumped the mozzarella. And he did not skip out on the pepperoni. For a moment, he almost forgot where he was.

Shoving the pizza into the oven Louis stood and dusted his hands off, feeling a little prideful of his pizza skills despite having zero idea how long to cook it. He’d eyeball it. “Volt? Do you want pizza?” Louis called out, wandering over to the sandwich shop where she had set up camp and freezing in his track as he stared at her, mouth agape. She was sticking a fork in the outlet!

Without really processing the fact that she had just been calmly eating her sandwich and rather enjoying the fork-in-the-outlet position, Louis rushed forward in an attempt to tackle her away from the outlet.

Voltaeiche was humming idly as she ate and charged. "Oh hi Louis," she said, seeing him in her peripherals, though not really paying attention. "Nah, I'm good for pizz-PBBFT!"

Voltaeiche frantically tried to keep her sandwich raised as Louis tackled her, trying to ensure her food didn't go to waste. Sighing as they landed in a small pile with her sandwich still intact, she scowled. "Louis, what the heck?" she said, a burst of French coming from her before she switched back to English. "You almost made me drop my sandwich."

He was in the air before she could protest, or rather, before he could register her protests. Oh. Shit. She was fine. This was probably her power. Voltaeiche. Volt. Electricity. Dumbass. He was a big fucking dumbass but it was too late and he had already lunged at her, because, hell, he thought she was getting goddamn electrocuted!

Louis did not notice that as he jumped, his legs did not exactly jump with him. And the impact with Volt sent his legs popping off like fucking jiggly gummy bears. By the end of it he was a stump of a body on top of her, that rolled off pretty weakly. Blood pooled, but a noticeably small amount of it for the amount of body parts that were now wiggling around helplessly like fish out of water.

"...S-sorry..." Louis whispered, face white as a sheet. "W-would you... grab... my arm....s...?"

“Why? Wha...” she started before glancing over him.

After she got over her internal screaming she took a deep breath, giving a curt nod as she put down her sandwich and went to gather his limbs. “Don’t think about it don’t think about it you’re thinking about it fuck.

Eventually gathering all of his limbs, she shakily sat down again. “S-so uh, w-what do I do?” she asked, holding up one of his arms

This was the first time all of his limbs had popped off. What was next, huh? His head? Was he still gonna be alive when that happened? What about when his guts fell out, was he even gonna have his hands to put them back together? Normally jamming his leg into its socket would work well enough but he didn't even have any hands to do it with. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, just trying to get past the initial shock and pain. This time, it actually hurt. Not like the dull throb he was used to. It hurt a lot.

But his face was pinched tight as he resolved not to show any of it, and all he could think about was that he was probably better off finding a bag and packing multiple sets of clothing. He wasn't losing much blood, but what if this kept on happening? Could he lose enough to collapse? Dear god, he hated his powers.

The stumps of his arms and legs, though dripping blood like a leaky faucet, seemed coated in a sort of black shadowy ooze that was stopping the missing limbs from pouring blood at a normal rate. "I-if you could j... just... try to... rea-a-attach one of my... arms..." He swallowed down the taste of bile as Voltaeiche waved around his own arm. "J-just try and ... sho... shove it back."

Voltaeiche nodded again, taking a moment to figure out which arm was the left one and which was the right one before she began to slide it up the hoodie sleeve. “T-tell me when its reattached,” she said, frowning for a moment as she rolled the hoodie sleeve up so that she could get the arm through the shirt sleeve beneath as well.

Oh, god. This was weird as hell. Having a person you just met reattach your limbs for you. He had to resist the urge to cringe away as Voltaeiche gripped his arm and tried to slip it back into its socket. It was so strange to feel her fingers grasp his, yet with no connection to his body. He could fel everything, it just felt... far away, in some strange way that gave Louis shivers down his spine.

Finally he felt something click, and the usage of his fingers didn't feel like pulling the strings of a puppet. "I got it," He mumbled quietly, barely audibly, as the reattached hand reached for the one still free of his body, and he attempted to put that one back into place as well. "I-if you could start on my l-l-legs. Th-that'd be... v-very h-helpful."

Voltaeiche nodded, again checking which leg was which before she began trying to reattach it. Ignoring the fact that she was holding another persons disembodied leg was...no it wasn’t getting any easier it was still very very weird and uncomfortable. “Y-you said this happens often?” she said, looking away and trying to start up some conversation.

Eventually Louis could feel his arm takes its rightful place, and he reached for his other leg and began to attempt to reattach it. His throat was absolutely dry, and he couldn't tell it the slight nausea was just from disgust or a loss of blood. "It... th-things fall off a lot. U-usually not this b-bad... but maybe because I-I -- I thought you were electrocuting yourself or something, I g-g-guess I got panicked and then..."

Louis sighed, shaking his head as he could feel his legs begin to pop back into place. "It just happens sometimes. I can't do much except sit a-and wait, and bleed... a-all over your... s-sandwich. I-I'm really sorry."

Voltaeiche sighed. “Yeah, I suppose that’s what it looks like...I appreciate the concern, and I really should’ve said something so that...this didn’t happen.”

“Don’t worry about the sandwich. I’ll just steal some pizza from you,” she said, tossing the bloody sandwich away. “And uh, for lack of a better word, I was charging.”

Eventually everything was back in place, and Louis stood shakily, smeared in his own blood. His hoodie was black, but it still seemed fairly drenched, and his pants legs were a whole other story. "Uh... charging. So... electricity manipulation, right?" He said quietly, opening and closing his hands to make sure he still had a sense of how to use them.

"Y-yeah. That's fine. How 'bout you... g-go check on the pizza, and I... will go change.... again?"

“Sure. And yeah, electricity manipulation. Been running low so I wanted to get some minutes in.”

“Anyways, yeah, go get changed, I’ll make sure the pizza doesn’t burn,” she said, trying to ignore how blood soaked his clothes was. “Do you want to head back to the clinic afterwards? Maybe a hospital?”

Louis shook his head, stepping over a sea of red and once again holding back the vomit climbing up his throat. “What good is it g-gonna do? Roam around an empty hospital? Makeshift blood transfusion?” He chuckled weakly and darkly, already walking away from the food court and back into the clothing part of the mall. “We’re alone, Voltae. For now, at least. N-no clinic is gonna help.”

He disappeared down the way.

"Well...that was hopeful," Voltaeiche thought, sighing as she headed for the pizzeria. Having brought her fork over, she found another outlet in range of the oven before shoving it in, a quick shock going through her body again.

"Maybe he needs some time," she thought as she charged. "Or some food or whatever...it is a shitty situation…"

Louis’ pace quickened as he left the food court. He gritted his teeth harshly, grinding them together as his fists clenched and unclenched. He’d kept a cap on the anger until now, not keen on showing Voltaeiche every worst part of himself.

He was a prisoner of his own body, and he hated it. Most of the time, his body didn’t even feel like his own. Louis looked and felt like a dead corpse walking, streaking blood behind him as if someone were dragging a body. But it was just him, limp, useless, and with all the strength of a platter of green jell-o.

He kicked a trash can aggressively, watching it flop over on its side and the top pop off, but no contents were spilled. Louis stared at it, and remembered his other problem. That he was stuck in a fake place, with challenges that seemed fake enough until they swept away his breath and stole his energy away to the point of all his limbs popping off his fucking body.

“ARE YOU HAPPY YET?” Louis yelled at no one, giving the poor trash can one more kick. At first, he wasn’t sure if he was talking to the voice above or the voice within, but he made his mind up quickly. “You wanted me to get more acquainted with my powers, well here I am! On the crime scene of my own damn murder!” He shouted, staring at his bloodied palms for a stark moment before he began to tear his drenched clothes off in search of another set to eventually ruin.

Voltaeiche was still charging from the wall when she heard Louis shouting, jumping for a moment before she glanced out. "...sounds like he's having a rough time," she mumbled, sighing as she rubbed her head. He had gotten out of his hell...just to enter hers. He needed a break just as much as she did.

Smelling the melted cheeses and pepperoni from the oven, she quickly made her way over, sliding the hot pizza out and onto a plate. "Some cool refreshing drinks would be great..." she mumbled, heading back through the other stores to see if she could find some juice or soda.

There was no response, of course, not when Louis tried to talk to whoever was playing this terrible game with him. He grabbed a new set of clothes and headed into the bathroom, everything done with a sense of impatience and anger. Watching red dwindle down the drain as he scrubbed his skin raw. Finally he felt clean enough to put his new clothes on, discarding the rest and even finding a decent looking satchel bag to shove another set into. And a pair of pants and a shirt for Voltaeiche, too. They were both probably going to get fucked over again. Whatever useful stuff they could find he’s be first to take it. Who knew how long they’d be stuck in this mess.

Eventually he made his way back, looking less like a corpse though his face was still pale and pinched unhappily. “Pizza okay?” He said quietly, watching her rummage through an ice box.

Voltaeiche looked up from where she was, a can of soda in each hand. "Yup. Far as I can tell at least," she said, holding each one up for a moment for inspection before placing them on the table. "What's in the bag?" she asked as she moved to the table she'd plated the pizza on.

The pizza didn't look half bad, which was surprising. A little haphazardly thrown together, but warm and tasty looking nonetheless. God, he was starving. If he didn't eat soon the limbs might not stick back on.

Louis looked to the bag at his side. "Extra clothes. For you too. I have a feeling we're gonna need it... i-if you see anything else useful, let me know." He moved to the table and cracked open the soda, chugging it down with renewed gusto. He grabbed a pizza cutter from the shop and sliced the pizza up. "I might... make another. Or find some other food. Think I need more than this." He mumbled, almost to himself, even though he had hardly started on eating the pizza itself.

Voltaeiche hummed as she took a slice. "Thanks," she said. "Mmm...there are more restaurants. Maybe we should make some food and pack it for on the go, just in case something happens."

She then opened the bag to check what kind of clothes Louis picked out. "Mind if I go try them on later? Make sure they're my size?" she asked between bites of the pizza. "Could look for some other stuff in the mall afterwards. Maybe a mattress store; I don't know about you, but almost dying left me pretty tired."

Louis nodded, expressions much more subdued now that he had cleared everything out of his system. He ate quietly, but quickly, and soon half the pizza was gone. He reached for another slice but felt bad that Voltaeiche wouldn't have enough, so he paused.

"Sure. Whatever you want, whatever you find useful... we'll g-grab it." He cringed a bit at the suggestion of a mattress store. "I... get what you mean, but I-I can't imagine falling asleep in this world. If you want too, go ahead. I'll keep watch." Louis murmured. "You grab food. I'll scout ahead."

Voltaeiche frowned, finishing her second slice before she dusted her hands off and stood up. "Well, you need to rest some time," she replied, pulling out her phone. "My timer still works, and I can charge my phone...I mean, do you trust me enough for me to keep watch?" she said.

"Yeah, I'll go grab some food. Any allergies I should know about in advance?" she asked. She'd probably grab a couple of sandwiches...she'd figure it out.

Seeing her dust her hands off, Louis went in to clean off the rest of the pizza platter. He only stood when it was empty, feeling a little bit better now that a good amount of food sat in his stomach. He bit his lip slightly, raising his eyebrows at her question. Did he trust her? Did he have any choice? He hadn't trusted anyone in quite a long time now. But... now or never. And it wasn't like there was anyone else to trust.

"I... just... sure. Whatever." He found himself unable to actually say out loud that he trusted her, because frankly, he wasn't sure he did. "Uh... peanuts. And I don't really have an epipen on me anymore, so, uh... hope there ain't any p-peanut involved death trials here." He huffed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "How about you set a timer for fifteen minutes, we meet back here. If one o-of us found a good place to sleep, you'll rest and I'll watch. If not, we should grab what's useful and head out."

Voltaeiche nodded, setting the timer on her phone before she stood up. And frowning as it repeatedly stuck to one time. "Maybe not...." she thought as she showed Louis her screen. "It keeps going to 3 hours and 30 minutes no matter what time I set it to...think it's some sort of warning?"

"I'll go find a bag of my own and get started with collecting food," she said. "Two days worth should hopefully be enough, otherwise we can return here to restock more."

Louis stared at the screen expressionlessly. What? Three hours and thirty minutes? That wasn't something they could just gloss over, this was -- a countdown! A countdown to what? Their deaths? The end? More people, more challenges? Fuck, fucking hell this could mean so many bad things! It could mean they only had three hours to do -- to do what?! He didn't even know! And they were just gonna run around this mall until the time went up and then boom they'd be thrown right into whatever bullshit Big Guy had planned. And then -- and then..

Voltaieche was already off. Louis was stuck in place for a few moments, blinking dumbly before shaking his head and turning to huff off in the other direction.

That was when the map fell at his feet. Louis once again stared up at the ceiling where the portal had appeared and disappeared, and then the pamphlet. He bent down to pick it up. It seemed like a normal map. And a normal mall. Soap store, pretzel stand, clothing, clothing, clothing, clothing... sporting store. Sporting store? Maybe he could find something good there. Hockey armor or something. Baseball bat. Louis set off.

Voltaeiche had similarly set off, ducking through the various restaurants as she looked for food. It was probably best to pack food that wouldn't spoil easily. If power was still running in this section, then it was fine to leave some fresh food here.

After she'd gathered a small mountain of food, enough for two, she hummed before leaving to find a store with a suitcase. While a duffle bag of some sort would probably be better for moving quickly, a suitcase would inevitably be easier to wheel…

As she walked, she continued to mull over the timer on her phone, occasionally opening her phone just to stare at it. If she hit start...what would happen? Was it another hint?

Frowning, she looked to a store window, staring at her reflection. "Are you there?" she whispered, trying to call out for her odd other-self.
 
MONTY

Monty more or less drifted forever downwards, through dimensions uncountable, semi-conscious and haunted by the sinking sensation that was now his reality. His throat was raw, burning, maybe even numb— he wasn’t quite sure. Truth be told, Monty wasn’t quite sure of many things. For example, he often wondered (which to him, in his semi-conscious state of mind, often revealed itself as out-of-body dreams) if he was even falling at all. Sometimes, he even wondered if he was actually falling upwards— until he lurched, each and every time, overcome with a twisted sense of nausea.

And sometimes, in the ever shrinking part of his conscious mind, Monty wondered if this would continue indefinitely and if it were better to just die.