Alexis AKA Mercy's page

As the Triakosia scramble to defend themselves against this sudden attack, Pokora yells as she finds the suitcase being snatched from her, avoiding any potentially stunning blow from the Daughter's presence. She pulls what looks like a broken rod of glass out of her sleeve, bringing it close - and the Daughter suddenly finds herself with a whole glass rod sticking out of her arm, restored by the woman's power! Take a powerful blow.

Her partner kips up to come to her aid, but gets pelted suddenly by a hailstorm of metal bits that force him to hold back. He snarls and reaches out with one hand to try and touch her, but can't reach her in the chaos of the moment. "You think you can just attack us without consequence?!" He shouts in anger, as he lashes out wildly. His powers disintegrate everything he touches, as he turns one of the vans blocking his way to Bron into a scatter of sand!

Mercy tries to step in and help, but is blocked by the two other Triakosia members. "Nice armor. Kind of a rip-off on us," The black woman says as she fires a pulse pistol at them. Her partner, the tall and lanky man, tries to grab onto them and they both occupy the hero.

As the Legion reorientates themselves in the wake of the attack, they focus on the second Daughter here, working as a regimented unit to try and pin her down without causing further damage to their equipment.

Outside, the two Daughters are playing clean-up of events, when from the sky, a sudden crack like lightning erupts in the cloudless sky. They turn to look up and see it tear itself open, as dozens of crescent shaped ships poured out from an inky blackness. Their hawk-like eyes caught amongst them one figure floating in the middle, her gown floating around her as she raised up her staff. They would recognize her as the Sorceress Selene, as she seems to be directing this invasion of Halcyon City!

Short post, but getting the ball moving again. What do you do?

Upstairs

Alexis is anxious and twitchy. Angry and sick to their stomach. So when the other Daughter showed up, they were ready to leap into action, to not think and to go off. But they still had to wait. They'd been patient for too long. They had to try and do something now!

So when the Legion started to react, they did as well, sliding forward towards the guarded stairwell door, trying to time their strikes as they were having those brief freezes to knock them out. Bronwyn would get a good look to see the Legion, when struck hard enough, evaporating into a fine blue mist and their weapons falling to the floor.

"Let's go!" They tell them in a whisper, rushing into the stairwell and vaulting the steps downward!

Downstairs

The Daughters above take off to locate the locations of the video feeds, and fly off to two other locations. One is right by the waterfront, looking on at the battle starting to wind down on the cruise liner, though a cybernetically enhanced giant tentacle wraps around the vessel, adding another level to that crisis. But there's a quartet of the Legion situated behind a billboard, observing and with one sniper watching. It's trivial for the Daughter to take them all out without warning.

The other Daughter finds a closer team of six that has just finished loading up some armored transport from a warehouse, sending it on its way just as she emerges from the shadows to eviscerate them!

Within the operations base, the Triakosia are definitely made aware of the sudden attack on other Legion clusters as all of the Legion pause for a fraction of a second as they get information from their peers. The Legion then starts to sweep the area as a precaution while the other members discuss the sudden event. "Who's taking them out?" Pokora asks.

"No idea, but if they're able to take them by surprise and finish them off that quickly..." Hokori says while observing the last bits of footage from the cameras before the assaults cut them off. "Check for instructions from headquarters."

The Daughter down at the gate watches as Pokora picks the case and presses a fingertip to a reader for two seconds, before it pops open and she has access to the information. As she focuses on her quarry though, a flashlight from one of the Legion sweeps across the shadows she's hiding in, before honing in and revealing her presence!

What does she do???

As that Daughter is about to have her presence announced, from the stairwell, Mercy opens the door and gets ready to fight, cutting off the second point of entry!

They are all now entering a battle as a team, starting with 3 Team as they all have the same purpose and are prepared for this fight. If the leader has Influence on the rest of the team, that's another Team to the pool.

The Daughter slips in without the others, Mercy reaching out to her briefly before she vanished. "Be careful," They warn her. The Daughter appears on the other side, down to the last level of the parking garage.

Eight different large trucks have been set up down here and opened up to create a defensible base of operations, with areas for sleeping, areas stocked with a hefty amount of weaponry and Triakosian armor, a monitoring station where she notes several video feeds on her penthouse, the school, and the current super fight happening out in the bay. The Legion is patrolling around down here, a tireless watch that would be tricky to penetrate without the use of powers.

Around the center of the base, she can see the puckish Hokori and the lace dress wearing Pokora with some folding tables set up with their take out. Eating with them is two members that are unfamiliar to the Daughter - a stocky black woman with her hair pulled back in a puffy tail, along a rail-thin man of South Asian features who is prodding at the container of rice that he's eating from.

"How much longer do you think we have to wait?" The other woman asked Pokora, who paused as she sipped some soup from a spoon before responding.

"Not long now. Once the army's fully occupied the city, we'll be called to action. Until then, we wait for the call," She tells her, pointing to the hefty briefcase between them. "Until then, just enjoy being on stand by."

"As opposed to being fully benched like Wrath," Hokori added with a smirk. "Oh, I've never seen them so mad before. But that's what happens when you lose a fifty million dollar tank to your pride..."

The Daughter can see a switch on the wall that appears to lift the chain gate at the top of the ramp, though judging by its design doing so would be very noisy.

What does she do?

The group slips in together undetected, managing to stay within the shadows and avoid the sensors and cameras. They continue to follow the van deeper within as it goes down the parking level. Three floors down, it stops and backs up to a doorway, the driver and their partner getting out and ducking inside.

As the stealthy trio approach, careful and quiet as they go along, they can see that the doorway is guarded on the inside by two of the same kinds of soldiers they had fought in the old factory - the Legion. Taking them out would be fairly trivial with their element of surprise and power sets, but Alexis' warning about how knocking them out or killing them would alert their cluster was still fresh in everyone mind.

Alexis' whispers through the comms in their helmet. "There's one more parking level down. That's where they have the base set up." There's another rampway leading further down that's been sealed with a metal link gate. "Most likely there will be half a dozen mobile units, so the terminal will be secured in one of them."

They gesture between the gate and the doorway that seemed to lead to the stairwell. "Those are the easiest access points. Which way should we go?"

What do they do?

The Daughters follow the van, as the sunlight is starting to dip for the evening, ensuring that they stayed within the shadows. It moves fast though, and soon it actually gets onto the highway. It takes two exits after that before doubling back, and like Alexis had informed them, soon came to the opposing side of the building, stopping in front of a ramp to an underground garage.

By this time, Mercy has gotten onto the roof - truly Mercy, as they wear their new armor for the first time, a sleeker and more heroic looking version of the old powered armor. They carefully peek down above the lip of the roof where the van is heading in. "We have one chance to slip in undetected," They tell the Daughters and Bronwyn. "Be careful."

The team is trying to sneak in together. Roll either +Freak or +Superior. For each hit, describe how you get inside undetected; on a 10+ you add a Team to the pool as you also aid someone else's stealth. For a miss, you've attracted unwanted attention and have to stay still for a panel to avoid alerting the Triakosia.

Sneaking in: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3) + 2 = 8

Mercy slides down a drainage pipe slowly, rolling down onto the walkway and keeping themself pressed to the wall. The garage door gate has rolled open and the van is heading inside. Keeping to the corners Mercy shuffles as quickly as they can, making it inside and keeping out of sight and low.

Alexis looks at their comm, before replying to Shayera. "Okay. Sometime in the next half hour, a food delivery should be dropped off. A few minutes after that, a van will come up, someone will grab the food and head off to the base. That van is our best entry point to avoid detection," They tell everyone. "...be careful and avoiding killing blows. Remember, if any of the Legion goes down, the cluster and then the rest will know they've disappeared." There's a tired quality to their voice as they speak.

"Could you ask for some coffee, Bronwyn? Okay, be ready. They'll be here soon enough." Alexis says, keeping an eye on the building.

Bronwyn conversely had her attention directed to the deli counter, where an old CRT TV hung up on mute displaying a local channel. It had just gone to breaking news, as the Defenders were currently rallied to the bay. A cruise ship had been hijacked by cybernetically enhanced bears that were apparently holding the crew and passengers as hostage. It was mostly unusual because it was first sort of 'normal' Halcyon event that she could recall happening in nearly a week.

After a few more minutes, an EZ-Dine marked car pulled up, a woman dropping off a large parcel of foods with different spices, took a picture of them all, then hopped into her car and drove off. It just stayed there for a couple of minutes, before from around the corner, a gray van cruised down to pull into the same spot as the other delivery. Someone in a black hoodie and combat pants and boots stepped out towards the food, waving some kind of electronic wand over it all.

"It's time," Alexis said.

What do they do?

Alexis looks at Bronwyn as she sits down. "...It was the delivery order," They tell her. "All of the Triakosia have their favorites. Only the main bodies of the Legion eat, but I noticed a delivery getting dropped off at that door," They indicate with their head. "Thai, Greek, Indian. Hokori and Pokora are probably at the base. Not sure of the other pair. But it's left on the stoop, and five minutes later another van pulls up, grabs it, and takes a circuit before heading into an underground parking area under that building," They tell Bronwyn.

"I have been watching the past two days to make sure that it was not a fluke. To be sure. I am..." Their eyes droop briefly, leaning against the counter a little more. "...I will be good to go once the others are here."

They look at Bronwyn. "...I don't want anyone to die today. You'll be careful, right?"

One Week Later...

Nobody seems to notice until it's too late how something is wrong in Halcyon. The whole city from the North End to Rustside has settled into quiet. There's nothing but petty squabbles in the streets and traffic accidents to keep the police busy. For the young this is a welcome reprieve from chaos that seems to occur week after week. For the veterans, they're waiting for the other shoe to drop. Halcyon never stays quiet for long.

Should any of the team manage to go on patrol, the worst offenders they find are fools drunk behind the wheel or some abusive partner who couldn't keep it out of sight. But it feels like Halcyon's criminal element has gone underground, with not even attempted robbery by powered punks being a problem.

It's the day that Shayera expects that the last set of wings will be ready for her and her sisters. Alexis has been giving her updates, narrowing each day the area that the Triakosia's base of operations will be located, tightening around the same six blocks that happens to also house their high school. It's unnerving to realize how closely they must be watching.

The last class has ended for the day, and Alexis' text blips onto Bronwyn and Shayera's devices, in the same chat with Shayera's sisters. I know where they are. Meet at Bruno's Deli for the details. It's cagey, but the longer they've worked on this plan, the more they seemed to be nervous. Despite their happiness over the week of being able to present themself properly, Alexis is under the illusion a sleep-deprived wreck pushing towards a full end of the Triakosia.

At Bruno's Deli, they sit fidgeting at a table near the window, glancing out at the large brick building across the street, before taking another bite of the plate of fried pickle chips they had ordered, wincing at the sour, salty taste.

"The worst thing you could do is kill or knock one of the Legion out," Alexis warns Shayera. "A cluster will know nearly immediately when one of their number is taken out, and everything they experienced before that. But I know that it takes a longer time for further members of the Legion to feel that. So we would have probably five minutes before they would realize, if we can knock out their communications as well," They inform the group.

"When one of them dies or loses consciousness, their body vanishes like an illusion, but the weapons and armor they wear are still real. That could be used to our advantage. I think there's a chance to infiltrate if we can first get a set of their armor - if there's any that was taken from the factory fight by those agents, for example," They suggest to Shayera.

Alexis takes a bite out of their food, which shows some of the limitations of their disguise tech - that they ate it and it seemed to go through between their eyes instead of their mouth showed that the physical form was still taller. They looked to the group, before gesturing to the table as they start to line up some bits of food. Croutons, carrot sticks, and pieces of cookie become a rough map on the table.

"This is the general layout for a forward operations base. The Triakosia will not operate out of anywhere that would be hard to liquidate in an emergency, so it is not likely that they would set up on known property. More likely that held by shell company after shell company. But We have a barracks, training area, armory, vehicles, and the comm center," They point out each section to them.

"It's guaranteed that some of the Legion will be there. Standard protocol would dictate a guard of a dozen." They put out two little salt packets in the center. "Invidia and Humanitas - the Legion. Invidia copies powers and makes them better - Humanitas copies himself, up to a hundred at a time. But paired together, they are a literal self replicating army. The only downside is the more copies there are the less they are able to think individually - and they can't be further than a few miles from each other," Alexis adds.

"Other than them, protocol has two pairs on stand by when they are not on mission. So it would be most likely an even pairing would we all go together," Alexis says. "But, this is the important part." They point to the celery stick that was the comm center. "This hardware is specially design to access the mission network. You can view records of all operations, in the past and current, using the briefcase computer here. It is also where new missions are sent out to the Triakosia. This would give us all the information that we would need to dismantle them," They tell the group.

"There are other problems though. The briefcase is on a biometric lock, randomly selecting a different on site member to be the only one to be able to unlock it. You also cannot record anything from it, but I think that you could take pictures and video of the screen. And it also has a failsafe to destroy it once discovered missing. So to get the data, we would need to find out who currently has access, have them unlock it, and then record secondhand as much as we could before being discovered and the failsafe being triggered," Alexis finishes as they take a bite of an apple.

"What do you think? How do you think we should proceed?" They ask everyone.

Earlier

"...I'll need my armor ready. But I'm grateful," Alexis said, bowing her head at Shayera. "Preparation will be needed. Can...can either of you see if you can't get Kaoru to help?" They ask. "I would feel better even with one extra person helping on our side. Maybe even Whippoorwill."

Now, school, cafeteria

Alexis felt the new pendant around their neck. It was good to have a way now to summon their armor in a pinch rather than having to take precious time to suit up for a fight. But what was the most amazing part for Alexis wasn't that, but the other piece of technology that Matrix had given them.

"I understand it's been difficult for you because of how your powers alter what you look like - this won't physically change you, but it will hopefully help for going to school."

So it was that everyone in the cafeteria would now notice Alexis - as in, the very odd girl from weeks before, wearing a simple green dress and leggings and currently with a tray of food piled as high as it could physically carry, walking towards Shayera's and Bronwyn's table and setting it down next to them. They smiled, before showing off the holoprojector bracelets they were wearing.

"I like Matrix," They said matter-of-factly. "My armor is great, too. I really like being back in regular classes again." They definitely seemed to have gotten to a better mood now that they weren't always showing off Bronwyn's face.

Alexis slumped into their shoulders from Bronwyn's angry concern that they were trying to get themselves hurt. They were quiet as they received the food, listening to Bronwyn as they ate the flatbread, cheese and chicken. Once they had cleaned off the plate, they pushed it to one side to reply.

"I...I didn't always have a body that could repair itself," Alexis said. "I'm ready to talk about it. I think. I..." They took a deep breath and let it out. "I've been remembering things in my dreams. How there were people who loved me but were scared I could lift up a couch to get my toy. How I ended up being taken by people who said they could help me with my abilities. But the stronger I became, the easier it was for me to hurt myself. Muscles broke down and tore and I would be in bed for weeks.

There was another kid with me. They had a similar problem, being so fast but hurting themselves and breaking bones. We were paired. Like the other Triakosia," Alexis tells her.

"They had a solution. Found a solution, I think. A big black tub that looked all patched together, filled with water from these old clay jars with ancient pictures painted on them. And they took us both, and they put us both inside and held us down until we drowned. But we survived. I woke up and the water was gone and we were able to do all the things we could do before but better because our bodies healed quickly.

But then in a training exercise, my partner killed me. I don't know if it was an accident or on purpose, but I changed the first time then. That's when they decided I needed to be studied. So they repeated the conditions, then altered them, again and again, to try to understand. And my partner... Wrath, they were given special treatment. 'The control', I think." They tremble, recalling the past with the vividness of reliving it again.

"If you think there are still answers here, about why I have the ability to die and come back different, I'll stay. You and Shayera have been better to me than anyone else I've known," They say. "I just hope that we can get more allies. The Triakosia outnumber us by a lot. And Wrath is...better than me."

Clearing Hopeless from Alexis, thank you Bronwyn!

"...Food would be all right." Alexis replies to Bronwyn, continuing to stare at their hands for a few moments.

They shudder, and wrap their arms around their knees, tucking them up under their chin. "...I'm sorry. I thought that when the tunnel collapsed, I would have a new body. But I still look like you." They bite on the inside of their lip. "I tried to go back to my lane like you said, but that didn't work."

They turn their face away from Bronwyn. "...do I still belong here? Do we still have a team? It's just you and me and Shayera now...I don't know if that's enough. If maybe I should...should get out of the city for some time. Try to find out more about why I am like this."

End of Session move: Grow away from the team. Mercy's disobeyed orders, and has been conflicted over the investigation and what happened in the factory with Wrath, as well as how Bronwyn has become uncomfortable with their current body. They'll take Influence away from Wingblade.

Mercy didn't wake up for a while. The injuries they had sustained were healed up already before Wingblade had even managed to get them to her apartment. In the med lab, vitals appeared to be steady, though they were suffering from malnutrition. An IV feed was recommended for getting back their energy.

Alexis didn't wake up still until close to evening, eyes fluttering open. They looked to one side, before glancing at their hands. Flexing and extending the fingertips while pushing back on the cot to get more comfortable.

"...I guess they found me in time." They said to no one in particular.

As Shayera gives an AEGIS agent the situation, one of them turns to another, speaking into his comm device. "Agents be advised, we have a IAE trapped underneath the wreckage of the site. We need ground penetrating radar and signal boosters..."

Within minutes, Wingblade gets a front row seat to a big machine with a monitor that hums and products a green image indicating the area below the neighborhood. A tech specialist asks to borrow her comm to try and boost it to catch Mercy's weaker signal. The only thing that the AEGIS agents can't provide is manpower, as they have their hands full with the protest and keeping it as civil as possible.

Wingblade can see the mess of tunnels underneath, criss-crossing the sewer system. Using the radar, she can pinpoint the closest point to where the tank's tunnel had passed through it, a couple of manholes away from where Bronwyn had sought to enter. There's a signal, faint but close within it.

When the pair manage to get underneath and search, they find what they are looking for - an unconscious Alexis, pinned by a tunnel collapse that's left them buried halfway under concrete and brick. They seem to be breathing at least.

I feel that from here we can transition to something fresh, as we've been doing this for a while. If we all want to do some end of issue moves this would be a good time to do them.

Not a big fan of putting words in another player's NPC's mouth, so I'll word this as exposition.

Whippoorwill had already heard about the factory collapse - it seemed that everyone in fact had heard about it, because there had been reports of a localized seismic disturbance centered where the pit that was once a building resided.

She seems very disturbed by the mention of Selene - as far as she was aware the villainess hadn't been seen in the public eye in decades. Her last appearance had her against a whole former generation of heroes from the Silver Age, when she attempted to start a new ice age and rule a kingdom of snow. Activity coming from her now, possibly already going on, could be catastrophic.

Her advice to Wingblade on how to help Mercy was succinct - ask AEGIS for help, inform them there is someone on her team that is possibly trapped underground. They had resources, tech and manpower to help with that, even if they would expect cooperation from Wingblade and the others in their investigation.

Bronwyn

After her conversation with Kaoru, she notes that the AEGIS convoys on the ground at least veer off to create a wider perimeter - judging from the sudden influx of news vans that are arriving, it seems that they're caught between doing their job and public relations. By the time that she manages to locate the sewer entrance that Machina had managed to find for her, they had their hands full as what appeared to be a full blown protest against AEGIS by people waving signs saying 'RELEASE THE MOLE MEN' and 'NO WEAPONS TESTING IN HALCYON'. It seemed that AEGIS was not prepared for a response of this magnitude this swiftly and are having difficulty maintaining order.

Wingblade

After leaving Sidney to his fate and returning to help with the search, her view from above gives a full perspective on the new sinkhole that was once the factory, as well as the growing number of people below that are protesting AEGIS, diverting most of their numbers towards keeping them away. So far the crowd is protesting peacefully, but she can tell that tensions are rising as more come out. Some she thinks are people from that homeless encampment nearby, probably frustrated by not being able to return.

She also spots Bronwyn, removing a manhole cover as she looks prepared to go underground. A small burst of static from a signal too weak to actually transmit any voice sounds out in her comm as she approaches. It might be from Mercy, but the weakness must mean that they're deep underground...

What do they do?

Wingblade

Shayera normally wouldn't have detected it, but her state of hyper-vigilance gives her the heads up she needs for the large invisible object that's displacing the air. It shimmers into view, an AEGIS airship that hovers before doors open and agents drop out. The woman in charge is dressed in a dark tan suit and shoes that seem to try and make up for her disadvantage in stature as they walk over.

"Special Agent Nadiya Hassan of AEGIS. I want to thank you for your hard work, Miss Wingblade," she introduces herself to the young hero, while other agents come up to Sidney and talk quietly with the staff before helping him to his feet - and putting him into handcuffs.

"We'll be handling his processing from here," She explains to Wingblade. "Sideswipe has been under surveillance for months during his parole as part of an ongoing investigation. While the details are currently in discovery, I am certain that he is in violation of his parole in willfully involving himself with super-criminal elements again," She tells her with cool professionalism. "I would also like to have you come in for a debriefing of events, but I believe I require your guardian's consent first. We will however need any materials that he was in possession of as evidence," She finishes, glancing at Matrix.

Matrix shrugs and steps in front of the portable containment unit set down on the roof. "AEGIS doesn't scare me with their intimidation tactics. But in the interest of cooperation, you'll get my report on whatever I uncover."

Agent Hassan looked unfazed by the resistance to her demands, turning back to Wingblade and handing her a business card. Behind her, Sidney was lead towards the airship, ashen faced and terrified. "Please see about scheduling an interview at your earliest convenience, Wingblade. Unless there is any information you would like to volunteer right now?"

What does Wingblade do?

Bronwyn

Bronwyn is still waiting for an answer from Machina when she spots the AEGIS cars rolling up, emblazoned with their shield and setting up a perimeter around the site of the collapsed building...

...A building that suddenly shifts again, the rubble sinking fast into the ground. A tremor in the ground comes as it subsides deeper into a sinkhole, until it's twenty feet deep of rubble and sand. What Bronwyn notices though is that any sign of the tank that had been inside seems to have vanished - either sunk deeper than what she could see on the surface, or it may have managed to get away.

There's a sudden burst of static in her ear - and Mercy's voice comes through, a weak signal that somehow manages to connect. "-Hear me? No, I - kkkkkk - myself. Keep moving - kkkkkkkk - deeper. Hot, must be under - kkkkkk -"

The signal's getting weaker by the second - what does Bronwyn do?

"Ugh, I hate flying," Sidney grumbled as he was picked up. "Yeah, could have gone with you. No telling where they could have set up a nest to pick me off if I'd tried to rabbit before," he argues. "But after this clusterf*ck, they're all probably gone."

Indeed, as Wingblade takes to the skies, she notes the number of emergency vehicles - police, fire department, and emergency medical - only now making their way towards the scene of the battle.

When she finally lands down at Defender's HQ, there's already personnel waiting for her at the rooftop, taking Sidney from her and doing some first aid on the bleeding man. He seems more at ease on the ground now, looking up at Wingblade.

"Probably going to jail again after this - but, I'll tell you what I know. Some snooping kid came around, sniffing after an employer of mine. Scared me, especially since I found out the others who were similarly employed were all dead. So I went to confront him at his high society event. Didn't even get close, but I did hear things. Someone's building up an army, getting them trained to fight and arming them with tech like that thing I nearly shot you with," Sidney tells her. "Not my former employer - they're just the hired muscle and trainers. But I got discovered and barely booked it out alive with only a small piece I thought I could use as leverage."

"There's one thing I know for sure, though. That crazy witch Selene seems to be in on this. She seemed like she was definitely giving orders...but I'm far out of my league now. Gonna leave black ops and mystics to those who know what to do about that stuff." He winces as his cuts are cleaned and taped up, before being escorted to a holding cell inside...

Underground

Mercy had to beat a hasty retreat from where the tunnel had began - or ended, depending on your perspective. In either case, it had collapsed about fifty feet in, fully preventing even them from managing to dig their way through. It was just bad luck that they'd broken their rib from Bronwyn's outburst, and it was not healing quickly after their multiple injuries. Add to that how dark it was in here and they hoped that they could find their way out.

But Wrath had also come down this way. What if they had to face him again? It boiled their blood, but they had to keep calm. They were a mess right now, not in any condition to fight. So they kept stepping slowly through the tunnel, working by feel alone.

"¡Dios! Mercy, I had it! Can't you ever stay in your lane?!"

They'd been helping her. They had tried to help her. And she just...lashed out. It was confusing and hurtful and they didn't understand why she hated them now.

They would put it out of their mind for now. They just needed to keep going. Though the tunnel curved, and the ground and surface was very uneven so they had to go slow to avoid tripping. And it was getting hotter and stuffier and they could tell that they were heading on a downward slope.

"...Can anyone hear me?" Mercy tried the comm again. It seemed hopeless, since it didn't seem like a signal could penetrate the bedrock around them. Maybe Machina could if they knew, but Mercy figured they were done with the team now. And they'd promised to find their own way out.

I don't know if you saw that I posted in the discussion thread about where Bronwyn should take things - I don't want to put words in her mouth for my next post, but I'll press on.

Wingblade succeeds in getting Sidney freed from the rubble, the villain in distress scrambling out through the new gap in the wall to escape the collapse. As she turns to aid Mercy, calling out to them, Mercy finally manages to get Bronwyn loose enough from the steel beam for her to get out.

At the same time, Bronwyn's been storing up energy for one big push, and that's what she does, a burst of strength that manages to catch Mercy hard in the chest with the beam, sending them flying off towards the tunnel, tumbling out of sight - as the tank topples over and falls in front of the tunnel, blocking access to it from the others!

"Can you hear me? I'll find my own way out!" Mercy calls from the otherside. "Get out of there!" They shout.

The whole building is about to collapse - what do they do?

Okay, so for Bronwyn's terrible loss of control - well, seeing as she's Angry, and Mercy is the one right there, I feel that she must attempt to clear angry by hurting them, spending Influence to inflict a condition on them or to give them -2 to their last roll.

Mercy's been wearing her face, strutting around like a better version of her, failed to follow orders and Bronwyn's gotten caught up in their foolishness. Let her spit the venom brewing up in her at Mercy.

Do note that with Wingblade's Team, Mercy's last roll would have been a success. So your options also determine whether it continues to succeed but Mercy hits five conditions, or it fails and Bronwyn is still pinned under the steel beam.

Mercy looks concerned as the building starts to crumble around the group, even as Bronwyn tosses her opponent to safety. She looks baffled by Bronwyn's action, before glancing up as a massive steel girder falls, landing across the Acolyte's shoulder and pinning her to the ground! Take a Powerful Blow, Bronwyn

Chimera wastes what precious time she has and her legs elongate and bend backwards, as she sprints off after Wrath down the tunnels and the rest of the Triakosia squad.

Wingblade confirms that she's got the device - however, she also sees that it's been damaged in the fight purposefully, punctured and leaking fluorescent fluids.

"Hey! HEY! Help!" Sidney calls out from the wall - apparently some of the rubble has caught him as well, the villain unable to lift the stone that's pinned him to the wall. He flails, concerned and fearful for his life.

The group is in a dangerous predicament - they each only have time for one move and still make it out safely. If you choose to make another move instead of escaping after that, you take a powerful blow as falling debris or rubble catches you.

Mercy's priority was Bronwyn, coming over to try and lift the heavy beam off of her!

Unleash powers: 2d6 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (2, 4) + 2 - 2 = 6

Despite their normally impressive strength, Mercy's severe blood loss and slippery grip made it near impossible for them to grip the metal properly!

What does everyone do?

There was some confusion with the retreating Triakosia troops as a new person came in and grabbed onto their tank. There were shouts as they tried to engage defenses, but Bronwyn's push worked as she lifted the tank up onto an angle where its treads could no longer move it.

Chimera looked at Wingblade, hesitant to abandon her job especially without concrete assurance she could get away. But then the easiest exit for her was suddenly flipped on its tail by the Acolyte, making it all but infeasible for her to leave. So she settled back into professionalism, letting Mercy go and shifting her body yet again, suddenly obtaining a ten foot long reptilian tail and a mouth full of razor sharp fangs that oozed some noxious liquid. She charged at the Acolyte, blocking her from coming to Wingblade's aid!

Wrath groaned, obviously not pleased with how everything was shaking out. His sword destroyed, he was using a shorter combat knife now to fight, though the reach made it much harder for him to strike at Wingblade effectively while standing still. "You know it would be easier to kill her instead of convince her to run away," He comments. The change of numbers does give him pause, considering his options - and coming to a conclusion.

"Dammit. Well, there's no escaping it," He sighs. ducking underneath her wing's slash and speaking into his helmet comms. "Mission Fiasco, WR-7 requesting severance package. Coordinate on delivery. Acknowledged."

He shifted back twenty feet from Wingblade. "I'd really love to stay and keep going, but I do have to run - the mission is more important than my satisfaction," He says, before like a bolt he races towards the tank and into the tunnels behind it, too fast to track as he whips up dust behind him - and the whole building shakes again, the foundation now cracking under their feet!

Mercy manages to get back up shakily, a lot of dried blood across their chest and arms and legs, as the factory starts to crack and collapse all around the team!

What do they do?

Of course, there's still the question of whether we entered battle against a dangerous foe as a team. Our opponents are dangerous, of course, but I don't know if we're really much of a team.

That's something I've been hung up on too - they certainly got there as more or less a team, but Wingblade was specifically warding everyone away. Mercy disobeyed those orders and Bronwyn's been left not knowing what to do. I can't say that Mercy trusts Wingblade in the moment because they disregarded her instructions, so I think that's one Team that we won't get.

You did say that you gave Mercy an opportunity with your previous post, so I'll rule it that it gave an added +1 to the roll to ensure that it took something away from Wrath - he'll be surprised to find out his sword breaks on the next hit thanks to Mercy cracking the blade with their super-strength. ^^

I think that we may have been out of Team to spend, but I'll admit that it's been a while since I've actively tracked it. I'll say that Wingblade can boost the result as if using Team, and Mercy will take away his sword, if Wingblade spends her Influence on Mercy. Which I think has a similar effect as well?

Bronwyn hears Mercy speaking on comms, pained and stilted. "Try the west windows. They should still be accessible..." They told her, as they watched the fight. Flexing and trying to make a fist and get themselves ready to join in, healing up as much as they could.

Wrath did not make himself vulnerable, so the second part would be how it plays out.

"So was it everything you'd hoped?" she asks, taunting him as she blocks or evades anything but glancing or superficial blows. "Have you trained for this? Spent months watching, waiting for a chance at me? Since I haven't spared you a thought."

Wrath laughs as he parries her attacks, obviously enjoying himself. Something about her words though seem to edge underneath his ego."Hardly trained myself to fight you. But the past months have been so wonderful for testing my limits. Proving myself against former tutors. It was really their own fault for drawing attention to themselves. I didn't want to have to punish them, but isn't it the duty of a student to overcome their masters? A shame that he will be the last - but it just proves that no one can match my speed. "

Mercy flexes and manages to slowly get up from behind Wrath. Things clicked into place for them. It was his fault. It was always his fault!

Directly Engage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2) + 3 = 6

It was just bad luck, or bad timing, or not thinking straight from the furious realization of what Wrath had done that pushed Mercy to charge so recklessly. So it was impossible for them to stop when Wrath's blade suddenly shifted and pointed at them, Mercy impaling their torso and clutching onto Wrath's arm.

TaPB: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (6, 3) + 2 = 11 Struggle past the pain and mark Angry and Insecure

"Oh, Mercy...I do love your passion. But I'm trying to have a duel here. Stay out of it," He insisted, shoving them off. "I don't have much more time to play. Chimera, bring them to the tank," He directly the mercenary. She swelled in mass and grew horns as she landed down by Mercy, dragging them towards the tank.

Bronwyn manages to enter just as this point, still hidden from view, but can see the scene - Wingblade harrying the sword wielding armored soldier, and a brutish tattooed woman with horns now dragging Mercy towards their tank, leaving a smear of blood it their wake.

What do the two of them do?!

Outside the factory

As Bronwyn manages to get back close to the factory after the crowd runs off, she does manage to find the drone that was dropped in the ensuing panic - trampled and broken to pieces, its flashing bits dull and lifeless now. It's around this time that she hears a terrible wrenching of metal occurring inside, and sees Sideswipe scrambling outside with a limp and looking very worse for wear.

He seems to try and speed away, but his limp is preventing him from using his power effectively, so he hobbles towards Bronwyn and gives her a look up and down. "You a member of the pajama party too? Because your friends are fighting some nasty customers in there. And I can't run, so I feel my only chance now is if you guys beat the snot out of them and send them running..."

Inside the factory

Mercy's tendons were all severed. They could tell that it would take at least a minute fully focusing on their healing to get back into the fight. But they were fairly worried that there wouldn't be a minute to have with the battle going on above them.

Wingblade had the disadvantage in numbers, but it was also obvious to her that these two had never worked together before. So her efforts to continue to put them into each other's way worked to give her enough space to avoid their blows, while her wings cut out and managed to baffle Chimera, who had to land, seeming to hesitate continuing this fight.

Wrath on the other hand was still in full swing, and his superhuman speed allowed him to run in gravity defying ways around Wingblade. "You know, I think I remember you were killed once before...yes, by one of our other teams," He mentions. "You think you can come back again after the second time? Though, it will be hard to do so with your head severed from your body."

He was suddenly there in front of her, blade clashing with her wings. The number of blows was too fast for her, making her whole body quake from the repeated strikes. He would land back down next to Mercy on the ground after that, looking up at her in that faceless helmet. "You must feel the thrill of the dance! I love it...though a little less against someone who can't match my speed."

Mercy struggles to get back to their feet, as Wrath pays them no mind. "Let's settle this in one stroke then. Give you a fighting chance." He settles into some kind of quick draw stance, facing her. "Come on. This is the best shot you'll ever get. I promise not to move my feet."

Wrath is arrogantly challenging Wingblade - what does she do?

The already weakened supports keeping the metal walkways aloft collapsed under Wingblade's assault, and the steel structures sag and send the Triakosia soldiers tumbling down. Chimera hangs on, before her body seems to alter itself, and she lifts up into the air after Wingblade on bat wings, screeching harshly at her and baring her sharp fangs!

On the ground, Mercy saw more of the factory coming down around them both, struggling with the harpoon stuck in their leg. At the very least Sidney hadn't needed any additional motivation to high tail it out of there, the window blocked off by bent steel behind him. That just left Mercy to fight off a tank...and the remaining soldiers...plus Wrath, who had managed to land on their feet before striding towards them.

"Which one are you? The detective? The host? Or..." They stop a few feet away from them, tilting their helmet. "...Is that you, Mercy? Have you finally decided to come home?"

"I will never go back," Mercy said, grunting as they pulled and snapped off the tines of the harpoon, allowing them to pull free. "You will have to kill me first."

"That's funny," Wrath said, as something in their armor clicked. "Ah, warm-up's done. Time to finish up here."

They pulled their sword from its scabbard, holding it gently in one hand.

Mercy didn't hesitate - they were already rushing forward, seeking to strike first -

They stumbled through the spot that Wrath had been in, halting and looking stunned. Or maybe that was because their arms and legs had suddenly started to bleed profusely from what seemed like dozens of cuts that hadn't been there a second ago.

"Sit this one out while I deal with the interloper," Wrath said. Wingblade's kinetic vision was better than Mercy's by far - so she was quite aware that the Triakosia was suddenly moving at superhuman speeds, running up across the wall and then the ceiling, heading straight towards her!

She is pincered between the bat form of Chimera and the charging lance of Wrath - What does she do?

Wingblade

Boudica looks carefully at Wingblade, before replying. "I betray a contract to these guys, that's my head. But, can't help it if you were to throw me out the window." She shrugs, whispers good luck, before yelling and smashing herself through the office window, plummeting the two stories to the ground below! She rolls over a couple times to bleed off the impact, before limping up to her feet and hobbling away from the fight!

Down below, Mercy's fight is getting a little more intense, as they weave through the Triakosia grunts, palm striking and tripping them up in that soft style that they had practiced with Shayera before. It was working out well, as they maneuvered themself below Sideswipe's cover. "Can you run?" They shout up at them in a pause from reloading.

"Not without getting shot to pieces before I build up enough speed!" They call back down. "Assuming you're part of team hero!"

"Enough games," Wrath speaks as Chimera finally shakes out the cobwebs and stands back up, ready to get into the fight. "This is taking too long. You have one minute to finish this...or else I will," They state. Everyone seems to tense up at that, and the remaining soldiers start to converge on Sidney's cover!

Mercy, fairly worried about that and knowing what's coming, decides to do the smart thing and climb up to Sideswipe's side, getting into cover next to them. "I need a distraction to help me get him out of here!" They call out over the comm, holding onto him with a hand on his shirt. "On my signal, we run. Ready? Go!"

Defending Sidney: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 2) + 1 = 8

They felt some hope as they managed to move faster than the soldiers could track with their weapons. They manage to bring Sidney over the side and catch them, both now safely on the first floor. They just had to get to the windows to escape-

Movement caused Mercy to push Sideswipe forward. It was a good thing they did, because the harpooning grapple lines that shot out from the tank pierced through their shin, tripping Mercy as they were suddenly dragged towards it!

Clearing Hopeless and exposing Mercy to danger.

What does Wingblade do?

Wingblade

"You think you're clever, baiting me like that," Wrath says to Wingblade, before glancing back down at the first floor, where the other was. "That must be the girlfriend. Don't let her escape," They command, as half of the tactical team starts to converge on the one who had failed to bring down the second floor landing.

All of these distractions made them err, as Sideswipe recovered more swiftly from his stunning than was expected. He looked up at Wingblade, nodding briefly, before rolling off of Chimera, tackling into one of the soldiers and sliding forward to push three into the railing! The remaining three there with Wrath fired on Sideswipe's position as he ducked behind cover, while Wrath unsheathed his sword and started to stalk around.

As Wingblade watched, she also saw another blade cutting through the barricaded door to the office - it sliced through metal and wood like a wire through clay, carving inwards as Boudica pushed in. "'Ell. I'm not getting paid enough to tangle with heroes," She grumbled.

Wingblade has a critical opportunity to get the upper hand - what does she do?

Below, Mercy stopped pounding the support column, and turned to the half dozen who'd surrounded them below. They assess the situation calmly, taking in a deep breath. "I knew this day would come."

Directly Engage the Triakosia: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 3) + 3 = 7

As firearms discharge, Mercy moves faster than they can track them, before with one open palm strike sends one of them flying. "Wait, is thi-" One of them managed to speak before their helmet was cracked in two by a hard elbow strike. The whole team is surprised, and they keep trying to tag them as they take out another soldier by the knees.

TaPB: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 2) + 2 = 5

Bronwyn

Everyone there looks at Bronwyn in confusion. "Who the heck is that?" "Someone's sidekick from the looks of things..." "Hey, where's your boss?" "What the heck is going on here?" "You want this thing, you should pay for a hotel room for us!"

The crowd gathers around Bronwyn, pressing her for answers as she's surrounded. They seem frightened and worried, but not enough to take themselves away from danger.

And then the gunfire echoes out loudly from inside of the building, as the crowd starts to scream and rush away, Bronwyn being swept up with them!

Bronwyn will need to attempt to overcome the obstacle of the crowd pushing against her. What does she do?

Wingblade

Sideswipe is struggling on his own, frantic and angry - in an act of frustration, he turns his strange gun on Chimera and hits her point blank, the electrical charge pulsing through both of them at once. Chimera falls away from the window, and Sidney falls with her, his weapon clattering out of his hand to the floor!

Shayera watches as they fall and land together on the second story landing, the tactical team starting to close in on them as Wrath and Boudica come from behind. She sees Wrath pointing straight at her, with the redheaded swordswoman nodding and heading up towards the office.

What none of them see, but Wingblade can, is a familiar figure sneaking in from the window. Mercy's taking in the situation and looking for a solution, before gesturing to the wall next to them.

"I don't know how you got here at the same time as us," Wrath speaks, their voice audibly louder from speakers in their helmet, "But leave. I have no desire to kill you."

One of the tactical team stops and examines Sideswipe's currently stunned body, before seeming to speak inaudibly. Wrath looks towards his target, before looking back up at Wingblade. "Where is the device he had?"

Unleash Powers (Hopeless): 2d6 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (2, 3) + 2 - 2 = 5

The entire second landing shook suddenly, the team briefly off balance and confused. Underneath by one of the foundational pillars, Mercy was punching into it as hard as they could to try to send them all crashing down. Unfortunately, it was sturdier than they expected, and now they had drawn attention to themself!

What does Wingblade do?

Bronwyn

Outside of the old factory, Bronwyn can see a small gathering from the homeless camp approaching, mostly younger men and women wanting to see what all of the fuss was about. One of them appeared to be carrying some sort of metal crab device tucked under her arm - Bronwyn's sure that's the drone she took down. A red light flashes ominously from its chassis - just as she hears the building shake again briefly!

What does Brownyn do?

Still want to wait on a Bronwyn response before I post a continuation, but if there's nothing by Saturday I'll go ahead and move the scene ahead.

Bronwyn

You watch as Alexis rushes off to go aid in the capture of Sideswipe while alert for any more of those invisible drones. As you do, Wingblade's frantic call comes over the comms, alerting you of the potential danger!

As you look to see where Mercy is now, you see them behind the fence by a window at the factory, before they reach out and slide open the window, before slipping inside!

What do you do?

Wingblade

"Like hell I'll be safe," Sidney states angrily. He peeks out a window, then fires out of it. One of the Triakosia soldiers was hit by some kind of electrical charge launched from the gun, the person falling to the floor. "...Just means stepping out of the pan into the fire. Fine then, if you think-"

As he starts to turn around, Shayera sees behind him the tattooed figure of Chimera, somehow having leapt to the third floor and now clinging to the outside of the office window. Her complexion has turned green and shiny, eyes bugging out slightly, as she opens her mouth wide and a shockingly long tongue punches through, grabbing Sidney by the back of his shirt and yanking him towards her!

What do you do?

Alexis skids to a halt when confirmation comes over the comms on the source of the disturbance. They freeze up, looking at the factory building, the window which could make for a good entry point. Confronting their former team...confronting Wrath. They should run away like Wingblade said to do...but with only three of them there and a whole bunch of soldiers in there, the only thing that they would be good for was a brief distraction. So they waited for any other word, peeking in to try and see if they could make anything else out.

-

In the office, Sidney stares at Wingblade incredulously. One whole side of him is caked in dried blood, with some kind of makeshift bandage of duct tape holding paper towels on the side of his head. "First some kid detective, now we got kid heroes," He groans. "Forget about it. Not going to live long now now I've got a five million dollar hit on my head," He chuckled mirthlessly, peeking out the window as the tactical teams slowly worked their way up the metal landings below them, cautious of traps.

"If they haven't noticed you yet, you should go. I could have kept running and hiding, but eventually these bastards will get dirty, get my grandmother to draw me out...not going to give them the satisfaction!" He holds up the strange, serpentine looking pistol, which crackles at the tip. "This is strong enough to knock anyone out with one shot, and stop their heart with two. I'm sure I can take out at least half a dozen before they break down the barricade..."

Sidney seems to be ready to die like a badass up here in his nest. The tactical soldiers have made it to the second floor already. What does Wingblade do?

The cloaked object seems to try and evade the javelin, but Bronwyn's aim is true enough, sending it careening towards the homeless encampment as it crashes through a tent, causing more of an uproar from the confused and worried tenants on the land. Alexis goes off towards the source of the rumbling, looking to the sky and following what they think is Wingblade, hoping to catch up to her.

As Wingblade banks around to one side, she gets a good view of where some of the windows had completely shattered, and a fly by gives her a split second view of the interior:

A massive tank crawls up out of the concrete foundation of the factory, displacing abandoned conveyors and using its quadruple treads to maneuver in three dimensions. A drill as large as Kaoru's new car tips it, with grinding gears apparently powerful enough to let it burrow through solid rock acting as both weapon and shield.

Sidney is up in the supervisor's office on the third floor, the furniture left within now acting as barricades for the doors and windows. He looks like he's planning to make a last stand here.

Crawling up out of the tunnels behind the drill tank, at least two dozen armored Triakosia soldiers clamor up, the same as the guards that Wingblade had seen at the Killzone. Coming up behind them are Wrath, Boudica and Chimera, climbing up calmly as they move to take the stairs up to Sideswipe's fortified position.

Mercy makes it to the factory's fence, vaulting over it and heading for the front doors, unaware of what they're about to run into down there!

What do they do?

Wingblade

As she gets closer, Wingblade's keen senses note that the small cloaked object had the kind of symmetrical gait that made her sure that it was mechanical in nature. Tracing the very faint outline she could, it appeared to be shaped like some kind of spider, if they ever got as big as cats. She can't make out any weapons on it, so she's not certain without capturing it if it's just some kind of surveillance bot or something more insidious. It's still probably the greatest threat to her at the moment if whomever's watching through its eyes has spotted the hero...

Bronwyn and Alexis

Alexis was glad to be out of that strange place full of creepy vampires. They were equally glad to not have to have seen what they looked like. They were still holding onto Bronwyn's hand for the moment as they looked around. "I know this place - I used to live here a few months ago," They comment, gesturing in the direction of one of the homeless camps. "It's a good place to hide - maybe Sidney went there?"

Though, both of them being in hero gear - well, Bronwyn in hero gear and Alexis in workout clothes with a domino mask and hoodie - they weren't sure how welcome they'd be to the action.

As they all take some time to figure out what to do, the ground suddenly shakes beneath their feet briefly! Several windows at the old electronics factory shatter, the epicenter of the rumbling.

As that happens, the cloaked drone suddenly leaps from its perch, folding up into a disc like shape and flying off towards the old factory!

What do they do?

Alexis closed their eyes and stepped into the Shadows. "It's okay. I trust you." There was no reason for Bronwyn to lie. They reached out to grab onto her hand though to help guide them through.

As they ventured in, they felt the chill of darkness on their skin. Maybe they should have gotten earplugs like she had said, but they didn't want to waste any time, and they figured it would be only a couple of minutes anyways. They-

Nails lightly scraping along their shoulders. They flinched, drawing away from the perceived direction of the act. They didn't feel anything there...

You should have died... The whisper came suddenly, a chill crawling up their spine as they press up against Bronwyn's back more firmly, feeling afraid. The crackle of fire snapped in their ear - no, that was the sound of fat cooking off of their flesh. They could smell it, sickeningly appetizing and horrendous all at once.

"What are they? Why are they..." Alexis whispers to Bronwyn as they continue forth...

Wingblade

There's an old peeling billboard advertising 'SAVE YOUR SOUL...EMBRACE THE LORD' up on top of one of the older tenements that were spotted here and there in Northside, a perfect perch for her to look over the area. As she flew close though, she noticed something crawling across it, shimmering with the telltale sign of active camouflage. It wasn't bigger than a house cat, but seemed to be able to climb like a spider from what she could tell of its movements.

What does she do?

Wingblade

It takes Shayera no time at all to reach the Square K, a chain gas station slash convenience store. There's probably at least thirty of them within Halcyon's city limits. Here on Northside, there was a more active industrial district, as well as these few strips of commercial road property with some half-empty strip malls and a couple encampments of the homeless settled up close to the fast food places.

Landing at the site, she takes in the scents even as her presence gets a buzz, she can see two clerks inside looking out at her in shock. But the blood trail is easy for her to detect even through the heavy fumes of gasoline and oil. She can tell that Sidney made it further north from here.

From her bird's eye point of view, she could see a couple different places that someone like Sidney might have gone to try and hide from whatever had come after him. One older factory that looked like it was in the process of being demolished or converted into a new type of building, with 'Sasuke Electronics' printed on the side. A strip mall with no businesses at all, its parking lot effectively abandoned to new growths of weeds and with several smashed in windows and graffiti tags along its length. It was unlikely he'd have left the area though, as Abacus would have been almost certain to have caught him on camera again.

What does she do?

Bronwyn and Alexis

In just as short of a time period as Shayera, Alexis had changed into a more outside appropriate attire, as well as grabbing a bandanna and hoodie to wear to help disguise the fact they looked like Bronwyn. They called up Kaoru, and when they hit the first voicemail, they spoke urgently.

"There is a lead we're looking up on the Northside. The one you spoke to yesterday was last seen there, running from someone who had injured him. We're going to investigate. We could use your help. Please return this call."

They finish, looking to Bronwyn. "...It's a long way to get there by foot. Should we call a cab?"

Not sure if you're back from vacation yet Kaoru, but as for your involvement in this next part, I wanted to see what you think would best get Kaoru involved (since he's distancing himself from the team).

My initial thought is that Ellen Lemmons calls him in desperation, trying to figure out where her grandson's gone and the police aren't helping at all. We could also have a message come from one of her mystery patrons on the net to get them into action.

"Lemmons?" Alexis is looking over in puzzlement, before leaning in to whisper to Bronwyn. "Does this look okay? I thought maybe I should buzz off the whole thing. I don't want you to see yourself when you look at me," They tell her.

Rush Job is still alive, just hospitalized in a coma after a near death encounter.

Alexis returns after their shower. And apparently a shave, as they've sheared the sides of their heads below the temples nearly to the skin in an undercut. They look at the prospect of food, even burned food, with some anticipation.

At Shayera's comment, they look thoughtful, tossing back their still slightly damp hair. "Maybe we should ask Kaoru to try and investigate the company and see who owns it?" They ask in suggestion. "But I'm not sure if that is something that can be done. And what were they being paid to do? Why were they killed? This feels...like the killings are supposed to be a message to someone."

The ex-soldier looked at the couple and wondered why they were uncomfortable with their nudity. It was hard to come up with anything in particular, as they moved to slip into some of Bronwyn's clothes - the looser fitting ones, as they were certain wearing any of the tighter clothing would be uncomfortable for them.

In loose mesh shorts and a tank top, they turned to the others. "...I don't think I did anything wrong." They defend themselves, unsure but trying to figure things out.

Now Alexis looked very confused. "You're angry because I'm naked in front of people...but, I'm only naked in front of you and Shayera," They reason out. "I wouldn't be naked in front of anyone else. Though I do need sports clothes that fit me better. I'm bigger than the last time I had-" They gesture just as Shayera wakes up.

"You don't have to be sorry," Alexis tells Shayera as she scrunches her eyes closed. The ex-soldier walks closer to her. [b]"I don't think that it's wrong to look. Though Hex thought it was weird in my last body...Is there something wrong with me?" They ask, glancing back at Bronwyn behind them.

"Hmm?" Walking up behind Bronwyn, a very naked Alexis walked up while using a towel to wipe away the sweat from their body. They stood in the bedroom doorway, cocking their head to one side. The cheap hair-dye that they'd been using seemed to be running a bit from their workout, needing some additional touch-ups. This did little to detract from their honed figure.

"Oh, Bronwyn. I thought I heard someone coming into the penthouse. I would have been more worried if it hadn't been through the elevator," They admitted. "She seemed like she was tired still when I woke up in bed, so I thought I should let her sleep some more. We had a long night," They sigh.

In the morning, Alexis is already awake and going at the gym before Shayera even rouses. They've put on some of the workout gear from their first body, though it was tight and not completely comfortable for them. But getting in a workout to try and relieve their stress at last night events was doing good for them. A sweat formed as they kept up the shadow-fighting routine in the ring, pretending to fight an imaginary opponent.

Something was changing in them. The way their thoughts were seemed to be clearer than they were before. Something about their body changing must have done something to help them remember more. They remembered sparring just like this against someone who could keep up with Alexis' pace. It had to be the one that had been prepared to fight against Shayera, Wrath. But why did they not remember what they looked like? Just the feeling of blows blocked and connected.

It was when they went for an axe kick on their shadow adversary that they heard and felt the sudden tear as the spats, already tight on their body, split apart at the seam. Frowning and honestly fed up with the restrictions in the first place, they shed it all off, continuing their routine released from all confines. It felt much better to let everything breathe anyways.

Yes it should be a bit after midnight for that scene, my mistake on that.

"I think that..." Mercy shivered. "If they'd known I was there, they would have acted. So I think it's safe at your place now. I'm okay to sleep there now." They nodded quietly. "...Let's check with Kaoru in the morning."

Feel free to move things on from here, I'll take off the GM gloves for the moment.

Alexis gives Shayera an odd look. "...It's not easy to leave. Most members would most likely end up working in the same or similar field if they left. So the idea is that those in the Triakosia must find it bad to leave and good to stay." They looked back behind them in the car again. "...The Killzone was when I realized that I needed to leave. That was over a year ago, and..."

They flinch, paling slightly. "...I demonstrated my abilities. It was a battle royale, where the winner was the last one standing. I fell...four times? Or three. I was not the same as the person who walked in at least." They look through their fingers. "...I think I understood then, how horrible it is to inflict pain on other people. How I want to avoid that."

"...We should check in with the others, right? Kaoru must have found something by now," They say, changing the subject. Not wanting to relive the past again.

"If he was, I would have thought that you would have tried to take him with you..." Mercy pauses, staring at Xiu Ying for a couple moments, before shaking their head. "But did you get any other hints? What that payment to him was for, or where it came from..."

They glance out the back window as they drive away from the castle, and into the dark tunnel. The light behind them vanished swiftly, before suddenly they were coming out of the underpass into the downtown area. The phones are blitzed with missing messages and calls for both of them now they were back in Halcyon proper.

"...Rodgers is dead. She apparently passed in her sleep and no one found her until I looked," They tell her. "I wanted to find more information...I've been so useless. I thought that I could do something good that wasn't violence. But back there...if you hadn't stopped me..."

They clench their fists. "...I hate that man. I'm afraid of that man. I wanted to kill him! Even if I would have died to do so. I am...still so weak I have to kill?"

When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, give them Influence and hold 2. Spend that hold to help them as if it were Team in the pool. Wingblade gets Influence over Mercy.

As Xiu Ying turns to leave, Wrath stands right in front of her, despite having been just by Leventis a second ago. "I really, really wanted to show off. That's why I asked for such difficult conditions for myself. I finally get to debut, after all that training..."

He lifts up her tiger mask, taken from her grasp without her notice. "I'll remember the Daughters of the Tiger. Pray we don't meet again." He hands it back to her, leaving her to return slowly back to Leventis, the medic now nowhere in sight.

When she returns to the car, Mercy sits in the backseat waiting for her and with a black knapsack. "...I need a ride back to Halcyon. If that's okay."

Kaoru

Namedropping as Kaoru did made Sidney look more and more serious and dire, staring at him. "...Too young to be a cop. Too arrogant to be a reporter. Still, if you already know all that, you've made yourself a target. So telling you won't hurt you more."

"I don't know about other parolees, but Rodgers was the intermediary between me and an anonymous benefactor. They paid me to tutor a bunch of brats that apparently all had similar powers to my own. Shady but the money was good, and allowed me to help put the down payment on this place for me and Gran," He tells Kaoru. "For someone in the system like me, it was a lifesaver. But these people have reach, and connections. They're always watching to make sure I don't attract unwanted attention to myself, and possibly to them. If other people are dead, then they're dead for that."

He steps back from his car. "That's all I know. Don't pull on this thread, kid, if you value your life."

Xiu Ying

Selene stands watching the monitors, not even glancing down at the severed dummy head that was dropped by her feet. "Do you know why I agreed to Randall's suggestion for this exhibition?" She asks Xiu Ying. "Because it allows for the weak to able to defeat the strong. Tactics and skill matter more in choosing a mercenary than whether or not they are able to overwhelm their opponents, because the goal is almost never to actually win but to achieve your mission."

She gestures to the monitor, replaying the scene where Xiu Ying vanishes into shadow. It's split-screened with an image of Randall sitting in his chair under the lights and shadows there, before the announcement of the end of the bout has him stand up and move to leave with Wrath following. "The mission for the assassin was to eliminate their target. For the bodyguard, to protect their client. Had you chosen to use that power of yours to slip through and strike the target, or even shown you could have killed them before their guard could stop you, you certainly would have won this."

"But, as far as your potential benefactors saw, you ran when the job became more difficult for you. Unfortunately, I don't think you've impressed to anyone the worth of the Daughters of the Tiger. Perhaps as pretty bodyguards that can deal with normal strays and foot soldiers, but you'll scrape the bottom of the barrel for work there." Selene sighed. "A pity. Though, I'm still interested - you have such a lovely charm. I didn't notice until you used it, so its rather high quality." The sorceress gives her a faint smile. "Please stay to enjoy the rest the bouts if you wish, but I won't prevent you from leaving if you have places to be."

As Randall walks out of the Killzone arena, Xiu Ying can see that medic from before stalking from the edges. Wrath steps up in front of the corporate head, seemingly unaware as the medic creeps closer.

What does Xiu Ying do?

Kaoru

Sidney stares at Kaoru angrily for a few more moments, before a sort of realization dawns on him now. He lets him go, to the relief of Ellen. "You really don't get it, do you?" He asks him. "You're a white collar kid playing at con man. But this ain't the world you belong in. You know what would happen if I were to inform XPN, the real XPN, of your stunt? Don't pull this crap again. This is your one and only warning," He says, grabbing him and walking Kaoru out of the door.

"Oh, drive safely dear!" Ellen says quickly as Sidney escorts him out to his car, letting him go again and waiting for him to get into the car and leave.

What does Kaoru do?