What Happened in The Dalles

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

 

The shiny chick gave Deathwish a pat on the cheek, her smile a picture of amused disdain. “I appreciate the regards given to my epic assets, trust me they deserve every good word said about them, but I’m sorry sweetie. It would be one thing if you were the virgin type but I only let the predator type take a turn if I think they are experienced enough to properly satisfy me. Better luck next time."

 

Deathwish found himself smirking. So she was that type. An Epic broad who thought she was queen of the world. To be fair, most of them had the power to actually be queen of the world, or at least a good part of it.

 

Abruptly, Deathwish threw an arm around the woman's waist, pulling her close and putting his mouth next to her ear.

 

"If you're still alive," he breathed, "then you know we're not allowed to be satisfied in this city."

 

He let go of her as suddenly as he'd grabbed her, but took her by the chin while she tried to realign herself. With a gentleness he generally didn't give the weaker sex, he tilted her head to face out a small window overlooking the street below.

 

"Outside The Dalles we get anything we want," he continued wistfully, gesturing vaguely towards the horizon. "Booze. Drugs. Any girl you like, or any guy if that's what you're into. Out there, we have the luxury of picking and choosing."

 

He met her eyes. She looked about to speak, so he tilted her chin to keep her pretty mouth shut. "Like I said. You're still alive, so that means you know all that. You're still here, which means you want something you can't just take. And you're obediently waiting in line to see the commander, which means you're patient enough to play their games until you're ready to seize it. What I don't think you understand is just how long you'll be waiting and just how quick you'll have to be to grab it before everything goes to hell."

 

She'd probably chop off his hand if he got any more grabby, and since he didn't want to dismember the pretty gal just yet Deathwish let go of her and flew breezily to the other end of the hall, where he sat upon a chair and folded his arms.

 

"Which is why," he concluded with a smirk, "you really should consider whoring yourself out to old veterans. The guys--or rather, guy who knows this place well enough to fetch you what you want before Arsenal goes crazy and nukes everything. But then, that's none of my business."

Edited November 22, 2015 by Kobold King

[Edgedancer he/him]

Of course his type didn’t know how to take a no, Shiny Sparkle thought just as that smug smirk got on his face. Worse yet, he managed to pull her of her feet, so she stumbled towards his chest and mumbled some crem about satisfaction. When he finally let go of her waist, he instead put his dirty pawns on her chin, forcing her to watch out of the window.

 

Ignoring his little monologue further, Shiny Sparkle scanned the street. Sadly, she could find no cutey down there to make this mess more bearable. Instead she wanted to settle with telling him how little she cared for his rambling. The Slontze forcibly held her mouth shut. This was quickly going beyond annoying.

 

The crap he continued to spew probably said more about him than about Shiny. With Autumn off the table there wasn’t really a reason for Shiny to stay. It was simply that running of before things were properly dealt with and off the table would leave a bad taste in her mouth. And at the least there was still a chance of finding some lovebird worth her time in this nest. Otherwise she didn’t really have anything keeping her here. A life chained down to some old guy, without a sweetheart to keep her company, just wouldn’t be the life for a free spirit like her.

 

He finally took his hands of her and immediately flew off to the other end of the floor, barely getting away from the explosive slap she was about to give him. That and he still didn’t just shut up, “Which is why he you really should consider whoring yourself out,” something snapped in Shiny Sparkle at that point. Not knowing how to treat a lady was one thing but no dirty sleazebag gets away with calling her a whore.

 

A cold smile on her face, with the murder in her eyes hidden by her glasses, she slipped a small metal ball from her pouch into her hand and teleported right in front of the sleazy biker. She put her hand hiding the ball on his leg and leaned in on him. “So you think you can give me what I want?” Shiny poured, while moving her hand up his leg. “You know, if I don't have to deal with that prudish old man again, then some handiwork might actually be worth my time.” With that she moved her hand between his legs and let the sphere explode. Metal shrapnel was pushed downwards, ripping through clothes and his manhood-

 

A pain filled scream rang through the air, as Shiny Sparkle collapsed on the floor. Her entire abdomen felt as she just blew herself up, rendering her into a sobbing mess, slowly bobbing up and down.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

Deathwish was no stranger to the face a woman made when infuriated. A smile, directed at him... that was something he had a little less experience with. But somehow he doubted the stiff smile on the shiny Epic's face was a late attempt at seduction. Especially not when his keen eyes spotted a brief glint of metal in her palm as she made her way towards him.

 

“So you think you can give me what I want?” the woman crooned, leaning over him and putting a hand on his leg.

 

He was now 99% sure she was about to try to kill him, but he'd love to be wrong.

 

“You know, if I don't have to deal with that prudish old man again, then some handiwork might actually be worth my time.” With a slightly more genuine smile, the woman's hand made a swift movement...

 

...and a sharp crack like a gunshot rang out, Deathwish's precious parts shredded into gore in an instant. On reflex he shoved the now-screaming woman to the ground and flew to the ceiling, painlessly dripping blood onto Vondra's carpet.

 

The smug Epic was crying now, legs clenched together and her entire body heaving in agony. There didn't seem to be any of her own blood on her--she'd apparently had the precision to drive that metal shrapnel solely into parts that she didn't have. That precision had saved her a lot of blood, if not pain.

 

Bloody, explosive castration. I can add that to the list of things I've survived, he thought smugly, smirking down at the agonized wench. Good to know...

 

Without speaking--the chick probably couldn't hear him anyway over her spasm-inducing suffering--Deathwish took the heavy pistol off his belt and leveled it at her head. Her eyes were closed and she seemed lost in her private world of pain, making no move to destroy his gun or even move.

 

You're not an ally or a bedfellow. You might as well be a reminder to Vondra how useful I am...

 

His fingers closed on the trigger...

 

...and froze before he could fire.

 

"Hawk, stand down."

 

Frozen still in midair, Deathwish barely managed to make out Vondra and his chubby secretary standing in the doorway. They must have come in while he'd been soaking in the hottie's pain-sobs.

 

He felt Redlight's grip on him disappear, and he holstered his gun back while floating gently to the ground.

 

"Morning, commander. Just waiting for your assignment as I was ordered--"

 

"Shut it." Vondra was abrupt, the look on his face coldly furious--though not, strangely, at Deathwish himself. The commander gestured towards the crying woman. "What have you done to Ms. Sparkle?"

 

She actually called herself Sparkle? "I was just minding my own business," Deathwish replied with a smirk, "when she taught us both an informative lesson about what happens when you try to take the Hawk family jewels without jewels of your own. She's not strictly hurt, if that's what you're wondering, but she thinks she is."

 

Vondra's stare was flat and odious, and made Deathwish de-levitate a foot by sheer intensity. "Our forces are in pursuit of a member of Quicksilver's gang," he said icily, handing him a radio. "Keep in touch with central command and join the pursuit. Do what you have to do."

 

"Yes sir." Deathwish gave a sarcastic salute, then turned to open the window beside him.

 

"And Hawk?" He paused before the window, peering over his shoulder at the angry commander. "If you antagonize another newcomer, I'll tell them how to take your family jewels without them growing back."

 

Deathwish's teeth gritted, but he leapt out the window and soared into the city without a word in response.

 

 

 

 

 

Deathwish had really done a number on Shiny Sparkle--Vondra couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, for her anti-Hawk sentiments as well as for the pain she so obviously felt. He stood patiently against a wall for a minute as the woman's tears ran dry, and she managed to sit upright and take stock of the room once more. Rhonda stood at the ready, though it was unlikely she could do anything to stop the Epic in the worst case scenario.

 

"I see you took it upon yourself to solve our Deathwish problem," the commander said tiredly. "I give you fair points for trying, but if it was that easy someone would have done it by now."

 

He rubbed his temple with one hand. "He's someone you'll have to deal with if you work here, so I wouldn't blame you if you teleported to the other side of the States and never looked back."

[Edgedancer he/him]

The pain Shiny Sparkle felt subsided slowly, much too slowly. What in the name of Calamity’s tantalizing red light district did that Slontze do to her? More importantly, how could she kill him without it happening?

 

Keeping the question in mind for later she carefully moved herself in a sitting position, she doubted that she would manage standing anytime soon. Looking around the room, as much as her tear stained glasses allowed her, she could tell that the chair was indeed ripped apart and the metal shrapnel imbedded into the floor. There was however no blood to be seen anywhere and the Slontz was nowhere to be seen. Sparks, where was the pain she was feeling even coming from? It was as if the area between her legs was on fire… almost as if she blew her own nonexistent genitals off.

 

Her attention was drawn to the Commander, who apparently entered the room, while she was sobbing on the floor. It actually sounded like he was trying to comfort her, even if he did so in an rather stiff manner, still a sweet gesture.

 

Shiny Sparkle pulled out a glasses wipe and for a moment just calmed herself down, as she cleaned her glasses. Once they were free of tear stains, she put them back on and looked at Vondra, “Well, I didn’t intend anyone to see me like that but thanks for the consolation,” she said with a small smile. “Is there any chance you would just let me drown him in the ocean or something like that?”

 

 

Baxter left Reader’s office once his work was done. He didn’t expect thanks from Reader but Reader also didn’t poke at whatever he saw in his mind, which may be the only good behavior one could hope for with him. Anyway, with his patient as well as the paperwork cared for he decided to return to his clinic.

 

On his way back, he realized just how empty the streets seemed. It could simply be because it was still rather early in the day but given all the chaos that sweep through the town yesterday it was clear that the people simply wanted to stay safely in their houses and that was if they even returned from whatever shelter they fled to. He could only hope that the city guard would deal with the situation before too much damage was caused.

 

Once he actually made his way back home and entered, he was greeted by his cat nestling against his legs. He petted her a bit, which she used to calculatedly lure him towards her food bowl. After feeding Neko, Baxter again cheeked after the patients still staying in his care.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

Shiny Sparkle slowly pulled herself together, taking off her glasses and wiping them down. Her eyes underneath were red around the rims from her tears, but the eyes themselves were... bright. Abnormally colorful. Inhuman. Vondra felt his jaw harden at the reminder of what the woman was, and watched as she put the glasses back on and chuckled nervously.

 

“Well, I didn’t intend anyone to see me like that but thanks for the consolation,” she said slowly. "Is there any chance you would just let me drown him in the ocean or something like that?”

 

Vondra shook his head. "If you stay here long enough to outlast his loyalty, I might just give you the chance. As it is, he's more satisfying as a tool for crushing our enemies than he dead."

 

He stared at the woman for a long, grim moment. He'd intended to have her sent to Reader first thing in the morning, but as she was, easily annoyed and pushed to violence, the last thing she needed was a meeting with the infuriating creature. Instead, he'd have to interrogate her the old fashioned way.

 

"I am going to ask you a series of questions. I expect truthful answers to them--there is a divining Epic in our employ who will double-check your answers at a more opportune point."

 

He took a deep breath, and then began. "Firstly: what is your real name?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not far from city command in the center of The Dalles was the hotel. To the people of The Dalles it had been "the" hotel for quite some time now; it was clean, it had multiple stories, and the word "hotel" remained above its front door even when the brand name had been stripped off years ago.

 

The clean spacious rooms had been requisitioned quite a while previously, and now were home to a number of high-ranking city officials with no property of their own. Armed forces officers, quartermasters, school teachers, and engineers who had wandered into the city were all treated with a room in payment for their services, and a friendly community had grown up between the inhabitants of neighboring rooms.

 

On the top floor was a room locked from the outside and meticulously avoided by the hotel's usually hospitable inhabitants. The room was nice and spacious, but from its disconnection from the hotel's community coupled with its window being its only entrance, one might surmise it was the dwelling place of an individual who was both highly valued by the city and distrusted by those unfortunate enough to live nearby to him. According to the plaque on the door, it was "Room 115"; according to the sparse neighbors, it was simply "the slontze's room."

 

Deathwish had been pressing for people to call it "The Hawk's Nest," but so far no one had taken him up on that proposal.

 

The flying Epic flew in through the open window and skidded to his feet in the spacious lodging, shucking out of his clothes immediately. He'd definitely need a new pair of pants if he didn't want his unmentionables hanging out during flight, and besides which he liked to make a good impression on the Epics he killed. He slipped into a pair of tight jeans, fixed his pistols to it, and stripped off his jacket as he flew into the attached bathroom.

 

It'd been a while since he'd used this trick, but it might come in handy. He worked quickly, whistling an old tune from the radio as he duct-taped a few razors from his expansive shaving kit to his chest. They were sharp, considerably sharper than the average razor, and he wrapped them tightly until he could feel the blade pressing into his chest through his thin white shirt. He put on his leather jacket over the duct-tape / razor armor, and as a last touch to his equipment, picked up one of the tough wooden swords he'd salvaged from the clean-up crews yesterday evening. The sword was light as plastic but sharp as steel--perfect for a flying Epic who had reason to believe he'd be going up against a magnetmancer, or whatever you called an Epic who controlled all things metal.

 

His equipment taken care of, Deathwish pulled out the radio and called HQ. "Deathwish to the old man," he transmitted lazily. "Reporting for duty."

 

There was a minute's pause before Arsenal's frustrated voice came over the line. "About time," he snapped. "We are pursuing a yellow school bus approaching the intersection between Freedom and Independence. Hostile Epics believed to be on board. Lethal force is authorized. Do you copy?"

 

"What I'm copying is that you guys took the patriotic street names way too far," Deathwish yawned, flying out the window and hovering above the city. His eyes scanned the neighborhoods below, watching the cars and trucks whoosh around like angry ants. "I think I know where to go. Anything else I should know?"

 

"Edgerunner has also been deployed. Do not--"

 

"--grope her until I'm finished killing the bad guys," Deathwish finished. "Don't worry about me, I'm a perfect saint when there's work to do."

 

Pinning his radio to his belt, Deathwish took off after the rushing trucks and helicopters, the glint of a yellow school bus slowly coming into view...

Edited November 23, 2015 by Kobold King

[mail-mi he/him]

"Freeze, or we will shoot!"

 

BusDriver looked around the door at the gathered squad of City Guardsmen. Holy Calamity that was fast! He quickly ushered everyone into the car and--thankfully not shot yet--clambered into the driver's seat. 

 

"Shatterblast, you know what to do." BusDriver told him, but Shatterblast was already on it. He Shattered three windows and sent the pieces flying toward the gathered guardsmen, killing every one of them. BusDriver started up the bus and floored the accelerator, lurching the bus into motion. Buildings flew past the open windows of the bus as it sped up, BusDriver willing it to go faster and faster. 

 

Mistwraith came up from behind him. "Where are we going? I didn't mean to get you discovered, by the way." 

 

Like Calamity you didn't. "It doesn't matter where we're going if we aren't going to get out of this sparking city alive. Can you keep up with this bus in your mist form?"

 

BusDriver glanced behind him to see her look up in thought. Good enough. Pressing a button on the dashboard, BusDriver opened up the window/emergency exit on the roof of the bus. "Good. Now get out there and protect this bus." 

[Edgedancer he/him]

Welcome to The Dalles, work for us like a dog until we are satisfied and then we’ll finally let you make the world a better place.

 

It was an absolutely terrible recruitment strategy but Calamity they had one tempting price. Kind of like the scams companies would pull in the old days, just with slavery and murder. True American values indeed.

 

Vondra feel into another one of his long and grim stares. It kind of made her wonder what was going on in his head this time, now that she could conclude that he wasn't mentally undressing her, but ultimately he began speaking before she could ask him, "I am going to ask you a series of questions. I expect truthful answers to them--there is a divining Epic in our employ who will double-check your answers at a more opportune point.”

 

So this was going to be some kind of job interview, huh? That would be at least more likely than him putting her into some kind of match making service. Shiny wondered if they do have some kind of local service for that, it could save her a lot of time. “Firstly: what is your real name?"

 

Somewhat confused at what sounded like a redundant question Shiny Sparkle tilted her head, “Well, if you’re talking about that Reader guy, I would prefer not having to talk with that Slontze again,“ Thinking about it, the town’s male population set a pretty bad record so far. “I’m alright with telling you what you want to know but didn’t I already tell you that my name is Shiny Sparkle?  I think it fits me rather well, actually.”

Edited January 22, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

Shiny Sparkle was beginning to go back to her barely cooperative self.

 

“Well, if you’re talking about that Reader guy, I would prefer not having to talk with that Slontze again,“ she began. Vondra couldn't fault her for that. Reader wasn't even allowed in the same room as Vondra, if only for security reasons.

 

“I’m alright with telling you what you want to know but didn’t I already tell you that my name is Shiny Sparkle?" the woman continued, her voice almost seeming confused. "I think it fits me rather well, actually.”

 

Vondra felt his anger ice within him, though he didn't let it show beyond narrowing his eyes. Of all Epic habits, it was the names that frustrated him the most.

 

"I'm not hiring 'Shiny Sparkle'," he said softly, yet still loudly enough for the woman to hear every word. "Epics give themselves new names to match their new selves. Steelheart. Snowfall. Night's Sorrow. They think they're something above a normal human being, and refuse to go by a normal human name."

 

He glanced out the window and hardened his tone. "To me, 'Deathwish' is just Edgar Hawk. A cheap biker who's gotten too big for his britches. Daniel Dewhickey started going by 'Arsenal' a few years back, but I call him by the same name he had before Calamity shone over his head. When I ask you for your name, miss, I'm not asking for the title you chose to call yourself by. I want to know what your mother named you when she held you in your arms. What name people called you before you were able to kill them without a second's thought. I want to know the name of the woman that 'Shiny Sparkle' left behind."

 

 

 

 

BusDriver looked angry even despite Mistwraith's apology. He must be under a lot of stress.

 

"It doesn't matter where we're going if we aren't going to get out of this sparking city alive," he snapped, concentrating on the road in front of him. "Can you keep up with this bus in your mist form?"

 

Can I? She'd never done it, but she hadn't had much of a chance to cut loose and see what she could do yet. She felt like she could. She felt a thrill at the thought as her hair was blown about the wind pouring in through the shattered window. What if she could be part of that wind...?

 

The bus driver seemed content with her lack of an answer, flipping a switch and making a gap slide open in the roof. "Good. Now get out there and protect this bus."

 

Protect it from what? They're not shooting at us.

 

Despite her confusion, the thundering air right above her head made her heart soar. She'd just now managed to get back to being a human, but who'd want her skinny little body when she could be a wind with claws?

 

Her smile and her face melted into pure mist as she rose up, bristling with sharp tendrils as she joined the crashing air as a cloud of murky gray over the speeding bus. She had no eyes but she saw everything around her, every passing building, every truck in pursuit, every helicopter...

 

She saw the shape of a man in a black leather jacket speeding towards the bus, a long lethal looking sword in his hand. He was going fast, faster than the bus; he was speeding alongside it, smirking at BusDriver through a front window before zooming ahead of it.

 

Protect this bus.

 

Mistwraith grew longer tendrils with clever loops at their ends, her misty body swirling like an angry storm cloud as she extended herself. A thrill shot through her like lightning, as she realized her chance to prove herself was finally upon her.

 

The loops shot outwards, and Mistwraith put mental words to her excitement.

 

I'm going to kill my second Epic.

 

 

 

 

Deathwish smirked at the bus's driver as he flew by, earning a scowl as the man went back to focusing on the road ahead of him.

 

Scowl all you want, you gray-haired old slontze. They'll be wiping you off that seat with a towel when I'm done with you.

 

He accelerated ahead of the vehicle, slowing down as set into motion the death of the driver and the end of the chase. He pointed the sharp wooden blade in his hand into his chest and positioned himself directly in front of the bus's grill. He slowed to a stop with a smile on his face--the bus would ram him with all the force it carried, propelling this sword straight through his chest and utterly annihilating his heart and lungs. Of course, it would be the scowling driver who paid the price for running over Edgar Hawk...

 

Suddenly, the cloud of smoke over the bus's roof flared to life. Deathwish felt cold, wet air wrap around his neck, and then--

 

Snap.

 

His neck dislocated as he was jerked bodily from in front of the bus, swung through the air like a rag doll and thrown in an arc into the side of a concrete building. His body struck the hard wall front-first, his bones breaking apart as he slid to the still street with a bloody trail above him.

 

Slightly dazed, he cricked his neck back into shape and peered down at his chest. The razors he'd taped on had just saved his life, and were now shoved most of the way into his lungs. He pulled them out as his body healed, regaining awareness of where he was.

 

That cloudy slontze could have killed me. If his power hadn't factored the snapping of his neck as part of the same attack as shoving the razors into his chest, the crem-wad would have succeeded.

 

Deathwish flew back into the air, flourishing his sword and straightening the razors back under his jacket. His eyes zeroed in on the bus, now way ahead of him, and the mist that was wildly thrashing and swirling over its roof.

 

It is on now, you storming smoke puff.

 

It seemed to straighten itself once more as Deathwish approached, and its tendrils shaped into lethal looking hammerheads as they shot through the air towards him.

 

...Alright, it will be on as soon as I get some backup.

[Comatose he/him]

 

Taylor eyed her reflection in the side view mirror, unable to resist making minute changes to the female officer's rather drab appearance.  They were small changes, like adding a healthy shine to her practically tied back hair, and getting rid of a few blemishes and early wrinkles that surely wouldn't be missed by Officer Oliver.  It just wasn't fair that a woman of such superior looks should be continually forced to take on the appearance of more mundane women.  What was the point of having a famous face and the body of a super model if  no one was able to appreciate it.

 

Oliver swore to himself as he took a corner a little to sharply.  A little while ago, they had gotten a call to chase down some rogue epics in a school bus.  Taylor had done her best to pretend she cared when the call first came in, but resumed her natural state of boredom as soon as Oliver's eyes became focused on the road.  No one had complimented her in hours; how did regular people live like this?  

 

"Sorry about that, I guess I'm just a little nervous.  Do you think Quicksilver will show up?"  From what she had gathered, Quicksilver was the leader of a gang of some sort, and the reason for the morning's searches.  

 

"Relax, we just have to do our part.  The epics will do the heavy lifting."  Taylor tried her best to adopt to slightly patronizing tone she had heard the more experienced female officer use back at the house.  Something caught her eye in the mirror as she added a subtle touch of colour to her lips and cheeks and added volume to her eyelashes.  Frowning, Taylor enhanced her vision to get a better look, only to find several subtle acne scars marring her forehead.  Disgusted, Taylor shifted again, leaving her forehead clear and unblemished.  She hated acne.  

 

Taylor's ministrations were interrupted when Oliver slammed on the breaks.  The car had barely stopped when a yellow school bus blew through the intersection at a frightful speed, with what looked like a flying man in hot pursuit.  Cursing again, Oliver stepped on the gas, swerving around the corner just in time to join a convey of military vehicles tailing the fleeing bus.  

 

"We have instructions to shoot to kill if we can get a clear shot.  Just be careful not to hit Deathwish."  It took Taylor a moment to realize that Oliver was reminding her of her job during the chase.  Apparently there was a reason the woman she replaced chose to ride 'shot gun'.  Suppressing a sigh, Taylor rolled down her window, took out the dead woman's gun, and then began searching for an opening.  

 

Well, this should be interesting

[Edgedancer he/him]

Shiny Sparkle had absolutely no idea why Vondra started to scowl at her. It’s not like he could ask for more than her answering his question. Then again, being grouchy may be some kind of requirement for people in high positions; none of those ever knew how to have a fun time. But looking at the bright side of the situation, her… something was finally stopping to hurt as much. In a bit more, she might be able to stand again.

 

Not that he didn’t go out of his way to explain lengthy why he wasn’t pleased with her answer. An explanation during which she started pouting. Her name was her name, simple as that. It’s not like Shiny Sparkle went out of her way to call other people names that… just weren’t them.

 

“My name is Shiny Sparkle,” she ultimately said while craning her head to look outside the window as well, “ that's just who I am but I guess the name you are talking about is Liz Tanner.”

 

There shouldn’t really be any harm in telling him. After all, she wasn’t actually telling him anything about herself, just some random name that had nothing to do with her. Calamity, what did that Deathwish Slontze do to her that she still felt downright miserable, she couldn't even keep her shoulders straight anymore.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Voidus]

Impact landed softly in a dark alley, near to where she had first been separated from Megan. Her mind was slowly clearing as her painkillers wore off but the medication-produced haze over her mind was replaced by an equally distracting and far more annoying constant stream of pain.

The wound where she'd been stabbed seemed okay, she had a local anesthetic that could keep it numb without muddling her mind but her Calamity-cursed ears were sending constant waves of pain through her skull.

Deciding that more pain would be far more annoying than slightly muddled thinking she popped two of the pills she'd kept from the hospital out of their packet and swallowed them.

But for now I need to make the most out of this lucidity.

She still doubted she'd be capable of walking much so sh simply glided through the alley at a steady pace before darting across the open road and hoping no one had seen her. She'd managed to avoid too much suspicion so far but she'd entered the busier part of town and the number of eyes that could see her hovering form had increased dramatically.

She slipped around the back of a building, keeping an eye on her phone for any sign of noise she lifted herself up to a window, which thankfully was already open, and managed to slowly maneuver her way through into the room beyond.

The rooms occupant was sleeping thankfully, his arms were both in slings and she could have easily overpowered him even if they weren't but it was better not to make too much mess just yet.

Although the slontze is using the only bed here, maybe if I just nudged him off but tried to keep him alive? No, a bed's not a good position anyway.

She floated towards one of the rooms chairs instead, easing herself slowly into it she finally managed to support herself rather than using her powers to do so. It was effective but if she became addled again and pushed just a little too hard she could easily dash herself against the roof by accident.

She folded her hands on her lap and waited, the doctor hadn't seemed to be in when she'd checked at the other windows but with patients in such bad shape someone had to come check on them soon.

The minutes passed in silence as her pain slowly eased up, becoming if not quite completely absent then at least tolerable for now.

Her phone finally showed signs of noise nearby, a patient just moving around? No, it was getting louder, someone moving steadily closer, finally they were close enough for the sounds they were making to register, the application doing its best to convert them to speech.

It seemed the doctor was back and checking on some of his patients.

The handle of her room's door finally began to turn.

"Good day doctor." Impact said softly, wary of straining her throat or letting her weakness come through in her voice. But many Epics chose to adopt the creepy soft-spoken theme, it wouldn't be too unusual.

"I have a few matters that need seeing to before the rest of your patients, and please don't make a big fuss about it, I just had to empty one hospital of patients I'd rather not empty another."

[Edgedancer he/him]

Baxter finished changing Brian’s bandages after cleaning his wounds. “You’ll have to stay here a bit longer but we’ll get you back on your feet soldier.”

“Good to know, doctor.”

 

After giving some more reassuring words, Baxter took his leave and got ready for his next patient, which would be Daniel Lear. The poor guy ended up with both of his arms broken and an arrow to his lower thigh, which luckily didn’t hit any bones. He would have to-

 

MV was in the room, sitting in a chair and rather worse of wear. It was hard to tell across the room what exactly was wrong with her but how she held her own body while sitting alone made it clear that she would need proper care.

 

"Good day doctor," she said in a voice so unnaturally soft it just further made him worried about her. "I have a few matters that need seeing to before the rest of your patients, and please don't make a big fuss about it, I just had to empty one hospital of patients I'd rather not empty another."

 

It was as if the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. That was unmistakably a threat. Worse yet it also sounded like she already had been slaughtering innocents. He may have only met her shortly but had a hard time believing that this was supposed to be the same girl that was tearfully searching for her sister. Who was alone, during the invasion, possibly fighting a panda army. Cursed Calamity.   

 

Twins?

 

One way or another, it wouldn’t change how there was an Epic girl sitting in his clinic and threatening his patients. Some people in the city may very well tell him that one should under no circumstances negotiate with Epics, however these people also didn’t have wounded, who wouldn’t even be able to properly defend themselves against a normal assailant, under their immediate care.

 

“I see,” the doctor said, trying to stay as calm as possible. “I never turn down a patient by principle.”

Edited January 8, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Voidus]

A flicker of recognition seemed to cross the doctors face when he walked in on her, which meant one of two things. Either he'd gotten her description from Deathwish or else he'd met Megan.

"You've probably met my sister Megan." Impact said, trying to draw as much information out of the doctor as she could without giving him any in return.

 

If Megan was still in town that could be dangerous, but she had to take some risks. If she was wrong she'd just have to destroy the building after all, which would bring the city's guards down on her but then she was confident in her ability to outrun them.

 

"Well regardless, I find myself in need of someone with medical knowledge and access to pharmaceuticals. Oh and while we're at it, any information you might have on the Epic called Deathwish."

The last part was a longshot, from what she knew of the Dalles it seemed they valued their loyalty pretty highly but someone that abrasive had to have plenty of enemies. And even the tiniest of hints could help her, one wrong attempt on the slontze's life and she could accidentally kill herself.

Slowly she reached inside her pocket, pulling out the packet of painkillers she'd received from the other hospital, she threw it to the doctor.

"And a refill on this."
 

Scribbler woke up in a cold sweat, shuddering in remembrance of that horrible horrible dream. Why did she have to relive the worst moment of her life over and over again? Every night was the same, the lights, the party, her friends all laughing and getting drawn away one by one, and then he'd arrived.

She shut the memories out, bringing her mind back to the here and now. Bad enough she had nightmares she was not going to give them any of her attention while she was awake.

The dreams were something she hadn't even shared with Autumn Glass in her sessions. She knew she was broken and she doubted the councilor could fix that aspect. Besides, she didn't want to talk about what had happened that night. Not to Autumn, not to her parents, not to anyone.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she took out her phone and glanced at the time, groaning as she realized it had barely been two hours since she'd passed out on her bed.

She reached for one of her pens, summoning herself a glass of cold water and a cup of chamomile tea. It tasted horrible but it did help her calm down. Her breathing slowly returned to normal, the sweat drying from her skin.

She flopped back down onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Times like these I wish I had a pet." She said to herself.

"Something cute and squishy. And preferably something able to strangle Arsey when he makes me pull all nighters on stockpiling duty."

She pulled her pillow closer and closed her eyes once more. Maybe this time she'd be able to get a few solid hours without waking up shaking from those stupid dreams.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Apparently the girl sitting here in his clinic really was the sister and she wanted painkillers from him. From their strength he figured that her weary appearance was because of a rather serious wound. Judging by her interest in Deathwish, there was a good chance that he was the one that caused the wound.

 

Not seeing much of another choice Baxter played along for now, “Yes, I meet your sister. She was searching for you and from what I heard left the town doing so.”

 

He didn’t know if she would also leave to reunite with her sister but he wouldn’t be able to tell any convincing story should she ask where exactly MV could be found. He wasn’t quite sure what to make out of her reaction either. At first she was simply looking at her phone, speech to text maybe? Her actual reaction followed a short moment later. Still, the most he could infer from her blank look was that she still cared to some capacity about her sister.

 

 “As for Deathwish, if you already had an encounter with him I doubt that there’s anything new I can tell you. For the medication,” Baxter held up the packet of pills she threw him, “I will have to get them from the back.”

 

"Well then" she said in the same soft voice. "Lead on." She gestured for Baxter to go first and then slowly extricated herself from the chair.

 

"I don't recommend trying anything like swapping the pills though." She warned as she stood up. "It wouldn't be particularly safe for the rest of your patients. Just give me what I want and I'll leave them as healthy as I found them."

 

Thus with an Epic behind him he carefully made his way towards the back of his clinic, where he stored the medication. They came across no patients, all of them still save in their rooms, and Neko warily kept her distance from the girl.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Mailliw73 he/him]

 

Emma heard static crackle from Arsenal's radio about renegade Epics. "Change of plans, Ms. Runes. I believe you are needed on Liberty Street." Emma nodded. She turned and left the building, dreading and anticipating using her powers for the first time in more than a few hours. She leapt out the doors and switched her gravitational pull, flying towards Liberty street. She hurtled at dangerous speeds, not caring much. If anyone got in her way, they'd be sorry. She flew around a corner, seeing a group of soldiers and a familiar face. 

 

Emma stopped and went back over to the group of soldiers. "Sorry, guys, but I'm supposed to take Ethan with me to fight some renegade Epics." The guards opened their mouths to protest, but Edgerunner spoke over them. "Ask Arsenal if you need to, but we need to go right now!" She grabbed Ethan's hand and pulled him away, flying towards Liberty Street again. 

 

Edgerunner yelled over the wind, "Sorry to grab you like that, but I didn't want to go on my own." Ethan began borrowing her velocity to propel himself like they had done the night before. Emma felt the drag, but tripled her speed quickly. She was already getting used to this. "There are renegade Epics in a school bus on Liberty Street. We're supposed to neutralize them."

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

"But... but there's something happening! I can hear it on your radio!"

 

Again, no response. Alright, fine. Spark The Dalles, and spark its prissy definitive article. "I'm going off the walls, Calamity-sparking crazy here. How long have I been in custody?"

 

"Ten hours."

 

"Ten hours! Do you have any idea how long that is in Epic years? I need to breathe the free air! I need to feel the wind between my hair follicles! I need to... to have my personal bubble respected! I wasn't made for the prison life. Could you radio someone? Or... something, to let me go and kill some people? Like, radio your boss. Call your boss right now. Your boss can free me, right?"

 

"No, she actually can't"

 

Crush responded by lifting his head up and letting out the longest, most dickish sigh he could muster.

 

"There are exactly two people with the power to clear you. Autumn Glass and the commander. Normally, you'd be a priority, but, eh..."

 

"Stuff is actually happening."

 

"Yes."

 

"Well you're forgetting that there's a third person with the power to clear me, and it's me. I'm honestly about two Epic-hours away from just literally going insane and tearing out my own spleen."

 

The guard raised an eyebrow.

 

"That's like, thirty seconds in your time. Please. This isn't ethical."

 

The guy sighed, shrugged, and then, blessedly, pulled out his radio. "Any idea where Autumn Glass is? The prisoner is becoming unstable."

 

After a few bits of random chatter, a voice buzzed in. "Glass is at the church already, she's just working on becoming accustoming to her new bodyguards"

 

"Well, could you have her interview my Epic now?"

Edited December 17, 2015 by Mckeedee123

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Autumn knew, from the chatter over the soldiers' radios, that the rest of her morning would not go according to plan. Her notes were nowhere near organized when Beth Rogers poked her head in, radio in hand. 

 

"Got a new Epic for you to clear, Glass." 

 

"Can it wait? Vondra still has to clear Jack, and I don't know how long he'll be." 

 

"And Crush's guards don't know how much longer they can hold out." 

 

Autumn tossed Beth a look, which she returned with two raised eyebrows. Lovely. This Crush (she thought she recalled seeing it prefixed with Orange on her list of Epics to be cleared) wasn't causing mayhem so much as making a fool of himself—which, knowing Epics, was the first step toward casualties. 

 

And in the meantime, it meant a handful more Guards would wish Vondra allowed them to drink on duty. 

 

Autumn glanced at Jack, seated in the extra chair across from her desk. Awaiting Vondra's judgement. She could leave him here at the Church, surrounded by the City Guard and their knowledge of how to bring him down….and break Vondra's brand-new protocol before it was a day old. She'd go in without a bodyguard, to interview an Epic whose secondary power appeared to be infuriating anyone assigned to guard him, who could very well lose any semblance of control he possessed. 

 

If she took Jack along, she'd have a bodyguard—one who could lose control just as quickly as the one he guarded her from. 

 

The difference was, Jack didn't want to lose control. 

 

There was another round of annoyed chatter over Beth's radio, and Autumn made her decision. 

 

"So, Jack," she said, meeting his gaze, "how'd you like to prove you're clean a little early?" 

[Edgedancer he/him]

 

Listening in on the chatter that came in over radio Jack tried to fill in as much about the current situation of the Dalles as he could. He himself would not be joining the front lines for now, instead he’d be keeping Autumn safe, but it would be good to know his team back out there at their full capability.

 

It also helped to keep his mind on something practical instead of permanently worrying about whatever Vondra may have in stock for him.

 

It was then that a request arrived for Autumn to deal with an especially irritating Epic scheduled for an interview, before either he or his guards lost their last semblance of patience and did something to escalate the situation beyond what Autumn could deal with or anything but a bullet administered to the skull and similar measures, for that matter.

 

And Autumn planned to deal with the situation, right now.

 

Not that it was an unreasonable choice. If anything, dealing with the situation before it can turn into an actual problem was what should be done. The better question was, if it was alright for him to accompany her without gaining Vondra’s approval first. He could throw many reasons around in his head, ranging from the risk of meeting first with an Epic that was apparently capable of shaving down his guards’ endurance, that a show of control would help his case and how he plain shouldn’t just follow his impulses, especially once he started thinking about the benefits for himself. There was however one simple reason dominating his doubts. Autumn was going and his job was to keep her save and he planned to see that job done. Well, at the very least it was supposed to become his job.

 

“I’ll be right behind you,” he said holding her gaze, “just lead the way.” He noticed the urge to straighten his collar but managed to suppress it. It may be best to deal with the worse one first.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Edgedancer

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

"I'll be right behind you. Just lead the way." 

 

Autumn knew, from the way he held her gaze, that Jack knew exactly how serious this was. There was no protocol in place for a situation like this, but if the interview went badly, they'd be guilty of retroactively breaking whatever rules Vondra made after the fact. 

 

Are you sure about this? that voice in back of her head whispered. ​If this fails, Jack'll go back to prison at best. At worst….

 

She pointedly banished images of a firing squad from her mind, choosing to glance through her notes instead. Transcripts from her interview with Jack. No matter how she looked at it, it said one thing:  I lost control, but I've got it back. I want to keep it this time. I'll make sure things are different. 

 

This new Epic might not give him a choice. He'd managed to annoy enough of the Guard to buy an early interview.

 

Autumn hesitated as her radio crackled. "Glass? Can I get an ETA?" 

 

If this goes wrong, she decided, standing and collecting her notes, Vondra will pin it on me. I'll make sure of it. 

 

"Give me your precise location, and Jack and I'll be there in just a few minutes."

 

"Jack…Vapor Snake's coming?" 

 

It's on me. If this goes wrong, it's my fault. "Yes. We'll be right over." 

[Aonar he/him]

 

It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes later when the uncomfortable silence of their walk was interrupted by Emma’s appearance. Before anyone had a chance to respond, she’d grabbed Ethan by the hand a pulled him up into the air. Well. That was unexpected.

 

"Sorry to grab you like that, but I didn't want to go on my own," she said, shouting over the wind. Go where? He reflexively started shifting her kinetic energy, keeping her from pulling her arm out of joint. "There are renegade Epics in a school bus on Liberty Street. We're supposed to neutralize them." That answers that, then.

 

Something still felt a little odd. It was nice to know he hadn't completely screwed things up last night, and he could definitely be useful in something like this, but after the welcome he'd received yesterday, this didn't seem quite right. Unless the threat was way bigger than Emma was suggesting, it didn't strike him like the sort of thing that would get intervention from an unknown Epic sanctioned. 

 

Usually, he wouldn't give a spark about the whims of an authority figure, especially not when spending time with a pretty girl was involved. But it was one thing for him to piss of a dictator, and a whole different one for said pretty girl to do it on his behalf. He was about as near bulletproof as one could be without actually being so. She wasn't.

 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” He yelled back, straining to be heard over the wind. “Maybe it’s just my impression, but the higher-ups in this town don’t seem like the sort of people who’d authorize this. Not that being rescued from spending more time with Reader is objectionable, but I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

Edited December 20, 2015 by Aonar Faileas

[Edgedancer he/him]

As they locked eyes an understanding formed between Autumn and Jack. They were about to do something rather risky. The only thing he got the feeling they haven’t come to an understanding about was who would try to take the blame later on it things went smoking. On the bright side, if they could still argue about it afterwards then they only had to deal with something along the lines of imprisonment or a firing squad for him and not an seriously injured Autumn.

 

With decisions made, Autumn announced their departure. Crush’s guards didn’t exactly sound like they expected him to come along. Then again, they had no reason to do so, he doubted that anyone of them had heared of him being allowed out of Stormgate.

 

On their way Jack called on as much info about Crush’s, or Orange Crush to be more specific, as he could, his power portfolio specifically. Luckily, he had purely physical powers, forcefields, even if they had a bit of a gimmick. Something he could deal with rather easily if he had to. He would also be capable of making sure they do not manage to hurt Autumn. The two of them also settled the basics of how they wanted to approach the situation.

 

Upon their arrival at the interview site the guards lead them to the room Orange Crush was seated in. There was a certain tenseness to the soldiers but as far as he could tell that was simply a result of the overall situation and having to guard an Epic of questionable safety. Said Epic, at the very least, justified his new name. His desire to wear orange, including a hefty amount of hair dye, seemed even stronger than Jack’s own urge to stay dressed.

 

Autumn seated herself in across of Crush and Jack took position behind her, close enough that he could gift her powers, if needed. He got the feeling that gifting her powers in advance and having her puff into smoke at random would not be conductive for the conservation with Crush.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa was absent-mindedly shooting ice out of her fingers as she lay on the bed in the infirmary, staring at her shot up leg and her dress covered in blood. After covering her leg in a protective layer of ice, she stood up, looking around. There was to be no more wasting time....its not what Anna would have wanted...

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Orange Crush certainly lived up to his name. Clad in orange from head to toe, hair dyed a garish shade, eyes peering out from beneath orange lenses—Epics liked to go with themes, but this was a bit extreme even by Epic standards. Or maybe her eyes just hurt to look at him and pain was clouding her judgement. 

 

What is it about godlike superpowers that makes people dress like morons? 

 

Well, except for Jack, she added with a small pang of guilt. 

 

In addition to an excess of orange, Crush wore a smile. Cocky. Indignant. The sort of smile designed to get under her skin and make her hurry the interview along. I work with Reader. The thought gave her a smile of her own. You'll have to try harder than that to get to me. 

 

Jack, on the other hand….

 

​…will be fine. 

 

Putting those thoughts aside, Autumn turned on her recording device and poised her pen. "Hello, Crush. I hear you're looking for an early release. Would you like to tell me your plans, should we choose to let you out?" 

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

"When I get out? Uh, let's see..." Crush stopped smirking and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "First, I will travel to a nursing home." He nodded emphatically, waiting for a response.

 

Autumn cocked an eyebrow. "A nursing home. When you find one that's still standing, you mean." 

 

"Yes. I will help the old people across the street. And buy them groceries."

 

"Uh-huh. And what will you do with all of that free time on your hands?" 

 

"I will donate blood. And I will go the highway and pick up litter. And teach motivational seminars. And, um... community service. Just a lot of community service. Man, I just love... communities. And the serving of them. Yep."

 

Nailed it.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Mckeedee123

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Crush leaned back with a self-satisfied smile, as though every word he'd spoken hadn't been patently ridiculous. 

 

"I'm impressed," she said, giving as sincere a smile as she could manage. Then again, he didn't seem very good at reading people, so he might not pick up on any sarcasm that might slip through. "Most members of the City Guard wouldn't jump straight to community service, after being released from prison." 

 

He shrugged modestly. "What can I say? I'm pretty awesome." 

 

"That motivational seminar you mentioned sounds promising. We don't have many of those here. I'd like to hear what you had in mind for your first session."

 

"Oh. Um. Material, huh? I didn't really... I mean, um... heroes. I would do it on heroes. I would just talk about all of the heroic people, and objects, and animals, that I've encountered over the course of my life. Mozart. He was a hero. And Leonardo da Vinci. And Einstein. And the polio vaccine. And... and... just so many heroes. And all the firefighters. But you know who my biggest hero is?"

 

She was beginning to see why the Guards had called her in so quickly. "Steelheart?" 

 

"It's you, Autumn. Wait, is... yes, yes, it's Autumn, right? Well you're my hero. You're just so... heroic. In all the ways." He pointed at Jack. "And you. You're a hero, too! You're all heroes! Just... everyone. In this room. Man, I'm just flattered to be in the same room... as all these heroes. Man."

 

"That must be why you demanded early release. All of the heroism was just too much to handle."