What Happened in The Dalles

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

Alright, Autumn. Sheesh. What more do you want from me?

 

"No, no, please. I'm not a hero. I have many amazing, heroic qualities, but I also have... um, the humility to not recognize them in myself. Humility is the most heroic of the heroic qualities, and I have just a huge amount of that quality. So I can't really say that I'm a hero, even if it's okay for you to... well yes, fine. I am a hero. And I am heroic. And great."

 

"It's so humble of you to admit you have so much humility."

 

"Alright. Yeah, yeah. Actually, can I steer the conversation away from this topic? It's embarrassing. It really is. I'm blushing, see?"

 

Autumn scribbled something down. "Tell me about your arrival. We already have the report, but I'd like to hear it from you."

 

"Um... okay. So there was this guy. I met him downtown last night when I first came in. He was this absolute... sack of crem. Who just outright tried to kill me while I was walking around minding my own business. His name was... Deathwish?"

 

She lifted a brow, scribbling again. 

 

Here goes nothing. "Well, anyway, I was wondering what happened to him. Cause I heard he got 'processed'... and stuff like that. Did you kill him? Because..." He leaned in and nodded helpfully. "... I think you need to kill him. That guy... is just not a team player. I just can't play on that guy's team, you know? And if you haven't killed him yet could you... torture him to death or something? Or just kill him really painfully? Actually, could I kill him painfully. I mean, I'm not... lobbying for his painful death or anything. Sparks, everyone knows that's not heroic. I'm just curious."

 

Autumn scribbled again, then leaned back. "Tell me, Crush: How can you be sure Deathwish isn't a team player, when you've barely met him and have no idea how this city is run?"

 

"Because... because I can just tell. I have a way with people. Stop drilling me for info, okay? Sheesh. I know I already passed your test or whatever. You've been scribbling about how I'm a Calamity-sparkin' godsend for, like, 5 hours already. I'm amazing. We've established that. Can you just point me in a direction and tell me who I need to kill? I'm losin' my mind here, lady." Oh, wait. That sounded testy. He chuckled nervously. Okay. Good, good. You're good.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Mckeedee123

[Fatebreaker he/him]

"Sir, our men our under attack!"

 

Surveilance's voice was panicked over the com. Quicksilver turned to the screen on the wall

 

"Eyes." he barked, his mask instantly forming over his face. The screen flickered to life  with multiple camera feeds from different locations. It showed Busdriver and several of the other Slivers in a bus, rocketing down the street. Cars were in pursuit, but that wasn't what he was worried about.

 

A shadow flew past one of the hidden cameras. Deathwish, everyone's least favorite epic. What an asset he could've been, had Vondra not snapped him up first. Quicksilver activated his com and spoke to the Slivers on the bus,

 

" Deathwish onsite. Shatterblast engage other hostiles, Fritz jam all Dalles communications, Platoon, have one of your Replicas drive the bus in case Deathwish tries to get him self run over. Keep on the look out for reinforcements, destructive measures fully authorized, but remember to avoid shooting Deathwish at all costs. wing him if absolutely necessary."

 

He watched the bus move from one feed to another, frequently going into blind spots. His view was limited, as too many cameras would attract Aresnal's attention, so they made do with a sparse network spread out in areas to maximize coverage. Surveilance also sent a few covert drones high above the city to give them a better idea of the big picture. All combined it gave his a good enough picture of the city, but left out just enough to be frustrating.

His attention was suddenly directed to a feed on which he watched the new Epic they'd recruited transform into a cloud of mist and throw Deathwish into a building. Most surprising of all, she didn't appear to instantly die as a result of her actions. Either she hadn't broken the skin, or the or Hawk's power couldn't affect someone without corporeal form. The second was tantalizing, opening up several interesting possibilities.

He raised his com,

 

"Fritz, have the girl stab Deathwish in a non lethal area and get back to me on the result. Platoon, throw some grenades in passing buildings and large vehicles, try and cause mayhem to help divide the guard's attention. A fire or two if you pass any stores or barracks. I want you out of the city. Access one of the tunnels in the surrounding area and collapse it behind you."

 

Quicksilver looked a a map showing every checkpoint and roadblock in the city, as well as barracks and armory locations. Finding the fastest route wasn't a matter of which was was the shortest, but the safest. Minimal time  spent in the city was optimal, but there were checkpoints at every exit and entrance. A larger diversion was in order. Something big enough to make  people turn away from a bus full of rampaging Epics, if only for a moment.

His eyes flicked back and forth between the screen and the map, cold and calculating. Suddenly they stopped, locked on to a single point on the map.

 

Quicksilver smiled.

 

Bingo.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

"Because... because I can just tell. I have a way with people. Stop drilling me for info, okay? Sheesh. I know I already passed your test or whatever. You've been scribbling about how I'm a Calamity-sparkin' godsend for, like, 5 hours already. I'm amazing. We've established that. Can you just point me in a direction and tell me who I need to kill? I'm losin' my mind here, lady." He laughed awkwardly.

 

And there we go, Autumn thought. Still, she couldn't help being somewhat impressed. Crush had managed to ramble on for five whole minutes before requesting permission to kill—a record surpassed, to her knowledge, only by Jack, Edgerunner, and Scribbler. 

 

Time to deliver the bad news. "I'm afraid you're in the wrong town, Crush," she said, leaning back and meeting his gaze—as well as she could through the glasses, at least. "Epics in this town don't kill." 

 

"But... but what if there's-" 

 

"Ever. And if they do, there are consequences that usually include a firing squad."

 

He sniggered. "Firing squad? Lady, I can create unbreakable fields of pure energy. What makes you think I'm scared of a bunch of skinny guys with guns? I'm untouchable, and if you dare..." He stopped. "Well, anyway, I'm also really nice, so there's no need for that. By the way have there been any groups of people coming into town that have mentioned me?"

 

​Claims invincibility, then hints at innocence, Autumn wrote. Definitely arrogant. Unsure if this is a diversionary tactic or he is simply delusional. Whatever the case, she had to chip through that pride. "This town would not have lasted as long as it has if we didn't know what to do with a threat that can't be shot," she said quietly. "There are rules in place, and you can play by them, or you can leave." 

 

Giving that a moment to sink in, she leaned back. "And no, Crush, no one has mentioned you, aside from the City Guards who captured you. Why do you ask?"

 

"Um, okay. First off, I am very much unkillable, and am very much not afraid of you guys and your rules and stuff. Second off, I did something totally heroic last night. See, there were these innocent people, and they were being led off by, like, five hundred evil panda warriors to be tortured or something, and I just leaped in and killed all the pandas and rescued them, all superhero-like. There was this old guy, and... and some other people... and... they should have reported in or something, talking about how cool and great I am. Have you... have you not heard anything like that?"

 

"No," Autumn said, "we haven't. And our surveillance is very good. We wouldn't have missed a spectacle like that." 

 

Crush narrowed his eyes at her for a few seconds. "Okay, call me crazy, but I think I might not be doing as well in this interview as I was when it started."

[mail-mi he/him]

The Epics in the bus began to follow Quicksilver's orders. Cause mayhem? BusDriver thought. I can do that. 

 

BusDriver turned to Platoon. "Give me one of your clones," he said. "Let them drive the bus. I have a few tricks up my sleeve." 

 

Platoon nodded, and BusDriver averted his eyes as he created one of his replicas. The process was... disturbing to look at, to say the least. Soon enough, a copy of Platoon was standing beside the driver's seat, ready to switch BusDriver whenever he was ready. The bus turned down a corner and, seeing that there was a nice long stretch of straight road, BusDriver quickly hopped out of the driver's seat to allow Platoon's clone to sit down. That lost us some time, BusDriver thought as he made his way toward the back of the bus. I hope it's worth it. 

 

BusDriver grabbed a couple pieces of scrap metal. "Hey, Shatter," he said, holding one piece of scrap metal out the window. "Use this." He waited for Shatterblast to realize what was going on, then activated the scrap metal immediately. Shatter reached out and was barely able to brush his fingers across the newly-formed party bus, and...

 

...the entire party bus shattered into a million sharp, tiny pieces, all directed at the City Guard cars behind them. 

 

Holy Calamity I'm glad that worked, BusDriver thought. He activated another piece of metal in his hands--this time with a small timer--and threw it toward the cars. Now, if that doesn't work...

 

The scrap metal formed into a bus mid-arc, heading straight for the City Guard cars.

 

...then hopefully this will. 

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

The bus sped along its path, the mist still writhing angrily at its top as what looked like the entire vehicle armada of The Dalles sped along behind it. It was an absurd sight, or at least it would have been if a bunch of panda ninjas hadn't trashed the town yesterday.

 

In his infinite wisdom, Deathwish decided to hold off on the offensive until there was someone else to take a mist-walloping. Fortunately, that someone else was quickly showing up at the edge of his field of vision.

 

Edgerunner, known also as "Emma Runes" when at her lamest, would have been hot even if didn't have the extra allure of being an Epic chick going for her. Nice pale skin, a tiny lithe body, and a head of curly black hair all made her one of The Dalles' most ogleable ladies, and to top it off she wore tight clothes that tended to cling to her while she flew. The only real downside to her was the lack of curves besides the knife handles strapped to her arms and legs, but that didn't stop Deathwish from smiling at the sight of her. Or leering, as some would claim.

 

Today, though, the leer was wiped off his face at the sight of what was clinging to her. It was a guy. A clean-shaven guy, not very muscular but clearly possessed of the boyish good looks that Edgerunner's kind of girl swooned over. No doubt he was an Epic, too, one with some phenomenal power that would let him stop the bus and be the hero for the day. Deathwish hated him on general principle.

 

Stopping the bus chase was important, but asserting himself as the alpha male was even more so. Giving a saintly sigh at the lengths he had to take just to stand his ground in this city, Deathwish ducked out of sight before the new arrivals could spot him, weaving in between city streets low to the ground as he moved towards them.

 

The wind blasted his face and hair as he swiftly came up to a bird's level, now behind Emma and her new boyfriend as came over the rooftops. Grinning at the opportunity, Deathwish sped quickly at them from behind, focusing on Edgerunner's blue hoodie as he came rushing by, seizing a corner by one end and giving it a tug...

 

As he hoped Edgerunner lurched in her flight, suddenly tumbling head-over-heels through the air. She and new guy friend gave identical cries of alarm as they fell, before Emma managed to lash them both to a near rooftop where they hit with a roll and a tumble. The crash wasn't enough to hurt either of them badly, but to the point, it was successful in dislodging the new interloper from the tight aerial hug. Deathwish counted it as a win.

 

Grinning at the success, he gently swooped onto the rooftop and smiled sanctimoniously at the pair of groaning Epics. The male one seemed to have taken the least of the damage, slowly pulling himself to his feet near the very edge of the roof. Edgerunner had taken a harder hit, but she healed fast. She was laying flat and spread-eagled on her back, blinking away the impact as a patch of blue on her face slowly shrank away.

 

"Sorry about that," Deathwish remarked casually, nudging the dude with his foot and forcing him to slow down and steady himself. "You know how hard it is to get someone's attention when they're flying, Edge. Hope I didn't hurt either of you."

 

Edgerunner didn't get off her back quickly enough, and Deathwish swooped over to her. He levitated himself horizontally a scarce inch above her, almost lying on her. He brushed his hand over her flat body and up to her chin, smirking into her face as she realized who was on top of her.

 

"Did I ever tell you," he crooned, "How sexy you look with a bruise under your eye?"

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

The glowing monitor dominated the table, sprinkled with dots of many colors moving at high speed through the streets. Radios were arrayed all around it, giving constant updates on the situation and the placement of new blockades. Not that it mattered. The objective was hurtling around every obstacle like it had guidance from the outside, dodging out of every region on the map that the City Guard firmly controlled. It was chess, lightning-fast and played between an army and a bus.

 

And the bus was coming out ahead.

 

Arsenal gnashed his teeth together as he examined the monitor chessboard over and over, switching the view over to radio. The screen changed to show red hotspots all over the city, everywhere where radio signals were detected. Most were Arsenal's eyes and ears giving a feed on Dalles events--most were listed in City Guard documentation, while others were more... discreet. The odd ones out, however, Arsenal couldn't remember placing. Entire sectors of the map seem wired, hooked up a system he'd had no hand in placing.

 

My eyes aren't the only ones keeping tabs on this city, Arsenal realized with grim clarity. Quicksilver organized his side of the board at the same time we did.

 

The reveal was profound. It implied the impossible--the City Guard might not be the most well-put-together force in The Dalles after all. It implied the terrifying--the City Guard might not be the most well-put-together force in The Dalles after all.

 

He barely heard radio announcements calling in Deathwish's clash with a mist Epic and Edgerunner's appropriation of an unprocessed captive as he stormed to a window, earning cringes from the rest of the staff as he blew past them. He glared out over the deceitfully tranquil cityscape, mind racing and blood pressure pounding.

 

Quicksilver's wires would be hidden well. A full search of the city, even centered around the hotspots, likely wouldn't find them. They'd be everywhere, woven into the city's structure since the same time Arsenal placed his own network. Quicksilver hadn't arrived out of the blue like Deathwish or the Panda. He'd been in the city since day one. What wasn't he capable of?

 

The answer struck Arsenal like lightning out of a clear sky. Quicksilver had acted slowly, carefully, never before acting openly before now.

 

What wasn't the man capable of? Redoing all that long hard work.

 

Frustration turned to dark excitement as Arsenal tapped into his power, reaching out his hands and forming machines out of nothing in the yard out the HQ window. A couple stories the lines of a launchpad were set, followed by the substance, followed by missiles pointing into the air...

 

"Sir?" a technical officer asked in confusion. "Sir... what are those?"

 

If the officer was alarmed by the weapons, the dry chuckle coming out of his commanding officer seemed to terrify him.

 

"Sergeant," Arsenal asked slowly, furrowing his brow as the last touches on the missiles were made. "What do you know about CHAMP?"

 

The officer seemed even more confused. "From... back in 2012, sir? I don't understand. I thought that didn't go anywhere."

 

Arsenal finished the weapons and turned to face the officer with a flat smile. The smile of anticipation. The smile of a victory that was coming at the speed of sound. "Epics gave all the weapon projects a big push forward, sergeant. Get to the computers and man missile guidance. Before this war's done you'll be a world expert on CHAMP."

 

Despite his reservations the officer rushed to obey, as did several officers whose duties lay in missile-guiding. Arsenal turned his head back towards the monitor screen that showcased Quicksilver's fantastic little system, but this time, he smiled upon looking at it.

 

CHAMP. Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project. An EMP you could steer.

 

Quicksilver's surveillance network didn't stand a chance.

 

Check.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

"Trouble?" Edgerunner laughed. "Don't worry about me. Vondra knows he needs me, no matter what Arsey or Reading Rainbow say. Deathwish, Scribbler, and I are the main offensive Epics in town. We are the frontline soldiers. And if Commander Vondra keeps scum like Deathwish around, I don't have much to worry about."

As Edgerunner finished her sentence, she felt a tug on her jacket and she tumbled through the air, Ethan still holding on.

Edgerunner flipped her gravity to land on a rooftop and Ethan adjusted his momentum as well, landing with only a small skid. Emma felt her eye throbbing slightly, but she knew it'd heal in a few minutes.

A voice, the one dreaded by every woman within fifty miles of The Dalles, began speaking. Emma clenched her teeth reflexively. Deathwish. As she was about to pull herself to her feet, Deathwish hovered directly above her, much too close for comfort. "Did I ever tell you how sexy you look with a bruise under your eye?" Emma smirked at him before replying.

"Oh, Eddie, you shouldn't say such things," she said, stroking one hand down his side. "You know Arse is all about propriety." Emma slapped Deathwish before quickly lashing herself to fly beneath him.

She came out from under him and whipped out one of her knives, removing all friction from it, and whacked the handle on Hawk's neck. He was frozen in place by his clothes' incredible friction, the result of her stroking.

Emma landed next to Ethan and made sure he was alright. Her bruises were already fading. "Hawk, you ready to do your real job?" She asked.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Mailliw73

[Aonar he/him]

 

"Trouble?" Emma asked, laughing. "Don't worry about me. Vondra knows he needs me, no matter what Arsey or Reading Rainbow say. Deathwish, Scribbler, and I are the main offensive Epics in town. We are the frontline soldiers. And if Commander Vondra—“

 

Suddenly, something flared in the back of Ethan’s awareness, distracting him from whatever Emma was saying. He focused and it leapt into brilliant relief in his mind’s eye. Bogey, coming in fast. His eyes widened. Flight Epic, and strong. Even as he started to turn, trying to warn Emma, the figure overtook them, throwing them violently off course. …Sparks.

 

Frostfire threw their momentum to the side, towards a nearby building. Emma attempted to do the same, and while the gesture was appreciated, it did more harm than good, briefly confusing his senses. With the sharp change in direction, he lost hold of her hand, tumbling towards the rooftop. He managed to drop his speed to a crawl before connecting, but he still connected hard; for some reason his power had difficulty affecting things like rotation.

 

A steady ache built throughout his body as he started to push himself up, making it hard to think clearly. The fall itself had done little, but holding on to the energy of it was already taking its toll. As the flight Epic passed, he shoved Frostfire with his foot, making his balance waver.

 

Anger flared, sharpening his mind, and he pulled as much heat as he could from the cement beneath him. Frostfire was a little dazed, but he knew a High Epic when he saw one. He needed as much firepower as he could get.

 

Standing, he became aware of the conversation between the two of them; blinking in confusion as Emma easily incapacitated the newcomer with barely any resistance.

 

"Hawk, you ready to do your real job?" Job? Job!? This slontze is working with us? He sure has one hell of a way of showing it. Relaying that thought to Emma, Ethan took a moment to study their new “partner.” Leather jacket, skinny jeans, dark, slicked back hair and pale skin; he looked like someone in their late thirties going through a mid-life crisis and trying to pretend they were still a ‘cool’ teenager. Something about the expression on his face seemed so sleazy that it made you want to take a shower just for making eye contact with him. 

 

Frostfire hated him on general principle.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Aonar Faileas

[Voidus]

Impact drifted slowly through the air, her perception already being altered again by the medication. She took it slower than was perhaps necessary but it was a nice day and she didn't have anything else to do. No looking after Megan to make sure she didn't get in trouble, no hiding from rampaging warlords. Today she could just do what she wanted to do.

She pulled her mobile out, scanning through some books she'd downloaded when she'd been more lucid, they covered a wide range of topics, from meteorology and geology to physics and psychology. They'd had something to do with her powers but right now she just could quite remember what it was.

She switched the phone off instead, she'd have time for reading later, for now she was quite content to drift through the sky, watching the city below her as its occupants scurried about, no doubt terrified of Epic attacks or military maneuvers. Or that Slontze from the yesterday.

 

She spared a moments thought for him and the revenge she would soon wreak but instead she found herself distracted by a passing bird and decided to chase it down instead.

Scribbler nearly tossed her phone clear across the room when it woke her, irritation etched across her face.

damnation alarm must be broken.

But a moment later she realized the tone wasn't her alarm, it was that of a message.

​Disturbance at Dr. Games clinic, other personnel are currently occupied. Report to Dr. Game and assess the situation, provide protection if needed.

Scribbler moaned as she read the message. A house call? It was to the clinic at least and since it was another officer who sent her she hopefully wouldn't have to report to Arsenal but she still felt as though she'd barely slept.

Message received, leaving for the clinic now.
L. Lockser
 

Her reply may not have been as polite as it should have been but between her tiredness and an underpinning sense of annoyance she simply couldn't muster up the energy to send anything else.

She quickly changed into a fresh uniform and headed downstairs to find her parents had already left. A cold piece of toast on the kitchen bench had been left for her, which she stuck into her mouth as she grabbed her writing kit and left the house.

Maybe the doctor would offer her a coffee to help pick her up. Or perhaps more helpfully some kind of amphetamine, though she didn't want to see how a drug like that would interfere with her powers and emotions.

[Edgedancer he/him]

In the end Megan’s sister left Baxter’s clinic without causing any significant damage. Once certain that she wouldn’t simply return, Baxter carefully left the room, to not upset and then notified the city guard about the infiltration. From what the soldier told him they’d most likely send Lucy over to assess the situation. Just yesterday Arsenal send the poor girl to restock all over town. Hopefully she had managed to get enough sleep this night.

 

One way or another, there was not much he could do until she arrived, at least not about the Epic that had broken into his clinic to organize her painkillers. As such he went back to his work and took care of his patients. Although, first he prepared some coffee and hot chocolate, in case Lucy needed a refreshment.

 

A while later Lucy arrived at his door. Saying that she looked tired seemed to be a bit of an understatement. It would not fully make up for her apparent lack of sleep but it seemed that preparing something to help her stay awake was indeed the right call.

 

He gave her a smile and led her inside, “You have to work much too hard because of the situation, don’t you? Can I maybe offer you some coffee and a chance to wake up or do you want to get right to your work?”

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa watched Baxter as he made his way around the clinic, absently mindely shooting ice bolts from her fingertips and running her hands up and down her leg cast. A sudden flashback flew past her eyes of Anna and her fighting and blood dripping down her fingers. Her breathing became rapid and flurries of snow surrounded her. Several spikes of ice flew out of her hands, and knocked over IV's with a deafening crash.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Queen Elsa Steelheart

[Comatose he/him]

 

Officer Oliver managed to swerve out of the way of the first exploding bus, only to run right into the spray of metallic shards from the second.  The vehicle swerved off the road and crashed into a nearby building.  

 

Taylor blinked, and returned her body to normal, having shifted her skin into metal instinctively to avoid damage from the metal shards and the collision.  Beside her, Oliver was lying back in his seat, with a shard of bus sticking out of what was left of his head.  At least he won't embarrass himself on that date later this week.  Seriously, what girl could possibly enjoy spending time with a man named Oliver?

 

Hastily adding some injuries of varying severity and corresponding tears in her uniform, Taylor gingerly stumbled out of the car.  Several other military vehicles had met similar fates, and the remaining cars had sped onward, choosing their elusive quarry over their dying companions.  

 

Ignoring the cries of the dying men and women nearby, Taylor turned her focus to a far more pressing issue.  The woman's appearance she was currently using had been nearly unbearable prior to the accident.  Being forced to add these injuries to the mix was simply unacceptable.  She needed to find someone new to impersonate if she was going to continue to infiltrate the city and find Brandon, preferably someone whose appearance came closer to her own natural beauty.  A true match for such perfection was impossible, of course, but surely she could find someone who had a tolerable hair colour, or whose ribs weren't concealed beneath a healthy layer of fat.  

 

Movement caught her attention, and she watched an altercation between three flying epics on a nearby building with interest.  Even after enhancing her ears, she could only catch snippets of their conversation, but it would seem that the epic Deathwish was hitting on his female companion.  Taylor eyed the young woman's slender physique with envy.  How long would it be until she could return to her true form?  

 

Acting on a hunch, Taylor shambled over to the trio, changing her appearance bit by bit when no one was looking.  Deathwish and his two companions were obviously among the more powerful epics in the city, and Taylor was willing to bet the administration in the Dalles kept its tame epics away from the general populace when they were not needed.  She could always tell them her identification had been lost in the accident.  What reason would they have to suspect a pretty young member of the Dalles's finest, injured in the course of duty.  

 

By the time she reached them, Taylor's injuries remained, but her hair had changed to a tolerable strawberry blonde, she had a cute nose and nice lips, and was at least two dress sizes smaller.  

 

"Ex... excuse me?  I don't mean to intrude, but..."  Taylor craned her neck and looked up as she fluttered her now voluminous eyelashes, faking disorientation. She had to project her voice in order to be heard, but hopefully the epics would think it was because her ears were ringing, or that she had suffered hearing loss as a result of the explosions.   "I... there was a bus, and... it hit my partner, I mean a piece of it hit my partner... and now he's dead, and I'm...  Could one of you radio for help?"

[Fatebreaker he/him]

The chase was going well. Quicksilver watched as it progressed, ripping it's way down the streets of the once peaceful town. 

Shatterblast and Busdriver worked in tandem, launching bus fragments at the pursuing guards. 

Guns blazed, tires squealed, people screamed. Pandemonium reigned supreme.

Through it all, Quicksilver remained impassive. Arsenal would move soon, and they would have to be ready. Vondra's leash was growing longer and longer, causing Arsenal to grow bolder and bolder. He would not sit idly by, he would retaliate and retaliate hard. It was only a matter of...

 

"Sir, I have a missile launching from the Guard's Central Command post!"

 

Quicksilver's head snapped up. He'd been ready for drones, armored vehicles, even tanks, not a kamikaze act! There was no time to organize defensive maneuvers, he had to deal with this now, personally. This time pawns wouldn't be sufficient, it was time to bring out the King.

 

The room warped, the metal walls liquidizing around him, entombing Quicksilver completely. The ceiling opened, revealing a passage to the surface. The mass of silver stilled, then exploded upward. A pillar of metal surging towards the sky, tapping into large caches of metal on the way. Quicksilver emerged at the top as the pillar cleared the skyline and slowed. His gaze darted back and forth till he spotted the first missile. It shot into the air as it gained velocity, rocketing towards the sun. Then it turned, arcing back until it was heading straight for the city. Quicksilver sent a jagged bolt of metal towards it, timing his attack to perfectly intersect with the missile's path.

 

But it didn't connect. The missile changed paths once more and began flying horizontally over the city. Quicksilver's eyes narrowed as he realized what it was.

A CHAMP missile, a high-speed EMP that caused no collateral damage. His years in the criminal underworld pre-Calamity had made him familiar with all variety of weaponry, and the behavior of the missile made it unmistakable. Arsenal was trying to eliminate the largest advantage he had, 

 

Preparation. 

 

Quicksilver instantly curved his attack and bisected the missile. The pieces left a trail of smoke as they fell to the earth. Quicksilver furrowed his brow and turned his gaze back to the city. Arsenal had been able to draw him out with a single attack, one that would have been devastating if not stopped. One missile could've wreaked havoc with the Slivers surveillance network.  

 

Quicksilver’s thoughts were interrupted by repeated loud rumbling. He realized in shock that Arsenal hadn’t launched a single EMP. He had launched a volley. A dozen missiles rose from the Guard’s Central Command with a deafening roar. This wasn’t a desperate attempt at a counter, this was a deadly parry.

 

Quicksilver allowed himself a brief smirk behind his featureless mask.

It was about time you stepped up your game Arsenal. I was beginning to get bored.

 

From his body shining arms of silver grew, shooting impossibly fast towards their targets. Quicksilver simply floated, arms spread wide as his blades of silver destroyed the missiles with unerring precision. Swirling through the air like snakes of mercury, they eviscerated their targets with the slightest touch. In under a moment the entire volley was destroyed, the smoldering wreckage falling back to earth.

Quicksilver turned back to the Central Command. He shaped the metal to amplify his voice,

 

“Is that your best effort Dewhickey? Vondra has finally given you some real breathing room and all you can do is fire off a few missiles? You have grown complacent, licking the scraps from your master’s table. You are a Moses content to never leave Egypt. You are a slave to the powerless man who holds your leash. At least he has self respect.” 

 

As he spoke the last words he formed a torpedo of solid metal, increasing it's density and aerodynamics. He punctuated his final sentence by launching it towards the missile rig.

 

Check.

[Kobold King he/him]

  

 

 

The missiles soared across the city. The dots of light on the tactical monitor went out one by one, electronic hotspots across the city being fried by the CHAMP's potent package. A lot of Dalles infrastructure was being destroyed, but it would be easily replaced. What could never find a replacement was this chilling sense of victory.

 

"Sir," a technician reported, "One of the CHAMP missiles has gone offline. It's--sparks, several are going offline. We're losing the whole strike."

 

No.

 

Arsenal began to storm to a computer, but a sound by the window called him back. Far off into the city, a voice was booming, the words unintelligible but the meaning clear. An Epic was threatening central command.

 

A pair of binoculars appeared in Arsenal's hands as he searched for the voice, settling on the top of an enormous silver pillar that had most certainly not been there this morning. At its top was a humanoid figure, standing triumphant with tendrils of liquid metal swirling around him. Some of the tendrils merged, forming a lump that then took the form of a torpedo, which hurled through the air...

 

Quicksilver had revealed himself, as an Epic in his full glory.

 

The torpedo whistled as it sailed up in an arc, coming down to crash upon the missile rig outside the HQ. Arsenal felt his rage channel into a harsh, single laugh. The rig? He was bombarding the rig?

 

The torpedo struck with the force of an artillery shell, blowing the rig apart into shreds of metal that tore apart the yard outside the HQ. Several Guards and civilian workers toppled to the ground, either concussed by the blast or shot down by the razor sharp shrapnel. Arsenal paid them no mind. Anyone who was crossing in and out of the center instead of working was expendable.

 

He raised his hands again, concentrating. No sooner had the one rig been destroyed than two more had sprung up in its place, followed by even more which sprung into being already launching their payloads. The missiles were wild and unfocused, but were hurtling everywhere in the city. No place in town would escape the range of the EMP. Just to keep Quicksilver occupied, another missile sprung up on the roof of the HQ itself, launching more conventional missiles in a straight trajectory straight to the root of the towering metal pillar--and presumably, to the Slivers' central base.

 

CHAMP missiles hurtled through the city, too many for the technicians to assert control over. Several careened into the sides of buildings and exploded, but they--and the buildings--were acceptable losses. The majority were filling the air all across the city with the sound of burning rockets, and all the stray pieces of tech in town would short out.

 

Which reminds me...

 

With the bus chase happening on the fringes of town, there was a chance certain Epics had not yet had their radios destroyed. Arsenal pulled out his own, speaking in an authoritative bark.

 

"Arsenal to Deathwish and Edgerunner. The bus chase is losing priority. Quicksilver himself has been spotted."

 

He glanced outside, at the pillar of molten metal now dominating the city's skyline.

 

"Quicksilver is at the top of the city's newest unauthorized landmark. Use lethal force."

 

He pocketed the radio, staring out at the missile-ridden city with a tight-lipped smile on his face.

 

Quicksilver's side of the board was under attack. His key advantage was being short-circuited piece by piece. Arsenal's knights would be closing in for the checkmate any time now.

 

Your move.

 

 

 

 

 

Most women were upset when Deathwish physically injured them and put himself in suggestive positions over them. Usually, Emma Runes would be one of those women. This time though, she just smirked.

 

"Oh, Eddie," she purred, "you shouldn't say such things. You know Arse is all about propriety." She put a hand on his chest, the same smile she used when pulling pranks mixed with an almost sultry look in her eyes.

 

This is going to end either very badly, Deathwish thought, leaning in for an exploratory snog, or very, very well...

 

Then she slapped him, swiftly across the face and sending his whole mind reeling with the sudden sting.

 

In the next instant she'd whipped out from under him like a cloth yanked off a table, and in a single fluid motion had drawn a knife and slammed its blunt handle solidly into the back of Deathwish's neck. At the same time he was suddenly gripped by his clothes as if they were made of sandpaper. His head was hurting in two places and he couldn't move without tearing off his clothes and half his skin.

 

Sparks, he thought viciously. Next time she gives me a come-hither look, I swear to Calamity I'll just shoot her in the storming face.

 

He hid the pain as Edgerunner walked back over to him, a self-satisfied and not at all sultry smile on her face. "Hawk, you ready to do your real job?"

 

"Sure," he managed to grin. "Aren't I always?" 

 

Somewhere further off in the city he could hear the roar of distant missiles, which Edgerunner apparently heard as well. The grip on his clothes went away and he flew a dozen feet into the air to get a better look. His keen eyes zoomed in, seeing the silhouettes of what seemed to be an artillery war between Quicksilver the HQ. Somewhere not too far off was a pillar of silvery metal extending into the sky, the shape of an Epic at its crest.

 

Both Deathwish's and Edgerunner's radios crackled.

 

"Arsenal to Deathwish and Edgerunner. The bus chase is losing priority. Quicksilver himself has been spotted."

 

Really? thought Deathwish sarcastically. No crem, sherlock.

 

An addendum to the message informed them use lethal force, before a missile sailed directly overhead. A couple of sparks sputtered from the radio, immediately went devoid of even static. Edgerunner's did the same.

 

"I'm guessing you heard the old fart," Deathwish said lazily, lowering himself back to the rooftop. "Are you ready to do your real job?"

 

"Ex... excuse me?" a voice suddenly yelled. Deathwish and Emma both whipped their heads around in confusion before settling on someone standing on the street below. "I don't mean to intrude, but...I... there was a bus, and... it hit my partner, I mean a piece of it hit my partner... and now he's dead, and I'm...  Could one of you radio for help?"

 

Great. A vanilla casualty. Those were always annoying when you weren't causing them yourself.

 

"Just leave her," Deathwish ordered, starting to lift back into the air towards Quicksilver's pillar. "We've got better things to do. We'll--"

 

His eyes zoomed in on the terrified vanilla. She was in a City Guard outfit, but her face was petite and her body was slim but curvy. Nice blonde hair and a haunted expression that seemed just waiting for a suitable hero to make himself known...

 

"Actually," Deathwish appended, lowering himself. He slicked his hair back, his smirk probably not fooling Emma for an instant. But then, she was a lost cause.

 

"We're heroes, Edgerunner. We can't just leave a damsel in distress behind, can we?"

[Voidus]

Doctor Game greeted Scribbler with a smile as she entered hi clinic, as was his way he offered her sympathy rather than complain about his own situation.

“You have to work much too hard because of the situation, don’t you? Can I maybe offer you some coffee and a chance to wake up or do you want to get right to your work?"

"Coffee would be fantastic." Scribbler said, following the doctor further into the clinic. "But if you don't mind it's probably best if I ask you about the break-in as soon as possible."

She was just about to ask whether anyone had been harmed when she noticed a dim roar, growing louder.

She cocked her head to one side curiously as the noise grew and grew, finally rattling the entire building.

"Epic!" She yelled, jumping for the doctor as her skin seemed to crawl, one of the larger tattoos on her back crawling over a shoulder before climbing into the air.

She held the word 'shield' in the air for a moment, ready to activate it at the slightest notion of danger, but the rumbling was already fading, having passed over head.

"What on earth?..." She said before cautiously checking a window, she could dimly make out a vapor trail and in the distance what looked like a bloody missile was streaking across town.

She pulled out her phone, ready to call Arsenal and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing shooting missiles over a neighborhood of civilians, if he wasn't going to adhere to his own regulations she didn't see why she should let them stop her from giving him an earful.

But just as she pulled her phone out she noticed it was dead.

Frowning she checked her radio only to find it was out too.

"A blackout? Some kind of EMP or an Epic." She noted, addressing Doctor Game.

She found it hard to believe that the break in at the clinic was unrelated to whatever Arsenal thought was a big enough threat to start using missiles.

"Do you know who attacked your clinic or what their powers were?" She asked quickly. "Could they have done anything like this?"

The rumbling started again, louder this time. She checked the window again only to find a veritable swarm of missiles being launched.

When I get my hands on him he's going to wish I was still in the mood to only do something as dumb as changing his socks.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Lucy barely made it into Baxter’s clinic when the noise started. As its growling grew ever closer, the young Epic suspected an attack and without hesitation threw herself in front of him, ready to protect him with her powers.

 

Seeing the world ‘shield’ crawl from her and stand in the air, just as tense as Lucy herself was gave him conflicting feelings, not that it was the first time he felt like this. A young girl really shouldn’t have to be the one worrying about keeping everyone else safe but she was still a remarkable young girl in taking that responsibility.

 

Granted, even with her here to provide protection, the sound just passing by over them was a relief, if simply for the sake of the patients that Lucy could not simply jump in front of as well.

 

Baxter looked out of the window, keeping himself close to the walls and out of direct sight as much as possible just to be sure, and searched the sky. What he found was a flying object that he would assume to be a missile and judging by the incredulous look on Lucy’s face, she was seeing the same.

 

While Lucy tried to contact Arsenal, he continued searching the sky. Judging by her trouble with actually getting through Arsenal it seemed that electronic devices were somehow malfunctioning and again it seemed that Lucy had a similar thought.

 

Did he have any patients on life support right now? No, at least nothing that required electricity to function.

 

"Do you know who attacked your clinic or what their powers were?" She asked quickly. "Could they have done anything like this?"

 

“I’m not sure,” Baxter said while still searching the sky. “She didn’t display anything power to mess with electronics. Maybe you heard some kind of reports about her, she is the twin sister of Megan or MV, the new Epic that was also in my clinic yesterday, and apparently she also had an encounter with Deathwish.”

 

Then he noticed the giant pillar made out of metal stretching through the sky, seemingly trying to intercept at least some of the missiles. He softly laid a hand on Lucy’s shoulder and pointed at the silvery construct.

 

“I am not quite sure what caused your mobile to malfunction but it seems that at least some of those missiles are aimed at Quicksilver, so I don’t necessarily think that we are under direct attack. However, I’m still grateful for you jumping to my protection,” he ended with a smile. 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Autumn Glass, who was not an Epic, had never quite grown accustomed to Epics fighting over and around her. 

 

She picked herself up, plucking a few pages of her scattered notes off the floor. Her fingers trembled; she couldn't help it. Everything had happened so fast and she still wasn't entirely certain what had taken place. She stood to her feet, casting a glance about to try and piece it together. 

 

The room was quiet now, filled with the sound of Jack breathing, in and out, trying to calm himself; and Autumn's, as she wondered if her palm would pass through the floor. She'd held Jack's power for only an instant, but it had been enough to save her from...

 

…from the cookie? 

 

Yes. The cookie. It lay on the floor a short distance away, shattered into four disgusting banana-flavored pieces. That the whole fight had started over a loathsome dessert would have seemed laughable, had Autumn not been the one to refuse Crush's insistence that she take a banana cookie from the plate Lee slid under the door. Making a face had been a mistake.  

 

"I am so, so sick of all this banana hate!" Crush had screamed, leaping to his feet. "I don't care what anyone says! They're a fantastic fruit! Fantastic! Delicious, nutritious, well-textured, and so high in potassium that they should be soaring through the sky like jumbo jets!" 

 

"Okay, it's all right, just—"

 

"Not to mention that they've been a key food crop throughout the history of sub-Saharan Africa! I swear, if you just took one bite, you'd understand! Autumn, please!" 

 

She'd been ready to choke down a bite of the horrible cookie when Jack slammed his hands against the table, getting to his feet, growling a threat. At some point, the threats had escalated into shouts, and the thrown cookie had passed through her head as Jack gifted her some of his power, and the next thing she knew, her notes were scattered across the floor and the banana cookie was—mercifully—inedible. 

 

Drawing a breath, Autumn grabbed her radio, which had become a beacon for excited chatter from the guards. Jack had Crush up against the wall, glaring into his sunglasses. "It's all right," she said, tucking a lock of loosened red hair behind her ear. "Jack has the situation under control." 

 

​"What the hell happened in there?" 

 

She exhaled, partly in relief and partly in frustration. "The banana cookies happened, Tim. Tell Lee to stop sending them to my interviews." 

Edited January 30, 2016 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer he/him]

 

It was a good thing that Autumn was the one leading the interview. Jack himself could barely stand some of the sparking rubbish Orange Crush was saying. He was a testament not even to the vileness of Epics but simply the justification at the core of it all, Calamity’s mind poison. Even if Orange Crush wasn’t able to fight it, the result was something barely watchable. In his favor he wasn’t as bad as the likes of Deathwish and reader, which means nothing.

 

Naturally, he wasn’t here to judge, even if he could remain impartial. That was Autumn’s domain. And it seemed that Crush was not feeling very confident about said judgement anymore, a state of mind that could easily make him dangerous.

 

Thus, with Crush growing more irritated Jack instead grew tenser. Still, what actually caused Orange Crush to lose his cool unexpected. Jack didn’t exactly care about what Crush’s opinion on the topic of bananas was. What mattered was that he directed his overzealousness at Autumn. It was where Jack drew the line.

 

Jack rose to his feet, roughly slamming his hands on the table, while making sure one was next to Autumn, in case he needed to reach for her and told Crush in clear terms that he should stop screaming at Autumn. If he calmed down now, there would not have been a need for violence.

 

Orange Crush escalated the situation.

 

It ended with Crush pretty much throwing the cookie at Autumn. Immediately Jack touched Autumn and put a piece of Vapor Snake inside her to protect her from possible harm. By the time Jack was on Orange Crush it crossed his mind that the cookie may simply have been the result of Crush throwing a tantrum with no greater danger or hidden use of powers behind it.

 

It wasn’t a risk he would take.

 

Whatever kind of fighting prowess Orange Crush might have with his powers, he was not much of a challenge in close quarters. It didn’t take long for Jack to pin him against the wall in a way that would allow Jack to incapacitate Crush rather easily.

 

How much he would have to rough up this Orange would depend on two questions.

“Autumn, are you alright?” He asked her without taking his eyes from Orange Crush.

"Yes, I'm fine," responded Autumn. Apart from being shaken, she didn’t sound like anything bad had happened to her. That was good. He relaxed, even if he didn’t loosen his grip on Orange Crush just yet.

“What should I do with him?”

"Give him one of those cookies and see if that calms him down. If so, let him out under guard to complete processing."  

 

With that Jack let go of Orange Crush, “You heard her, Crush. You get a cookie.”

Edited February 1, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Aonar he/him]

 

Idiot. Sparking idiot. Frostfire fumed internally. That slontze Deathwish had been right the first time. They didn't have time to deal with a vanilla casualty, especially a non-civilian that didn't appear severely injured. They could maybe lend a radio, but that was all. More likely than not, the only reason Deathwish was interested at all was because she was pretty.

 

Of course, that’s not the sparking worst of it.

 

The woman was an Epic, and a strong one. Probably a little stronger even than Deathwish or himself, although it was hard to say without knowing exactly what she could do.

 

She didn't seem aggressive as of yet, so Frostfire did his best to hide his surprise, keeping his head down and dusting off the front of his coat. He grimaced slightly as he did so; pinpricks of pain flaring with each movement.

 

Struggling, and likely failing, to appear casual, he moved close beside Emma, speaking as softly and as quickly as he could. "The woman's an Epic. A strong one. Either an infiltrator or newly minted. I doubt we have time to deal with both her and Quicksilver. Thoughts?"

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

"Pfft! I don't want it! I'm not a toddler, pal. I'm just a little... fussy, that's all."

 

"Uh... You seemed pretty emphatic about these cookies earlier."

 

"I was just trying to be nice! Jeez! Could you just not take everything literally? You're a jerk! I just... she just... do you even know anything about bananas? It's like we don't even take them seriously here in the States! They're important, and she was so dismissive! Get offa me!"

 

"I'm not getting off of you until you take this cookie."

 

"Jeez! Personal space, okay? Respect my personal space! That's something else you don't take seriously. I mean... I mean you don't take it seriously, wherever the spark I am... Dallers, Oregon or whatever. I'm tired! You guys didn't let me get any sleep in that cell! And you didn't give me any food either! It's... it's Human rights abuse! You guys are committing a sparking Human rights abuse on me! How dare you! How dare you do this to an Epic!"

 

Autumn stared at him, one eyebrow cocked. Crush got the impression that he'd just lost whatever respect she'd been according him up to this point. Sparks. Had he gone too far?

 

She opened her mouth to speak, but Crush cut her off. "Wait, wait, wait. Did I say 'Epic?' I meant, um... Eric." Crush consciously relaxed his face, trying for the first time in this conversation to be absolutely serious. "In my family, um... back in Texas, people named Eric are held in high esteem. Named after my grandfather. My name's not actually Eric, but... I didn't mean to say Epic, okay? I'm not like that." Alright. That was just plain stupid. I probably shouldn't have backed down in the first place.

 

He glanced up at Autumn, who had been giving him a flat expression throughout the entire botched recovery. After a few moments she just sighed and started scribbling on her little sheet of paper again. Sparks. I wish I knew what she was writing.

 

She finished with a little flourish of her pencil, then turned her attention back to him. "Alright."

 

Crush got the impression that his interview was almost over. He cleared his throat and tried for a verdict. "So... Autumn. On a heroic scale of Chesly Sullenburger to Superman, how good did I do?"

Edited February 22, 2016 by Mckeedee123

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

There were many reasons as to why a particular Epic didn't rule their own city. Maybe their powers were too weak to keep them from being anything but a henchman. Maybe they preferred holding power without all the responsibility attached, and had chosen to serve rather than be served. Maybe they just lacked ambition. Autumn was gaining the distinct impression that none of those reasons applied to Crush. 

 

She was also gaining the impression that he was an idiot. 

 

Idiot Epics could be—and often were—still dangerous. That he was an idiot didn't mean the City Guard could let him roam free; to the contrary, he might need an even firmer hand. It only meant that, beneath the powers and the arrogance and the dark past was a mind that would resort to claiming some ridiculous story about Eric. 

 

Attempted lying multiple times to save face. Not good at either. Passionate about bananas? Or just excitable? Autumn barely restrained herself from adding, I'll be honest with you, I have no idea what the sparks to do with this guy, please help. 

 

 "So... Autumn. On a heroic scale of Chesly Sullenburger to Superman, how good did I do?"

 

How did he do? Does he really want me to answer that? She cast about for an excuse, any excuse. Crush watched her expectantly. Neither choice was bad—both heroes, both incredible, neither an apt comparison. I'd rank him somewhere between Vincent Crabbe and Peter Pettigrew. 

 

As she cast about in her mind, her gaze fell on the uniform of a nearby Guard. It resembled the National Guard uniforms, a relic of days gone by. Happier days. Safer days. Days Vondra deliberately tried to recreate with every order he gave. 

 

And just like that, she had her answer. 

 

"Crush, did you ever study the United States Constitution?" Without waiting for his response, she continued: "It was the supreme law of the land, back before the United States became the Fractured States. Yet some places still uphold it, or as much of it as they can. The Dalles is one of those places. Some might think Commander Vondra foolish, but it's not opinions he cares about. It's fairness. Justice. The Constitution sought to provide justice to American citizens, and that is why it's still respected. 

 

"On that document were ten amendments, called the Bill of Rights. I won't bore you with the details, but there was one amendment, one very important amendment, and that was amendment number five. I can point you toward the exact wording later on, if you like, but the gist of it is that a citizen cannot be forced to say anything that will incriminate themselves." 

 

Autumn put her notes in order and gathered them, standing. 

 

"With that history lesson in mind, I plead the fifth." 

[Fatebreaker he/him]

"We've lost most of the west side of town! The missiles are relentless, sir. I don't kno..."

 

Surveillance's voice was drowned out as Quicksilver smashed another missile. His concentration was unbreakable, but missiles were still slipping through his  grasp. 

 

Arsenal must be nearing his limit. This volume of raw material is incredible! I need to hold out for a little longer. 

 

 

He caught another missile with a tendril of metal and launched it towards the city below.

 

This tactic wasn't working. Time to try something different. 

 

 

Quicksilver channeled massive amounts of metal through his arms, creating two huge streams of silver that poured towards the guard's HQ. They flowed like mercury until they hit the building and began to engulf it. Every surface was covered in a gleaming metal coating that found every nook and crack. Quicksilver pulled every minute bit of metal he could find, from window frames to gutter pipes. The missile launch pads were swallowed and crushed, every piece of metal extracted.

 

 

Quicksilver knew he didn't have enough metal to cover the entire building, so he concentrated on the windows, blocking every viewpoint he could find. From there he pressed inwards, ripping the very wires from the wall and the locks off of doors. He didn't need to be able to see the metal, he just needed to touch it with the metal already under his control.

 

 

Even as he destroyed the missile pads, more sprung up to replace them. Arsenal could hit what he couldn't see, but it made it much more difficult. As more and more windows were covered, the missiles grew wilder and wilder while there were fewer missiles now, Quicksilver had less metal to catch them with. Three tendrils were all he could spare, and already the pillar he moved on had shortened. Arsenal could create his weapons from nothing, Quicksilver had to use what was already there. The odds were not in his favor. He'd have to utilize his resources carefully, or he'd find himself coming up short. And in a battle of this magnitude, that would be a death sentence.

 

 

Pulling back all but the window coverings, Quicksilver focused once more on the missiles. Most of the west side of town was gone, along with patches throughout the rest of town. He would have to focus on the eastern side for now. Better to salvage some and lose most of the system than to lose all of it spreading himself too thin.

 

Now he focused on destroying the east and north bound missiles, as well as the missile platforms. He made sure that he continued to hit the missiles heading west and south so as not to draw Arsenal's attention to his main objective.

 

 

He purposefully let some missiles that were headed towards residential areas pass him. The more innocent lives ended by Arsenal, the stronger the conflict Vondra would feel. 

 

 

Quicksilver shouted to Surveillance over his com,

 

 

"Surveillance, tell the men to head for the bridge. They are not to stop for anything. Then put me on all radio frequencies you can find, the guard's, the emergency broadcast, all of them. I have a message for the Dalles, and for Vondra."

 

 

"On it."

 

 

Surveillance  replied, the sound of exploding missiles echoing in the background. Using the radio they'd taken from the guard woman they'd captured earlier would expedite the process, but configuring it into a mass broadcast system was by no means instantaneous, even with Surveillance's abilities.

 

Quicksilver continued to battle the missiles as he waited in grim silence. Even with all of the missiles he was letting by, this was nothing short of demanding. Precious seconds passed until he heard Surveillance's response.

 

 

"You're on boss. All the available signals I could find everything from FM to HAM radio. Just use your com's second channel to mass broadcast."

 

 

Quicksilver grunted in acknowledgement. It was time for some propaganda.

 

 

"People of the Dalles, HEAR ME!"

 

 

Quicksilver's gravelly baritone resounded throughout the city as every available radio played his words. Even the missiles stopped firing, though Quicksilver was sure the respite was not to last for long.

 

 

"I ask you to look at your city, at this haven for humanity amidst a world ruled by Epics. This city, where those sworn to protect you rain missiles down on your heads even as the one branded as an outlaw fights to stop it. Your protectors allow wild animals to roam the streets and sanctioned epics to destroy your homes. 

 

 

And still Vondra claims he can protect you! He maintains that Arsenal is under his control, that Deathwish follows his strict orders, that he is still in charge. But even as he says these things Deathwish and his ilk continues to molest the city while Arsenal's totalitarian hold grows tighter and tighter. 

 

 

"I have been here for years! Not once have I gone on rampages through your homes, or one by one stolen your freedoms. I fought the invaders when they came just yesterday and even now I stave off missiles aimed at your children in hopes that I might preserve what remains of this city. 

 

Ask yourself who is the true villain in the Dalles. Because I guarantee you Stephen Vondra knows.

 

 

"Don't you Stephen?"

 

Edited July 13, 2016 by Fatebreaker

[Voidus]

Lucy took note of the giant pillar as doctor Game pointed it out. Grimacing as he mentioned the only Epic who could be responsible for it. Quicksilver was a scourge on the city but this was far beyond what he'd done before, attacking the entire city like this...

It must have been because of what had happened the day before, striking now that the city was weakened.

"Missiles are still not the appropriate response." She muttered under her breath as she continued glaring at the war between Arsenal and Quicksilver playing out through the skies.

Soon she noticed a dim sound seeming to come from all directions, it sounded like speech but it was hard to tell. Her own radio crackled dimly and might have been trying to make the same sound but with the damage from Arsenals missiles still in effect it was hard to tell.

Clenching her fists in anger Lucy began to concentrate, skin itching as tattoos from across her body shifted around, some pulling off entirely and others merely changing position.

"I need to see what's happening out there." She said as she strode towards the door. "Stupid Epics are trying to destroy the city again."

She'd almost reached the door when she realized that she was supposed to be protecting the hospital, not leaving it undefended in the middle of a war. Her compulsion to go out and try to tear both Epics to pieces warred with her desire to protect and she finally relented, pulling out her writing kit and beginning to scrawl across the ground to set up more protections.

"Not sure how much I can do that will help against those two." She said as she laboriously wrote protections similar to those she'd placed at her parents house. "But it's the best I can do now."

[Edgedancer he/him]

This was going nowhere. Even with all the concessions Shiny was making, the half measure moral guardian still didn’t even try to meet her anywhere close halfway. All she wanted was some love, is that really so bad? Not only that but he was ignoring her again. Alright, so maybe between the Epic attack and the rockets, that really were horribly lacking in the fireworks department, the final proof that every man in charge of this town is a terrible prude, she could understand Vondra not taking the time to introduce her to the desirable bachelors of the town but just entirely ignoring her?  

 

That’s it, she’s out of here.

 

 

Baxter couldn’t do anything against the giant metal pillar outside or the rockets being launched but he could at least support Lucy, even if it only was with words and a hot drink.

 

Lucy hadn’t made much progress in her work, as suddenly little specks of light spread all over the room. At the center of whirling colors stood the same Epic that had teleported into his clinic yesterday, Shiny Sparkle.

 

This time she was alone, holding a pair of pink sunglasses instead of an uncomfortable looking Autumn. Once she noticed Baxter, Shiny leaned towards him with an almost tearful expression and held the glasses out, “Help me doctor, I made a terrible mistake and now these glasses need to be returned to their owner. I need to find Backtrack.” Specks of various bright colors danced between the two of them.

 

Baxter swallowed. After Backtrack had left last night there wasn’t anything he could have done to contact the rettroclog but Shiny Sparkle, a teleporter? It would be entirely possible for her.

 

“I think he returned to Portland. Say, Shiny Sparkle, could you maybe remind him that I still need help finding my daughter?” Baxter asked her.

 

In response she enthusiastically slapped his shoulder, having cheered up immediately, “Of course good man. You know if you were one or two decades younger I would…” She trailed of midsentence and vanished again.

 

In the same instance even more color spread wildly through the air, originating just shortly away from where Lucy was sitting. Now Shiny Sparkle was right behind her, hugging her around the waist and resting her head on top of the girl’s. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Shiny Sparkle and an adorable little girl like you really shouldn’t be alone in this kind of crisis.”

 

She may have sounded less… infatuated as she did with Autumn but Baxter still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to leave Lucy in her grasp.

[Voidus]

Lucy scrawled along the ground, around doorways and windows and anywhere else that might be helpful. Writing usually helped her calm down but right now all it did was remind her about what she'd been forced to do all night by Arsenal.

Arsenal. Bloody Slontze, lectures all of us for stupid things like changing his socks and then he goes and launches a million bloody missiles right into town. Tell me where the city guidelines state that?

A bright flashing interrupted her mental diatribe, a swarm of different colors invaded the room. She instantly went on the defensive, preparing several of her tattoos as well as some of the words she'd already scrawled around the room, lines of ink racing accross the room to the swirl of colors ready to bind or destroy whatever had caused it.

At its center stood an Epic, she seemed familiar, one of the Epics from yesterday? Yes, the teleporter Autumn had gone with.

She still her ink, holding only the bindings ready as the others slinked back to their original positions.

If Autumn had trusted her then she probably wasn't here to hurt anyone. Then again that morning she would have said Arsenal wasn't trying to hurt anyone, now he was trying to start Armageddon.

Doctor Game seemed to recognize her two and the two briefly exchanged some information before she trailed off, vanishing again.

A sudden pressure at her back informed her as to where the teleporter had gone, her arms were soon slung around Lucys waist in a hug.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Shiny Sparkle and an adorable little girl like you really shouldn’t be alone in this kind of crisis.”

The sudden intimacy overwhelmed her a bit, a spiral of confusion hitting her.

Her immediate response was repulsion, an instinctive reaction to the physical touch of another person.

No, she's a woman, it's not like then, not like then at all.
 

This was followed by a surge of embarrassment. What kind of Epic just came up and hugged people?

A faint blush hit her cheeks as she managed to stammer out a reply.

"I- I'm not alone and you- I, I mean I'm not a little girl, I'm from the city guard and you're not allowed to- you can't just hug people like that!"

She wanted to cover her face with ink and never be seen again. She was in the city guard, as mature as any of them, she was not some little girl to get all flustered just because someone hugged her. But seriously what kind of an Epic was this?

Strangely she felt herself being calmer than before, the forceful anger that had been driving her subsiding, not gone but not as strong as it had been before.

Was she an emotional manipulator of some kind? Make Lucy feel embarrassed and calming her down? Surely Autumn wouldn't let someone like that just roam the city unsupervised, mental manipulation Epics were some of the most dangerous of all.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Maybe Shiny Sparkle had simply been born too early. The girl in her arms was simply too cute to handle, she even had an ideal blush, an art that had always eluded Shiny but adored all the more for it. If only she was old enough but no the next generation needed its own share of lovely maidens that Shiny would never be allowed to taste.

 

Lucky Slontzes.  

 

Unable to voice herself any other way, Shiny let out a delighted squeal, fueled by an overload of cuteness, and nestled her own cheek against the girl’s. Then she respected her wish for personal space, let go of her and teleported in front of her.

 

Now she could get an even better look of her face, which was just as adorable as everything else about her. Too cute actually. Shiny threw herself at the girls again for another hug.

 

“I’m sorry but I just cannot not hug you.” Shiny said, while continuing to snuggle cheeks. “It doesn’t matter how adult you are or if you have any Epic powers, that changes nothing about how adorable you are. Come on Doctor, tell her how adorable she is.”

“Scribbler is indeed a valuable member of our city guard and deserves to be treated accordingly, so it may be best if you stop hugging her like this,” the Doctor said. Then he continued after giving a small cough, “I will however not deny that her earnest effort for the people of this city is heartwarming.”

 

“See, you already have a fan club, even if one of us doesn’t know how to properly worship a human treasure,” Shiny said. Then she looked deep into Scribbler’s eyes. “Now, is there anything I can do to thank you for your adorableness brightening both my day and the world up?”