Superhero RPG

[Corzak The Mighty]

A digusted frown broke through the once maddened grin of Backdraft's face as she heard the all too familiar voice of Blind. Turning slowly to face her age old adversary, the arsonist was quick to put on a fake smile of pleasure.

"Well, if it isn't the pendeja who loves to put a damper on my fiery parade," Backdraft stated to the vigilante with thinly veiled contempt, rage smoldering beneath the psychotic woman's eyes. "What led you out here today? Bored or something?"

Backdraft's expression quickly shifted from its false pleasantries to a crazed smile, the fire within her soul barely contained. "How about I liven things up a bit for you, eh?!"

The roar of Backdraft's flamethrower erupted, as a gout of flame slithered its way hungrily toward the vigilante. "PINCHE PERRA, BURN IN HELL! HAHAHAHA!"

[HayesAJones]

Blind, disappointed but unsurprised that Backdraft had refused to come peacefully, raised her cape in defense. The firebug's flames washed over the newly lead-lined cloak, protecting the woman within it, but likely not for long, so the vigilante acted quickly. Charging through the flames, Blind targeted not Backdraft, as she feared making her lose control of her flamethrower and bath anything- and anyone- nearby in flames, but her weapon, attempting to fling her cloak over its muzzle...!

Once she got the flames under control, she would attempt to wrestle the weapon from Backdraft.

[Breakdown]

Fusillade was about to fire off a follow-up shot to take out one of Viola's legs and prevent her from fleeing, when the storm of lead from the mounted machinegun threw off his aim and caused him to wheel around and face the gunner. Sparks leapt from his armor as the bullets bounced off, and he wasn't able to get a clear enough shot on the gunner to be lethal, so he aimed a little lower and fired off a single shot aimed at the gunner's hip. The 12g slug smashed through the man's pelvis and he immediately crumpled to the ground in agonizing pain. He spun around just in time to see Viola attempt to flee. He fired off 3 snapshots at her, with two going wide and the third punching through one of the wooden crates and missing the fleeing woman by an inch. Fusillade cursed and hailed command.

"Command, this is Fusillade. Primary target is on the run, I am attempting pursuit. I need back-up to surround the building and secure all exits ASAP" he barked as he charged after Viola, the floor shaking with each step the hulking exoskeleton took.

He took out two more attackers on the way, when his route was blocked by Viola's remaining guard. He didn't have time for this; if the target escaped, it would be months before they could track her down. Future raids where Viola was present would also likely have increased levels of security, making isolating and assassinating her more difficult. No, he had to end her criminal escapades here and now. Fusillade continued to build up momentum as the guard braced himself, brandishing a serrated Nanotsteel knife. Undeterred, Fusillade activated the suit's jet thrusters and dashed forward, slamming into the guard like a semi-truck. The guard managed to stab his knife into one of Fusillade's shoulder guards and cut a large gash into it, before the force of the impact flung him out of the way and into a concrete pillar. Sparks and smoke fizzed from the power-pack of the guard's exo-suit as he slumped to the ground motionless. Fusillade continued his pursuit, a few rounds from the surviving gangsters plinking off his armor. He maneuvered past the wooden crates Viola ran behind and saw her round a corner into what seemed like another loading bay. This one was filled with tall storage selves stocked with dingy, old cardboard boxes that had likely been there for years. Running straight towards the open cargo door on the other end of the loading bay was his target. The police hadn't yet arrived to this spot, and she may be able to escape before they get there with the abundance of other nearby structures outside. He looked up at the roof and saw the metal beams and girders that supported the roof and got an idea.

He came to a stop, the suit's feet grinding sparks against the ground while he armed his suit's missile systems with the tap of a button. The suit reported damage to the left launcher, likely from the guard's nanosteel knife. He made note of this information and proceeded with his plan anyway; he wouldn't need that much firepower to pull off what he had in mind. Another tap turned off the lock-on feature of the rockets, and a simple circular targeting reticle appeared instead of the usual diamond-shaped one. The reticle was linked to the helmet's movement, so Fusillade need only look at a target in order to "aim" the rockets. With his gaze firmly on the series of support beams directly above the bay door, he tapped the command to fire. A single rocket left its compartment and furiously sailed through the air towards its destination. The ordinance struck true, and the explosion tore the support beams from the roof and sent them crashing to the ground, blocking the exit. Several chunks of concrete and other debris accompanied them, barricading the exit even further. Once the dust cleared, Fusillade took aim at Viola and fired a single shot aimed for her left knee.

[Demon Lord Gira]

Viola cried out in surprise as the roof came down in front of her. The door was barricaded now by debris and concrete, though she had to be thankful she hadn't been running any faster, or else she would have been crushed. She stopped and turned, looking for another way out, and as she did, she tapped a small, almost unseeable button on the earpiece that she wore on her left ear. It was a signal, a signal for her special little toy to activate and come and play, and thankfully for her the falling debris had crashed onto the large wooden crate it as stored in. She had brought it along with her to this sale, under the false excuse of "maybe I'll sell it here," but in actuality it was insurance in case a hero like Supercell came barging in... and while this armored figure with the fancy weapons was no Supercell, it was certainly time to let the Retriever have its fun.

And so, as Fusilade took the shot aimed for her knee, the bullet was stopped as a massive serrated leg of a steel like alloy intercepted the projectile only feet from Viola. The bullet dented into the metal but failed to pierce it. The source of the leg made itself known, a large mechanical spider twelve feet in height that rose out of the dust cloud and shifted its gaze toward Fusilade, several crimson lens focused upon him. The mouth of the mechanical spider opened and closed as if testing, before a low pitched hiss escaped from the maw of the machine.

"I would love to stick around and play, but I have a billion better things to do, Robocop." Viola shouted from behind the giant arachnid, before she spoke in a language Fusilade had never heard before, "Qasqeataq, jekk!"

The arachnid's lenses flared upon the command, and the mechanical menace charged toward Fusilade, while VIola herself fled into the remaining dust clouds...

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

Tenmus felt her jaw drop as she watched the footage. "What the hell is that?!" She felt her eyes twitch, trying to make sense of what she was observing. "When did Viola get access to... whatever that is? Is that something from K-Tech or Saberdex, He-" She turned, but instead of Heng she found herself facing an equally baffled Goldman, who gave her a shrug.

"She... She said she had something to do and I should.. be here instead." was the only reply she got.

Tenmus, resisting lashing out in confusion and anger, refocused her gaze onto the screen. What could Fusilade do against this thing?

_________________________

Vinnie stopped himself in front of the door and called on the phone. Third time was the charm, hopefully. Heng had missed his prior two calls, but hopefu-

"Vinnie, what is it?" Heng's voice finally came through. He could tell she sounded irritated, no doubt from his two prior calls pulling her from something, and it sounded like she was in a car or an elevator with the echo he heard. "Did Kala show up at the house?"

"No." He said, but before he could continue Heng cut him off.

"Then it's not more important than anything I'm doing right now. Don't call me unless she shows up or it's an actual emer-"

Now it was Vinnie's turn to interrupt her. He had a bad feeling about this, but otherwise he knew there was no way he would be able to get out of the house for any length of time. "I know, I'm sorry but... I'm going to go look for her. I won't be gone long, I promise. Just one, two hours tops and I'll be right back home."

The phone erupted with Heng's voice. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO LEAVE THE HOUSE!" Heng shouted. "Where are you at? How far have you gone? I am grabbing you and putting you back in the house right this second, damn what the old crane needs me for."

"I.. haven't left yet." Vinnie said, rubbing his ear. "I called to ask if I could and... I need to go look for her. She probably is hanging close by but... too afraid to come back. She probably thinks... it's not safe for her to be here or she thinks you'd turn her over. You know how she is, Heng. When... When I feel like I did something bad, I don't want to show my face, but I still want to... be around kind of. She's the same. She needs me, and... She'll come for me if I go look for her."

"I know she'll come for you, but we don't know if it's actually her or whatever bloodlusted monster is in her that caused that carnage back there. Vinnie, it's not safe for you to lure her in. If Bloodless wanted to snap your neck, you would have no power to-"

"She won't." Vinnie firmly said. "I know she won't. She would never hurt me, and... even if that other personality, that other half of her would try to, she wouldn't let it either. Kala would never let anything or anyone hurt me... So I have to be the one to go out and find her. Heng, please trust me on this. You're a scientist, right? Science is all about trust and verify... I think."

Silence was what greeted Vinnie on the other end of the phone. He heard a pained groan and thought he heard Heng mumble something about children being such pains, before she spoke out, "Not quite but you're close enough. It's about evidence that can be replicated time and time again, and, you are correct in regards to Kala's behavior around you. It is a quantified fact that she cares for you more than anyone else and would never knowingly hurt you. While your theory that she would stop herself from attacking you in a bloodlust is just that, a theory, it is a theory that holds water and has plenty of evidence to back it up."

"So, what you are saying is..."

"Yes. Go look for her, and bring her back. You have two hours to be back home. If I get back to the house and you are not there, I am pulling Tenmus's strings to have the entire police force of Los Diamantes scour the city for you, and once you are found you will always be locked in your room unless I or Lind are physically present in the house. Do you understand me?"

Vinnie nodded, before he realized Heng couldn't see him over the phone. "Yes, I understand... Wait, you have that kind of pull over Tenmus to do that?"

"She's paranoid right now and looking any possible trace of what Franklin had become or of the sith lord who sent Supercell packing. I tell her one of those two was sighted with a young kid as a captive..."

Vinnie gulped. "I... I see." He stuttered, before continuing, "Thank you, Heng. I promise I'll be back. I mean it."

"You better keep that promise. Stay safe, Vinnie." With that, the phone hung up, and Vinnie felt a massive weight be lifted off his shoulders. He reached over and grabbed the house keys that Heng had left and ran out of the door. He turned and closed the door and locked it, before rushing off toward where the group was going to be meeting up, unaware of a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows.

With any luck, he would be able to find Kala around the area of the Infernal Cafe. Hopefully he could get his friends to help look for her...

[Corzak The Mighty]

Backdraft gritted her teeth in frustration as the flame retardant cape was lashed out like a smothering tarp, engulfing the muzzle of her primary weapon! This pendeja... who the hell did she think she was, ruining her fun like this?! Time and again she'd just show up out of nowhere, and ruin her plans! And she was getting absolutely SICK of it! As Blind attempted to wrest the makeshift flamethrower from Backdraft's hands, the psychotic pyromaniac fought back with the ferocity of a cornered animal, struggling to wrench her preferred tool of destruction away from Blind's grasp.

Struggling for a moment, Backdraft tugged hard enough to cause Blind to stumble within arm's reach of her. A sadistic smile appeared on Backdraft's face, her crazed eyes hidden behind the thick glass of her goggles, before the woman raised a free hand and ignited the blowtorch at the end of her gauntlet, thrusting it towards Blind's face in an attempt maim her and relinquish her grip in pain!

[HayesAJones]

After quickly cursing herself for being surprised by Backdraft's ferocity- she should know the woman's desperate strength by now- Blind calmed down by falling into her practiced response to such a position. One arm came up, pushing up the flame-spitting end of the weapon- with her elbow, to keep her hands safe- while the other surged forward to drive a palm into Backdraft's solar plexus. It wouldn't do any permanent harm, but it would knock the wind from the arsonist, and hopefully allow Blind to safely disarm her...

[Spuro]

As Blind and Backdraft dueled in the street, Foxtrot took advantage of the distraction to finish evacuating the immediate area, using her grappling hook to wrench people from burning cars and out the shattered windows of the restaurant that had been overtaken by Backdraft's inferno. After instructing the last of the civilians to call Emergency services, she returned her attention towards the pyromaniac, who had just been winded by a swift strike from Blind.

Foxtrot's hands reflexively reached for her firearm, but she relented at the last second – one wrong shot could risk igniting Backdraft's gear. She grit her teeth and hissed. "Not even ten o'clock and I'm already fucking with third degree burns..."

She drew two batons, black metal rods with rubber grips, and a trigger that would deliver a jolt of electricity to anyone unfortunate enough to be struck. Then, like a cat in ambush ready to pounce, she circled around behind Backdraft...

[Breakdown]

Many things went through Fusillade's head in this moment: What language did Viola just speak? Why the fuck is there a giant mechanical spider? Where was his backup?? All these were cut short as he focused on the situation at hand. He noted that though the slug had been stopped by the mech's armor, it did leave a noticeable dent in the strange, futuristic metal. He knew now that he could damage the thing; and already formulated a plan on how to take it down. Aiming his pistol, Fusillade fired the remainder of his weapon's magazine into the spider-like mech's head. Several rounds scored hits on the ruby red optics of the multi-legged machine, shattering them and significantly reducing its field of vision. Electing not to reload his pistol, Fusillade instead placed it on its magnetic holster on the armor's waist and instead brought his Gauss Rifle to bear. The weapon was very industrial-looking, with plenty of rivets, cutouts and indentations. Most notably however, was the thick magnetic coil wrapped around the barrel, resembling the strut of a vehicle. This was the lynchpin to the entire system: an electric current would travel through the coil, pulling a 5mm projectile made of solid tungsten until it reaches velocities up to a staggering 7.5 Kilometers a second. Other features included a rotating cylinder that housed the projectiles the weapon used, and a complete lack of any sort of optics on the weapon.

This was due to the "scope" actually being inside Fusillade's helmet, displayed as a modified reticle on his HUD. He shouldered the weapon and aligned his reticle with the spider-mech's abdomen, his logic being that this is where a real spider's organs would be located. The moment Fusillade pulled the trigger on the weapon did its internal mechanisms get to work, all within two seconds: the weapon briefly hummed before a deafening bang rang out, and a superheated projectile smashed through the mech's abdomen. The effect was significant, the mech would be knocked off balance and a hole big enough for a man to fit through went clean through its abdomen. Just as he was about to charge another shot, backup finally arrived albeit too late, as Viola was nowhere to be found. The men were SWAT, based on their uniforms and gear, and split up into two smaller teams; one to assist Fusillade and another to track down Viola. The officers who chose to assist Fusillade trained their rifles on the spider mech, raining ammunition down upon it.

[Demon Lord Gira]

The mechanical spider groaned as bullets showered into it. Most of the bullets merely bounced off of its exterior, but those that were aimed into the damaged optics and into the hole that Fusilade had made tore through the inner circuits and caused further sparks and plumes of smoke and fire to burst out of the weakened machine. Yet, even with this, it refused to die. A horrid grating groan escaped from the machines unnatural maw, and it blindly stabbed its spear like arms toward where the shots were coming from. A SWAT member was stabbed through the chest, the appendage running clean through their body as though they had been heated butter, and the machine lurched forward, its legs threatening to skewer all in its path.

Smoke and dust clouds filled the room, with no clear trace of what had become of Viola. The glass ceiling above, already shattered from stray gunfire from earlier, hung high up in the warehouse, with a flock of crows that flew over the rising smoke and dust. Among the shapes flying high up above was a much larger bird that the crows steered clear from, casting a darkened shadow over the warehouse floor below as it soared overhead. Among the debris, there was no trace of an opened door as the exit that Viola had been fleeing toward was blocked by rubble, and while there was an open vent cover partially obscured by the rubble, a quick look would see the vent was too small for an adult human to crawl through, at best large enough for a big snake to slither within...

______________________

Celine slowly got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. This wasn't her usual house, but the hotel room next to the one that Marina was staying in. It was the best way to keep close and make sure Marina was safe, in case more of those goons or something worse came knocking for her.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her reddish pink hair was a mess, a tangled mop of hair that looked more like a flayed octopus was attached to her skull. Rings had formed around her eyes from a restless night of sleep, and the night gown she wore had more rips and tears into it. She would have to get another one to replace it, the fourth this month. Every time she had that nightmare... Every time, and it pissed her the hell off.

She looked at her reflection, and for a moment, she saw the crimson double buttoned dress she used to wear. She saw the cloven hooves that were in place of her feet, the small diadem of horns protruding from her hair, and the long flickering succubus like tail wrapped around her legs. It was only for a moment she saw what she had once been, as with a blink, the reflection was back to how she now was. She grabbed at her head and shook it. She loved her current life, she loves it a hell of a lot more than her past, so it would really be appreciated if she stopped having nightmares of the past, of the hell that had once been her life, and could simply keep being who she now was. The fuck did she have to do to bury every last trace of that egotistical asshole's legacy engraved upon her soul and mind?

She turned the hot water on and splashed it into her face. She didn't feel like taking a shower. She could go without one for today, no one would notice. She grabbed some shampoo and soap and scrubbed her face and hair, running her long nails through the tangled mess to straighten it out. She turned the water off after rinsing her head, and after a few minutes of drying her head off, she walked out of the bathroom and out of the hotel room, making sure to have the key on her so she didn't lock herself out. She walked over to the next door and knocked onto it.

"Marina, are you up?" She called inside. She had forgotten to bring her phone charger over, so now her phone was dead.

__________________________________

Alice bit her lower lip. So, a lot had indeed happened while she was unconscious. She was to give her speech on replacing Supercell as the city's primary hero, but there was so much she needed to do still, and with how badly Bloodless had taken her down...

Lind placed a hand onto Alice's shoulder. "Your vital signs are spiking again. You are worrying too much. One thing at a time is a healthier mindset."

"Yes, I know but... It's just so much is going on and all at once and-"

"Alice, relax." Lind slowly told her. "Things will turn out okay. Heng has complete faith in you. I do as well, Your friend Zenogia does as well, and she's waiting for you next door. She's been worried sick about you, and I doubt she would want to see you as a worried mess."

Alice gave a slow nod. That was true. Zenogia and Celine, both of them must have been so worried about her during these past few days. Surviving an encounter against Bloodless was unheard of, and with the state the city was in... And the children as well...

She took a deep breath and looked Lind in the eyes. "Thank you." She said to her. "I'll be ready for the speech but.. I have to do a few things first." She got off the table and began to walk out of the room, when Lind cleared her throat. "Am I forgetting something?" Alice asked.

The nurse sat back into her chair and crossed her legs. "Be careful out there. This city is... not having a good time. Whatever is taking on these supers and killing them, it's a predator. Predators all have different preferences in what they hunt down and kill." She looked over at the various dragon and wyvern toy figures on her desk. "Some prefer the elderly and the sick. Some prefer the challenge of the strong and healthy. Others specialize in the young and virgin flesh, against prey that is inexperienced and vulnerable."

She licked her lips, before wiping a hand across her mouth. She looked back over to Alice. "Whatever this predator is, they too have a preference of prey. Once that pattern is found out, it should be easy to anticipate and intercept it, but, from what information that is gathered... It is a different pattern than the likes of Bloodless. Be careful, Alice."

Alice gave a slow nod as she turned to head back toward the door. "Y-yes, I'll be careful." She told Lind, before she walked out the door.

[Corzak The Mighty]

The blow from Blind struck with great force and precision, causing Backdraft to let out an audible wheeze of pain from the vigilante's punch! The pyromaniac staggered backwards in pain and nearly collapsed onto one of her knees, giving Blind the upper hand to wrench the psychotic woman's weapon of choice out of her grasp! Quickly recovering from the blow and now seething with rage, Backdraft ignited the blowtorch on her other wrist.

"Pinche perra tonta, NOW you've done it!" Backdraft snarled. "I'm gonna melt that fucking mask onto your face, then peel it off while you're screaming!"

Like a feral animal, Backdraft lunged toward Blind, her eyes widened with bloodlust. The crazed psychopath either had not noticed Foxtrot, or didn't care enough to acknowledge her presence.
-----
Like a moth to a flame, Somsak had found himself wandering ever closer to the sounds of conflict in the South Distinct, watching as panicked civilians fled the area and law enforcement struggled to reach the scene with all the streets blocked with abandoned vehicles. An opportunity like this... it wasn't very often that he'd get the opportunity to just waltz into an area and not have to put any effort into casing a place! As Somsak crept closer to the sight of the conflict, sliding past panicking pedestrians fleeing for their lives at multiple turns, he soon could hear the sounds of shouting and fire blazing, along with the ominous orange glow of flame from a couple of the nearby buildings.

Somsak felt his blood run cold as he heard the distant shouting, his hairs standing on end. Ah fuck... The feline criminal thought to himself, ears folded back in fear, Ember?! Why did it have to be her?! Literally ANYBODY but her! He still had memories of his last... 'meetup'... with her, and how close he'd come to getting his ass incinerated.

Keeping his ears alert and his eyes locked where he heard Ember's shouting coming from, Somsak slinked into an abandoned convenience store and quickly went up behind the counter, pocketing as many cigarette packs as he could before he began fiddling with the cash register up front in the hopes of scoring some easy money...

[HayesAJones]

Although Blind- about Ember's height and almost certainly more muscular- was fairly confident she could take Backdraft head-on, she refused to be caught off-guard by the arsonist twice. As the pyromaniac tackled her, she allowed her hips to slide back with the blow, placing Backdraft's head and upper body below her chest, then fell forward, pinning her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Ember," Blind grunts as she tries to restrain Backdraft's arms behind her back. The vigilante hoped she would be able to keep her head down with body weight alone. "Just stop you from hurting other people. Please don't struggle."

[Corzak The Mighty]

The only response Blind received from Backdraft was a guttural, feral yell as the woman fought ferociously against the vigilante's pin, thrashing her arms and body about against her foe's grasp. Though Blind was indeed better trained and toned than Backdraft was, the psychotic woman writhed and twisted with the desperation of a wild beast in a trap, using her body's full might against Blind's more restrained usage of her strength. As Blind attempted to restrain Backdraft's flailing arms, the hispanic woman willed all of her strength at once just enough to painfully twist her head and shoulders into a more advantageous position!

Seizing the brief leverage her writhing brought her, Backdraft lashed out with a metal-plated elbow strike right to Blind's cheek, striking with enough force to draw blood. The blow was enough to briefly daze even Blind, drawing a sadistic grin from Backdraft! As Blind recovered from the disorienting blow, Backdraft ignited her free hand's blowtorch and prepared to burn a hole in the vigilante's inner thigh!
__________________________________________
Ignorant to the chaos outside, Somsak continued to fiddle with the cash register, lighting up one of the cigarettes he had stolen with one of the lighters on the checkout stand nearby. He hated these stupid modern cash registers... there wasn't really a key slot for him to jam one of his claws into, so he had to very slowly fiddle with the edges and hope he could find a part that was compromised...

Aha! He found a small indentation he could fit one of his claws into. Extending his cat-like claws from where his nails should be, Somsak began to carve along the edge of the crevice, weakening it further, before he began to tug on the plastic with all his might. Despite his best efforts, he made very little progress as he tugged, before he finally cursed and threw the cash register on the ground.

"Goddammit!" somsak shouted angrily. "What's a guy got to do to get some fucking cash these days?!"

The cat-eared thief took a deep breath and calmed down. There had to be something he could use in the store to pry this thing open...

[Breakdown]

Fusillade cursed as he watched one of his men be skewered by the mechanical monstrosity; his body armor offering no protection against the razor-sharp appendage. He needed to finish this now before any more of these guys died. Once again taking aim with his gauss rifle, Fusillade determined that the next best place to hit this thing would be right in its head. The machine's head had already sustained considerable damage from Fusillade's KN-99 heavy pistol, with numerous dents and holes pocking its once pristine surface. Quickly shouldering his rifle and stepping away from the mechanical creature, Fusillade pressed the trigger on his gauss rifle and after but a moment the weapon spat a magnetically accelerated projectile at the machine's head. The result was just as devastating as it was on the abdomen: shards of metal sprayed in every direction like shrapnel, sparks fizzed like fireworks, black smoke billowed from the hole, and surges of runaway electrical currents leapt from the damaged machine. Fusillade fired another shot from his gauss rifle that carved away a huge chunk of the robot's head, leading to even more critical damage. Fusillade would be lying if he said he wasn't somewhat impressed with this thing's resilience, as he wasn't aware of any kind of robotic weapon that could take this much punishment except for maybe his own suit. Having a few of these bad-boys around could solve the city's crime problem overnight, and could be very helpful against higher-tier Supers. As far as this one was concerned, though, it was a threat that needed to be eliminated and Fusillade seemed poised to do just that.

Elsewhere in the warehouse, the SWAT team that had split off to search for Viola have had no success in tracking the arms-dealer down. They searched every room where she could have possibly fled to in the immediate area, but turned up empty handed each time. It was as though she had simply disappeared into thin air; gone without a trace. The squad leader, DeMarco, pressed a button on the walkie mounted on his ballistic vest and composed himself to deliver the bad news.

"Sigma 2 to command, target has escaped. Repeat, target has escaped. Mission is a bust" he said while looking down, almost shamefully.

Months of surveillance and tracking just went up in smoke, and surely everyone involved in the mission were going to get an earful from command. DeMarco also expected some demotions to follow, with himself also possibly on the chopping block as he was responsible for capturing the target while Fusillade and Sigma 1 took on whatever the hell that giant spider was. If there was any silver lining to this shitshow, is that maybe they won't assign him to these kinds of whacky missions ever again. Drug raids and shootouts with gangs? No problem. Giant mechanical spiders, power-armored sociopaths and sci-fi laser guns? No thanks.

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

Marina's eyes slowly opened as she heard Celine knocking on the door followed by saying her name. Her vision took a moment to become clear, and she found herself looking at the TV on, playing some sort of romance movie. As if on cue, the two main characters began to share a passionate kiss, and the sight triggered Marina almost immediately. She felt her anxiety and sorrow rise to the surface and her lips began to quiver. She clutched Franklin's bracelet in her hand, so tight that she threatened to crush the beads. Another knock by Celine mercifully snapped her out of her trance before it could fully capture her, and she called out to answer Celine.

"Yeah, give me a second!" she said, her voice cracking a bit.

Getting up out of bed, she stretched and cracked her back before shuffling towards the door. She had been sleeping the better part of the past three days, oftentimes underwater in the tub. Her sleep quality ranged from "tolerable" to "absolute hell", with the latter happening all too often. Franklin and Sierra appeared in her dreams in some way or another. The nicest ones felt old memories: Her, Franklin, Martin and Sierra hanging out back home in Nantucket, having the time of their lives. Then there was the bad ones. The horrible ones. The ones where she saw that monster, that "Toxcinder" thing that Franklin had become. Often times they were similar to one another, with the central theme being Franklin being trapped or consumed by the beast, and all were equally heart wrenching for her. At least this meant that Franklin was still alive in there somewhere, if she was interpreting things right, and as long as he was, the possibility of saving him was still there. This acted as some form of comfort for her in regard to those dreams, but the ones about Sierra had no silver lining. She would see the scene from DRU play out again and again, with Sierra being gunned down by Kruger and his mercenaries. Unlike Franklin however, there was no chance to save her best friend. Sierra was gone for good, and there was nothing she could do about it except mourn. Her funeral was later today as well, and she couldn't wait to hug Sierra's parents. She'd spoken to them on the phone rather than visiting them directly due to safety concerns, so this would be the first time she'd be seeing them since she crashed over at Sierra's house. They were good people, and they didn't deserve to have this happen to them. She saw first hand the effect losing a child can have on a parent with her own father, as well as her true parents.


After what felt like an eternity, she made it to the door and took a deep breath before turning the knob an opening it. The gust of wind that entered from outside was surprisingly chilly, even for her. Of course, the fact that she was wearing literally only a hoodie, T-shirt and shorts didn't help things. Still, she forced a smile and nodded to Celine.

"Hey Celine. Did you need something?" she said quietly.

[Demon Lord Gira]

The mechanical spider, already struggling to remain upright, let out a final dying groan before it collapsed fully. The lights in its lenses dimmed and faded out, and all movement in the machine ceased. Around the disabled machine lay all that remained of Viola's auction, guns and ammo of various kinds, some still intact while others shattered and broken from the fight...

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

Tenmus gave a low whistle. "An impressive display, I'll admit to that. And he was able to quickly regain control of the situation even with... the complication that occurred, and with Viola somehow slipping away..." She looked over to Goldman, who was awe struck by what he had witnessed on the screen. "I would ask Heng for her opinion, but it is clear she had more urgent matters to attend to, so I'll ask you instead, Goldman. What do you think of the agent and his work against Viola?"

The banker and financial advisor of Los Diamantes snapped out of his gaze and nervously tapped his fingers together. "Um, well he did very well. N-not every day a mechanical spider attacks. Though, where the hell could she have even gotten something like that? We don't have anything like that, and I doubt the military does. I'll ask Alan if perhaps-"

"Don't bother." Tenmus shook her head. "I doubt he has any clue either. Though, it is very rare for anyone to be able to crash one of Viola's auctions and put her back against the wall, so clearly this was something she had planned if things went sour for her. That's more than Supercell or any of the supers here in Los Diamantes have been able to do. A very impressive display, indeed."

Yet as she said this, her mind couldn't help but wonder. It was hard to discern much of anything in the warehouse given the smoke that was billowing up, but... How had she escaped? If Tenmus were any younger, surely her eyes would have been able to notice what Viola had done... But she was an old bird now, past her prime and her senses likewise fading. If Viola could simply vanish into thin air the moment she was obscured... Extra precautions would have to be taken to ensure there was no escape for her.

__________________________

Celine let a thin smile form on her face. It was good that Marina had answered the door. If she hadn't, she would have been worried about what she was likely to do. The girl had it rough enough as is before Celine had dropped the bombshell of Sierra's demise upon her several days ago, and it was just good to see that she was managing, even if it was clear the week's events were taking their toll on her. What she wouldn't give to take that stress and pain from Marina and contain it within herself...

It wouldn't be the first time she had been used as a container for excess negative emotions, but this time it would be her choice to do that, not something forced upon her.

"Just... checking in on you." Celine finally said. "I forgot my phone charger back at my place, and I don't feel like running all the way back there to get it..." She scratched the back of her head, before she sighed.

"I... I'll be attending Sierra's funeral tonight as well. Both because she was a fellow student who made so many lives on campus better just by being herself and being people's friends... And in case those armed men from before come back or... if anything suspicious happens. Just, want to make sure the funeral is safe for everyone and no one defiles it."

She rubbed her forehead with her right thumb and index finger. "Did you want to get something to eat? I know a place, well, Sister Seisshia knows a place, that has very good smoothies and shakes. They always make me feel better when I'm pissed off or depressed..."

________________________________

Vinnie knew he had very little time to spend outside of the house, so he would have to make every second matter. A part of him wanted to shout out Kala's name as he raced down the sidewalk toward where the Infernal Cafe was, only a few blocks away, but he forced himself not to. If he began shouting out, it would attract all sorts of attention that Vinnie didn't want to risk, especially if that attention was the monster that had attacked the University. And he couldn't waste time looking through every single alleyway and sewer hole in the hopes of finding Kala. It was unfeasible, and before he knew it, Heng would have the entire police force looking for him.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, heading straight to the Infernal Cafe and back was his best option. With any luck, Kala already was in the rough area and was lurking around looking for him. At least, he hoped she was.

At this time in the morning, most of the commuters heading to work had already come and gone, and the streets were emptier of cars than at other times of the day since it also wasn't quite lunch yet for most people. The crosswalks that Vinnie came to he was able to run across since they were always green unless there were cars nearby. Only when traffic got heavier were the crosswalk lights always red until the street light turned. As he made his way down the sidewalk, he noticed there were no pets outside in people's yards. He couldn't blame them for keeping their pets inside, given what was going on. It was a chill air, but he was fine with that. It helped keep him a little more active. If it got too hot, he got sleepy, so cold air was welcome.

As the neighborhood area of houses ended and the downtown buildings began to take their place, he saw it, the small cafe on the side of the street he was walking on. The front of the building had a purple cat as its logo with a massive grin and a pair of small devil wings on its back. He had never actually been to the Infernal Cafe before, only passed it by when walking or when being driven by Heng or Lind, so a small part of him was curious to see what it was like inside. He walked up to the front door, and pushed it open.

Vinnie was immediately greeted by a powerful scent flowing over him, the smell of burnt cinnamon and roasted fruits. It was almost overwhelming, and it made him regret having not eaten the breakfast that Heng had cooked for him, because now he was hungry just from the smell. Before him was a front desk where a young woman in a black gown-like dress was greeting customers with a gentle smile on her face and a soft voice. There were other women carrying trays of food or menus from two different sections of the cafe, a place on the right that looked more like a bar with hanging televisions and some pool tables, and a place on the left that looked more like a normal restaurant. One of the girls looked to be about his size and age, until she turned and he saw she had a disproportionately large head, which made her look more like a gnome than a person, and another girl that was even shorter and looked more like a child a couple years younger than Vinnie than a working adult, especially given the doll like dress she was wearing.

"Welcome Cafe Infernal to!" The woman at the front desk looked down to Vinnie. She was only slightly taller than him, yet he noticed that she was oddly muscular for her appearance. Her aquagreen eyes winked at him as she tapped a board behind her with one hand and adjusted her glasses with another. "Kid lost adult to looking? Need Doris call parent pick child up?"

Vinnie's eye twitched. What was this dialect she was speaking in? She was speaking English, but the way her words were jumbled... It hurt his mind trying to piece them together in the way they were meant to. He shook his head, deciding to take a stab at what she was trying to say.

"N-no, I'm not lost, and I don't need to be picked up. I'm here to meet with someone, a few people actually." Vinnie nervously said. The fact the woman was leaning so close to him, that he could smell her perfume and breath, it made him nervous. Did she not know what personal space was? "D-does the name Gumps ring a bell? I-I think they're working here and..."

The woman tapped her chin and looked out back. "Gumps... Not yet in they, but I know them, yes. Gumps you know, Manager say allow into section adult, yes. Gumps know let I arrive they will." She gestured to the right. "Backmost table sit yourself at. Server you be with shortly." She handed him a menu, and gave him a nod.

"T-thank you." He stammered, before he made his way toward the right section of the Infernal Cafe. The section of the cafe he was in was busy, numerous customers seated up at the bars and either watching the latest sports game that was airing or the earlier news broadcast on repeat. Most of the booths in the section were also occupied, with young women dressed in demon or devil themed outfits carrying menus and orders into and from the kitchen from a pair of swinging doors to the side. Vinnie could hear a very loud angry voice erupt out of the kitchen, screaming about some detail in a received order that was apparently "bullshittingly stupid", but he did his best to ignore the voice and move toward the furthest back section he had been pointed toward, a completely isolated "Reserved" room where it seemed as though no one was currently there. Why was it that he had been directed to here? Was this the only spot open even this early? Was this place really that popular?

"Well well... what are you doing here, boy?"

The voice had come from the bar, and was accompanied by a cold hand placed down the back of his shirt. Vinnie nearly pumped from how cold the hand was, and turned to see it was Seisshia. She was dressed in a long crimson red gown, and her eyes were half drooped, almost obscuring her one emerald and one pale blue eye behind her eyelids. Her other hand was spinning a glass with nothing but ice in it, and her body was slouched forward onto the bar table. "You're not with your sister today? Getting her a bite to eat while she lays low?"

Vinnie shook his head and looked around. No one seemed to care much of anything about the conversation at hand, aside from a slightly shorter girl to Seisshia's side with long black and white hair and four large plates of food half eaten in front of her. Vinnie had to do a double take at that sight. Was that all just for her, or... were they sharing or... Shaking his head again, he looked to Seisshia and whispered, "I don't know where Kala is. She hasn't showed up at all since that night, and... I'm worried for her. I'm... just here to meet some friends is all. You don't look so good yourself."

Seisshia sighed, removing her hand from Vinnie's shirt and scratching the side of her head with her ring finger. "That is correct. I... assume you watched the news regarding the casualty on campus from the attack?"

When Vinnie nodded, Seisshia continued, "Well, I was with Sierra during her final moments. Her friend and a friend of mine entrusted her into my care, but... I was unable to keep her alive. The gun wounds she received were too much, and she passed away. I let both Marina and Puppeteer down in their requests, and it's been eating away at me these past days." She lifted the glass of ice and let what water had melted into it flow into her mouth, before she put the glass down. "I hope you find your sister soon, boy. This city is already spiraling down a dark path, and I would hate for her to be caught in the crossfire. Drinking away my sorrows is all I can do, since I cannot bring myself to face Marina with what happened. If you are thinking of doing that, don't. You're too young to drink."

The girl on the other side poked her head up, several lobster legs stuck in her mouth that she swallowed down. "I'll drink any alcohol you get, and any food you can't. Any problems you have, I can eat them as well."

Seisshia looked over to the girl and patted her head. "Sally, I know you're trying to help, but just keep eating your plates. This isn't the type of problem you can simply eat away at."

"Perhaps I can... If you will let me." Sally grabbed a full slab of steak and began to cram it into her mouth, and Seisshia simply shook her head.

"Manners, Sally. Manners, please."

Vinnie looked over to Seisshia and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry you're not having a good time either. I just wish everything was back to normal, and not crazy like it is now." He said.

"We all do." Seisshia told him, leaving Sally to continue eating her plates of food. "I had hoped, at the very least, Sierra would be able to speak with Marina one last time, but... I guess that's no longer possible."

"Technically it can still ha-"

Seisshia tapped a finger onto Sally's forehead. "Not the time for jokes. Not now." Was all she said. She looked back to Vinnie, and gestured for him to keep going where he had been heading off to, which he did after giving her a final nod.

Would it even be possible for things to become better? For everything to turn back to normal? He could only hope...

_______________________________________

One of the sewer lids out in the neighborhood slowly creaked open, and a living shadow slithered out. With the sun obscured by clouds passing overhead, it wasn't too hard for Kala to make her way up to the surface unseen. She had consumed several more rats and vermin that had lurked in the Los Diamantes sewers, but when she had come upon maintenance workers fixing the sewer line, she had made it an effort to avoid them at all costs. She didn't want anyone to blow the whistle and send the heroes after her. Even if her memory of what had happened that night was only a faded blur, her body ached at the thought of having a run in with Roadrunner or Puppeteer.

She was not far from the house, but as she began to make her way there, she sniffed the air and stopped. Vinnie wasn't here, not anymore. His scent lead deeper into the city instead of being strongest at the house, which was strange. He never left the house by himself... So why wasn't he here?

"Forget the boy." The voice in her head rasped. "Can you sense it? The monster lives, the sinner claims lives.Our foe is not dead yet. Find the fiend, and silence him!"

"No." Kala mentally snapped back at the voice. "I need to find Vinnie. There's no way that thing is still alive, and I don't know if Vinnie is safe. If you want to go track that thing down, do it yourself."

"YOU STUPID CHILDISH BRAT!" The voice snapped, its tone like nails on a chalkboard in Kala's mind. "YOU DO NOT REALIZE WHAT WILL UNFOLD! THE HEIROPHANT'S MACHINATIONS ARE IN PLAY, THIS WORLD IS CURSED UNLESS-"

"I said no! I'm finding Vinnie, and that's that. Last time you did something, I was unable to move for days! You're a bad influence, stupid half of me, now shut up!"

Her shadowy form slithered from darkness to darkness, racing across the ground toward the direction VInnie's scent was coming from. He wasn't too far away... but where was he?

[Breakdown]

As the mechanical behemoth came crashing to the ground, Fusillade and his men took a step back in order to avoid being hit by one of its flailing limbs. Those present kept their weapons trained on the machine as Fusillade slowly approached it. His HUD's crosshair was trained on the wreckage before him, and his finger was firmly on the trigger, ready to que up another shot from his rifle. He tapped the robot's head with the barrel of his rifle and awaited a response from the machine. After several seconds of tension-filled silence, Fusillade decided that the situation had been dealt with.

"Target has been eliminated" said Fusillade, while making a signaling gesture with one arm.

At once, the men lowered their weapons and took a moment to catch their breath. Fighting a giant mechanical arachnid probably wasn't what these guys were expecting when they were assigned to a "warehouse raid", and they could certainly use a breather. Arriving shortly thereafter were clean-up crews and investigators, to see if they could find any clue that could lead them to Viola's whereabouts. Fusillade continued to stare at the fallen mech, fluid leaking from the various holes in its body, followed by the faintest whisps of white smoke. He turned and approached the nearest crewman in charge of clean-up, who likely felt the thumping footsteps behind him and spun around. The crewman stared wide-eyed at the tank-like suit of armor towering before him and stammered a response.

"C-can I help you, s-sir?" he said, his tone of voice clearly conveying a sense of being intimidated by Fusillade. Ignoring the crewman's stammering, Fusillade replied coldly and to the point.

"I want that marked for salvage, ASAP" he said.

The crewman nodded and slinked away to go write up the necessary paperwork. He took another look at the wrecked spider-bot; the eggheads were going to love taking this thing apart, as well as all the other exotic weapons they would undoubtably recover. Speaking of exotic weapons, Fusillade remembered the knife the one exoskeleton-clad mercenary had, the one that carved through his armored shoulder pauldrons like butter. He backtracked to where the brief encounter had occurred, and quickly located the knife, still tightly held in the hand of its deceased owner. Rigor mortis proved to be no match for the powered servos of Fusillade's armor, naturally, and the weapon was freed from its owner's death grip. The weapon was rather small, at least in Fusillade's clunky, robotic "hands", yet it was so lethal.


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

Marina blinked and quietly nodded before backing away from the door, her legs shivering from the cold.

"The charger is on the wall there by the nightstand." she said, with her pointer finger barely visible through the sleeve of her hoodie. Once Celine stepped inside, she hurriedly closed the door to stop the freezing cold air from coming in. She listened as Celine explained her reasons for attending the funeral, and the issue of security rang a bell for her. If something does happen, she wanted to make sure that Sierra's parents were also safe, not just herself. They've gone through enough as it is, and also because in some way, they're the last she has of Sierra. She dreaded a scenario where another squad of those exo-dudes rolls up looking for her. Franklin and Bloodless wouldn't be here to thin them out this time.

"Um, Miss Celine? Would it be possible to keep Sierra's family safe too? I know that's not part of the plan, but they're still grieving and the last thing they need is for something else to happen to them. Please?" she asked earnestly.

"And yes, we can get something to eat. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning. Just lemme get dressed first..." she added, rubbing her eyes.

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

On the southern side of the city near a rail yard, a notorious group known as the “Inferno Brothers” lounged about inside an empty train car covered in faded graffiti. Joey, Jameson, and Johnny had been gifted with various pyrokinetic abilities, but rather than using their power towards more noble endeavors, the triplets instead fell into a life of petty crime and arson. They were eventually assimilated into a gang of all-Supers known as “The Creeps”, run by an undying behemoth of a man known as Frankenstein. Since then, Frankenstein has used them as his personal thugs to harass, intimidate or kill enemies that he feels don’t warrant his full attention. Evidently, things had been slow back at the hideout and the Inferno Brothers hadn’t seen much action lately, and thus were resigned to laying around drinking themselves into a stupor, or shooting up drugs.

The eldest brother, Jameson, clad in a black leather jacket embellished with flame decals, staggered over to his brothers, the drink in his hand swishing around in the bottle as he raised it high and chugged the last of the alcohol. Finally, he chucked the beverage into the makeshift fire they built inside a trash can beside the train car.

“This is FUGGIN’ bullshit man…” he shouted, gesturing with his finger as he walked over to a rickety plastic chair positioned in front of the burning trash can.

“We haven’t had shit to do in days…and I’m fuggin’ SICK of it!” he said, before collapsing into the seat of a rickety plastic chair leaning into his chair and throwing back his head.

Johnny and Joey, who sat on the edge of the train car door smoking cigarettes, nodded their heads in agreement.

“You’d think with Toxcinder and Bloodless on the loose, the boss would start making moves with the city being distracted and all…” said Johnny, the middle child.

“That’s exactly why he isn’t doing anything. That Toxcindier thing has already taken out six Supers, two of which we knew personally. He doesn’t want to risk it wiping out his gang, so he’s having everyone lay low” said Joey, the youngest.

“Man, FUCK THAT” shouted Jameson in drunken protest. He stood up out of his chair and began to clumsily pace back and fourth.

“We could fuckin’ take Toxcinder or Bloodless any time, any place, any where!! Besides all those guys he killed were TRASH!” he exclaimed.

“Jesus man, is that what you thought of Audrey and Rikki?? They’re fucking DEAD Jameson!” said Johnny, with a tone that seemed to convey a visceral level of offense.

“No you got it all wrong!!! All I’m saying is…right?....that we’re way better than the guys it's been going after! Besides, we’re the goddamn INFERNO BROTHERS! The three of us could take him!!”

“Jameson, Bloodless would rip our assholes inside out. Toxcinder beat the fuck out of Bloodless. It’s safe to say we don’t stand a fucking chance against either of them, bro…” rebuked Joey.

Before Jameson could reply, a raspy wheeze startled the three brothers and put them immediately on edge. The trio held completely still, with only their eyeballs moving to look at one another. Suddenly, there was another wheeze that deepened into a gurgling growl, and the hair on the back of their necks stood up. The sound seemed like it was coming from the roundhouse roughly 100 meters away, but the presence of a number of train cars prevented a view of the inside.

“Maybe it’s just some homeless guy throwing up?” whispered Joey, when Johnny slapped him gently on the back of the head.

“SSSHHHHHHHut the fuck up!!!” Johnny hissed, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Just as Johnny hushed his younger brother up, Jameson stood up and began being as loud as possible in his drunken state.

“You picked the wrong place BUDDY. This here’s Inferno Brothers territory!” he said in the direction of the noise, with his arms stretched out in a “come at me” pose.

“Walk your ass out here and show your face!” Jameson added as his hands came alight with crackling flames.

“Jameson what the fuck are you doing??!!” demanded Johnny, raising his voice above a whisper as he jumped off the edge of the train car and crept towards his brother, followed by Joey.

Just as they stepped off the train car, an unseen force violently picked up the train car, causing a commotion that made the trio wheel around to face it. They did so just in time to see a hulking monstrosity lift the train car over its head and toss it aside as through it it were made of cardboard. The empty train car hit the ground a few dozen feet from the creature, with an impact so intense the brothers felt it in their bones. The creature took a single thudding step forward towards the brothers, saliva running between its snaggle teeth as it snarled at them. The glowing orange bits, vaguely humanoid and pseudo-reptilian appearance were dead giveaways to the beast’s identity: It was Toxcinder. However, it looked different then when the trio had seen it on the news. For one, it was much bigger now, standing roughly 9 feet tall compared to the 6-7ft it was when it fought Bloodless at DRU. The rest of its body seemed slightly less mangled and misshapen than before, but still horrible to look at, and the brothers cringed at its appearance. A chitinous appendage ending in a snapping crustacean’s claw grew out of the monster’s right shoulder blade, and seemed almost to have a life of its own as it pointed directly at them.

Without warning, the creature dashed forward with sufficient speed to leave an after image and slammed a glowing orange fist into Joey’s chest. On impact, there was a blinding miniature explosion that created a shockwave powerful enough to fling Johnny and Jameson away, and send Joey skidding across the ground, his sternum and rib cage having been obliterated. As the other two brothers regained their senses, Toxcinder targeted Johnny next: it leapt high up into the air, its fist once again glowing bright orange as it pulled its arm back to strike. Johnny had recovered enough of his wits to stumble out of the way, but not far enough. Toxcinder landed with its fist striking the ground, creating another explosive shockwave that threw Johnny through the air. The ground under Toxcinder’s fist cratered, and a web of deep and large cracks spread out around the area of impact. Jameson scrambled to his feet, stumbling from both the alcohol still in his system and from the force of the shockwave.

Just minutes ago, he boasted about how he and his brothers could defeat Toxcinder, however the reality proved to be much harsher: Joey was critically injured, Johnny got ragdolled, and he was half drunk. However as Toxcinder approached the downed Johnny, Jameson came running towards it while yelling to get its attention.

“Hey! Hey! Over here you ugly fuck!” Jameson bellowed as his eyes glowed a fiery red. His hands began to crackle with flames and he unleashed a storm of flame-bullets at Toxcinder.

The projectiles peppered the creature, but failed to leave so much as a scratch on the mutant’s hide. The long, quill-like structures that ran down Toxcinder’s back perked up and the beast turned to face Jameson. It narrowed its glowing orange eyes, and its nightmarish face took on an expression Jameson could have sworn was amusement. As though it found his attempts to fight back laughable. However in reality, the abomination was merely pleased that it found prey with a potentially useful ability it could assimilate. Obtaining this power would be a simple matter, as the prey had already proved incapable of harming it. Toxcinder decided to spare Johnny for now and marched towards Jameson, making more of the raspy wheezing and gurgling from earlier that sent shivers down Jameson’s spine. The elder Inferno Brother took several steps back in fear, as panic began to grip him in his drunken state. Despite this, Jameson still tried to save face and maintain his earlier bravado.

“Y..yeah come over here and come get some..b..bitch! Y..you f..fucked with the wrong gang!!” he sputtered while pointing at Toxcinder.

[Spuro]

Foxtrot waited on the sidelines, prepared to jump into action. Blind currently had Backdraft pinned, and was trying to talk down the crazed pyromaniac into surrender. Foxtrot gripped her electric batons tighter as she watched. She hoped against hope that Backdraft would listen. That this could be ended peacefully.

A sudden shout from a nearby store – a young man's voice - stole her attention away from the struggle. Her heart dropped; was someone still trapped inside?

While Foxtrot was distracted by her thoughts, she heard a pained grunt from Blind; Backdraft struck Blind in the face with her elbow! The pyromaniac ignited a blowtorch in her free hand, and Foxtrot swore loudly. She pounced into the fray, aiming an electric baton at Backdraft's blowtorch in an attempt to intercept the deadly blow!

[Corzak The Mighty]

It came from behind, before Backdraft could even respond! The battering pain of a sudden blow from a baton, followed by the sting of hundreds of volts of electricity lancing up her arm, caused Backdraft to cry out in pain and her arm to immediately go limp! The fiery blowtorch that tipped Backdraft's gauntlet was instantly extinguished, much to the frustration of the psychotic woman. Backdraft immediately shifted her enraged gaze towards the intrusion of Foxtrot, her eyes burning with feral fury beneath her goggles.

Like a rabid animal, Backdraft fought against Blind's grasp, hoping to land a strike on Foxtrot with her currently limp arm. "Puta estupida! Who the fuck do you think you are, sneaking up on me?! I'll claw your fucking eyes out! I'LL FUCKING COOK YOU ALIVE!"
-----
Somsak's feline eyes scanned the store up and down, tearing down the aisles to something something - ANYTHING- to help get this goddamn cash register open. Eventually, Somsak found what looked to be, quite possibly, the world's saddest broom. The poor thing looked like it had been through at least three different wars - the wooden handle was thin and weak, riddled with pock marks and cracks from abuse and overuse. The bristles of the broom were dry and stiff - barely able to dust much of anything in their current state. Gunk and accumulated dust bunnies covered the bristles from lack of care and maintenance. Somsak almost figured he was doing these shopowners a favor, destroying this thing for his own use.

Extending his claws, Somsak hastily sliced into the handle of the broom and shaped it into a quite crappy wedge. It wasn't exactly a crowbar - or even a bar - but it'd have to do with how little Somsak had to work with. Wedging the piece of wood into the biggest gap in the register he could find, Somsak began to pry the machine with all his might!...

... until the broom handle snapped. Seething with rage at this point, Somsak threw the hunk of wood against the floor, before he picked up the register. "fuck it, I'll just take it home with me and hope nobody sees me..."
_______________________________________________________________________
Maximillian found himself at a lonely coffee shop deep in the southern district, staring blankly into a mug of coffee. After that stunt he had pulled three days ago, the once hard working man found himself out of a job. Maximillian took a drink from his mug, sloshing the dark colored fluid in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. A little caffeine went a long way to help keep him alive. Maximillian never slept well, but sleep had become increasingly difficult now that he had lost his only source of income. Destitute and running low on funds, Maximillian had increasingly been leaning into his Cocytus persona as a crutch, losing himself in the opportunity to do something right with these powers he'd sold himself for. Maybe, in a sense, Cocytus was the real him now, and Maximillian was just a guise to live among the regular people of this city.

A young waitress, blonde and boxom, walked over to the Italian man's table. "Hey sweetheart, need a refill?"

Maximillian looked up to the waitress and faked a smile. "I'm fine, thank you."

The waitress' expression softened with concern. "You sure? You've been staring at your coffee cup for the past twenty minutes."

Maximillian locked his jaw, but remained calm. "I'll manage. Thank you for your concern."

"Alright," the waitress sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "If you need anything, gimme a holler." She shot Maximillian a wink before she strutted away.

Maximillian rolled his eyes and prepared to take another sip of his coffee, before he noted strange flashing lights coming from the rail yard. Quickly chugging his coffee, Maximillian shot up from his seat and left a sizable tip behind for the waitress, before he dashed as quickly as he could towards the flashing lights...
-------
As the battle unfolded in the abandoned rail yard between the Inferno brothers and the empowered Toxcinder, a small bird roosted on a nearby car, eyeing the mutated colossus curiously...

[Demon Lord Gira]

Tenmus let a low sigh escape from her lips as she nodded for Goldman to come over to her. When he did, she looked over at the agent. "Well, your man in armor has talent and skills. I will admit, I wasn't expecting much at first, but he's impressed me. I suppose I will be fine with him helping to keep Los Diamantes safe from the likes of Viola and others like her. Now, is there any paperwork that I need to sign? My hands are... no longer adept at such fine control as handshakes or writing, so I'll let Goldman sign anything that's needed in my stead."

Goldman gave a weak grumble. That's how it always was with Tenmus. She never signed anything herself or grabbed at anything herself, instead relying on Heng or someone else with her to do all the work for her. He couldn't blame her, since he knew she wasn't capable of that sort of thing, but it was annoying all the same, and now that responsibility was put onto him. All he wanted to do was go check to make sure the bank systems were up and running and nothing bad was happening, then maybe go back home and binge watch some TV.

"And... would he be starting today?"

"Not today." Tenmus answered Goldman. "Alan and his forces should be able to keep the ceremony regarding Supercell's replacement safe and sound. I doubt Viola will try anything after this stunt for a while, and as news spreads that someone was finally able to stop Viola in her tracks, that should give all the other gremlins and crooks pause on their actions."

___________________________

Celine gave Marina a quick nod. The protection of Sierra's family had not been something she had thought of, but it made sense in hindsight, and while her own experiences with family were less than stellar, preventing any more pain and anguish from those already hurting was paramount.

"Yes, I will do my best to help protect them. So will Alice, as she'll also be attending." She didn't mention that since this was Alice's big day, she would naturally try to present as good a front as she could as Supercell's replacement. Alice had told her prior to the run in with Bloodless that this was the set day for the ceremony, and Alice had very big shoes to fill. Of course, there was more driving her than simply trying to look good, as there was the very real chance that something could happen during the funeral, and the last thing Alice wanted was to see innocent people get hurt.

She plugged her phone into the charger. With any luck, it would be charged up and ready within 2 hours, enough time to make it to the ceremony. She looked back to Marina, arms across her chest.

"I'm glad you still have even a little appetite. It's easy to not want to eat in a situation like this, but the body needs energy to keep going. As for the place, it's this small shake stand that's downtown, 'Glacial Frost', it's called. I can show you the way once you're ready... and once I'm dressed up."

_______________________________

It did not take long for the four winged hawked form of Viola to make her way back to the abandoned underpass she called home. She flew down the lift elevator and landed in the chamber that was her den. A she landed, her form adjusted back into her human frame, and she let out a pained, annoyed sigh as she walked over to the screen at the far end and tapped a button. The screen flickered, but this time there was no image of her employer to be shown, only static, but any assumption they weren't there was cut short by their distorted, dry voice.

"What is it, my arms leader?" Her employer hissed in a tone that left no imagination as to how they felt from this sudden call. "What news do you bring from your latest sales?"

Viola cleared her throat. "My apologies, but... II was unable to sell anything. We were attacked before-"

"What has happened?!" The voice snapped. The static on the screen flared in that moment, and Viola felt like she was about to be put out of her misery at that moment if her employer was capable of doing so. "How could you fail at this at such a time?!..." The voice then lowered, but the hostile, angry tone remained. "Who has intervened? Was it the Black Knight again? Bloodless?"

"No, neither of those." Viola admitted. "It was... someone else. A man in an exo-suit, similar but very different to that which Laeptu- an old colleague of mine from back home once wore. The auction hadn't even started before they crashed in and began gunning down everyone. I only made my escape by siccing the Retriever on him, but..."

"So even the Retriever that I reverse engineered from your specifications is lost now, in the hands of Los Diamantes." The voice coughed. "And if they were able to track you so easily, a change in tactics is necessary. Find a different way of encryption for your invitations, fine a more remote location within or near the city, ensure that these auctions produce the profit we require to turn this city upside down and expose the corruption that exists in high places. I assume you already have some of these in mind for your next auction?"

"Yes. I promise you, the next auction will be a success... And... I did lie a little."

"Did you now? What have you lied to me about?"

"I did manage to sneak... some money from the dead gangsters and mafia men while Robo-cop was fighting the Retriever. Some wallets that were scattered around, their bank accounts and physical hard cash. So... not a complete failure." She stepped forward and placed the wallets and bags she had held onto the platform before the screen, and the platform shone and the money was whisked away.

"That... does bring a smile to my face." Her employer said. "Rest, my arms dealer. I am currently very busy on a special project, but I will send you the next shipment to sell. Ensure this does not meet the same fate as your last auction, or I will have to take more dire actions, Balam."

"Understood, my lord."The demonic shapeshifter said, before the screen faded away. Once it was turned off, she slumped back down onto her small nest of leafs and sticks and looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. It was a miracle she had been able to even get away with that from how much of a disaster the auction had been. And that was only with normal guns. The next auction had... much spicier things in store, much more experimental, and she needed this to be a success. Perhaps if she could find that Adra girl and invite her over to help... She seemed strong, and easy to... manipulate into helping, if that cat of hers was out of the question...

But there was also the issue of Robo-cop. None of the intel she had gathered on any of the heroes in Los Diamantes matched this person. They were a complete enigma, an outside variable that had taken her by surprise. He was a damn good shot, and nearly fearless at that. What sort of person was he behind the suit? One of those jacked up body builders she had seen from the videos her employer had sent her from time to time, the type that gunned down rebels and guerilla fighters and got into fist fights with alien hunters? Or was he even human, perhaps being an AI construct using that exo-suit as a body? Whatever he was, she would have to take him into account as a possible factor from here on out... And clean up her act to prevent from being tracked down so easily.

[HayesAJones]

Blind- who's only plan had been to simply endure the blowtorch, thankful Backdraft had aimed the flame at a fatty part of the body like the thighs- had no time to acknowledge her rescuer; not yet.

First, Ember needed to be dealt with.

"I'm sorry," the vigilante says quietly before aiming a heavy blow at the criminal's temple, aiming to knock her unconscious with one blow...

[Corzak The Mighty]

With a single hearty blow from Blind, Backdraft crumpled to the ground with, her heavy metal equipment crashing audibly onto the dark pavement. The woman fluttered her eyes for a moment, before consciousness slipped away from her.

The threat of Backdraft had been neutralized.