What Happened in The Dalles

[Comatose he/him]

BRANDON HENNESSY

 

During all the commotion, Brandon did his best to crouch down in a seat in the corner and try to remain unnoticed.  Surely with all of these random epics running around, they would forget about him.  Wouldn't they?  When Reader's pants went down, Brandon bit his tongue and did not react, not wanting to risk drawing any attention to himself.  When the woman who seemed to be in charge was teleported away in a shower of sparkles, Brandon stayed completely still, praying that maybe if he was still enough, everyone would leave and he would be free to go find Taylor.  When the two epics who had apparently made it impossible for Reader to get his pants back on stormed out, Brandon also kept quiet, staring at his hands in his lap.  Where was Taylor, and why had she abandoned him with these people?  Initially, Brandon had thought that maybe, if he liked what he saw, he could make a home in The Dalles.  However, as time went on it was becoming increasingly clear that even though regular people might pretend to be in charge, The Dalles was overrun with epics.  He couldn't find safety here.  

 

Of course, just when it seemed like everyone was going their separate ways, and Brandon might actually have a chance of getting out of the clinic in one piece, Reader, the slontze, came up to him with an ultimatum.   Epics sure did love their ultimatums, didn't they.  I didn't ask for this.  I'm just a regular guy, doing regular things...  Regular things liking dating a homicidal former pop star with shape-shifting abilities.  I'm just a regular guy...

 

Brandon eyed Reader's hand with distaste before taking it and shaking it gingerly.  Just answer honestly.  Play by the rules and you'll be fine.  Despite all the epics running around, it did seem like they had some form of rules here.  Maybe everything would be okay.

 

"I'm sorry, what were your questions again?  I must of missed them while you were demonstrating that you already know everything about me."  Yeah Brandon, snark the angry epic when you have no one to back you up.  Real smart..  "But, if you repeat them, I'd be happy to answer anything you ask."  Brandon let a nervous giggle.  That's good, show him you're nervous  Epics usually like making people nervous right?  At the very least, it should give Reader some feelings of power, which would hopefully stop him from doing anything unpleasant.  

 

"So, what do you want to know?"

 

Where are you Taylor?

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Impact brought up an Epic named Arsenal. From what Frequency had heard, he was the source behind the Dalles's weaponry. That would be a big blow indeed. "This Arsenal sounds like-"

A man in a leather jacket with three guns, all way too large, landed suddenly next to them. He threw another man into a pile of dead pandas and addressed the group after ogling Impact like Canis had.

"OK, boys and girls. You're new in town, so I'll make this simple. You wanna take over the city, or tear it down, or haul away the women. Or the men, I'm not gonna judge. Point is, whatever you've got planned, you can take to the next town over, because I have a license to beat the ever-loving daylights out of you if you don't quietly turn around and walk out of the city right now. And my partner here has the license to die in the attempt." He pointed a gun straight at Frequency. Fool. "So what'll it be?"

Frequency grinned and nodded as Canis. He whistled a quick ditty and the barrel of the gun in the Epic's hand shattered, shocking him. Canis, now a blur, dashed towards him and swiped his bicep with one of his knives. A shout came from the blur as Canis ran back to the group. He was bleeding from his bicep, exactly where he had cut the Epic in black. That Epic didn't even have a scratch. He had some type of harm transferring ability, dangerous.

Frequency told Terra to shove dirt up the Epic's nose while he worked on the other two guns. He needed to see if the transfer only occurred on a skin level. Frequency shattered the second gun and sent a clap at the other Epic who was pulling himself out of the dead pandas. He fell over backwards again. A wave of dirt slammed into the gangster Epic's face, smothering him. Terra was unaffected so it seemed that skin was the barrier for his powers.

Frequency whistled loud and sharp and three small bones in the Epic's ear shattered, causing extreme pain without breaking the skin. These Epics were no match for him and his allies.

[Voidus]

 

Reader remarkably managed to avoid taking the bait and went to interrogate a man in a corner of the room, Lucy dismssed him from her mind, content that while he'd almost certainly take his anger out on the poor man he at least wouldn't do anything too drastic with so many Epics in the room.
 

Turning her attention back to the doctor, Lucy beamed at him, tension she didn't even know she'd been holding drained away. As much as she might like Edgerunner, it was always impossible to forget what she was, they might laugh together, make fun of Reader or Arsenal but in the back of her mind Lucy would always worry that at any moment Emma might decide that she would make a better ruler than Vondra. Epics just couldn't be trusted like regular people.

"Thankyou, that sounds amazing." She said, pulling out her writing kit. "I'll get started on those supplies."

She pulled out one of the larger rolls of paper and her ink brush, dipping the pen gently and watching carefully so the ink didn't stain Doctor Game's floor she began to scrawl large words across the paper pausing occasionally to let her power seep into the words, bottles and bandages popping into existence above the page.

This is what these powers should be used for, helping people, not ruling over them. Not tormenting them like Reader does or controlling them like Koschei. Lucy felt a slight shiver go down at the thought, even so long after he'd been defeated memories of Koschei's reign did not fade easily. If anything it's the other Epics who need to be controlled, people who can rend the earth with a look, peer into your past or simply teleport behind you and stab you, those kinds of people are too dangerous to just be left alone. If you can even call them people at all.

She cast a wary eye over the clinic, the relaxation she'd felt at conversing with a normal person was fading as she continued her work, with every wave of power she sent into her writing she felt more and more annoyed at the Epics.

Need some way to keep them all in line, there is that thing I tried with the two girls we found, surely there'd be an even better way something that could even keep High Epics like Deathwish in check.
 

Lucy thought the idea over, making a note to bring it up next time she spoke to Autumn, or perhaps she could even go to Vondra directly, it was a good idea wasn't it? And all for the safety of the Dalles.
 

Impact was about to unleash her handful of rubble on the Epic who'd just arrived when one of Frequency's companions blurred across the street before appearing back next to Frequency, blood dripping down his arm.

Speed Epic? That will work nicely, speed and power together mean we're not likely to be beaten by any physically-enhanced Epics. What happened with the blood? Is this new guy a speedster too? Or some kind of distance attack? But then he's not hurt, is he a High Epic?

Analysis of the Epics whirling through her head Impact sent a small piece of the gravel she'd picked up flying towards the new Epic, just to test what happened.

The pebble flew through the air, striking the Epic a scraping hit to his shin. Instantly Impact felt a line of pain in her own leg. Exactly where she'd just hit him.

Damage transference? Sparks! How are we going to beat that?

A clump of dirt hit the Epic full in the face, sending him reeling backwards, though none of Frequencies team seemed to be affected by the transference this time.

Some restrictions then at least. I could get behind him, get him in a hold? No, best leave it to them for now, it'll let me gauge their abilities too.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Baxter watched Scribbler get to work. She wrote words on a sheet, she laid down on the ground and shortly afterwards the supplies appeared. It was good to see the girl loose some of her tension. She was an earnest girl and an honest worker, much more than she should have to be at her age. With the way Vondra run the city it couldn’t be helped but Baxter wouldn’t miss the chance to cheer someone up that deserved it, Epic or not.

 

Leaving her to her work Baxter went into the back to get the hot chocolate. There he found Neko giving him an accusing stare. Thinking back to it, she was still sitting in Backtrack’s lap when he pulled him away from his chair. “I’m sorry,” Baxter told his cat, “I’ll give you a treat later. Okay?” Showing her feline mercy, she stopped looking at him as if his soul was lost forever and instead went to wash herself.

 

Having averted the crisis of an insulted kitten, he made Scribbler’s chocolate. It involved a bit of guess work but he made it with sugar and lots of milk. “Come Neko, we have a young girl that needs some cheering up.” The cat did follow him letting out a mew that only sounded slightly like an accusation.

 

Back in the waiting room he found Scribbler looking less relaxed. She had created a sizeable amount of medical supplies by now. He kneeled down next to her, held the cup of hot chocolate out to her and again gave her hair a good ruffle. “Good work with those supplies. Now, how about taking a break while enjoying a nice cup of sweet hot chocolate? You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” Baxter said. Neko also went to work and nestled against Scribbler’s legs, while giving her best pet me pour.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa sniffed, wiped her arm on her sleeve and wiped her eyes. Thankfully, the people had stopped staring at her like she was some sort of ice freak, or a monster.

 

Monster....Hah. 

 

Elsa blinked a few times, drying her eyes out and noticed Lucy, on the floor of the clinic, creating supplies out of nowhere. Elsa watched her, fascinated. She looked over the girl's shoulder

 

"Excuse me, But how did you do that?" Elsa asked, curiously.

Edited April 21, 2015 by Queen Elsa Steelheart

[Voidus]

 

Lucy smiled as doctor Game approached again, hot chocolate in hand and followed by his cat who immediately started nuzzling up against her.

“Good work with those supplies. Now, how about taking a break while enjoying a nice cup of sweet hot chocolate? You look like you’ve got something on your mind." He said, smiling kindly at her.

Idly scratching the cat who was purring in appreciation Lucy thought about what she should say to him. It was true that she had a lot on her mind, the situation with the Epics was getting out of control, just today she'd discovered that another half a dozen had entered the Dalles. If all of them decided to attack at once what would the damage be like?

She waved a hand over her work, causing the last few words to disappear, replaced by medical supplies and was about to reply to Dr. Game when a voice spoke just over her shoulder.

"Excuse me, But how did you do that?" It was the other Epic, the one they'd found with the momentum girl.

Her muscles rapidly tensing again Lucy shifted slightly away from the Epic, an unknown Epic was a dangerous Epic.

"That's my power." She said, opting for honesty rather than being secretive as some Epics were about their abilities. "I can make whatever I write about, so the necklace that you and that other girl have for instance I can make them break anything they're touching."

She gave a grim smile in satisfaction. About to continue she felt the cat rub against her hand for more attention and her grin faded. She didn't like this feeling, this attitude, these threats, they reminded her too much of him. Using his power to hold half the city hostage. She gave a slight shudder.

"But you haven't done anything yet and Reader will have a look at you soon I suppose so, while you're here."

 

Lucy reached up, gently brushing the girls neck and absorbing the ink back into her own skin, leaving Elsa's neck clear once again. It was an idea that might be worth exploring but she wouldn't do it without Vondra's approval, she held on to her mental image of the Dalles' leader, her moral guardian. As long as she followed him she wouldn't have to worry about becoming corrupt like other Epics.

The word 'break' crawled along her skin, eventually settling in a free patch around her calf. Lucy looked at the word for a moment, then at the supplies she'd made for the clinic and she smiled.
 

"I suppose I lucked into one of the better powers, one that can create and not just destroy things." She said, partially to Elsa, mostly though it was for Lucy herself.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa smiled at the necklace was removed from her neck. It was a relief, as Elsa had no idea what that necklace could do to her.

 

"Thank you. Were you born with these powers or cursed?" Elsa asked.

 

It was a question that Grand Pabbie, the head troll, had first asked her when she hit Anna in the head with an icy blast. It always brought back bad memories, but now Elsa was too curious to mind. 

 

"Who is Reader? I'm quite still new here, so I'm don't know many people. And your powers seem really useful, they seem like my powers, there's beauty in it, but also great danger."

 

Elsa smiled at Lucy. Now she didn't seem as threatening as she was before. 

[Voidus]

 

Were you born with these powers or cursed?

An odd question to say the least, Lucy knew of no Epics who had been born that way. In the early days some had pretended that they'd always existed, only recently revealing themselves. But there were too many other accounts, too many people who had been ordinary one day and the next simply not.

"Cursed is one way to put it." She said bitterly. "The Dalles was ruled by someone who called it a blessing but I've never thought it so. All anyone with these abilities ever does is destroy things."

Lucy gestured to Reader in the corner interrogating someone. "That's Reader over there. Perfect example. Given the ability to look at a person and know them more intimately than their own family. You would think knowing a person that deeply could only cause you to become closer, to become akin to family with them. Not him though, he has never hesitated to use his powers to attack people and destroy relationships."

She heard a purring from beneath her hands, Dr. Games cat looking up at her in appreciation as she scratched behind his ears.

"Now take this cute little thing. Given teeth far sharper than ours, concealed weapons that he can hide in his paws at a moments notice and what does he do? He asks for some pats. Doesn't force me to, he won't use the weapons nature has given him to attack me if I don't do what he wants. He just sits there, not understanding who I am or what I'm saying and he communicates with me more effectively than Reader ever could." Lucy sighed deeply.

"So no, I don't believe I am cursed. I believe I am a curse. Who knows when it will happen, how or why but everything I know about Epics, everything I've felt since I got these abilities tells me that one day I will end up just as bad as Reader or worse." She paused, regarding the cat once more, eyes closed and purring.

"And I see little beauty in that."

[Edgedancer he/him]

Baxter watched the conversation between Scribbler and the other woman unfold. With some luck the two of them would get along and some positive interactions with another Epic might do her good.

 

They started good, making Scribbler think of the good she’s done with her powers and moved her to show some kindness towards the other woman, by removing the break tattoo from her neck. After that their talk took a less fortunate turn towards the nature of Epics.

 

Given how most Epics acted it was no wonder that Scribbler couldn’t trust herself no matter what she did, especially given what he heard about Koschei. Nothing about that made it any better to see her have such an aversion towards herself. Words wouldn’t do much but he might as well try what little he could do.

 

The doctor laid a hand on Scribbler’s should, in an attempt to comfort her, “No need to be that hard with yourself. I may not know much about being an Epic but I know you well enough to tell you that you aren’t a curse. Just now you though about what you could to help my patients on your own. Even if being an Epic isn’t what you wanted, you’re making the Dalles a better place. So, on the risk of being a sentimental old man, don’t talk too bad about yourself, because I’m grateful for you being here.”

 

He put a hand on Neko, “In case you don’t trust my opinion,” he gave Scribbler a little wink, “you can trust Neko here. She knows people enough to only get this comfortable with the ones that deserve it and you wouldn’t go against the judgement of a cat now, would you?”

Edited April 25, 2015 by Edgedancer

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa looked at Lucy in surprise. She wasn't expecting an answer as deep as that. 

 

​Maybe I should just leave that question to Grand Pabbie. Who doesn't enjoy their embraced powers? I know for a fact that they're hard to hide.

 

"I know that at first, that abilities are hard to have, but look at you, you're helping an entire clinic with them."

 

She looked down at the cat.

 

"Lucy, I once believed I was a curse too. I was born with my powers and had to conceal them for thirteen years. I ended up hurting my sister and nearly froze Arendelle to death, but it was fine. There was a reason you were given your powers. They are used to help and make up of who you are. You're not a curse, Lucy. This is who you are and you should love every part of it, the good and the bad."

[Aonar he/him]

Part one of four of a collaboration between Mailliw and I.
 

 
Ethan slumped against the wall, staring sightlessly at the orange glow on the horizon. I left them. They’re burning, and I left them. And for what? To get insulted by a telepath? To pick a fight with pandas? To learn basically nothing about the Dalles, and piss off at least a few important people? He clenched his fists. They’re dying because I was sparking curious. Someone needs to pay.
 
"Hi there.” Ethan started from his reverie. It was a rare thing for him to be snuck up on. He hadn’t been paying attention.
 
 “We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Emma.” It was the gravity manipulator from earlier. Slight and dark haired; she was rather pretty. Obviously she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as Reader any longer either.
 
“Like you, and everyone else, I hate Reader. I liked that thing you did to his pants, even if Autumn didn't. You were spot on in your judgement of that slontze. A coward to the bones." She smiled, running her fingers through her hair. Sparks. Pretty was an understatement.
 
“Thanks. His type aren’t exactly hard to peg. He had no right to say what he did to you, no matter what he thinks. I’m Ethan.” Even with the convoy’s fate in the back of his mind, he couldn’t quite stop himself from smiling back. Now’s not the time, Ethan. People are dying. That's just a touch more important than a pretty girl.

 

 
Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome smiled back at her and Emma felt butterflies in her stomach. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. Most of the city guard were either slontzes, way too old, annoying, or all of the above. The regular people had a hard time getting close to her since she had become an Epic, so they were out. Her only chance at romance was with an Epic, and this one was one of the best she'd met in a long while.

"I’m Ethan," he said. Ethan. Ethan and Emma. That rolled off the tongue perfectly. Emma forced herself to push those thoughts aside as she registered what he said. 

"Well, thanks for sticking up for me. Reader's just a giant slontze to everyone. He thinks he's so much better since he can read minds, but he's a coward and weak," Emma nervously kept playing with her hair as she rambled. "I'll let you in a little secret," she said, leaning in closer, lowering her voice, heart beating faster as she closed the distance between herself and Ethan. "Remington Springfield, a regular human, was able to capture Reading Rainbow and force Koschei's weakness out of him with only his rifle. He got past all of Koschei's guards, Epic or not, and found the weakness and then managed to get to Koschei and use his weakness to kill him." Emma had a bit of a fangirl crush on Remington if she was being honest with herself. Who wouldn't? The man had killed a tyrant much more powerful than himself and freed the city. He was worth a little crush. 

"No matter what Reader says, he didn't actually aid anyone. You nailed it. He only acts to save himself; selfish slontze." She leaned back to her standing position and laughed. 

"Anyways, enough about Reader. Why are you here? I think It's pretty obvious why I am."
 

 
Emma rambled on a little about Reader and the Dalles' history, and Ethan let her. It was interesting, and it was nice just to listen to someone making friendly conversation. That had become a surprising rarity after he gained his powers; it seemed the vast majority of people he met were either scared witless by him, or complete and utter slontzes.
 
She leaned back, laughing, apparently deciding to change the subject. "Anyways, enough about Reader. Why are you here? I think It's pretty obvious why I am." 
 
"Just a bit, yeah." Ethan's smile faded as he thought about her question. Why am I here? To get away from Reader? To work through my anger somewhere where I'm not likely to kill innocent people? Both true, in different ways, but neither quite the right answer. "I... I'm here to help, I guess. I just don't seem to have done the greatest job so far."
 
Emma looked a little confused, so he did his best to explain. "I've been wandering for a while now. Ever since my powers manifested, I've been... angry, at everyone, at everything; I figured it would be best just to stay away from other people.
 
"A few days ago, I chanced upon a group of scavengers being attacked by another Epic, and I couldn't stand by any longer. I needed to help, I needed to do something." He sighed, not quite sure where he was going. "Anyways, to make a short story shorter, they were planning to seek refuge in the Dalles, and here I am. I thought things would be better somehow, after helping them get this far. But now..."
 
Ethan turned away, looking at the faint glow to the south. "Now, something's wrong. They're dead, or dying, or captured, I don't know. Their camp is burning. I can feel the heat of it from here. And there's nothing I can do. Sparking nothing." If only there was some way to get there... The only teleporter has already left... Idiot. The answer was quite literally staring you in the face five seconds ago.
 
Turning back to Emma, he felt his excitement growing. "Wait. You can affect gravity, right? Can you change other objects gravitational pull? Or increase your own acceleration?"
 

 
Emma noticed the faint smile on Ethan's face. Good. She was keeping him happy. When he said he was in the Dalles to help, Emma crinkled her eyebrows a bit. Help how? He had helped take care of Reader, so she gave him brownie points for that.

When he talked about the feelings of anger that just surged up when he received his powers, Emma smiled sympathetically. She knew exactly what that felt like. She had felt the se way when she had been given her powers. Even now, when she used her powers for a long time, she felt that anger.

Ethan mentioned a caravan of scavengers. He had been their hero and had saved them from a cruel Epic. Her heart beat just a tap or two quicker. They had been coming for refuge? Word had spread about the Dalles? Part of the reason Vondra was able to keep it under control was because people didn't quite know what was happening. If more powerful Epics got wind of Vondra's regime, they'd come and crush everything Emma had worked for over the past two years.

Ethan cut her thoughts short with a gaze off into the distance. She followed his hazel eyes and saw a faint glow separate from the twilight of the setting sun. Ethan's head snapped back to look at her. "Wait. You can affect gravity, right? Can you change other objects gravitational pull? Or increase your own acceleration?"

Emma was a bit taken aback with the sudden intensity in Ethan's voice as he asked about her powers. "Um, I don't know much physics, I failed that class in school. I can't affect others' gravity, just my own. Acceleration? I can change how fast and how hard the gravity pulls, if that's what you mean," she fumbled through her answer. Her cheeks flushed as she nervously toyed with her hair. Idiot. Sparking idiot, why'd you have to fail that class? Now she felt like a fool in front of the first guy who made her feel butterflies in a long time. "Why? What do you do?"

Edited April 28, 2015 by Aonar Faileas

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Part 2 of a compilation post between Aonar and I.



Blushing and clearly a little flustered at being asked such a direct question, Emma struggled to answer.Ethan smiled wryly at her distress, berating himself mentally. Smooth. Not five minutes talking and you’ve already managed to upset her.

“Why? What do you do?”

“Sorry about putting you on the spot there. Don’t worry about the physics side of things. I can’t exactly claim to understand everything on that front, myself." He thought for a moment, wondering how best to describe his powers. “I… shift things; I guess that would be the best way to put it. I can take qualities, like heat, movement, and electric charge, store them briefly, then apply them to other objects.

“Anyways, if you can change how fast you go, then I can probably borrow enough of your kinetic energy to get airborne myself.” He grinned, excited to be able to change what had seemed hopeless mere minutes ago. “So if you’ll help me, we might be able to fix some of this mess. We might be able to save some of those people.”



Emma mentally sighed from relief. Ethan didn't know all about science either. She didn't want to feel like the dumb one, so she was grateful for his simple explanation of power. Sparks, he was cute when he was thinking.

He grinned widely at the prospect of saving the innocents in the burning camp in the distance. “So if you’ll help me, we might be able to fix some of this mess. We might be able to save some of those people.” A hero? Emma had never had a conversation with someone who was actually heroic. The closest she had gotten was waving to Remington Springfield when she saw him on the street once. Ty had definitely not been a hero. Ethan was. He was a brave hero worthy of a comic book. And she would be his sidekick.

"Sure. Let's go get them," she said, excited to help a hero. She dropped into the air, hovering above Ethan. "Ready?" She asked. Edgerunner tripled her gravity in the direction of the blazing fire. She hurtled through the air for a minute before looking back. Ethan looked confused. Why hasn't he borrowed her energy? Edgerunner flew back towards him and landed.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, a faint blush rising on her cheeks again. She was an idiot. Why hadn't she waited for him explain better? Now she looked like a fool. Just because she got caught up in being a hero for once.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Without waiting for him to explain further, Emma rose into the air and rushed off. Ethan tried to interrupt and catch her attention, but she seemed too focused on her power. As she came back, blushing, he struggled to avoid laughing at her sheepish expression.

"Is everything okay?"

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Usually something like this would have annoyed him, but she was cute, and surprisingly hard to be angry at, for an Epic. “My power requires physical contact, is all. So I’ll need a hand when you go by.”

Ethan really hoped this would work. Seeing Emma take off like that had given him a rough idea of how to distribute her kinetic energy, but he’d never tried to do anything like this before. “This is the first time I’ve tried to do this though, and I’ve never really had to worry before about separating kinetic energy from heat while I’m transferring. So you might notice a bit of a chill.”

“Actually,” he said, shrugging off his coat, “Why don’t you take this, just to be safe?” As he held it out, he realized the trench coat would probably come down past her feet, but it was still better than nothing.



Sparking, sparking idiot! Edgerunner cursed herself. Now Ethan was smiling, barely containing his laughter. Laughing at her. For being a sparking idiot.

“Yeah, yeah it is.” He said. “My power requires physical contact, is all. So I’ll need a hand when you go by.” Did he just ask her to hold his hand? Maybe he wasn't laughing at her condescendingly after all. She smiled yet again.

Ethan spoke again while she stood, a bit dumbstruck. “This is the first time I’ve tried to do this though, and I’ve never really had to worry before about separating kinetic energy from heat while I’m transferring. So you might notice a bit of a chill." She has her jacket on, so Edgerunner figured she'd be fine.

“Actually, why don’t you take this, just to be safe?” Ethan handed her his coat as she floated just slightly above the ground. Her jacket was likely good enough to protect her from any chill, but there was no sparking way she'd be enough of an idiot to refuse a coat from a cute boy. She took his large trench coat, realizing that, even with her feet off the ground, the coat dragged a bit.

She smiled at Ethan another time and gently grabbed his hand. "Ready now?" At his approval, she directed her gravity toward the smoke and faint glow of the fire. At first, she felt a drag, caused by Ethan borrowing her energy, but it quickly faded. They sped along, somewhat slower than normal, but Edgerunner just kept increasing her speed.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Mailliw73

[Voidus]

 

Lucy managed a bittersweet smile in response to the combined comforting effects of Elsa and Dr. Games' words and Neko. She appreciated the effort they put in, and perhaps they were even right that there was no reason to hate herself because of the powers she'd been given. But anytime she approached anything resembling acceptance of Epics an image flashed into her mind.

Her parents standing terrified, too scared to move. Lucy herself being held as a flash of silver cut across her throat followed immediately by the cold touch of him. The tainted power flowing through her and healing the cut to her throat as she was taken away from her parents, screaming.

Perhaps she might have been able to accept these powers. But if there was any possibility of that happening it had vanished the day she'd met Koschei the Deathless.

 

But still, she shouldn't burden others with her problems. Especially not Dr. Game. Taking a deep breath Lucy relaxed her shoulders, trying to adopt a more natural and happy smile she looked back up from Neko.

"Indeed not, going against the judgement of a cat is just asking for trouble. Thanks for the hot chocolate and the kind words, I'd better go and check in and see if I'm needed anywhere else for the time being. Elsa? Make sure you talk to Reader once he's done with the poor sap over there. He's a Slontze so don't pay what he says any mind but unfortunately it's protocol before you can be formally admitted into the Dalles."

Packing her writing kit back up, Lucy stood up and dusted her knees off before moving to an isolated corner of the clinic so she could phone in. What she'd said wasn't exactly a lie, she did need to check in but more than that she'd needed some time alone.
 

MV followed Backtrack through the streets, thoughts awhirl once more. Having finally found him she was unsure exactly how she felt. Relieved? Anxious? Why would she be anxious? It wasn't like she cared what Backtrack thought was it?

Shaking her head she focused on her objective. Finding what had happened to Impact came first, think about Backtrack later.

"So um.. do you think you can find her? She kind of... flew for a bit." She asked timidly.

Idiot! Sound more assertive! He's going to think that you're- Wait no! I don't care what he thinks!

She took a deep breath. It seemed that no matter what her intentions her brain would worry about what it wanted to worry about.

[Kobold King he/him]

   

 

 

Glass was not an idiot. This Arsenal was certain of. She had to know just how unsuitable her excuses were. No Epic who had not been screened by Reader should be standing in this command center, with no exceptions. Apparently realizing how flimsy her hurried excuse was, she began a full report on the breathtaking breaches of security and protocol taking place all over the city.

 

Arsenal's eye twitched every second of the briefing, his eyelid threatening to peel itself off of his face when Shiny Sparkle hugged their counselor from behind, breaching no less than three intimacy regulations in the process.

 

“No need to worry,” the freak of nature assured him. “I have completely and absolutely fallen in love for Autumn and I’ll do everything for her. Meaning I’m just as loyal to the city as she is.”

 

"Your assurances are duly noted," Arsenal growled, "but we'll be watching you through our rifle scopes until you've been screened properly. If you make one false step, you'll have Glass grieving for you before--"

 

Without warning his belt radio flared to life, with Deathwish's voice howling through the static.

 

"SPARKS SPARKS SPARKING SPARKAMITY!!!"

 

"So now you know how to use your radio," Arsenal said ascerbically. "What's the situation?"

 

"YOU STORMING KNOW THE SITUATION! THIS GREY SLONTZE JUST BROKE MY STORMING EAR!"

 

"Do you need reinforcements?"

 

"THE HELL I DO, YOU BLASTED CODGER. I'M GONNA KICK THIS GUY'S WRINKLED--"

 

There was a thundering sound through the crackle, as if a thousand pounds of earth had just punched through the air beside the other radio.

 

"SPARKS! SEND YOUR STORMING REINFORCEMENTS!"

 

The radio went silent again with another thundering whoosh. Arsenal grimly clipped the device back to his belt and glowered at the inappropriately beaming Epic.

 

"Well, Ms... Sparkle," he intoned dryly. "It seems you'll be getting a chance to prove your... love. Can you pry yourself from our counselor long enough to attend to a security breach downtown?"

 

His eyes flitted to Autumn, eyes narrowing as he drilled into her uncomfortable suggestion. "Ms. Glass has a report to the commander to file. A full report."

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

"Meg! Run!" screamed Alison Pierce.

 

With a swat of her hand Impact snapped the tusk of the enormous elephant, which bellowed in pain as its body crashed into her. They both went tumbling to the ground... the blond girl looked so frail, surely she was going to get crushed... she managed to bend the laws of motion themselves, forcing herself upright and shattering the elephant like a giant grey egg... she went flying straight into the air...

 

 

Backtrack was slightly pale as he watched the scenes of the past unfold. He'd known the momentum twins were tougher than they looked, but there was a difference between knowing that and seeing one of them murderize a giant elephant. Sparks, he was thinking of patting one of them on the rear just this morning! He'd almost made the biggest mistake of his life! He'd almost died!

 

"So," MV stuttered, breaking the silence between them. "Um.. do you think you can find her? She kind of... flew for a bit."

 

There was absolutely no way he could track a flying Epic like Impact through the city's skyline in a single evening. Also, with the amount of panic he'd sensed from her after her fight with the elephant, she'd probably pulverized herself into a thin red paste the second she'd come close to a building.

 

"Absolutely," he smiled weakly. "You'll be with her again by tomorrow morning, I promise."

 

Backtrack, you are such a coward.

 

Sticking his hands in his pockets and tracing Impact's past shadow across the city's skyline, he turned around and started walking down the street. "I hope you like long walks through dark and and partially burning cities, 'cuz this could take a few hours."

 

After walking in silence for a minute more, he gave a hesitant smile. "Hey, this is kind of a date, right? An emergency rescue date?"

Edited July 12, 2015 by Kobold King

[mail-mi he/him]

 

Brandon gently shook Reader's hand, emotions so conflicted that even Reader couldn't see through them. But he did notice one that resonated within every part of the vanilla's being, no matter how small: 

 

Fear.

 

Reader smiled. This was what he'd gone to Vondra for, this is why he loved his job. Not the Epics who could kill him with a glance, but the vanillas who looked up to him like someone to be feared. 

 

Reader loved being feared. 

 

"I'm sorry, what were your questions again? I must have missed them while you were demonstrating that you already know everything about me. He paused, and Reader could tell he was mentally smacking himself in the face. "But, if you repeat them, I'd be happy to answer anything you ask. So what do you want to know?" 

 

Reader opened his mouth to comment on this puny vanilla's snark, when he realized something.

 

He didn't have any wine.

 

Reader smacked his lips. Holy Calamity, he was thirsty. And tired. And just plain done with today. If Reader postponed all the important questions to get on Brandon for his snark, this interview would only take longer. And Reader wanted to get to his church and just be done. 

 

He cleared his throat. "I want to know who Taylor is, and if she's here in the Dalles with you. If she is I must interview her. You seem like you're clean, except for this mission you keep thinking about. I need to know what that is to let you stay here, so you can tell me, or else..." Reader reached for his pistol, only to remember that he'd left it on his desk after shooting Stephen. Sparks! He let the sentence trail off, studying Brandon and waiting for his response. 

Edited April 30, 2015 by mail-mi

[Comatose he/him]

 

"I want to know who Taylor is, and if she's here in the Dalles with you. If she is I must interview her. You seem like you're clean, except for this mission you keep thinking about. I need to know what that is to let you stay here, so you can tell me, or else..."

 

Great.  He wants to know about Taylor and her freaking mission.  The two things I can't tell him anything about.   Reader would know if he was lying though, so Brandon decided he would have to tell the truth.  It would seem there were limits to his mind reading though, since he had to ask who Taylor was.  Unless... could this all just be some sort of crazy test to assess his loyalty to the city?  What if he tried to lie or mislead Reader, only to get caught and be executed?   

 

What if he betrayed Taylor and she found out?  

 

The Blank Space video was running through Brandon's head as he responded to Reader's question.  "Taylor is... well she's Taylor Swift, like, the pop star, so she's pretty amazing."  There.  No lies so far, at least as far as Brandon knew.  Maybe that would be enough?  "She's got a lot of... well resources, right?  I know it's wrong to deceive her about, you know, the whole gay thing, but really, it's a dog eat dog world out there, and every man for himself, right?  A guys gotta eat, and I figured my chances would be better with Taylor Swift on my side than without her."  

 

Brandon shrugged, trying his best not to glance nervously at the door.  Where had the guards gone who had brought him in?  Whatever his story, it would likely need to stand up at least to a surface corroboration.  "You probably know as much about her as I do.  I mean, she's not exactly easy to get close to.  She's never told me what her mission is, only that she's looking for someone.  A human, not an epic.  When we heard about The Dalles, we thought it might be a good place to look.  We were separated though, and I don't know where she is now."  

Brandon spared a single glance towards the door.   Reader's latest response had seemed a tad gentler, more due to a sense of weariness than any sort of mercy Brandon was sure.  Maybe he had shared enough, and Reader would let him off the hook.  After all, there had been a lot of epics in the room when Brandon arrived, and the city had just been attacked by a panda army.  Surely such a useful epic had more important things to be doing.  "Can I go now?  I really need to use the bathroom.  It's kind of been a long day..." 

[Edgedancer he/him]

It’s a shame that the old grump felt the need to mistrust her. Hopefully she could resist the urge to throw Reader from a very high place when she had to deal with him again. His rather meaningless threats were cut short by a string of profanity.

 

The call turned from amusing to troubling once it became clear that whoever was on the other end needed reinforcement and Shiny Sparkle was to be that reinforcement, without Autumn.  Accepting her duty she held back from pouting and took off her glasses, revealing the sea of colors swirling in her eyes.

 

“Alas, I’ll go and risk my life for you, my love,” Shiny Sparkle said, while shifting herself in front of Autumn. Gently, she put a hand on Autumn’s cheek, enjoying the soft touch, pushed up the glasses Autumn was wearing on heir own, so she could look directly into her eyes, their color was a beautiful brown, and moved her was until it was right in front of hers, her other arm wrapping around her lovers waist.

 

“Wish me luck.” Their faces were already close enough that she could feel Autumn’s breath. Leaving her side even for a little bit was aching in her heart and her cute face wasn’t helping matters. Shiny Sparkle’s thumb softly brushed over those lovely lips, right now they appeared even more alluring than before. “Actually, just kiss me.” Her voice was just slightly above a whisper, quivering with barely contained desire.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

For the first time Autumn could recall, Deathwish saved the day. 

 

His profanity-laced call for reinforcements crackled over Arsenal's radio, booming in her ears and making her wince. Arsenal replied with his usual coolness, then, scowling, clipped the radio to his belt and glared at her and Shiny Sparkle. 

 

"Well, Ms… Sparkle." Autumn half-expected a remark about how 'Shiny Sparkle' was as appropriate a name as 'D'Sqaurius Green, Jr.' "It seems you'll be getting a chance to prove your... love. Can you pry yourself from our counselor long enough to attend to a security breach downtown?"

 

His eyes narrowed as they rested on her. If she didn't know better, she'd say withering glares was his secondary power. "Ms. Glass has a report to the commander to file. A full report."

 

Were it not for his glare, Autumn might have relaxed. Shiny Sparkle was leaving. She'd have a few minutes to think, to clear her head, to figure out how, precisely, she would explain the security breaches to Vondra without screaming about exploding dates who flirted during free-fall. 

 

It was at that moment Shiny Sparkle removed her glasses. 

 

“Alas, I’ll go and risk my life for you, my love." One hand cupped her cheek while the other pushed up Backtrack's glasses. The world was so much clearer when it wasn't tinted pink. Shiny Sparkle's free hand drifted to her waist, arm wrapping around, pulling her closer.

 

“Wish me luck.” Autumn couldn't speak. Shiny Sparkle's eyes were so distracting. They swirled with a pool of colors that glittered like a kaleidoscope. So pretty. So shiny. So bizarre. So….so….

 

“Actually, just kiss me.”

 

​Wait—what?

 

Autumn managed to tear her gaze from Shiny Sparkle's swirling, shiny eyes and looked at her nose instead, which was far less shiny than her eyes. And so close. Autumn could feel Shiny Sparkle's breath on her cheek, could hear the quivering in her voice. This Epic, this sparkling Epic with the most distracting eyes on the planet, wanted to kiss her. 

 

Badly. 

 

Now. 

 

With Arsenal sitting right there.

 

Autumn thought, in that moment, of Obliteration. The Epic who had destroyed Houston. He'd soaked up the sunlight for weeks, then let it go in one horrifying instant. Steel and asphalt melted. Concrete shattered. Tens of thousands dead before they could scream. 

 

If Autumn kissed Shiny Sparkle, Houston would be a tiny firecracker compared to Arsenal. 

 

If she didn't, there was no telling what Shiny Sparkle would do. 

 

She looked into her eyes again. So….swirly….

 

…maybe just a small kiss would do. Just a small one. A quick peck on the lips. Autumn leaned in….

 

…and was immediately pulled close into a passionate kiss that showed no sign of ending anytime soon. 

 

Ah, sparks. 

Edited May 2, 2015 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Kobold King he/him]

  

 

 

 

“Actually, just kiss me," Shiny Sparkle said smoothly.

 

Arsenal, for once, resisted the urge to snap at the woman. It was high time for this nonsense to end, and the first step for Glass to redeem herself would be to blow off this impertinent attempt at intimacy and send the new Epic on her way. For all her failures, Glass had some thin trace of professionalism in her.

 

As they stood staring into each other's eyes, he felt a moment's doubt.

 

And then Glass made the first move, falling into the Epic's arms and kissing her. Not a mere peck on the lips. They were kissing like mindless teenagers drunk on a prom night. They were pressed wholesale into each other, their mouths doing the kind of indecent things The Dalles hadn't seen since he'd confiscated Deathwish's video collection. This wasn't affection. This was public lewdity.

 

Arsenal knew his face was red, but that was nothing to the red he was seeing. His teeth gritted. His nostrils flared. He raised a fist and slammed it hard against a foldable table that had burst into being in front of him.

 

"STORM IT GLASS!" he bellowed, throwing the table aside and inadvertently creating a shelf full of red toaster ovens. "I EXPECT THIS FROM DEATHWISH, NOT FROM YOU!"

 

He stamped his foot in rage, taking a step towards the intimate couple. The ceiling fan over his head exploded into sparks and shreds of plastic, replaced by a sharp-edged steel fan that had taken its place. "IF YOU DO NOT SEPARATE YOURSELVES THIS INSTANT, I SWEAR YOU WILL FACE THE HARSHEST DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS THIS TOWN HAS SEEN SINCE KOSCHEI!"

 

The Bible warned against wrath. But, Arsenal was sure, God would approve of rage to make a point.

 

Especially when the alternative was a lowlife harlot and an ordained minister trying to turn an institution of government authority into a kissing booth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"SPARKS! SEND YOUR STORMING REINFORCEMENTS!" Deathwish bellowed. Twisting in the air, he narrowly dodged another swinging tentacle of solid soil. He was substantially high above his targets, but some of them were still capable of throwing attacks at him.

 

Like the slontze who broke his ear. Who attacked an ear? Why attack an ear? Bloody sparking spark storms, but broken ears hurt like hell.

 

He dodged another flying dirt clod, hurtling closer to the old slontze who liked to break ears. Pulling the last gun from his belt he let fly a spray of bullets, aimed mostly at the old guy but also at the blonde chick who'd thrown a pebble at him. She was a hot little thing, but he made it a rule not to let his personal attractions get in the way of murdering the hell out of anyone who tried to kill him.

 

Not waiting to see if his bullets had connected--though he was sure they would--Deathwish performed an aerial stunt to evade another dirt clod and stopped briefly beside the Florist.

 

"Slontze!" he shouted, perhaps not particularly eloquently. "Are you gonna smell every daffodil in the city, or are you gonna get off your arse and lend a hand here?!"

 

The black-haired Hawaiian lady took that opportunity to hit him hard with another dirt ball, almost knocking the wind out of him. He managed to accelerate directly upwards and out of her range, from where he glared furiously down at his enemies.

 

Oh, you slontzes are going to wish they'd sent someone else to send you on your way. There's not gonna be anything left for Reader when I'm done with you.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Kobold King

[Voidus]

Impact had only a seconds notice when the Epic aimed a gun at her, she instinctively shielded herself, imparting momentum to the air just above her skin, causing her clothes to blow away slightly.

 

She needn't have bothered. As soon as the bullets left the gun they burst into a cloud of metallic dust. drifting away in the wind.

The Epic let out a stream of curses as he flew higher into the air. Impact met his curses with a mental stream of her own.

Who does he think he is? Attacking me!? And with a gun no less. What kind of a pathetic Epic needs to use one of those?

Almost losing herself in her anger at being attacked she had to drop the rest of the myriad objects she'd picked up. She'd almost launched the small rocks at the Epic, given his ability to reflect damage that almost certainly wouldn't have gone over well. Gingerly she took to the air herself, if he needed a gun to do his fighting it was unlikely he had any offensive powers, that meant that she had the advantage. So long as she took care to only restrain him and not do any damage she should be fine.

Picking up speed as she became more comfortable in the air, she gave chase.

 

"I hope you like long walks through dark and and partially burning cities, 'cuz this could take a few hours."

A few hours? MV thought, panicked. But she could be anywhere by then, what if she flew straight into all those weird panda things? And I'll be alone with Backtrack. For a few hours? Oh god what do I say? No, shut up Meg! You don't have to say anything. You're just using him to find your sister remember? It's not like he's a friend right?  No and definitely not anything more! For God's sake you only just met him today! Why is this happening to me?

The silence stretched out as her mind raced before Backtrack broke it once more.

"Hey, this is kind of a date, right? An emergency rescue date?"

MV stopped mid-stride, heat rising to sufuse her face as her cheeks grew red.

"I-a what? Date? With-But..." She stammered out.

Stop yammering! He's going to think you're an idiot. Wait. I don't care what he thinks so why do I even need to say- oh god it's gone quiet again and you're not moving. SAY SOMETHING!

"It's not like I like you or anything!" She blurted out, uncharacteristically needing to force herself to speak.

Brilliant. That solved all your problems didn't it? This is why you need Allison. When you're alone you say stupid things.

"I mean I- I guess since you're helping me and everything you can call it a um.. a d-d-date." Stuttering again she finally forced the last word out.

"You know. If you have to and all as a reward. Just as a reward."

The red rose until even her scalp was blushing.

 

Megan Pierce you are pathetic.

[Seonid he/him]

From a quarter mile away, the fight on the outskirts of The Dalles was oddly silent. Figures dodged and weaved, clods of dirt and bullets flying through the air as they fought. But no noise reached Ranger as he crouched in the upper branches of a tree, scoped sniper rifle following the action.

 

"Status update, Ash?" That was Thomas. Normally they called him the Paladin, but for a few days right after he resurrected, he seemed to prefer his old name, and to use theirs. The ones from before any of this had happened.

 

"Seems to be at least two factions. I can't tell if there's more. One seems to be a flight Epic. Another is throwing clods of dirt around - rather inefficiently, but it seems to be effective. I'd guess limited earth control powers. A third one has been shattering bullets. I'm not sure what kind of power that involves, but it seems potent. He appears to be one of the central combatants. There's others, but I can't tell what their powers are or what side they're on."

 

"Good enough. Recommend to engage?"

 

"Unclear, Tom. I can't tell which side to support, if any. And until I know the defensive powers of everyone involved, I'm not sure I want to.  I'd certainly rather not risk my own bullet flying directly back at me."

 

"Fair enough objection. Do you feel confident enough engaging the one who's been shattering bullets? If that's his primary defense against the existing flying bullets, you should be rather safe. As far as sides go, engage the one that's winning. They're all Epics, so we'll have to eliminate them all eventually. Might as well even the odds so that they kill each other."

 

Ash pondered briefly. "As you wish, sir. Guardian, a field please?" The shimmering radiance of Guardian's force field flickered into place around him. He sighted his rifle on the tall one who had just shattered a few more bullets and pulled the trigger.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

 

Arvin woke in the late evening sun to find the dragon preening its wings. Ari was watching with complete delight, laughing out loud as the dragon cleaned itself. She turned towards him as he stood. "You're awake, sleepyhead! Is it time to go home now? Sheri is ready to take us home right now!"

 

He looked towards her, a little bemused. "Sheri? Oh, of course. The dragon." And I never expected to say that sentence in my life. "Certainly, Ari. It's time to go home now."

 

Thankfully, his mobile was still on his belt. Riding that dragon through the hail of anti-aircraft fire Arsenal could put out would have been murder. In more ways than one. As he and Ari climbed on the dragon's back, he switched his mobile to broadband mode. "Weeks to Arsenal. Repeat, Arvin Weeks calling Arsenal. Requesting permission to enter The Dalles airspace in an unidentified transport vehicle. Please respond." The dragon lifted off the mountainside, and the air rushed past his face. He let out a childish whoop of delight, hoping that he had let go of the transmit button on the mobile beforehand.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Seonid

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

So it's gonna be forever

Or it's gonna go down in flames

You can tell me when it's over

If the high was worth the pain...

 

 

Glamour sat amid the smoking ruins, eyes drooping but head still bobbing with the music. His feet ached and the idea of a bed was sounding better every minute--but sparks, there was something weirdly wonderful about this day.

 

Got a long list of ex-lovers

They'll tell you I'm insane

'Cause you know I love the players

And you love the game...

 

"Abners."

 

"Not now," Glamour groaned, not opening his eyes to look at the stern guard. "I'm tired. Spent all day nuking pandas. I want to finish this playlist and go to bed."

 

Pandas screaming, clawing at their eyes. Light dancing like a wave to the beat of sick tunes. Eyes burning out and screeches pouring from hairy muzzles.

 

Light was still flickering at his fingertips, if just barely. And everything within a five foot radius of him was tinted slightly greenish. Because this day... as exhausted as it left him, this day had been the best. Even if its memories were already sickening him. Even if the thought of those pandas clawing out their own eyes kind of made him want to puke. There was something... intoxicating about what he'd been doing all day.

 

How did I never notice this feeling before? he wondered idly to himself, ignoring the increasingly temperamental soldier in front of him. Can I really go back to keeping the lights down? I'll need to get on my own more... see what I can do with these lights...

 

"Abners," the guard repeated sternly. "The day's not over. There's still fighting going on in the city. We're taking you to HQ for reassignment--"

 

"Cause we're young and we're reckless," Glamour sang softly, annoyed at being told what to do. "'We'll take this way too far. It'll leave you breathless, or with a nasty scar..."

 

"What are you doing?" the soldier asked through clenched teeth.

 

"Singing," Glamour informed the man matter-of-factly. "'Now hush. I'm trying to listen to this."

 

Got a long list of ex-lovers

They'll tell you I'm insane

But I've got a blank space, baby

And I'll write your name...

 

"Fine," the soldier snapped, turning away towards his comrades. "Arsenal'll hear about this, Abners."

 

"Tell him I said hi," Glamour replied lazily as the song played to a close. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head.

 

Sparks. Did I just disobey a direct order? Is that something I do now?

 

With the soldiers already driving off, there was no changing his decision. With some effort he pulled himself to his feet and set off on an aimless stroll down the street. Maybe another song would help him focus. Help him figure out why he felt so... invigorated by the thought of murdering the few random civilians he could see making their way down the dimly lit streets.

 

Sparks. Do I really want to kill them?

 

Feeling irrepressibly troubled, he pulled out his iPod and chose the next song.

 

Seem to be in a Taylor Swift mood. Might as well go with it.

 

He turned the volume all the way up and unplugged his headphones. Probably wasn't a good idea to plug his ears walking alone in the city right now. Not if there were still pandas and Epics scattered around.

 

He let out a soft sigh as the music finally started up again, just as he walked past a plain-looking woman with a large nose. Whatever else was happening, at least his music was a stable and sane constant.

 

Once upon a time

A few mistakes ago

I was in your sights

You got me alone

You found me

You found me

You found me...

Edited July 12, 2015 by Kobold King

[Mailliw73 he/him]

The overconfident Epic bellowed into his radio when Frequency broke his ear. Thanks to his powers, he heard every curse word the leather-clad man spouted. The man on the other end reassured that reinforcements would be on their way. Frequency wasn't too worried. The Dalles had lost most of their particularly strong Epics when Koschei left.

He smiled calmly and whistled again, shattering more bullets and then the last gun. The cursing Epic flew higher to avoid more of Terra's dirt attacks, but Impact followed him up. Frequency clapped in the flying Epic's direction and suddenly sensed another bullet heading for him. His whistling switched pitch and the bullet shattered behind him.

He spun and saw a faint shimmer in the distance. A gun barrel behind it was aimed at him. It was too far for him to sense the natural frequency instinctively. He focused on it, shattering any further bullets, and after a minute, was able to hit the note that shattered the rifle's barrel. He had to whistle extremely loud and for a full half-minute to have the power to break it. He hated distance attacks. "Blitz, see that force field over there?" He asked the singed Epic. "Blast them. If the lightning won't penetrate it, strike the building they're on instead."

[Edgedancer he/him]

The world shrunk as soon as Autumn moved her lips toward hers. Shiny Sparkle met her and let her passion flow into their kiss. It was wonderful and she could feel her body tingling all over with joy. All that mattered were Autumn and her being together, sharing their love. The pleasure radiated from her body, causing warm and colorful light to shine from their clothes.

 

More and more she got carried away, tasting Autumn’s-

 

"IF YOU DO NOT SEPARATE YOURSELVES THIS INSTANT, I SWEAR YOU WILL FACE THE HARSHEST DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS THIS TOWN HAS SEEN SINCE KOSCHEI!"

 

The screaming slowly worked its way to Shiny Sparkle. Reluctantly she pulled away from Autumn and looked at Arsenal. His face was that unpleasant shade of red originating in prudishness and anger. It was regrettable they had to stop but this seems like it could get Autumn into trouble and she didn’t want that.

 

Shiny Sparkle suppressed any uncaught noises she might have made and said, “Alright, so what exactly do you want me to do anyway? I don’t even know who the guy that just called it.”

 

"Simons, give Mrs. Sparkle a briefing and accompany her to the site." Arsenal ordered through clenched teeth.

 

A soldier stepped up to her. After caressing Autumn’s cheek one last time, Shiny Sparkle followed Simons into the next room.

                                                                     

 

“In short, I’m not supposed to blow up the sleazy biker and the hippy but every other Epic is fair game, right?” Shiny Sparkle summarized Simmons’ explanation.

 

“Yes.” He replied.

 

“Alright, I can do that. Now, give me your rifle plus your radio and I’ll be gone.” For a moment he seemed hesitant but then gave her the equipment. “You’re a dear one, actually do you have any kind of code for a flashbang?”

 

“It’s White Album.” As soon as he finished speaking Shiny Sparkle was gone.

                                                                      

 

Shiny Sparkle appeared high above the battle location. She could barely tell any detail on the ground, so she took the rifle and raised the scope to its highest magnification. The details became more and clearer as she fell towards the ground and she used the time to understand the situation and made a mental map of the place, by now she was getting a good idea of the towns layout.

 

What she didn’t find was Deathwish. She pulled out the radio and tried to contact him. The only response she got was some kind of static. On the upside, if he could still do that much he’s apparently still alive. She would have to deal with them herself then. Maybe she would get some extra praise for it.

 

None of the people down there seemed to fit the description she got, so she could just bomb away and so she did. The ground in the middle of the group exploded. Instead of simple sparkles she raised the intensity of the light until it was nothing more but a blinding white.

 

Before the flash passed she teleported herself down the street into the upper floor of a building, filling the room with gold and pink light fragments. It was far enough away that she needed the rifle’s scope to get a good visual. She took position next to the window to wait for the debris to settle and see what damage the blast caused.

[Kobold King he/him]

   

 

 

Backtrack stopped in midstride with MV, as the girl started spluttering and getting red in the face.

 

Oh sparks! he thought in sudden alarm. She's red and spitting a little! She's just like Captain Carnogore! I'm gonna be tied upside down by my ankles in a minute! Stupid, stupid, stupid, why am I so forward!?!

 

"It's not like I like you or anything!" the blonde Epic half-snapped, half-defended.

 

Backtrack stared blankly for a minute, his initial terror giving way to confusion... and maybe a small smile?

 

"I mean I- I guess since you're helping me and everything you can call it a um.. a d-d-date," MV continued, her face scrunched up and red. She kind of looked like a wrinkled tomato. A cute wrinkled tomato. 

 

"If you have to and all as a reward," the girl finished without meeting his gaze. "Just as a reward."

 

Still blinking from the sudden roller coaster ride of emotions, Backtrack managed to smile fully and started walking down the street once more.

 

"A reward, huh?" he said brightly. "I can go with that. Pretty great reward, if you ask me."

 

She's still bushing. And not looking at me. What do I do, what do I do... ooh! Tell her a funny story!

 

"You know, I don't get a lot of rewards," he chuckled awkwardly. "Most of the time Epics just threatened to beat me up and until I found things for them. But Orange Spider used to give me these little cards with his emblem on them when I did a good job, and if I gave one of those cards to one of his Epics they had to stop picking on me. I went through those cards so fast..."

 

Huh. She's not laughing. Actually, that's not really a funny story. More of a "I'm pathetic" story.

 

"So," he began again, putting his hands in his pockets and picking up his pace. "That's enough about me. What about you? Got any family, besides the sister you lost?"

 

A pause, and he stopped in his tracks again.

 

"Sparks! I mean the sister who got lost! I mean the sister we're looking for! I mean--I mean--"

 

Sparks. Steve Lawrence, you are pathetic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, broken ear aside, Deathwish thought, watching the ground steadily shrink as he rose above it, I might actually get a good time out of this.

 

He'd taken to quickly darting skyward to evade the earth woman, but the blonde chick had taken off in hot pursuit. She picked up speed even faster than he did, powering through the air with her clothes billowing around her. Her skirt was flapping up and down around her too, which was good for two reasons.

 

The most important reason: she had a fine pair of legs.

 

Less importantly but still pretty important in the long run: she was new at this. Female flyers usually figured out to avoid skirts pretty quickly in their careers, meaning this girl was as clueless as they came. Grinning broadly to himself, Deathwish took off across the city at his top speed.

 

The chick of course tore after him at an alarming speed, way faster than he'd ever gone. Fortunately that inexperience of hers was starting to show. He made a few sharp turns around her, laughing inaudibly to himself as he rushed through the winds around her every angle.

 

Up and over her. Circling around her. Barrel roll. Up and under to sneak a panty shot. This girl was stronger, faster, and madder than he was, but she didn't have a clue how to fly besides furiously come rushing towards him, missing him by meters every time.

 

Back in Lincoln City, Deathwish dealt with dudes like her all the time. Tough guys, big and intimidating with muscles like Supman's. Most guys shied away from fighting them just for their size. But they were slow and overconfident, putting too much stock in their strength to get them through fights. If you were fast--and Edgar Hawk had always been fast--then you could dance around them until you got the perfect opportunity to stick a knife in 'em.

 

It was time to play that trick again--but this time, the chick would be doing the stabbing.

 

Without warning Deathwish took off at a hundred miles per hour, slingshotting around a building and leaving his pursuer puzzled and far behind him. She'd catch up to him before long, but he had a minute to gather supplies.

 

He rushed over fields, eyes locked on a small encampment set up by the side of a forest. A camp with black and white tents, with black and white little soldiers shuffling from one tent to another.

 

 

A random panda had only enough time to let out a terrified screech as Deathwish came hurtling out of the sky, shattering its skull with a kick and snatching its sword from its paw before it hit the ground. The other pandas barely pulled out their crossbows before the laughing Epic was already half a mile in the sky.

 

Okay, doll, Deathwish thought with a laugh, twirling his new wooden cutlass in one hand. You want to hit me so bad? Here's your chance.

 

His radio buzzed with some woman's voice, but he sent back nothing but the sound of air rushing around him. This next move would take some concentration--his admirers would just have to wait till he was done.

 

Hurtling through the air like the world's sexiest meteor was his pursuer. She plowed faster through the air than he could on his best days, powered by pure rage and Calamity. Smirking wildly in anticipation, Deathwish accelerated towards her at top speed, cutlass in hand.

 

He didn't have the blade pointed at her. She'd be expecting that. Instead he kept the point pressed somewhere into his chest, the handle facing outwards. He let out another laugh as the blond projectile came speeding towards him...

 

With the force of a train wreck the two bodies collided in mid air.

 

The girl's momentum carried her forward, knocking Deathwish back--as well as his sword. Her body struck the pommel like a hammer, driving the blade through Deathwish's abdomen and almost out the other end, spraying blood through the air to be scattered by the winds.

 

The two Epics, both dazed from the impact, went flying away in opposite directions. Allowing himself a free fall towards the forest below, Deathwish smiled.

 

And painlessly pulled the sword from his gut, letting the wound his pursuer had accidentally inflicted stitch itself together.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Kobold King