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Save the Girl (Worm/BlazBlue Crossover)

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Oddly Lionized, May 11, 2019.

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  1. Threadmarks: Defragmentation 1.1
    Oddly Lionized

    Oddly Lionized Getting sticky.

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    Feb 21st 2011 6:14 a.m.

    Defragmentation 1.1

    The white room filled with light, it hurt the girl's eyes.

    When had she sat up in her bed? She glanced around and saw it wasn't her room.

    "I guess it's time we got started isn't it?"

    The girl turned and saw herself, standing in a white dress with golden curls blue eyes. But her pupils were red, the girl's doppelganger smiled in a way that seemed unnatural.

    She had a book in her hands and a pen.

    She also didn't have glasses.

    The girl's doppelganger just smiled wider, it wasn't cruel just wide. The doppelganger passed the book to the girl on the bed.

    "Shall we make another world Taylor," the girl's doppelganger smiled, she held the pencil to the girl's hands.

    The girl, Taylor, looked at the book's title.

    "The Story of the World," Taylor read outloud.

    She turned to her doppelganger, but the blond was gone.

    Taylor turned back at the book, she felt the compulsion to open the book. She swallowed the lump in her throat and opened the book. She turned through the pages, but found it empty.

    Except for the first and last line.

    The first lines were 'A certain girl in a country was imprisoned by a monster.'

    The final lines were 'A hero appeared and defeated the monster. The end'.

    She wanted to write, Taylor grabbed the pencil.

    Carefully she slowly brought the writing implement to the blank page.

    "Remember to not give up."

    White took up Taylor's vision.

    ......

    Taylor stared up at the familiar ceiling of her room.

    She yawned widely as she sat up and she stretched a bit. She'd been having this strange dream since the locker...

    Taylor shook her head to get rid of the thought. She didn't want to dwell on that now. Especially since it was her first day back to Winslow.

    She got up from her bed and looked at herself in the mirror.

    She saw herself; brunette curls, large brown eyes, wide mouth with thin lips, tall and almost painfully skinny, and worst of all flat chested.

    But that wasn't all there was to her.

    Putting out her hands she focused on the feelings of security.

    In a flash of blue she stood there.

    Her hair had shifted into dirty blond locks all stuffed under a beret her pyjamas were replaced with a sapphire dress like uniform with a collar and red tie, blue military styled boots with black stockings, the sleeves were held on by two metal bands with long red straps.

    In her white gloved hands were two large barrel handguns called Nox Nyctores Arcus Diabolus Bolverk.

    Taylor wasn't sure why her powers gave her a dress of all things to wear. But she got a free professional looking costume as a bonus. She'd rather not straight out join the local teen hero team. It was bad enough with just normal high school students.

    Taylor didn't want to think about any superpower bullying.

    Still wished for some freaking armor,even if she knew she had some sort of barrier around her.

    Taylor powered down and hoped that her first day wouldn't be too awful.

    ---Several hours later---

    She slammed the door to her house shut and raced to her room.

    She jumped to her bed face first and screamed into her pillows.

    The school didn't do shit, they didn't do anything at all.

    It was just proof that that psycho trash ex best friend had some sort of backing.

    Taylor was only grateful that Sophia Hess hadn't been there otherwise she really might have....

    Taylor rubbed the tears from her raw eyes.

    There was a stupid rumor going around that she did the locker on herself. Seriously, even some teachers were giving her looks of disapproval like they believed it.

    Then she got teased for her chest.

    Then her mom.

    Then they asked her how she did the locker.

    Constantly.

    It was all Taylor could do to not shoot them all down.

    She sniffed and decided tonight was the night.

    Tonight she was going to be a hero.

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

    I have it posted in space battles, but I'm still working on it.
     
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  2. Threadmarks: Defragmentation 1.2
    Oddly Lionized

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    Feb 21st 2011 11:34 a.m.

    Jumping through the air was wonderful.

    Sure flight would have been better to experience. But with her new found agility she could move through the rooftops with barely any effort.

    She had her guns out, ready for action when trouble finally found her.

    She smiled behind her mask as she flipped off the ledge of a office building.

    She used spirit gum to attach the mask to her face.

    It covered the top half of her face, from her forehead down to the tip of her nose.

    Originally it had been an old metallic opera mask in an antique shop.Taylor wasn't sure why, but it felt familiar to her.

    She used the internet in the library find out the best way to paint metal. It turned out spray paint would do just fine, but cleansing the rust with a bleach solution was not a fun experience. She was glad a warehouse nearby was empty and did it there.

    She had made the mask predominantly blue, with a red circle at the forehead and upright diamonds on the cheeks. Taylor used gold to accent the lines on the edges and eye holes of her mask, with black around the gold of the mask.

    Taylor wasn't sure if it was heroic looking or not, but she was proud of what she made.

    The chill of the night air didn't bother her much. With a smile she landed on another ledge.

    Instead of patrolling the docks like she wanted to, she chose somewhere farther out. It was just a feeling she had, she wasn't sure why. Maybe her intuition was just saying this was a better path.

    She'd see this through to the end.

    She paused on one of the nicer buildings and stared out into the city of Brockton Bay.She closed her eyes and focused, as she opened her eyes she saw them. The golden and silver lines and sparks mixed with all the blue sparks around the city. Without knowing why she looked towards the distance, to the Protectorate's Rig.

    There were two gold sparks and one silver spark.

    The rig had been her biggest hint at what this ability was. The ability to see parahumans in all directions.

    Even behind her.

    She could also get the gist of what felt like their powers. Like the one she thought was Armsmaster; technology, organized, neatness, controlled, and authority.

    Or the one she suspected was Lung somewhere behind her; hot, cold, big, strong, angry, obsessed, and scale.

    It was weird to define it that way, but it was her power's fault.

    Taylor stared at Bolverk; guns were bad.

    Even if she could at least moderate them to not instant kill, she couldn't believe that her power had mostly lethal options when taking down opponents.

    One of the lights flickered brighter in the distance. She jumped towards them following the lines leading to them.

    She zoomed to the rooftops keeping sight on them.

    She knew she should keep to thugs and the like, but she would most likely kill someone with a unintentionally strong shot. The thought of taking down a villain, making a name for herself, proving that worthless traitor Emma wrong.

    She knew it was stupid to fight an experienced parahuman. Which was why she had a burner phone, just in case she got in over her head.

    She stopped at a few buildings away from her target.

    The brighter ones were those using their powers. So enlarge, hard , sharp, shape, was someone involving metal...

    "Crap," Taylor muttered under her breath. She was either going to fight Kaiser or Hookwolf. The para-wiki had showed her their powers were what she should expect.

    Then Taylor felt a bit stupid, why didn't she categorize the way each parahuman felt. She could have memorized who was who by now.

    Taylor mentally marked down that thought for later. That way she would be able to pick out targets better.

    With a gulp she decided, against her better judgement, to get a bit closer.

    She jumped to the next few buildings, she hoped everything would come up fine.

    She crouched down on a ledge and stared down at them.

    She saw people she had only had ever seen on T.V screens and computer monitors.

    A woman who wore a one piece with a metal cage obscuring her face. Taylor could only ponder the woman's choice in headgear.

    A muscular shirtless man covered in scars with a tiger mask covering his head. He was only really wearing jeans and walked barefoot with a few chains around his chest. Taylor could not see why he would wear so little in this weather.

    The last man was tall as he was strong looking in appearance. He was wearing a metal wolf mask, a leather jacket (he seemed to be the only one of his group with common sense enough to dress for the weather), possibly steel toed boots, and his platinum hair was held in a low ponytail.

    They were loading something into a markless vans. Taylor focused on what they were loading and saw cages, inside were puppies...

    The building they were at was a dog shelter.

    Taylor leaned back to the ledges and thought why were they taking dogs and puppies?

    She heard rumors that Hookwolf ran a local underground fighting racket. Taylor wondered if that meant dog fighting as well.

    She couldn't just go in guns blazing against three highly experienced parahuman combatants alone.

    That was crazy.

    She needed to call for help, Taylor knew she might have been a bit too eager. If it was just one of them she'd might actually had consider facing against them.

    But three against one was, again, crazy.

    She turned away from the villains.

    She reached for her back pocket for the cellphone. She pressed 912 for the emergency hotline, she waited for the ringing to stop.

    "Hello this is the PRT emergency response line, please state the nature of your emergency," stated a receptionist.

    "Hello, I'm at Willows street seeing Hookwolf, Stormtiger, and Cricket, with several men taking animals from the local dog shelter," Taylor stated with a hushed voice. She didn't think she could be heard at this distance but it was better to be careful.

    "I see, miss, we are currently sending Miss Militia and Dauntless your way with a team of PRT agents, please stay on the line, and make sure to keep away from the villains," the woman on the line sounded serious.

    Taylor quirked a brow at the phone.

    Then she realized that she didn't sound like a hero and more like a scared innocent. She opened her mouth to say something until she saw one of the three sparks near her flare bright.

    "Shit," Taylor swore as she threw caution to the wind and jumped to the next roof. Her intuition was proven right when a blast of concentrated air sliced up the concrete roof she was on.

    It was a good thing this wasn't a residential area.

    "Miss are you alright? Miss?" The receptionist asked.

    "Hey, are you going to hide in the shadows or are you going to come out and face your dues to the Empire."

    Taylor looked down from her shadowed roof and stared at Hookwolf who glared at her though his mask.

    Stormtiger was surrounded by whipping gusts, Cricket stood at the ready with her weapon in hand.

    Taylor clicked the phone close and made her decision. She jumped to the street and landed in a crouch. She summoned Bolverk to her hands and crossed the barrels to her left.

    Her mouth was a hard line as Hookwolf gave her a feral smirk.

    "Let me guess a new hero right?" The man asked, he unzipped is jacket and threw it aside, exposing his strong physique.

    He turned to the van and said to a guy loading a dog in ", be back in half hour after we teach the new meat her place."

    Taylor shoved her emotions into Bolverk.

    The way he spoke reminded her of Sophia, that cocky 'you're a bug under my shoe' attitude.

    It struck a chord in her.

    Their henchmen chuckled, as they started up the van.

    That made Taylor grit her teeth.

    She needed to take them down a peg.

    Taylor took a deep breath through her nose and thought rationally for a second. She couldn't just beat three, most likely murderous, parahumans by herself.

    She just needed to wait until backup arrived. Taylor relaxed into her stance and glared behind her mask.

    Cricket dashed towards her, Taylor couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement as the villain got closer.

    Defragmentation 1.2
    -----------
     
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  3. Threadmarks: Defragmentation 1.3
    Oddly Lionized

    Oddly Lionized Getting sticky.

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    Feb 22nd 2011 12:54 a.m

    Taylor ducked under the blow and spun, firing Bolverk in a ring around herself.

    Cricket flipped away from her.

    Taylor noticed Stormtiger moving around to them to block the other side of the block.

    Hookwolf just stood on his side with his muscled arms crossed over his wide chest.

    Taylor couldn't help but think he should slim down a bit.

    She kept her sight mostly on Cricket, the woman lazily spun her bat as she circled her. Taylor stood with her mouth still in a hard line. She could see they were toying with her, just like Emma and Sophia did with their little friends.

    Taylor glared through her sight, she wouldn't let that be her cape life.

    She aimed at Cricket and shouted ", optic barrel."

    A purple blast sent Cricket flying through the air. Taylor flipped in the air towards the air bound woman and landed a kick onto Cricket's stomach.

    Taylor hoped that crunch wasn't the cage headed woman's ribs. Cricket got up with a cough, Taylor wasn't giving her time to get herself together. Taylor's world blurred as she shoulder checked a surprised Cricket.

    The villain slammed harshly into a brick wall and didn't stand back up.

    Taylor saw air, manipulation, distort flare up.

    Taylor turned towards Stormtiger blocked a claw of air with Bolverk. Taylor was surprised when she was only slightly pushed back. She spun with the momentum then Bolverk shifted form in her hands to a shotgun. Her vision blurred as she spun, but somehow she was locked on to her target.

    Taylor closed in on Stormtiger, bypassing his wind. She shot him point blank in the stomach.

    "The fu-aaaack."

    Taylor saw the man cough up blood as he flew back down the street.

    He didn't get back up

    Bolverk ejected two shells and reverted back to it's dual handgun state

    Taylor wasn't sure why she felt like it didn't matter. It was as if her emotions to what she was doing were suppressed.

    She knew Bolverk was helping her feel less unsure.

    It scared her bit.

    It was probably her feeling like killing would be painless for her.

    Hookwolf's spark shined brightly.

    Taylor turned to the growing grinding mass of metal taking the shape of wolf.

    'Like this,' Taylor thought ', this should scare the crap out of me.'

    But it didn't.

    She only viewed the thing in front of her as a target. Something to be taken down, Taylor just pointed her guns at him. She stared at the metal amalgamation's eye holes, but she noticed the gold spark in the center.

    That was the core, the man in the shell.

    It felt nostalgic to Taylor.

    The shriek of metal bounding for her broke her trance. She rolled to the side and gave to shots, they pinged off the metal harmlessly. Not feeling freaked out still, Taylor sprung off the ground over Hookwolf's next lounge.

    Taylor released a spray of shots in mid air.

    Those did nothing too.

    Then faster than she thought was possible with his girth, Hookwolf turned and clawed her as she landed. She put up Bolverk just in time to take the worst of it.

    "Aaaaggghhh!"

    Was all Taylor could do as she flew pass a stumbling Stormtiger. She rolled on the street until she finally caught herself. She stood up, her beret having fell off somewhere in the distance.

    Taylor peered through her dirty blond curls at the metal wolf charging at her.

    Feeling a sudden burst of energy she stood still. As Hookwolfs metal came just close to her, she let it go with one shout.

    "Barrier Burst!"

    A blast of energy erupted around her, it sent Hookwolf into the air. Taylor's vision blurred as she dashed and spun with Bolverk shifting into a mini-gun.

    “Fenrir,” Taylor exclaimed.

    It was almost as if the world was put in slow motion. She jammed the mini-gun under the metal beasts underbelly. She aimed directly at the core and fired. Metallic pings and shrieks filled the block, as bullets sliced through the metal. Hookwolf's spark fizzled down as the metal shed off the man.

    There were holes in his arms and a few in his chest. He was barely conscious despite the pulling blood under him. His spark tried, almost desperately, to flare up.

    It was like it couldn't fully do it, but Hookwolf's wounds were at least closing bit by bit.

    He struggled to stand, but only managed to kneel.

    Taylor knew if it weren't for Bolverk she would be throwing up while she watched him mend. Almost on autopilot she bought the her handgun to his head.

    She saw his glaring visage through his mask.

    "*Cough* well what*Cough* are you waiting for *Cough* *Cough* ," he hacked out a series of coughs ", do it."

    Taylor saw the last of his wounds close, she went to pull the trigger.

    "Stop!"

    Taylor instead cracked him on the temple with it, he crumpled to the street.

    She turned to see the familiar image of Miss Militia and Dauntless with a PRT van in the distance.

    She hoped to make a good impression.

    'Now, where did that beret go?'

    .......................................................................................

    Rereading and fixing a few mistakes.
     
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  4. Threadmarks: Defragmentation 1.4
    Oddly Lionized

    Oddly Lionized Getting sticky.

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    Feb 22nd 2011 1:14 a.m.

    Taylor picked up her beret, she shook the dirt off it.

    She watched as the PRT covered Hookwolf in containment foam. They checked him over first to make sure he wasn't dying. His wounds had closed up just fine, Taylor didn't know he could heal that way.

    She put her hair in the beret and waited. She was asked to make a statement after they took care of Hookwolf.

    "So this is your first night out?" Dauntless asked awkwardly.

    He was still new from what Taylor could find out about him on the parawiki. He glanced back at Miss Militia who seemed to not want to talk to Taylor for some reason.

    The patriotic parahuman was securing the parameter. Taylor couldn't help but notice that the heroine seemed angry with her.

    "It is, ah, yeah," Taylor answered just as awkwardly. She hasn't spoken with people all that much.

    "So can you give a detailed explanation on how you and Hookwolf came to blows?" He asked regaining his composure. He even had a notepad, it was a little funny to Taylor.

    She smiled shyly and nodded, she really needed to talk to people. Taylor recounted how she had ended up in Empire territory, found Hookwolf and his posse, how she lost track of the other two. She apologized for that; explained when she made the call to the PRT, and how they sniffed her out of her hiding spot forcing her to fight.

    "...and that's when you arrived," Taylor finished.

    Dauntless nodded and asked, " it must have been pretty frightening?"

    Taylor nodded and he said, " you know this is why we have the wards, to help young parahumans, like yourself."

    Taylor knew they would get to ' why not join the wards' speech sooner or later.

    "I '-

    "Wow, she really took care of him, didn't, " said a young and slightly familiar voice.

    From the rooftops came a smokey black figure with a boy in a futuristic suit on a hoverboard. The smoky figure shifted into a hooded caped girl carrying crossbows.

    "Shadow Stalker, Kid Win why are you not following your patrol route?" Miss Militia asked.

    Dauntless looked slightly relieved at her arrival.

    Taylor couldn't help the crowded feeling as more people came near her. She wasn't sure why she was so anxious at the moment.

    Kid Win, the hoverboard boy, looked guilty. But Shadow Stalker just said, " we actually were nearby when the fight started."

    'Wait they were nearby?' Taylor thought. If they were nearby why didn't they help her? She was facing down three parahumans by herself.

    "We were going to jump in, but mister fu-freaking 'ask permission to engage ' tech was on the fritz," Stalker griped, she was obviously glaring a Kid Win.

    He flinched a bit at the accusation but mumbled something about, "just following protocol."

    Taylor decided to take a peek at their sparks.

    Stalker's was avoid, transfer, and escape; Kid was technology, link, shift, and system; Dauntless was increase, store, and release; Miss Militia's spark was a bit longer, relentless, technology, imagine, storage, release, copy, and produce.

    Taylor took this time to memorize them, she wondered what her spark said?

    "Miss?"

    Taylor broke out of her revere and noticed she was now the center of attention.

    "Oh, um, yes?" 'Smooth.' Taylor thought to herself.

    "Do you feel up to coming with us to headquarters?" Miss Militia asked.

    She was starting to give Taylor the creeps, it felt less like a request and more like a threat from the way it sounded.

    Like Miss Militia sounded offended by her presence.

    That hard stare also made Taylor feel less safe around the woman.

    Like she was being accused of something she didn't do.

    "I-I think I'll head home for the night," Taylor said while she edged away from Miss Militia.

    Dauntless looked a bit lost, but said ", ah wait, we didn't get your name."

    Miss Militia's expression softened a bit, but Taylor still wanted to go home. But she hadn't really picked out a name for herself, just a few bad ones. There was one that did feel right when it leaves her lips.

    "Azure, call me Azure," she said.

    She ran to the nearby alley and just jumped onto the rooftops.

    She felt tired.

    She was used to going home alone.
    ----
     
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    Oddly Lionized

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    Feb 22nd 2011 6:14 a.m

    Taylor stared at herself in the mirror, she hoped Hess would be out today.

    She took a shower slipped on some clothes and made herself breakfast. She said grace, mom wanted to raise her christian after all.

    She ate a few sunny side up eggs and two strips of bacon.

    After breakfast she decided to look through her notebook.

    Taylor had been keeping a list of powers she was aware of and how her mental state was.

    1. The ability to view the powers/sparks of parahumans from at least a distance of estimated 40 miles. The size of the spark doesn't change in distance, but there is a semi-awareness of how far the parahumans are relative to each other

    2.The ability to gain a rudimentary definition of powers/sparks involved. The definition is kept simple and doesn't extrapolate more than a few words most of the time. Takes a bit of guesswork on what the powers are exactly.

    3. Able to shift into a uniform of some sort, military esque in appearance. Not sure why a dress or combat skirt as I've taken to calling it. The beret is awesome though, but doesn't make a mask. Will need to make get one one somehow.

    4.Shield of some sort and awareness of shield gauge in place.

    5.Materialization of two handguns that are able to shift forms. Forms include a shotgun, a mini gun, launching missiles, and explosive rounds. Shots don't fly like normal bullets, but appear at target. Gatling gun shots seem to cut through hulls of ship like butter.

    6. Super agility, capable of double jump in mid-air, move way faster than a normal human.

    Taylor glanced at the clock, it read 6:55 a.m. She took out a pencil and started to write out her findings of the previous night.

    7. Bursting the barrier has enough strength to lift a fully shifted Hookwolf off the ground and send him flying.

    8. Emotion suppression when in combat, must be careful not to kill in that state of apathy.

    9. Super strength while fighting and a strange state of chaining attacks or movements together.

    Taylor stared at her notebook for a moment before skipping two pages and started to write down her list.

    Parahuman definitions and Locations

    She would work on that later that day before she went out again.

    Taylor packed her bag for the day and hoped it didn't get ruin again. Asking her dad for more spending money wasn't to her liking.

    Maybe she could get something from the gangs. There was a law or two she'd needed to check before doing that.

    Taylor smiled thinking, 'look at me already making plans to take some names and getting cash.'

    She walked to the bus stop and waited a few minutes. She activated her sight, she forgot to add perfect partial transformation to that list.

    She's glad her glasses had thick lenses and checked around for some powers-

    Wait, at Winslow there was a familiar spark. There were more sure, but it was one she had met last night.

    Avoid, transfer, and escape.

    Shadow Stalkers set, the bus stopped at Winslow and Taylor realized that there was a ward in the midst of the school.

    There were more sparks than just the gangs and identical sparks from what she had seen were rare.

    Taylor felt her grip tighten on the strap of her bag. A Ward was at Winslow all this time and hadn't helped her.

    What the hell?

    A hero had been turning a blind eye to her suffering.

    Sure, Taylor could reason that gangs took precedence over one of the bullying cases that plagued the school.

    But after the locker Shadow Stalker should have cracked down on the trio.

    'So why,' Taylor thought as she rushed out of the bus and power walked past arriving students. She entered the throng of of students, she went pass her classroom as she tailed the spark.

    'Wh-' Taylor's thoughts froze as she found herself gazing at the girl with Shadow Stalker's spark.

    I HATE!

    A familiar pretty athletic black girl, talking to the redhead bombshell, as the cute petite brunette pointed straight at Taylor.

    Taylor's gaze didn't leave the black girl's gaze as she stalked towards her.

    The black girl, Sophia Hess, came up, most likely to shove or push her.

    Sophia didn't get a chance.

    Taylor's punted her in the solar plexus interrupted whatever the bullying Ward had planned.

    The next few minutes were a blur of satisfaction.

    Her fist was split open and she tasted blood.

    HATE!

    There was vague pulling sensation as she ripped weave off of Sophia's head from trying to bash it into the lockers.

    Someone was trying to restrain her, she slipped out of that person's grasp and tackled Sophia to the ground.

    They rolled around in the halls, students gave them space.

    Some cheered for her as she tried to claw out Sophia's baleful wretched eyes.

    Eventually a group of janitors and teachers separated them.

    I HATE!

    Taylor restrained herself from using her powers any further.

    She wasn't sure when, but they had ended up in the principal's office.

    She didn't give a shit anymore.

    "If you cover for Shadow bitch one more time I'll scream her identity to the fucking heavens you got that!?" Taylor exclaimed.

    Then the PRT got called in.

    Taylor regretted nothing.

    I HATE THE WORLD!
    ----
    This is one of my favorite chapters.
     
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    Oddly Lionized

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    Feb 22nd 2011 11:14 a.m

    Taylor still regretted nothing as she sat in a PRT interrogation room.

    She gave everything the evil eye, even the guards looked a bit tense.

    The door opened revealing the armored form of Armsmaster, the stoic Aegis, and a fat sickly looking blond woman in business attire.

    Aegis flinched back when Taylor's eyes fell on him. The other two just tensed at the unusual fierceness that a girl her age shouldn't have.

    The woman sighed and sat on the other side of the table and put down several papers and a pen with her. The two capes flanked her as she passed the paperwork forward towards Taylor.

    "Miss Hebert we have much to discuss," the portly blond said with narrowed eyes.

    Taylor's gaze didn't change in the slightest.

    "I am Director Piggot, we are here to discuss-"

    "About how your Ward has been tormenting me for almost two years?" Taylor interrupted.

    Piggot kept her cool under the lip of a teenage ball of rage.

    "Shadow Stalker has only been a Ward for six months," Armsmaster stated plainly.

    "And that makes this better, how?" Taylor sniped back.

    She was barely keeping herself from blasting everyone and everything around her.

    "It doesn't, but it also doesn't excuse that what you've done," Piggot answered with her own glare.

    "Assault and battery with several witnesses, threatening a Ward's identity, which is a federal offense, and a plethora of other charges have been stacked against you," Piggot listed off.

    But Taylor had enough and stood, slamming her hands on the table making it crack in two. Paper flew as her eyes shifted to another color on their own.

    "You think I care what you bring up," Taylor snarled, her eyes glowed blue, everyone in the was ready if she started to attack, "my life is in shambles, if you haven't notice I fucking triggered because of your little psycho with her equally insane little friends decided to fuck with my life and almost kill me for some deranged delusion of superiority. So excuse me for being on the edge of my rope when I find out that the bitch, who somehow turned my former best friend against me, for a reasons I still don't know, is a Ward!"

    Taylor sat down feeling better, but still angry and hungry.

    "Miss Hebert is this anyway to act?" Piggot asked trying not to pull a gun on this girl.

    "Is this anyway not to act when you find people who are to protect and serve have inadvertently caused you hell because they can. Is telling me to stay calm as I deal with nearly two years of this shit. Well guess what, I've long since stopped caring." Taylor said trying to keep herself from summoning Bolverk.

    The stupid blue aura around her was not helping.

    "Miss Hebert I'm going to have to ask you to calm down before we continue speaking any further," Piggot stated, more for her sake than the already unstable girl.

    Taylor took a deep breath, the aura fell and her eyes were back to their usual color.

    "Okay, what are you going to threaten me with to keep quiet about your screw up of a Ward?" Taylor asked already knowing that they weren't going to help her.

    Armsmaster gritted his teeth, but kept silent. Aegis was just silent and just stood at attention. Piggot had this look between stoic and undeniable anger on her face.

    Taylor just sat there waiting for their shoe to hit her.

    "We had several NDAs we need you to sign. but without parental consent we can't have you sign them legally," Piggot said after taking a few deep breath, "but we do have another alternative."

    "Oh and what is that, are you going to send me to juvie to keep me quiet," Taylor snipped while crossing her arms.

    She was having a hard time reigning her rage.

    "No, not at the moment," Piggot said looking annoyed at the obstinate teen, "I am transferring Hess from Winslow to Arcadia."

    Taylor stayed quiet as she tried to process what she was just told.

    "I admit to giving the girl too much leeway, but you have to understand our position in the city. We're heavily outnumbered and our other departments are stretched thin as it is," Piggot stated, " trust me when I say this, if I had a better option in the matter, I would gladly throw Hess into the deepest pit legally possible."

    "But," Taylor said through gritted teeth.

    "On record we only have her fight with you and not anything else. We can't just throw out one of our Wards for one fight initiated by a random civilian. Who, from witness testimonies, is the victim of your unprovoked assault," Piggot stated.

    Taylor couldn't help but feel that her passive actions towards the trio were proven right. She may have fought back, but at the cost of being viewed as the 'good guy'. Taylor just gave Piggot her flattest gaze, but that still didn't mean she can't try something.

    "Can't I be transferred instead?" Taylor asked despite suspecting the answer.

    "Not unless you consider joining the Wards yourself," Armsmaster interjected.

    Piggot gave him a glance that spoke of disapproval, but he continued anyway.

    "I know you and Hess have your differences, but I think that it would be prudent for you to let it go in favor of being a hero," despite Taylor's state of indignation he kept talking ", whatever issue you have with her can be worked out, a schoolgirl squabble is nothing to choose what path in life you should take."

    Piggot had the blankest look on her face at Armsmaster's interference.

    Taylor wasn't pleased, Armsmaster might have had a point.

    "No," Taylor answered in the most final tone she ever done, "not now and now not ever."

    There was a pause of silence.

    Armsmaster's frown deepened, Aegis just stayed quiet unsure what to say. Piggot just sighed heavily as she said, "at least consider the benefits before making a decision."

    "If I had to choose a starved lion to work with than Hess, I'd go with the lion," Taylor stated unflinchingly.

    Piggot tried again, she really didn't want to risk this girl going villain, "there are other departments of the Wards you could be moved -"

    "No," Taylor interrupted ", I'm not about to leave my home for that bitch."

    Armsmaster just said ", do you really expect us to just let you do as you please for a few grievances?"

    "Do you take responsibility for me being triggered by your screw up?" Taylor shot back.

    "I-"

    "Enough Armsmaster," Piggot interjected.

    She put her attention back on Taylor, "Miss Hebert, I can assure you that Hess will be investigated for this, I also wish for you to remember that our doors are always open."

    Taylor was confused, Aegis looked a bit perplexed, Armsmaster looked like he wanted to say something but held back.

    "You're just letting me go?" Taylor asked looking unsure.

    "Of course," Piggot answered calmly, " I'd rather you didn't become completely alienated by this one meet and I doubt you want us to keep on striving for nothing."

    Taylor stood with Piggot as they left the room with a guard to escort her out.

    "Miss Hebert, I do still urge you to join the Wards, even with this rocky start it, would be better all around for everyone involved if you did," Piggot said to her.

    Taylor was trying to figure out what the large woman's angle was, but she still couldn't see what Piggot got out of this.

    Taylor still didn't get why they didn't see her point of view.

    "I do invite you to do power testing, at least so you could have a safe place to practice your powers," Piggot said extending her hand out for Taylor to shake.

    Taylor just turned and started walking away with her guard leading her out.

    "Was that wise director?" Armsmaster asked Piggot.

    "We weren't getting anywhere fighting with her and she was just about to burn any bridge to us, this way we at least get a chance from her," Piggot answered.

    But under her breath she murmured, " even though I doubt we'll be getting a hero out of that one."

    ---
     
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  7. Threadmarks: Interlude Miss Militia
    Oddly Lionized

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    Interlude Miss Militia

    March 2nd 2011 4:08 a.m

    She couldn't talk about, she couldn't tell Dauntless or the Wards why that girl put her on edge.

    She had used some flimsy excuse of the sound of that girls guns made her relive a bit of her past.

    She took a swig of wine, Hannah did not like drinking.

    It was just that girl got to her.

    The one that....

    She took another swig of her drink, the dreams she had.

    The memories of loss that didn't match the current world.

    She picked up the cellphone she had been provided.

    She hit the only number on speed dial.

    The sound of the other person picking up echoed in her ears.

    "Code 777666888: Scathatch has awaken," she said on the line as she stared out her office window.

    The next cycle has started and hopefully this time they would subvert fate.

    "Code: 888666777: received, a door shall be made for your departure."

    Miss Militia glanced on the note on the table.

    She knew it was against protocol, but they needed to try as many things as possible.

    She hoped this would be the last one like always.

    She walked through her door, then through the portal.

    Her heart had long since scabbed over.

    ----

    Well, it is Blazblue.
     
  8. Threadmarks: Sensitivity 2.3
    Oddly Lionized

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    Sensitivity 2.3

    Feb 22nd 2011 11:54 a.m

    Taylor sat in silence in the nondescript car. The obvious G-man kept their faces straight, they also had the radio off.

    They left her at a block away from a bus stop. She walked past the stop and decided to walk home.

    She needed time to think.

    She walked past people in a haze, she kept her hood up and kept walking. She knew it was around 2 p.m, she had plenty of time to be out.

    She went to the boardwalk and bought a burger. She ignored the glances enforcers gave her the once over and continued on her way to the bus stop.

    She stayed on the bus, ignored the cute black guy next to her whispering in his phone.

    She got off and stalked to her home. It was around sunset when she fell face first on her bed.

    She should've taken a shower, but didn't care, her life was basically over.

    The heroes won't help her, they were too worried about their own to care about anyone else. Emma would still torment her about being abandoned by her mom, abandoned by her dad, not being pretty, being ugly, flat, and anorexic looking.

    Taylor buried her face deeper in her pillow, she felt tired......

    Her eyes opened to the white room again.

    At the foot of her bed stood her doppelganger again. This time the dirty blond didn't smile and looked annoyed.

    "They keep doing this you know," the double said quietly, " they choose her over you when you fight back."

    Taylor just stayed silent as she glanced at the book on her lap and the pencil in her hand. She looked at her blond double and noticed that the white dress she wore had red lining it's hem.

    "But you know," her double stated to say with a small smile, " even then you always find them, people on your side for once."

    Taylor glanced at her book of the world and glanced back at the copy.

    The blond was gone, Taylor felt like writing more, she brought the pencil to the blank pages.

    White took her vision.

    ......

    BEEP BEEP BEEP

    Taylor slammed her hand on the off button of her alarm, with a groggy yawn she got up.

    She looked to her mirror and stared at her frumpy 'just got out of bed' look.

    She yawned and did her morning rituals. brushed her teeth, put on her workout clothes and headed out for her morning run.

    She spent the next hour running, then headed back for her shower.

    She ate cereal and went out to school, only to remember she was suspended for beating up Shadow bitch.

    She went back to her room and saw the message light on the phone.

    Taylor knew it was wishful thinking that her dad wasn't contacted by Winslow. The thought that the PRT might have gotten to him also flashed through her head.

    It wasn't impossible, but she hoped they hadn't. If he took their side she might actually lose it and go full psycho on the place.

    She hit the message button and held her breath at what she was about to hear.

    "Hi, Taylor, I got this message from Winslow telling me you got into a fight," He dad's voice spoke from the machine, " I know Winslows a rough place and you, since the locker, I know you're still having trouble there."

    Taylor breathed through her nose, he didn't sound too disappointed.

    "But, I got this message from the PRT, you have powers?" he continued.

    Taylor didn't feel her backpack slip off from the shock.

    "I told them you didn't tell me. Taylor, I know it's been rough since your mom left us, but I really want you to be more honest with me..."

    Taylor didn't know when she fell to her knees.

    "I asked them to keep you over the base until I got back. Hey, you know hanging out with the Wards might do you some good."

    Taylor felt her breath get shorter, she felt nauseous.

    "They'll be there to pick you up around five in the afternoon, don't worry I'm sure we can work this out when I get back, see ya then little owl" her dad finished.

    Taylor got up and dashed up the stairs and barfed out her breakfast in the bathroom.

    She flushed it down her and hugged herself trying not to cry.

    She couldn't go back there, none of those people really cared about her.

    Just her powers.

    Glancing at herself in the mirror her expression calmed.

    She made her decision, as light covered her form.

    Bolverk in her hands as she went to pack.

    She couldn't go back.

    They weren't heroes to her, not anymore, they were just villains.

    Government funded villains.
    ---

    Think of every decision Taylor makes as diverting point that results in a different 'ending.'
     
  9. Threadmarks: Interlude : Kilkenny
    Oddly Lionized

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    Interlude : Kilkenny

    Feb 23nd 2011 11:54pm

    The cat man stood in front of the bathroom mirror. He was tall slim but not gangly, not anymore. He now slim muscle under his jacket with the Eastern motif.

    There was cut in the back where his two tails poke out and baggy ninja pants.

    He wished the transformation gave him actual pants.

    His legs and his feet were human like with with feline features. Claw like hands with opposable thumbs was a thankful blessing.

    He always thought he was more of a dog person.

    He felt stronger, stronger than the night he lost …her. His hands wrapped tighter on the blade’s grip.

    He was strong now, enough to slice off Behemoth arms.

    The two blades in his hands, the blades that allowed him to take the limbs of Endbringers several times. He even bisected the Simurgh once, even she appeared surprised.

    The eggheads and Tinkers tried to replicate them or any of it’s effects. But all sensors couldn’t identify how it was emanating the energy, they called it Kilkennium.

    It was also slightly radioactive, never was going to be stated publicly of course.

    The PR department was frugal with such info at least.

    But he was never able to kill an Endbringer, yet anyway.

    He just needed to figure out where to hit.

    It all started when he decided to fight Behemoth two years ago.

    It was just on impulse, he wasn’t, wasn’t accomplishing anything. He took time off to just use his powers to find any sign of her.

    Nothing.

    He just heard the call and joined the group heading to fight.

    He thought he was being stupid, he had a daughter, but he had to do something. So he went and he fought and he won the day.

    His aura blocked out whatever radiation Behemoth was using. His reactions were faster than lightning, literally faster than lightning.

    When he took that leap when Behemoth went to smash him. He unsheathed Musashi and cut through the Endbringer tearing off the things right arm. Even when everyone was frozen in awe he continued his attack and sliced off the things legs.

    It ran, it left and Kilkenny felt great, the people cheering for felt amazing. But it still left him feeling empty, he needed to fix his family.

    From there the Triumvirate railroaded him to joining the heroes. From there he was shafted out of Brockton and was made to work with Legend. When he asked why, he was given the runaround of excuses.

    He let it go, as long as Annette was found, he’d be fine with anything.

    He did find it suspicious, though.

    But they needed him more than he needed them.

    He wondered if keeping his trigger a secret from his daughter was a wise decision.

    Heck, he wasn’t even any closer to his goal.

    He let out a sigh and headed to the kitchen of his temporary apartment. He sat down at his table with the microwavable dinner.

    In a flash of light there sat a man in his late thirties early forties.

    His name was Daniel Hebert.

    He knew that he failed Taylor, heck he barely remembered what he had told her on that message.

    The Travelers were finally in custody, except that girl called Noelle. He and the rest had decided she was just too dangerous.

    It took all night to stall for time enough for Dragon to scrounge something together to hold her.

    The cleanup of the bodies of the clones took the entire previous morning and afternoon.

    By the time he got the message about her fighting at school and the powers it was already the next night.

    He was so out of it he’d be surprised if he had been coherent enough to speak.

    Danny finished the pancake and sausages.

    He knew that the Protectorate was probably lying to him about trying to find Annette.

    She had been missing for over a decade and he had only been a cape for five years.

    It was easy at first, find Annette, workout whatever the problem was, and be a family again.

    So Taylor wouldn’t look at him wide eyed asking ‘dad where’s mom.’

    Now though, all that effort and nothing to show for it.

    Five years of searching, relying on the PRT’s and Protectorate resources, still nothing.

    Leaving Taylor alone for years, leaving her to God only knew what to make her trigger, still nothing.

    Just nothing.

    He had been thinking since the locker of just going back to the Bay. To be a part of his daughter’s life for once.

    He could search once Taylor was in college.

    Now to argue with freaking Legend about it.

    The man was good people, but Danny and him never really saw eye to eye. Most likely because of Danny’s all but abandonment of Taylor for his wife’s ghost.

    Mr Rainbows was right, Danny couldn’t argue there.

    He Heard his phone ring in the living room.

    The Protectorate phone.

    He stood up and went to the wireless on the coffee table.

    He answered the phone deepening his voice a little, “Kilkenny here, what’s the issue?”

    God he hoped it wouldn’t be anything serious.

    The woman on the phone answered, “the Simurgh is on the move.”

    Now?

    Now, just when he was going to go back to Taylor!

    Now!?

    He took a deep breath and muttered, “ dammit.”

    He shifted back to his changer state and said into the phone, “ acknowledged, heading to designated pick-up point.”

    He’d have to get back to Taylor later, he hoped Piggot would be able to keep strict watch on her.

    She is Annette's daughter after all, wouldn’t surprise him if she caused them trouble on purpose.

    …..

    Danny dashed out the door cursing the Simurgh as he ran to the pick-up point.

    ‘Taylor, please don’t do anything rash,’ Danny thought.
    -------------------------------------------
     
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  10. Threadmarks: Renegade 3.1
    Oddly Lionized

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    Renegade 3.1

    Feb 23nd 2011 7:54pm

    It took a few hours until Taylor found an abandoned warehouse in the docks with electricity that was devoid of people.

    Taylor sat on the second story of an abandoned warehouse. She used a bit of the few thousand dollars her dad had left her. She bought a tent, a small rechargeable generator, a red sleeping bag, an electric oven, an electric stove top, a few pre-made meal, and a three gallons of water.

    She cleaned up a bit, it was a bigger mess than she'd like. You would think that several people would question a teenage girl for buying this stuff. But using an excuse that her dad sent her to buy it cause he's busy was a good enough excuse.

    Buying from different stores around the city helped. She had moved around as Azure when going to a store. She then used the bus to get back to the warehouse.

    This led her to try and change her hair and eye color. She found success in both and mixed and match all day.

    It should confuse the PRT when they go looking for any sign of her.

    She hoped.

    It wasn't that they were evil, it was just....

    "I can't trust them," murmured Taylor as she took a bite out of her heated dinner.

    She'll probably have to find someway to spend her time, besides caping, before her dad gets home. Maybe she should buy a tablet or something or phone...

    She shook her head at the thought, she didn't want to think of the line that just went silent.

    The turmoil of buying that cheap flip phone was bad enough.

    Her mom was gone and dad?

    He disappeared for months on end afterward. He said they were business trips, but Taylor wondered at times what he was really doing. He was never specific on what he did on those trips.

    She had just let it go, she had gone to Emma's constantly. The Barnes and Kurt and Lacey checked up on her from time to time.

    It was a about a year since Taylor had seen anyone of the Barnes family. Anne had been the last she'd seen of the other Barnes. Emma's elder sister had called her a few times to see what's going on.

    But Taylor was able to keep her in the dark about what Emma had been up to.

    She knew no good would come it.

    The ding on the timer told her the food was ready. She knew it wouldn’t taste as good or look as good on the box.

    But until she could figure out a way out of this mess she’d stay away from the house.

    She just couldn’t trust her dad anymore.

    He was a stranger with a familiar face now. The last time she had seen him was Christmas.

    And whatever he was doing apparently was more important than his hospitalized daughter.

    The bland taste of the pre-made Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes didn’t fill the hole in her.

    Just her stomach, the night chill came through the broken window caused her to shiver.

    She turned on the small heater and went into her sleeping bag.

    ……………….

    She opened her eyes and stared into the mirror in the white void.

    Her white gown spilling and fading into the void around.

    She stared into the blue eyes of her reflection.

    She reached out, her fingertips touched the glass.

    ……………….

    Taylor awoke to the sun hitting her face. She got out of her bag and stretched out her back. The floor was still uncomfortable to sleep on. Maybe she should have splurged on that fancy one she saw than settling on her old camping one.

    She just frowned and stared at the ceiling as she pondered what she could do. She bought her power journal, she knew they were going to search the house.

    She didn’t want them to know what she could do.

    Taylor brought out her power journal and a pencil and activated her view and saw the sparks. The gold and silver among the blue that were normal people. It was a beautiful mosaic of lights moving like a kaleidoscope.

    She looked at each power and began noting them down. Even if the farthest ones still blended in the back Taylor was at least able to write down some.

    Feeling her stomach grumble she used the small oven to heat up a snack.

    Feeling bored of that Taylor got up and went down to the mostly cleared first floor. She looked at her reflection in the in the glass of the window she spun as Bolverk appeared in her hands.

    She spun and flipped pointing her guns at imagined targets. Her leg swept up dust as she broke her shadow targets stance. She pointed at the head and let Bolverk dissipate.

    She sighed as she considered the tablet idea again.

    *Whistle*

    “Well, we’re boned,” came a deadpanned male flat voice.

    “No, we’re not,” a deeper female voice growled.

    Taylor spun with Bolverk in her hands, she aimed at her targets near the door. There stood three teens and a group of men wearing nondescript uniforms.

    Taylor saw their sparks, three gold from the teenagers.

    “Reachel don’t,” the pretty freckled face blonde said to the stouter blond.

    Taylor’s eyes narrowed, she was so into her routine she didn’t notice people coming in.

    “Azure, right?” The freckled blond asked with a fox like smile on her face.

    Taylor just kept her face calm as she shelved her surprise in Bolverk. The freckled blond stared for a bit and read her spark.

    Identify, deduction, observe, estimate, and theory were odd descriptors.

    The girl’s smile shrunk a bit but her confident gait didn’t change. The girl just kept walking to her and Taylor was debating in herself what was the best move. All her stuff was still upstairs and leaving that to strangers was a bad idea. All her money was still upstairs.

    The blond gave smile and just stopped in front of her and put out her hand.

    “How about we talk instead?” the blonde said with a smile, “ you seem like you could use someone to talk to.”

    Taylor couldn’t help the suspicion in her head, but she really didn’t want to fight. Not now, not in her situation, Taylor just couldn’t wreck the place when she just settled in.

    Taylor put down her gun and said, “ fine.”
    --------------------------------------------------------
    Taylor is sad and lonely from years of isolation and familial distrust.
     
  11. Threadmarks: Renegade 3.2
    Oddly Lionized

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    Renegade 3.2

    Feb 24th 2011 8:54pm

    Taylor accepted that her life was a circus of unfathomable circumstances that always screwed her over.

    Like how she has two villains sitting in her makeshift room.

    The other was with the crew downstairs, setting up her doghouse.

    It was like the world loved to screw her over.

    “Alright,” the freckled faced blond started, “ how about we start with introductions.”

    The blond gestured to herself, “ I’m Lisa Wilbourn.”

    She pointed to the black haired pretty boy playing with his phone looking disinterested, “that’s Alec and Rachel is downstairs.”

    Lisa pointed to Taylor asking, ”and you.”

    Taylor had already known they were villains the second she saw Rachel Lindt. The Undersiders, they were a relatively new gang getting a bit of a reputation as escape artists.

    Nothing too bad from what Taylor had read online. But there was a difference from a web page and real people.

    “Taylor Hebert,” Taylor said silently.

    She really wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. But she was trying to lay low from the Protectorate and starting a fight would be bad. Even if the Protectorate had no clue what to look for when it came to her powers.

    She knew that she most likely could take them, but better safe than sorry.

    ‘Why’d it have to be villains?’ Taylor thought in annoyance

    “Fate I guess,” the blond answered.

    Taylor stared at her as if this girl could read her mind…

    “Nah, I’m just a good guesser,” Lisa said with a nervous chuckle.

    The only sounds were the beeps and boops of Alec’s game.

    “So, how’d you get to here?” Lisa asked trying to break the ice.

    Taylor stayed silent for a bit wondering how this was happening.

    “Just a lot of stuff with life, my dad,” the beeps paused for a second before they continued, “ and finding that life can suck in ways more than your told.”

    Alec looked up from his game with actual curiosity and asked, “ like what?”

    Taylor took a deep breath, she couldn’t just tell them.

    How bad her life was, how Emma turned on her, how Sophia was a hero, how the PRT-treated her, how her parents just abandoned her.

    How nothing has gone her way in years...

    “You know what, fuck it,” Taylor said with a sigh.

    She told them everything, everything she could remember right off the bat. She hadn’t even noticed when Rachel came in. She just ignored and continued, with Lisa looking wide-eyed as Taylor wretched her heart out to three complete strangers.

    ‘It’s not like they would care,’ Taylor thought while sitting on the floor. They would probably heckle her for being such a baby. Her dad gave her a home, money, and space; she probably was some spoiled loser in their eyes.

    “The hell we wouldn’t care about the shit you just told us,” Lisa said while rubbing her temples in irritation.

    “But my dad does take care of me, even if it is from a distance,” Taylor said a little defensively.

    “That’s dumb,” Rachel said looking mad.

    “Gonna agree with Bitch on that one dork, you're being dumb,” Alec said ignoring his game.

    “No, it’s no-”

    “Parents are supposed to be there for their kids,” Rachel said.

    “Yeah, Taylor, I get that your dad is busy, probably looking for your mom with whatever else he has going,” Lisa said with her eyes closed, “but you should be his freaking priority one here, there is being busy, and knowing that your daughter is going through hell and doing nothing about it.”

    Taylor couldn’t help but say, “ but I didn’t say anything to him.”

    “The fact that you got sent to the hospital wasn’t a big enough clue something was up?” Alec asked in annoyance.

    “That and he should have been getting some sort of progress reports from your school, the dramatic turn of your grades should have made him suspicious of the fact that something was wrong,” Lisa said still rubbing her temples.

    Taylor just stayed quiet, she just didn’t admit it.

    That her dad had abandoned her too, just like mom had.

    “Vote we let her join,” Rachel said as she rubbed a three legged dogs head.

    “What?” Taylor asked confused, Lisa looked surprised at Rachel’s casual invitation.

    “If she’s down, she has my vote, if not she can stay here I guess,” Alec said with a shrug.

    Lisa tilted her head for a second and just gave another vulpine grin with her eyes still closed.

    “You guys do know we’re doing this behind Grue’s back,” she said brightly.

    “Well that just makes it all the sweeter,” Alec said with false cheer.

    Taylor couldn’t help but notice that Alec felt a bit off. Like he wasn’t all there.

    Taylor wasn’t sure why they were being nice to her. But “, I-I uh don’t know.”

    She wanted to be a hero, didn’t she?

    “Look, Taylor,” Lisa had her eyes open as she spoke, “I get that you wanted to be a hero, but you saw how their usually like.”

    Lisa sat in front of Taylor looking at her in the eyes, “ that’s why I didn’t see the Protectorate or the Wards as an option when I triggered. I’m a thinker if it wasn’t obvious, I can see and process things better than most, specifically my power gives me intuitive input from whatever small bits of info I get and you wanna know what I saw when I looked at Protectorate heroes posing on TV…”


    The other two were actually attentive as she said, “an asshole who thinks the world should do whatever she says without question, a guy who cared more about fighting than people, who knows he cared more about the fight than people but acted like he didn’t, and a guy who was willfully ignoring these other two terrible traits, like an idiot, as they sprayed a bunch of half true propaganda to fuel their failing, overworked, and quite frankly ineffectual organization that’s already starting to breakdown at the seams.”


    Taylor just stared as the blonde continued to rant, “ then there's the fact that the PRT is made to lord over those with superpowers so as to make the non-parahumans ‘appear in control’, which at this point is bull, don’t even get me started on fucking Piggot the bigot, who is a para hater given reign over a bunch of teens with powers, but the other directors have obviously done some pretty dubious shit over the years, hell the guy in Madison is a supposed vetted Simurgh bomb, a Simurgh victim being a director in the PRT has so many implications of obvious internal stupidity that it galls me to this day.”

    A wide-eyed Taylor now suspected that this was probably more for Lisa than her at this point.

    “And their freaking surprised when there are more villain thinkers out there with their shoddy almost half-assed attempt to recruit people using mass media that any disenfranchised kid, who are the most likely to trigger, would see through with ease,” Lisa exclaimed.

    The other two in the room were just staring at the blond’s now strangely passionate speech.

    “So Taylor. no offense to your dreams and morals, but the heroes you’ve been brainwashed from practically birth to trust in, aren’t the grandiose figures the media likes to play them out as, they are just as broken as any villain, they're just people who are as imperfect as everyone else,” Lisa just paused as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, “ the only reason the cops and robbers game that is the cape world exists is because of the Endbringers, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that the heroes could actually have some real progress if they’d actually treat the problem with a less throw however many bodies at it mentality and thought things through for once, they’d might make some freaking headway-”

    “Ah, yo Tats not that your period rage isn’t interesting, but I think you should cut it out,’ Alec interrupted with a frantic wave.

    Lisa finally noticed Taylor looking forlorn at the ground.

    Taylor was just staring at the ground not sure how to feel. She never did question just how much the world had sucked and how heroes, despite all their efforts, never made things better.

    How the heroes hadn’t just ruined her life, it made her think just how many others had their lives ruined because of powers.

    Maybe….

    “Fine,” Taylor said looking confident, "I’ll join, you guys.”

    Rachel looked satisfied.

    “You sure?” Lisa asked looking a little embarrassed.

    “As long as we don’t do anything too bad,” Taylor said with a nod.

    After all the world owed her.

    “Cool, so can I tell Brian that we recruited someone without him?” Alec asked with smile,

    ‘Who's Brian?’ went through Taylor’s head.

    --
     
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  12. Threadmarks: Renegade 3.1
    Oddly Lionized

    Oddly Lionized Getting sticky.

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    Renegade 3.3

    Feb 24th 2011 11:54 am

    ‘So that’s Brian,’ Taylor thought with a slight blush on her face.

    She stared at the dark skinned boyish hunk holding Alec in a headlock.

    Lisa nudged her in the ribs, Taylor jumped slightly and Lisa gave her a sly grin.

    Taylor felt her blush deepen at the grin.

    Rachel was out with the dogs.

    Her exact words to Brian before she left were, “ I invited her and she’s strong.”

    The guy was too flabbergasted to give a response before she walked out.

    Then Alec started taking pictures at his shocked face.

    Then started to mock him as being the creep that scared away their recruits.

    Needless to say Brian took exception to such an accusation.

    Taylor watched as the dark skinned hun- boy, uh man, drop Alec on the floor with a sigh. He then walked up to her and Taylor felt her heart pick up speed.

    Brian looked sheepish as he stuck his hand towards her.

    “Sorry about that I’m Brian Labourn, pleased to meet you,” he said with a charming smile with his hand out.

    Taylor felt her blush deepen as she shook his hand. That form fitting polo shirt was nice on him.

    “Taylor Hebert, charmed,” Taylor said with a shy smile.

    “Barf,” said a younger voice in the room.

    Taylor saw a dark skinned girl with a strip of purple in her neck length hair and she was gorgeous. She was obviously a bit younger than Taylor, but she had more curves and boobs than Taylor ever did.

    “Aisha don’t be rude,” he scolded the girl. In response she lifted her middle finger at him. Then a gold spark flared in her and Brain flinched with a brief bit of confusion.

    He turned back to me as Aisha got up and headed to the kitchen.

    “Ah, sorry what were we talking about?” Brian asked trying not to sound rude. Taylor felt confused and glanced at Lisa who squinted at the kitchen.

    “You were telling Aisha not to be rude,” Taylor answered not understanding what was going on.

    Lisa just looked at her in surprise.

    “Who?” Brian asked as Aisha came in with her sandwich.

    “The girl who just came in with the sandwich,” Taylor said gesturing to the girl frozen on the couch mid-bite. Aisha slowly chewed on her sandwich staring at Taylor.

    “Whoa, you actually see through her power?” Lisa said in surprise.

    “I, wha,” was all Taylor could say as she turned to Brain in shock. The guy was just looking between her and Lisa not sure what was going on.

    Aisha just finished her sandwich and Taylor saw her spark shrink. Brain just looked at the younger girl in surprise.

    “So what’s your gimmick?” Aisha said.

    It was probably curiosity that led to her question.

    Taylor decided to show rather than tell. In a flash of blue, Bolverk appeared in her hands. Taylor did that pose

    “Huh, cool,” said Aisha said as she inspected the over-sized handguns. A look of recognition passed through Aisha’s face and she asked “, wait, didn't that chick that beat cracker wolf have guns.”

    “Uh, yeah that was um me,”Taylor said with an awkward

    Aisha gave her a once over and said “, huh, and here I was expecting some sort of big tited tinker glamazon with a bazooka.”

    She took a seat and started flipping through the channels again.

    “Big ti-tited glama-what?” Was all Taylor could say.

    Brian just face palmed and mumbled, “ damn it Aisha.”

    Lisa chuckled at the scene.

    Now it was time to break the news to the rest, “ guys the boss gave me a call on a new job.”

    Brian turned to Lisa with frown and asked, “ what type of job exactly?”

    Taylor kept quiet, she was still apprehensive about doing this. She wanted to be a hero, but she couldn't help the question that ate ate her mind.

    'Would being a hero had help me?'

    It was a thought that continued to be pervasive in her thoughts. Like going to the heroes would be…

    ….would….

    ..be….

    A image formed in her mind, around her were bodies.

    The bodies of heroes both young and old, at the edge of her sight eight swords lashed out cutting Alexandra's head off.

    It was Leviathan disintegrating in the background that caught her attention.

    Behind that thing was the Simurgh herself, floating around-

    -XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX flashed blue.

    The blue encompassed everything, but in the distance was something.

    It was a gate with a person holding the mura-

    [ERROR]

    “ Go back.”

    [ERROR]

    A man’s voice echoed, it was [REDACTED]'s voice.

    “ Your still not ready.”

    [ERROR - HOST MURAKUMO UNIT OF XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX IN TEMPORAL FLUX. TRANSFERENCE OF OBSERVATION STATE TO CURRENT SHIFT PRIORITY]

    [ERROR]

    [ERROR]

    [ERROR]

    [ERROR]

    [ERROR]

    [CORRECTION TO OBSERVATION STATE RECTIFIED]


    Taylor blinked and heard Brian’s voice say, “Lung’s casino? You can't be serious.”

    Taylor starred as Brian vetoed the mission, “it would make us a target for the ABB, gonna vote a no Lisa.”

    Lisa glanced at her, but looked away.

    Why did she look so nervous for a split-second?

    Why did Taylor feel that she was nervous?

    “ I vote yay,” Aisha exclaimed brightly, it made Brian face palm.

    “ I vote yes, you know because you suck Brian,” Alec declared as he recovered from the headlock. The young man who was just told he sucked grunted in annoyance

    “What’s going on?”

    Rachel walked in with the dogs.

    “We got a job hitting Lung’s casino, get ready for work,” Aisha called out brightly as she once again undermined Brian.

    “Kay,” was all Rachel said as headed to her room.

    Brian once again went to face palm, he paused and looked Taylor’s way.

    She shrugged, Taylor was new and she really couldn’t add much beyond her vote at this point.

    “I’m not really all for getting on Lung’s bad side, but,” she trailed off.

    Yeah, she needed to make a good impression so…

    “.....I gotta vote yes on the job, sorry Brian.”

    He finished his face palm.

    Aisha chuckled at the sight.

    “Fine let’s do this,” Brian conceded, “ you better have a good plan Tattletale.”

    Lisa gave him a vulpine grin.

    “Just leave it for me.”

    Taylor for some reason had a bad feeling about this.

    ---

    Now onto the obvious, yes, Taylor is a Murakumo unit.

    But the real question isn't what she's doing. It's more who built this Murakumo,
     
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  13. Threadmarks: Renegade: Kilkenny
    Oddly Lionized

    Oddly Lionized Getting sticky.

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    Renegade: Kilkenny

    March 5th, 2011 10:24 pm

    Danny was on the ledge looking down on the series of warehouse with the Chicago team. Myridden was at his side along with the Triumvirate. They were back-up in case negotiations went south.

    Danny thought back to the reason he was here.

    * Flashback *

    Danny was angry.

    He was stuck under Simurgh observation. After he had expressed his desire of going back to his daughter everyone flew into theories that he was now a potential Simurgh bomb.

    More like Alexandria didn’t want on of their best assets to head to a place as unimportant as the Bay.

    No, he was not okay with being there. But it was smarter if he cooperated with their inane questioning. Didn’t want the whole world to think that Kilkenny was now a Simurgh pawn.

    He didn’t even want to think about the amount of times he wanted to bash his head through the examining table.

    These questions were just so stupid.

    He ate his stale lunch of spaghetti and meatballs in silence. Danny knew this was ridiculous, but caution with the Simurgh was always needed.

    It was their win in the end. Whatever the Simurgh was trying to create had been destroyed by Legend and Eidolon. Then he bisected the flying wretch, but it did nothing.

    In the end all he managed to do was scare the Simurgh off.

    The door smacked open as Legend rushed in. Danny got up with a start and asked, “ wheres the the fire.”

    “The fairy queen has left the birdcage.”

    Danny froze at the thought of one of the few threats that could take him down escaped the only place that had been holding her back.

    “H- Why?” Why was the better question in Danny’s mind. The birdcage was the Fairy queen’s kingdom, unofficially, but she was the undisputed ruler that nobody wanted to be on the bad side of.

    “We don’t know why, Dragon is looking into it, but we know how…”

    Legend looked at him with a measure of pity for some reason.

    So Danny asked, “how?”

    Legend got him out of that room and showed him.

    He was shell shocked at what he saw.

    * Flashback Ends *

    “...ight we have visual confirmation.”

    Danny looked through his binoculars, he saw the leadership of adepts. He didn’t remember their names, but he knew what they looked like.

    Two figure walked towards them, the illustrious fairy queen and-

    Danny’s binoculars were crushed in his claws. He ignored his startled teammates and moved to go in.

    Alexandria latched onto him and ordered, “ calm down.”

    Danny took a deep breath and retracted his claws.

    “Wait until the-”

    *RUMBLING*

    Alexandria was interrupted by a pillar of fire that shot up to the sky.

    “Move in!” She yelled.

    Danny moved faster than he ever had.

    His world blurred as he thought back to that night, to the words he regretted, to his daughter asking where mommy was.

    He landed on the lot with the others grabbing the injured and the possibly dead PRT agents.

    But his attention was on only one person hidden in the shadows of the flames. Her once brown eyes were an ominous yellow in the darkness.

    “Oh,” a voice that haunted him from years gone by echoed in his enhanced ears said at the sight of him. A ghost that he thought he’d never see again, even if her form was warped to a parody of his memories.

    From the bleached pink hair to the violet sexy witch costume that accentuated tits and curves his wife never had. She wouldn’t have ever worn heels that ridiculous high either. Her skin was paler than before, but her face was the same.

    Painfully the same as it had been. Even with her smile, it was painful to see.

    “Danny keep your cool,” Legend told him.

    All Danny could say in that moment was, “Ann.”

    She paused and said something that shocked everyone that didn’t know why Kilkenny even existed.

    “Hey there Lover, it’s been a while.”

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


    Who didn’t see this coming?
     
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  14. Threadmarks: Rebel 4.1
    Oddly Lionized

    Oddly Lionized Getting sticky.

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    Rebel 4.1



    March 7th, 2011 11:34pm

    It was a quiet night at the Ruby Dreams Casino. The usual desperate players, the girls with too much makeup in skimpy dresses, the high rollers, and the staff handing out chips to the winners.

    The losers that couldn’t pay were ‘taken care of’ in the back.

    It was just another casual night at the Ruby Dream Casino.

    Then mutated dogs crash of the through the doors.

    The plan had been to go in blanket the place in darkness, but Taylor wanted to show her stuff.

    Tattletale gave the go ahead, Grue tried to protest, but oddly Rachel shut him up.

    “It’ll be fine, she’s strong.”

    So Taylor jumped off it’s back onto the blackjack table.In her hands flashed Bolverk.

    “I’ll give you until the count of three to get the fuck on the ground before I put you there!”

    “One!”

    The scared patrons hit the ground.

    “Two!”

    The blue sparks with the intent of striking out reacted. Several reached for guns and knives in her field of vision.

    “Three!”

    She moved at a blurred pace and struck harder than anyone thought possible.

    “Gyah-”

    A kick to the solar plexus on a mook.

    “What the fu-”

    Non-lethal shots flew, blasting several targets back. There were scream and crashes as her combos chained. Each strike led to another in a endless flow of movement.

    Bullets flew around her as they missed their mark.

    She blurred deep blue, a shot to the gut, a man cried out as he smashed into others.

    Chips darted through the air as tables were crushed by the impact from several guys.

    “Bit-”

    A Kick to the chin, a kick to the side of a knee, bludgeon to the neck with Bolverk.

    “Shoot the crazy,-” speaker downed in a scream of pain.

    Taylor blinked, and realized that shot was like a normal bullet. With an internal swear Taylor’s world blurred bullets glinted in her peripheral barely missed grazing her form.

    She danced around each shot leaving behind an deep blue after-image with each movement. A deep blue veil covered her vision as slid past a man then shoulder checked him in the back.

    He careened into a billiard table, the balls were lifted into the air. Taylor jumped back as she shot each ball.

    There were shouts of pain as Taylor land on the wall in a crouch.

    She kicked off the wall and slid at a man's ankle, a crack of broken bone was heard. A shot to a knee, ignored a scream of pain, sweep incoming bouncer, silenced by a shot at the gut.

    Taylor read the few hostile blue souls of the hall.

    She kicked off one of the tables in the room and spun as she shot each target with debilitating force.

    “AH!”

    “Gyah!’

    “Kah!”

    “Damn!” Imp squeaked as the Undersiders watched while Azure finished off the security.

    Taylor kicked up a table, then in mid-air drop-kicked it a the at the last standing security guy.

    “Holy sh- Kyah!

    A guy behind Taylor got up and tried to run out the back. Taylor just pointed the Bolverk his way without looking and shot. There was a girly scream as the guy hit the ground.

    The gaudy red and green furnished casino was shadowed by the wisps of smoke surrounding the downed targets. Chips and money were scattered across the floor. The patrons stared with shocked awe and stayed down.

    Taylor stood still, then she brought up Bolverk. Everyone jumped at the sound of the two shells ejected from bolverk hitting the ground.

    Taylor- no; Azure, crossed her arms making a x with a deep breath out.

    Tattletale regained her composure first,“ well, ladies and thugs, Bitch, Regent, and Azure here are going to keep watch over you all while we help ourselves to the winnings.”

    Tattletale and Grue wandered to the safe in the back.

    Azure watched as Imp with her spark larger went ahead of them.

    “Nice job, dork,” Regent said with a chuckle.

    He pointed his scepter at one of the patron’s that tried to move. The man on all fours slipped and bit his tongue when his chin crashed to the floor.

    Several that watched on became tense when they heard yelps from deeper within the building.

    Bitch’s hounds growled causing a whimper from one of the crowd. The hounds at the command of their master corralled the people to a corner.

    Azure took a shot to the right, there was a yell of shock as a kid with ABB colors reached for a gun.

    She turned to the boy, Bolverk still pointed at him then motioned to the crowd in the corner. The boy ran and tripped when one of the mutated dogs, Brutus, barked at him.

    Grue and Tattletale came back with bags of money, then emptied them in the satchel on Judas’s saddle.

    Imp did the same, but Azure ignored her like they had discussed before hand. Unless the strangers life was in danger Azure had to ignore Imp.

    It took 15 minutes for all the satchels to be filled.

    Then Tattletale froze, she looked around, went outside then frantically ran in.

    “Guys rage dragon incoming.”

    ‘Of course, it was going too well,’ Taylor thought.

    Azure gazed at the golden spark headed towards them.

    Path, escalate, shift, and thermal was active.

    “You said he wouldn’t be here Tattletale,” Grue grounded out.

    His teammate gritted her teeth then said, “he wasn’t going to be, but....”

    She paused and said, “someone tipped him off.”

    “Who?” Grue asked.

    “Not enough info, gonna need time to look into it, anyways we got the loot so we don’t need to fight him,” Tattletale said.

    Everyone piled on to the dogs and Rachel told them to head out.

    They dashed through the entrance just a a markless van showed up.

    ‘What is with villains and these white vans?’ Azure thought.

    The massive tattooed man wearing only a metal dragon mask and jeans was on the street in front of the casino building. The massive man froze at the sight of them. Lung saw the their saddles filled with cash and other valuables.

    He growled as flames encased him.

    Rachel whistled the dogs to go, they moved just as Lung lobbed a fireball their way.

    It exploded at the front of the casino, it set that portion of the building on fire having missed them completely.

    His roar of rage sounded behind them.

    But they moved too fast and his spark fizzled down.

    Azure let out a breath of relief.

    “Azure you see any other capes around?”

    At Tattletale’s question Azure focused and noticed a very familiar spark that should have been with them.

    Azure swore under her breath for being so focused on Lung.

    “Ai-Imp is still back there!”

    “Wha- oh shit we left her in the vault?” Tattletale exclaimed.

    There was a pause.

    Grue asked, “Who?”
    ----------------------------
    That was fun.

    Do enjoy the music
     
  15. Threadmarks: Rebel 4.Imp
    Oddly Lionized

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    Rebel 4.Imp

    March 8th, 2011 12:13 am

    Imp was annoyed and scared.

    Annoyed, because everyone including the two that should have noticed she was missing, bounced.

    Scared, because Lung was here, on fire, and currently asking his very squishy crew what happened.

    All the while she was trying to move past them with her loot of swag.

    Except she tripped on a stray gun and dropped her loot.

    Lung snapped his head towards her direction. Aisha booked it through the casino.

    Lung shook his head then paused.

    “The stranger is here,” he growled.

    He turned to his men and said “, get out and set up shop at another building.”

    The masked man cracked his neck and his hands burst into flames. The men and women surrounding him rushed to the exit. Lung started to lob fire all over the place.

    “Fuck!” Imp screamed as she ran out the door. She got through the crowd and started to sprint away from the building.

    “Imp!”

    Imp looked up and saw Azure flipped onto the building.

    “Why the hell did you guys leave without me?” Imp asked pissed at being left wth he who burns people alive.

    “Apparently, when you leave my peripheral vision I forget you until-”

    “- explanation later, away from murder dragon now.”

    Imp was about to pull Azure with her until a very unwanted shout was heard.

    “You!”

    Imp swore under her breath.

    “Imp, run.”

    Azure calmly stepped towards Lung drew Bolverk from his holster.

    Imp hesitated; Azure turned to her and said “, Go!”

    Imp ran as gunshots rang behind her.

    She needed to get help

    A chill ran up her spine.

    She looked up and saw the figure of a girl around her age staring down at her from a ledge.

    She was in a puffy dress with a fancy umbrella and something was floating next to her.

    Imp blinked and the girl was gone. She shook her head and continued her run.

    She needed the team to back Azure up.

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


    Take a guess who this is, she'll be in the next chapter.
     
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  16. Milkers99

    Milkers99 3 int

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    Its *Insert Name Here*
     
  17. Oddly Lionized

    Oddly Lionized Getting sticky.

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    The next two chapters will explain a bit more on what really happened. Besides its not like the main character has made themselves known yet.
     
  18. firedragonboy20

    firedragonboy20 Kaiju

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    Love this. You got the feel of blazblue just right and blended it with worm perfectly.
     
  19. Threadmarks: Rebel 4.2
    Oddly Lionized

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    Rebel 4.2

    March 8th, 2011 12:23 am

    Azure jumped as Bolverk shot a shotgun blast. It caused the seven foot Lung to stumble back.

    Azure was careful to keep her distance from the man.

    But she could tell by his spark. It wasn’t doing much of nothing in the end.

    His spark only slowed slightly with each shot, but it wasn’t enough.

    Azure blurred as she flipped into the air and came down on Lungs head while shooting.

    Lung let out a shout of surprise as he was stumbled forward.

    Azure didn’t let up, when her feet touched the ground she performed a twisting back-flip. Her heel smashed into Lungs chin.

    “Gwha?” was all Lung could get out as he flew back.

    Still in mid-air, Azure double jumped and aimed Bolverk at Lung.

    “Bullet Storm - Zero-gun: Thor.”

    Bullets the size of anti-aircraft rifles rained down on the silver scaled man.

    Then several missiles were shot from Bolverk, explosion sent Lung flying through the entrance of the casino doors.

    When Azure landed on the ground and Bolverk changed to a gatling gun.

    Her gaze narrowed at Lung’s spark.

    “Fenrir!”

    The entire casino was lit up as Lung was peppered in anti-aircraft fire. She’s not sure how but the place was burning to the ground.

    Azure pursed her lips at the still active spark that wasn’t letting up. If anything Lung’s spark was still growing.

    “Honestly, your still facing him no matter what.”

    A chill went down Azure’s spine at the calm childlike voice.

    She turned Bolverk the voice and stared.

    Everyone had only what looked like to be a glowing flame in her vision. To her powers vision the girl was nothing but blue with a gold spark at the center.

    Outside her powers vision was just as strange.

    Frizzy brown hair that reached down to her knees tied in twin tails. The white ribbons resembled bunny, her dress was a white Victorian Gothic Lolita dress. Where the skirt parted were two red crosses. She wore ridiculous platform heels that made her two heads taller.

    In her hands was a parasol that matched her dress. It had a smile and tusks for some reason it felt like it stared at her.

    “Hm, my queen, why are we interfering?”

    Azure looked where the high pitched voice came from. It was a pixie, it didn’t look human, but more beastly with it’s pointed teeth and claw like feet. It even had four pink gossamer wings that fluttered.

    “Because Dot, this show has been on replay for far too long,” the girl said as she took a step towards Azure.

    Whatever this girl was, she had a mask similar to Azure, and in her mouth were fangs.

    *ROOOOAAAARRRRRR*

    Lung erupted out the ruined casino with a mask of rage on his now lizard like face. He was now twelve foot with nubs at his back and covered with scales.

    Azure flew back to get away from the man, but the girl simply tilted her head at him.

    “Get away!” Azure shouted as she tried to deter Lung from targeting the girl.

    Just as Lung swiped the twin tailed girl, only she disappeared. Lung was confused before he stiffened and then slumped over.

    Azure just stared in shock, at the now shrinking villain. Then she noticed the girl as she took her hand off of Lung’s side.

    The girl curtsied at her direction, then disappeared in a black void.

    Not sure what to do Azure just stoo-

    “Hey, uh, Az did you beat Lung-”

    “Freeze, uh, is that Lung!”

    Azure glanced at the Undersiders then at the Protectorate team of Battery and Assault.

    ‘You know what, I’m done,’ was all Tay- Azure thought. Things just got way too weird, even for cape stuff.

    Azure just walked away towards the base before.

    “Wow, what has you being so done for the day Az?” Tattletale asked while she kept an eye on the heroes.

    “I, just, let's just get back to the base, I’ll tell you what happened there,” Azure said as she slumped forward. She felt more tired than usual, fighting Lung could do that to someone. The guy was just tiring to deal with.

    “Actually. We’re gonna need you kids to come in for some questioning,” Assault said with crossed arm.

    Azure and the group of teen villains exchanged glances.

    “Bullets and smoke?” Azure asked.

    They had made a quick code system for on the fly escapes.

    “Bullets and smoke,” Tattletale said with a smile.

    Regent swung his scepter, that caused the heroes to trip up. “Bwah,” was all the heroes could get out before Azure started peppering them with Bolverk.

    Grue then swept them in darkness.

    Rachel whistled and the dogs flew to the rooftops.

    Azure jumped on one of the dogs with a smile on her face.

    That felt satisfying.

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

    ~ Red Queen ~

    In a garden of roses sat the well dressed girl as she.

    Pouring her a cup was a large elderly Asian man in a white Victorian style suit with silver trim and tie.

    He placed the pastries and tea at the table in front of her seat. He bowed at her, his glowing bloodshot eye burned in the candle lit garden.

    The peace was interrupted by the crunch of flowers headed their way.

    The man growled at the direction of the footsteps.

    The girl took a long sip of her tea as the guest took the other seat across from her.

    “Really Amelia,” the young girl with beautiful curly hair with cat ears began,”taking a risk like that and breaking the monotony is all well and good, but I can’t have you breaking down this soon.”

    The asian man snarled out, “careful nekomata or I might tear out those tails.”

    Dot hissed at the girl, but the chair Amelia sat on spoke,”Kenta, Dot keep calm.”

    The girl in the white dress put down her cup with a deliberately loud tap.

    “I was simply greeting my fellow queen,” Amelia said as she took off her mask.

    Maroon eyes narrowed on the cat girl with two tails.

    “Now, what do you want Taylor Ann Hebert?”

    The cat girl leaned back in her chair with her feet on the table.

    Kenta growled at the act and Dot looked ready to strangle the girl.

    There was a sigh from the chair.

    “Amy you know what I want,” Taylor Ann Hebert had a look of determination on her face, that look made everyone else in the garden sweat.

    It was the look she had on when she killed what amounted to a god.

    “I want to put Queen Administrator back to sleep.”

    She leaned forward in her chair, ”I also want to know, where is it?”

    It is not your business,” Amelia answered back, “ and it shall remain hidden until the time is right.”

    Taylor and Amelia stared at each other's eyes. Taylor stood from her seat and started walking away.

    “The Central Fiction is my ace in the hole, so you better have it ready,” Taylor said as she disappeared.

    Amelia just calmly drank her tea.

    That girl was just so nerve wracking.
    -----------------------------------------------------


    In which many questions are raised.
     
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