Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Iridium Wonders - Abandoned HQ
Orthus had saved Holiday from a slap on the back of the head.
"Just for that, you can't ride shotgun when we go driving. And I'll put you in a carseat if it helps prove your value." And Orthus had to have at least gotten a glimpse of what put the color on him. Pretty please. Though, considering this is almost exactly like how they first met the wolfman...
"Our 'mastermind' is an old acquaintance of ours." The HQ thing may have just been any attention starved kidnapper's symbolism but taking everything together...
"In any case," She gave Ryuu a nod. "He'll go right to sleep if there's no oxygen around him. If Holiday needs him awake, hypoxia will make him less of a fighter.
"In the meantime..." Mahvash spread her influence over the building, manifesting in jagged, black cracks. And in a miniature lightning storm/Faraday cage in the room. "I'll work on blocking any more signals and rotting the machinery if its run from this building." The collar could theoretically do more than one thing. One of Shirin's tricks was to release an enemy from mental bondage then melt them—or blow them up in their loved one's arms. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Nazi Base
Not that it was finished just yet. It opened up its' battered chest, releasing two canisters of gas that immediately broke upon impact. The gas quickly spread through the room, threatening to send anyone who inhaled it for more than half a minute to their deaths. Not that it minded. "WINTEEEEER FOR POLAND AND FRAAAAANCE!!" Meanwhile, outside the base, things were going somewhat worse for Burner. Normally Nariko's assault would have done little more than reduce her blade to slag, but in his weakened state, it was capable of harming him. He howled in pain, quickly zipping a few yards away in the blink of an eye before hurling a gigantic fireball at her in desperation. "BURN, BITCH!"
Gaea HQ
Just as Orthus' claw was at Holiday's throat, he could feel something tugging at his leg. He looked down, his crazed frenzy coming to a halt as he saw a girl pulling at his ankle, pleading for her father to come home. Something began pushing at the corners of his mind, something that had been buried deep by some unknown force. Just as it was ready to break free, the collar began beeping like a madman with a buzzer. He fell to the ground on his knees, clutching his skull as he howled in pain. He was trying his best to fight it, even if he wasn't sure why. But would it be enough?
Suddenly a small cannon popped out from a newly opened port in the middle of the ceiling. It began firing a barrage of laser blasts at any living or sapient being in sight short of Orthus, eager to mow down anything that would try and distract the werewolf from his goal. It faltered and sputtered at Matten's influence, but it wasn't enough to stop it completely just yet.
Demon Temple
Squad 3
With everyone working in tandem and the sheer force of its' blast reflected back at it by Cole, the creature was soon bested, sent flying back by everyone's assault through the nearest wall and reduced to nothing more than a smoldering corpse.
Sitting at the end of the next room (which was awfully similar to the one they were just in,) was Tyulla. Who, rather than suffering in agony, was apparently stuffing her face with a massive supply of gumballs and malt balls as though living in luxury. Curiously, there didn't seem to be anything else between the heroes and their apparent hostage. (Assuming she was a hostage at all.) For all they knew, they could waltz in, drag her off, and be done with it.
God forbid it would be that easy.
Edited by kkhohoho on Nov 16th 2019 at 6:37:40 AM
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Iridium Wonders - 'Abandoned HQ'
Hn. Considering the others were putting their whole effort into restraining Balto—she'd have to talk to them about that—Mahvash spread hair and tendrils above them. And sent a wave of ruin straight at the weapon, the walls rusting and dryrotting on the way.
"And Holiday, you may have to rely on a less-than-perfect scan. We're still in the trap." One thing they needed to know immediately is if the collar had a penalty for taking him off the property. "Or you can have a smaller, select group keep him while we continue through the building."
Edited by CenturyEye on Nov 17th 2019 at 10:25:52 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
AKA Nixer
Lily – Nazi Base (Squad 1)
Lily didn't dare cheer even as it looked like the Gestapo-Bot was starting to wear down. And rightfully so, as she felt a suffocating feeling of dread once it launched those canisters from its chest. The realisation that she head no direct counter for this snapped her completely out of her Divine Form, and she desperately held her breath and covered her face and mouth so as not to breathe in the substance.
Crap crap crap what do I do what do I do?! she thought, only to recall the others. She wasn't sure if they were able to withstand or even simply filter out the gas, so if she was going to do something it'd have to be for their benefit too...
Then an idea popped in her mind.
It was a ludicrous, undoubtedly difficult idea to pull off, but it was an idea. Spreading out her maximum influence on the water molecules in the air around her, she exuded all the remaining moisture in her form stored from earlier and caused it to spread out around herself and her Squad—tightly packing them in a lattice-shaped manner in an attempt to shut out the gas from their general vicinity. Naturally this meant the dome had to be fairly tight, so as it began to solidify she drew it inwards so as to get her allies closer to the centre and make keeping it up a lot easier.
Lily had never done anything of this scale and concentration before, and it showed. She'd have used her Divine Form again, but it was hurting her brain too much to even attempt it. Even despite her less-than-stellar sweat glands she was beginning to turn red and clammy from the effort, and she was constantly switching her focus between patches of the makeshift dome to keep it solid.
It wouldn't stay up forever.
“We need to... one last attack!” she strained, shutting her eyes as she ground her teeth together. “Go! Everything we've got! I can't... hold this up!”
Holiday – Gaea HQ (Squad 2)
“Screw it! This is getting too dangerous!” Holiday exclaimed, hopping back a few feet to reassess the situation for what felt like the fifteenth time. “Our priority is the hostage. Subdue Orthus, even if it means knocking him out temporarily. Comment noted, Mahvash. Switching priorities. Get that turret offline, then help me hold down Orthus. I'll perform a quick scan and see if I can at least shut off communications from it to him even temporarily. We might just have to take a risk and adapt to whatever happens. I have a few sedatives if necessary... I'm equipped to stabilize him if anything goes wrong.”
There was a note of doubt in her voice, and it was clear this was becoming out of her comfort zone. Usually there'd be more ACPs by this point backing her up, or even Alex or Kaylee walking her through the process. Barring her squad, there wasn't much telling her what to do barring gut feelings and observational logic.
And it terrified her.
“Preparing to help disrupt turret. May require further assistance,” she reported, before switching to her taser configuration and launching a pair of intensely sparking, disc-shaped projectiles towards the turret. They were electromagnetic in nature, designed to overload or shock whatever they attached to. And honestly, it was all she could think of at this point in time.
She hoped the others could back her up in her hastily formed plan.
Which could barely be called a ’plan’ at this point anyway.
If this fails, then we'll have to search the complex further for whatever is sourcing that collar. But if we can get it off now, we won't have to. Just get him out.
Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 17th 2019 at 4:12:30 PM
bork
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Iridium Wonders - 'Abandoned HQ'
Slap! "Holiday Thomas-Selby." Mahvash punctuated the call with a slap on the back of said girl's head. Her prompt to Holiday was supposed to simplify her options to help her think not overwhelm her.
"We've been under fire by more than one, malfunctioning laser cannon before. For example 5 minutes ago. The squad can keep a perimeter or break out, and hard as it is to believe werewolves are durable."
Spinning a finger in the air in a 'look around gesture, she continued on softly. "We know what to do under fire, every member of the squad is fit and available for a task, and Orthus is right here. Things are as 'normal' as a leader can find under fire. Take it one step at a time." Well, the usual spiel is 'breathe' and take it one step at a time, but not applicable. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
Squad 1
Sam could only nod, even if he looked worried for Lily.
"That gas might be flammable, so careful" He said. "You heard the pretty lady, grand finale" He called, not realizing what he said.
Taking a meditation pose, he let a powerful cold wave to collide with the robot, to freeze it solid.
"Hey, Marky, Zach" He called "Feel like doing some team up?"
Squad 2
Ryuu could only growl a bit, as he thinned the air a bit. It'd feel like a high mountain, but it wouldn't be so risky, as messing with the breathing of others is way too risky for him. He hated fighting with a friend like this, no matter what, it'll feel really bad later on.
"Sorano" He said, as the dragon nodded, growing full size to wrap around Orthus. He had to warn the shadowy dragon to keep from really hurting the werewolf. The shots were a problem, as he just let his body move around unconsciously, letting his mind focusing on keeping the dragon's manifestation in place. Of course, getting lead on like that was just too easy.
The others better cover him.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Breath of the Sun
Squad 1 - Outside Base - Nariko
Burner could apparently teleport, or something close to it. At least she assumed that was how he crossed a few feet near-instantly.
It didn't matter, of course. Burner was simply too slow. She was already moving even as he flung his fireball, seeming to blink out of existence a moment, causing the fireball to explode harmlessly against the ground where she'd been.
A moment later she re-appeared behind him, tail blade flashing. It was hot against the hairless skin of her tail, but hadn't melted yet, at least.
She practically danced around him. As she moved, she swiped her blade at him again and again, making sure not to slash too deep, as she still didn't know exactly how durable or intangible he was.
"It seems that without a hostage to hide behind, you're worthless." She said, her voice seeming to come from all directions at once due to her sheer speed. "You cannot touch me."
Privately, however, Nariko hoped that he would fall soon. The heat from his body was slowly getting to her. Being covered with fur didn't help. Her only saving grace was that her costume was light and breathable.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Up on Melancholy hill.
Zach - Squad 1
Zach shot a glance over at Sam at his suggestion at a tag team attack with Mark and it took everything in his power to not roll his eyes. But then he thought, perhaps he'd be a bit harsh on his new team mate. Everyone had their quirks and he was sure he wasn't exactly liked by everyone, so...maybe, just maybe, he was being a bit rude about this. Marky was a member of his squad so...benefit of the doubt?
He took a little breath and turned to the clone of the Saint, writing in the air, Any ideas, big guy?
Mason(s) - Squad 3
"That was AWESOME!" Dark!Mason cheered as he pumped his fist into the air. "I knew we could do it! Good job everyone, good job! High-fives all around!"
Light!Mason could only roll his eyes at his counterparts excitement but even he could recognize a job well done. He snapped his book shut and walked off, catching Dark!Mason's eye and following after him.
The other room was met with a sight that should have surprised no one, least of all Mason. The Hyperactive one gasped and pointed. "TYULLA! Don't worry, I'm coming-"
"Could be trapped." His stoic half said as he grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him back. "Let me see how bad of a situation we're looking at here." He stepped up and pressed the side of his helmet, emitting a beam of light that allowed the others to see what HE was seeing, akin to a Sherlock Scan from his helmet, scanning for anything in the air like lasers or trip wires or some other nefarious things.
Is it selfish that I'm happy as we pass the setting sun?
Gloria, Nazi Base
Gloria looked tensed as gas filled the room. Poison wasn't an issue for her, but she didn't know about the others. Well, no use wasting time worrying about that now.
"I will assist you two as well," Gloria said to Zach and Marky. "Let us act as one."
Squad 3-Temple-Vivian-Ooo Sugar Sugar
Well, that weird critter died pretty easily. Which means we should be extra suspicious. There might well be a trap ahead. What could it-
Then she saw Tyulla. And what she was eating. Oh. There it is. Thankfully it looked like one of the Masons'...Masones...Masoni? had had the same level of care. At least they weren't taking any chances.
While they were scanning, Viv stopped to consider that it was too bad they couldn't have scanned the creature they'd just killed as well. Perhaps it would have furnished a clue as to their opponent.
Cole - Squad 3 (62)
Cole shot a look at Rebecca, reminding her nonverbally about the plan as he followed in shortly behind, checking the area with his psychic powers at a quick scan for any schemes or traps. He looked around and murmured to himself, "...little too easy..." He looked at the corpse of the creature they'd dealt with and figured it was some sort of dark pet for whoever kidnapped Tyulla.
Gotta keep the Masons from charging right into a trap, but we also kinda have to do something about this.
Cole clenched his fist...and then remembered something.
He snapped a finger and chuckled at himself.
Extending his hand, Cole started to have the candy levitate and move off out of the place probably riddled with traps, toward the heroes. Tyulla would probably follow the candy right to them, and most likely the person responsible for this wouldn't want the traps to trigger on her.
What was it that creepy tall lady said? Harming the hostage removes all insurance or something like that?
All Squads
Suddenly a broadcast emerged through all the Squad's communicators. "Hey there, people!" Surprisingly, it was the Saint. And yet he didn't sound happy. "So while you were all out there saving the hostages, I figured the least I could do was try and find whoever was responsible for setting all this up. And I think I just did. Hold on one sec."
Supercity News
Just as Supercity's premier news agency was preparing to sign off for the night, an old man in a suit of advanced armor was blown straight through the front wall and clear across the room, landing straight atop the news desk with the camera still running. The anchorwoman and most of the staff promptly fled for safety, even as the Saint came crashing in with one foot landing square on the old man's chest. "WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE—"
The Saint promptly shifted his footing to Leon's throat before he had a chance to speak. "Now, now. I'm the one talking here." Given the nature of his abrupt entrance, it was somewhat hard to notice, but something about the Saint seemed... off. He had always exuded a notion of greatness, a sense of warmth. That no matter what happened, everything would turn out for the best.
And it was gone in an instant.
"So. Seeing as we've got the city's attention, mind telling us why you abducted all those heroes' families just to take a potshot?" Saint eased up his footing ever so slightly, giving Leon just enough room to breathe.
"I don't have to explain myself to you!"
"Wrong answer!" He slammed it back down on Leon's throat, causing Leon to grunt in pain while the more squeamish remaining staff barely suppressed their horror.
"Fine! In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a superhuman strongman blessed with extended longevity. My armor lets me stay in the game, but only just. Sooner or later I'm going to be nothing but dust. And you'll still be here laughing it up."
"So, what, you wanted to take one last potshot, is that it?"
Leon couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction. Even with Saint standing over him with barely a trace of warmth or compassion, he could do nothing less. "Precisely. But gunning for you would be too easy. In fact, it's why I've rarely gone after you specifically for the last few years. You see, Saint, I don't want to kill you. Or at least I haven't for a while. Rather, I wish to hurt you. And I intend to keep hurting you for as long as I'm able. But as they say, there's more than one way to GET someone."
Saint didn't so much as blink as he listened to Leon's little speech. Almost as if he already read the script. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I believe I am. I used to have greater ambitions, you know. World domination, racial dominance, etcetera. But with only so many years left, there's only one thing I care enough about to want to see through to the end. Seeing you suffer. And I'll keep on doing so until one of us kicks the bucket."
Saint glared at Leon for a moment. But only just. Almost as if he had already resigned himself to what he felt must be done. "You know something, Leon?" Suddenly he removed his foot from his throat only to lift him by the neck in a blur, holding him up as he struggled for freedom in mid-air.
"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU—"
"I believe you."
There was a loud crunch. Almost as though someone had broken a toothpick. And no sooner had he released his grasp had Leon's now lifeless body crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll.
The cameraman and anyone remaining were speechless. None of them were sure how to respond, or even if they could believe what they were seeing. Nor were they sure they could believe what a stone-cold Saint said next. "Anyone else tries something like this? You're next." And in one swift motion, he was gone.
Foundation HQ, Conference Room — August 2nd, 2021
It had only been a day since the Saint's gruesome display on national television, and already the world was shocked. It wasn't as though there weren't any heroes or vigilantes that killed. King Kaboom's death at the hands of the Soldier of Fortune was still relatively recent. But for someone like the Saint to do such a thing? It was almost unimaginable. The Saint set the standard. He created the values that most heroes had sworn to uphold. And now he was discarding them as an inconvenience. It was too early to say what the impact would be on the Superhero community or even the world at large, but barring a miracle, it was bound to be anything but pleasant.
If there was any good that came out of this, it was that Leon's death ended last night's hostage situation almost on the spot. As soon as they had heard of the death of their ringleader, his underlings abandoned their hostages and fled as fast as they could, with everyone soon safe and sound. But that still left the matter of what to do next. One might assume that was why Squads 1 through 3 were called in the very next day, but even so, it was a bit strange that the other Squads weren't present. Making it odder was that Reinbach and Armada had requested the meeting, almost as if they knew something that they weren't privy too.
Still, the facts were the facts. As far as they knew, the Saint was a murderer. And it was a whole new ballgame.
Cole - Squad 3
"Anyone else tries something like this again and they get vigilante executed right there on Live TV? That's a public execution." Cole ruminated outloud as he paced, not knowing what the announcement was gonna be about. If it was something to make them get behind the damn Saint in doing what he did, he knew where the exit was. "Those weren't the words and actions of a hero or a savior. Those were the words and actions of a fascist. And everybody here who knows me should know what I do to fascists."
I'm not a stranger to going rogue and fighting in a resistance movement. If need be, I'll fight forever.
He crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, knowing he was gonna get some dispute on that from some of the others present. He just didn't know how many people here would stick by the Saint in the face of this.
Personally, I never put stock in the idea of one person setting the standard or being the moral center. Seems like a position too easy to abuse...
Marky - Squad 1
Marky didn't feel as strongly as Cole did, but to see THAT, to hear that, to know of that, he had come to this meeting on the war path. Very uncharacteristically of Marky, the young man arrived wearing a blue jacket, a tight black shirt, black jeans and sneaker shoes and not even speaking in his usual turns of phrase. Just a few curt hellos and goodbyes as he went on. One hand was always clenched tight. And with the tension in the air, it was easy to see it;
Marky was just one step away from acting out more decisively.
On the way up, he'd gripped the metallic rail along the side of the stair so tight it had screeched and compacted.
"...We're not gonna just accept this, are we?"
Edited by NickTheSwing on Nov 23rd 2019 at 6:38:18 AM
AKA Nixer
Lily – Conference Room (Squad 1)
“Not on your life.”
Lily was merely... saddened. Disappointed. Seeing the footage had only made her grimace and squeeze shut her eyes, and she'd turned away before she could see the aftermath. She'd been quiet for the rest of that day, throat having been caught in a nauseating spasm every time she tried to speak. A purely psychosomatic response. She knew the reason. She didn't want to acknowledge it.
Lily had never been the same after that very first trip of hers. It was like nothing violent could shock her anymore. Good for an Aquatos, but she didn't exactly care about that aspect so much. She wanted to feel disgusted, and shocked beyond belief. She wanted to say she cared enough about the Saint that it broke her heart to see him stoop so low.
But it was all secondhand, and there was no point in lying if all it did was make her feel empty.
“He's not right,” she said slowly, considering the floor as she let her face form into a frown. “He's not right in the head. Since he came back. Do you think... something went wrong?”
It was the only vaguely rational explanation she could think of. It was all she could provide. She didn't particularly want to think about it, but if it provided Marky with at least some relief from the unknown...
bork
Breath of the Sun
Squad 1 - Conference Room - Nariko
The villain who nearly killed her mother had escaped yesterday. Nariko hadn't been able to work up the will to chase after him. Not after seeing the Saint snap a man's neck. Or, well, she'd thought about it at first.
In fact, she'd actually debated hunting Burner down and killing him. After all, if the Saint was willing to end a villain's life, why should she not?
But Lily was right. This wasn't him. Whether he came back wrong, or simply had been broken by the sight of what the world became without him. It wasn't the Saint, not the one that had inspired her to become a hero in the first place.
"Does it matter why he did it?" Nariko countered Lily's question with her own, her tail swishing nervously. Her hidden blades hadn't been repaired yet - she'd taken them to Reinbach yesterday, after the mission, and asked him to fix them, maybe even improve him if he was up to it - and she felt strangely naked without weapons. Even though she still had her kunai pouch. "Even if we make him see the error of his ways... he's already crossed a line. He can't really go back to being the world's hero after this."
Which means the world is once more without its Saint.
Her eyes flicked over to Marky. He was, supposedly, some kind of clone of the Saint. "So we'll have to step up to take his place."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Cole - Squad 3 / Marky - Squad 1
Cole commented on hearing about the world being once again without its Saint, "...Hence half the problem. The fact that someone in such a position could very well abuse it. Having one guy be a huge public source of morality has this as a very real consequence."
Cole breathed and then continued, "There's also the fact that we have to be wary. We accurately see this for what it is, but others might be more eager to accept this turn of events. Others might still see The Saint as the world's hero. And that...might mean we got a fight on our hands."
Marky for his part didn't relish the idea, but he too had his doubts now about the very idea of a "Saint System". "Yeah...you're right, both of you." He still looked outside, knowing he was going to need to step in and fight. And damn but he was going to fight and not stop till this ended. The Saint was mad, and now it was on him - as the reflection, the clone, the copy - to make use of that and put an end to his threat.
Marky knew he didn't want to step over the same damn line, but The Saint was far over the line now himself. "We have to try and hold to our standards, but also recognize that while we can't do as he does, we cannot be inflexible. No matter what, Saint has to go down."
No rest, no stopping, no matter what.
Edited by NickTheSwing on Nov 23rd 2019 at 8:05:10 AM
Paragon
Martin was exhausted, the rings under his eyes for the first time were utterly visible to the world and it had become more and more difficult to actually stay upright. Villains and Heroes both had been going wild since what the Saint had done, increasing his workload to the point where it was nearly impossible to keep up. Every time a fire got put out a new one would spawn, villains who no longer felt any need to hold back if they would die to a hero. Heroes who saw the rise in violence from villains as an excuse to go wild in their fights.
To put it lightly, he was tired. Sleep had been difficult to come by before, and now he had been running his body for nearly forty eight hours since even before the hostage situation he had been coming off a intensive patrol. He wondered now if this was what the pro heroes had been facing after the Gaea battles or their various struggles during university.
His hero had died once, and now arguably he had gotten to live to see the day his hero turned into a killer. Between the two options?
For the first time Martin wished someone had just stayed dead.
Edited by Kingxana0 on Nov 23rd 2019 at 8:13:55 AM
Surrounded by weirdoes
Squad 1
Sam is generally pretty quiet about these things. He's seen some messed up things so far, and given how things have gone on, it's doubtful that'd ever change. He just has to find things to hold on and continue living.
But this was just... like the earth was flipped on him.
"Guess we had to suspect something was off" He whispered "But when you are going through those things, I guess the best we can do is to hold to each other and keep standing"
He looked up, hoping for an answer.
"Never let yourself stay down, even if you have to pull yourself up by your fingertips" A phrase he has repeated to himself again and again before.
It's a reality. He was just too stubborn for despair to catch him.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Iridium Wonders - Outside
Mahvash had made to gather her fellows together for a quiet decompress and de-stress hangout at Super-Sized Eatery. And now the Foundation was calling them in for damage control. Well, not like they could escape being called 'Saint' Foundation, at least quickly.
Mahvash herself did not really bother about Saint's performance on TV—well except for the channels replaying it constantly over the soaps and posting it in valuable newspaper space. Oh and everyone who watched resetting back to the first time Saint/the idea of Saint died.
Saint was human and human programming was not that well-defined. He could believe in everything on the posters around the foundation HQ and still let himself go. And flesh-and-bone breaks under torture eventually—emotional or physical. But, she had not lifted a finger to defend him. She knew how stories like this went anyway. And she never liked what Saint did to the world in the first place.
Though Mahvash felt little about the scandal and Broken Pedestal around the man she disliked anyway, her house had a connection to the Saint. Even Shirin. note And that mattered.
"I'll remind you again that you all have been coming along in a world where Saint was dead," Mahvash said it simply, repeating what she'd told her squad the last nightnote and gently guiding her squad's heads up as they entered. "You've been finding your way to being good heroes for a long time. I'll also remind you that 1) that wasn't you on the TV and 2) the point of a school is to train the next generation to be better. If you don't approve of what you saw, keep being heroes, your kind of heroes."
Mahvash essentially carried Martin as they went. He couldn't really put up resistance. And if my squad is to deal with anything less-than-important, I'm skipping it to put him to bed and sit my people down somewhere comfortable. "And less Disney, I know this sucks but take your time." She squeezed Martin at the last one. The man could save the many, but not all on one night of sleep. She could stock up on tranquilizer darts. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Squad 1, Gloria
"That's... the Saint?"
Even the newcomer to Earth knew who the Saint was. He was a figure of legend among superheroes, among far more than that besides. A paragon that would show others the way to lead a virtuous life. But even good people can stray from the path of righteousness, and that fall from grace was only more harsh when it happened to a well respected person like this. That was an undeniable reality of the world.
It still didn't make it any easier to watch what she did. To see a good man be driven to the act of killing like that... it was enough to make anyone feel despair. To make them wonder what exactly they were doing here in the first place.
"So I know you guys don't know me yet," Gloria said, looking uncomfortable after what she just witnessed. "And I don't think anyone is really in the mood for introductions right now. But I do have something I'd like to say."
She looked at the others with determination in her eyes.
"I didn't know the Saint personally; in fact, I haven't even lived on Earth for much of my life. Still, I know how important he is to everyone. I don't think he's beyond redemption, but Nariko is probably right. His reputation as the world's leading hero is probably over. Forever."
"..."
"But that doesn't have to be the end of the story. Goodness is not something that should be determined by one powerful man - I don't believe anything good can or ever has risen from that kind of thinking. I know we're going to have to fight the Saint eventually and stop him from doing what he pleases."
"But to be honest, that's not the only battle I want to fight right now. The bigger battle is for the hearts of people who have seen a hero stray from the light, and have now become lost. A battle to show the world that it is our principles, not a singular individual, that should determine the path we take. I'm not sure if that's a battle I can truly win, but I'm willing to fight for it with you all by my side."
"For now though, I suppose there's not much to do but prepare for a confrontation. That seems inevitable at this point."
Edited by HilarityEnsues on Nov 23rd 2019 at 12:58:42 PM
Iona - Conference Room
The doors opened to reveal Iona in her control room staff uniform, head buried in her hands, shaking in disbelief.
"I...I can't believe I forgot. Everything has been so chaotic lately."
She looked up at her coworkers gathered, a gnawing at the lining of her insides. Why hadn't she said anything when she turned her back on the very thing that had told her to keep quiet? Mason had known too!
"I have to come clean, like I should have a long time ago. But it seems I'm still a slave to the Elements."
She went over to table, slamming a fist down on it, teeth bared as she propped herself up.
"Alright, I'll keep it short. The Saint we've had in our lives the past few months is a fake. He's not ours. The day he 'reappeared', he did not have the mark of death about him. Curious for someone who had been so very close to it. But the whispers told me to stay silent, that there were grander things at work."
She bowed her head again, hammering down on the table again, a few tear drops puddling on the top.
"I told Mason. Perry knew. I told them both to remain quiet, and look at where we are. I've made a huge mistake yet again, and now the world suffers for it. Gaea, the mall and now this...I can't do anything right, and I wish there was more I could do except say something as inconsequential as 'I'm sorry'."
A sniff, the small sobs being pulled back as Iona wiped her eyes.
"But I suppose I could, however small comfort it may be."
A notebook set in front of her, opening to reveal hasty scribbling and coffee-stained pages.
"So we're left with very few possibilities for what the case might be here. As we all know, alternate universes are a thing, and the people of said alternate universes may not be as nice as their counterparts in ours. Or just even worse. We also might be dealing with an actual imposter, but I doubt that because of some evidence I'll bring up in a moment. And of course, there's the highly unlikely chance that we are dealing with the actual Saint here and some unknown factor has changed everything."
She turned back a few pages in the book, dated all the way to their first day at the Saint Foundation.
"The frost giants. Logs show that somebody had been trying to send something over into our world. Could just be a coincidence, but it lines up with the reappearance of 'Saint' far too closely for my liking. I've been busy going through all the records in the database related to any abnormalities that might have offered a clue."
Iona stood up straight again, gazing over the people gathered with a hand on her chin.
"So I believe the highest possibility is that we are dealing with a Saint, but just not ours. But what I can't piece together is the motive. Saint, at least as far as our one goes, is probably incapable of traversing across universes like that. So he was either sent here accidentally, which sounds unlikely given how he's knowingly pulled the wool over our eyes, or he's working with a person or group, for some purpose I can't quite piece together. Perhaps this moment was planned, a way of breaking the spirit of the world in a way worse than his death could. A demoralizing effort before a full-scale invasion. An infiltrator sent to destroy the structure of our heroes from within. Obviously there are other possibilities, but those sound most likely."
She stared down at the table again, fists clenching.
"But regardless of what the truth is, this isn't the time to mope about it. Many may have admired the Saint. Believed him to be the prime hero. But we shouldn't define heroes by him. Idealizing something as much as that tends to make me...us blind to the uncomfortable truth. It's like tunnel vision. You start finding ways to justify how you act, so devout you don't even think you're nothing but a mindless follower."
What followed was a heavy silence, broken only by a shaky cough from the handler for the Squads.
"I apologize for getting perhaps a bit too harsh there, it wasn't my intention if it came across as such. And I'm sorry for keeping quiet until now, and for all the times I've caused trouble or mistreated people. I...had to get this off my chest."
Picking up the notebook, Iona went to take a seat, emptily staring at her one leg crossed over the other, face partly obscured by her hair.
Vivian-Meeting Room-The Day After
Since her death Viv had been feeling much different. More alive. More emotional. And, she realized, less like Viv-from-before. Human Viv had been a friendly but very focused and intense person. Prone to charging in and being single-minded in her goal, and then her new robotic form had pushed her to suppress any feeling at all. More openness in feeling had been freeing, certainly. But it also had possibly been a mistake. For times like now.
She'd never been close to the Saint. Heck, her old mentor had always been hands-off about the legend (to be fair, he was hands-off about *everyone*, it seemed). That and trying to emulate someone with powers when you didn't have them seemed foolish. The old man's attempt at objectivity had influenced her own thinking to a very large extent, and even now that she could see a few flaws in it, she embraced it more often than not. They say cynicism is not the same as intelligence. But pragmatism?
"So he's not our guy. Ok. If it had been some robot double we would already been out smashing him, of course." A side-shot at Cole she couldn't resist. "And I know no one's doing it, but let's not kid ourselves that anyone will miss Leon, first off. If one of your loved ones had died and he'd gotten away cackling you'd want to kill him too. That's just being human, and there are some arguments to be made that killing him was a good deed. Before my change, I might have done it given the chance."
She raised a hand to forestall interruptions. "However, doing it on live TV was not an act of heroism or virtue. Put the execution itself aside-for our purposes I say it doesn't matter as long as it was a deliberate crime. I agree that it was a planned attempt to sow dissent or at the least see how we react. Does he really want us to fight him? To rally to him? If he does want a fight, best believe he's prepared. Everything we can bring to bear says he's A Saint, obviously. And I don't think he's suffering from a mental illness. There would have been signs before this drastic step."
"Having a role model, an example to look up to and seek to emulate is also very human, and nothing to be ashamed of or discarded. There are people worthy of that kind of attention and devotion, to a point." She turned to more face the rest of the class. "I see you're angry and shaken. This man...or our version of him..had an impact. If it helps, perhaps he really is being mind-controlled, or it's some larger plot that was all staged. Perhaps Leon isn't really dead, or that there's some huge Galactic Alliance of Leons out to smear the Saint. It would be a good plan, and have the effects we're all seeing. But that's a discussion for afterward. Saying we're going to fight is fine. But we need to plan. Charging in is stupid. Trust me on this one."
"Does the Foundation have any kind of anti-Saint strategy? Where is he now? Who is best suited to go up against him? Raw power doesn't matter if you're going to be hamstrung from the get-go by attachments." And if you don't have a way to fight him already stored away, you're idiots.
Cole - Squad 3
It was somewhat both relieving and further demoralizing to know that this was not the real Saint. Both relieving in that this was not the stark betrayal that Cole had feared - which might cause a division, a civil war within the Foundation - but instead a doppelganger. A disquieting clever impersonator. This made things both easier and more dangerous.
Easier because it outlined his path more clearly.
More dangerous because there was probably some plan in the works by this impersonator. He didn't come here just to kill Leon.
He wryly commented on the reveals made by Io, "...Note to yourself, Iona. Next time voices tell you to shush about those kinds of things, don't listen to them. Rebellion's a great thing."
He did see the knock at him that Viv made and outright said in response, "...Yeah. If we knew this going in..."
Cole found himself once again thinking about what they were gonna do from here on. When Vivian spoke on the topic of an Anti-Saint strategy, Cole stepped forward, "...I'm in favor of smashing the fascist flat. He's The Saint, sure, but I've fought worse. I say we send a...uh, neutralization team to take him down before he can set any institutions up or get any staying power in existing ones. Preferably before he starts trying to discredit the press or demonize his enemies."
Breath of the Sun
Squad 1 - Conference Room - Nariko
"The impostor Saint already has influence, stolen along with the Saint's identity. And he hasn't technically broken any laws yet." Nariko pointed out. The killing of Leon could be called a crime, though one could also argue it was the same as a mundane police officer shooting a violent criminal. Either way, the Saint obviously hadn't been arrested for it. "So we'd be breaking the law ourselves to kill him."
She ran a hand along her tail. Near the tip, where her tail-blade usually rested, the pink skin was marred by a dark ring. A faint burn, from how heated her blade had become when fighting Burner. She remembered thinking how easy it would have been to put her blade through whatever passed for his heart.
"But we may have no choice." She kept her voice level. "If this does end up coming to that... it may be better to kill him in his sleep, then to try and face him head-on. Killing is hardly heroic in the first place, so there's no sense in trying to be 'honorable' about it."
Ninja were not implicitly assassins by trade, but Nariko knew that most of her ancestors had wound up killing for one reason or another. She wondered if they'd be proud of her for thinking like a ninja, or ashamed to see her fall from the path she'd chosen.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Cain & Perry (2)
Suddenly, Holiday felt someone behind her, helping her not to be forced back. It was Cain!
"Who would dare do this to one of my children?" he growled, pushing as hard as he could. "Anyhow, girl, keep pushing!"
"Papa, I know you in there. I know you fighting. I don't know where in there you are, but you have to fight!" In a moment of desperation, she threw herself forward and hugged his leg in a parody of the moment when they met.
Wilma (3)
Wilma herself sliced a few tentacles as they reached for her, before warping behind the shield that Cole made.
"Well, at least it's not the Crawling Darkness!" she said, somewhat annoyed. If it was the great big lumbering villain, they would have been in deep trouble already.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Nov 15th 2019 at 11:05:39 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.