Ryan's confident look suddenly faltered as Wild Red charged towards him, radioactive energy building in her hands. He drew his hands up to try and give himself some measure of protection, his glasses peeking over the top of his hands.
Meanwhile, his mind was active.
"Cara, you've got to listen to me and calm down!"
"BODICIA, connect me to the Militia's comms system, put me through to Wavekite!"
"Listen Cara, we can do this, I've got a plan... just trust me and let her come at me!"
"Jen, I've got a plan. I need you to bring up a sonic barrier around me and Wild Red, or if you can't, between her and Burned Ice. Trust me on this one."
The energies inside him were slowly building to a surging point, judging as he waited for Wild Red to get as close as she could before she fired.
Wild Red released the Neutron Bomb and carried on moving forward. She started siphoning everything she could from Cindersnap. Power, speed and when she was in range, health.
"Are you ready to watch your friend die, little girl?" Wild Red was almost in a frenzy as she shouted the taunt.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
"But - ok, got it." Jennifer dived closer to the melee, focusing her power as Ryan had asked, shaping her field's energy into a fixed barrier surrounding him and his assailant. You better know what you're doing...
Knights Exemplar: Wolfram, Autumnfox, Starlit Spirit.
Militia: The Portent, Wavekite, Mr. Sandman.
The Cadre: WarpLocke, Zajin.
Numerous others.
Cara glared at Red, tiny points of fire appearing in her eyes.
"No... Are YOU ready to burn?"
A wall of fire erupted around Cara's body; forming a protective barrier of flame as she watched Red fly in to the trap.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
As the bolt hit Cindersnap, Ryan flung his arms open, clenching his fists together. The blast of energy and the sapping of his strength were powerful, so he only had one shot at this.
"You want to take my strength?" Ryan shouted, flames starting to swell all around him as he tapped into his hidden reserves. "Just try to take it all!"
Glowing incandescently, a powerful wave of fire surged out around him, filling the area of the field as energy flames and embers whipped up a maelstrom of flame, a veritable inferno surrounding the pair. It lasted for a few seconds, but even the drained power behind that blast was enough to make a furnace.
Wild Red watched as Cindersnap erupted in flames. She changed direction to steer clear of the blast. She flew head first into an invisible barrier. The Flames then engulfed her. The heat searing her flesh, she flew straight up trying to out run the flames. The seconds seemed like a life time, then the flames died down. Exhausted and in agony Red could not fly any more. She fell to the concrete floor with a crack.
She lay still trying to figure out where the pain started. It was no use it was fogging up her mind. She rolled onto her side and coughed her mouth filling with blood. She tried to get up and failed miserably.
She heard approaching footsteps and took a small device out of a pocket on her belt and held it tightly in her palm.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
As Ryan's inferno died down, Cara's own protective wall of fire died out, and she pushed herself up to her feet and walked over to Wild Red.
As she got near, a blessed coolness washed over Red's burned skin. "Please... Stand down, and we can get you to a hospital... There's no point in carrying on any more... It's over."
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
As the fire faded Cindersnap swayed on his feet unsteadily, before sinking to his knees. "... Damn." The young man panted, gulping in deep breaths of air. His arms and forehead were drenched in sweat, and wisps of steam rose from the rivlets as his body cooled down.
"Good work," His voice came over his commslink. "Jen, think you could finish the arrest? I'm a little beat."
Wild Red looked around, that was the point she noticed Wavekite.
"Well 3 on 1 is hardly fair." She laughed which quickly turned into a painful coughing fit. "Stand down! I don't think so."
With one hand gingerly holding several broken ribs, she forced herself to sit up. She started to gasp as it was becoming increasingly difficult to breath.
"You really don't know me!" She looked at the 3 three hero's in turn, then glanced over to the slumped form of the driver of the prison transport. "Well congratulations. You beat the bad guys. *cough* But at what price?"
She grinned at Cindersnap before collapsing again.
"I may have to introduce some friends to the New Vigilants." She breathed shallowly as she went lightheaded and dizzy. Finally the pain was too much and she screamed out in agony.
She pushed the button on the device in her palm. She disappeared in a flash of light as she teleported to a privately run medical centre in Port Oakes.
@Wild Red
"In the Rogue Isles, loyalty goes to the highest bidder." Wild Red
"And we'll be waiting." Cindersnap said, hauling himself to his feet. As Wild Red vanished, the young man looked to Wavekite and Burned Ice. "Well... y'know, I think this one was a draw at -best-." The young man chuckled, rather tired and sore.
"Burned Ice, we're going to Unity Tower to get checked over soon. Wavekite? Thanks for the hand, things were starting to look a little grim. Edward teleported away in the sewer... now that Wild Red girl did too, but I suspect she'll be out of comission for a bit." Cindersnap said, heading over to offer his younger partner a hug.
Cara held her hand up to stop Ryan touching her in her ice form. "Hang on! You'll get frozen!"
Taking a calming breath, she let it out slowly and concentrated. As she did, the flames that covered her ice form, keeping her mobile, flickered out and the ice began to ripple and shift. A few seconds later, all trace of the ice and flame vanished as Cara returned to her normal form and hugged Ryan.
"That... Was NO fun at all... That woman was a lunatic! I... I thought we were going to have to kill her to stop her..."
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Jennifer landed beside the other two, turning off her bow and returning it to her belt. "You guys ok? That looked... rough." She picked a fragment of a shattered bullet out of her shoulder. "Can't see how that could have gone any worse. Either of you know who that van was transporting?"
Knights Exemplar: Wolfram, Autumnfox, Starlit Spirit.
Militia: The Portent, Wavekite, Mr. Sandman.
The Cadre: WarpLocke, Zajin.
Numerous others.
Cara turned to Jennifer and nodded, looking sad. "It was Edward... They used to call him Doctor Mechano, I guess they will again..."
Taking a couple of steps back, Cara let herself slump down against the police cruiser, and slowly sink to the ground. A few seconds later and drew her knees up to herself, bowing her head to her knees. Wrapping her arms around her knees, her shoulders started to shake as she quietly cried.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Ryan glanced from Cara to Jen. "I'll survive, I've like, been through worse." He smiled at the winged woman. "Hope you're okay too... but if you'll excuse me a bit, I've got a job to take care of."
With a nod to Wavekite, Cindersnap wandered over to the police cruiser and sat besides the young girl, putting an arm around her. "It's okay hun, let it all out..." He smiled gently, brushing some of her red hair away from her face with his fingertips.
((just like to thank those that participated in this storyline, it's been good to have quiet a few people interested and also adds good backstory to Edward...will he turn evil again? Will he just turn to a life of mediation as he promised Ryan? who knows!
Tune in next time folks!))
Badge Earned: Wing Clipper
A real showstopper!
(( Just a brief piece, showing a consequence of Ed's actions. ))
Aftermath.
Cara sat hunched up on her bed in the New Vigilants tower, the light off and curtain closed. She'd finally gotten out of the decontamination unit a couple of hours ago and, at last, had some peace and quiet.
On the bed next to her lay a bible, open to the tale of Judas's betrayal. Cara sat quietly, contemplating the events of the previous day as the comforting sound of an old clock tick tocked quietly to itself on her bedside table.
Abruptly, Cara stood and picked up the bible. Walking slowly towards the door, she unlocked it and pulled it open. A moment later there was a tearing sound, then a metallic clunk, followed by a soft click as Cara closed the door behind her.
In the darkness of the empty room, a trashcan rocked to a standstill, the torn remains of Cara's bible resting inside.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Arch slipped the golden Pocket D club VIP Teleporter device back into his waistcoat pocket ...Smiling as he remembered the favour he had performed to earn it .
. ..he nodded to the club bouncer as he stepped into the elevator ... reaching the Upstairs bar he ordered a glass of 25 year old Napoleon brandy , and raising it in salute to Doc M he washed the taste of pistol smoke from his mouth ......