"... Wily old man." Ryan couldn't help but grin, before dashing off back to help Cara. Finding the nearest manhole cover, the young man climbed up and slid it off, before taking in the scene. Cara had Wild Red running in to attack, and it looked as if Wavekite had her hands full.
"Looks like it's the thugs for me then!" Cindersnap called out, blurring slightly as he began to rapidly fling bolts of fire at them, aiming for their chests, back and torsos.
Cara swore as her shot missed, and floated up into the air as she maneuvered for a better position. As she moved, more ice engulfed the flames on the transport; snuffing them out.
Raising her left hand, a sheet of ice streaked across the ground underneath Red, making the ground slippery. A second later, she raised both hands above her head, and s rain of fire began to fall from the sky on to Red, just as she was preparing to fire the neutron bomb.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild Red's foot slipped on the ice, so she switch to flying with out slowing. As the fire started to fall Wild Red's dark shield absorbed most of the damage, still little stings of flame distracted her and her neutron bomb flew off in the totally wrong direction.
Wild Red decided to turn the tables and started aiming her siphons at Cara. While still heading straight for her on a collision course.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
Cara dived towards red and a sword of flame forming in her left hand, another of ice forming in her right. She faltered a little as Red's siphoning abilities hit her, but her rage sent a surge of power (build up) through her ice veins. Screaming wordlessly, she flew at full speed towards Red; a burning missile of steel hard ice.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The mob of lesser Thug either goes down under Cindersnaps volley of fire bolts , or took to their heels and scattered into shops , alleyways , of any other concealing terrain ...
..the four better armed Thugs arenow simple out of control , guns and bombs are no longer aimed , anything not already shot up or aflame is hosed in a mindless wave of destruction ...
inside the office block Arch reaches the second floor and now toting a Mini-Uzi steps into some Middle Mangers cupboard sized office , shuts the door and slides the filing cabinet across the door .... sit down .....instructs the flat voice behind the Uzi bearing arm, the luckless office drone complies ......
Arch slips a odd golden mobile phone sized object from a waistcoat pocket ..... hmm nearly happy hour ..good....
Wild Red flew straight at Cara. At the last second she changed course and flew straight over Cara's head and her dangerous looking swords. Wild Red may not be the most powerful meta in the world but damn she was quick. As Cara turned, Wild Red followed and dodged.
"Are you angry little girl?" Her voice as smooth as silk. "I would be, having my friend desert me. It gets worse you know, it will always hurt being betrayed! Do you feel good protecting the citizens of Paragon city? I did once, until they turned on me! I had my hero licence when I was 12. By 14 I was a villian. I have never been happier." Wild Red flew in circles, never stopping, never an easy target. Every chance she got she flew a little higher, hopefully distracting Cara enough so she would not notice.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
Cara yelled in anger as Red's taunts prodded her temper. Almost screaming with rage, she drew back and threw both swords at her.
"Ed was my friend!" she yelled. "How could he turn on me like that? How could he turn on ALL of us like that?
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild Red dodged the flying blades, but not quite quick enough. She held back a scream as the ice sword seared the flesh of her upper arm. She was getting to the Cara and could not afford to slip up now.
"Did you ever think this city turned on Ed first? He was trying to save lives by despatching those freaks. I was there, he had no choice. They had every intent on killing him first. Is it murder if it's self defense? Yet this was never brought up in his trial? why is that? Where were his so called Hero friends when he needed them? To busy following rules, rather than taking whatever chance necessary to find the truth!" Wild Red circled Cara as though she were a very dangerous prey. "Where were you little girl? Helping or hiding behind your rules?" She flew a little higher forcing Cara to look up at her.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
Cara looked up at Red, her transparent face showing an expression of hatred. "I was in school, studying like Ed said I should!"
She rose higher up in the air, until her eyes were level with Red's. "What happened to Ed in that court was the most unfair thing ever, but Ed was a hero! Sworn to obey the laws, no matter what! You can't just go ignoring that, just because you don't like it!"
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
"Ed IS a hero and trust me, if he wasn't, I'd have dragged him off to the Isles by now." Wild Red kept her voice smooth. Her arm was in agony, the wound still open and bleeding and she was severly tempted to drain some healing from Cara. She stopped herself, she could not lose the rappor.
"Ed left his fate in the laws of this state. He trusted he would receive a fair trial. I watched him let Kata arrest him. If he had received a fair trial do you think he would be running? Or would he still have his licence? I ask you again did he abandon his friends? or did they abandon him?"
Again she flew a little higher.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
"Ed IS a hero! And you, you're a stinking MURDERER!" Cara almost screamed that last, and with hate filled eyes, wound her arm back and threw a huge ball of white hot fire straight at Red's face.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild Red tried to dodge the flaming ball but she was too close. It was only the continuous momentum she had kept up combined with her shield, that prevented the full force of Cara's blow hitting her. Even though she only absorbed a partial blow, she lost consciousness for a moment and plummeted to the ground. Seconds later she woke up and brought the free fall to an abrupt stop. Her mask and blindfold burnt away revealing a scarred face with an unhealthy green glow where her eyes used to be. She looked up to where Cara hovered.
Damn right I am. She sneered. And with a temper like that, you are one step away from being
Red aimed a proton Volley at Cara. Just
like
me! She fired, blast after blast headed straight for Cara.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
Unnoticed, or just forgotten in the sudden escalation of events, Søren lowered the truck to the ground. He surveyed the chaos unfolding around him, shrugged, turned and began to head away.
Cara stared down at Red as the blasts flew at her. Without time to react, each bolt hit her head on. The first few refracted in her transparent ice form, and were reflected off at wild angles, but the final bolt; hitting her dead centre whilst another was still being reflected, exploded on contact with it's mate.
There was a bright flash of light, and a sharp cracking sound, and Cara was flung through the air, spinning wildly. A second later, she slammed into the side of a nearby building and slid to the ground; a large crack visible in the ice that formed her body, running from her shoulder down at an angle through to her hip.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild Red floated down to land a few feet from Cara's cracked body.
"You see dear child, not everything falls into the catagory of right or wrong." She said softly. "Sometimes people make mistakes." She sighed and took a step back. She raised her hand and aimed, ready to throw another proton volley at Cara's still form.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
A streaking blast of white hot flame streamed from Ryan's hands towards the back of Wild Red, the young man grim in keeping his cool with the situation. He had already requested a display of Cara's readings, and seeing as she hadn't been mediported yet, it hopefully was not as worse as it looked.
The situation needed to end soon. The young man concentrated his fire into that burst. Get Cara to safety, assist Wavekite and stop the wave of destruction. It was getting more and more out of hand.
Wild Red screamed as the flames hit her between the shoulders. The force of the blast throwing her into the same wall Cara lay crumpled against. She tore the smouldering cape free from her neck and slowly stood up. Burning Ice was still motionless. Wild Red turned to Cindersnap.
"Oops, I appear to have broken your friend. She has quite a temper doesn't she!" Wild Red cracked her knuckles. "Lets see what I can do about breaking you." She laughed and started throwing radiation balls at Cindersnap.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
Cindersnap blurred out of the way of one, grinning. "She's young." Another one dodged. "She gets emotional." One seered across the side of his arm, but he was able to keep the smile on his face. "All those hormones, y'know." Ryan let another blast across the back of his jacket, trying not to grimace at the thought of one of Zortel's decontamination showers.
"Thing is," Ryan said, hurling several blasts back. "What's your problem? Not enough hugs from Mommy or Daddy?" The young man said, starting to weave his way in, taking blows every so often as he hurled his blazing response back. "Did the big bad man step on your toys? Or did like, that totally cute boy not as you to the dance?"
"Or maybe he was stolen by some pretty girl. Maybe they didn't include you in their activities. Stuff like that happens. It's high school. It makes some people!" Ryan ducked down, narrowly missing a blast. "And it breaks some people. So tell me, babe. What's your beef?"
On the ground, unseen by Red or Cindersnap; Cara's hand twitched slightly. Semi-molted ice began to slowly flow over the crack in her body, sealing and repairing the damage. Abruptly, Cara's hand flashed out; grabbing at Wild Red's ankle.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild Red knew what Ryan was doing. It was exactly what she had just done to Cara.
"Attempting to make me angry so I make a mistake? I came to terms with what happened a long time ago. Oh! Just so you know, you were wrong on all counts." Red threw a powerful radiation blast at Cindersnap.
She went to take a step towards him. Her ankle suddenly went numb and a shooting pain shot up her leg. She fell over and grunted as she hit the floor. She looked down to see Cara's translucent hand wrapped around her ankle. There was already a build up of frost on her boot. She kicked Cara's hand until she let go. She glanced at Cindersnap who was approaching her cautiously. She tried to get up and found the pain in her leg was so intense she nearly passed out.
Wild Red took a moment to compose herself. She waiting to see what the hero's would do next. She was clearly injured, now would they take advantage of that?
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
Near silence hit the street , .......the four thugs had disappeared into the chaos they had created ,.... the last shell casing had fallen to the pavement .......the last shards of broken window glass had crashed and shattered into a glittering carpet , ......the last bystander's scream had echoed away down the concrete walls of the streets buildings ......the area was still for a moment .. its only sound cracking of ice in the warm air and the deep breathing of the three remaining combatants ......
Cara slowly brought her arms back, pushing herself up on to all fours.
"I told you, [censored]." she spoke quietly, "You're never going to feel warm again. I've frozen your foot, it's never going to be warm again. If you don't give up, I'm going to freeze the rest of you, permanently."
She looked up, glaring at Red. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Red gave a yell as she pushed up from the floor. She floated just above the ground not placing any pressure on her usless ankle.
"I will never give up, little girl. You will have to kill me first!"
Wild Red knew she would have to change tactics. Cindersnap was far to experienced to be rattled and Burned Ice was far more powerful than she expected. Together they made good team.
"So tap into that anger. You will need it." Red's voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. Only Cara was close enough to hear it. "Before I kill your friend." Wild Red turned and flew at full speed towards Cindersnap. Throwing yet another neutron bomb aimed directly at him.
((btw she is completly oblivious to Wavekite's presence))
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
Jennifer hovered in the sudden calm, a blunt-tipped baton arrow drawn and ready to shoot. Where the hell did...? [censored]! What had started as a bad situation had turned into a disaster, and the perpetrators were rapidly disappearing in plain sight. All except...
Jennifer swooped toward the one place where the battle seemed to be being fought, or at least where blasts of fire and radiation were still lighting up the area. As she got closer, she could see Cindersnap and his friend facing off against... someone... who had just started to charge toward Ryan.
Jennifer dived to get closer to the battle, focusing her power into a cage around the flying woman. She didn't know if she could stop someone going that fast, but trying had to be better than the alternative.
Knights Exemplar: Wolfram, Autumnfox, Starlit Spirit.
Militia: The Portent, Wavekite, Mr. Sandman.
The Cadre: WarpLocke, Zajin.
Numerous others.
Wild Red glanced behind her to see white flames heading towards her. She looked around a saw a small alleyway just in front. As she dodged the flames, she could have sworn it swerved to follow her, but it impacted with the brick wall instead of Wild's body.
"Impressive." Wild gazed at the hole the hero's shot had caused in the wall. Dust covered Wild Red as she tried to decide to escape or fight. The building she lent against shuddered behind her. The heros blast had taken out a supporting wall.
Then she realized, if that shot had actually hit her. It probably would have killed her. Wild Red was angry now.
"Ed, we're even." She said to herself. "Now we play by my rules!" She stepped back out into the street. Red plumes of brick dust clouded around her every step. Wild raised her arms as she surrounded herself in a dark cloud ((Dark Embrace)). She ran at Cara and prepared to throw a massive neutron bomb on her.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red