What Happened in Corvallis

[Voidus]

Watching the battle of the elements ensuing between Rainmaker and the attacking Epic, Cornucopia wished strongly that she at least had a chair to lounge in. All this standing and fighting was incredibly boring, perhaps she could excuse herself under the grounds that she could restock her gardens? Find some more combative plants?

No, Rainmaker had asked her to stay. Plus with this level of combat she'd need Rainmaker to provide sunlight if she were injured.

A burst of flames nearby caught her attention, coming as it did from a different direction to the Epic Rainmaker was fighting.

Another one? How many surprise Epics is this day going to throw at us? Are they part of the group who kidnapped Euphy? Too big a coincidence otherwise.

Cornucopia hated fire Epics, hated them more than any other, all they did was destroy. To be expected of an Epic of course but fire Epics were indiscriminate, almost always causing more damage than they meant to, they were chaos incarnate.

Time to introduce a little order then.

Reaching out to her gardens Cornucopia found what she was looking for. Water. Liters and liters of water, stored in bottles that grew from her plants.

Most fire Epics burned too hot to be doused with water, it evaporated before it could hit them. Fortunately however, steam would would help her conceal her next attack.

Launching a thousand bottles of water was a difficult task. Launching a thousand bottles of water held by the limbs of plants over a hundred meters away at a target the same distance away in a different direction was exceptionally difficult.

Sighing, Cornucopia took a firm hold of her plants, stretching her powers to the limit to control so many at once, she launched the water bottles, watching them soar through the air only to explode before they hit the Epic, spreading a cloud of scalding steam over him.

In the cover she took one of the guns from her guards, throwing it as far as she could with her own hands, which proved to not be very far. Still it was close enough.

The grass opened a hole in the ground beneath the gun, quickly burying it beneath dirt and root. Cornucopia focussed all her powers on it, forcing its months of growth to collapse into scarcely a minute. Cracks spread throughout the ground as the roots spread, people began to get pushed away as a single stalk reached for the sky, sprouting limbs as it reached the height of the people around it.

On each limb an identical weapon, they all turned towards the Fire Epic in unison.

[18th Shard he/him]

 

Phoenix flared his flames as thousands of water bottles flew at him, steam scalding the vanillas standing nearby. Phoenix smirked. He burned much to hot to be put out by water, even that much water. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the mechanism that released the water, but the steam was in the way - was that a pole, or a crane? He heard a deafening crack, and spun to look at Rainmaker, looking for the lightning she had just created. Lightning didn't bother Phoenix - he'd already killed that weak electric Epic on his way to Corvallis, and --- pain clawed his side as bullets tore through him. Sudden warmth soaked his shirt, and he held his side, blood pouring over his hands. He screamed in agony, falling to the ground, and a second volley tore apart his torso. Phoenix gasped, his mind going dark. No, Not again, I need to... I.... His body sparked, then caught fire, ashes forming in seconds where his body had been. A wave of flame rolled out, singeing the ground in a perfect circle around him.  Then the flames died, the ashes cooling on the charred ground.

Edited May 12, 2015 by 18th Shard

[Comatose he/him]

 

As par for the course compared to the rest of the day, everything seemed to happen at once.  One minute Chase was talking in Rainmaker's ear about yet another heat epic, the next the energy epic was shrugging off Rainmaker's hailstone and throwing her generosity back in her face.  Before Rainmaker could respond to the threat, another epic, seemingly the one Chase had just mentioned, arrived, assaulting her with some sort of fire attack.  

 

Rainmaker spun to face the new attacker, prepared to burst into cloud and reform once the fire attack connected, but the ball of flame missed her, dispersing as it connected with the wind field surrounding the energy epic.  The fire epic fired another beam of energy at the energy epic, likely hoping to provide her with an energy source.  Rainmaker lowered the temperature between the fire epic and the energy epic even more, while raising the humidity, hoping to snuff enough of the fire out before it reached its target.  She prepared to ready a barrage of rain and ice on the fire epic, but found Cornucopia had already begun an assault.  Thankful for the assistance, Rainmaker turned back to face her primary adversary just as Buttercup arrived with her restraints.  

 

Worried that the energy epic might find a way through her wind field, or use it to regenerate her energy, Rainmaker hurled several more large hail stones at her adversary, hoping to pin her down from all sides as well as above.  The epic might be able to stop the momentum and weight of the stones from crushing her, but hopefully they would serve to keep her pinned in one place until the other epics arrived to help restrain her.  

 

Rainmaker rose higher into the air, getting out of earshot of the energy epic before speaking into her mobile.  "Keep your distance Buttercup, we still don't know everything she can do."  The fire epic disappeared in a flash of fire after being shot by one of Cornucopia's plants.  "Cornucopia, do you think one of your plants could clamp on the restraints?  I'll try my best to work the temperature and humidity to keep her from burning them.  If you touch her as little as possible, maybe we can ensnare her.  Buttercup, keep an eye out for that fire epic.  He might be a teleporter or be able to reincarnate, and I do not want to be surprised by him again."  

[the winter system]

 "I can't kill anyone I want, can I? Why not? They aren't worth anything. These vanillas, they exist to be killed. As for your rules, I am above them. I have deigned to obey them insofar as they serve my purposes, but they do not bind me. I will kill whom I will. But don't worry; I won't kill you yet." Chase wanted to scream her frustration. This is one Epic who I am going to throttle.

 

 He threw something at the vanilla, who dodged it.

 

Actually, maybe not. He said he was a High Epic, right? I wouldn't want to kill one of those. That would make me a target and-

 

Sparks.

I'm a coward.

"I have something much worse in mind for you." A sphere of something closed around the vanilla. Chase jumped out of the body and picked another vanilla, one who was watching him stupidly. "I will leave you to watch your city burn, then kill you." 

 

 

"I never cared about this city, you know?" Chase whispered through the body, watching the vanilla snap to consciousness as she died. "It was... useful to be connected here. But I don't care. Rainmaker keeps me safe. Relatively unimportant. So I stay. But I'd tear it down. I helped her build this place up from nothing. And I don't care about this place. I'd run. I'd find somewhere else to go. Find some place to go. I already have plans in case I need to vanish. So don't talk about me like that."

 

Chase was speaking through the vanilla, so Rainmaker didn't overhear. She jumped to a vanilla watching the energy Epic.

 

"Your city will fall, Rainmaker! May it burn as a beacon of terror for Epics everywhere!" That was the fire Epic. They shot a bolt towards the energy Epic. Huh? 

 

Cornucopia threw water towards the fire Epic, using plants. Then the fire Epic collapsed to the ground. Some other attack. The vanilla hadn't seen it. Ashes formed around where the fire Epic had been. The ground was scorched.  

 

"Keep your distance Buttercup, we still don't know everything she can do." Rainmaker spoke into her mobile. Chase heard it through her real body. "Cornucopia, do you think one of your plants could clamp on the restraints?  I'll try my best to work the temperature and humidity to keep her from burning them.  If you touch her as little as possible, maybe we can ensnare her.  Buttercup, keep an eye out for that fire epic.  He might be a teleporter or be able to reincarnate, and I do not want to be surprised by him again."  

 

Chase let go of the vanilla and stood up with her real body. 

 

"I'll keep track of vanillas throughout the city. He told me he wanted to burn the city. And, and..." Chase's voice caught. I didn't realize I was important enough for that. "He said... he wanted to kill me. He also claimed to be a High Epic, so I assume that he has some kind of protective abilities. He seemed too arrogant for some minor Epic. He said he'd kill whoever he wants to, so I'm assuming he'll leave a path for me to follow."

 

Chase then yanked on one of the Tagged vanillas in one of her safe houses. She'd been jumping around from random vanillas and that was usually safe, but with an active death threat? She'd rather risk Rainmaker figuring out where one of her safe houses was than leave her body abandoned. The vanilla that she used to get here was sitting in her cell. This safe house was in the basement of the University of Oregon.

 

"Hello, Chase. Annoy Rainmaker?" The vanilla waved. Chase had... adapted the room for her own purposes. Her vanillas were allowed to speak freely because sometimes she needed someone to keep her sane. 

 

"No. Under death threat from rival Epic. Who appears to be dead for now, but I need to make sure he's not able to reincarnate or teleport." Chase sat down on her squishy bed. She loved squishy beds. It had taken a dozen of vanilla teams to get all the changes to her safe houses under control, but now they were comfy. The safe house had pink walls and pretty paintings. The iron bars that she had installed and the locks and vanillas stationed all over the place to act as a camera system kinda spoiled the effect, but oh well. There were also pillows everywhere. "Also need a break from all the gloom and doom."

 

Chase lay down on the squishy bed. It's covers were bright blue. She pulled the covers over herself. "Now, if a random fire Epic comes in and starts burning any of you guys-" she addressed all of this safe house's vanillas through the Tags- "just holler." 

"Funny." The vanillas had their own rooms. The place was actually a lot more secure than it seemed. None of them had ever tasted Euphoria. Chase had brought them all in from places in chaos. No use yanking them away from a utopia, right? Now they were grateful for her saving them. Most of their cages had tons of pillows and stuff. 

 

She tapped into Chain view and scanned through the eyes of every vanilla looking for the fire Epic. I'll just do this unless Rainmaker wants me for something else. She thought to herself. 

[mail-mi he/him]

(Warning! The following post has Mistborn: The Final Empire spoilers, and is therefore in spoiler tags. If you want to read the post and haven’t read TFE, then just PM me for a modified version.)

 

 

Before much of the fighting could happen, Gregory had happily and speedily returned home. He lived in a small house on a relatively peaceful street that had barely seen any Epic destruction, except that one time. Even as he stepped up to his front door he was deciding which book to study--Mistborn, or Alcatraz. Mistborn was much more like his situation, but Alcatraz still talked about an evil ruling class that a relatively normal person had to face and defeat. Which one... Gregory thought, stepping studiously up to his bookshelf and scanning for the well-used Sanderson books. Well, why not both?

 

For the next few hours, Gregory scanned through Mistborn and its series, Alcatraz, and even The Way of Kings a couple of times, looking for what he could use. On a third scan-through of Mistborn, he realized exactly what he needed to do: 

 

Infighting.

 

That was what Kelsier’s plan had been, and it had worked. That was what had distracted the Lord Ruler from the skaa long enough to allow Kelsier to bring in an army. 

 

Speaking of which, I’m going to need an army... Briefly, Gregory thought of Chase, but pushed that idea aside, telling himself that he couldn’t involve the Queens in his plan, and he hated them, just like Kelsier hated the nobles. I’ll take care of the army later. Now, I need to get the nobles on each other’s backs, but how?

 

Kelsier had used Vin as Valette to get into the balls, and it had worked. Gregory knew exactly what he needed to do. 

 

I need to recruit someone on the inside...

Edited May 14, 2015 by mail-mi

[Voidus]

Try to restrain her with plants? The Epic who'd just burned through a dozen citizens?

Sighing, Cornucopia replied to Rainmaker, there was only one answer that Corvallis' ruler would accept.

"Well I can try it at least." She said into her mobile

She found an acorn near to the Epic, probably tossed there by Rainmaker's winds, and sending her power rolling into it, guiding it's roots deep into the earth to anchor it Cornucopia then focused on its growth. Even for her powers a full sized oak tree could not be coaxed into existence in a mere moment but she guided its growth into a small sprout, rushing it still further until a small sapling stood by near the Epic.

"Standing by, I'll need someone to get the restraints close enough that I can take over"

If the Epic burned through the tree she might be able to surprise them by planting the restraints to create another, but there were no living plants close enough to move the dirt.

Focusing on the oaks root system again, Cornucopia sped their growth disproportionately to the main trunk, creating thicker roots that spread through the ground underneath the Epic. Hopefully she'd be too distracted by Rainmaker to notice the slight trembling as the roots shoved dirt aside to make room for their growth.

"If all else fails I can grow an orchard around her" She suggested to Rainmaker "If she burns them down the smoke will start causing breathing problems, especially if you can keep it there."

[The Honey Badger he/him]

What happened next almost couldn’t be explained. Nigh simultaneously the rogue power convertor began their assault. Rainmaker’s counter- attack turned the world into a haze of wind and hail around the rogue epic. Police and crowd scattered in all directions as the Epics raged. Tonedeath heard orders for Cornucopia and some intelligence from Chase regarding some other Epic threat. Some kind of fire- epic supposedly. Tonedeath dampened the sound of the wind in a bubble around them

 “We need to head for the tunnels, and then to point A. We can’t fight these guys on the ground. Maybe we can give support from above, but not now.”

“Got it, let’s go”

Tonedeath, upon entering the city, established routes through the sewers and water ways to get to established bases. One such route was through some old water tunnels and then into the sewer system. A hole cut into the basement of a building provided access form the sewers into Base A.

Tonedeath and Larry sprinted for the water tunnel that used to empty into the river. There used to be a grate, but it had been removed when the base had been constructed. A massive explosion of steam followed by multiple volleys of gunfire, erupted from the area where the spectators had just recently stood. Larry made it to the tunnel first quickly followed by Tonedeath.

“Are you sure this is the best idea,” Larry asked, “I mean, Rainmaker might be angry.”

“We’ll be fine, you have weapons in the base right?”

“Yeah”

“Perfect, we’ll be lots of help.”

Tonedeath and Larry ran through the sewers, gross but necessary, until they reached the entrance to Base A. Tonedeath boosted himself up and then helped Larry in. They climbed out of the basement and began to climb the flights of stairs until they reached the top floor. They were a good distance away from the site of the demonstration. Larry let themselves in to the room that they had secured and stockpiled in.

“Get two sniper rifles and meet me on the roof.” Tonedeath ordered as he pushed through the door they had made onto the roof of the old apartment building. Larry followed soon after. They looked out on the scene unfolding on the field to the east.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched.

Scott watched the explosions and chaos of the rebel beat-down from afar. There is no way that they’d drag him into that death trap. He had watched the rebel Epics begin their assaults, ‘that’s not the way to go about killing Rainmaker and the queens, you needed a plan’ he thought to himself. He was watching through some binoculars and saw two forms slipping away, he zoomed in enough to see Tonedeath’s reflective stripes, and knew he had found his target.

“Now, where could you be going,” Scott mused to himself aloud.

Tonedeath had been one of his targets for a while now, he had a useful purpose, but was weak offensively and defensively. He knew that the Queens of Corvallis were built on a high stack of regular humans, infrastructure, and weak Epics. He knew that in order to bring the top down, you had to remove the supports.

Scott saw where the air was heading, towards the old water tunnel that they had redone. But a massive explosion of steam abruptly arose from the field obscuring his view. Scott had went down into the sewers after he learned that Tonedeath was doing something down there. Scott pulled out a hand-drawn map of Corvallis, he had traced the sewer lines in green and had marked the access point in black, to the building that they were heading for. In order to be able to get a good shot off at Tonedeath, and maybe the sidekick, Lawrence, he had to get closer preferably another similar sized building. Most windows were boarded up nowadays, so they would obviously make their way to the roof, perfect for one well placed shot.

 He was sitting on an old roof of a suburban house that had fallen into ruin. He boosted himself off, and began running towards a dumpster that the whole neighborhood had once used. The trash had stopped being collected, so it was the perfect place to store things. He climbed into the dumpster and dug around until he found his duffel bag. He had a few weapons inside and pulled out his sniper rifle. He began moving towards a nearby apartment building, though not the one that Tonedeath and Lawrence would enter.

He entered the old building with little effort, the doors were old, and hadn’t been maintained and the windows had been quickly boarded up, easy access in almost anybodies eyes.  He found the stairwell and began to climb. Tonedeath was probably already in his building, the thought made Scott climb faster. When he reached the top floor and entered one of the rooms, he realized that there was no easy way to the top, he didn’t have time to break down the door that maintenance would have used. But there was a balcony. He pushed the old screen door aside and saw a good seven foot climb to the top. He saw a better area to climb three feet over, off the porch. He slung his gun over his back and jumped, grabbing onto the old rain gutter, and began to pull himself up. But the gutter bent and began to sag beneath his weight. Adrenaline surged and he, in one motion, pulled himself up onto the roof, behind him the bolts holding the gutter together busted and that section of gutter fell away, down into the streets. Then he saw them, the pair on the roof top, they were facing away from him and were looking at the scene on the field.

Perfect.

Edited May 23, 2015 by The Honey Badger

[the Gleeman he/him]

                                                    

 

     The Mannequin escorted IcyHot and Resistor to Buttercup so that they could safely restrain the mysterious converting epic. He had placed a small gang of  a dozen storefront mannequins around the epics as a precaution. The city was seeming more dangerous by the day. He stopped in front of Buttercup and stood at attention with his mannequins standing in orderly rows behind him.

"Officer Mannequin with the epics you requested my liege."

Mannequin took stock of the situation in his sight. How had this beautiful city deteriorated in so few days? No matter how it had occurred, he knew the worst was yet to come. It always was. 

 

     

 

 

 

[Blaze1616 he/him]

 

Seeing Mannequin arrive with IcyHot and Resistor, Buttercup jogged over to meet them. "No need to use Cornucopia's plants, IcyHot and Resistor are here," Buttercup spoke into her mobile quickly.

 

Returning Mannequin's salute, she ignored his use of the word liege, now wasn't the time to get snappy about trivial matters. "Good work," she replied, "Set up a perimeter using your puppets. I don't want this one getting away if IcyHot and Resistor fail."

 

She looked the other two Epics over. They seemed eager to help, which was a good thing. "You two, there's an Epic inside those winds. She seems to have the ability to absorb, convert, and expel energy in all its forms, including heat and electricity. You two need to work in tandem to get some of these industrial strength restraints on her. We don't want her getting away."

 

The two Epics nodded, heading off to grab the necessary supplies from the dump truck. Buttercup looked to Rainmaker and her sister. Today has been something else...

 

 

Blossom had stopped her ice breath, it wasn't helping any. Rainmaker seemed to have things under control anyway, and her chest's temperature returning to normal was welcome. Using her powers never bothered her, but it did feel weird. Hearing Buttercup's notification, relief swept through her. Perhaps now things can return to normal. Glancing to her sister, another Epic, a member of the police force, had also shown up. Blossom didn't recognize him, but if he was a member of the police then there was no reason to doubt him.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Blaze1616

[TheSilverDragon he/him]

pic to be inserted 'cause I'm on my tablet right now

Without the giant hail stone pinning her down, Converter was able to survey the battle ground. It seemed that they were in the middle of a run down baseball field. Part of the backstop was still standing, and she could make out were the bases were.

The air around Converter billowed and churned, but it never quite hit her. It seemed as if it stopped right before it even touched her. Odd. Converter stuck her hand into the air vortex, only to have it blown back. So it the wind doesn't touch me, just blows around me, Converter thought. Interesting.

Converter walked forwards, but she was prepared for the winds this time. She instantly started absorbing the wind’s kinetic energy when it hit her. She was at an impasse right now. She couldn’t move, because she was absorbing all of the kinetic energy, but if she stopped she would be blown back so she stopped moving to gather some energy for future use. Always be prepared, She thought to herself. I think someone important said that, but it doesn't’ matter who. I’m more important than them anyways.

A flash of something whipped past her vision, getting sucked up into the winds around her. She turned her head and saw a man throwing a blast of fire towards her head. What the spark’n, she realized what the epic was trying to do before she finished the sentence in her head.

“It won’t spark’n work,” she tried to yell, but the Calamity cursed winds blew her words away before they got anywhere. The bolt of fire was snuffed out before it could even get within three feet of her. Pathetic. She then watched as he was doused with water, and then shot. Spark’n pathetic excuse for an epic.

SHe was still looking at the pile of ashes that was that was left of the idiotic epic, when a loud thump sounded behind her. Turning around, she saw a large truck settle after being dropped. In the back were large chains. They think they can chain me up? I’ll burn anyone who tries to even touch me. Just then something large and white dropped in front of her and she felt something hit her back. Sparks, not again![/] Converter thought as giant hail stones fell from the sky to surround her. One would think that using hailstones would get old after a while.

Converter was crouched down again, and was getting really angry at Rainmaker. I will kill you she threatened inside of her head. I just need to get out of here first. She pushed her hands up against the cold block of ice in front of her, and started to absorb all of it’s heat energy. It didn’t give her that much energy, but it was something at least.

With her hands on the hailstone, she sent a jolt of kinetic energy into it, shoving it out of her way, and it knocked down the leaning backstop. She then sent her self after it, but at a slower speed. The winds around her knocked her back towards the three hailstones and before she could do anything, she was thrown into them.

Sparks that hurt she thought to herself as she got her wits back together after the hit. She immediately started to absorb all of the wind’s kinetic energy. TUrning her head, Converter could see Rainmaker standing there, watching her. She will die! Converter vowed to herself.

With the kinetic energy she had gotten from the wind, Converter threw one of the three remaining hailstones back at the weather epic. Lets see if she likes her own medicine. Converter thought bitterly. Movement in the corner of her vision caught her eye and she saw two people walked from the truck and started towards her with chains in their hands. A small contingent of what looked like store mannequins set up a perimeter around Converter. What in the name of Calamity? Converter thought. Why do they spark’n have mannequins?

The two Epics, at least Converter assumed they were Epics because Rainmaker didn’t seem stupid enough to send normals against her, got close to her and Converter readed herself for a fight. Edited May 23, 2015 by TheSilverDragon

[Comatose he/him]

 

Rainmaker allowed the thrown hail stone to pass through her as she shifted in and out of her cloud form, ignoring it for the annoyance it was.  She had noticed the epic react to the pain as she was knocked back into one of the remaining hail stones.  So she can be harmed.  Why the slam against the ice had succeeded where her falling hailstones had failed, Rainmaker could not tell, but any sign of weakness from her foe was a good sign.  

 

Rainmaker watched the epic carefully, reading to adjust her winds if needed to keep the epic in place.  "Move in with the restraints.  Cornucopia, keep an eye out for signs of trouble, and try to restrain her if she attacks.  If you can pin her down even for a moment with your plants, it may give Buttercup's men an opportunity to get the restraints on."

[Blaze1616 he/him]

 

Buttercup watched as IcyHot and Resistor gathered what they'd need to restrain the Epic still trapped by Rainmaker's winds. "Move in with the restraints.  Cornucopia, keep an eye out for signs of trouble, and try to restrain her if she attacks.  If you can pin her down even for a moment with your plants, it may give Buttercup's men an opportunity to get the restraints on." Rainmaker's voice spoke through her mobile.

 

Walking up to the two, she began tying weights to her ankles and waist, as well as theirs. If they were going to get through Rainmaker's winds they'd need to be heavy enough to not get blown away. As she finished, she looked at the Epics. "You two ready?" Seeing them nod, she grabbed them both by their arms, making sure to have skin to skin contact, and they began marching in unison towards the winds. 

 

If all went as planned, Buttercup's strength would keep them mobile with the weights in the wind, IcyHot's control over heat would negate any heat manipulation by the Epic, and Resistor would negate any electrical shocks she attempted to send their way as well. This all hinged on the three of them maintaining physical contact. 

 

Giving Rainmaker one last nod before moving in, Buttercup's breath whisked away as the torrential winds engulfed her. Taking a short moment for her and the other two to adjust, she had to breath more quickly to ensure the air wasn't stolen away from her. Once acclimated, they began their slow march forward once more.

 

Coming within a few steps of the Epic, Buttercup hefted the other two over and ahead of her. They had linked arms, ensuring their skin touched and allowing the use of both hands. They then moved in to restrain the hostile Epic.

 

 

Blossom's mobile buzzed softly in her ear as she waited for her call to connect. When the answer finally came, Blossom interrupted the greeting, allowing her irritability to bleed through her voice, in addition to her annoyance. "One of these days, Broadcast, your childish antics will get you killed."

 

"Oh-ho!" the reply sounded all too joyful, as though Blossom's annoyance pleased him. "Well,  happy to hear from you too, my liege. You seem to call me less and less these days. I feel like we're growing apart."

 

Blossom felt the urge to growl at him, give him an earful to put him in his place. She restrained herself, though. Even if she did rip him a new one, he'd probably just put her on mute to aggravate her more. Besides, he had called her liege. She loved that, even if she wouldn't admit it. The fact that he only did it to annoy Buttercup made it even better. "Your fake pouting will get you no where today. If you didn't know, we're in the middle of a crisis."

 

"Oh I know. Dreadfully awful. Just dreadful." his voiced was filled with fake concern. "What ever shall we do? At this rate, Epics will start getting picked off, right on the street!"

 

"Well, if we're lucky, you'll be the first to go. Now listen," she really didn't have time for banter.

 

"Oh!" he scoffed, interrupting her without any regards to her current situation. "You wound me!"

 

"Yeah yeah, listen! I don't have time for this! Can you confirm Bubbles's location?" 

 

"Fine, I see how valuable I am, you don't even have the time to talk anymore! Woe is me!"

 

Blossom kept silent. Sometimes the best way to deal with Broadcast was to simply ignore him. She watched as Buttercup approached the winds. Seeing her sister's nod to Rainmaker, Blossom held her breath for a short moment as the winds engulfed the three Epics. She needed to know Bubbles was secure. If Buttercup died, Blossom wanted to be able to rush to her sister should the need arise. She needed to know where Bubbles was.

 

Broadcast's voice broke Blossom's train of thought. "The car she's in just turned east onto 34."

 

Blossom nodded. That meant her sister was being taken to Bunker Beta, not Alpha. Broadcast wouldn't know that, though. "Thanks," she responded.

 

"Anything for you. Anything for you. Next time why don't you call just to tal-" Blossom hung up on the man, turning her full attention to Buttercup, IcyHot, and Resistor.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Blaze1616

[Comatose he/him]

 

Leila fumbled with her keys, praying that her father would not be waiting on the other side, sitting at their kitchen table.  "Listen Danny..." 

 

"I know, I know.  Just go downstairs, don't look at anyone, don't touch anything.  All your usual mumbo-jumbo."  Danny, oblivious to the fact that he had interrupted her, just gave one of those infuriatingly cheerful smiles of his.  

 

"I'm serious Danny.  No games like last time.  This thing between me and my dad; it's our business, and I don't want you getting caught up in it."

 

Danny rolled his eyes.  "Since when are you not serious?"  Leila fixed him with a flat glare.  "All right, all right, I get it.  No smart talk.  I'll head downstairs like a good pup, and wait for further instructions from my mistress."  

 

Leila scowled as Danny burst out laughing, wishing that her friend had at least one serious bone in his body.  Deciding that she couldn't reasonably delay opening the door any longer, Leila stuck her keys in and the door swung open.  

 

Her father was waiting on the other side, sipping a coffee as he worked on a cross word puzzle at the kitchen table.  

 

"You're home late," he said, checking the gold watch that Leila's mother had given him for their first and only anniversary.  

 

Leila waited until Danny was safely in the basement before responding.  "Daniel and I hung out in the library for a bit after school."

 

"Fooling around on the computers I suppose?"  Leila caught a slight grimace on her father's face as he glanced at the ripped boys' jeans, and baggy t-shirt she was wearing.  

 

"Actually, I was helping Daniel with his math homework."  Leila's glasses slipped down her nose a ways, and she pushed them back into place.  "We have a big test coming up, and he needs to be prepared."  

 

Leila's father studied her for a moment, letting the room go uncomfortably silent.  Finally, he spoke.  "So have you and Daniel made things official yet?" The way he said Danny's name made his distaste clear.  "You seem to have been seeing each other for some time.  I would love to officially meet him, instead of just greeting his back as he runs down the stairs." 

 

"For the last time, Dad, Daniel is just a friend, like he has been since elementary school.  Just because he's male and I'm female doesn't mean our unstoppable teenage hormones are pushing us together against our wills."  Leila adjusted her back-pack, and started towards the stairs.  "I'll let you meet him when you show me that can happen without you making things inappropriate and uncomfortable."  
 

"Let me meet him?"  Leila froze as she realized her mistake.  "This is my house, young lady.  Here, you don't let me do anything."  Her father was in the process of standing when a timer on the microwave went off.  Frowning, he looked down at his watch and sighed.  "Looks like my lunch is over, I'll see you after work.  I will expect you to be at home."  Leila's father picked up his blazer from where it was folded neatly over a chair, and headed out the door.  Leila waited to breathe until he was gone.  

 

Danny was waiting for her downstairs, pretending to check his email on her computer, even though she knew he had been listening to every word of their conversation.  Danny and his mother were best friends, he didn't understand that sometimes parents and children had complicated relationships.  To him, every fight or scrap between Leila and her father was some big tragedy that she needed to be comforted for, not realizing that was just the way things were.  

 

"Kind of weird how your dad takes his lunch breaks at, like, 3:15, just so he knows when you get home, isn't it?"  

 

Leila sat down on the couch nearby, shooting Danny a warning stare before she began taking out her books.  

 

"Ugh," Danny groaned.  "Are we really going to study?"

 

"We are if you want to pass English."  Leila had told her father they were studying Math because she knew it would frustrate his sensibilities.  To him, a young lady like Leila had no business being as good at Math as she was.  Science and Mathematics were male disciplines meant for Financial Consultants like him.  Leila was just lucky he still didn't force her into those awful pink dresses he used to make her wear, and that he had decided that sending her to those beauty pageants would be too embarrassing.  

 

"Fine."  Danny flopped down to the floor, spreading his arms and legs like he was making a snow angel.  "So, Romeo is from House Capumen..."

 

"Montague.  Capulet is Juliet's house.  Now get up, you know you don't learn anything if I'm just talking to you.  Let's go over the flashcards again."  

 

 

Euphoria blinked as the vision faded, and the world returned to black and white.  Looking to her side, she could see that Rainmaker seemed to have the situation with the rogue epic well in hand.  With IcyHot and Resistor, Buttercup should have the energy epic restrained soon enough.  

 

"Are you behind this one as well?" Euphoria asked, nodding towards the energy epic while ignoring the vision they had just shared.  She had given up trying to get anyone's attention.  Whatever Insight had done to her, she was completely incapable of being perceived by anyone besides him.  

 

Insight, as he now called himself, shook his head.  "No.  It's amazing, isn't it?  Just look how quickly things begin to fall apart without you.  Soon nothing will remain of this wretched place but dust and memory."  Insight fell silent for a moment, no doubt contemplating what he had just seen in Euphoria's past.  Calamity was cruel indeed to give such a power to a man like Insight.  Euphoria had to stop him before he could uncover too much, and ruin everything.  

 

"I wouldn't be so certain," Euphoria began, trying to distract Insight from his thoughts.  "Rainmaker is powerful.  Many epics like her rule through fear alone.  Look at the Diamond Queen in Astoria.  Lucentia has created an incredible alliance of powerful epics through will and force alone.  What's to stop Rainmaker from doing the same?  She still has Cornucopia to supply the city, and the other Queens to help control it.  All you've done is to provide her with a set-back."  

 

Insight smirked.  "Rainmaker is no Lucentia, and Corvallis is not Astoria.  Your fellow rulers have grown lazy, relying on your power to keep the population complacent.  True, we might need to help things along here and there, but you, my terrible Enslaver, are the the lynch pin that held this beautiful little nightmare together.  Without you, things will fall apart eventually.  The only question left is how and when."

 

Euphoria prepared to respond, but stopped when Insight held up a hand.  "No more talk.  We have more work to do."   

[Blaze1616 he/him]

 

As IcyHot and Resistor closed in, Buttercup focused her gaze on the trapped Epic. She seemed angry, furious even. She was watching the two Epics coming to restrain her like a predator watches prey, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Buttercup watched as the girl's eyes widened in shock when her powers didn't work.

 

Relief washed over the Queen. She had been worried that Blossom and Cornucopia were wrong about the girl's powers, worried that she'd lose two more Epics from her police force. That hadn't happened, and after the initial shock subsided, the Epic began fighting back, but it was too late, the restraints were mostly on.

 

As IcyHot and Resistor finished, they began to slowly back away, the Epic left to sit in her restraints and fume. She had calmed down, no longer violently trying to escape, but rather sitting there, eyes looking towards Rainmaker. Buttercup's gaze was drawn to the girl's eyes. They blazed with hatred, a fury unlike any Buttercup had seen before. She gasped softly for air, a chill running down her spine.

 

It was in that moment, staring at pure and unadultered anger, that Buttercup knew. They had won this fight, but they were far from winning the war.

 

 

Bubbles hummed as they drove along. She couldn't explain why, but she liked driving down 34. She enjoyed watching Corvallis fall away, and the farmland open up. She knew this area had, prior to Calamity, been filled with both farmland and neighborhoods, but that had all been flattened to give Cornucopia the space she needed. Cars and barrels of fuel grew side by side; industrial materials like chains, wire, and steel sheets grew in the next plot over; flat screen televisions, blu-ray players, and movies, titles by the thousands, grew in the following plot after that.

 

She found it calming, watching the vanillas work. Sweat glistened from their skin, far brighter than usual due to the field lights shining bright, allowing the workers to continue into the night. She turned to look at her drawing of Denver. It was no longer burning, and instead was being attacked by a flock of giant Pterodactyls, with one flying away clutching a whole building in its feet. Bubbles didn't know how plausible that was, the building staying whole and all. She did know, however, that she didn't care.

[Comatose he/him]

 

Rainmaker supervised as the energy epic was chained, and watched as the heavy chains were anchored to the ground.  Buttercup's security team worked quickly, wearing insulated suits to avoid being fried by any electrical currents coursing through the metal.  For the moment, if you ignored the fury in her eyes, the rogue epic seemed restful, watching and waiting for an opportunity to escape.   Rainmaker readied more hailstones to block her path should she try.  Rainmaker also applied a downward wind on the chain wherever her workers were not handling it, to prevent the epic from sending it flying as she had those hail stones.  

 

Finally, after a couple of close calls where Rainmaker had to step in to help subdue the epic again, the chains were anchored and tightened, trapping her in place.  One of the workers had his arm broken by a chain moved with kinetic energy, but otherwise, they had kept casualties in the later half of the attack to a minimum.  Rainmaker gave instructions to have a shelter built around the epic's area over night, so that once the sun rose behind Rainmaker's clouds, they could limit the amount of energy she could gain.  Once preparations were under way, Rainmaker made sure the bubble of freezing air was still in place around the epic, and then turned to leave.  She would return once the sun shelter was completed, to place protective winds around the make-shift prison, but for now the guards would have to suffice.  With epics to help, the construction of the sun shelter would not take long.  

 

Rainmaker landed back on the stage, feeling exhausted from the long day, and from all of the instructions she had been forced to give.  She was unused to coordinating her people directly, and her irritation with their inability to read her mind was evident.  Losing Euphoria was more than just a blow to the peace in Corvallis.  The loss of her administrative capabilities was a loss to Rainmaker as well.  

 

Rainmaker motioned for the remaining Queens, Buttercup, Cornucopia, and Blossom, to gather around her.  "It seems we have the situation in hand for the moment.  Now, it is time to decide our next move.  I cannot continue to be bogged down trying to explain my wishes to these simpletons.  For the short term, we will need to find a suitable replacement to perform Euphoria's administrative duties.  We also need to work out a plan of action to track down the other epics involved in the attack tonight, and for locating Euphoria.  Is there anything else you think we should add to the agenda?"

[Blackhoof]

Iconoclast walked through the streets, not running as he had before. Despite his desire to get back to Firefly's house, sprinting through the groups of vanillas and Epics returning to their own homes would have been too conspicuous given the skirmish at the riot. He needed to remain discreet.... For now at least.

Suddenly he overheard a few nearby vanillas talking about some fire Epic and energy Epic that had attacked after the "weird beast Epic" had been killed. Iconoclast's ears piqued, and he turned to the group. "More Epics? Thank Calamity I got out if there before they showed up, eh?"

The vanillas turned to him. "You sure are! One nearly got Robbie here. Well, thank goodness Rainmaker and her Queens killed that fire Epic and trapped the other." Interesting.... An energy Epic could make a useful ally. Iconoclast faked a smile and nodded, before leaving the conversation.

It took at least an hour to get back to the house. So many vanillas around, but he resisted the urge to kill or turn them. That was for tomorrow. Tomorrow, he would release the ghouls in his cellar and go out to those fields. The field workers he had passed looked like the type that would need a little more.... Freedom. Thry would be the first to rebel against Rainmaker and her tyranny. He would help them. "I'm such a good Epic" Iconoclast said aloud to himself, as he opened the door. Settling into Firefly's former bedroom, Iconoclast fell fast asleep, smiling at the thoughts of how many people he could kill tomorrow.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Blackhoof

[The Honey Badger he/him]

Scott quietly knelt down, he pulled out the small two part stand. It Clicked. Tonedeath leapt up and whirled around the sound illuminating Scott in his vision. Tonedeath whipped out his pistols, raising both simultaneously. Scott picked up the rifle manually and got a shot off. Tonedeath, anticipating this, had thrown himself to the side the moment before. Larry sprinted down to the inside. Tonedeath raised his pistols and began firing. Bullets began to shatter the plaster around him. Why did I ever think this was a good idea, Scott thought as he raised the rifle for possibly the last time. A bullet caught him in the leg as he pulled the trigger. Despite the pain, he saw Tonedeath crumple to the ground.

Larry, emerging from the lower level, saw this last part happen. He roared with rage and cast aside the massive machine gun he had just retrieved and disappeared back into the building. Scott took the opportunity to begin pulling himself away, his foot useless. Larry reemerged, this time brandishing an old RPG back from the United States days. Larry quickly aimed and fired a shot.

Fire, Pain, then Darkness.

 

Larry's Narrative

 

The roof of the building across from Larry exploded in flames. The assailant no longer a threat. Larry threw the gun to the ground, he raced over to Tonedeath’s side, without him he had no protection, no layer separating him from the rabble in that crowd, carelessly slain by an Epic’s hand. The shot had caught Tonedeath in the upper hip, almost gut. The armor piercing round shaved through Tonedeath’s chest plate, as the name implied. Blood already soaked his clothes and leaked onto the ground. 

Larry jammed in his earpiece, “Medic, we need a medic, I am at the apartments on Crystal lake Drive. Epic down, repeat Epic down. Tonedeath had taken a gunshot to about the stomach.”

Larry, remembering some first aid, tried to apply pressure on the wound and the like. But he knew that if real help didn’t arrive soon Tonedeath wold be dead, and soon after Larry would follow. 

Edited June 11, 2015 by The Honey Badger

[Tyson]

 

One year ago

 

Gunsmoke arrived in Corvallis with little more than the clothes on his back, the cigar in his mouth and the vague outline of a plan.

 

Stage one, conquer a city. Stage two, conquer the world. It was nothing fancy, Gunsmoke hated overcomplicating matters. In his mind, the two points of his plan was more than a sufficient start. It left ample room for improvisation and fewer chances of things going wrong. There’s no wrong decisions when you don’t have a plan, he told himself. Just detours.

 

The city itself seemed like the perfect place to begin. It was sustainable, defendable and most importantly, vulnerable. The Queens maintained their reign through manipulating the citizens rather than raw power. It worked well enough, he admitted as he looked around the bridge. Refugees, both human and Epic alike, mingled in an orderly crowd, waiting patiently for Rainmaker to make her entrance, to grovel beneath her radiance and make a new life in a seemingly pleasant city. Gunsmoke brushed the grip of his revolver in distaste. It was all so smokin’ perfect.

 

A platform was set up partway down the bridge, forming the official gateway into Corvallis. A mixture of bureaucrats and law enforcement officers stood on the raised platform watching the crowd and writing notes down on clipboards held tight against their chests. Here to, humans and Epics shared job roles. He could pick them out so easily. How they stood. How they held their weapons. Most of all it was in their eyes. They watched the crowd intently, where the dark shades of fear lurked behind the eyes of humans, Epics watched everyone with a sense of paranoia, as if they expected Steelheart himself to attack at any given moment.

 

Thunder rumbled in the distance, a strange sound on such a clear day, and one by one people began to turn their eyes skyward, a growing murmur of excitement running through the crowd. Gunsmoke watched as nervous frowns were replaced with smiles on the crowds lips. He narrowed his eyes. Someone’s playing with emotions, he thought, scrutinizing each Epic on the platform with renewed interest.

 

Another bout of thunder pulled his attention back to the sky, where a cloud coalesced in the air directly above the bridge, momentarily casting a shadow over the audience. People pushed against each other, though the humans wisely left Gunsmoke a circle of space. A single, golden ray of sunlight broke through the blanket of cloud and cast its light at the centre of the platform.

 

Then she came. The personification of sun and snow, wind and water, thunder and lightning. Rainmaker fell from the sky, illuminated by the single ray of sunlight, her arms stretched wide and faint rainbows trailing her fingers.

 

Smiles of nearby humans widened. Excitentment buzzed among the crowed as they watched Rainmaker descend. Gunsmoke watched, not in awe, not in respect, he watched for weakness. If this city would be his, the Queens would have to fall. A chorus of cheers rose in the crowd as humans called to Rainmaker, begging for her blessing. A small girl nearby broke into laughter as her father lifted her onto his shoulders. Gunsmoke had twiched to his revolver, sweat beading his forehead and his hands shook in anger. The urge to kill rising inside him.

 

Humas shouldn't act like this. They should cower and hide and keep their lips closed. It all felt so wrong. Unatural.

 

Wind buffeted the crowd as Rainmaker’s feet touched the platform and she began her welcoming speech, but Gunsmoke looked past her, focussing instead on the sharp suited bureaucrats and uniformed police force that had greeted the refugees on the bridge. Rainmaker didn’t hold the power here, he realized. Corvallis wasn't ruled with forks of lightening and torrents of wind. Corvallis was ruled with joy.

 

There was a dangerous Epic here. An Epic more dangerous than any of the other Queens. An Epic that must be killed.

 

And just like that, Gunsmoke had formed the next part of his plan.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Tyson

[18th Shard he/him]

Phoenix struggled in the darkness, the void consuming him, the darkness burning his very essence. He was burning, always burning, consumed, yet still on fire, his flesh devoured by tongues of lightless flames. A small orange flame ignited above his chest, tiny and insignificant compared to his pain, but he stared at it. The darkness receded around the flame, blazing bonfires erupting, pushing back the dark. Phoenix yelled, sensations returning to his senses, the night sky gleaming above him. Phoenix looked around at the charred circle around him, the startled guards drawing guns, the beautiful life and light around his ashes. He breathed deeply and held out both hands, a column of white-hot flames surrounding him, cocooning him from the dangers outside. A gunshot went off, but the bullet melted away, the metal droplets falling over the ground. Phoenix turned in a circle, searching for a way out. He spun, looking at the puppet-like guards. They continued to fire bullets ineffectually at him, metal splashing on the ground. Can't get out, gotta leave. I won't be killed again, I won't. Phoenix glanced at the energy Epic restrained, then turned away. As he held out both hands, the column flared, expanding to nearly double its size, burning so bright it was hard to look at. Singeing guards and trees alike, it morphed into a figure that roughly resembled him, holding a flaming sword. "Die, humans!" Phoenix screamed, then turned and ran, hoping against hope that the giant, flaming him would distract them. It swung its massive sword as he jumped behind a tree, then ran for his life. Fortunately, he had run track in college. He ran as fast as he could, adrenaline pushing his feet over the rough ground into the trees, guards scrambling behind to find where he'd gone. Phoenix sprinted into an apartment complex, stopping behind an old man opening his door. Phoenix grabbed the elderly man, wrenching the key from his hand, burning the man into thin air with his offhand. He twisted the key, slamming the door behind him. Safe, for now, he heaved in relief.

  

Jumpdrive leaned back in his chair, careful to keep his bare feet on the ports below. His office in the Valley Library basement had a new floor-to-ceiling screen on one side and several massive, high tech hard drives on the other. Remote controls for scores of toy helicopters, cars and bugs that he had placed all over the city sat on the third wall, each labeled in order. Wires coiled around the walls and floor, connecting every device to his computer desk, the flatscreen on the fourth wall displaying a single video at half-time. Information streamed into his mind in tiny 0s and 1s, recording the spy cameras' footage from all over the city, but the footage in front of him held his attention. He hit the replay button, slowing the movie down to quarter speed. "Legolas clearly miscounted, he clearly killed two Orcs with that arrow - he should be tied with Gimli at this point." Opening the proper folder in the Corvallis Archives, Jumpdrive added the new entry onto the note, then closed the file. He spun back toward the large screenwall, looking at the field where Epics had attacked earlier. The Queens had moved earlier to the far side of the park - no point in discussing what to do with enemy Epics nearby. "Still nothing," he sighed, boredom evident on his face. "Pretty lame fire Epic, no prime invincibility or healing. And this energy Epic seems contained pretty well. No way she can burn through tungsten - it's melting point is like 6191 degrees Fahrenheit. Wikipedia said that tungsten was a hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as a metal in 1783. The free element is remarkable for its robustness, especially the fact that it has the highest melting point of all the elements. Also remarkable is its high density of 19.3 times that of water, comparable to that of uranium and gold, and much higher (about 1.7 times) than that of lead. I should probably check to see if it's been changed though. I might be wrong." Jumpdrive shuddered. Nothing was worse than outdated information - well, almost nothing. There was that pesky weakness, which - suddenly, the fire Epic's ashes burst into orange flames, flames that formed into a human figure in a massive explosion, then a column of fire absorbing the bullets the Mannequins fired. "And nevermind, he's got reincarnation. Phoenix, fire, reincarnation - should have known better. There goes my afternoon." Then the column burst even brighter, frying the camera. Jumpdrive spun his chair over to his remote wall - man, this chair is great - and grabbed a remote for a helicopter with an infrared scanner. It flew over the field, but there was nothing. "Where could he have gone?" Jumpdrive mused, helicopter flying by the ashes on the ground. Sir, someone escaped from the column of fire, a woman's voice sounded in his ear. Locator, his personal AI hallucination, hovered over his shoulder. "What?!" Jumpdrive said. "Replay the video feed, I wasn't paying attention." Locator nodded, and Jumpdrive closed his eyes, imagining that his eyelids were tiny projector screens. The video feed he'd been recording played in his mind. Jumpdrive watched as the last footage from the burnt camera played in his mind. "Hold it," he said, and the video paused. Jumpdrive carefully zoomed in on the column where a dark shape was making its way out the back side. He tried to enhance the image, but the flames interfered with any clear image. He sat back in his chair, studying the image. He's running toward the treeline, but he's got to hide somewhere. Jumpdrive mentally opened his files on nearby residents, then called the police. "Please check each house and register who is in there. Send me the photos of each resident in the area when you're done." Jumpdrive opened his dossier of known facts on Phoenix and added "Reincarnator", then leaned back and waited for the police to finish their searches. It was going to be a long night.

[Tyson]

Present Day

The church was nice. High ceilings, stained windows, dark mood. Gunsmoke had been given the building on his first day in Corvallis. A home to match your power level, they had told him. It was large enough to house fifty human servants, ten large dogs and sixteen statues of Jesus Christ, which Gunsmoke had lined up next to the pulpit like some kind of blasphemous shooting range. It was a nice place to live. Even so, the grey stone walls had begun to feel more like a prison every day.

Rainmaker didn’t trust him, none of the Queens trusted him, it would seem. So they give him a big church, supplied servants as fast as he could shoot them and gave him pointless duties just to keep Gunsmoke away from real city affairs. It was so frustrating.

He had come to Corvallis to conquer; instead they had caged him like a feral beast, left him to prowl the hallowed halls of his church like the devil himself, plotting some way to take their power. Even more frustrating was the weather. Sunshine. Every day, more smokin’ sunshine. It’s like the city had never heard of variation. You can, he had most definitely decided, have too much of a good thing. Yet the blasted woman named herself Rainmaker, the irony. Tonight, though, was different. Gunsmoke paused halfway down a hallway and glanced out a large stained glass window with a smile.

Rain.

How long had it been since he last saw droplets running down windows? Or listened to the patter it made on tiled roofs? How long had it been since Rainmaker’s mood had soured? Excitement sent a shiver down the back of his neck. Genuine excitement, none of Euphoria’s synthetic crap. He had forbidden his servants from their weekly doses, unwilling to allow the Queens even an ounce of influence over his subjects.

Turning away from the window, Gunsmoke hurried along the corridor, his footsteps leaving echoes in his wake. A servant girl stepped out of a room with an armful of blankets and into his path. On a normal day, his revolver would he out of its holster in a heartbeat and a bullet buried in her pretty little face. She froze, wide eyed and expected as much, but Gunsmoke hardly noticed her, passing right by, his eyes focused on a door at the end of the hall. He heard her running down the hall, fear turning to sobs as she round the corner at the end. Maybe he would punish her later.

As he approached the door, Gunsmoke patted his jacket pockets for the old brass key. He always found it amazing how many different pockets you can find when ones looking for a key. Pockets seem to appear out of nowhere, playing a petty game of hide and seek. Giving up on the search, Gunsmoke continued his pace towards the door and disintegrated into thick black smoke. It flowed beneath the heavy door and squeezed through the key hole, reforming on the other side in the shape of a man. A moment passed before Gunsmoke’s features returned, a few faint fingers of smoke evaporating from his face.

He stood in a small, windowless room. Back before Calamity, it might have been where the church janitor kept his brooms or maybe a store room for bottles of holy water. If holy water came in bottles. Gunsmoke didn’t know. Gunsmoke didn’t care. Now it held only two items of furniture. A low, moth-eaten armchair, more holes than cushion, and a tall mirror which reflected the soft light of candles dotted around the floor.

Gunsmoke sank into the armchair and looked into the mirror. His own face looked back. Dark skinned and wide nosed. A dark grey trilby hid his greying hair, a black feather tucked into the band around its centre. His jacket was also black and slightly too small, revealing a silver wristwatch that should have been hidden beneath the cuff. Tight trousers and well polished riding boots completed his outfit. He looked good he decided, for his age at least.

Gunsmoke lifted his leg and lay a boot across his left knee, settling into the chair with a smug smile spread across his face.

“Boy,” he called at the mirror. Silence. The room remained still but for the flicker of candlelight and the frown of Gunsmoke’s reflection. “Malevolence.” He called again, attempting to coax the boy out of hiding by using his preferred name.

Gunsmoke remained the only figure in the mirrors frame. “I have a few Oreo’s” he called, remembering the half eaten packet in his inside pocket.

“I’m not a servant to be summoned,” replied an insolent voice. Something stirred in the mirror, a boy stepping into view. Gunsmoke resisted the temptation to turn around, he knew that the other Epic wasn’t really inside the room, but reflex is a hard thing to break. “Nor am I a child to be tempted with biscuits.”

Edited June 13, 2015 by Tyson

[the winter system]

Chase was bored as she watched through the eyes of an unassuming vanilla. The old man watched through the window, staring out thoughtfully.

 

"Die, humans!" The call echoed through the Chains. The screams of vanillas brought her attention. She saw the figure of fire with the eyes of the old man. It looked almost like the fire Epic from before. Chase quickly scanned the Chains for the actual fire Epic. She saw him run as the vanilla whose eyes she had glanced through died. 

 

"Seriously?" Chase muttered through the old man. "Of course the Epic who threatened to kill me can either resurrect or teleport or something." Chase sighed. "Typical. Sparking typical." Chase quickly glanced out of the old man, speaking into her mobile. "The fire figure, that's the fire Epic from before. I'll keep a track of his movements." Chase then jumped back into the old man's body. 

 

Chase went down the hall and started to open the door. Suddenly, a burst of flame shot through the opening door. Chase saw the face of the fire Epic before she was rudely ejected by the old man's death. 

 

Chase noted the location as she opened her eyes on the plushy bed. "And I suppose it's good luck, I know where he is, but did he have to kill my host?" Her vanilla shrugged. 

Chase picked another vanilla to take control of. She yanked control of a short vanilla with long black hair. She felt a resistance. Tough girl. Chase shrugged. She took a different one. A taller vanilla with short blond hair. She was strong in her body, but weaker of will. 

 

She ran to the building and climbed up the back. It was less terrifying when she knew she wouldn't get herself killed if she fell. And this girl was strong. Chase climbed up to the first floor window and watched. 

She then quickly dropped out, alerting Rainmaker to his location and that she 'was watching him.' Then she dropped back into the vanilla's body before she could drop. 

[Comatose he/him]

 

Rainmaker wrapped things up with the other Queens quickly, sending Cornucopia to prepare for the coming day, and Blossom to work on a media release spinning the attack in the Queens' favour.  She also replied to Chase's and Jumpdrive's messages, telling them both to keep an eye on 'Phoenix', and to have him apprehended should he attack again, or attempt to approach Converter.  Jumpdrive, of course, would defer to Chase if an order needed to be given, unless Chase was unavailable.  At the very least, it would seem that Phoenix reincarnated in the spot where he died, meaning that it should be easy enough to trap him, even if killing him proved necessary,  By the time she had finished sending out a security team to prepare to apprehend Phoenix on Chase's order, the energy epic's sun shelter was completed, and it was time to see that it was reinforced properly.  

 

"Clear the area!"  Rainmaker shouted, as she rose into the air once more.  She could not help but hear the obvious irritation and exhaustion in her voice, side effects from giving too many orders.  On top of it all, she still had yet to find a suitable replacement for Euphoria, and until she did she would be stuck coordinating personnel when she should be busy accepting her due rest and relaxation time as ruler of the city.  If I don't find someone to replace her soon, I'll get wrinkles from all of this stress!  Of course, Rainmaker knew that new wrinkles were the least of her worries, but focusing on one of her more frivolous frustrations made everything seem more manageable.    

 

Once everyone was back, Rainmaker blasted the metal shelter with ice, rain, and snow.  The shelter was made of sheets of metal bolted together to block the epic from absorbing light from above or any other angle.  The water in the sleet storm was meant to leak into the cracks in the metal, and then freeze, hopefully holding everything together better.  Next, Rainmaker dumped an avalanche of snow over top of the metal prison, freezing the entire pile over with an icy rain and careful temperature regulation.  Normally, piling snow like she was would insulate the inside, but throughout the process, Rainmaker kept the interior temperatures as cold as she could possible make them.  

 

The epic's impromptu prison now resembled as ice-coated snow drift.  Rainmaker hovered in front of the mound of snow, and then carefully began adjusting the temperature again, melting a tunnel through the snow and ice so that the small observation window cut into the side of one of the metal sheets would still be visible.  Gazing into the hole, Rainmaker could see nothing but darkness.  She resisted the urge to glow, and shed light on her defeated adversary.  "I hope you are happy in there, my dear.  I'm not sure how far your apparent immunity to the cold extends, but I will ensure you have plenty of time to sit and think about what you've done while you freeze in here.  It will take time, but eventually I will find a way to destroy you."  Rainmaker did not give the epic a chance to reply.  She rose gracefully into the air again, and placed her strongest hurricane-force winds blowing  several meters outward in every direction from the prison, to prevent any epic from attempting to aid her prisoner.  

 

"There we go." Rainmaker landed near Buttercup to admire her work from a distance.  "Keep IcyHot and Resistor stationed on watch here, and add an epic or two with enhanced senses or x-ray vision.  I'll have Jumpdrive increase his surveillance of this area as well.  If she breaks out of there, I want to know about it immediately."  Rainmaker flipped open her mobile, checking the time.  "When you are finished here, I'll need you to meet me at the Harrison Street Bridge.  There's one more thing we need to wrap up tonight before we get some much needed rest."  

[Tyson]

 

One year ago

 

It was wonderful watching the world tear itself apart. It induced a primal pleasure, the sort of happiness a small boy experiences when throwing a fire cracker into an ant hill and watching the tiny insects scurry around in frantic circles.

 

It was a pleasure Malevolence had learned from an old master, the day Houston melted.

 

Malevolence sat in his own little world, an eager observer, taking another bite out of his sandwich and giggling as he watched London being reduced to rubble. Not his own work, he might have given a few Epic’s a nudge in the right direction, he might have whispered greater ambitions into their ears, but Malevolence wouldn’t soil his hands with destruction. That was a hobby for men with lesser minds.

 

He sat crossed legged on an island floating in an abyss of blackness. Mirrors hung motionless all around him, giving glimpses into the real world. A bedroom here, a dining room there. They were windows for him. Windows into a world where London shook with the war that raged in its streets.

 

Popping the remainder of his cheese sandwich into his mouth, he pushed himself to his feet and walked away from his current window. The island wasn’t large. Maybe fifty paces in either direction, but hundreds of motionless mirrors levitated above the around, forcing him to pick a careful path or push them out of his way. In the distance, dotting the pitch black skies was other islands, suspended on nothing and connected by long, arching bridges each one lined with even more mirrors, large and small, round and rectangular.

 

A labyrinth of islands, bridges and mirrors filled the skies as far as his eye could see.

 

This was his kingdom. This was the Otherside.

 

 

 

Present Day

 

“Boy,” called the voice. It lingered in the air, waiting for a response. Malevolence sighed, crinkled his empty bag of Doritos and tossed the packet into a nearby trash can.

 

He sat on an island, a current favourite of his, legs crossed and back rested against a low bed that he had somehow squeezed through a large enough mirror. Pokémon red version hummed from a portable games console nestled in his lap, an unfinished battle between Charmander and Pikachu awaiting the next move.

 

“Malevolence.” This old man really isn’t going to quit, he thought. He could ignore the man, pretend to be occupied elsewhere. There were a million other places he could be, a thousand other ways he could be causing chaos, but something in the old man’s voice piqued Malevolence’s interest. Eagerness?

 

War was brewing in Corvallis.

 

Malevolence stood and brushed the creases from his shirt. May as well make it look like I’ve been doing something other than play games all day. He tried to straighten his hat and organise his stray hair in some semblance of style, then gave up. It’s hard when you can’t see your own reflection. Throwing his Nintendo onto the bed, he walked to a large rectangular mirror that hung motionless a few paces away.

 

“I have a few Oreo’s,” called the old man. Oooh Oreo’s. Malevolence hadn’t tasted Oreo’s in years. In was hard to come across such pre-Calamity delicacies these days. Cornucopia really did have an amazing gift. It was part of the reason he lingered behind Oregon’s mirrors. He idly wondered what he would do with such a power. Orange soda trees? Big Mac bushes? Fields of canned spaghetti hoops?

 

“I’m not a servant to be summoned,” he said, stepping in front of the mirror so that Gunsmoke could see him. The old man sat in his customary armchair, a cigar tucked behind his ear and a black feather poking out of his silly little hat. “Nor am I a child to be tempted with biscuits,” he finished.

 

I really would like an Oreo though.

 

The other Epic ignored Malevolence’s retort and tossed half a packet of Oreo’s towards the mirror. Malevolence reached out, pushing his hand through the glass surface as if it wasn’t there, and caught the biscuits. He pulled them back through onto his side of the mirror and quickly set to eating them. They tasted so good.

 

“Good news,” said Gunsmoke. “It’s raining. It’s smokin’ chucking buckets of it down.”

 

Malevolence paused halfway through a biscuit. “So?” he asked. A downpour of rain would have been a mild reaction from Rainmaker after losing her closest ally. He had been keeping a close eye on Euphoria up until…wait. Gunsmoke didn’t know. Cooped up in his little church, plotting his next attack on the Queens, he wouldn’t have heard the news.

 

“It means Rainmaker is angry, you wool headed idiot. It means something is wrong, it means…”

 

“Euphoria has disappeared,” Malevolence announced, nonchalantly continuing his biscuit.   

 

Gunsmoke almost choked. His eyes bulged and his words dried up in his mouth. The old man leant forward in his chair, fingernails digging into the arms. A few wisps of smoke rose from his trilby. “Disappeared? What do you mean she has disappeared?”

 

Malevolence shrugged. Surely the man had enough brain sense to understand the word disappeared. “Vanished,” he said. “She was there one minute, then…pufffff.” Oreo’s scattering from his mouth across the ground.

 

Silence enveloped the old man. He stared at mirror as if expecting a joke. Enough time passed for Malevolence to finish his pack of Oreo’s and wish there were more.

 

“And when were you going to tell me this?” demanded Gunsmoke. “You should have notified me straight away.”

 

“I got distracted,” he shrugged. “There are other places I can go. Other places to stir trouble. Portland. Astoria.” And it doesn’t help that you have smashed all your mirrors, all but this one. That was the down side of revealing his powers. Paranoid Epics tended to quickly destroy the mirrors in their homes. It was better if he remained a secret. London. Korea. Mumbai. They all fell without Malevolence’s meddling being realized. Oregon would follow. He liked to think of himself as the mastermind, the puppet master, hiding behind his walls of smoke and mirrors.

 

“We must act quickly if we are to take Rainmakers throne. The Queens must fall,” Gunsmoke continued.

 

We? thought Malevolence. There was no we. Gunsmoke had been trying to assassinate the Queens for almost a year, and each attempt only emphasised his incompetence. Besides, Malevolence didn’t want to rule. There was no enjoyment to be found on a throne, constantly watching for people trying to put a knife in your back. Malevolence had simpler pleasures. He wanted to watch the world burn.

 

“Your right,” he agreed. “We must.”

[Blaze1616 he/him]

 

Buttercup nodded at her orders. She bowed her head slightly in salute before leaving the High Epic's side, approaching IcyHot and Resistor. "You two!" she called. The two Epics quickly turned, clicked their heels, and saluted her.  She saluted them back before delving into their instructions.

 

"You two have a long night ahead of you. You'll both be staying here to keep an eye on the Epic. Take turns sleeping, and always be within arms reach of each other. If she tries to escape, it's on you two to stop her." She noted how their faces drooped slightly, a reaction she expected. "Promotions await you when this Epic is finally dealt with." That perked them up. Employing Epics in the security force, and having them serve alongside vanillas, was risky business. The vanillas were canon fodder, but the Epics proved useful on many occasions. It's only natural that they be the ones to climb the hierarchy ladder. Plus, promotions were great motivation.

 

Dismissing them, Buttercup watched as the pair walked away with a new bounce in their step. Hopefully they'd survive, but Buttercup wasn't so sure that the Epic would leave quietly. The fury that had been in her eyes left quite the impression on Buttercup, and her palms began to sweat just thinking about it.

 

Physically shaking her head to clear her thoughts, it was time to call him again. She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly as she dialed him on her mobile.

 

It rang. He never answers the first ring. And rang. She allowed her annoyance to grow, he always did this. And rang. Her annoyance turned to anger. And rang. When the answer finally came, she exploded.

 

"Hel-"

 

"Why in Calamity do you always let it ring forever before answering!" She screamed. She noted some of the people in her vicinity turned to look, IcyHot and Resistor among them. They all quickly turned away though as she gave them all the stink eye.

 

"Oh. Oh ho!" Broadcast was chuckling at her. Buttercup could barely contain the anger. If he wasn't so Calamity Rendered useful, she'd kill him. Kill him twice if she could find a resurrection Epic. Maybe even three times. "I must apologize, my liege. It is getting rather late, and you rang just as I was brushing my teeth."

 

Liege. He called her liege. Again. That was the last straw. Turning from the people, she bent slightly over and spoke very softly, her fury seething in her voice. "Listen here, you obnoxious man. It's been a long day, my patience has been tried. Harass me further, and I will spend tomorrow hunting you down and pulling your vocal chords from your throat, so that all you can do is use text to speech to communicate for the rest of your sorry little existence. Do you understand me?"

 

The line was silent for a moment, and in that moment Buttercup knew what he was doing. She knew what was about to come. She tried to breath, to calm herself down, but it did nothing to help the situation. 

 

"YES. I UNDERSTAND. MY LIEGE." It was the text to speech feature. 

 

Buttercup boiled in place for a moment. Biting her tongue, it began to bleed. She then released it, the flesh healed, and then she chomped down again. This repeated until she had let the line sit for a good minute. She could hear Broadcast chuckling to himself on the other side. He knew she could do nothing to him, he was safe, his protection stemming from Corvallis's need for his power. She could threaten all she wanted, but in the end would do nothing to him.

 

When the pain had dulled her anger, she spoke normally, as though nothing had happened. "Broadcast, I need you to contact Monokill and send her to the park. She's needed for surveillance." This was followed by another long moment of silence. He had probably expected her to react further to his shenanigans. 

 

"As you wish, my liege. Should I give her any orders?" Broadcast sounded somewhat defeated. Her anger completely dissipated at her victory over the insufferable man.

 

"Yes, tell her she is to aid IcyHot and Resistor in monitoring the energy Epic from the attack today. She can get further details from them." Buttercup heard the man's affirmation, and hung up. She didn't want him to have another chance to upset her.

 

Looking around to make sure she had addressed everything, a burst of green light illuminated the park as Buttercup took flight, heading straight for Harrison Street Bridge.

 

 

 

Blossom paced her own kitchen. Her brain was moving like a rocket as she pondered the edit to her written press release. The teapot began to whistle, so she paused her train of thought to pour the boiling water into a teacup. She rummaged through a cabinet until she found the tea ball. She filled it with her favorite tea leaves, and dumped it into the cup. She began to pace more, waiting a sufficient amount of time for the tea ball to steep. She then removed the ball from the cup and placed it in her sink, before relocating to her couch.

 

It was the comfiest couch, Blossom loved every inch of it. She sank into it when she sat down, cradling her cup of tea to not spill a drop. She sipped for a good ten minutes before moving, placing her cup on a coffee table and picking up a journal and pen, scribbling edits to the speech. She wouldn't sleep until it was done, and it wasn't done until it was perfect.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Blaze1616

[Comatose he/him]

"I'm sorry," Leila said as she handed Danny a mug of hot tea, "You know I'm not good with criers."
 
A radiant smile spread across Danny's face as he wiped away his most recent tears.  "Thanks!  That's okay, I'm just being a baby anyways.  I guess it just wasn't meant to be, right?"  
 
Leila shrugged.  Cassandra wasn't Leila's favorite out of the string of girlfriends Danny had acquired since they started University, but she certainly wasn't her least favorite.  "I guess not.  Can I do anything for you?"  
 
Danny took a sip of his tea, flinched upon realizing how hot it was, and set down his mug.  "No, I should be fine.  Just being a baby, as per-usual."  He fell backward, lying on her apartment floor next to the coffee table.  Leila, comfortable with silence, sipped at her tea, and began poking around on her computer, checking if a professor had returned her latest e-mail.  When he was heart-broken, Danny just needed time to process his emotions aloud.  Leila certainly wasn't good at consoling people, or at solving emotional woes, but she was an old hand at listening to Danny vent.  
 
"Man love sucks.  I just can't believe its over.  Things seemed like they were going so well.  What?" he asked, responding to the quirk in Leila's lips.  
 
"It's nothing."
 
"Leila, you don't need to shelter me.  Actually, if you told me right now that Cassie was an angel sent down just for me, and that's its all my fault things didn't work out, I might believe you, so a little harsh criticism might do me some good."   
 
Leila snorted.  "Fine.  Since you've had a bad day, I'll ignore the blatant sexism in your assumption that any woman's sole purpose could possibly be ''just for you'."
 
"I appreciate the sympathy, oh wise critic of man's failing."  Danny sat up straight, giving a mock bow.  Leila swatted the back of his head in response.  "Ow!  I thought you said you were ignoring my blatant sexism today!"
 
"I was.  But then you decided to use the word 'man' to refer to the entire human species, over half of which happens to be female."  Leila rolled her eyes and took another sip of her tea, preparing what she was going to say next.  "Look, I know you were 'in love' with her, but honestly Danny, Cassie was kind of stuck up.  She was always picking at poking at you, making sure your shirt's were neat, and that your hair wasn't stick up at odd angles, like she knew what was best for you."
 
"Exactly!  I loved that!  Being with her made me want to be so much... better than I am.  Isn't that healthy for a relationship?"  
 
Leila sighed impatiently.  "Perhaps.  But Danny, sometimes it seemed less like she was trying to make you a better person, and more like she was trying to make you less you.  Plus, your communication styles were completely incompatible."
 
"What's that supposed to mean?"
 
"Danny, you're a talker.  You need to process your thoughts verbally.  You ask obvious questions, not because you can't figure out the answer, but because asking them out-loud helps you understand better.  Cassandra, being the perfectionist she is, has difficulty going over the same problem or topic again and again.  Your talking made her impatient, and she wasn't good at sitting and listening to what you had to say."  
 
Danny frowned, thinking Leila's words through.  She could see him resisting the urge to rephrase what she had said in his own words, or to ask questions he already knew the answers to.  "I guess that makes sense," he said finally, obviously trying too hard to not prove Leila right.  "But that's just focusing on the bad stuff.  Cassie is amazing.  I mean, she smart and athletic.  She loves the outdoors, and is passionate about changing the world.  Aaand, we had the best conversations.  Like, about the meaning of life and stuff.  Sure, I guess we had some issues, but what couple doesn't?"  
 
"Danny, it's not that you had issues that is important, it's the issues that you had.  Common interests and conversational compatibility are fine and good, but if you can't problem solve as a couple, I'm sorry but the relationship is just doomed."
 
Danny flopped back down onto the floor, his tea remaining forgotten on the coffee table.  "I guess I just need time to figure things out.  Remember who I am on my own, and all that jazz.  You're probably right, and it will just take me a while for the rose-coloured glasses to wear off so I can see clearly."  
 
Leila resisted the urge to roll her eyes.  Invariably, a 'while' for Danny really meant until he found someone new to be the object of his affections.  Until that happened, Cassandra would continue to be the gorgeous and brilliant goddess he would do anything to win back.  Leila hated seeing Danny beating himself up again and again over girls who, through no fault of theirs or his, just weren't right for him.  She would have given almost anything to make him see his memories clear and objectively, without his cursed idealism getting in the way.   
 
"So, I need to get my mind off things.  What's new with you?"
 
Leila poured herself another mug of tea, ignoring Danny's still full one.  "You know, same old.  I'm waiting to hear back from Professor Hadrian about my latest assignment.  The rubric he gave us wasn't very clear, and the syllabus is of no help.  I need to know what he wants before I can proceed, but the man can't seem to find time to check his email.  It looks like it'll be two days of clicking 'refresh' until he gets back to me, and then an all-nighter to get the actual assignment done...  And what's that for?"   Danny, who had been rolling his eyes, froze in place.  
 
"Nothing, it's just you being you.  I sit down and pour my heart out, but all you're worrying about is school."  
 
"Maybe that's because I came to college to actually learn things, not chase girls around campus."  
 
"Come on!  I mean, I get that you have your priorities figured out and everything, but surely there must be someone you have a crush on, or have at least noticed.  I'm a bleeding heart here; give me the goods!"  
 
"All right, drama queen.  I know you would love it if I was falling head over heels for some Adonis in my stats class, but the truth is, I'm not.  Maybe some day, getting into a relationship will be important to me, but right now, it's the least of my concerns."  
 
"Well, it's not like falling in love is something you choose, Leila.  It just happens, like getting struck by lightning."  
 
"Maybe for you that's the case.  If it's true for everyone, I guess I'm just lucky to be lightning free."  
 
"But don't you get lonely?  Don't you want someone to cuddle with on a cold night, or that you can trust to be there no matter what?  Someone who you can see having a future with, so that you can build a life together?  I mean, I get that you'd prefer to write a paper for extra credit, but we're talking about love here.  Even though it hurts like crazy, most people agree that it's worth it."  
 
Leila let out an exasperated sigh and gave Danny a flat look.  "Look, Danny, I know that you view all of this love stuff as true, but personally I just don't agree.  You talk about feelings that overpower your sense of reason, and make you want to compromise yourself for another person, but I've never felt that way about anyone.  For all I know, love is just a fantasy people create to give themselves hope or something."
 
"You can't believe that!"
 
"I'm not saying I do, I'm saying that I don't know.  But honestly that makes more sense to me than putting myself through the emotional turmoil you go through each time it doesn't work out."  As soon as she said it, Leila realized she had gone too far, but it was too late to take it back.  
 
"So that's you think, that I'm doing this to myself?  That I choose to feel this way?"
 
"Danny, that's not what I meant and you know it!"  
 
Danny let out his breath all at once, blowing his brown curls temporarily away from his face.  "Fine, whatever.  Don't believe in love then."  Slowly, a sly grin began to slide across his face.  "That just leaves more ladies for yours truly."  
 
Leila rolled her eyes and turned back to her email, happy to finally hear the sound of Danny's laughter.  
 
"You should have seen the look on your face!"   

 
Euphoria's vision swam as the latest memory faded from view.  The field was mostly empty now, except for the guards surrounding the energy epic's prison.  She and Insight hovered across from each other, seeming to be the only spots of colour in a sea of black and white.  Euphoria still hadn't figured out what he had done to her, or how his power to view her memories worked, but it seemed like some sort of more powerful form of incorporeality.  
 
Buttercup strode in between them, close enough to touch if Euphoria had still had the ability to do so.  "Broadcast, I need you to contact Monokill and send her to the park. She's needed for surveillance." The words were muffled, as if coming from behind a closed door or from under water.  Monokill's a good choice.  It had been difficult, seeing the snippets of Rainmaker and the other Queens dealing with the situation without her in between memory sessions with Insight.  Either they were making mistakes she could have corrected with ease, or they were managing fine, and demonstrating how little they really needed her. Funny, when its my powers that are concerned, I'd rather be anything but important, but any threats to my management position and I'm up in arms.  While the thought was of trifling amusement, the moment of good cheer did not last long.  There was a reason why Euphoria didn't feel the same about her management duties as she did about her powers.  People weren't constantly trying to kill her because she was good at managing people.  

 

Buttercup took off suddenly, streaking off into the distance.  Insight frowned, before moving too fast for Euphoria's eyes to follow.  That's new, does he have super speed as well?  Before she could finish the thought, she found Insight's hand on her shoulder.  He was wearing gloves and long, tight sleeves, no doubt to protect him from her powers, which required skin contact.  Does that mean my powers might work on him, even like this?  

 

"Come on, let's go.  We can finish once we know what those two are up to."  

 

Euphoria snorted.  "You can't possibly expect us to catch up with Buttercup floating like this.  She's already out of sight."  

 

In response, Insight only pointed.  Following his gesture, Euphoria found Buttercup, hanging in the sky as if frozen.  Upon closer inspection, Euphoria could see the Chief of Security was still moving, but slowly, as if passing through molasses.  "You slowed her down?"  If Insight could affect time, then he was even more powerful than she originally thought.  

 

Insight smiled grimly, shaking his head.  Reaching out, he grabbed her firmly by the wrist, and started floating off in the same direction as Buttercup.  As they approached, Buttercup began moving more quickly again, but not fast enough to lose them completely.

 

Even if I can use my powers on him, he knows too much for me to surprise him like I did with Fast-Forward.  And even if I did escape, I'd be trapped like this until I starve to death.  At the moment, Euphoria didn't know what was more frightening, the thought of allowing Insight to learn more about her past, or of starving to death unseen and unheard in a city overflowing with plenty.  

 

 

 

Rainmaker landed on the Harrison Street Bridge without much ceremony.  She had made a quick detour back to her home to change out of her sparkling costume in favour of comfortable black pants, a fashionable top, and a dark knee-length rain coat.  Her skin still shone faintly in the darkness, but she did her best to keep it to a minimum, for once not wanting to draw undue attention to herself.  That would have to wait until Hypno and Buttercup arrived.  

 

Seeing Hypno nowhere, in sight, Rainmaker flipped open her mobile.  I'm here.  You know how I feel about waiting.