What Happened in The Dalles

[Voidus]

 

Lucy Lockser frowned as Arsenal turned his full attention and displeasure upon her, his patience evidently wearing even thinner than usual.
"Lockser, You should call your parents and inform them you won't be home tonight. You'll be spending a while here restocking the doctor's supplies. And when you are finished with that, you'll be restocking ammunition and weapon depots across town. Take ten minute breaks if you need to, but I want this town fully prepared for whatever tomorrow has in store for us."

A sudden urge to set Arsenal's hair on fire rose and was quickly stifled as Lucy exerted all her will to still both her face and mind at the unwelcome news.

10 minute breaks 'If I have to'? And restocking not just the medical supplies but ammo as well?
 

It seemed that a long night of extensive power use lay ahead of her, fetching the clinics supply log she sat down and began to write, starting with an extra large coffee for her own medicinal use, along with some aspirin to help the Arsenal-induced headache she felt brewing she quickly moved on to stocking up bandages, needles, bloodbags and assorted medicines.

The tedious work left her with plenty of time to think. And to plan.

Great, just what I needed at the end of this insanely long day, to meet with the head exterminator and hear his pompous speeches about how worthless I am.

Too tired and emotionally drained to even raise her voice, MV simply leaned on Backtracks arm and introduced herself for what felt like the 50th time that day.

"I'm MV, momentum Epic cleared by Autumn, this is Backtrack. My twin sister went missing during that attack, trying to protect the city from getting crushed by those animal freaks.We tried to track her down but someone decided to start blowing up half the city so we couldn't search anymore."

Having to say it all like that again sent MV through a whirlwind of emotions, she squeezed her eyes shut to prevent any traitorous tears from pouring forth and gave a tug on Backtracks sleeve, wordlessly trying to get him to take over.

I'm so tired of all of these people. Even the museum in Portland was easier to deal with than this. That creepy guy was someone I'd rather not meet but at least there they treat me as an Epic so I can just avoid him. Besides it's only a day away, I can search for Impact from there just as easily as here, she'd probably head back too wouldn't she?

 

A blur of images. Lights. One face, swimming in and out of focus as Impact tried to hold on to one scrap of sense and figure out what was happening.

"Keep... pressure on it son or she'll... can't risk... faster"

Words, coming and going, what few she could grasp making little sense as she tried to process them.

Where was Megan? She needed to keep her safe, keep her from doing something stupid.

Megan was always doing something stupid.

Impact closed her eyes again, letting her pain carry her off into the dark realm of her dreams.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa slowly and careful limped to the front bars of the cold cell. She was already sick of being stuck so she decided to escape. She gently and quietly froze her chains, smashing them in two, the chains landing on the floor with a loud clang. 

 

Clutching her calf, she froze the bars and pulled them apart, the metal turning to ice with the Queen's rage.

"For Anna." She whispered as she pulled.

 

"For Anna. For Anna. FOR ANNNNNAAAAA!" 

 

"And what the heck do you think you're doing, Madam...."

 

Elsa froze and turned. There was a guard standing right next to her. A guilty smile spread across the queen's face, before she punched him in the stomach. 

 

"No one can order or imprison the Queen of Arendelle!"

Edited July 26, 2015 by Queen Elsa Steelheart

[Comatose he/him]

 

Brandon slipped quietly out of the clinic.  Reader had been too busy taunting Arsenal to object when the guard he had instructed to keep watch on Brandon had left on Arsenal's orders.  In all the coming and going, Brandon had managed to slip off into the bathroom until Arsenal was gone.

 

Now to find a place to sleep.  The night air was already growing cold, causing Brandon to pull his sweater closer around him.  The truth was he was still terrified, even if he had managed to escape apprehension by the Dalles guards.  He might not be captured, or be running the risk of Reader finding out too much about Taylor, but he was alone in a strange town with no allies and no place to rest his head for the night.  

 

Perhaps a hotel?  They might still have hotels right?  Travel in and out of the Dalles might be strictly controlled, but that didn't mean that it didn't exist, did it?  Surely he must be able to find at least one inn or motel in the city.  The question was how would he manage to pay for a room when he didn't know what people in the Dalles used for currency.  He still had a wad of American money hidden away on his person, but it was worthless most places now.  Aside form what he had in his bag, everything else had been left in the jeep.  

 

Focus Brandon, you can do this.  A night on the streets couldn't be too bad, could it?  A town as strictly controlled as Dalles couldn't have much of a crime rate.  Maybe he could even find a kind stranger who was willing to help him!  

 

Trying to stop shivering (he didn't know if it was due to the cold or terror), Brandon ambled off into the night, hoping despite himself to catch a glimpse of Taylor somewhere.  

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Autumn took a piece of raisin-pumpernickle bread from the basket on her counter and spread it thick with tahini. She had never really had a chance to try the spread, made of toasted sesame seeds and a dash of oil, but she and Jack had discussed it before. How good it sounded. How many recipes called for it. How difficult it would be to obtain enough sesame seeds to make a cup of it. 

 

She hummed to herself, coating the tahini in a layer of chocolate syrup, finishing it with a sprinkle of prune dust. The former was a birthday gift from Vondra; the latter a gift from Arsenal. He swore by it, which was odd, because he usually didn't swear much. Former chaplain and all that. His previous occupation was probably why he wouldn't appreciate the tune she was humming, an old song from the 1980s called "To Hell with the Devil." But Autumn appreciated it, so she kept humming. 

 

Just as she topped off her sandwich with a nice thick pancake, the doorbell rang. That could be someone who needs help, she thought, escaping from the pandas outside. Leaving her sandwich, she hurried to the door. 

 

Shiny Sparkle stood there, pink pinstriped suit glittering, turquoise boater hat glimmering, smile shimmering. 

 

Autumn slammed the door in her face. 

 

In an instant, Shiny was inside. 

 

"Autumn!" The Epic threw her arms around Autumn's neck and spun her in a circle. "I am soooooo happy to see you! You simply have to see my newest model!" 

 

"I'm not interested in—" 

 

Shiny laughed. "Silly Autumn! You will be once you see it!" In the next instant, Autumn was free, and Shiny stood beside a golden vacuum cleaner. "See? Isn't it awesome?" 

 

"It looks like it hasn't picked up dirt since the 1950s." 

 

"It can do that and more!" There was no explosion of glitter, but Shiny was in the kitchen with the golden vacuum. "You have to see what it can do!" 

 

Somehow, Autumn knew what that meant, but she was powerless to stop Shiny as she plugged in the vacuum...

 

…unhooked the hose….

 

SLLUUURRRP

 

….and sucked up Autumn's sandwich. 

 

"That…that was mine," Autumn protested weakly. 

 

"And now it belongs to the ages!" She threw her arms around Autumn again, and giggled. "Just like our love." 

 

She wasn't sure how long Shiny giggled, pinching and prodding her cheeks, but it seemed to last forever. Just when Autumn thought she could bear no more, the doorbell rang….and a dog stood in her living room. A familiar dog, a friendly dog. She knew that dog. 

 

But she didn't know it could speak. 

 

"Only you can prevent Valentine's Day," the dog said. It sounded like a bear. 

 

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

 

Autumn started awake, glancing frantically around for Shiny Sparkle. No sign of her, but she swung her legs out of bed and made a quick sweep of her apartment anyway. 

 

No Shiny. 

 

No tahini, chocolate syrup, raisin-pumpernickle bread, pancakes, or prune dust, either. 

 

Also, sadly, no sign of Jack's dog. 

 

Heaving a sigh of relief, Autumn checked her locks one last time before heading back to bed. 

[Fatebreaker he/him]

Two figures wandered down an empty street.

One was a youth in a big coat that seemed to be more patch than coat, wearing a flatcap on top of his unruly dark curls. The other appeared to be a young child riding piggy-back. The child wore a hoodie that was far too large, it's hands hidden in the long sleeves and it's face in the large hood.

 

As they moved down the empty sidewalk, they would glance at the buildings they passed. Every now and then the child would hop off the other's back and run over to a house, moving with surprising speed for one so young. It would look in the window, then rattle the door nob. More often than not it wouldn't open, but every now and then one would yield. Whenever this happened the child would make a sort of hooting noise and his companion would join him in entering the house. Moments later they would emerge, carrying perhaps a few items of food or clothing which would disappear into their coats. Then they would move along down the street. 

 

Eventually they reached a house with a bench in the front yard, so they stopped at sat down. Antonio pushed his hat back on his head and stretched, grinning at no one in particular. It was a good day for "Aquiring" as he called it, or burglary as other folks called it. The attack today had the town all in a panic, what with mutant pandas and rouge epics running around. Lots of people had evacuated, going to the city bunkers or their own personal emergency shelters, many of them in a hurry. Which meant people sometimes left their doors unlocked. Antonio wasn't above a little lock picking, but he was feeling lazy today and decided not to bother when there were so many open doors already waiting for him. He'd gotten a nice bit of foods and some new clothes to replace his heavily worn and faded ones. He rarely bothered stealing money or goods, because fencing items in this town was sparking near impossible thanks to Cap'n Crusty and his Guards. They'd string you up as soon as look at you. 

 

Suddenly, the child next to him tensed up and raised it's head, as if sniffing the air. Then it turned to Antonio has clapped it's hands together twice while hooting softly. Antonio chuckled and shook his head.

 

"Ay, Jaime, no me digas tonterias. Why would anyone be coming? This part of town was evacuated, and the guards have move on to  deal with the other attacks. We're fine, si?"

 

He reached over and pushed the hood off of Jaime, revealing the primate within. The siamang hooted irritably, then clapped his hands together twice once more and pointed down the street. Antonio looked where Jaime was pointing and sighed.

 

"Fine, so maybe someone is coming, should we scramble or should we jump him?"

 

Jaime seemed to ponder the question, scratching his head idly. Then he looked up at Antonio and hooted, patting the back of his left hand.

 

"Eh? You want to meet him? Por que why?"

 

The siamang shrugged. Antonio shook his head. "Fine, have it your way. Maybe we meet him then jump him. Put your hood back on or you'll scare him. People ain't too keen on animales lately, what with them attacking the town and all." He chuckled and pulled Jaime's hood back up then stood and climbed a tree, hiding in the branches.

 

They waited for a few minutes before a man came around the corner. Antonio sized him up, trying to get a feel for what this guy was all about.

 

Gringo, not too big. A pretty boy, probably quite popular with the chicas. We could probably take him. Esse looks lost, rather disoriented. An easy mark if I've ever seen one...

 

Antonio considered jumping the guy. put just as he was reaching into his pocket, Jaime threw a stick at his head. Antonio hissed in annoyance, but decided he would listen to Jaime, he had good instincts. 

 

He waited till the gringo was  a few feet from the tree, then jumped down and landed right in front of him with a flourish of his coat and a grin that had a bit of mischief playing around it's edges.

 

"Que passo my friend? What brings you to this part of town?"

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

Crocodile tears.

 

That's what they had to be, right? No Epic would cry over an unrequited love. Not one as destructive and sociopathic as miss Shiny Sparkle.

 

Rhonda had files on every Epic on the west coast, and if she'd learned one thing from them, it was that Epics took what they wanted with no remorse. When one wanted food, he took it and left a trail of dead shoppers behind them. If one wanted a house, he'd kill everyone within it and bring in fresh new curtains to match the bloodstains. If one desired a woman, he'd take her, in front of her whole family if it so pleased him.

 

So tears from a psychopath like Shiny, one who thought explosions were fun and her breasts were worth more than honest negotiation? That wasn't just a lie. It was insulting.

 

"Please," Rhonda snapped at the sobbing harlot. "Get off our carpet and get a hold of yourself. Whatever sympathy you're trying to squeeze out of us--"

 

She cut off at a sharp look from Vondra, who was glaring at her with anger in his eyes.

 

Oh, so now he chooses to grow some compassion.

 

It was unclear whether the commander was showing earnest pity or just plain tact, but either way his next words to the Epic were kind.

 

"We don't mean to attack you," he reassured her, slumping in his chair and pressing his fingers together. "Nor are we trying to cause you anguish."

 

Shiny's sobs grew louder, as she rocked back and forth with her arms around her knees.

 

"Ms. Sparkle," Vondra continued sharply. Her crying quieted somewhat, as if she were trying to listen to what he had to say. "You need not make a decision about joining the City Guard tonight. You are welcome to spend the night in our guest quarters, however, provided you refrain from roaming free across the city until the sun rises tomorrow morning. We can talk again tomorrow morning, when our tempers are cooler and we've both had some time to rethink our approaches to one another."

 

The Epic's crying was dying down now, though she still sniffled. If she was faking it, then she was good at it--she looked legitimately like she was struggling to regain her composure, and would probably be answering any moment now.

 

Rhonda, however, had no need to witness that. She'd tried to assert control over this situation, but as usual she'd been shoved back in the box that Vondra kept her in.

 

Bitterly she pulled out her tablet and opened her files, looking for known teleporters and successful assassination attempts against them.

 

What else could she do? She was just a humble secretary, after all.

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

Mercifully, MV took over in talking to the scary old man.

 

"I'm MV," she explained. Her voice sounded like she'd stayed awake all night watching the complete last season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine without breaks between episodes. Or... well, the point was that she sounded tired.  "Momentum Epic cleared by Autumn, this is Backtrack. My twin sister went missing during that attack, trying to protect the city from getting crushed by those animal freaks.We tried to track her down but someone decided to start blowing up half the city so we couldn't search anymore."

 

Backtrack thought her summary was wonderfully concise, but the stern old grandpa's eyes narrowed. "Alright," he acknowledged crisply. "But where did you come from?"

 

Unfortunately, the pretty blonde girl just tugged on Backtrack's sleeve and leaned against his arm with her eyes closed. Usually that'd delight him. Now, expecting her to give an explanation that would make the old man's eyes stop drilling into them, it was kind of frustrating.

 

"Um, I'm Backtrack," said Backtrack nervously. "This is MV..."

 

"She just told me who you are," the old Epic snapped, exasperated. His fists were clenched and his teeth were gritted, as if he'd had a very stressful day or had just learned Firefly had been cancelled. Or... 

 

"I'm asking," Arsenal continued, voice dangerous, "Where you came from, and what you expect me to do for you?"

 

Backtrack squeaked in spite of himself. "I... I..."

 

And then he began blabbering. The same stress that was weighing on MV seemed to take him in equal measure, and he just realized she was leaning on his hurt arm,and he was tired and he found himself rambling on and on about the day's events.

 

He started talking about Lightwards and the Empire, unable to stop himself. He whined about how creepy Nighthound was. He complained, anger tinting his voice, about how Lightwards pushed him around and pointed a gun at him and made him give directions to a baker's house for some reason and then sent him to The Dalles so he could collect info on Remington Springfield--

 

--that drew a raised eyebrow from Arsenal, but Backtrack continued without paying attention--

 

--And then he came here, where he saw all the terrible things Koschei did and then he got arrested for the first time in ever, and then Reader was mean to him and then shot him on the arm, but that was okay because the nice doctor took care of it and gave him cocoa but then the friendly redhead was kidnapped by the evil sparkly redhead, who stole his glasses and teleported off with them, and then they marched all over town looking for MV's sister who'd learned how to fly, and then he remembered if he wasn't back to Portland soon Lightwards would probably send Nighthound after him, and Nighthound would do terrible and awful things to him--

 

"Enough," Arsenal growled abruptly, sounding even more irritated than he was before. "For God's sake, how do you even have that much breath?"

 

"I don't, really," Backtrack sniffed. "Do... do you think I could get a bottle of water?"

 

The old Epic just scowled, his hand sliding to a pistol that appeared fully-formed on his belt. "I want you to be concise and to the point," he threatened quietly. "Do you mean to tell me that you were sent here with the intent of finding blackmail material, and that you are under the employ of a dangerous High Epic who might send agents to threaten this town?"

 

"Well, it sounds terrible when you put it that way," Backtrack protested meekly.

 

"It is terrible, you blustering fool!" Arsenal exploded, taking a step forward. "If it wouldn't further endanger the town to have you here, I'd have the both of you locked away with Hayter!"

 

Backtrack and MV both jumped backwards in alarm, but Arsenal froze as if in the process of calming down. Backtrack considered advising him to take deep breaths, but under the circumstances that seemed like a remarkably foolish thing to say.

 

"If I give you the means and permission to leave this city," the Epic asked quietly, not looking directly at them. "What will you tell this Lightwords about The Dalles?"

 

"That... the people here could totally take him in a fight?" Backtrack suggested hopefully.

 

"You will remain silent about this city unless he specifically asks you about it," Arsenal snapped. "If he does, you will say nothing about the vanillas in charge of this town. You will tell him only that there are powerful Epics here capable of holding this territory against their adversaries. Do you understand?"

 

"Understood," Backtrack agreed weakly, hoping he sounded sincere. "I promise. Don't we promise, MV?"

 

She might have nodded, but he didn't pause long enough to see. "We just want to get out of this town and get out of your hair," he pleaded. "Honest."

 

Arsenal's eyes narrowed for a long moment, but slowly, he raised one hand and clenched his fist. Behind him a pickup truck morphed into being, a dull shade of grey and devoid of a license plate. A plain key appeared in the old Epic's hand, which he firmly planted in Backtrack's palm.

 

"Stick to your word," Arsenal warned. "Keep us out of whatever squabbles are going on in that city, or I swear, I will track you down wherever you are and burn your life down around you." His eyes made it clear that he didn't need much excuse to do so, which made Backtrack gulp involuntarily.

 

"Of course," he assured the man, putting a hand around MV's waist and guiding her to the truck. "You'll never see either of us again!" He chuckled nervously. "Believe me, Obliteration will walk in town before anyone convinces me to come back."

 

"See to it that's the truth," Arsenal growled. He stalked back to his ambulance, clambering into the front and revving the engine. Backtrack stood by the new truck as he watched the ambulance pull out and plow through the darkness towards the center of town.

 

For a long moment, Backtrack stood still, silent.

 

I finally get to leave this town. Back to Portland, where there are dinosaurs instead of pandas and zombies instead of soldiers. Where there's Nighthound and Lightwards instead of Autumn Glass and Doctor Game.

 

...Actually, when he thought about it in that light, he began to question his eagerness to leave The Dalles at all.

 

And it also reminded him of something...

 

"MV," he asked hesitantly. "Do you remember what that doctor wanted me to do? He asked me to come back and see him as soon as I could..."

 

His voice trailed off, and he noticed that he hardly had the girl's rapt attention. In point of fact, she was already beginning to snore faintly, her head drooped and dripping a little touch of drool onto the brand new seat.

 

Backtrack sighed, shooting a glance at the clinic. He could run in real quick and talk to the guy, he supposed... he'd be 'his personal hero,' somehow. He might finally do something pretty neat with this dumb retroclognition of his.

 

He put a foot forward, but froze. Second thought, I'll probably be too busy with Lightwards' errands to go on any side quests. 

 

Instead he clambered into the truck, revving up the engine and pulling out of the clinic's driveway. Before long he was leaving the city behind, tires grinding against the ruined highways on the way back to Portland.

 

Goodbye, Dalles, he thought glumly, I'm... sorry I can't stay to help. I hope the pandas aren't too much of a bother.

 

And I hope you find that personal hero, doctor. I hope your whole city gets some heroes, for that matter. It looks like you're gonna need them.

 

I'm just sorry I can't be one of them.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Kobold King

[Edgedancer he/him]

Shiny Sparkle tried to calm herself down. Vondra didn’t seem that bad a guy, holding back his attack secretary and trying to sooth her. Doesn’t change that she scared Autumn. Not at all.

 

Doing her best to hold her sobs back Shiny Sparkle looked at Vondra and gave him a small nod. “Yes, I’d like that. I am kind of a mess right now.” She tried to follow that up with a chuckle but her voice broke into another sob.

 

Vondra gestured for one of his guards and a soldier stepped over to her. “Ma’am, if you’d follow me.”

 

She weakly looked at him and after a short bit of hesitation offered her a hand. With his help, Shiny Sparkle got to her feet. Autumn preoccupied her mind to much for her to notice that he had a nice broad chest or a strong chin or cute blue eyes... she didn’t pay any mind to that... not at all.

 

Still sobbing slightly from time to time she meekly followed her guide. She wondered where in this town Autumn lived. Would it be to see her again? Telling her she was sorry and really liked her or would that just scare her more? Please don’t let her have any nightmares. There were only a few discrete glances at her guide’s well-shaped rear to cheer herself up a bit.

 

Thoughts like that haunted her until she arrived in at room. Stopping halfway in her door she turned back to the soldier. Surprisingly not finding herself in the right mood Shiny Sparkle simply thanked him and went into her room. She really was in a bad shape.

 

Now alone she tried to calm herself by cleaning her glasses. Her relationship with Autumn didn’t actually exist… no actually it was way worse than that. There wasn’t really anyway around that other than to accept it.

 

Having restored her glasses back to the pristine condition they deserved she put them down, next to the pink pair… that Autumn wasn’t going to wear. Maybe she should give them back to Backtrack? Shiny Sparkle wouldn’t want to be without a pair on her own.

 

After all her contemplation she decided that simply continuing to mourn her image of Autumn would keep her from properly living her life. Making her resolve Shiny Sparkle slipped out of her clothes and into the small bed in the room and comforted herself over her failed love.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Guards opened fire towards the Ice Queen, bullets shattering through her delicate skin and Elsa screamed in pain. All that ran through her head was images of Anna and Arendelle. Tears and blood streamed down her face as she constantly turned around her attempted to block the gun shots. She formed an ice cloud and smashed through the jail wall, in hot pursuit of the guards. 

 

She began to run, her heart racing and more blood streaming down her arms. She ran into the clinic and collapsed on the floor, in a puddle of her own tears and blood.

 

Then everything went black. 

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

This wasn't the first time Deathwish had been arrested.

 

It probably wouldn't be the last, either. Not in this town.

 

So while the Guards made a big deal out of pushing him and trying to prove to him how in charge they were, all Deathwish could do was give and insincere smirk pretend he wasn't as angry as he really was.

 

"You know, I'm not a crook you just caught carrying a TV out of Walmart," he complained, after a particularly violent shove. "I'm innocent. You're just taking me to the boss so we can have this misunderstanding cleared up."

 

"Innocent my rear end," he distinctly heard one mutter. But out loud, they were as professional as always. "We're at the commander's office. Go in. Sit down. Do not use your abilities, or you will be terminated immediately."

 

"Yes, sir," Deathwish sighed, giving a one-fingered salute with his cuffed hands. "Just shove me in and let's get this taken care of."

 

The door to Vondra's office was pushed open, and Deathwish found himself seated in a hard wooden chair in front of the commander and his secretary. The commander looked tired, but there was the same loathing he always had towards in him buried under the wrinkles of his eyes. That snotty secretary was engrossed in study of some kind, but he caught her sniffing and giving him a contemptuous look of her own when he came in the door.

 

Gee. Not a lot of people in this town like me, do they?

 

Regardless, he might as well smile.

 

"Hey Rhonda," he smirked, winking at the secretary. "Did you fall from Heaven? 'Cuz there's a pretty big crater downtown. You should really try to land somewhere softer next time."

 

"Storm off, Deathwish."

 

Ah. Good times.

 

"Let's get right to business, Hawk," the commander snapped, taking a seat himself and glaring across the table. "Two hours ago, I was contacted via radio with this message."

 

He placed a radio on the table, playing a recording Deathwish remembered too well.

 

"Help! It's Deathwish, he's at the old mill armory and he's killing all of the-"

 

The transmission ended with a scream, and Deathwish yawned pointedly.

 

"Well?" Vondra asked, eyes narrowing.

 

"Well, I'm impressed you found a way to record all these messages," Deathwish replied lazily. "I mean, where do you keep all the tapes? Do you have a whole vault full of them somewhere...?"

 

The commander's scowl darkened, and Deathwish rolled his eyes. "Look, commander," he drawled sarcastically. "Have you gotten any follow-up transmissions from the men at the armory?"

 

"Of course," Vondra replied, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands. "They report that you crashed into the armory, causing an enormous amount of damage and endangering the lives of those working there. An unidentified flight Epic followed you in. They don't know entirely what happened after that, but there was a hell of a lot of destruction and more than a few fatalities."

 

"And you think I, a loyal soldier of The Dalles, had anything to do with that?" Deathwish asked in mock hurt. "Why, I thought you trusted me."

 

Vondra glared. "Even you're not that dumb, Hawk."

 

"You'd be right," Deathwish shot back, voice suddenly serious. "I'm not. Here's what actually happened: I fought an invading Epic, as per my job description. In the course of that fight I caused some property damage that Arsenal or Scribbler could clean up in an hour. I did what I had to do to stop the endless slaughter of human lives, from an Epic who was literally picking up our citizens and throwing them at me."

 

"Do you expect me to think you had the town's best interests in mind?" the commander asked skeptically, voice hard.

 

Despite everything telling him it was a bad idea... Deathwish started laughing.

 

"Hell no!" he blurted out, leaning forward in his chair. "Commander, I'll tell you the honest truth. I laughed when she threw those people. It was the funniest thing I'd seen in forever! The way they screamed, then fell out of the sky when I dodged them, wondering the whole time where the hell the commander who swore he'd protect them was..."

 

Vondra's eyes flared, his fists clenching on the table in front of him. There was murder in his eyes, and Redlight lifted her head from her study with a look of surprise on her face.

 

"Let's face the facts, boss," Deathwish continued, still smirking. "In the end, you know as well as I do that I'm more like the slontzes you're trying to keep out than the slaves you've got in here. I'm here because you threatened me, plain and simple. I stayed because you're willing to pay to keep me happy here and there. I get to be the big fish in the small pond."

 

He met Vondra's furious, murderous eyes. "The bottom line is, I'm happy here. I'm not plotting against you. If I ever get tired of working here, you'll be the first to know about it. Until then, you should trust me to do your dirty work, because you don't have anyone else who can protect this town like I can."

 

The office was quiet for a minute.

 

Deathwish kept up his smirk, internally wondering whether he'd just crossed the final line between himself and summary execution.

 

Vondra's face kept all the anger, but when he spoke again his voice was soft. "When turn against this city," he said simply, "I hope I'm the first you come to. I'll be waiting for it."

 

"I'll look forward to it," Deathwish grinned, enjoying the rage harden on the commander's face. "Until then, you should let me get my beauty sleep. I get the feeling tomorrow's gonna be even rougher than today, with all these new guys afoot."

 

"Fair enough," the commander responded, pointedly turning away and rummaging through his files. "I don't expect you to accept any community service for the damaged armory."

 

"Even you're not that dumb," Deathwish quipped in response, standing and holding out his cuffed hands. "Don't suppose you can help me out of these?"

 

"You'll figure your way out of them," Vondra replied dryly. "Just make sure you report bright and early here tomorrow morning for your orders. Now get out of my office."

 

 

 

 

 

 

All was silent in the panda camp.

 

Where normally the tents would be filled with the sound of crunching bamboo and the affectionate "RAWWWWR"ing of rambunctious warriors, on this cold night only the still silence of defeat hung in the air.

 

Pandas, still clad in their wooden samurai armor, sat with their heads bowed and their eyelids drooping. Some nursed wounds. Some stroked the backs of surviving winged pigs, comforting themselves as much as they comforted the swine. A few took long swigs from plastic bottles, trying to drown their sorrows in the milky baby formula.

 

Cornelius Octavian Bamblefooze, Hairbinger of Annihilation, wiped the formula from his whiskers as he threw the bottle aside, choking up as he contemplated the depths their army had fallen to.

 

Their once proud army now numbered only a couple hundred.

 

Their glorious Prophet had been terribly wounded, and had once again disappeared into the night.

 

Their pride and spirits had been broken.

 

Would pandas ever rise to their true place, as the Prophet and Radiant Panda had decreed? Was he a sinner for even doubting it? Would this time of tribulation ever give way to true victory, or had the sweet, nutritious bamboo of hope finally withered and died within their hearts?

 

And so Cornelius merely sat on a stump, picking up a bloodied human soldier's helmet from the ground and hugging it tightly to his chest.

 

"Oh glorious Prophet," he moaned, his eyes dewy and wet. "Where have you gone? Please come back to us. Please... water the bamboo in our hearts and make us your strong panda bears once more."

 

A tear finally rolled down his fuzzy snout, dripping into the helmet and splashing into the blood within. Cornelius sat still, eyes closed and mind beginning to shut itself down.

 

Suddenly, a bear paw gently closed around his shoulder.

 

"Oh, my beloved Cornelius," an affectionate voice rumbled. "I am always by your side. I am by the side of every panda who yearns for a world without fear."

 

Cornelius jerked his head upwards, growling in delight as his eyes gazed upon the face he needed to see most.

 

The Prophet stood before him, full of size and perfect in form. He stood tall, great wings folded behind him; his paws were clawed, but they were soft upon Cornelius' shoulder. Upon the touch Cornelius felt all his weariness dissipate from him, his every ache vanishing in an instant as his Prophet smiled warmly.

 

 

"In this case," the Panda continued, eyes twinkling in merriment, "I am very much by your side, in the flesh no less. I am sorry for leaving you alone, but I required guidance.

 

The Panda affectionately rubbed behind his lieutenant's ears, before staring out across the rest of the camp. His ears picked up every sound in the camp, and he felt a pang of sorrow upon hearing the defeated silence.

 

What have you done to my beautiful pandas' spirits, humans? he thought bitterly, paws clenching slightly at the thought. Why do you still resist? What black obstinance compels you to keep on fighting, biting the hand that offers you bliss eternal?

 

Pushing his anger aside, he instead cleared his throat and let out a deep, guttural howl. It was a mournful sound, almost a dirge; but it carried within it notes of hope. His beautiful pandas' ears perked up all across the camp, and they began scampering towards him in a tide. Their own cries of happiness shook to the skies as they rolled and frolicked on the ground in front of their leader. Even defeat couldn't dampen their love for the leader, nor his love for them!

 

The howling was enough to draw spotlights from The Dalles in their direction, though of course they were too far to be made out by the human guards of the city. Even if they could, let the humans watch! All they'd see was a panda comforting his disciples.

 

Comfort was key. Knowing this, the Panda hushed his disciples and stood in their midst, towering above their adorably rounded and blood-splattered faces.

 

"My dear, magnificent army," he addressed them affectionately, inflating his vocal chords to carry his voice farther. "Today you have suffered defeat."

 

There was a pronounced slump in the army now, as they all bowed their heads in collective shame. The Panda took a soldier by the chubby chin and tilted his head back upwards, continuing his speech with love echoing from his voice.

 

"Today there was defeat," he repeated, mournfully. "Not a defeat rising from our guilt or lack of zeal, but from the hardness of hearts in these tragic people. Our panda hearts bring us panda strength, and with panda strength comes panda patience. There will come a day when the great cities of the world open their hearts to us. On that day there will be crowds of black and white, snoozing blissfully in the bamboo woods that will stretch coast to coast. But until that day, patience will be a panda's defining virtue. And with patience... hope, that one day our patience shan't be necessary.

 

"I show you now a glimmer of hope."

 

The crowd of samurai bears tensed in anticipation, craning their round little heads upwards to see their Prophet. The Panda opened a pouch he had formed on his belly, reaching into it and pulling from within a rounded, hairy ball.

 

The ball was a severed human head.

 

It was severed from the shoulders, with the Panda's paw holding it firmly on the stump of the neck. It was the head of a male human, as evidenced by the dense beard and the general masculinity of the frozen face. There was no blood--the Panda had made this a clean decapitation.

 

"Tell us, John the Human," the Panda rumbled, "of the new land where we will find human ripe for conversion? A land flowing with milk and honey and baby bottles, where we can regroup and build our armies for new and grand invasions?"

 

The head, of course, was not dead. The Panda had held brain death at bay through his mighty willpower and the blessed rule over flesh the Radiant One had given him. Now he relaxed his hold on the head, giving it a full set of vocal chords and control over the face. The head's eyes shot wide open, and its mouth stretched immediately--

 

"OH GOD WHY?" screamed the head, bellowing at the top of its no-longer-connected lungs. "LET ME DIE, PLEASE, JUST LET ME DIE, OH GOD, KILL ME!"

 

"God will not kill you," the Panda replied simply. "Speak as you were commanded to, and when your voice reaches the ears of the bears you see assembled before you, I will grant you peace. First, tell me where I found you."

 

"ROWENA!" the head shrieked. "I WAS FOUND IN ROWENA!"

 

"Rowena?" the Panda asked, turning to the endearingly excited faces of his army. "Tell us, John the Human, of this Rowena."

 

"IT'S SMALL," came the reply, somewhere between a scream and a choked sob. "THERE'S ONLY A FEW HUNDRED PEOPLE LEFT THERE, AND NO RULING EPICS. YOU COULD TAKE THE WHOLE TOWN IN A DAY!"

 

A chant began to arise among the pandas. "Rowena. Rowena. Rowena! ROWENA!"

 

"ROWENA," the Panda bellowed, raising the John the Human into the air and roaring loudly enough to blot out the severed head's screams. "In Rowena the Panda Revolution will take its next bold steps! With the Radiant Panda's guidance and wisdom, we will wash Rowena away with blood and bamboo. From its ashes we will erect a glorious panda utopia!"

 

The Panda roared.

 

The panda army cheered.

 

The severed head screamed, but the Panda crushed it in his paw. Instantly the crushed head was reformed, taking the form of a miniature winged panda no larger than a teddy bear. John the Human, whom the Panda now dubbed Teddy Cuddlekin the Herald of Conquest, cooed adorably and flew to his panda brethren.

 

The Panda himself stomped a paw down solidly on the ground, spreading his wings and raising his arms in front of the troops.

 

His power, granted to him by the Radiant Panda, was beautiful but limited. What he did next required the utmost concentration, and would never be possible if his forces hadn't given him their minds, bodies, and souls so unconditionally.

 

Across the whole army, on each of the hundred or so panda warriors left, pairs of broad muscular wings sprouted through wooden armor. The pandas' backs were dominated by the black-and-white wings. Their lungs were swelled to give them better breath for the flight ahead of them. Even their bones were thinned, their innards siphoned away to make the wings, leaving them with lightweight hollow skeletons.

 

Content with his work, the Panda himself beat his wings and took off from the ground, rising into the night sky with an ocean stars behind his back.

 

"Fly with me, my disciples!" he cried, voice overcome with emotion. "Let us ride the winds the Radiant Panda gave us from here to our new empire!"

 

With a hundred howls and cheers, the swarm of winged pandas took flight, and behind the Prophet sent to guide them, flew off into the starry night.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

On a small Dalles street, a pair of Guards dragged an unconscious body towards the clinic. She was dressed all in blue--though that dress in many places was now stained with dark blood.

 

"Storming woman," one grunted, uncomfortably putting a hand underneath her and heaving her up. "How far did she think she was going to get before we shot her?"

 

"Dunno," the other one complained. "She's stupider than the usual Epic, that's for sure. Let's just get her to Game so we can--what the storms?"

 

Above their heads, what appeared to be a monstrous flock of birds had blotted out the stars. It took a moment to see what they actually were: a horde of winged pandas, beating wings and carrying themselves over the city.

 

"Sparks," one of the Guards breathed in horror. "Not this again. Quick, put her down, we've gotta call HQ--"

 

But as quickly as the flock had appeared it was gone again. Like migrating birds they were already soaring to the far horizon, northwest in the direction of Rowena.

 

The two guards were silent for a moment, holding the unconscious woman between them as they stared blankly at the sky.

 

"Well that happened," one chuckled nervously.

 

"Yep," the other agreed. "Let's get this chick to Game, call Arsenal to make sure he knows about this, and get us some sleep."

 

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

Edited August 11, 2015 by Kobold King

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

The sun rose, and Autumn rose with it. After another quick sweep of her apartment confirmed an absence of both Shiny Sparkle and strange sandwich ingredients, she stopped by the office, grabbed her things, and rode with a small squad of soldiers to Stormcage.

 

It was small, as prisons went, but none the less impressive for its size. Sprinklers were everywhere. Most buildings made that the last thing anyone noticed, but in Stormcage, no one could help it. They sprouted from the bare-pipes ceiling every few inches without a single panel to hide them, reminding Autumn of an old-school action movie that trapped the hero in a room filled with spikes and guns and all sorts of unpleasant things.

 

The man trapped in Stormcage wasn’t a hero. He insisted on it, as did Vondra. But asking for a prison to be built, volunteering his weakness, and requesting it be used should he ever lose control, made it difficult to think of him any other way.

 

Autumn gave another quick glance to her notes, readying the RECORD button on her voice recorder. Vapor Snake—Jack—wasn’t a hero. He was a man who needed a handpicked squad of soldiers and frequent visits to her office simply to maintain his sanity.

 

But the fact he wanted to maintain it….well, that was more than she could say for most Epics.

 

Don’t get your hopes up, Autumn chided herself. He lost it pretty bad that time. It could take longer than a few days for him to get ahold of himself.

 

Her heart thumped away as the minutes ticked by. If the soldiers accompanying her could hear it, she doubted they’d blame her. They’d worked with the prisoner. Learned to use his powers. Tried to stop him the day he lost control. She tapped her pen against her clipboard anyway.

 

This was it.

 

This was his chance. Her chance. Pass this evaluation, and she would have a bodyguard who wouldn’t make lewd puns about guarding her body.

 

And he won’t be stripped naked in an airtight cell anymore, she reminded herself. That’s the important thing.

 

A door opened and two soldiers entered, the sole prisoner between them. Jack Hayter was a tall man, solidly built with biceps his shirts, no matter how loose, always seemed to hug. That was simply a fact. He wore practical clothes that changed color with his surroundings, yet anyone who looked at him would assume he spent his spare time tossing cows over his shoulder.

 

He wore gloves today, and boots as well. The only skin that wasn’t covered was his face, and he made no attempt to conceal it. Autumn noted that before pressing the PLAY button on her iPod, pouring out the sound of rain, and the RECORD button on her voice recorder.

 

 

“Good morning, Jack,” she said when he sat. He didn’t glare at her use of his real name, turning her fixed smile genuine. “How have you been? 

[Edgedancer he/him]

 

Being in isolated imprisonment didn’t leave him with many things to do. Except thinking, which was something Jack needed to do.

 

It happened, even without him slipping up on his own. A simple accident that probably would have killed them if not for his powers and he went downhill from there. Until his squad decided that his condition was bad enough and did everything they could to put him into Stormcage, before he caused any real damage.

 

Not that he agreed with them at the time. At least he didn’t manage to injure any of them.

 

And now here I am, alone and stripped naked. It’s…

 

Jack fell into a taolu, concentrating on the set motion pattern, erupting into sudden bursts of speed.

 

Looking on it with his mind clear, it’s more than he deserved. Sure, the plan was ultimately his own but it was his squad that decided to subdue him, instead of just getting rid of him, and Vondra was the one that authorized this prison be built to give him another chance.

 

Ultimately, this prison saved his life and he was going to do his best not to waste this chance.

 

A compartment in the wall opened. In it he found a set of clothes. Glad for the chance to dress himself he put them on. Whoever prepared the clothing knew him well enough. It covered the entirety of his skin, long sleeves, gloves; just a bandana was missing, which might be for the best.

 

He adjusted his collar, so it ended shortly under his chin and headed to the door, finding it open. Seems like this is my chance.

 

Outside two of his soldiers awaited him, Donna and Florence. Still not entirely trusting they escorted him silently. Apparently they too will wait for my judgement.

 

They lead him through sprinkler filled corridors and into a room where Autumn Glass was sitting at a table. It made sense that she would be the one to interview him.

 

She offered counseling to the people in The Dalles, something he had taken her up on often, and over time she turned into a beacon for his sanity. There wasn’t much she did simply talking with him, listening, understanding and most of all caring about keeping him sane but that much was enough to make it easier for him to keep control and draw him to her whenever he could manage.

 

As he took his seat Autumn started playing the familiar sound of rain. “Morning, Jack. How have you been? “

 

For a moment Jack closed his eyes and took in the familiarity of the scene, the calming sound of rain, Autumn using his actual name, not like a leash like others would but simply because it’s his name.

 

He opened his eyes and weakly smiled back at Autumn, “Given the circumstances, good. Probably better than I deserve, to be honest.”

Edited February 1, 2016 by Edgedancer

[FireSlayer she/her]

 

The new morning found Skylar yawning. Last night had not been a party by any stretch of the imagination--at least her apartment hadn't been in the main path of the invading forces. It was more like a family of the termites had randomly decided to take a detour and of course she lived on the first freaking floor and there went her front door and most of her chairs. She’d had to stay up late taking down her shower curtain and taping it in the opening they’d left. Better than nothing at all, though.

 

Needless to say, she’d never been more thankful for coffee—she wouldn’t go in completely zombie-fied. And it certainly helped make the oatmeal a bit more palatable…oh for the days of granola or Fruit Loops or waffles. But that couldn’t be helped, and food was food, even if it could use some variety (or even flavor at all. That would be nice). So she ate her oatmeal and drank her coffee and tried to tame her bedhead before dressing and heading for the church.

 

The walk didn’t take too much longer than normal, though she had to go around a few blocks where the termites had met back up with the main—would that be herd or flock or what was the right term anyway? Storm whatever Epic came up with those sparking things. Hah. Sparking. That was funny. Because her brain was tired and it could shut up now, please.

 

By the time she actually sat down behind her desk, the coffee and walk had worked their magic and she felt pretty ready to work herself. Then she saw what she had to work on. Not the missing lists. OR the--nope, not happening, not first thing in the morning, coffee or not, she’d put together the wounded roster instead. At least they were still alive. No thanks to Mr. Ninja-Panda Epic or any of the others who’d been running around wreaking havoc yesterday. Skylar pulled up the lists that had been submitted and got to work on her computer. She could do something to help restore a semblance of order, even if it was small and didn't really help anybody in the long run....

 

Stop thinking like that, girl. You don't have to smile over this, but don't get all grouchy either. You'll get to sleep tonight and that'll make it better, just hang on.

[Voidus]

Rubbing her eyes gingerly, Scribbler shuffled her way down the street, it had taken her the entire night to restock the cities supplies and now she probably wasn't even going to get to see her parents before they left for work.

Stupid Arsenal, can't even take a joke. Even when it's not a supernatural power Epics are always using whatever power they have to abuse others.

Well they wouldn't be so confident of themselves after she'd talked with the Commander. Surely he'd see the need for more checks upon the Epics wouldn't he? He'd understand that they needed to be controlled. After all, he'd been there when Koschei had-

Violently shaking her head to dispel the memories, Scribbler quietly unlocked and opened the door to the house she shared with her parents. She probably could have gotten separate quarters if she'd wanted but she wanted to keep in touch with them, they helped her to anchor herself when she felt the strange rush from using her abilities.

And she would do anything to protect them.

Examining the door, it occurred to her that she'd never put any protections in place. True she wasn't supposed to use her powers selfishly but this was to protect her family, that was ok wasn't it?

Taking out her writing kit, its inkwells nearly emptied after an entire night of writing, Scribbler began to scrawl a series of words around the door. Her right hand had long since cramped to uselessness so she made slower progress with her left.

Barrier. Fire. Repel. Shield. Protect. 

A series of protective words and phrases were slowly inked around the doorframe, enough that she should be able to activate them all to erect a solid barrier if necessary, though judging how strong of an effect it would have was always tricky. She new that her ability was somehow linked to the size and length of the writing and creating materials was generally easy enough to get the right size but any kind of effect seemed to have its own requirements of size. Just because the writing covered the entire doorway didn't mean the barrier would.

I really need to figure out the limits on this more. Scribbler mused to herself as she crept through the house before crashing into her bed. Might as well try to get an hour or two of sleep before Arsenal makes me restock the fuel in all the cars or something.
 

 

Impact awoke in a haze of confusion, her body and mind both moving sluggishly.

Where am I?

Cranning her stiff neck to examine the room she found a rudimentary hospital, a few beds like the one she was lying on were occupied by people in various states of injury, a middle aged lady with severe burns on her face, a young boy with several gunshot wounds and someone whos eyes appeared to have been gouged out.

Hospitals had changed a lot since the arrival of Epics.

Epics? That's right. I shouldn't be here, I'm an Epic I'm not suited to being held with such trash.

Attempting to get out of bed caused a sharp stab of pain in Impacts stomach, she touched the area gingerly to find a swathe of bandages.

"Don't move, you'll tear the stitches and probably your intestines." A calm, deep voice said from the doorway. "It's a miracle you were even alive last night, there wasn't as much blood as there should have been for a wound like that."

Impact stared at the man for a moment.

She hadn't heard a single thing he'd said.

"Ah, yes. Your ears looked like they went through some trauma as well. It'll be quite a while before you can hear properly and you'll need to be careful for a while longer, infections will be a problem." He said, taking out a piece of paper and writing the instructions down to show her.

Raising a hand to her head she felt substantial padding around both ears, to protect from infection and more trauma she supposed.

Deaf? For weeks? That's going to be a problem. Need to hide the wounds, cover them up so no one notices. Ah Sparks I can barely even move, how am I going to cover that up?

"So... You're up." Another voice said, this one younger and less calming.

She couldn't hear the words but Impact could tell exactly what was on Jeremys mind as he stared at her.

Before Impact and MV had become Epics Jeremy had been a close friend of them both, talking with them and getting into trouble when one of their pranks went awry. But then that day had happened. Jeremy had been the one who found them. The one who pulled their dead parents from the debris of their house. The one who knew they were Epics.

The judgmental stares had started. Before too long both twins had decided to leave rather than face the fact that their only friend now hated them.

Thinking back, Impact was no longer sure why that had bothered her. Why did she care what Jeremy thought of her? If it was annoying she could just squash him like a bug, why had she gone to the effort of relocating herself just to avoid one angry little bug?

Returning Jeremys stare with one of her own, Impact smiled.

The look of fear that suddenly hit his face was almost worth getting stabbed.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Part one of a collab between myself and Edgedancer.

 

 

“Given the circumstances, good. Probably better than I deserve, to be honest.”

 

Expresses regret, Autumn noted, knowing his tone would corroborate it. “You didn’t hurt anyone,” she said. “That’s something.”

 

“That’s something, true.”

 

And hesitation. “How do you feel now? Compared to how you felt then?”

 

“I feel more under control… and less like a god all of you should bow to, which does seems like a change for the better,” he said tugging at his collar.

 

Autumn stifled a smile. She wasn’t sure whether he meant that as a joke or not, and he wasn’t smiling, but she still found it funny. “And you don’t feel like...returning to that mindset?”

 

Jack gave a mirthless laugh, “Not if I can help it.”

 

She had anticipated that reply, or a similar one, but now she had it recorded for Vondra. She’d asked the question point-blank, and she’d received a point-blank answer. He wanted a second chance. “Have they told you anything about the current situation in the city?”

 

“No, this is the first conversation I had, since being arrested,” he frowned with concern, “Why? Did something happen?”

 

Autumn hesitated, not because she didn’t know what to say, but because she didn’t know what to tell him first. From all appearances, he had recovered well, but leading with Shiny Sparkle seemed a poor choice. She was a potential threat, she told herself. That teleportation would give her an easy advantage over Jack and his squad. It had nothing to do with the uneasiness she felt revealing that particular escapade to him this early on.

 

Then again, he had to know sometime. Shiny Sparkle was the whole reason she was there.

 

“Yesterday, the city was under siege.” Autumn watched his eyes widen, knowing that was nothing compared to what came next. “By pandas.”

 

A attack on the city would certainly explain why they would already let him out but bears trotting through the streets were not exactly what one thought of when hearing about a siege. “Pandas? I.. I take it we aren’t just talking about animals searching for food?”

 

“Not unless they’re raiding our food stores with weapons,” Autumn said with a grimace. “Evidently, there’s an Epic in charge who….really...likes pandas.”

 

“Well, sparks. How bad is the damage?” There doubtlessly was some damage. Jack braced himself for what’s next but couldn’t keep the concern from showing on his face.

 

“They’ve called a cease-fire for now, and we’ve spent that time reinforcing the borders. There was a good bit of property damage, what with the flaming arrows and the killer squirrels and flying pigs….” She sighed. “Yesterday was a long day.”

 

“That does sound rough and rather weird all things considered. Is everything alright with you?” He slightly leaned towards her.

 

“I’m fine,” she answered quickly. “There were some--uh--new Epics in town yesterday, in addition to the pandas.” It wasn’t a distraction, or a change of subject. Not really. His answer would show her the extent to which he had regained control.

 

Autumn’s suspiciously quick denial did little to actually reassure Jack but if she didn’t want to talk about it he shouldn’t press her. “Did any of them cause any more problems in town?”

 

He’d learn the truth sooner or later, and he’d learn it from her or from Reader. Visions of Jack, furious, flickered through her head….but if he was going to hear it, he might as well hear it from her.

 

Then again, why should it make him angry? He expected damage. This was just a damage report.

 

“For the most part, no. One’s MIA, two left late last night, and another few are in custody. One….well, she...um...she was a bit of a flirt,” she added with a small laugh. “A big flirt, actually. Teleporter. Didn’t know anyone liked flirting that much, especially in free-fall.”

 

He listened calmly to Autumn talking about the new Epics... until the last one. There was absolutely no one in this room that deserved his anger. However, at the mention of free-fall that didn’t stop him from growing tense.

 

“Autumn,” he did his best to keep his voice even, “is that Epic troubling you in any way?”

 

“She stayed overnight, but from the looks of things, she’s planning on leaving,” Autumn said quickly. Too quickly. “But Vondra is afraid she’ll come back, sooner rather than later. And with the influx of new Epics in town, he’s afraid I won’t be safe, what with all the screenings and everything.”

 

“I see,” he said, relaxing somewhat. At least she wasn’t in immediate danger, “is there anything I can do for you?”

[Edgedancer he/him]

Part two of a collab between TwiLyght and myself.

Autumn knew what she was supposed to say. Vondra wants to make you my bodyguard. Train me to use your powers. Keep another Shiny Sparkle incident from happening. But that wasn’t what she wanted to say.

It’s fine, she wanted to tell him, really. I’m fine. Nothing happened. It’s no big deal. Just...don’t look so worried. I’m fine. Everything is fine.

There was concern written all over his face, and she wanted to reassure it away.

“As you might have guessed, Vondra sent me for a reason.” Of course he’d guessed that. Anyone could guess that. She was just stalling. “He wants to stick me with a bodyguard--an Epic bodyguard, to minimize the danger for me during this….panda invasion. Would you want to?” Could you make sure you don’t lose control again?  

“Of course,” Jack said meeting Autumn’s eyes, “if you’d have me I’m at your full disposal.”

That look….he’d given it to her on occasion, when he’d come into her office agitated, and their talk would calm him. But never with that intensity.

There could be a reason for it. Two distinct possibilities rose in her mind--and she wasn’t sure which one unnerved her more.

Clearing her throat, she lifted her pencil again. “Have you ever met Shiny Sparkle before? Or heard of her?”

“No, I’ve never heard of her before. Is that the name of the Teleporter in question?” Jack considered for a moment what kind of Epic would take that name, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if the matching Epic was an oddball.

“Yes. Apparently.” No personal connection to Shiny Sparkle, she wrote. Not likely motivated by grudge. She pointedly cast the alternative motive to the back of her mind. He was probably eager to be let out of prison, she told herself. Working as a bodyguard was vastly preferable to spending all day in a cage with no clothes. “Frequency and his gang made another appearance yesterday,” she added, and watched for his reaction.

“Now, that’s a problem. What exactly did they do?” Concerned Jack touched a hand to his chin. Koschei was dead but that doesn’t mean insane, even by Epic standards, cultists weren’t dangerous on their own.

“They did launch an attack on one of our checkpoints, though they were driven off relatively quickly, compared to last time, I suppose. Vondra’s sure he’ll try again soon, though he’ll probably wait until the panda thing dies down a bit. Or not. He could’ve changed tactics.” She was rambling, she knew. “I’m sorry. Like I said, long day.”

“It’s okay Autumn,” he gently laid a hand on her arm, “Anything I can do to help?” Trying to reassure her, he gave what he hoped to be a fitting smile.

For a moment, Autumn wasn’t sure what to say. Here she was, in Stormcage, across the table from the only Epic the prison was designed to hold, and that Epic was trying to reassure her. It could be manipulation, said the voice that sounded like Vondra’s. He’d take it that way. Tell her to end the interview and order Jack be imprisoned again for the foreseeable future.

But she knew that wasn’t it.

Jack tried harder than anyone, human or Epic, to keep his sanity. No matter how much mental energy she assumed he devoted to the task, she knew the actual amount had to be greater. He didn’t get it right, not always, but he remembered what the right way looked like. Losing control had made him forget--but if he remembered now, then he had regained more of it than she thought.

She smiled, and it was genuine. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

It was good to see Autumn smile. It allowed him to relax again, nothing could be done about what happened yesterday but if he could help her smile today, even as problematic he could be sometimes, then that was at least something.

And given the position he just accepted he may be able to help her more, pay back some of the kindness she has showed him… or terribly ruin it all. Standing next to the edge was one thing, dragging Autumn with him was something he absolutely couldn’t afford. One chance to keep her smiling and I have to make it count.

He gave Autumn’s arm one last comforting squeeze and pulled his hand back, “Alright then, if I may ask, what’s the plan for now?”

“I’ll give the notes and recordings to Vondra,” she said, “and let him know I’ve cleared you. He wants Reader to screen you next, but I don’t think you’ll have any problems there.”

No problems except Reader’s presence, that is. He could feel something rise in his stomach that resembled a snarling animal but calmed it down by reminding himself that taking precautions with him was only reasonable.

“No way around that I suppose,” he let out a sight, “are we heading to him now?”

Judging by his sigh, Jack wasn’t looking forward to this any more than she was. She felt as though she was throwing him to a ravenous wolf, but knew there was nothing to be done about it. “He’s waiting in the hall. I’ll stay right here to keep an eye on him.”

Steeling herself, Autumn lifted her radio. “Go ahead and send Reader in.”

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

Shiny Sparkle lazily stretched under her blankets, to drive away the lingering of her nightmares. Then she threw the blankets of and jumped to her feet, continuing to stretch. She felt good this morning; last night’s exercise really did wonders for her. That Autumn didn’t like her was sad... and probably… definitely Shiny Sparkle’s fault but it’s not like she did anything that wouldn’t heal with time and other women had beautiful daughters, Shiny sparkle was proof of that herself, not to mention the nice sons. She’d just have to make sure to not directly blurt out her inner feelings and keep things a bit more non-committal at first. Date number three sounded like a safer number.

 

But right now she didn’t have the time to partake in the never ending chase for love; no she had a meeting with general Vondra, the man that didn’t like her cleavage, to attend to. Slipping back into her clothes she wondered if she should go back home and change. Use the chance to show off some of her nice and slender legs, before it starts getting cold. Not that Vondra would appreciate it and it might be better not to worry him where she might have been about. Meaning that for now it would be better to stick to her old set of clothes.  

 

Having finished her morning routine as best as possible in her current lodging she headed outside, where she was greeted by a set of guards. “We’re to escort you to HQ.”

 

“Well aren’t you two lucky?” Shiny Sparkle said teasingly and skipped towards the two, linking arms with them before they could react, then she teleported them in front of the HQ. “Gentlemen, I’d appreciate you escorting me to Vondra’s office.” With that she pulled the disoriented guards towards the entry of the building.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Darkness. Voices. Whiteness. Pains.

 

These were the first things that dawned on the Ice Queen as the clinic came into view. With blurred vision she looked down towards her throbbing body to discover her beautiful ice dress that she had created when she was unbelievably happy and free was now stained in many places with blood. The Queen's heart beat faster as ice spikes began to rise around the various monitors and bed around her. Tears stained her face as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts. Her body throbbed with pain. 

 

Suffering. Pain. It demands to be felt.

 

"Anna.......please. What would you do."

[Aonar he/him]

Part one of two of a collaboration between Maill and I.

 
The walk back to town had lifted the mood nicely. Ethan's anger had faded and Emma's sadness had balanced out. She was much happier now. 

The Springfield was the place to mingle in the Dalles. It was even children-friendly. Except when Deathwish came. Then it was no one-friendly. After Remington killed Koschei, the bartender renamed the pub after him. It was definitely an improvement. 

Emma sat down at the counter, asking, "One root beer, please, Mr. Robbins." Emma wasn't legal to drink alcohol and had never been drawn to it. 

The bartender smiled and nodded. "And your friend here?" He asked.
 

 
The mood was far lighter for the walk back to the Dalles. There was still enough tension to deter all but a few awkward attempts at conversation, but given what had happened, Ethan was just grateful things weren't worse.
 
The Springfield was a quiet establishment near the edge of town. Although few patrons were around when they arrived, it seemed like it was accustomed to many more. Given the rather ridged nature of the town, that was no wonder. It was probably one of the only, if not the only, place for people to gather and be social.
 
Emma took a seat at the bar, asking for root beer. After a moment spent scanning the interior of the pub, he joined her. There really wasn't much interesting to note. A few of the ever-present Dalles Guards, and a bare handful of civilians. Ethan was surprised there were even this many, given the events of the day. The better part of a dozen new Epics, an invasion that seemed to have been taken from the imagination of a particularly disturbed ten year old, and general chaos made it a bad day to go out. Or maybe a good one, depending on your taste in drink.
 
“And your friend here?” The bartender -presumably Mr. Robbins- asked.
 
“Ginger beer, sans alcohol, if you happen to have some on hand. If not, I’d be more than happy with root beer, as well.” He could drink legally, and even if he couldn’t it wasn’t as if anyone could have stopped him, but he’d never had the desire. Too many bad memories. And right now Ethan seemed to have enough trouble controlling himself, never mind the addition of alcohol.
 

 
Ethan strayed away from liquor as well. "Ginger beer, sans alcohol, if you happen to have some on hand. If not, I’d be more than happy with root beer, as well.” Most men in town didn't. Ty certainly hadn't let his age stop him from consuming alcohol. This was a good sign, but Emma didn't know if it was an honest desire not to drink or if he just followed her example to get on her good side. 

"The bar is definitely less crowded than normal," she mentioned. "But, what do you expect after a day of panda attacks and new Epics everywhere?" She grinned softly, trying to lighten the mood.
 

---

 

 
Ethan woke to the sun streaming in through his window. Despite the smell of smoke still heavy in the air, birds managed to sing cheerfully. Ugh. That seemed wrong, on various levels. The sun wasn't supposed to shine after days like that last one. Birds should have known better than to sing. 
 
Rubbing his eyes, he slowly sat up and rolled out of bed. Squinting out the window, he tried to judge the time of day. Hmm. I think I've slept in a bit. He'd been extremely tired last night, tired enough that when the Guardsman had shown him his room, an abandoned apartment near the centre of the city, he'd fallen in bed without question, and fallen asleep still fully clothed, coat and all.  
 
That bed is probably going to have to be burned now, he thought sheepishly, looking at himself; he was still liberally coated in sweat, ash, and the odd bit of viscera. However, being that tired had a few upsides. Well, one really. He hadn't dreamt at all, last night. 
 
Stripping out of his disgusting clothes, he took a shower, staying under the water until it became too cold for him to stand. 
 
Feeling cleaner and in a much better mood, Ethan started rummaging through the apartment for some new clothes, a t-shirt at the very least, but he came up unfortunately empty. Struck by an idea, he gathered up his clothes and brought them into the bathroom, soaking them in soapy water. Filling the sink, he lightly touched the water's surface, freezing it. Careful to only start with a very small amount of heat, he slowly dialed in the temperature until the clothes steamed dry. 
 
Pros to being an Epic: Plus one for the twenty-four-seven instant steam cleaning and ironing services. Cons: Minus one thousand for the ever increasing drive to be a mass murderer.
 
Unfortunately, the apartment seemed rather inadequately equipped in the food department, as well. I suppose I'll have to go on a bit of a walkabout, then. 
 
Opening the door, he was met by a pair of rifles, pointed towards his head. Two Dalles Guards stood on the other end of them, looking at him warily. "Oh, hello there. You been here all night?" He'd known they were there, of course, but it wasn't always a good thing to make known just everything you could do. 
 
One of them nodded, a little confused. "Ah. One heck of a boring job, that. Especially seeing how if I was someone with the frame of mind that would require me to be guarded, your presence wouldn't really amount for much." 
 
The guards looked a little nonplussed at that, but Ethan spoke again quickly, deciding it was probably best not to let them dwell on that one for too long. "Now, does anybody know where you can get a decent breakfast around here? My accommodations, while relatively pleasant, seem to be a little lacking in terms of food." 
 
Now the guards seemed to finally find their voices. "I'm afraid that'll have to wait. We've orders to escort you to Reader for a proper screening." Sparks. That slontze again.
 
Sighing mentally and forcing down the vague desire to just knock the two of them out and find some breakfast himself, he said, "Alright, fine. Lead on. It'd be nice if you could point out somewhere with decent bacon along the way, though." 

[Voidus]

Pulling her fist out of the last member of staff in the hospital, Impact looked down at her hands. Stained red from the mess she'd created. It would be easy enough to repel all the blood from her body but she thought it looked more intimidating to have blood dripping from her hands. It should also help to pull attention away from her injuries.

Searching through the makeshift hospital she found a pair of earmuffs  had fit her, pulling some of the medical tape off the pads on her ears and tucking them in allowed her to almost completely hide the injury. Combined with the program she'd downloaded onto her mobile to give text approximations of nearby speech and she should be able to fool at least a passing inspection. But for now she'd need to be careful around other Epics.

Confident now that she wouldn't have to go into hiding she nudged the still-twitching corpse of Jeremy aside with one foot.His face now forever locked in an expression of surprise and betrayal. Even the one who'd already known she was an Epic had been surprised at the sudden violence that had been unleashed upon them.

Utilizing her abilities to finish dressing, her pants sliding swiftly up her legs, seemingly of their own accord, Impact took one last look around the hospital, one final check to make sure she'd forgotten nothing. An ominous silence was all that greeted her, the occasional beep from a broken monitor was all that could be heard. Perhaps going through the maternity ward hadn't been strictly necessary but it paid to be thorough.

Hovering gently through the ceiling, sending a slab of concrete flying as she did so, Impact gained her bearings. The changes to the suburb she'd grown up in had not been significant enough to disorient her and she quickly realized where she was.

Now. Back to the Dalles or stay here? Impact mused. Should I make Megan a priority for now? She should have searched most of the Dalles by now and that idiot was supposed to go back to the museum wasn't he? Well in that case I suppose it's back to the Dalles so I can get revenge against that slontze Deathwish.

Vanishing in a sudden streak of speed, Impact was unable to witness the morning light piercing through the hole she'd made in the ceiling. Red light reflecting off of redder pools as terrified screams slowly spread throughout the neighborhood. 
 

[mail-mi he/him]

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP “BusDriver, come in. Qucksilver needs you in his office pronto. Event Horizon out.” BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP

 

BusDriver, Head of Transportation, jolted awake after yet another night of restless sleep plagued by nightmares of his past. 

 

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP “BUSDRIVER! WAKE UP! QUICKSILVER NEEDS YOU NOW!!!” BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP

 

Shaking his head to try to force the memories back, BusDriver reached over and turned off the Calamity-cursed alarm and pressed the “talk” button on his radio. “What the sparks Event?! Don’t you know how sparking early it is?!” 

 

“The sun rose a half hour ago. Stop being old and get down here.” 

 

Click.

 

BusDriver groaned and began his tedious morning routine. Sometimes, being old really sucks. A half hour later--a surprisingly short amount of time for him--he was all ready and headed towards Quicksilver’s office. The door was cracked open slightly, and there was surprisingly no one waiting outside or standing guard. Deciding to just get it over with, BusDriver pushed the door open a bit more and stuck his head in. 

 

“Event said you wanted to see me, boss. What do you want to tell me off for this time?” 

 

 

To no one’s surprise, Arsenal’s proposed “house arrest” didn’t last very long. 

 

Of course, the part about being watched by guards 24/7 was still in effect, but that was always true. Reader was much too valuable to be left unguarded. And, since the hecticness of yesterday and his own kidnapping, his guard had not only been doubled, but tripled. He was surrounded on all sides by new, special green-uniformed men assigned to specifically guard Reader and Reader only. I’m going to have a lot of fun with them.

 

Of course, there was one other thing that yesterday made change:

 

Jack Hayter. 

 

The “Epic” that had requested that his weakness be used against him if he went too “crazy.” The one that didn’t live up to his true potential just because he might get a little murderous every now and then. 

 

The superhuman that isn’t very Epic.

 

All those things combined to put Reader where he was the morning after the Panda attack: Standing outside Stormcage, waiting to be called in to Read Jack. 

 

“...and you must hate the way she snores non-stop every night, don’t you Jerry?” Reader said, finishing a quick Read of the guard in front of him. His nose pulsed with each word, reminding him that he still had to get it set. 

 

Even more from the look on Jerry’s face than from Reading him, Reader could tell that his guards didn’t view their “promotion” very highly.

 

As he was opening his mouth to start insulting again, the door to Stormcage swung open. A female guard peeked out the door with a bored look on his face. “Reader, they’re ready for you.” 

 

“Of course Sherry.” Reader began to walk into Stormcage, followed by three of his guards. “Oh, and, Sherry? Your efforts to exercise more are not going to help that waistline.” Fuming, Sherry lead them through the halls of Stormcage to where Autumn and Vapor Snake were waiting. She and the other guards stayed posted outside the door as Reader was allowed in. 

 

Autumn and Jack had been looking at each other, but quickly and almost furtively turned their heads to the door as Reader slauntered in. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Reader put on a mock face of surprise and guilt. “Did I interrupt you two? I ruined the ‘moment’ didn’t I. I’m so sorry, but, you know, work and all. Gotta do this Reading.” 

 

Both of their controlled expressions contorted into glares.

 

“Oh, Vapor, I see you’re still rocking the full-body covering.” Reader leaned in close to Jack’s ear to whisper. “You know, from what I’ve heard, Autumn really likes it when her partners show a little affection, if you know what I mean.” Glancing at Vapor Snake’s arm, Reader began to roll up Vapor’s sleeve, and watched him visibly cringe.

 

Reader smirked. “Don’t worry. I promise, this is completely necessary for my Reading.” 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Like the stench from an open refrigerator that hadn’t been cleaned in months, Reader drifted into the room, a mocking smile on his lips that spoke volumes before he ever opened his mouth.

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” His parody of guilt did nothing to wipe the smirk from his face. “Did I interrupt you two? I ruined the moment, didn’t I. I’m so sorry, but you know, work and all. Gotta do this Reading.”

 

He took his seat. Autumn wondered whether Arsenal could conjure up a mute button that would work on him. Even just a few seconds would be nice….

 

“Oh, Vapor, I see you’re still rocking the full-body covering."

 

Of course he is, Autumn wanted to snap. He’s spent the last few days naked in a jail cell. You’d be grateful for a potato sack, if you were him.

 

Reader stood up to whisper, a whisper she unfortunately heard: “You know, from what I’ve heard, Autumn really likes it when her partners show a little affection, if you know what I mean.”

 

Her cheeks flamed, and she put a hand on her radio, but Reader wasn’t paying attention. His gaze had drifted to Jack’s arm. Before Autumn could stop him, he had begun rolling up Jack’s sleeve.

 

“Don’t worry,” he said with a smirk, as Jack stiffened. “This is completely necessary for my Reading.”

 

Before Reader managed to expose more than an inch or two of skin, Autumn grabbed his wrist. Reader’s gaze snapped toward her, and she met it, pointedly averting her gaze from Jack’s exposed wrist. She didn’t know how far he was from attacking Reader, but she would keep him from that moment as long as she could.

 

“We all know it isn’t necessary, Reader,” she said quietly. His glare was a challenge, and she met it. “You have never once demanded someone take off their jacket or their shirt to Read them, and unless your powers miraculously changed five minutes ago, there’s no reason for it now. Now. Take your hand off of Jack’s arm, and keep both of them to yourself.”

 

He didn’t budge.

 

“We may not be using cameras for this interview,” she said, still in the quiet tone that made people nervous, “but Vondra will hear every bit of it. He hears you purposely antagonized Jack, it’ll be your word against mine. Hands off.”

Edited August 26, 2015 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer he/him]

There were many rumors about the moon’s ingredients. Most ordinary people assumed it was made from rock, some of the more suspecting folks believed it to be made from cheese but only those that were truly on it knew the truth. The moon was made out of white rice, radiating into the vastness of space.

 

Baxter reassured this fact as his boots crunched into its surface. Pulling down the brim of his cowboy hat he looked down to Neko walking besides him, her  purple circlet and purple cloak made from the fur of oregonese pandas swirling as the vacuum of space gently pulled on them.

 

“Truly our realm is free of strife, is it not?” Neko asked as her masculine voice vibrating into the empty space.

 

And indeed it was, nothing disturbed the peace of the light side. However, there was one thing that they missed. Thus the space between here and there discarded they found themselves on the border to the dark side of the moon, wrapped into the space Nori chaining the bright light of the rice.

 

Wrapped into the Nori they found the key for their search. Neko cut Backtrack, who had given up any struggle and was limply succumbing to his fate, out of his chains. Backtrack managed to get back to his feet, his eyes hidden behind his glasses with lenses made of chocolate fixed on Neko.

 

“Tell us Courier; tell us where is the golden girl?” Neko demanded from him.

 

“I... I,” Backtrack mumbled as he stumbled to the border of light and darkness. Then suddenly the Nori became rejuvenated again and split into a swarm of green tentacles, they wrapped around Backtrack and dragged him down into the darkness.

 

Neko tried to cut at the green but a gust of vacuum pulled at her purple panda cloak and sends her hurling into the emptiness of space, leaving him all alone in with his cowboy gear on this eternal desert of rice.

 

Utterly alone.

                                                                           

 

Baxter groggily rose from his bed. He noticed Neko lying on his nightstand, looking at him through squinted eyes. He gently ran his hand down her body, which she pushed herself into full of delight. “Good to know that you’re still here,” he said to her. Neko simply meowed, stretched and walked towards her food bowl. This would be another busy day.

[mail-mi he/him]

 

With fury not unlike that of an enraged Minor Epic, Autumn seized Reader's wrist before he could reveal anything more than a couple inches of skin. He met her glare, though, while hers was backed by anger, his was backed by his own superiority. 

 

"We all know it isn’t necessary, Reader," she said in a whisper that made even Reader hesitate--only slightly, of course. "You have never once demanded someone take off their jacket or their shirt to Read them, and unless your powers miraculously changed five minutes ago, there’s no reason for it now. Now. Take your hand off of Jack’s arm, and keep both of them to yourself." 

 

Reader didn't move, choosing his next words carefully as he Read all he could off of Autumn. 

 

"We may not be using cameras for this interview," she continued, so quietly Reader was surprised that Jack could hear. "but Vondra will hear every bit of it. He hears you purposely antagonized Jack, it’ll be your word against mine. Hands off."

 

Reader waited for just a moment to let the room dissolve into a silence similar to that of an intense shoot off, then pulled his trigger. Unfortunately, his still unset nose betrayed him, leading to a poor start. "I'll haf you know, Mrs. Autumn Not-an-Epic Sthparkle, that my powers did not miraculously change in the last five minutes, but that they've always stayed exactly the same. Meaning, that they've always relied on sight. The more I see, the more I know." 

 

He ripped his wrist out of Autumn's grasp. "And, if I'm not mistaken, Vondra asked for a full Reading of Mr. Snake over here, and full means learning everything I can about him. Everything. Do you know how long that will take?" Not letting her even start an answer, he answered himself. "A lot longer than you want to be locked in here with me, that's for certain. However, if I can see more of Mr. Snake, it will go much, much faster." 

 

Reader drew up to Autumn, close enough to kiss her, though he was planning much the opposite. "So," he said viciously, "Jack can either take off his jacket and shirt for me, or we'll all be in here a lot longer than we need or want to be." 

[Edgedancer he/him]

 

Jack could feel his stomach clench as Reader entered, someone utterly repulsive. Jack wasn’t sure how much he could blame him for it but Reader, together with Deathwish, were a constant reminder of what could become of him. Yet there they were revealing in it, being stripped of whatever may have made them a person. Somewhere deep down he felt like should pity them, given that he himself was struggling with it trying to eat away at his mind, but he couldn’t exactly afford to give them compassion.

 

Missing not a single beat Reader placed himself at the table and started being a Slontze. There was a spike of anger in Jack when he bad mouthed Autumn but before he could say anything Reader pulled up Jack’s sleeve.

 

Whatever escaped Reader’s smug mouth washed past Jack. The exposed skin felt like something was crawling under it, something that should be hidden. He felt his entire body coil, ready to punch Reader. It would be a very easy solution to the problem, reduce Reader’s nose to an even bloodier stump and get his wrist free.

 

That didn’t make it the option he should take.

 

Before Jack could come to a conclusion in his struggle Autumn came to his rescue and challenged Reader for his sake, grabbing his wrist, called him out on his nonsense and willing to bring it to Vondra, if she had to. The sheer amount of passion running out of her for Jack’s sake pulled on something in him currently buried under the desire to cover his arm back up, the whish to throw himself into Autumn’s arms still surfaced in his mind.

 

After a painfully long moment Reader pulled his wrist from Autumn’s grasp and with that he also released Jack’s clothes. Hastily he pulled his arm back and covered the exposed skin back up. He returned his attention back to Autumn and Reader in time to hear Reader’s declaration, "So, Jack can either take off his jacket and shirt for me, or we'll all be in here a lot longer than we need or want to be." 

 

“Reader,” Jack said keeping his voice as far away from a growl as he could. Nevertheless, it sounded angry enough to draw Reader’s attention, “I can’t exactly claim to know how your powers work on this detail but there are two options. Either you are lying and already have all the information for your reading, in which case I thank you for apparently deciding I am safe enough to taunt, or you are doing your best to antagonize someone that may be terribly instable at the moment and could just snap at you, lethally so. Now I am giving you my word that I will do my best to make sure all of us make it out of this conversation without getting hurt. However, if my word alone would be enough to make sure that I am not a danger you wouldn’t be here.

 

“Now,” Jack continued, trying to keep himself calm by stuffing the cuff of his shirt deep under his gloves, “as low as your own opinion of your own company may be, comparing to what you are demanding your insults are relatively minor. Which I’m afraid means we will have to be here for a bit of time.”

Edited February 1, 2016 by Edgedancer

[FireSlayer she/her]

 

The data was sorted alphabetically by doctor. Skylar was just getting into her groove--type, tab, type, tab, type, tab, flip page when necessary--when suddenly she realized she was at Dr. Lyman and had seen no sign of Dr. Game. Flipping back through her discarded pages, she sighed. Nope, no wounded list. Maybe he'd just gotten lucky and had a free day, but she seriously doubted it. Catching the eye of one of her message runners*, she waved him over. "I need you to go ask Dr. Game for the list of his wounded. And also--" quickly she paged through her sheafs of dead and missing--"any other data he has for me."

 

*can be changed if inaccurate

[Edgedancer he/him]

Baxter only did the most basic morning wash to get himself presentable and then went to check on the wounded that had to stay in the clinic. Most of the patients that got significant injuries were soldiers injured in the line of duty. At least he didn’t lose any of them.

 

Once he finished switching their bandages, giving them medication and whatever else was needed right now he stepped back into his lobby. There he found someone waiting for him; it was a man running a message for Skylar. It seemed that with all the chaos that happened yesterday he forgot to send a report about the injured he attended to yesterday.

 

It was an oversight on his part but not exactly surprising, given everything that went down here yesterday. After he settled the chaos caused by the new Epics and Reader and treated the people he had to keep in his care Elsa had bursted back into the clinic. Responding the only way they could to an escaped Epic the soldiers shoot her down. Baxter managed to stabilize her but she was far from a good condition.

 

The Doctor couldn’t help but wonder why she’d go as far as to break out of prison and try to get back here. She at least didn’t give him the impression that she was intend on hurting anyone, even if she was rather jumpy, although more out of confusion and fear than anything else. Hopefully, they would get a chance to calmly talk with her before anything else happened. He’d hate it if anything happening to her, especially if they could avoid it.

 

After giving it a bit of consideration, Baxter decided to bring the data to Skylar himself. Most of it he had prepared but it would probably help if he explained the Elsa situation. It would also be an opportunity to ask for someone to repair the bullet hole Arsenal left in his floor and take a look at Reader’s nose.  Baxter grabbed his files and made sure he could be contacted and headed out to the church.

                                                  

 

Together with the messenger Baxter arrived at the church. After he gentle knock on the door he entered. “Good morning Skylar, I’m sorry about not sending a report on time but there were circumstances.” He handed her the papers.