Fantasy Superhero Times

[ManofManyRoles]

SoulFlare

"If you're so easily irritated by a simpleton, I question how your a threat to anything save for yourself." The skull tilted to the head quickly as she listened to him speak. "Heh...now that's the funniest thing you've said thus far. Gods, really? Is that what you fancy yourselves as? I've seen gods, and I know God...you're neither. You're little more than a mewling kitten in comparison. It's honestly quite sad...you get annoyed by a child doing the equivalent of giving you a peck on the cheek and you still consider yourself someone better. If I mixed your bones with that of a non-powered, would anyone be able to tell the difference? If I spill your blood all over this park, it will feed the grass and soak into the ground the same as a non-powered." She spun the staff in her dominant hand as she approached him. "Make no mistake. I'm going to do more than kill you. But before that, you're going to face the penance you should...and before that...I'm going to beat a few more answers out of you."

"Demon, I can handle this insect. Minimize the damage if you can." She ran forward, staff still spinning and blazing in one hand before she drew close enough. In short order, the sawn-off blasted another field of hellfire shot towards Finis as right before she lept into the air, thrusting the flaming staff of chain link down at him. She just had to knock him a little while longer before she had a few more answers, and then she'd end this. She wasn't sure what the idiot on skates was planning to do, but she didn't particularly care. He was out of the way, and that's all that she really gave a damn about.
Deathkitten Cam E. Leon

 

[Cam E. Leon]

Shard woo!

"goddamn demon general and im stuck on damage control" shard complained aloud before he walked over to jupiter grabbing her and just opening a portal to his estate in hell. Throwing her into it. "Shell be angry but who cares. Not I." he looked around. Grune and scile were strong. They could survive longer, so he turned to the other hero here, a fire user, with a strange presence in him. Oh well. into the portal he goes. shard grabbed him and walked over throwing him in as well. "thats those two taken care of.... now then. this will be tedious" shard looked at grune and scile. How was he going to get them in. ".....this is so stupid" shard said closing the portal he made and began chanting again. a portal appearing roughly half a foot beneath grune and scile. Letting the dirt and the two powerhouses fall through it. landing in his estate as well. "Miss day of the dead. Feel free to go all out or whatever. I shall simply torture him for questions after you get your answers." walking to a tree leaning against it. Shard began to ponder on Finis answer. 'Hey asshole. Stop stealing hells governmental system. You wanna live in a world where strong rule over weak, come to hell. Stop ruining demons favorite world to go vacation on. Besides. It doesn't work like that idiot. No matter how strong you are. You'll still die of age. and when enough of you idiots die it would slowly regress back to some form of equality until inevitably theres riots and civil war. leading right back to the civilization you live in now. Your a hopeless dreamer trying to form an ideal world. And like many others, you shall fall victim to your own desires. You say the strong should take their rightful place as gods over the weak. Well Johnny Lawrence over here is unfortunately stronger then you. so why don't get on your knees and pray. Or are you doing my favorite thing of humanity. 'they are not worthy of being a god like us. only we of the OA alliance are truly worthy to rule over this world' ha! Sounds like a half baked excuse and ideology to justify wanting to rule the world. Face it, as my idiot thrall epherial would say. 'Your Finis'hed'" shard explained to the man in the suit. Honestly the idea was purely idiotic. But it still filled him with rage. Rage that this mere group dared to use Zuzu to further there own goals and plans.

Kyrenka ManofManyRoles Deathkitten

 

[Deathkitten]

Father Anderson​

The Father laughed at his response, that he'd rather die than have sex with her. Ahhh, he was funny. He chose to speed. No surprise there.

"A Prophet is something you're born as, just as a wolf is born a wolf. What you do with it is your own choice. As much as they may convince you otherwise, your life is still your own. Your choices are your own," he mused over what Enzo had said for a moment, "Mm... yes. That is fair. She and other angels listen to what they are told to do because to Heaven, they are all tools for their Father - for God. Punishment if they step out of line is... more awful than anything you could offer. Worst of all would be retraining. It's... mm... their society is militaristic. As far as archangels go, Zaphkiel is better to have to deal with than, say, Uriel, whom you met earlier. He is... anything but a softie. He would probably whip you for your misgivings. After all, when they were more involved with the Earth, I'm pretty sure a common punishment for theft was to lose your hand."

"Treat her well, like a girl you like, and she'll be more copasetic with you. Even if you don't like her, you'll get more out of the relationship that way. Ask nicely for little things, like doing the laundry with her magic. Oh, and give her coffee. As much as we humans like it, coffee is not something they have, and they are quite fond of the drink. Some angels even visit Earth for the coffee alone! If you make her feel like a person, not a tool, then you can bend things to your liking. Brute force will get you nowhere with them. If you wish to play at their game, then it is a psychological one. This is my advice."

He waved his hand, "Ahh, all that aside, let's chat about something a little less dry. What do you like to do in your free time?"

Aelia Aeldyne Kyrenka

 

[Deathkitten]

Serenity​

"M... my... my name's Serenity Black. Serenity is the name the church gave me. My parents gave me the name Selene before they left me at the orphanage, but the courts changed it basically when I got put there," she sobbed and sniffled, struggling in the web, "You're a crazy lady! I'm just a kid! And this is just a scrapyard! All I did was land on your car! How was I s... supposed to know it was a military thingee?! I'm sorry I picked a bad car to land on! It's not illegal for me to watch heroes work though!! I didn't even try to fight you or get in your way or anything, all I did was slip you... you... gold-gilded butt munching psycho female dog! Are you even a hero, or do you steal candy from babies in your free time? You... you Kali wannabe!"

Her fear was turning into anger a bit as she continued to struggle and writhe. This time, even if she was doing bad things at home and stuff, she didn't do anything wrong! All she did was land on a roof, and paranoid lady mcbuttface took it out on her claiming she could be a member of the OA or whatever. She must be soooo much fun at parties.

"Now lemme go you meanie face! This is child abuse or something!" she shouted, settling only enough for Thomas to actually make her cuts stop bleeding. She had extremely fair skin, kind of like her mother. She was a kitsune... she only had one tail, so she wasn't a very strong kitsune, but... her mother's side was a kitsune, so that meant she could make fire. Maybe she could burn the sticky goop off of her!

She shut her eyes hard and set herself ablaze like a gas stove. The blue flame heated up like a little bonfire but wasn't exactly the fastest means, nor the hottest. She hadn't done so a lot, so her fire was pretty weak. Luckily, it seemed to ignore her fur or clothes and was trying to melt the amber webs that entangled her.

ManofManyRoles Aelia Aeldyne chaieftainoftheeye

 

[Deathkitten]

OA Member - Finis​

"Make no mistake! I'm irritated because I'm not allowed to go all out here against such ignorance!" Finis shouted with a smile, both to the demon man and the skeletal woman. He crouched as she approached. The ground burst beneath him as he rocketed forward and side-stepped, then grasped the chain spear without hesitation, not reacting to the burn, "We shall not be gods, but it will lay the ground for a new breed. A new era. A shame I shall not see it, for I do not plan to live that long."

There was little more dangerous than a villain who didn't care if he died.

He twisted his wrist and tugged forward, aiming to pull her closer. His other hand flicked downward in the same motion, and from a tiny portal sprouted a thin blade, which he grasped and jabbed forward in the hopes of lodging it into her shoulder. If it found purchase, it would burn and do actual harm, unlike normal mortal means.

"You know it took me a while to realize what sort of being you are. I've heard of your ilk. An Angel of Vengeance. Rare little bird. Good for me that I have access to demonic weaponry meant to hurt angels - after all, angels are likely to get in the way of our goals eventually. You lot don't take kindly to your kin being captured, tortured... or even resurrected," he gave an evil grin, a cackle as he stayed close and jabbed again, this time aiming for her gut, "I'm not sure which name to use, but for the angel inside you, I'm sure she'd love to know who we've managed to get~"

The time dilation ceased, now that the others were forcibly removed, and the spot he had just burst off of exploded with debris.

"Silly me. I'm such a chatty little shit," he teased, releasing the spear to grasp at her shirt, pull her forward, and side-step. Release, and hopefully, now he was behind her. A dance. Even if it failed he smiled, "I assume, demon, that you want to know about Zuzulian, yes? She's a powerful little thing - a difficult one to resurrect, given there was nothing left of the poor thing. But worth it. So much energy in that one. She'll make a wonderful battery along with your mother."



Aelia Aeldyne ManofManyRoles Cam E. Leon Kyrenka Osuka

 

[Aelia Aeldyne]

Mjr Sadensei - Scrapyard - Content warning​

She scoffed, the kid's word sliding off her like water on a leaf. Tetra's face returned to an emotionless blank, perfectly neutral and uncaring. Cold for sure, but focused. Her voice rang out once more, the compulsion present in her words as she gave her order. She was not speaking loudly, but firmly and steadily and without any room for contestation.

"Stop that", she said, addressing both the insults and the flame. "It's pointless. Your flame is too weak to melt this amber -" and just as to confirm her words, the substance wriggled a little, ever so slightly tightening around Serenity, reinforcing itself. "- and I've been called worse; far, far worse. Do not make a game out of testing my patience, though. Now that we're here, let's settle a few things."

She stood in front of Serenity, the light rain permeating her hair and clothing, giving her an even more sickly look than usual. Her hair, a pale white usually, was dampened, dulled, taking on a tint of mat steely gray. Her skin, in this mediocre light, seemed as if made of wet ash, gray-brown and sickening, this effect reinforced by the shuddering waves of energy flowing into her from the sword at her hip, a black tide shimmering upon the dull-colored skin with the frightening regularity of a despicable heartbeat. As she stood now, one would have thought and legitimately so that Tetra was a dead woman walking, kept standing only by someone's force of will.

Three fingers drummed upon the sword's hilt, rhythming the major's words as she spoke more calmly, and without command in her voice this time.

"For thirty-three years have I served in the Marines. Most of the current generation's powered individuals were not even born when I enlisted. Brawler here -", she pointed at Thomas, "Was barely ten. For all those years, I put my life on the line all around the world. Fifteen years I spent in the middle-east, fighting enemies that barely deserve to be called people. Every day, when I came back to the camp after trying to find my foe, I was welcomed by the news of yet another comrade fallen. Five and a half thousand names, each and every single one of them a person I knew, some that I had even trained myself."

She locked eyes with the girl on the ground.

"As time passed, men grew weary and hollow. After fifteen years, I was the only one who still had that spark in me, the belief that we could bring the nightmare to an end. Do you know how it was, back there ? It's one of the few things I can remember, and vividly so. You never sleep, because you can't. Flames, gunfire, planes, bombs, and everywhere people screaming. It doesn't stop at day, it doesn't stop at night. Most of the time it's civilians. The people you're there to protect, but that you failed to protect. Sometimes you just fail, but sometimes it's because you're supposed to protect people who hate your guts with more fervor than you'd find in a priest. You tell them to hide in a basement, and you hide with them... And then they shank you, and they slit your throat, and you're left to die in a cave with your blood on the floor. More rarely, it was soldiers or enemies. But they screamed all the same."

"I still hear them when I sleep."

"Some of my comrades turned their coat. On the moment, I did not know, because they did not look lke traitors. They looked like you and me, people with their own lives, their own wills, their own experiences and their own traumas. But for them, it was in the heart. They had broken inside, and they'd not be mended, ever. And then one day, one of them, he was my scout, he sold me out. Told me the enemy was too far to reach our camp, that we could sleep tight and soundly. But the enemy had already surrounded our base, and I was the only one in it at the moment."

"El Mord. The one who captured me. He was a villain of the worst kind. A beast in human form. He had magic and curses that were related to pain and suffering, and he was greatly skilled at torture. How do I know that ? I've spent seven months under his tender attentions."

She let the slightest second of silence pass, turning off the layer of blood that she had in permanence under her skin to camouflage her wounds. Slowly, her scars and marks revealed themselves.

Where should have been eyes were carved-out orbites, filled with mechanical implements that replaced the lost sight. The edge of the eye sockets were slightly clearer than the surrounding skin, old scar tissue that had not properly healed - a grisly sort of makeup, looking like horus eyes above, but giving her a guise of bloody tears below the eye, three thin lines of dry blood that'd never heal. The metallic globes that served as her eyes shifted and zoomed, back and forth, endlessly, as they always did.

Her jawline and her cheeks, one second before soft and smooth were now looking straight up torn, the flesh on the side of the face sporting hideous burn marks. The bone was irregular, thinned out on some parts, the skin withered and blackened to pitch darkness, the flesh looking as if it had been torn out by a spider's claws. On Tetra's face, only the lips remained intact, but even they couldn't garner the slightest semblant of liveliness. When they moved, it was with the ineluctability of death, the certainty of suffering, every word clawing at the speaker like a deranged rodent in a dark cave.

Around her midriff, which was bare for functionality of powers, the smooth skin wilted and withered, revealing enormous scars all over the area. Stitching lines mostly, but also more grievous wounds.

"I got both kidneys carved out, toyed with, laden with curses and other torture spells, and then neatly replaced. El Mord was not a choir boy when he got down to business."

Others were burn marks, cut marks, lash marks, tear marks... Nearly every single kind of wound was present on her abdomen. And lower... One of her legs, without the blood control running through it, looked shriveled and dead, as if the blood vessels had been removed from it - which was exactly the case.

"Here, I have control the blood flow manually in permanence, or either the tissues dry up and die or the blood soaks the cells and I risk death by internal bleeding. Even when I sleep, I have to."

She resumed the blood control, returning to her prior polished appearance, with the exception of her eyes - they remained dull, devoid of light and warmth.

"Seven months I spent being tortured. I didn't speak, I didn't tell him what he wanted to hear, but he broke me anyway. Everything I know, I needed to be told again, because during those seven months, I lost all my memories. Name, family, likes, dislikes, tastes, acquaintances, everything. When I was finally rescued and El Mord killed, when I was brought back here to the US, they told me that a woman called Tara had committed suicide. They told me she was mother, and that she had killed herself when she believed I was dead. I haven't been able to feel anything. I didn't even remember her face."

Tetra sat down at Serenity's side, crossing her fingers on her lap, eyes fixated on the girl's own.

"I didn't break, I didn't talk. I lost everything I had for a cause I believed in. When I came back, I had only work to keep me going. I had no one, nothing outside of the army. And so I returned to the battlefield, mission after mission. I've given myself whole and more to my country, I've paid more than what most would pay, more than what many would even be able to pay. I can't even hope for age to claim me, as I am apparently ageless. If I am not killed, I'll live a thousand years and more with my nightmares and my failures, with five and a half thousand names that I cannot remember. I'll live forever with the pain and sorrow of a faceless mother that I do not know."

"I've seen enough suicide bombers, enough child soldiers, enough traitors, to not have trust in anyone but myself and the protocol. Anyone I meet, I might have to kill. So tell me, little one. Why should I take that risk with you ? Why would I want to pay an even steeper price ? How do I know that you speak the truth ?"

She sighed, staring down Serenity.

"I won't kill you, if that's what you want to know. I've never had a taste for blood, but after the first few hundred kills, I've stopped even wanting to fight. I only keep going because I have nothing else to do."


Deathkitten ManofManyRoles chaieftainoftheeye

 

[ManofManyRoles]

Thomas

He had to make a conscious effort to keep his hands steady as he worked to bandage up her head, nodding softly. It hurt to know that they had just gone and changed her name...stripped her of the identity he and juliet had given her. But it made sense...he couldn't find her if he went looking, because Selene Black wasn't a person anymore. "Those are both very nice names, they suit you." Thomas flinched as soon as the child started to lash out at Amber, though that didn't stop him from keeping up his work. Even when the young girl started using fire he didn't budge...it was too weak to do anything meaningful to him, or the webbing it seemed.

He glanced at Amber as she started 'story time', instead just focusing on stowing away medical supplies after bandaging the girls head. The girl didn't care who she was, she just cared that she had been 'mugged' out the gates, he felt that would be the case. PTSD or not, she was a twelve year old. Things had gone far out of hand, far too quickly. Thomas honestly had started to tune her out at one point, only giving a soft 'mm' when he was brought up. When the question was raised of why she should trust the young kitsune, he opted to speak up. "You know...I think this one is fine. Hot-headed, but she's not a threat to anyone save for herself. Honestly, the biggest danger here at any given point is myself, or you, or even mazok. He'd probably shrug off an IED, you'd be able to do something to prevent much harm to yourself, and I just don't want to bring myself up...She's not a bomb or anything though. I take full responsibility for her here on out." He crossed his legs in front of himself, staring at the two of them. "Besides...if she was actually a threat, we'd have blown up as soon as you caught her...I'm asking you to trust me Trident. I can't say how, or why...but the girls fine."

He reached up, gently scratching at the side of his chin in thought, gaze slowly sinking to the concrete between his crossed legs. "I don't like the idea of dragging the kid with us, but you're obviously not going to let her go home either, and she made it clear isn't leaving until she see's what she wants. So...just trust me. And if anything goes wrong...as in totally FUBAR. I need you to take the kid, and throw me towards the issue."

Aelia Aeldyne chaieftainoftheeye Deathkitten

 

[ManofManyRoles]

SoulFlare

He didn't plan to live long? A martyr, how cute. She was expecting him to try to get her closer than she wanted...what she hadn't expected was a damned blade to apparate and be lodged into her shoulder. A hiss of aggravation escaped her as a burn seared through her. Alright, he had a shiv. How cute. "How good for you, you know how you're going to die. If a prison shiv and a madman was all it took to kill me, I'd have died long ago, worm." As he went to bury the blade into her gut she quickly flourished the staff, sending his jab wide and right beside her. Her shoulder wound was slowly trying to heal, but it was obviously a slow-going process, torn leather showing the flame and bone beneath. "Your trivia is lacking...angels not here, she'll get the message."

Being pulled forward so he could sidestep behind her she snapped around, off-hand holding the sawn-off swinging and firing another round of 000 hellfire buckshot into his right side, carving a sizeable chunk out of him, as well as scorching his soul. "Be chatty all you want, you'll die all the same. Though the way you keep opening your mouth, it's almost like your trying to see who kills you first." Pulling the staff back she hurled it forward towards Finis torso. Even if it missed it'd halt in the air only to reverse the course back to her.
Deathkitten Cam E. Leon

 

[Deathkitten]

Serenity​

She stopped struggling, and instead opted to listen wide-eyed to the woman’s story. Mouth just a tiny bit parted, curious, intrigued. What she said was... scary, but... there was a part of her mind that relished it.

She heard voices, or, really just one voice. Cruelty.

Hearing screams like that sounds fun... maybe you should try hurting someone that bad!

Serenity swallowed, opened her mouth to answer why she should be trusted, only to have Thomas answer.

You stole before when I told you to~ what’s the difference? Once she lets you go, run. We can find where she lives and make her have PTSD flashbacks. Maybe leave a firecracker under her bed! Let’s start small though. Take a kid from the orphanage. Hide your face. And skin their pinkie finger.

Shut up!

Now was so not the time! Plus... she’d actually feel bad hurting this lady. She’d been through too much already. Why’d she still work for the government if she got so badly hurt? Did she know how to stop?

“Be... Because I can’t hurt you,” she said, voice quiet and shy, “You’re too strong and been through too much for me to be able to even scratch you. Even if I wanted to, you’d make me eat dirt faster than I can blink.”

ManofManyRoles Aelia Aeldyne chaieftainoftheeye

 

[Cam E. Leon]

Epherial the speedy boy.

Having escaped the Time bubble epherial zoomed off in as close to a straight line as he could. he had now reached nearly a mile away before he stopped and turned around. "1 mile....that should be enough.... decently straight line......" he took a deep breath in as he took the wheels off his shoes and stretched some. Pulling out a gun he shot it upward a few times to make civilians flee the area. even shooting at the ground to make sure they ran the right direction. After letting them get far enough away he tossed the gun to the side. He looked at the direction he had just ran from. all the childishness in his face gone. Only a mix of sadness and acceptance. "you made a deal epherial. And a dudes gotta keep his deal real. After all. Cant have some skeletons showing the boss up. I cant do much... but at least securing the kill for him" he looked at the shard in his hand and absorbed it. Energy coursing through his veins as his eyes began to glow Purplish. His heart had nearly stopped from how slow it was pumping. To Epherial it was almost like the world stopped. Even the color of the world around him seemed to have fade somewhat into only blue and red. He couldn't even process noise. His body was simply functioning at a speed above noise. Slowly, at least to him. He took an Olympic running position. His body was nearly parallel to the road beneath him his arms shaking so fast they were a blur. "Ready. Set.......Go." with those words he pushed all the power he could towards his legs and ran. To the average person. What could have been seen as simply a man in an Olympic running position... then he vanished. Left in his place was a diagonal crate as a giant gust of wind emanated from that crater. Shoving cars aside and shattering the glass nearby, as along the road of that crater, led a solid line of destruction.

Epherials eyes were wide open, to put it simply, the wind pressure was so great her could not even close them if he wanted to. Every step he took filled his body with pain. The world in front of him Seemed to have gone completely blue as everything on either side had been dyed red. The ground beneath him cracked and melted at each step. His skin burned. his clothes seemed to have begun to char. No sound reached his ears. Not even the noise of the cone of force in front of him. He felt like his whole body was in slow motion even slower then the time bubble finis had created. How long would it take him to reach his goal. It felt like minutes between each step. But eventually he had arrived in the park. He could see his target in sight. It seems he had taken pretty heavy damaged. but no matter. Epherial mustering all the will he could kicked his legs up. lifting them off the ground and path that had been taking. Turning his whole body parallel to the ground he bent his knees close until they were touching his chest, and mere millimetres from when they would touch finis face. He extended his legs with all the force and speed he could muster They seemed to glow as they burned. The impact creating a second strange cone of force as pain ran up through his body. He could feel each and every individual crack within his body. The agony lasted for what felt like hours. He couldn't even see through the pain. And eventually Epherial stopped thinking. He had done what he needed to do. Was there any reason for him to still feel the pain. Epherials conscious drifted to sleep.As finis body was forced to backward. and straight into a tree. completely ripping it up from the ground and knocking it over. Epherials beaten and battered body. Falling to the ground. immobile. Only the faintest heartbeat and breath able to be detected from him. To Soulflare and shard. It had simply appeared as if a gust of wind to fast to see clearly had smashed into finis face creating a sonic boom and a small explosion of fire. finis and the blurry being smashing into the tree stopping their momentum.

Deathkitten ManofManyRoles

 

[Deathkitten]

OA Member - Finis​

The blast to his side had him staggering, but it was already trying to heal at the edges as he stayed close. The shiv, as she put it, grew in size to that of a machete as he swung it forward and plunged it into her gut. He ignored the spear altogether but used his other hand to grab her wrist with the shotgun and twist. Perhaps he was about to say something else, his mouth opened, but the massive blur of air and flying kick separated him from SoulFlare with great prejudice.

He was out like a light by the time his body slammed into the poor unfortunate tree. It left a pulpy mass of splintered tree as an indent into the fallen plant of where he collided. Finis himself was on the floor after the sickening crack, beside the used toothpaste container that was now Epherial. There was no movement, only too-slow breathing for a human that even showed he was alive.

While the brash titan had fallen, on the edge of the battlefield that the park had become stood another. This time a woman. Still with a soul of pitch, but she would not be a clear callout from the crowd otherwise as she wore common clothes and didn't stand out physically - she had on a beige sweater and some jeans, and had pretty blonde hair in a ponytail. She did not seem to want to intervene or get into a fight, and was instead simply watching the heroes work. Finis's death would be... unfortunate, but not a massive problem. He was too headstrong. Now, she wanted to see if they tried to pull information from him, or if they would simply kill him where he laid.



Aelia Aeldyne ManofManyRoles Cam E. Leon Kyrenka Osuka

 

[ManofManyRoles]

SoulFlare

She wasn't expecting the blade to grow larger...hence why it was now lodged in her midsection. The blow caused her body to lurch upright a bit into the air, pain radiating from where the blade was buried. In spite of the fact, she made no new noise, didn't flinch. Never show weakness...the moment you do, you start to lose. Finis had done that too early, openly admitted she could hurt him. She wouldn't give him that sort of satisfaction. Her staff buried itself through his midsection, right through the breastbone, though he didn't seem to care. Unfortunately for him however, twisting her hand did no good as it kept a firm grip on her gun. It was like he was only half learning, knew the blade worked but still tried to halt her by other means.

Before he could let something else annoying slither out of his mouth, something happened. A glimmer of a soul going by, barely there it went so fast. But it was too soon to forget it...it was the brat? Her head jerked to look towards the tree that had just been demolished, her shotgun burning away in a small fire in her hand so her hand was free. "Interesting...the brat actually has some use to him." Moving her now free hand to the machete lodged in her gut she gripped it, quickly pulling it out and holding it in front of her. Where it was, a jagged cut in her leathers could be seen, flame and bone beneath...and the bone had visibly suffered. Despite that, it was all trying to correct itself, though the process was infinitely more slow than normal. Looking out at the now assembled crowd of idiots and news crews, empty eye sockets landed on a figure in it...a soul as black as Finis'. She stared at the woman for a long, awkward time, a silent message being sent...'I see you there'. She studied her face, what she looked like, what she wore...if she ran off, she had her. Ezekial Ada Mathews...that name so fucking ironic it hurt.

"Demon, as much as I'd love to get more answers out of him...I doubt that will work. His den of serpents will kill him before he speaks, or he'll kill himself somehow. I doubt there's any way to contain him...and he's more than likely torture proof. And beyond that...if we kill him, they're resurrecting things now. Unfortunately for them....they're not getting this one back. You can bring the party of fools back." She held her hand outright, the staff still lodged in Finis curling like a hook around him before flying back to her hand. The chain link staff extended into a larger polearm before she jabbed it into the ground, leaving him suspended in the air before her. "You will face your penance...and then you will be beyond suffering. Goodbye, Finis." Forcing his eyes open with her fingers, empty sockets stared into his own. At first, there was nothing, but only for a few seconds. After that, the man's eyes lit ablaze in small bonfires before simply bursting like firecrackers, streams of fire spitting back out into her face. A few more seconds passed before he combusted, from the head down, a burning man. His skin started to peel away, like melting plastic, a scent foul and horrid to anyone normal person's nostrils. Pain beyond comprehension for such a soul, she doubted even he would be able to ignore it if he was awake. Every ounce of agony, suffering, pain, and misfortune he'd ever caused in his miserable life, put on an endless loop for him to endure. And there was plenty to have. It lasted about a four minutes, that silent stare into his unconscious eyes before her jaws slowly opened.

"Yours is a soul beyond hell, and not fit even for the deepest circle. I will deal with it personally." Her jaws hung open as sickly black energy sucked from the man's lips and past skeleton maw, a sickening siphon before her jaws snapped shut. A soul judged, a soul completely erased from the equation. His skin had burned away in large patches, and what hadn't, quickly started to solidify into black stone, like a coal statue hanging on her staff. Raising her foot up she kicked him off the staff, 'Finis' being scattered across the grass in large stone chunks, the skull that once was his head landing so it stared at the crowd. Walking over to it she raised her foot up, slamming her heel down onto it so it shattered to dust. Her chain coiled back around her forearm, like a loyal serpent returning to its master. She turned her attention back towards Ezekial, silently raising her hand to point at her, singling her out of the crowd. "I see you as well...know that judgment will come for all of you. Every atrocity you and the OA have done will be avenged." Obviously intending to finish what she started, she started to make her way forward, the chain sliding off her arm to drag across the ground. Before she could make much progress towards the crowd, the woman simply waved at her and 'poofed' snapping out of sight. Fucking teleporting... Turning her attention back to Shard as her chain returned to her arm she stood there in silence. "...I suppose I owe you a 'thank you' for minimizing any aggravation that could have slowed this process down."

Deathkitten Cam E. Leon Kyrenka Osuka Aelia Aeldyne

 

[Aelia Aeldyne]

Amber - Scrapyard​

I raised an eyebrow at Brawler's comment. That was, to say the least, an interesting turn of events. Well, he was taking full responsibility for her, which on one hand was a good thing since I wouldn't have to deal with that anymore - not that I couldn't, I simply didn't want to at this exact moment. I heard the kid's remark. I had been through a lot indeed, and yet, "Some have been through worse", I whispered to no one in particular. And then... It clicked into place. Same name, unconditional trust, and her safety before his... Could only be that.

I flicked a finger, removing the net from around the kid and sending a tendril of amber inside the car to turn the radio off. I sighed, letting my shoulders loose as I played with the pommel of my sword, now almost silent again. My eyes drifted towards Brawler as I rose to my feet and came to lean against the car.

"She's your kid, ain't she ? You wouldn't be that protective if she was a random."


Deathkitten ManofManyRoles chaieftainoftheeye

 

[ManofManyRoles]

Thomas

An uncomfortable chill ran through his body, like his blood had been replaced with ice water. He'd fucked up. He'd fucked up really, really bad. She knew...she knew and this would be the last time he saw her. He stared at the ground, all life seemingly having been drained out of him. "...Yea...yea, she's my daughter. After the accident and the months after...I got collected by the military. Long story short...they keep promising I'll see my family again if I keep doing as they ask and dancing to their tune. I get photo's every so often, guarantee's they're all okay. I didn't know where Selen was, or how she was doing, or anything. They didn't tell me anything, just that'd I'd see them both again...I last saw her when she was just a toddler, a little two-year-old." He blinked his eyes hard to stop the waterworks. "To have my wife and daughter be dangled in front of me, only to get dragged further away with each step, to have them be nothing more to another person than a dog treat to motivate their military mutt. It's agony every day...Please, don't tell anyone that I met her. If anyone finds out, they'll do something. Either ship her off somewhere else, or remove my already limited rights...Trident, there's too much to this story to tell right now, and we have a job to do. But I'm begging you...tell no one. You as well Mazok."
chaieftainoftheeye Deathkitten Aelia Aeldyne

 

[Kyrenka]

~Kaden~
OA Attack​

Finis had managed to slow time somehow. Is there anything this fucker can't do? That was an OA member for you he guessed. He knew that this wasn't going to be an easy battle but holy shit was this guy just pulling out ace after ace from his sleeve. Kaden was beginning to doubt that this guy could be beaten. The brunet couldn't help but notice that while he and others were frozen, the demons and that flaming skeleton woman still could. I would be able to too, Mashu purred, Just let me help you. If he could, he'd roll his eyes. How many time to I have to tell you? Fuck. No. Stubbornly, Kaden did his best to flex his muscles, to make his body move, something, without the demon's help. He wasn't able to do anything, but he refused to give up. Come on!

It was pretty useless. He couldn't even make a sound as he strained to escape Finis's hold; or when Shard grabbed the woman that was also frozen and unceremoniously threw her into a portal that led who knows where. Kaden felt his heart stutter as the demon's eyes landed on him next. No no no no stop! Shard dragged Kaden over to the portal as casually as one would drag a chair from one end of the room to the other and tossed him in too.

Kaden was falling...deeper and deeper into a never-ending darkness. He wasn't really sure of when he landed or when his limbs unlocked; for some reason, everything seemed so distant. His senses were muted and he couldn't see past the inky blackness sprawling in front of him. What happened? He couldn't feel his body. He felt like he was floating. Where am I?

"Hell."

Kaden started at the voice that broke the silence surrounding him. It was his voice. His heart sank as realization hit him. "Comfy? Good, because you're not leaving."

~Mashu~
Shard's Mansion
​

The boy screamed as he threw himself at her walls. Mashu couldn't help but chuckle at the futile effort. She had no trouble pushing his consciousness further back into her mind until the demon could no longer hear the human's desperate cries. A human was no match for a demon in Hell after all. Letting out a pleased sigh, she stretched Kaden's limbs as she readjusted. The first few minutes were always the worst when it came to adjusting to a new body. Different height, different build, different sex...

She huffed as she patted Kaden's too flat chest. Men are always the worst. They had to many...assets that were a pain to deal with. Reaching down to adjust said asset, she leisurely examined her new surroundings. As mansions went, it was acceptable. Definitely not the most impressive she had ever seen, but certainly not the worst. She hummed, the masculine voice still strange to her ears. Should I burn it down? It was very tempting, after all, that Shard character hadn't offered her any help at all. Her hand ignited as she strolled past the human that came with her. What would piss him off the most? The courtyard they were standing in was immaculate. Truly, it was a breathtakingly beautiful.

Touching a random bush, she grinned as it burst into flames. Fire danced in her eyes as she watched it spread to the nearby plants. I wonder if it'll spread to the mansion? Glancing at the building in the distance, she tried to gauge how much power she needed to put into a fireball to set the mansion ablaze too. Tilting her head with a light smile, she gathered power.

((Mentioned/Nearby Deathkitten 's Jupiter | Mentioned Cam E. Leon 's Shard and ManofManyRoles 's Soulflare))

 

[Cam E. Leon]

?????
A qauint clapping resounded from ontop one of the tall skyscrapers, "well. how dramatic, still. a rather boring epilogue. To think that is all he amounted to. shame. I had hoped that maybe these would be of some use to me. ~ Well, that time spell was interesting but oh well. I believe this is all i needed to see." a strange man in a white suit stood upon one of the towering buildings around the park. his head that of a harlequin. stuck in a porcelain smile. he had watched the fight from the silence of the sidelines. "I believe it is time to take my leave." He reached into the front pocket of his suit, pulling out a police standard handgun. "I don't know if i should call this a waste of time or not.... but to think Zuzulian and lord diadems wife are alive. How.....annoyingly interesting. Another mystery for another day" he calmly walked to the opposite side of the building. stepping up onto the ledge, gently placing the barrel of the handgun to his temple. Closing his eyes he pulled the trigger. The bullet going cleanly through his head. the Porcelain face shattering as the suit dissolved into ash. Revealing a police officers uniform below. The shattered bits of the mask vanishing to mist as the body fell forward. plummeting down the side of the building only to splatter onto the pavement below. Now showing the dead corpse of a police officer. no trace left of the porcelain faced man.

Shard sighed and opened his final portal. "hey assholes. get out of here.... Grune! deal with the idiot trying to set my place on fire!" Shard yelled seeing the idiot pyromaniac. Grune simply sighed as with his large imposing body walked behind the young man. With a swift motion his large right hand covered in a holy gauntlet tried to grab Mashus throat. "Please do not struggle." was all grune asked. His voiced filled with an overbearing pressure. "So hes dead... what now?" shard asked walking over to epherial. "good job idiot. I suppose you deserve a break... you alive?" shard lightly kicked epherial in the side only to receive a groan of pain. "good enough answer." was shards only response.

ManofManyRoles Deathkitten Kyrenka

 

[Deathkitten]

Jupiter​

"You gonna act like a child or a demon?" Jupiter groaned, stretching in Shard's mansion. The second time being here today, fun. This chick was a pyromaniac, apparently. No... she was probably just bored. Having a host that hates to even share with you... it had to be rough. Grune's grip wouldn't be easy to break, but... Jupiter sighed and put out the fire with a little whisper of magic.

"Hey," she continued, stepping through and keeping close to Mashu, "Demon. Let's make a deal. I need some new ones, and you seem like you're in a predicament with your host, so we can help each other out. You're frustrated, right? No sharing. Nothing? It's gonna be a matter of time before he shoves you back in your box - humans are a pain like that. So stop clawing and grasping at straws. You have more pride than that, don't you?"

She grinned, "Make a deal with me. We make a contract wherein I can call on your aid in battle. In that, you'd have a chance to get out and about in my body, and the boy would have a break from you. After the trouble is over, you head back. In battle, when I'd call you, all you gotta do is kill and burn whatever I put you in front of. There's little you'd like to do more, yeah? So how about it?" She offered a hand, "Preliminary agreement, and we work out the fine details with a proper contract."

That done, whether it be a yes or a no, she diverted her attention to SoulFlare and the charred remains of the man, "Hey! Amazing job! Made my magic look paltry, but I guess time magic kinda makes me a little useless. Heh. We should work together sometime. I didn't meet you when I was alive before, though I know your sort. There's a SoV that works in Los Angeles. Great place for a lot of sinners. Or, at least they did work ten years ago. I wonder if their number still works... hm. I can only imagine my soul looks a little weird to you right now, recently resurrected and all that. Clean as a whistle. Only people I've hurt in the two days I've been back have been people that were hurting others! Heh. Anyway, if you want, maybe I could hook you up with the other SoV? With the OA around, anybody that strong will be a real asset. I worked with her a tiny bit, but... ah... your sort is a little hard to get along with sometimes. Angels can be really uncomfortable with someone that works with demons, after all, even if I only do so to beat up bad guys."

She whipped out her phone and texted a number she hadn't in forever. She was lucky the cloud had stored all her data for her, or she'd be up the creek without a paddle.

SoV ~ Sarah

me

Hey! Text me! I'm BACK, baby!!! :D

them

I saw you in the news. Can't believe it. Probably will have Sathias check you out next time you're around, just to make sure. Heh.

me

I met another spirit! She's really strong, too!!

them

Oh no. Welp. Two of us in one city? LA is doomed. Give her my number. Even if her angel's a bitch, I think it'd be pretty cool to meet another host.

Jupiter raised her eyes up again to SoulFlare smiling super sweetly like a proud sister or something, "Got your phone on you? She wants you to have her number, so she can have another host to chat with!"

ManofManyRoles Kyrenka Cam E. Leon

 

[Deathkitten]

Shield​

"Oh my god finally," Shield breathed a literal sigh of relief when he heard over the radio that things had calmed down - the radio that he had now actually made sure was on and working. It was not easy to get people to listen to you, but he tried his best. It was good that it didn't get worse than it did... though that sonic boom was unappreciated by all windows in a wide radius. He jogged back to the playground, which was now a much different sight, though still, not a crater so hey, improvement.

"N- Er. SoulFlare!" he shouted, correcting himself before he made one hell of a mistake, "Hey! We all good here? Oh crap, you're Jupiter. You're famous."

Jupiter gave him a small smile, "Glad to hear some people still know my name."

"Oh totally! A lot of the heroes that died that day have lots of memorial stuff go on. Sorry, that sounded insensitive. You and the other two that came back are really impressive heroes. Nothing to shrug off. It's really cool you're back alive and stuff," he stammered, offering an awkward smile. She didn't know he was a villain, so there was no prejudice there. It was odd. "So what're we doing now, SoulFlare-sensei?" he teased, genuinely pleased to see that she was okay. He was worried she'd be dead.

ManofManyRoles Kyrenka Cam E. Leon

 

[Deathkitten]

Serenity​

Serenity just about froze once she sat up and tried to rub the feeling of the amber from her body. Her body felt numb but she found herself standing anyway, fists balled and tail flicking back and forth with tremendous agitation. She stared down at this man, her supposed father.

"Stop that! Tell everyone, not no one! Tell heroes! Tell the world! I'm old enough to talk for myself now and I want a daddy!! I... I want you. I deserve- I want a family," she was tearing up again, fists shaking, "I'm not gonna let them take you away. If they're the ones that took you away, that made you give me away, then they aren't good! I will bite and claw and set them on fire until they stop. I'll run away and find you anyway. I don't care. If you're really... If you're... my... GIVING UP ISN'T AN OPTION! We'll find mom and... and you can be a private hero and stop working for the military. Tell EVERYONE, and then the heroes in LA will help you!! If we tell Father Anderson, he'd help you!"

She was a shaking, crying mess, but it didn't seem to stop her sudden resolve. Her powers were flickering out of control, her entire body engulfed in her flames and the ground around her feet began to peel and misshape into tiny geometric blobs, the product of her overwhelmed mind.

"I am NOT going to LOSE YOU!" she shouted, "So... so do something! Please! I w... want a family... I want to be loved and have a mom and a dad and... and a real home! You're my dad... so... aren't you supposed to fight to keep our family together and stuff?"

ManofManyRoles chaieftainoftheeye Aelia Aeldyne

 

[ManofManyRoles]

SoulFlare

Her skull jerked in the attention of Jupiter, the massive wound in her gut at least halfway closed by now. "I travel a lot...this is my first stay in LA. Your soul does look unpleasantly clean, like an operating theatre. I don't especially trust souls like that...but given the light of resurrection going about, it'd explain things." She started her way towards Jupiter and the group, carelessly crushing a stone arm that had gone flying from Finis. As she drew closer she stared at Kayden's body, or more accurately, Mashu. "I guess someone managed to crawl out of her box. Hopefully, you have enough common sense to not go torching LA...or go ahead and do so, gives me a reason to cram you back into that box." Attention drifting back to Jupiter she nodded. "Considering you've already text her before I could give a comment, you mean? The phone isn't on me, it burns up when I get ready. Where is the pup-" As if to answer her question by divine providence, Shield arrived on the scene, rushing up to them. "There's the pup. Good work on keeping people out of the way...I'm sure both halves appreciate it. What we're doing, is you're going to give Jupiter my contact information..and-" She grabbed Darren by his shirt, gently shaking him in the most non-threatening fashion a flaming skeleton of death could. "Don't call me that again."
Deathkitten Cam E. Leon Kyrenka

 

[chaieftainoftheeye]

Mazok looks at amber, clearly shocked at the battle scars on her then looking at the kid and thomas. "i don't know what's going on with any of this.. i'm just hunting a sub.. so.. let's just shelve.. this matter until the fang is dealt wi... of course." as he looked to the now angry child. he gave thomas and amber a look. "you know what! i'm going to try something, and i don't care about protocall crap or anything cause we have a powered child with an emotional surge in progress." as he walked over, hands in the air. before suddenly hugging them. "it's ok, your coming with us, we're not going to hurt you." maz spoke with a kind of matter of fact style. not making promises but stating truths. "we'll solve this, we will get you free, you are capable." he continued hugging them.

Aelia Aeldyne Deathkitten ManofManyRoles

 

[Aelia Aeldyne]

Vicente Gorzob - Chupacabra - Cypress hill goblin cemetery​

He was one of the most powerful people in Los Angeles, in spite of his lack of abilities or short physical stature. He had other powers... Wealth, men, influence, weapons. He had thought he had seen pretty much the whole range of human - or goblin - morality and mentalities. He let out a puff of smoke from his cigar, keeping silent for a few instants. His eyes had narrowed a little, entirely focused on the matter at hand. So... There were still a few brand new freaks out there, strange minds that he had yet to parse. Intriguing. And then he spoke, slowly, calmly, measured.

"You had my interest. Now you have my attention. But - " And he took another puff, "Here is not the right place to talk about this. The trade of secrets is an art that belongs to the living. The dead have their own mysteries. Hmm..."

The skeleton inclined his head, the empty eye sockets flickering with magic as he drew a shape from thin air, a coin of shadows that he flicked back and forth between his fingers. Wordless he remained, for it was no time for him to speak. The coin was merely a marker, the shore on which the tide of thoughts ebbed and flowed, from one side to the other - trust or misgiving, with partnership on the edge, thin as hair and just as fragile, but also surprisingly solid once properly grown.

"Flip it."

And up the coin went, slowly spinning in the air as it initiated its fall towards the ground. Silent shade, falling to the earth. And there was no sound, as the coin of shades half-buried itself in the soft soil of the hill, perfectly edgewise. A decision taken.

"It seems... That we have a great deal to discuss, miss. If you see fit, I'll accept the information you have available as of now, and we'll talk more about this around a good dinner if the evening."

And like that, the most powerful goblin of Los Angeles finished his cigar, smothering the ember with the heel of his boot.


ManofManyRoles Kyrenka

 

[Aelia Aeldyne]

Starfinger - ???​

I completely switched to business mode. Now was the time to fight, and any and all external thoughts were to be removed from my consciousness to optimize my combat performance. Besides, with a restriction to eldritch power only, presence would be required of the entirety of my mind - and in today's occasion, of the entirety of my power because as it happened this was to be a demonstration of force.

"Considerations of your victory are irrelevant. As of now, and for any possible ending, victory has eluded your grasp."

I told her with a perfectly neutral voice. She couldn't see my face anyway, hidden as it was under the hood of my robes, but all expressivity had slid off of it like water, and only remained concentration, the ever-grinding gears of a warlock's mind. Today would be one of the rare happenstances of the full deployment of Starfinger's full power - an advent of dread as it was, even if I was to show restraint. Power to make deities cower was to be approached with supreme consideration, and wielded with even greater caution.

I knew she had the power to manipulate fate, so she was probably able to discern it as well. There was no such thing as a blind seer after all. But now... Now was time to blind the seer, and give her to see what she wouldn't want to behold. Proof of her own weakness.

I filled my mind with psychic energy, drawing internally an array that I would deploy later. It required quite a bit of time to finalize, probably five events to possess the required weight to exist in the frame of things... And that was with the subsequent thinning of boundaries that I was going to enact. With a breath - inspiration, exhalation, just enough to make the fabric wave - I activated the invisibility function of my robe... Now I would be unseen, both physically and psychically.

I drew a line with my hands, the left coming down and the right coming up. A perfectly vertical tracing to define a separation. My hands came together and I spoke up, my voice echoing from everywhere as power brimmed inside me.

"There is one thing you must sharpen if victory in this bout is what you seek. Something that you do not have a complete grasp of. There is what you are, and what you believe yourself to be. There is what you want, and then what you seek, the drive of burning emotion and the machine of cold logic. This is the <Twofold Duality> at the core of the being, and only when you see it from an external standpoint can you begin to glimpse the truth in all things."

And with those two words, I separated my hands, boundaries thinned, planes unbound and scapes revealed. Now we both would exist in two places, one physical where bodies stood, and one purely mental, where our minds devised. Would was the possibility, for I stood on the edge of all four planes that the separation had created, and my power revealed its truth to those who could behold it. In other words...

"This is a form I am comfortable with."



It was a wretched place, this mindscape of mine. Bleak expanses of purple glass under violet skies, stars shining dully and planets shattering to be remade as I stood among them as a titan of psychic presence, an aberrant construct of identity and masks, crystals and metals merging into an ever-shifting entity whose sole certitude was power. One of the planets came to fly by, and I grasped it - gently, as if I was picking up an ant, as it was nothing. It shattered, remains of mental rocks scattered across the infinity of thought, and the world shook. A sound began to be heard. A heartbeat, I thought, for a heartbeat it was. Now, in a place of pure mind the matters of the body are inaccessible and in turn they cannot affect the mindscape... And I had broken one of the seals on that rule, and now all we could hear here was our own heartbeats - a sound to drive mad anyone not trained.

"Your turn."

Deathkitten

 

[Kyrenka]

~Mashu~
OA Aftermath​

Her mood was soured the moment that other demon's annoying voice interrupted the sound of leaves crackling as they were consumed by fire. It was only when Shard's slave reached to grab her did her good mood well and truly disappear. Her eyes flashed in warning. "Don't fucking touch me." Perhaps the thrall had some brains after all, or maybe he just couldn't be bothered, but he let Mashu hold her head high as she exited through the portal willingly. She wanted to talk to Shard after all...

Once they were in the mortal realm again, Kaden's voice reappeared. It was still faint, but no longer silent. So much for some peace and quiet. The other human was more agreeable though. Despite the fact that she put out her flames, Mashu couldn't help but lean closer at the mention of a deal. She had mixed feelings about the offer. On one hand it was a convenient one. Hell, maybe when she was called she could stay in her physical form permanently. Then I could finally end this useless boy's pathetic little adventure. How he deluded himself into thinking that he would somehow find his parents' murder and get revenge was beyond her. But then again, humans always seemed to overestimate themselves. However, on the other hand Mashu was insulted. Jupiter's words were true, too true. Her pride was wounded and she almost declined immediately out of spite. What was it her mother always said? 'Don't cut off your nose just to spite your face?' She was pissed though and wasn't sure who to take it out on yet.

Eyes landing on Shard, she made up her mind. Patting Jupiter on the shoulder as her eyes glowed brighter for just a second, Mashu grinned. "Deal." Now that that was settled, ignoring the humans and the creature she could now properly identify as Agas, Mashu stormed towards Shard. "Hey asshole!" Cocking her fist back to deliver a long-awaited fist to the other demon's face, her grin was practically feral as she anticipated the sound her fist connecting to his cheekbone would make.

((Interacting with Deathkitten 's Jupiter, Cam E. Leon 's Grune, and Cam E. Leon 's Shard | Mentioned ManofManyRoles 's Soulflare))

 

[Deathkitten]

Oracle​

Oh wow... this was amazing. He was so powerful and cool it was hard to not be awestruck instead of serious! He had already switched to serious business mode. Gods above my uncle was so cool. Why did mom and the others shun him before? He was like a god himself.

Lucky for me, my powers didn't stem from psychic means. Still, I could feel the insane pressure and presence that was his being. I grinned, adrenaline pumping. This was so exciting. He was easy to see, invisible or not. No, his being, like everyone's, was connected by strings of fate. That's how the timestream worked. He was planning something, a more prepared event. It shimmered in my view as something yet to come.

"You know, I thought we agreed on eldritch powers, not psychic," I teased, smiling big as my awareness was split to a psychic room as well as the physical. I couldn't help but look around in awe. This place was so cool. I was so tiny compared to him - but honestly? That didn't stop my resolve. I hadn't done much physical splitting, but... it was something I had to practice with my abilities. Not physical, but... oh how do I explain it? It's kind of like this place my uncle made, but with a vast river. The Timestream. I had to look that in the face, so as impressive and amazing as my uncle was, he wasn't gonna scare me. Really, I was kinda jealous. He could do things like this and make it look so easy.

Okay. So. I was split now, and that meant my focus was split. Not great. The best thing to do would be find a way out of this mindscape. There'd be no doors, of course, so I'd have to find a way to make my own. He might think this place was wretched, but gods... I think it's beautiful.

The heartbeat was beyond irritating... but... she sighed and tuned it out, replacing the sound with nothing but the static of my own mind.

"My turn, huh?" I wasn't going to be beaten without a fight. I wanted to impress him, even if he won.

Ah... there was one way I could think of to get out of this mindscape, but... Danger. My thought resonated loudly and I giggled at it. That was cool. My thoughts weren't so straightforward as to make full sentences. It was mostly just that static. Besides, the hum of the stream was far louder than any heartbeat when I really focused on it. If I tried to escape, then I could find myself lost. Was it worth the risk to try to impress my uncle? Adrenaline said yes. Caution said no.

Fuck it let's give it a go. Last time, I was lost for a full day and came out in a not so great state, but without his family magic to use, he couldn't do it. Besides, if he thought she was using psychic powers to make this happen, that meant he probably didn't have the same connection to the stream that I did. My mom called me unique. Powerful like my grandmother. It skipped a generation. I wasn't just an Oracle. I was a Fateweaver.

To explain, before I do something I'm gonna regret, Fatewatchers and Fateweavers are two sides to the same coin. A step beyond the normal land of oracles, mediums, psychics, and everything like them. Fatewatchers observe the ebbs and flows of the timestream, a massive river of strands, each and every one of them a possible timeline. Past, present, and future. They're all there. It's... well, it's a lot to take in. Like with eldritch learnings, a lot of people go crazy. It's kind of a trial by fire.

Imagine this vast emptiness, not much unlike my uncle's mindscape, but there are no planets, no matter. The light only glows out to the sides of the river for about a mile before they fade into endless darkness. If there's anything else out there past it, I wouldn't know. I just know it's a bad place to go. Purples and blues are the most common colors for the light, but there are endless possibilities. Heck, I've seen colors I can't see with my physical eyes. It's not a place of magic or psychic or even ki. It is time. Time as a concept. Like a breathing beast. I've heard that mana leylines look kinda similar too.

The stream is impossibly deep. Most fatewatchers and fateweavers only touch the surface.

Right. Fateweavers. They are the ones that pluck and trim the strands of time. I am still learning to be one of these, but you have to be careful. If you change too much or in the wrong way, then... you're gonna get killed. Probably by another fateweaver, or worse, by him. I'll explain that whole mess later. The strands of time are beautiful, powerful things, and while they're only one facet of my abilities, they are definitely the part that has almost killed me. More than once. There are beasts. There are energies. There are fatewatchers and fateweavers that may not like you or trust you. Then there was him. All of them could get you killed.

I breathed out, laughing away my nervousness, though it permeated my being in this too-honest psychic state, "Right. My turn. This is gonna suck."

I let myself fall.

The landing hurts like a bitch. I'll say that much. I disappeared from even his view, both physically and psychically. It hurt. For one, snapping back together like that was like being slapped by a giant rubber band, or like a spring under torsion breaking against your skin. My head was pounding. Worse than that, though, I was in the void of the timestream. Time didn't pass here. Or it did a lot. It depended on how unlucky you were and how well you could control your own temporal placement. In this case, time didn't pass. This was a place outside of time. A void for it to exist happily. Peacefully.

There's no floor here, not unless you make one for yourself. You float unless you make your own gravity. Everything here would be of your own making. I am an insect to them. Now I had to force myself back out and into reality. I could see a couple of fatewatchers eyeing me. A fateweaver with their hands caressing a strand, arms up to their elbow gleaming with electric energy.

I wanted to throw up. This was a bad idea. Would I win if he couldn't find me? The thought had me chuckling, dry, and nervous. I just needed to get my bearings and not catch anything's attention until I reminded myself of which way was up and what direction I needed to go, to reach, to get back to Earth. Heh. This better impress him, damn it.

Aelia Aeldyne