Hoods & Capes | IC

[Sail]

He stood there silent, unable to truly comprehend the events of the previous hours. His chest rose and fell, giving away the rapid rate at which his heart beat. With a resigned sigh, he turned to Pearson for just a moment and said, "Okay. Stay safe my friend."

Away he went, crossing the street, tiredness slamming into his mind like a fog on a cold morning, choking every bit of life from him. A voice echoed in the back of his mind-"It's my turn."

Kallen floated in an endless void-a living stereotype of what "unconsciousness" was like. He floated until his form slammed into an invisible wall, crumpling to the ground. He laid there, unmoving, until a thought crossed his mind-"Get up." He warily stood up, his legs an unsure foundation for the rest of his body.

A flicker of light-his eyes snapped to it, funnily enough, like a moth to a light. Closer, closer, until it consumed his entire field of vision. And then-

He shot up in his bed, sweat dripping down his face. He reached over to his bedside table, pulling a water bottle from its home. He unscrewed the cap- The light slinked away, revealing a large field with buildings of various sizes strewn across it- and downed half of the lukewarm water in a single gulp.

He spoke to himself, his voice dying before it could escape his lips. "Is this real? I'm sure I'm just faking everything-there's no way I'm not fully in control of my mind…" A shiver ran down his spine as-

The memory had finished it's playback in its entirety. But still, one thing didn't quite make sense-how did that one person recover from their wounds as fast as they did? He shoved away the thoughts, still uncomfortable with the memory resurfacing. The answers would come one day.

-as the memory scratched across his consciousness. He knew for certain that catching sleep would be like trying to nab gold in the Gold Rush.

 

[KatSea]

Holy Jailbreak Batman! Part One: Featuring Night Watcher @Seductress, Queen Bee @Ragamoofin, Torrent and Snowfall @KatSea

Blair Whittacker just wanted a nap. Not a luxurious one by any means, no need for a spiritual playlist or freshly lit candles, no weighted blankets pulled up comfortably to her chin as she was tucked in by the latest fireman model...she just wanted to plop face first into a couch and pass out into oblivion. She didn't even care if it was her own couch. Today consisted of what felt like four months of bullshit and Blair just wanted to take a skip and a hop into the next day, starting fresh with her brand new line of work. Today was going to leave a scarring effect, she knew, but the further away she could get from it, the better she knew she would be off.

But even as freedom was in view, even as her gaze averted to Pearson with a pleading in her eyes...she knew something was wrong. Night Watcher was nowhere to be seen. Blair hadn't known Conner long, but one thing she did know was that man was a natural born leader, and if there was going to be some sort of semblance of a team or a contract, he'd be one of the first to over view it. Whether or not he agreed with it was up to debate, but he'd be here to survey.

So when he wasn't there, when Pearson met her gaze and told her to head to the station, she immediately knew something was off. Her grip tightened unconsciously on Jem. Setting her jaw, she found herself inspecting the hero she was teamed up with. She had never witnessed this hero in action before, even as her words rang in her head in a pounding echo. There was a light mask of pink that was barely hidden by her balaclava.

Blair forced the sheepishness from her expression and focused on the task at hand. She swiveled on her heel the moment Pearson's voice escaped him. Her car was roughly a five minute walk from where the Deli was and it wasn't an entirely long drive to get there. But the more time that was wasted, the more likely Conner was going to make a mistake.

"Come on, this way." She ushered her brother behind her, her movements swift. She was surprisingly more calculated when a goal was set into her head, each step coordinated as to not trip over any debris. She somehow knew Jem was still keeping his eyes closed. But she didn't look back. Not to check on Jem, and not to check on Queen Bee. They had places to be and if they were left behind, that was on them.

A delighted buzz of sparks grew into a contained arc between Queen Bee's stingers, fingers curling into her palms as she kept her squeal in her throat. "Right away, Snowfall!" She chirped with her crown bending towards her newly appointed leader as the woman led the way out of the deli.
Giving a final glance at the remaining inhabitants of the steadily repaired deli, Bea gestured widely to the group, even the unconscious avenger on the floor. "I'll see you all at headquarters, I hope!" God, she hoped they had a headquarters.

Wings sprouting at her back, Queen Bee's boots left the ground as she hovered away, turning in the air to cast a wave to Pearson. "Hold onto that contract, I'm signing it later!" With a spin, Bee was up and out of the deli, hovering a good few feet above her dashing company and...cargo.

Who was that, again? Oh, it couldn't have slipped her mind that easily, could it? Jetstream? No, wrong city. Geyser! Ooh, definitely not. Maelstrom? Nah. Hmm...ah!

"Torrent!" Queen Bee exclaimed from above, wings curling around her person as she dipped low to the ground, hovering next to the...willfully blinded hero. Interesting. "So pleased to make your acquaintance!" Oh, dear, what was good small talk during times like these? "Love your costume, is it homemade?" Perfect, nailed it.

Torrent's legs ached. His upper chest was still tight and he could have sworn his lungs twisted inside out. The run to get there was not something he had prepared himself for. He had hoped, foolishly, that Blair's day would go off without a hitch. He had bigger fish to fry at home and he was happy to stay there until he was needed. He just never realized it was going to be as bad as it was. And he felt like a damn fool for not coming with her. He knew it's what she wanted, however, to watch over the house while she was gone. Instinctively, he knew that there was another desire for Blair under that request. He was her little brother, afterall…

Despite his physical exhaustion, his mind was wide awake with the horror that surrounded him. He had agreed not to look for Blair's sake, but knew that it would be better off for him as well in the long run. Blair had one thing right. Jem wasn't exactly a soldier. He may have been preparing himself to fight minor villains and take a few punches. A whole damn massacre and terrorist attack was on another level, even if he hadn' been there when it had started.

Relief took over him when they found their way to their destination. He could go home and make sure Blair was okay. Check her for wounds, make sure she was hydrated, make sure her mental state was more intact than not. She was holding herself strong all things considered but Jem knew her soul. She felt what others felt and mourned at others mourning. She may not have ever known any of the deceased, but being present in a massive fight? Jem knew his sister was strong. He just wanted to be sure.

"Night Watcher?" He questioned, realizing the hero that Blair had gushed over the following evening. All in one day he chucked her, slid down her icey slide, gave her a handshake, tried to turn her into milkshake in a car, and then went to go get pie. He could already tell he was quite the character and Blair had developed a fondness for him. Hearing he was gone and was in possible danger (to himself most likely) Jem already knew what Blair's main priority was. Even still, he was surprised as Blair began to power walk away from Pearson, barely acknowledging the contract dangling from his hand.

When Blair's head was in the game, it was impossible to drag her out of it until she won. In this case this was finding Conner and making sure he got back okay. He didn't dare question her objective, easily gliding behind his sister with his eyes still closed. He was grateful the mask hid his face, hid the concern and paleness that coated his cheeks. Although he had to admit he was sweating underneath it from the run, and dear Christ it felt like the grossest sauna he had ever stepped into.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Torrent replied, his voice almost less than a wheeze. Good Christ, this is what smokers must have felt like when trying to engage socially. His mind swirled a tad too quickly as he felt his sister tug him ahead. After a moment, where the ground beneath him felt more stable and flat, he peeked one eye open to witness the hero that hovered about him. He shrugged. "I'll give you my designer's name after this whole shit show is fixed." Jem mumbled, increasing his speed as Blair's car came into view.

"Uh, Fuzzybea, you can take shotgun…"

If she was being honest, it was getting a bit tricky to keep up with just what was going on; in her mind, she'd only gathered Night Watcher was in some sort of danger. Not uncommon for a daring hero whose career was nothing to scoff, but it did seed concern in her thoughts. Not to point out the obvious, but retrieving the man from the police precinct didn't sound like it was going to be as easy as the VP made it out to be.

In any case, it'd be an excellent chance to make an impression on her new allies. Yet, for all her excitement, Bea couldn't shake the nasty feeling of dread crawling over her. It grew worse whenever the lining of her helm pinged with new alerts, bodies discovered and prepared for the medics. The toll was high, far too high for so many heroes to have been present- it didn't settle well with her, tendons in her jaw tightening with suppressed frustration.

She'd taken too long. The drive from school had been cut short after she'd heard, seen the frantic videos being shared over her timeline. Traffic came to a standstill when the police cruisers came barreling down the street, it'd only taken a few minutes to pull into an alley. It took considerably longer to prepare for the scene, her Hivepod was- sufficient, but she needed time. Time she didn't have.

Blinking away the film of her replaying memories, Queen Bee's helm shifted in the direction of Torrent, then over to the car not far from them. Ah, where was she? Oh, yes, first impressions.

Bea scoffed under her helm, wings lowering against her back, her boots scuffing against the pavement before she broke into a dash. "Excuse me, would you?" Bea breathed, slowing ever so slightly, dropping a fair distance behind the pair. "Queen Bee to Speeddemon, do you copy?" Bea tilted her head, waiting, an annoyed sound over the unresponsive line. Bea spoke softly, voice a faint whisper. "Ezekiel, are you awake?"

A rumble, a long breath through the rising static, and then finally- "Yes, madam, I...I haven't dozed off." Came the withering voice of her chauffeur, weary and sounding awfully groggy. As long as he was awake.

Bea made a pleased sound, lips curling up into a grin. "Perfect. Okay, look! Things have changed, and, just so you know, I'm totally an official hero."

Ezekiel gave a startled gasp, sputtering for a few seconds. "Wh-what!? Already? My goodness, you must've made quite the impression!"

Bea's smile fell, twisting up her lips as she gave a groan. "Okaaaay, maybe not official, but I'm a signature away from being on the team. So...close! I'll get there."

Ezekiel sighed over the line, crackling hard with static. "Oh...well, in any case, what now?"

Bea sped up as she neared the duo's car, quickly tapping her wrist, forearm illuminating as her fingers danced over the display. "I'm off with two of the other heroes, we're going to get the Night Watcher from a police station." With a press of her digits, the armor surrounding Bea began to break down, hard structures splitting apart, the plain denim she wore revealed as the shifting mass gathered around her back. "I'll message you the location when I'm there, stay safe!" Bea's fingers flexed over her palms as her gloves faded into jittery clumps, shoulders and neck released from her suit. Bea stood as herself by the passenger side of the car, her backpack- glowing, quickly reabsorbing the formless nanites of her suit- held in her arms.

"Just so I'm clear on this, we are expecting...resistance from the police, right?" Bea asked over to Snowfall, opening the door and crouching inside. "I don't think they'll take too easily to us just walking out with him, so what are we going to do?" Bail? It'd be an odd charge on her card, but nothing she couldn't explain to her parents. Maybe. Maybe.

Blair peeked behind her one last time to make sure her two partners stuck behind her. She was going to feel bad later in the day for her hellish speed walking, but for right now she had a mission ahead. She fumbled for the keys at the pouch that laid at her waist. It wasn't exactly Batman's utility belt, but she certainly had adoration for that aspect of her suit. She was like a living coat hanger and she was more than happy for the title.

Driving the key into the handle, she popped open the car door and watched her brother crawl into the backseat. She could tell that he wanted to rip off his mask and suck in several deep breaths, hopefully not wretch from nauseousness. He seemed to have composed himself, keeping stoic with his metallic and blank mask. She was going to need to check in on him later and make sure that he was genuinely okay.

Blair's thoughts shattered with the revelation of a young, fucking teenager lumbering behind them, slinking into the passengers seat. She knew that Queen Bee was young but not...this young. Blair stared at her. Her eyes glazed over in her horror. They just had this teenager fighting a damn massacre and she was just...climbing into the car. Seeming okay. Blair's mouth went dry, trying to remember the mission at hand. "U-um...yeah. Just...be prepared. We aren't going to act through violence. We are getting in and getting out. We are going to tell the police we are with Pearson and need to get Night Watcher back to base…" If they didn't accept the fact that they were with the vice president...she huffed through her balaclava.

"Buckle in you two," Blair requested, revving up the engine and pulling out into the main road once everyone was inside. She inhaled, shallow and slow. She could use a crap ton of a Mike's hard cider right about now.

"I want my phone call." The tone was rather rancid, dripping with venom as Clay let his words ooze out from between his lips. He sat there, his cuffed hands sitting patiently in front of him. Why wasn't The Night Watcher moving? Did he seem to think that he was some kind of Batman clone? Could you imagine that, though? A clone of Conner running around? Now that wasn't a mental image that Clay really wanted to imagine.
Laughter broke out from the captive villain. It started off as a guttural, throaty chuckle that climbed from the pits of his stomach and echoed through his throat. For a police station, the mercenary wasn't exactly feeling his definition of safe. They had taken his suit, his gear, everything that he was going to need in order to keep himself alive against a cornered match up with Arsenal. What exactly was he going to do now that he was left naked and unarmed? The only thing he could do; finish off the Lockheart family once and for all.

"You know, Conner, you're starting to look more and more like the man I used to know." Earnest propped himself up on his elbows, watching the man with a wondrous look gleaming in his eyes. Conner took one step forward. A second foot. "I remember when building a bomb was as natural for you as making breakfast. What happened to that guy?"

Without looking up toward the table, Conner reached forward, pulling off his belt and placing it on the table. He then pulled his hood off, revealing the dead looking eyes of his mask. He could even feel Finn starting to shiver and shudder from the man's haunting gaze, but intimidation was all a part of his plan. There came a time in Conner's life - a time that seemed to replay itself frequently - where dropping the good guy schtick was acceptable. He wasn't good cop nor bad cop; he was a damaged man looking to fix the problem.

Clay cleared his throat. "Didn't expect to see me today, did you?"

No, that's right. Finn was the last person Conner had expected to see. Conner watched Perry kill Finn three years ago. No man could ever withstand a shotgun blast off the side of a building, but somehow, Perry's efforts weren't good enough. Perry. That's what caused all this. Now that Conner had remembered that Perry was in critical condition, his blood began to boil once again.

The Night Watcher took a step forward, grabbing the vacant chair in front of him. He didn't mean to put as much force into it, but the chair left Conner's hand and smashed against the wall behind Finn. The man had flinched, attempting to jump away in fear, but quickly found himself restrained by the cuffs that kept him against the table. Fear had flashed in the man's eyes for a split second as his gaze went back up to The Night Watcher, the only movement the hero made being the heaving of his chest.

Now wasn't the time to be scared, though. Conner had Finn cornered, right where he wanted. The man knew he was going to have to be crafty if he wanted to make it out of here with his skin still intact, and his skull uncracked. "Very good," Finn forced out a laugh, clapping his hands together. "I don't think revenge is what you should be after. I think what you need is a therapist." Earnest Clay might not have been a master arsonist, but he knew enough about fire to know that he wanted to keep adding to the burning fire that raged in front of him. If he could get Conner emotional enough, he'd be able to exploit it in the form of causing him to slip up in the ways that only emotional blindness could cause. "Is there a number you want me to call for you? Want me to call your wife so she can take you home? Oh...wait..that's right, I barbequed her."

The ride over, while just slightly over the speed limit, was a smooth one. If their driver hadn't been so white-knuckled and focused on the road, she might've said something, but she could understand the reason for haste- quite frankly, Bea wished they'd gone faster. It might've not been the wisest choice, unless they wanted to be joining The Night Watcher in a holding cell.

"Huh, it's still in one piece. That's good." Bea gave a low hum at the sight of their destination, eyes dipping down to her lap, her fingers typing out a quick text. "And…" Within seconds, her phone buzzed, Bea's eyes lighting up in delight. "Yes, perfect."

[Omw]

Excellent.

With a beaming grin, Bea looked up, eyeing her costumed driver, glancing into the backseat to Torrent. "So, how are we doing this, Snowfall?" Bea asked their leader, leaning forward in her seat, sliding on the straps of her now inconspicuous backpack. "Would you like me to go in first? It's just that, you guys are still in costume, but, hm."

Bea tapped her chin, scooting to the edge of the seat as she undid her seatbelt. "I guess requesting the release of a hero would look better from other heroes." Bea drummed her fingers along her knee, staring out the window at the sprawling steps of the precinct.

"But whatever, let's just grab him and get back the VP." Bea rested a hand over the door handle, popping it open once the car came to a stop. "I'm sure Night Watcher's had his fill of today as much as you guys." Bea swung herself out of the car, shutting the door with her hip. "So, we walk in, ask for our guy, get him, walk out." Clapping her hands together, Bea gave a fluttering chuckle. "How hard can this be?"

Torrent found the lack of music in the car unnerving. Blair's playlist was a rather...colorful one. It wasn't particularly his cup of tea, but it gave the two heroes energy as they wiggled and bounced with the beat of the music. It didn't matter if it was good or not, it put a smile on her face, and that was enough to make him at ease. Dread settled in the pit of his stomach instead. Blair was keen on making it to the station with precise efficiency and speed, her eyes locked onto the road. Jem rarely saw his sister like this, and it frightened him when he did see it. It would be when Blair was under insane stress or she felt that her brother was threatened that she acted like this. Jem just wanted to reach out to her, to place his hands on her shoulders, and to tell her to breathe.

No, no use of poking the tiger while she was raging inside the small car and desperate to break out. Yeah. Jem would refer to her as the tiger. Constantly. Sometimes she'd be a cute little tiger cub who'd be clingy for cuddles, other times Jem swore she could rip out someone's throat. Right now? Probably the ladder. Thank God she still clung to her maternal instinct, however, keeping cautious as she raced through traffic, occasionally breaking her mask to curse at another driver's idiotic decision. Surprisingly, his sister's light and gentle voice raising in rage was enough to settle Jem down.

She was getting it out the only healthy way he knew how.

Road rage.

This didn't last long (much to Jem's dismay) before Blair pulled into the parking lot of the local station, pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes. "As far as we know he isn't in custody. This is more of a retrieval mission, if anything. I'm more worried he's made the decision to interrogate someone he shouldn't. That's the only guess I can hazard as to why he came here in the first place. What we need to do is go inside and locate him immediately, make sure he gets into the car and go get him some pie, or something." She brushed back stray locks of hair from her face, readjusting the hood of her uniform before curling her fingers around the steering wheel. She killed the engine.

"Alright, uh, Bee was it? I recommend getting your uniform back on for your own safety. If we go into the station and you are spotted with multiple costumed heroes? I imagine that's not going to look so good for your hidden identity. I'd rather you keep yourself safe. Remember. This is in and out. We go in. We find Night Watcher, and we get him in the car. Any other obstacles that get in the way will be handled just...keep your guard up." The only way this went to shit is if a villain got out and Conner had to handle them.

That was her main fear, and it gnawed at her stomach like a wild animal.

 

[Seductress]

Holy Jailbreak Batman! Part Two: Featuring Night Watcher @Seductress , Queen Bee @Ragamoofin, Torrent and Snowfall @KatSea

Clay's head flinched backward as The Night Watcher appeared in front of him, squatting on the table with his hands on his knees. Conner had simply jumped up, landing in the perfect position with his knees bent and chambered. Clay's eyes looked toward the blank holes of the man's mask, looking for any signs of life. The hero still hadn't said anything to him, and it was starting to get mildly concerning. "What, did I strike a nerve?"

The confidence left Clay's voice as he realized what happened next. This wasn't an interrogation. It was an assassination. Despite the handcuffs making life difficult, Clay rubbed his palms together. "So, Conner, are you ready to get this game started?"

Conner stretched his body out, posting his arm against the table as his leg shot out, Clay's body smacking against the ground as the metal bar tore itself from the surface. Nuts, bolts and chunks of metal flew into the air as the kick to the head knocked Clay's soul around in his body. All he could see were stars, floating around and taunting him.

It was time to reevaluate the situation, while he still had a little bit of time. The door was blocked off with what he could assume were some sort of explosives, and he knew - time's up. Conner grabbed him by the orange jumpsuit, lifting him up and slamming his back against the cement wall. A large, hamsized fist connected with a big cement block as Finn dodged his head to the side in order to avoid it. He dug his elbow against Conner's hand, attempting to get him to release his grasp.

The Night Watcher still had one hand grasping Finn's shirt, right? His feet weren't touching the ground, and Conner was keeping him suspended. Finn put his legs together, chambering them as he brought them up. His feet came up to push off of Conner's chest, sending him flying back and crashing into the table. The surface broke in half where The Night Watcher had fallen, splinters surrounding him and creating a nest.

It was time to think fast. Sleepless, bloodshot eyes scanned the room as Clay attempted to figure out how he was going to get both a way out of his handcuffs, and a way out of this room. The cuffs were still hugged tightly around his wrists, but the bar had slid away and dropped to the floor the moment he was kicked to the ground. This could prove useful as he slipped his hands around the swinging empty parts of the cuffs, creating a sort of metal knuckles for him to finally finish off his eternal nemesis.

"Come on, are you going to get up?" Clay spat down at Conner before slamming his foot down against the man's chest. The Night Watcher's body felt solid, like there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He was made of pure muscle, or so it felt like. The Night Watcher grasped Clay's ankle, bringing his other hand up, flat palmed, and slammed it into his knee. Finn had fallen sideways, landing on the ground as the pain started shooting through his leg. It didn't feel like anything was broken or shattered, but there was easily some sort of fracture, at least.

Finn didn't have long to cry in pain; The Night Watcher was already back up. Gotta act fast. Conner's hands wrapped themselves around Finn's shirt once more, lifting him up to his feet. His leg buckled as agony seared through his knee cap, but he knew he couldn't stop fighting. A thick right jab broke through the atmosphere. Unfortunately, The Night Watcher stepped to the side in order to avoid the blow, but what the good news was; The Night Watcher released his grip on the mercenary. The Night Watcher returned the attack with his own thrusting fist, but Finn brought his elbow down and knocked the fist away, bringing his left hand up and connecting the cuffed fist with Conner's forehead. With a newly found confidence, a grin crossed Finn's face. The Night Watcher stutter stepped backwards as the world started to spin.

To finish off the two move combination, Clay decided to thrust both of his fists into the Night Watcher's chiseled stomach, causing him to wrap around Finn's fist. It was never that easy, though. Conner's punch came out of what seemed like nowhere. Saliva burst from Finn's mouth as two punches landed against his stomach, followed by Conner spinning around and backhanding his nemesis with a heavy punch as he planted his foot back down.

Wayne rubbed the bridge of his nose as he looked up at the police station. He rested his other hand against his steering wheel, and pain covered his face. What a fucking mess today had turned out to be. Something didn't feel right, and he couldn't tell if his bad vibes were coming from Pearson, or from Taffer. There was something that felt...off about one of them, but he just couldn't figure out what it was. There was some sort of political figure head who was plotting something, but that's quite obviously a given. There was nearly no such thing as clean politics.

Instead of sulking and pondering in his car, it was time for Wayne to go sulk and ponder in his new office with a cup of lukewarm, stale coffee. "At least everything's still nice and quiet here." He said to himself with a smile. The snow that gathered on the ground might not have been much, but it was still enough to carve a footprint from where the man had stepped. He made his way up the steps leading into the monolithic building, pushing one of the large double doors into the precinct. There was nothing he liked to see more than seeing his officers and administrative workers buzzing around, keeping themselves busy.

It looked like something bad was happening, but Wayne knew that all of the officers that were clearly scrambling were just doing their jobs; answering calls, preparing for operations and overall prioritizing their work. He even watched a six man S.W.A.T. team, fully dressed in gear and weapons, rushing toward the parking garage that was down the stairs past the interrogation rooms. Yup, Wayne loved his job.

"E'scuse me, mate." A chipper, British voice flagged Wayne over. He looked over toward the waiting area chairs as two men approached him. One of them, the Brit, was probably in his mid twenties. His sandy blonde hair was well kempt and tidy. He wore a beige coat over a black, skin tight outfit with a bright yellow seven on the chest. The one beside him was probably sixteen, and only a few feet shorter than the 6'2 British man. The boy's dark hair was a tuft of curly messes, looking as if it hadn't been brushed in forever. He wasn't wearing any sort of fancy costume, he just wore a windbreaker that read Department of Research and Defence across the back. "Care for a word?"

"Please speak with Janice or one of the intake receptionists. If you need to report a crime, they'll properly set you up with the people to talk to talk to."

"Perfect. My name is Scott, this is Spence," Scott smiled, holding his hand out. Looking down at it, Wayne reluctantly shook. He knew that these two weren't going to leave him alone, so he might as well have humored them. "I need to speak with you about what happened in the downtown district today, during the presidential press conference."

Oh great. What was this dude, some sort of funny guy? The last thing Wayne wanted was a reminder of the major fuck up that had transpired, but this guy was proving to be relentless as it was. "What about it? Do you know who arranged the attack?"

"What? Oh...no. To be frank, I don't really care too much about that."

Spence's elbow dug into Scott's side as he shot the man a sickened glance. Scott smiled, shrugged, and rubbed his rib cage. "What I meant to say was that we have been sent to talk about what happened in the aftermath. There was a massive spike in psionic energy, a spike big enough for us to consider it anomalous."

Wayne blinked as his eyes looked over this joker. Did he really think he had time for this? In reality, he did. Wayne didn't have much on his schedule for the rest of the day, aside from the coffee date he had later on in the night but he really didn't want to have to deal with this. "Look, clown, this is a really bad day to be playing jokes. You two need to pack this up and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of-"

"New York." Spence blurted out, gaining both Scott and Wayne's gazes. "We're...from….New York…" The anxiety hit him as he realized that people would only want his input if they asked for it.

"Well, our ride is waiting outside." Scott shrugged, reaching into the pocket of his jacket. "We're going to have to head back to New York soon, but if you decide you want to hear what we have to say-" He handed him a business card for the Department of Research and Defense. "And, if The Anarchy loses control again, call...the other us." He said as he handed Wayne a second card, this time only boasting a large, yellow number seven with a phone number, email and fax under it.

The S.W.A.T. team had made their way toward the danger zone, their boots clunking heavily on the marble flooring that led down the hallway. The Night Watcher placed his hand on Finn's shoulder, splitting his lip and breaking his nose as his other fist crashed down against him. Finn crashed backward against the two way mirror, holding his hands up to try and get Conner to relent in his attacks. The gesture wasn't what caused Conner to stop.

The sound of shuffling outside of the interrogation room door caused The Night Watcher's head to poke up, his attention moving toward the door. He could hear the whispers, the sounds of guns clicking and preparing themselves. Then, Lady Justice had begun to scream at him. Run. Run. Run. It was time to run. A hand grasped the handle of the door as Finn stumbled forward, attempting to step away from the door. The Night Watcher brought his leg up, kicking Finn in the chest and forcing his back to slam against the mirror once again. Conner stepped back, and then rushed forward, digging his shoulder into Finn's stomach as the two of them crashed through the mirror and into the other room.

S.W.A.T officer Dutch Breeze was instructed to breach the room. He had been a member of the force for over ten years, and had always helmed the assault in every operation his team was assigned to. He did everything by the book, and created his reputation as more than capable of handling any job assigned to him. Still, as he grabbed the handle of that door and pushed it forward, he had no idea that the explosive tied to the threshold had been triggered.

As the interrogation room welled up with flames, the large, heavy door blasted back, slamming Dutch against the hallway wall. The entire building shook and rumbled. The explosive might have seemed small enough, but the explosion was bigger than anyone could have anticipated; everyone except for The Night Watcher. Wayne could feel his feet shaking against the ground as he looked up at Scott and Spence. "Is this related to the Department of Research and Defense's business?"

Scott looked down at Spence, who looked innocently back at him. "Scott, is Lori going to think that we did this? Do you think that she could feel this from the car?"

Scott gulped his own newly forming anxiety as he looked toward the interrogation hallway. "Oh, no, yeah. Lori is going to be pissed. Let's get out of here before she notices what happened."

Fingers lacing around the straps of her backpack, Bea's lips turned up in a subtle smile, having to nod and agree with Snowfall. "Yes, I guess you're right about that," she muttered, a quiet humor in her tone. "An interesting way to break the news to…" Bea stopped herself, her smile growing bigger- deftly, her fingers tugged at the straps over her shoulders, fabric unweaving into a shifting, mingling spread of black.

"Give me just a moment," she said just as her jaw was covered, eyes shutting as her helm manifested out of jittery structures, building off her head until her crown emerged from the top of her head.

Queen Bee's wings sprouted soon, rolling her heavier wrists around, stingers sparking quickly. "Pretty cool, huh?" The hovering heroine chuckled, wings stirring through the air, drifting away from Snowfall's car. "Anyway, let's-" While the ground gave a shudder under her boots, Bee's attention was stolen by the chirping alert that spread over her helm's inner screen.

"Oh, um…" Queen Bee swept around through the air, hovering faster up the precinct's stairs. "That can't be good." It didn't sound good, and it certainly didn't bring a very positive image to her mind.

On her back, Queen Bee's Hivepod whirled to life, an electric buzz emanating from the contraption; the honeycomb-grid opened up- dark, metallic mandibles pressing through and crawling along Bee's shoulders.

"Do me a favor, you two," Bee gestured to her company, the large bodies of the drones flying towards Torrent and Snowfall, hovering near each of the heroes' shoulders. "Keep those close. Trust me, they're incredibly handy."

Bee's boots touched down as the trio neared the entrance of the precinct, Bee resting a hand on the door, taking a look at Snowfall. "Fingers crossed?" With a shove, she pressed inside, taking a long breath as she did.

"Okay, this…" Bee trailed off at the scene of disarray in the station- officers were hurrying among themselves, a growing commotion in the air. "Is a little concerning, I-I'll say that." Something was seriously wrong. The Night Watcher was somewhere among this? "I think it's going to be a bit harder to pull our friend out of this."

Blair learned in a general psychology class that the human brain oftentimes replayed disastrous events in as a mechanism of preparation. This would explain why some people imagined dropping a child or what it would be like to have an object bashed into their heads. Worst case scenario meant it could be easily prevented, as well as much lesser situations. Blair was relieved with such a revelation, especially in this time of need. She imagined her skull slamming into the car wheel, sending off a honking horn so boisterous and ear bashing that every cop within the facility would decide to surround her car.

She pictured a vivid image of Night Watcher in a jail cell, a harmonica in one hand and a newspaper in the other, perhaps dreaming of pie and cracking skulls with his own two feet. There was something comical about the caped crusader hanging his arms out of the bars of his cell, clanging a metal cup against them. Still, the image burned a permanent scar behind her eyes, and with a quick huff, she clicked the door open and took a step outside.

Her gaze caught Jem's figure slinking from the back of the car, a puff of white hair slinking past his hood. Blair quietly made her way towards him, swallowing the lump in her throat before she tugged his hood safely over his head. He didn't have much a chance to protest before she patted the metallic cheek of his mask.

"Good luck."

"Have fun." He whispered lightly in turn. His voice was weak and small, but there was still a hint of her brother there.

"Be safe." She finished for him. She hoped that Jem could tell that she had shot him a comforting smile. These words served as a ritual, in a sense. Once the reassurances were brought into the world it was guaranteed the siblings would reunite.

A small wave of peace rolled in her stomach once the words left her mouth. She stepped from him, knowing they would be able to get Conner out without a scrape. She made a mental note of the pie he didn't get the day before and locked it away for when the time was appropriate. Conner deserved it after today. They all did. Blair's mouth watered at the idea of a warm, cinnamon apple pie.

Blair's ears popped as her heart slammed into her center. The loud shock nearly sent her into the ground, her balance lost with the impending explosion. Torrent hadn't been as shaken as his sister, but she noted how swiftly his posture tensed. He was preparing himself for a fight, adrenaline now coursing through his veins. Blair's mouth went dry. There was a damn good chance that there were casualties. She knew she should have gone bolting for the door, bolting for the chance to rescue as many officers as needed. She found her feet glued to the concrete below, even as Bee's drones now protectively surrounded her.

"Snow, come on-" Torrent whispered urgently, grasping the sleeve of her uniform before tugging her towards the facility. She wasn't sure if it was her brother's voice or the own sound of her heels clacking against the road beneath her that shook her out of her trance. Gratitude flooded her regardless, and with her senses reawoken, she found courage to race into the scene at hand.

"It's...gonna be hard to get him out." Blair echoed Bee's words, the sound of her heart hammering in her chest enough to drown out her own voice. "Torrent, Bee-" Her eyes scanned the facility, arms beginning to coat themselves in a protective, icy armor. Debris. A lot of it. Officers fleeing from the scene. "Keep going forward. Look for Watcher. I'm going to try and clean up this hallway and see-" See if there's anyone under the rubble who might still be alive. "If I can clean up the mess."

Her hand clamped over Jem's shoulder for a brief moment before releasing him, patting him forward into the hallway. She hoped his search wouldn't take too long and their new ally would be there to protect him if all went to shit. She did take the brief moment of contact, however, to form a shimmer of frost around him, barely noticeable with the naked eye. Blair knew he could, at the very least, condense some of the particles around him to form armor at the moment of need. It wasn't necessarily ice manipulation on his part, but it was just enough for him to take advantage of her abilities. It had taken quite a while to perfect on both ends. Blair just hoped her brother could use at least a fraction of his last remaining brain cell to put the technique to good use.

He gave her a nod of response, seeming grounded in his mission. Jem was good at following instructions in situations like this. Blair knew he could handle what she asked of him. She watched him go forward, orbs of water formed in his grasp.

Blair forced her attention from him, as much as it pained her to do. With her jaw set tightly, she moved to the broken hall, surprised to find that there were three individuals there. Speaking, something about waiting for someone. One of them seemed to fit the attire while the other two were...definitely not. "Hey!" She called, surprised to find her voice was steady with the demand. She knelt down beside a particularly large amount of rubble, prying her fingers underneath. A light blue cloth could be seen underneath and a lump formed in her throat at the mere sight. "One of you! Help me over here! Don't just stand there!"

Getting back to the car was clearly more difficult than Scott had originally planned. He and Scott were just about ready to finish up their errands so that they could go back to New York, but one thing always leads to another. Less than a minute ago, Scott had to catch Wayne by the arm as the building rumbled violently. "Spencer," Scott had called over his shoulder as he made sure Wayne could stand. "We really should leave now."

"But -" Spence's voice was drowned out as a group of superheroes showed up. Spence must have seen them before Scott did, because he attempted to tug at the sleeve of his jacket to gain his attention.

"Spence, no. We have our own agenda to work through. Let's go before -" Spence was already running from Scott's side. As Snowfall requested her required help, Spence was right here beside her.

"I've got this side." Spence's voice shook as he looked over to the hero. He had spent his childhood around plenty of weirdos and had seen some crazy thing, but there was nothing that commanded his respect and wonder more than a fully costumed hero standing in front of him. The teen grabbed the top edge of the door, attempting to pull it up off the ground. The damn thing wouldn't budge for him.

Glass created a comfortable bed for Clay. Shards dug into his back as his ribs surged with pain. He shifted around, blood smearing from where he had landed. Suddenly a hand grasped his throat, and he was pulled back up to his feet. His legs wobbled and trembled, but he stayed standing. The Night Watcher brought both of his fists together, his hands raising over his head and then pounding against the top of Clay's. He could feel his body ringing like a church bell as pain shot through his body, from head to toe.

Finn's body attempted to fall forward, limp and unresponsive, but before he could fall down Conner brought his fist forward, his knuckles connecting with the man's forehead. He flew back, crashing into the computer monitor that sat on the bench overlooking the now shattered two way mirror. Enough was starting to be enough. Clay knew that his body wasn't going to be able to take anymore, but he'd be damned if he lost his life to a traitor like Arsenal. That was never going to happen.

Another fist lunged toward Finn, who managed to snap himself back into reality. He reacted quickly; sending his own handcuff covered fist into Conner's. The Night Watcher pulled back his arm in pain as the metal cuff sparked an intense sensation through the hero's arm. The Night Watcher attempted to throw another punch with the other hand, but he got the same result. Finn planted both hands on the computer bench, pushing himself forward and slamming the heels of his feet against Conner's chest. It was like a missile dropkick, but it looked cooler when he did it than when anyone else did.

Now was Finn's chance to escape. Letting out a loud shout, Finn lunged forward. It took all of the power left in his body to put the attack in motion, but he managed to do it. Finn planted his foot firmly between Conner's legs, striking toward the side of Conner's head. Conner brought both of his arms up, his forearm guarding the blow. Instead of going into his usual combination of strikes, Clay brought his knee up, nailing The Night Watcher in the bananas. This time, unlike Anarchy, it was Conner who was seeing vividly bright colours.

In an attempt to end this as quickly as he could and make his escape, Clay knew he was going to have to do something special. It was going to take more than some well placed punches in order to get away from The Night Watcher. Finn pushed both of his hands against Conner's chest, sending him stuttering backward. What came next really hurt. It was hard to believe, but there wasn't any part of Finn that wasn't in pain. Every square inch of his body were teaming up to rewrite the definition of agony and anguish, but still he had to pull this off. He jumped up, chambering one leg and using the other to slam his foot against the side of The Night Watcher's head, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"I can't -" Spence cried as he tried to pull the door up. A mixture of no upper body strength and absolutely no muscle mass made Spence's life a true pain in the ass. He felt like the veins in his forehead were about to pop, but he couldn't give up. He at least had to try, even with the flames warming up his back. "What if we try-"

"Go back to the car." Scott's voice rang through Spence's ears as Wayne and Scott made their way into the hallway of horrors, the S.W.A.T. team gathering around Wayne. "Don't argue with me, go." Scott called out as he took Spence's spot, dropping to his knees and slipping his hands under the edge of the door. "Where's the Night Watcher when you need him, huh?" Scott let out in a sheepish laugh.

A foot found its way against The Night Watcher's chin, kicking him back to the ground as he attempted to get up. "Please, don't get up." Clay wasn't even trying to be a smart ass. His body just couldn't handle it, especially not if he had an entire escape to get through after this. Luckily for him, The Night Watcher wasn't moving. Finn could just barely make out Conner's back slowly rising and falling, and that was more than enough for Finn to take his leave.

The usually masked villain turned around, limping toward the door. He could feel the blood from his nose, lips, and multiple gashes on his forehead painting his face, but he couldn't care. Captivity isn't something that Earnest Clay doesn't do well. Finn was a true houdini of his time; always making it out of sticky situations like this. Don't worry, Earnest, the hard part if finished. The easy step of the plan is getting past the cops. His battered hands reached for the door knob, his fingers twitching in pain as he pulled the heavy door open.

"Shit." Clay muttered to himself, seeing a superhero, a guy in a coat, the chief of police and an entire S.W.A.T. unit waiting out in the hallway.

The quiver of uncertainty in Snowfall's voice did little to settle Bee's own stirring nerves- she couldn't exactly blame the woman, given the circumstances; the scene ahead of them was one that set the air alight with tension, not to mention dust from the debris. Bee's lips gave a disagreeing twist, but her mouth remained shut- Snowfall was their acting leader, and despite her initial instinct to deploy her builders to attempt to repair all left unsteady by the explosion, she gave a nod.

"On it, I'll keep in touch." Wings spreading free from her back, Bee's boots left the floor, the aftershocks leaving her as she hovered above the mess. "Torrent, let's not get too far from each other, alright?" Her head tilted towards her companion, dipping further ahead and breezing off towards the hallway, keeping faith in Torrent that he wasn't far behind.

With the fallen debris out of her way, and the narrowing close of the hall, Bee was forced back into a brisk sprint down the hall- as cluttered as it was, all blue suits, frantic expressions at her dashing by and...orange?

Bee's boots skidded to a stop at the same time the door came open, a very battered man peering out into the hall; Bee's eyes raked over his form, from the telling orange of his jumpsuit, busted lip and purpling flesh. He'd been beaten, badly, and he was obviously far from his intended room. Holding cell, perhaps?

An arc of electricity leapt between Bee's stingers, fingers splaying wide, the dancing arcs crackling bright. "Oh, hello there." Bee's voice rolled with a palpable venom, amused and malicious at once. "Something tells me you're not supposed to be running around." Her boots left the floor, the buzzing whirl of her Hivepod coming to life- a chittering, numerous and loud, broke around her, the gnashing mandibles of a drone poking up from her invention. "I wouldn't mind helping you back into your cell, or onto a gurney." The creature crawled free, followed by another, then another- a crackling swarm of drones, small and fearsome, waited on Bee's shoulders.

Her chuckle was a terrible crackle, her drones mirroring the sound with a fearsome buzz of their own. "So, let's save you the pain, and do this the easy way, hm?"

Meanwhile, closer to the entrance, the drone assigned to Snowfall was capturing the struggle to free the officer from the fallen debris; as the heroine tried to pry the slab off the man, her efforts soon attracted help. Alas, even as the two combined their strength, the rubble remained where it was. The hovering drone buzzed quietly, observing, lowering itself to the ground as the heroine and the man tried to lift the debris.

Crawling where the stone lifted just a scant few inches, the drone shoved its head into the crevasse, a solid crunch of metal where its form was squished by the weight of the stone. It wiggled strongly, jamming its body into the allowed space, wings crumpling uselessly against its back. Looking well and truly crushed, its body gave a buzz- it's shield deploying, expanding against the stone and surging it upward. Only by a few inches, yes, but the drone could only do so much under the pressure.

In a garbled monotone, the drone gave a single warning: "Shield integrity critical."

 

[Ragamoofin]

Holy Jailbreak Batman! Part Three: Featuring Night Watcher; @Seductress , Queen Bee; @Ragamoofin , Torrent and Snowfall; @KatSea

"Thank you-" Blair huffed as the boy came to her aid, attempting to raise the door off the fallen officer. She could tell that the teenager was not well equipped with Night Watcher sized muscles, but she wasn't either. She appreciated the effort he put in, and wanted to thank him with a ramble of garbled syllables. She was straining to lift the debris even a little from the man's still body. Her goal wasn't necessarily to lift the debris with her own bear hands, but she wanted to pry her fingers underneath. If she could get a straight shot, there was the possibility of creating a thin sheet of ice. She could manipulate that at the very least and force the weight off of the officer. It was a struggle in of itself lifting it just far enough, just far enough to the point where the officer wouldn't be hurt by the sheet.

If Blair had the capacity for words, a quip such as "I'm in shape, a round one at that" would have probably flown past her lips. Some relief came to her as the man took the young boy's place, helping her lift. She let out a strained breath.

"No kidding...He can be there to chuck me across a building but-" She tried not to laugh, the action rattling her ribcage. Fingers encased in frost, Blair was surprised to feel a sudden relief to her muscles. The debris lifted a few inches off the ground much to the young hero's relief. She guessed her muscles maybe did benefit from the hero work- No, that was a drone underneath. Good enough for her. She supposed it was Queen Bee who sent off the little worker. With one final huff, Blair slammed the palms of her hands underneath the debris, coating it in a slick sheet. Muscles and mind straining, she thrust her arms upwards, securing the debris to the ceiling above as ice curled around it, holding it like a cocoon. She bent over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

"Thank...you...random citizen…"

Jem kept close to Queen Bee, slinging a glob of water from his side. Blair's armor remained firm against Jem's uniform, the cold sting beginning to irritate his skin. Torrent counted his breaths, keeping a close eye ahead of him. Finn was an unfamiliar name to him. He only knew of him from reports on the news, though to see the villain in the flesh? Frightening. He kept shoulder to shoulder with Bee, being certain to be there to give her cover if needed.

His attention caught as a battered man busted into the hall, where other officials awaited. He was bloodied and bashed, and for a moment Jem felt horrible. Night Watcher must have done this considering the damage he was in. Still...there was a small amount of pride that blossomed in his chest. If this guy was as douchebaggy as he thought he'd be...He let the ribbon of water swirl in his hands. "Hands behind your head, dickwad. I have no control over what Queenie here does and I don't think you want to take your chances. Stand down."

Though his right eye was swollen and his left eye was cut, Finn was able to spot the intent in the actions of the two new heroes that just showed up. He rested his back against the wall, slamming his head against it. "Leave me alone," he called out. "You're in over your head here." It would have been great if he could back up his hollow threats, but he didn't need to fight. He just needed to get to the window at the end of the hall...behind the heroes. That's just fucking great. No guns, no bludgeoning weapons, nothing sharp and stabby. The best he had was his (probably broken) hands and his deteriorating sanity. "This really is crazy." Finn had said to himself as he cracked his neck, pain shooting through his body.

Finn couldn't run. He attempted to lunge, but it felt like stepping in a pothole. His leg dipped the moment he moved forward. He fell to one knee, a wince of pain painting his face. He held himself up against the wall, blood loss beginning to factor into his condition. The Night Watcher had done more of a number on him than ever before - but that's because this wasn't The Night Watcher. This was someone else, a man on the ledge who's had enough. Finn hadn't seen Arsenal shine through Conner's actions since that night in Venezuela, what happened? Damaging Conner's brain with both blunt force trauma and emotional trauma was a very long process that Finn didn't want to have to go through again. He was lucky that he didn't die before, but the more he squared off with Conner the weaker the hero got.

What were his options? He could be headstrong and take the two on, but that would probably mean even more pain, and less likely chance of getting out of the building. He looked at the two heroes. "You two really aren't going to make this easy on me, are you?" A light smile trailed across his lips, flashbacks to when Arsenal and himself would intimidate their victims before ending the confrontation quickly. The roles had finally reversed, and now it was the good guys turn to feel the power of victory. Standing back up from his kneeling position, Finn raised his heavy arms over his head.

"Alright, alright," he sighed with a small laugh. "Looks like good triumphs over evil..today." Blood flew from his mouth as he let out a cough. Now that can't be good. Escaping now would present multiple problems, like seeking medical attention. His hands smoothed to the back of his head as he slowly walked toward the two. "Just know, if you put handcuffs on me, or even touch me, just like that Misfits song says; your future will be in an oblongue box."

As the debris started to move, Scotty reached down and grasped the officer by the wrist. The man let out a scream of agony, but Scott knew the officer would be in less pain if they got him out as fast as they could and got him help. "Well, random hero, thank you. This is the last time I come to Washington, to say the least." He slung the man's arm over his shoulder, looking back.

The group of officers that the would be victim came into the hall with had disappeared. Where did they go? They must have been apprehending The Night Watcher. Scott set the man down against the wall, patting him on the head.

Conner's eyes burst open. Fire was pouring in from the now broken two way mirror, and Finn was still out there. Conner shifted, rubble falling off his back and crumbling into dust as it hit the ground. His arms were weak and his body was too heavy, even with super strength he couldn't get himself back up. Suddenly, a boot slammed itself against Conner's ribs. The Night Watcher fell back to the ground, grasping his stomach. The S.W.A.T. officers were starting to pool into the room, creating a very dangerous situation for Conner. He knew that he just caused a group of heavily armed, highly trained and dangerous men to have a very difficult afternoon. Things weren't looking good.

The foot attempted to kick him once again. Conner wrapped his left hand against the man's ankle, slamming his elbow against his knee. With a loud pop and a scream, The NIght Watcher wrapped both arms around the man's limb, rolling over and throwing him into the flames of the next room. What? With how much armor and padding he had, there was no way the officer was going to die before he could get out. WIth that said, the officer was standing beside another S.W.A.T. member, who now had his assault rifle fixed on The Night Watcher. Moving like a big grey blur, Conner burst up, grabbing the barrel of the weapon. He gathered momentum using his opponent's gun, pulling himself up and jerking the officer right into his knee that The Night Watcher shot up with plenty of precision and a heavy impact. The Night Watcher held his hands at his side as he evaluated his situation.

Outnumbered and surrounded.

How perfect.

Conner pumped his arms forward as he brought his right leg up, spinning his hips so that his foot knocked away the assault rifle that was closest to him. A burst of bullets just nearly missed Conner, slamming into the chest of another officer, finishing the combination with a swift jab to the jaw of the gun's owner. Luckily these S.W.A.T. uniforms had enough protection and kept the man's life, but he went flying to the floor. The fire illuminated the Night Watcher as Conner grabbed the barrel of a gun, slamming the butt back against the face mask of the officer. The now limp body released the weapon, which Conner then used as a baseball bat, slamming it into the stomach of a nearby opponent.

The surrounding circle was starting to get smaller and smaller. The wounded hunter refused to fall and bleed to death. He knew that if he were to die, he'd die a true predator; he'd die the king of the concrete jungle. With a kick to the knee and a hand on the back of the head, Conner started to slam his fist against the chest of some poor officer. He did it again. And again. And again. Soon he found himself pounding on the man's chest relentlessly. At least, as relentless as he could until a bright blue glow slammed him in the side of the head, flying to his back and landing with a heavy thud.

"Right then," Scott called out as he walked into the room, stopping to shake the pain out of his leg. "That's enough out of you."

"Scott," Spence called out from the doorway, hiding behind the threshold that led into the hallway. "You do know who you're fucking with, right?"


"Spence, what did we say -" the Night Watcher disappeared into the fire. "About using that kind of language?"

".....oh fuck." Spence let out, raising his index finger toward the now broken two way mirror.

"Spencer Timmins, you son of a bitch I swear I just told you - " Scott had to cut himself off, whipping around and focusing all the astral energy he could into blasting the table that soared through the flames into dust. He had managed to turn around literally just in time, he could feel the freezing cold temperature of his astral form as soon as the blast hit the table. He always expected it to be scalding hot, considering it always burned it's targets, but it was always such a comfortable temperature to Scott.

The Night Watcher lunged out of the flames once again. A yelp escaped Spence's mouth as Conner landed, his fist slamming into where Scott had just jumped away from. Technically, Scott had grabbed Conner's cape, vaulting over the hero just as his fist would have flattened him like a pancake. As Scott landed beside him, his hand glowed blue once again. The Night Watcher was too smart to grab something that was clearly burning blue flames, and grabbed Scott by the elbow. He pushed forward, causing Scotty's arm to extend and allowed for his face to accept a punch from The Night Watcher's fist.

Going in for another punch, The Night Watcher apparently had Scott right where he wanted him. The trouble with Scott was that he kind of mastered the art of what he calls "the goal line defense". He spent too much time training his mind and body to escape tricky situations. The most damage he's received is a few black eyes, and he once had a stab wound from an Arabic Prince who got frozen in the ice and confused Scott for an old chav who's shaken him down in front of his subjects. The Night Watcher shouldn't be too much more difficult to handle...should he?

"I'll go get Lori!"

"No!" Scott called frantically, mid headlock. "Do not get Lori!"

Spence turned around, running into Wayne as he quickly pushed past him. "Night Watcher!" He snapped out, instantly grabbing Conner's attention. "Really? This? Again? Is this really going to be like Birmingham all over again?"

"No sir…" Conner whined, releasing Scott and straightening his back out.

"Oh, you know this knucklehead?" Scotty spat at the ground, pulling at the sides of his beige trench coat. "Glad to see that your super heroes serve and protect so well." He inspected the golden 7 on the side of his shoulder, making sure that the smudge on it was dirt and not an actual scuff. Then he would have to hurt The Night Watcher for sure.

"Whenever he used to work in England," Wayne cleared his throat, all fighting and commotion ceasing as he commanded the control of the room. "I'd work as his handler. The representative of the government - in this case the police - who would check in on him, oversee his assignments, and make sure nothing like THIS happens."

"Look, Wayne, you're a reasonable man -" The Night Watcher attempted to plead his case.

"And as a reasonable man, I am going to hand you over to your fellow heroes and let you off with little more than a very big cleaning bill and a slap on the wrist." Wayne's face was starting to go redder than the YouTube icon. "You're lucky that I respect everything you do for this city. If it weren't for Pearson being under enough stress, and the others sent to come clean up after you, I'd be kicking your ass and throwing you in jail. No amount of lives you could save would make up for this behaviour. I'm beyond disgusted, but Pearson needs you to fulfill more responsibilities than you can in jail."

Scott's eyes widened. "Okay, hang on -"

"They walk with one and only warning - and that's final." Wayne's eyes never left Conner's. The men spoke to each other without words, but their eyes spoke volumes. Conner was pleading, trying to make Wayne realize what Finn did to his family, but Wayne wasn't having any of it. He understood, and that's why he didn't press charges for excessive force when Conner beat Finn at the conference. "Now get out. I'll see you lot at the briefing tomorrow."

Whatever tension their would-be enemy attempted to stir up fell short with the duo's combined presence- much like the man himself, if Bee was being honest. With his condition, she had her doubts about his ability to fight his way out, despite his tough talk; in the end, that's all he could muster.

She could take a guess and imagine just who it was who'd beat the stuffing out of him, though it did form a barb of caution in her gut.

The Night Watcher...she wouldn't lie, she was fairly excited about meeting a veteran hero in flesh, however, she wasn't without her precautions; she was an unfamiliar face, and Night Watcher had taken quite the beating at the conference. It wouldn't be wise to rush in without identifying herself as an ally, not another threat.

The eager sparks at her stingers drew back into the thicker plates of her gloves, Bee giving a muffled sigh, hands slipping to her waist. "There, now no one has to get hurt-" Bee's helm shifted towards Finn, the buzzing armada of drones hanging off her shoulders following her gaze.

"Worse than they already are." Bee rose a hand from her hip, pointing at the downed criminal. "Make sure he doesn't go anywhere until the cops get here, understand?"

With a fierce, collective flash of static, the drones flew towards Finn in a close swarm- they kept an arm's reach from the man, forming a tight, often sparking ring of hovering malice. A satisfied hum came from the heroine's helmet.

"You be good for the officers, now!" Bee remarked with a sachurine spite, eyeing the door Finn had stumbled through- wherever he'd come from, she could picture Night Watcher wouldn't be far off.

Wings setting her down, Bee swung the door open, jogging through as she called for her teammate. "Torrent, let's hurry!" A clatter from the flickering dark up ahead. "And watch your step!"

Bee's hand touched her veil, eyes flickering along the myriad of feeds. She huffed. "Snowfall, please," She asked, and then, static. Oh, boo. "Snowfall? Snowfall, I'm not sure if you can hear this-"

A floor away and worse for wear, the assigned drone echoed Bea's voice, although seeped in static.

"Torrent and I have...re-apprehended Finn in the hall not far from you, and Night Watcher's as good as found!"

Hopping into hovering to avoid tripping again, Bee hesitated, fingers drumming over her veil. "We...just have to find him first!" Yes, that was easy enough. He couldn't have gone far, and what could he have possibly done so far?

"See you-" Flames danced across the sheen of Bee's armor, her eyes soaking up the flames, reaching the ceiling, the shattered frame of mirror feeding into the blaze.

"Uh- on second thought, we might need you down here." Bee turned to her companion, staring back at the flames, then up at the ceiling; at the sprinklers, her fingers twitched. "I hope you live up to your name!" She flung herself upward, swinging a stiff hook at the water line, her stinger stabbing into the metal, water flowing around the puncture. With a grunt, she tore her stinger from the line, narrowing dodging the pressured spout of water.

"Try not to aim for me, please!"

"No promises." James grinned. Having seen Finn taken down and secured safely set him at ease. So far so good. They were almost at the home plate now...Good thing the last obstacle here was his speciality. The sprinkle of flickering water rejuvenated Torrent's spirit, firing up his heart beat to a steady thrum. He raised his hands to the ceiling, the trickles and droplets dashing towards his outstretched grasp. Condensing the water into a massive blob, Jem shot his hand forward and slashed a high pressured stream through the fire's thinning walls. The sprinkles continued to fuel his cannon. Steam filled the hallway, his hand coming up to secure his mask firmly to his face.

"Perimeter clear." He wheezed, unsure as to who. He turned to Bea, giving her a successful thumbs up. He could see Night Watcher and his sister down the hall, along with many other men he couldn't identify. His eyes narrowed.

"I don't know about you, Hivemind McGee, but I need a fucking nap."