"If Dusk shows up, I'm calling Whippoorwill and getting the old guard to come and boot him into the nearest jail cell that will hold him," Shin says blatantly. "I'm not so idiotic as to face my future self on my own. This is going to be a recon mission. Plus, I think having only you there as back up is a good idea, because...well, the others might not be able to be objective. And if I do something stupid you can probably hold me back." Shin admits.
"Though...maybe I should ask Rory? Just to show I'm burying the hatchet with him."
As the field of psychic energy simultaneously all the explosives within the immediate area, Psyche can feel them explode within the shells of telepathic power around them, limiting their damage to a minimum, despite a sudden pang of intensity into her mind from exerting the mental focus necessary to contain the intensity of the blasts.
"Please...you think I would make it so easy?" Dr. Dread chides. "You jumped to conclusions without considering my offer. I never said the bombs were ONLY here at the festival..."
A moment later, a distant boom that could be mistaken for thunder reaches your ears, followed by another, then another. Turning towards Halcyon, you see several buildings being lit up with flames and explosions as one bomb after another detonates!
"I WON'T MAKE THE OFFER A THIRD TIME!" Dr. Dread's voice roars above the crowd. "Praetoria! Surrender now, and I will deactivate the bombs going off. I'll even leave your friends alone. But if you don't...well...how many lives are being lost every passing moment in the city?"
What do you do?
Kayla looks back to the city, then to Mattie beside her and Psyche near Dr. Dread. Tears are welling up in her eyes as her fists clench tightly at her sides.
"Psyche...Scorch...I...I don't know what to do. If I don't surrender, who knows how many explosives she's going to detonate? I don't know any other way to make it stop..."
Inquiry's posture changes subtly. Somehow, it seems less cheerful, more menacing and mechanical.
"Seeing how as the word of a terrorist is worth exactly NOTHING, I'm going to modify that agreement a little. Disarm the bombs and surrender YOURSELF, Dr. Dread, and I will stop killing you. Fail to do so, and I WILL exact judgement for the lives you have taken."
Inquiry ripples slightly. And then a flurry of tendrils, a storm of monofilament whips, cracking as the break the sound barrier before impacting Dread's armor, slashing and wrapping and cutting, with full intent to shred, sever and kill. Just to make sure, one tendril, tipped with the very same Adamant Alloy needle that once penetrated Praetoria's skin, drives hard toward Dread's chest.
"Yeah, that may be a decent idea. I can certainly provide backup, and Rory might be a good idea....
Suddenly Isaiah freezes, then grows grim. A dull thump of an explosion is heard in the city.
"We need to get moving NOW. Dr. Dread is attacking Praetoria, and detonating bombs throughout the city. We need to get moving on either bomb patrol or backup NOW."
This second statement is echoed across Rory's comm, if he has it on.
Further punctuating Isaiah's grim announcement is the sound of an explosion that sounds and feels as if it were right beside you all in Praetor Tower! Once you gather your footing, you move to a nearby window to see the building across the street from the Tower in flames, debris still falling to the street below! A moment later, another explosion comes from somewhere else in the city...followed by another...and another...
What do you three do?
"Kayla - you can run or you can fight, but I won't Let you surrender to this monster."
I can't stop the bombs she's already set off, but I can stop her from using the rest!
Psyche slammed into Dread's mind without a care for anything she might be doing to the villain's mind. She could practically see the other bombs looming large in Dread's mind's eye - she could see the codes and frequencies that those bombs needed to hear in order to keep from detonating.
Psyche couldn't broadcast them, but Inquiry could. Isaiah wasn't here in his body, but Psyche didn't need to see his face to provide him with everything he'd need to shut this murderer down. Isaiah, keep these codes going on these frequencies. I'll make sure she doesn't detonate them directly.
A quiver of force hovered ready for Dread to produce her control again, as soon as it was in Dread's grasp, Psyche would Snatch it.
"No Prae. I won't let you!" Scorch yells back at Praetoria. "We can't trust her to do what she says anyway. We just have to stop her, now!'
With that, she turns and launches herself, once again, at the hovering figure. This time doing her best to strike the Dr using her momentum and red-hot fists to cause some damage.
Shin looks stunned for a moment, trying to wrap his head around this scenario, before gritting his teeth as he saw the explosion rocking the building next to him. Then another, and another.
I have to save the girls.
You can't do that. Save the people.
How do I save them from the bombs?
Shin was frozen in place, trying to figure something out here. This was massive, spreading throughout the city, and he had no idea where these bombs were or what they looked like or how to disarm them safely.
"...Alert the Alliance and Heralds to what is going on. They can send their heavis to take out Dr. Dread faster than we can get there." He requests of Isaiah before diving outside, enveloping himself in his power and racing to save as many people as he could from the fire and flames. He couldn't stop the explosions, but he could stop the debris from killing more people!
Inquiry’s tendrils batter Dr. Dread around in the air, making heavy impacts that manage to even move her around a bit. The thrust of the tendril formher heart strikes her chest plate, but between the advanced materials and her version of the Regalia, it just manages to create a deep scratch along the surface. Even so, accomplishing that alone is enough to make her appear somewhat more concerned with the Sentinels now.
She conjures up a sword and slices through a couple more tendrils before raising her arm at the ship, as a sizable cannon manifests itself off of her left shoulder. Her hand seems to be the targeting system, and when she points at Inquiry and closes her fist, a blast of bright blue energy launches itself at the vessel!
Scorch launches herself att he villain also, but by now Dr. Dread is on the attack. She turns and conjures a wicked hammer of energy and brings it crashing down onto your back!
”Enough of this!” she says before turning to Praetoria and launching herself at her through the air! Praetoria takes a fighting stance, and braces for impact, when suddenly telekinetic energy crunches down on Dr. Dreads helmet, wrenching it from her head. However, instead of her identity being revealed, you simply see a human head covered in a full head mask of some sort of techno mesh.
Dr. Dread wheels around and glares at Psyche for just a moment before slamming her hand against the opposite forearm. She turns to give Praetoria one last look before her form vanishes in a flash!
__________
Kayla stands there numbly, braced for more fighting, for several seconds before dropping her hands and slumping to her knees, her hair draping down over the sides of her face as she hangs her head. Her Regalia fades back to her dancing attire, the Psyche ribbons still pulsating.
The hammer strikes Scorch in the back, flinging her body across the dance floor, where she impacts with a sickening crunch against the ground at Praetoria's feet. For a moment she doesn't move and it seems like she may be very badly injured. After a few seconds, however, she moans and manages to turn over, blood dripping from her nose and the scrapes and scratches that cover her bare midriff and arms, the dragon costume badly ripped in parts and charred in others..
Praetoria gently lifts Scorch up and rests her in her arms, brushing her hair out of her face and cradling her gently until more help arrives. ’I’m so...so sorry Scorch. Are you alright?” she asks as she gingerly places a hand on Mattie’s scratched up midriff. But, on closer inspection, Kayla notices the wounds closing up slowly, much like her own that she had when she last fought Dr. Dread. ”Ummm...is that new?” she asks as she runs a finger over them to get Mattie’s attention there.
When Kayla places her hands over the bloody wounds on her stomach, Mattie feels a sudden jolt of energy suffuse her body, and she jerks and moans, not in pain, but in pleasure. Beneath her hand, Kayla feels the skin close up more rapidly. The newly healed skin, however, feels slightly rough rather than smooth and when Kayla lifts her hand to inspect it more closely she sees what appear to be a scattering of small iridescent scales. As she turns her head towards the younger girl's face, she can see that her other wounds have, likewise closed and been replaced with scattered scales. As the wave of energy receeds, Mattie stares at Kayla's face before peering down at herself. "What?... What's happening?"
Kayla looks at the scales forming with fear filled eyes. ”Oh...oh my god! Scorch! What...what’s happening? Psyche! Something’s happening to Scorch!” she says as she puts a hand over the scales, as if that might stop them from spreading.
Inquiry notes what does and does not work. It would have to adapt. This kind of threat could not be permitted to run rampant any longer than necessary. Fabbing more Adamant Alloy was going to be expensive, though...
It was also watching carefully as Dr. Dread vanished. Scanning. Trying to determine what her weaknesses might be, and what method she used to escape. And taking a quick Aura snapshot, so that it could recognize her by that.
Isaiah did what he could to help, but seemed distant and distracted. He did start repeating the bomb shutdown codes if Psyche successfully sent them.
Inquiry stands strong under fire, the protective wards worked into it's hullmetal dispersing the energy blast, flares of blue light spiraling through the fractal patterns all throughout the strange vessel, before fading as the energy was safely vented.
Compared to the psychic outbreak earlier, this was a snap.
Flying into places, rescuing people trapped by the explosions, removing the debris and keeping people out of harm's way was his way of helping. His mind was in other places though, as he felt a heaviness over himself. He felt tired, but not sleepy. It was an unfortunate combination, but he pushed through it as much as he could, finally finishing up with all of the bombed buildings around the Tower.
Once he'd done his third fly by to make sure that no one else was in immediate danger, and seeing the fire brigade and ambulances en route, he drew himself up and took out his communicator. He was worried about Kylie and the other girls.
"Is everyone okay? Where's Dr. Dread? I have the area around Praetor Tower dealt with, there shouldn't be any more attacks," Shin reported.
The joy Psyche had felt at unleashing her powers at a foe who really, truly deserved it evaporated like mist at the dawn of Mattie's fear.
Oh no.
A bubble of force erupted into existence around Mattie, shoving Kayla out of the way.
"Stop touching her Kayla! You could make things worse! Mattie, we're going to Dawkins, now. Just hold on."
She slipped into Mattie's mind as they rocketed back towards the city, her normal reticence at tinkering gone as she began triggering calming feelings in Mattie's brain as best she could. Adrenaline and Kayla's - whatever - seemed to keep Mattie's powers spiraling out of control. Anything I can do to keep her in check before the can look at her is okay. This is an emergency.
As Psyche snatched Scorch from her arms as if she was hurting her, Kayla flopped back onto her elbows and banged her head in the dirt from the force of the telekinetic shove. She watched from the ground as the pair flew off.
Kayla sat up and buried her face in her hands, crying heavy tears. She looked up momentarily to see what,of the few onlookers that remained, several of them were snapping photos of her in her now ridiculous feeling outfit. She scrambled to her feet and ripped the pulsating ribbons off of her before flying off herself.
This is all my fault. All of it. And even my teammates think it! I...I...I should have just let her take me...
She soars off in a streak back to Praetor Tower, seeing the various fires burning in the city. There weren’t as many as she feared, but the few that were going on were intense. Some were being contained by the fire department, others by heroes. A few, however, were raging uncontested. But even so, Kayla couldn’t bring herself to fail further tonight. She flew as hard as she could, straight to the Tower and then running directly for Rory’s suite. She hammered on his door desperately, her crying and sobs easily audible from within.
Knowing what was happening, and that some of the girls didn't have comms, Isaiah responded to Shin.
"Dr. Dread fled. Used some kind of teleportation or something. Praetoria is a bit badly shaken, and Scorch is a tad battered, but otherwise they're alright. Still plenty of cleanup to do."
Inqiury, seemingly forgotten in the fuss, follows after Praetoria, hoping to try to head off any serious breakdowns.
Though, before it leaves, it quietly snatches up the twisted remains of Dr. Dread's helmet, for analysis.
"How do you...Inquiry's with them," Shin immediately realized. "That's fine, but why isn't Kylie answering-" He paused as he saw some figure flying up to the Tower. That was definitely Kayla, and Inquiry was following...which meant that Kylie and Mattie were alone.
"Give me directions over comms, I'm going to check on the others," He said, figuring Kayla was probably all right if she could come back to the Tower. He was still worried sick about Kylie. Especially after what happened today.
Dawkins was a surprise to hear as their destination, but he wasn't thinking too deeply about the reasons for that. Shin flew as fast as he could - things were much easier for him now he could travel so fast around the city. He managed to get there just in time to see Kylie touching down with Mattie, who looked worse for wear.
"Kylie! What's...what's wrong with her?" He asked, concerned as he looked her over. He ignored the blatantly boudoir like outfits for now, focusing on the fact that Scorch now apparently was growing scales over her body. "That's...not good. What is that?"
As Psyche's telekinetic bubble of force ripped her from Kayla's touch, Mattie, cried out at the loss of the sensation. "No!" she concentrated her thoughts at Psyche, with a snarl that exposed elongated canines on her upper jaw. "Why did you have to take her away? It felt so good. I felt alive!" As Psyche's calming power exerted itself, however, she slumped in the bubble of force holding her. Seemingly only semi-conscious. She felt so good.. is all that crosses her mind, before she finally passes out.
Mattie's response to being cut off from Kayla only made Kylie more certain she'd done the right thing. She kept up her psychic mood suppressants even after Mattie passed out. The last thing I need is her trying to break out and hurting herself.
As she landed she was shocked, but profoundly glad to see Shin arriving as well.
The doors into the Dawkin's facility shot open as Scorch drifted near them.
Probably there wasn't anyone in the building who would be too shocked by a broad, loud sending.
Psyche spun off a shard to explain to the doctors what she knew of Scorch's odd power signatures, while still carefully monitoring Mattie's mind. Most of her left her body entirely. "Shin! I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what's wrong with Mattie - I don't know why we let her powers go so long without figuring out how to keep her safe!" Suddenly in a rush she almost entirely left his mind, leaving behind a stilted, quiet voice as she tread as gently as she could.
"Does
this
still
hurt?"
The thoughts were like ground glass shoved deep into his sinuses, each word scraping the inside raw. It was worse with the broadcast sending, and he had to hold onto the door to steady himself and not vomit. Apparently he was still very much unwell if this was what it took to unsteady him. "It's bearable," He lied for her comfort, intending to make it a truth.
Shin approached Kylie's body, hesitating as he looked at her eyes that were unfocused. Again she was spinning off in different directions, doing the psychic things that he didn't quite understand. He was beginning to feel frustrated again, as he gripped onto her shoulders and stared her in the face.
"I don't know what happened other than the attack. Don't know why Mattie is acting this way. But you've brought her here, and she's going to get the medical attention she needs. So you need to stop splitting yourself up and ground yourself here, because Mattie needs Kylie next to her where she can see her. One Kylie in her body, 100% focused on her." It ate him up a little to say that, but he knew that it was the right call. He just hoped that Kylie heard him.
Psyche and Horizon suddenly see that they're surrounded by heavily armed guards with weapons trained at them.
"STAND DOWN!!" someone shouts through a megaphone. "You are in a restricted area! Cut your powers immediately or you will be contained!"
What do you do???
Shin looked more than a little angry to see that they were suddenly surrounded by armed guards. Did they not see the unconscious Mattie that Kylie was holding here? He shifted his focus towards them, adjusting his visor.
"We're not using our powers, but our friend is having some kind of adverse reaction from using them. We just need to get her looked at and possibly treated. Tell the research staff on call that the Sentinels are here requesting aid," He states as calmly as he can staring at guns in his face. "So would you all kindly lower your guns? Or are you going to shoot some kids just looking for help?"
Shin looks at Kylie still wrapped in her energy webbing. "Let's play nice, okay? We shouldn't push them to do something stupid. Not when Mattie needs their help. You should power down," Shin requests. It was either that or finding themselves fighting frightened men with guns. He didn't want to start a fight today. Especially when he was still tired.
She didn't have time to batter down their psychic barriers; Mattie needed help now.
Psyche dropped the few inches she was hovering, but kept Mattie aloft. "I'm going to keep levitating her on the stretcher, until you've got a gurney for her. Please help her, she's changing and it's affecting her mentally as well."
As Psyche's influence fades, Mattie stirs and her eyes open. "Wha,.. Where are we," she moans. "Wh,.. where's Kayla?"
It immediately becomes apparent the DRF security force was not interested in a debate.
The moment it becomes apparent the pair weren't going to fully comply, they light them up. In unison and from over a dozen different directions the guards deploy their nonlethal weaponry. Tasers streak from the numerous weapons towards Horizon while lights strobe and sonic waves blast at Psyche to keep her disoriented and unable to focus her mind. Launched canisters land hissing at their feet causing a whitish cloud to billow forth. A hail of rubber bullets pelt both of them.
All the while, the soldiers are screaming at the top of their lungs for them to get on the ground.
The myriad forms of assault are too much for both Horizon and Psyche, and something, be it the tasers or the knockout gas or the nonlethal lasers, finally causes them to succumb. As they collapse on the ground surrounded by black boots and gun barrels, they hear, "Confirmed. Alliance members are inbound..." before everything goes dark.
* * *
Horizon and Psyche awake to find themselves in a beautiful spa next to a sparkling blue pool. Warm, soft towels are covering them as they lay on comfortable poolside chairs. Pleasing aromatherapy scents fill the air.
It's a lovely slice of paradise they've awoken in. "Hello," comes a familiar, friendly voice. "I'm sorry about all that nonsense at the front gate of the Dawkins facility, but I hope you've learned your lesson. They don't like uninvited guests." Stepping into view is Imagerie, member of the Halcyon Alliance of Heroes. Behind her is a hulking robotic-looking being, as humanoid as it can get -- Ordnance. It's armor in a design configuration that evokes a suit and tie. It nods its "head" at the two young heroes.
What do you do???
Scorch comes to in a glass-and-steel world with wires and sensors aimed at her or taped to her in a number of places. Standing behind a large glass window is Silver Shield.
She pushes a button, and her voice is piped into the containment room. "Hey, kiddo. How do you feel? I'm sorry about your friends, but I guess it's partially my fault. The Dawkins facility isn't an Emergency Room. I should have made it clear. They're detained, but their safe while we get that mess sorted out. Don't worry about them; let's focus on you. Okay?"
"I don't need to be calmed, Imagerie. Can you show us where we really are? I don't want to tear all this down to find out."
Imagerie smiles genuinely in appreciation for Psyche's astuteness. "You're too smart. But maybe Mr. Horizon appreciates it?" Her smile fades slightly, but her face still remains sympathetic. "Just enjoy it for a while as we sort through this. The rest of the Alliance is out doing search and rescue after all those bombs went off. And honestly? You should be too."
She shakes her head and holds up her hands in a placating gesture. "I know Scorch is your friend and you want to help her. But honestly, did you not think that after a terrorist attack of that scale that all the high-value targets would be on the highest alert? That this place has the potential to create worldwide pandemics? And you just fling its front doors open?"
She turns and looks at the relaxing pool, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I usually find this place to be more soothing."
When Shin came to after a dizzying array of shocking weaponry, he felt angry. Too angry to appreciate the new spectacle of this pleasant resort in front of him. Angry at Imagerie, and somehow, even angrier at Kylie.
"Would you please, please, stop using your psychic powers? Both of you. I'm so sick of trying to figure out what's real or not," He says, fists balled up as he gets to his feet. Or tries to at any rate, stumbling and taking a knee. The ground glass feeling in his head is back and even more disorientating. He gags and retches, trying to empty an already empty stomach.
This is my punishment. Kylie can't be in my head anymore without this, He thinks morosely, wiping his mouth. "I get it, I do. I was complying. Now I feel like garbage. Getting shocked after a concussion is not something I recommend."
He steadies himself, staring at Kylie. Who he was finding himself frustrated with that she couldn't follow a instruction as simple as 'stop using your powers'. Now was not the time to confront that though. Imagerie was doing that job for him.
"Any sign of Dr. Dread?" Shin asked Imagerie, pressing his fingers to his nostrils. He swore he could smell blood now and the headache was just getting worse the longer he was in this illusion.
Mattie's eyes flutter open and she peers at her unfamiliar surroundings before noticing Silver Shield. Lying back against the bed's pillows, she takes several deep breaths before answering. "I feel OK I guess" she replies. "Who's detained? The last thing I remember was fighting Dr Dread. And what's all this stuff?" she says indicating the various tubes and sensors. "Where are we?"
The rumble of distant thunder accompanied her brief sending before she switched to her mouth-voice at Shin's spike of pain. That voice was calm and rational, earnest but not heated. This is- This is exactly where Silver Shield was planning to take her. I may have been too forceful with my arrival, but are you really trying to tell me that I should have left her on the ground emotionally, physically, and potentially pyrokinetically unstable? I'd already saved a lot of lives that night. Mattie needed help. I got her help. I'm happy to go save more people now if you want. There's no need to try to keep us here."
"You're going to get someone to look at Shin's head too, right?"
"Kylie, stop making excuses and understand that we screwed up," Shin found the words snapping from him as he saw her once again attempting to shift blame. "You're not perfect. You're not a god. 'Psyche' is not everything that you are. And yes, you should have put her on the ground, because of exactly the things you just said! Not just that, but because a group of heavily armed men who got the drop on us could have made her condition worse by hitting her with those zap guns or causing her to blow up!"
He was yelling now, and he didn't know if he could stop. He was venting a heap of frustrations out on her. "You cannot brute force a solution with your powers for every problem. I thought seeing how I messed that up with the Archdeacon today would have taught you that! But you don't actually think that anything can hurt you as long as you have your powers, so you don't ever learn! You don't even answer your comms when I'm worried sick about whether you or Kayla or Mattie are all right!"
He balls his fists up by his sides, head throbbing and aching as he tries to calm down. "Can you just...stop using your powers unless it's absolutely necessary? I don't know if I can stand seeing you act like...like your powers make you better than everyone else. Like Shard. Like Dusk."
Imagerie opens her mouth to respond to Horizon, then Psyche, and then Horizon snaps at Psyche again.
She frowns and the lights of the spa dim slightly. "Clearly you've been going through a lot lately. Scorch is being looked at by the scientists at the research center. Silver Shield is with her."
Silver Shield takes off her helmet and puts it under her arm. "Don't you remember me mentioning seeing if the Dawkins facility could take a look? Well, you had a strange incident with your powers and Psyche brought you here. It was a little more complicated than that, but the important thing is, they're trying to gain an understanding of your powers. We had all believed you were basically the opposite of your brother; fire to his ice. But it seems more than that. They're running tests, cross-referencing your genetic code with other supers they have on file here."
There's all sorts of calls for assistance in the wake of the series of explosions that rocked various locations of Halcyon City. Also, there's a report that Psyche and Dusk and/or Horizon had been detained at the Dawkins Research Facility.
”An incident? What happened? She didn’t get Kayla did she? Did I lose control again? Was anyone hurt?... Mattie asks, sitting upright in the bed, revealing her arms. Suddenly noticing the small scattered scales, she stares for a moment, hesitantly touching them and noticing the matching scales on her other hand. Turning her face upwards towards her mentor with eyes wide and her voice quivering in fear she asks again. ”What,… what happened to me?”
Kayla eventually gave up on knocking on Rory’s door, and slumped down to her knees in front of it. The palm of her hand slid down the door as she went down, and her head hung as fresh tears began to fall, though she kept her hand on the door with subconscious hope.
He’s not here. Of course not. He’s out being a REAL hero. While I’m doing nothing but acting like a damned target. If it wasn’t for me, none of this would have happened. If I had just given up...how many lives would have been saved?
After settling her emotions, she began making her way towards her room. As her bare feet padded through the living area, she jumped at the sight of a silhouette against the light of the chaos outside standing at the picture window. ”So...I hope you three had fun,” her aunt’s voice called out.
Kayla wished she had more clothes on, and the Regalia quickly formed over what remained of her costume from the party. ”Aunt Angela...I-“
”Don’t ‘Aunt Angela’ me,” Angel cut Kayla off in reply. ”Are you even aware of the sheer chaos going on now? Every single superhero team available is out trying to save who and what they can. Legionnaire and The Maw are at Halcyon General helping evacuations. Beastmode is trying to wrangle in some escapees from Halcyon Regional, and Sarah...she can’t say what she is doing.”
Kayla stands silently a moment before asking ”And...Uncle Aug-“
”Is still forcibly retired. Instead, he’s putting that brain of his to use building up a legal case to clear the family of any blame for this. Shouldn’t be too hard, compared to my task...” she said before tapping the screen of her tablet a couple times and nodding to the tv. There, on the large display, was a news article complete with pictures of the scene at Cosmic Serpent before the attack. The headline read “Sentinels Gone Wild?” and showed a picture of teens dancing with a portion of the background highlighted and blown up. There, clear as day, was a photo of Kayla, Kylie, and Mattie in their very revealing costumes. Kayla’s mouth dropped and her face turned crimson. ”Oh...I’ve already asked Judge how you three weren’t in even more photos, and he theorizes that Psyche was running a bit of interference. But not enough to cover you three from incidental photographs from the thousands of cell phones taking videos and selfies. Every few minutes, a new picture or video is cropping up.”
Angela pauses a moment before sighing ”Case in point...” she said before tapping the tablet and the tv streams a video where, in the background you can see the three girls all dancing together, quite provacatively. ”Nice costume, by the way. I suppose her Cult impressed you so much by kidnapping your great grandmother that you decided to become her disciple?” Angela asked sarcastically.
”No,” Kayla said quickly, ”It was just a dare...”
”It was stupid, Kayla! Despite all the lives lost tonight being bad enough, once that all settles, these pictures will be around forever. Thankfully everyone was too scared out of their wits to get any shots of the actual fight, but there are a few of you after getting your ass handed to you by Dr. Dread floating around,” she said, swapping the display to a picture of Kayla cradling Scorch. She remained quiet a moment and asked ”Is she alright?”
Kayla shrugged. ”I...I don’t know...Psyche took her from me...blamed me...” Kayla said as she started crying again. The Regalia faded as well, Kayla didn’t care anymore.
”You...you do realize her cover is blown now, right? There’s too many photos and videos of her using her powers in no disguise at the tail end of that fight. And of her with you two. Someone will make the connection and sell the information away to a news channel for a quick buck.”
Kayla flopped down on the couch and curled into a ball, pulling her knees up and resting her feet on the edge of the seat. Angela came and sat beside her, sittting quietly for some time. ”Kayla...” she says with a sigh, ”I know you are just a kid. I was just like you not long ago. Except I had the luxury of choosing to be in the spotlight or not. You don’t. You are stuck there. You are the child of Praetorian and Ultra-Star. You are Praetoria. You will always be the focus of not just whatever team you are on, but of this family. You need to start acting the part.”
Kayla didn’t reply for a moment, but then something Angela said caught her attention. ”What do you mean, ‘whatever team’ I’m on?” she asked nervously.
”I’ve been talking with the others. We think your current team is a bad influence on you. We have also been talking with Captain Stalwart and the Alliance, and we think we’ve found a new team for you.”
She was glad she was already using her mouth-voice, the anger that would have come through in her sending might have floored Shin even before he was hurt. "The blame for anything that might have happened when those guards shot surrendering superheroes is theirs. I don't hold a grudge, but I won't pretend that I forced them to respond like that. And Shin, this isn't me using force. I didn't burn out their telepathic dampers, I didn't raise a hand against their guards, I went along with their requests. The most I did before then was shout and push the door open. Now If you don't want me in your head, I'm very sorry to hear that, but I'm not going to cripple myself to spare anyone's feelings. Not even yours."
She turned to Imagerie again and asked, "I understand why they had their overzealous response, but I'm glad they're looking after Scorch nevertheless. Now, since you're not allowing us to actually go help with clean up and rescue, how long are we being detained for. Will they at least let Shin go? He really didn't do anything."
Kayla recoiled from her aunt. ”What!? No! I’m not leaving the team!”
Her aunt turns in her seat beside Kayla and looks at her directly. ”Kayla. Look at what they’ve done to our family since we reluctantly agreed to let you join them. Your great-grandmother endured so much stress she had a stroke. You have almost been captured by a villain. Twice! And now, how many lives have been lost? If you were part of a team that was more cohesive, more cooperative, and ACTUAL friends...just think the good you could actually accomplish?”
Kayla shook her head and stormed off to her room, her aunt calling out to her as she left, but Kayla was turning her out. She may as well have been an adult on a Peanuts movie. She closed the door of her room behind her and made her way to her bed, where she curled up into a ball and clutched her stuffed Chewbacca in her arms.
__________
There was a gentle breeze coming off the ocean. The salty sea air felt good on her skin as she stood on the edge of the mountain and looked out over the city. It always looked so beautiful this time of year. The temples were in such splendid condition, and the devout populace below paid tribute frequently. A screech overhead drew her attention to the sky, and an eagle circled lazily overhead.
She could feel a smile paint itself upon her lips. The gentle crash of the waves below sung to her as well, as the sun traveled its course across the sky. She looked down to the harbor and watched as the soldiers boarded the vast multitude of ships. Their spears and shields clattered as they were being loaded alongside their foodstuffs and other supplies.
Those fools across the sea would regret supporting their adulterous prince. She knew that victory was assured already. She grasped her toga and folded her wings behind her as she turned and made her way to the chariot behind her. The horses stamped their hooves in eager anticipation. She calmly rubbed their necks to calm their nerves, looking on at her Masters weapon crackling on the side of the chariot and smiled. Yes. This will be a victory told for the ages.
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Kayla woke up as the morning sun was barely creeping past her curtains. She couldn’t have been asleep long, but she felt as if she had rested the whole night. Even so...she was not eager to go face the world yet. She stood and made her way over to her computer, sitting in her leather chair and enjoying the feeling of the cold leather against her back and legs. She looked down and saw she was still in the costume from last night, but decided a couple quick rounds of League of Legends would do her nerves some good before facing the others in her epic fail last night.
She slid her headphones over her ears and logged in, turning some music on as well to tune out the rest of the world.
His face fell as Kylie refused to acknowledge the faults, refused to see logic. Perhaps he'd been expecting too much. He thought that she'd feel some kind of humility after they'd been knocked out. "How is it crippling yourself to try and be more human?" He asked softly, rubbing his temples.
"You don't get to say it's the guard's fault we were shot because you didn't drop your gun. Especially if they had been using lethal force," Shin says as a last word, hoping Kylie will think on that. For the moment he just sat down and tried to ignore the pain in his head.
Shin was exhausted, he was fighting with Kylie, his head was killing him and he was still starving even after having raided the kitchen for some eggs and toasted bread slices. But he couldn't sleep yet until after the rally, happening in only a couple of hours.
Isaiah was good back up, but he wanted at least one more with him Kylie and Mattie were out for obvious reasons. Rory was off somewhere. That left one other person.
He knocked heavily on Kayla's door, before peeking in and glancing around at the odd decorations. Not what he'd consider a girl's room. Seemed closer to something he'd have liked. "Prae," He rasped, a frog in his throat that he cleared out. "Up to monitor a potentially dangerous situation and hope it blows over? I have Isaiah coming with me, but I could use one more. As long as we can all keep a level head about it..."
He brought up his comm, speaking to the alien drone. "Isaiah, you ready? I'd like to set up and prepare as soon as we can."
”HOLY S&~*!” Kayla shrieks with a start as Shin speaks up behind her. She clearly hadn’t heard him knock or come in. She peeled her headphones back off her head and spun her computer chair around to look at him. ”What? Did you say something?” she says as she catches her breath and composed herself from her scare.
"I need help monitoring a potentially dangerous situation with a protest that may get out of control. I'd like it if the whole team could be there, but Kylie...well, she and Mattie are probably not up for it. So you, Isaiah, Rory if we find him. We probably want to go early as possible so we can coordinate with the police. It would probably be good to be seen as working with the law rather than getting attacked by them," Shin said. He was too tired to react in shock to her surprise at his presence.
"The big problem is that the Duskguard might show up. We have to be ready for them if they do. I hope I can count on your help." He rubbed under his eyes, dark circles formed from sleeplessness.
"I wasn't going to hurt them in any way. Everyone there had the power to have things end in violence. They chose to use it out of fear and aggression. It is absolutely their fault that they shot us, even if I understand why they were afraid. They were the ones who made that choice. They are the ones who have decided to detain us. I don't want retribution, or even particularly an apology. I'm willing to offer one of my own for frightening them, but I won't pretend to take the blame for them shooting us."
Be more human? Psyche didn't even know how to reply to that. She was human. Her abilities were an important part of her and who she was. How could they make her her, and make her less human?
What does he think I am if he thinks I'm inhuman?
She had never thought Shin would say anything like that.
"...Kylie, if you knew for a fact that they would assault us if you didn't stop using your powers, and you kept using them anyways, regardless of how you used them, then you are at fault. You might as well have shot me and Mattie yourself," Shin replies, though the fire is out of his voice. He was sick of this argument, but he was too stubborn to simply let her use faulty logic to defend her actions.
"We screw up, Kylie. You as well as me. Admit it and you can try to learn from it. Or you can follow the path I'm trying to avoid," He warns. "I don't want people to treat you like a monster because you simply think you are always right."[/b]
Kayla listens to Shin’s request, but it’s obvious her mind is mostly somewhere else. ”Yeah, okay. I need to clean up first, though.”
She logs off of her computer and moves for her connected bathroom, but stops. ”Would you care to stick around and talk, first? It’s been a long night and...and I really could use an ear right now.”
"That isn't how you felt before they actually shot us. You thought talking to them and explaining who we were was a good idea too. I wasn't manifesting any powers beyond what was needed to keep an injured, sick girl from falling to the ground, which I explained to them. I was wrong not to think that they would be on heightened alert, and I let my fear and haste interfere, but they were still wrong to shoot us, and they did so by their own choice. I've acknowledged my errors and offered to make apologies and restitution. How monstrous of me not to apologize for being shot as well."
Her voice was still calm, if sarcastic towards the end, but her sending to Imagerie was clouded over in a thunderstorm of tears, rage, and confusion despite the words. "Imagerie, would it be possible to request a separate hallucination? Or just that I be removed from this one? This is far from calming."
Imagerie's usually kind and cheerful face turns unusually sour. "Psyche, you were trespassing. You did not have the right to make demands; they did. I might suggest you review your psychic shields very closely. Check if you're subconsciously blocking the fear a being with your power levels creates in those around you. Their response to you was extreme, because if they didn't incapacitate you immediately, you could have destroyed them had that been your goal. As a psychic, you can be empathetic. Do so. Otherwise you truly will become a monster."
The pleasant spa dissolves, revealing a heavily reinforced detention facility with massively powerful countermeasures trained upon both Psyche and Horizon.