Heroes Uprising: Alternate Universe (Thread 3)

While Lone Wolf and Scott had spent the past month training Katy, Marcus had spent it trying to contact Alan. Despite entire days being spent trying, their enemy held them fast. Marcus simply didn't have the power to break the barrier, only succeeding in giving himself massive headaches. On the plus side, his power was growing with use, so perhaps given enough time, he would find a weak point that he could exploit. Marcus would never give up, even if he had to rip open a portal home himself. That damned mocking face of his enemy would shatter like glass!

Lithuel had been studying the magic and spiritual energy used by the True Notes from a distance. It was interesting, but not enough for him to want to learn it. His mother had insisted on teaching him a few high level spells, and though he had learned them, he rarely used them. Lithuel preferred melee fighting, using his great speed to get close to his opponent. From there, he could tear them to shreds with his claws and fangs, or he could be slightly more civilized and use his sword. The Archangels were planning to teach him their magic and martial techniques, though now that plan was put on hold.

Eric had been mostly chilling out with some video games. Garfield and other True Notes had eagerly brought him into their gaming group, and soon found that Eric was no slouch despite work often keeping him away. When not gaming, he would hang out with Katy and others, just chilling. There were times when he felt cooped up, and on days like that, he would take his motorcycle into other dimensions. Sadly, he could not find the same joy in the boundless freedom that he once had. Being able to go anywhere but home still annoyed him, the only dark spot in an otherwise good life.

On this day, all five of Earth 1's heroes were hanging out in the living room. Scott smiled, having come up with a plan.
"Lone Wolf and I have been talking it over, and we've decided that we're going to teach the three of you martial arts."
Marcus groaned, Eric sighed, and Lithuel seemed to have no reaction.
"Is it really necessary for us to learn martial arts, Scott?" Marcus asked.
"Yes, especially you."

Marcus frowned.
"True, my power is limited here, but..."
"That's exactly why you need training, as do we all. We're still in an unfamiliar world, so we must keep getting stronger. Perhaps with enough time and effort, we can regain our former strength."
With that, it was sealed that they would all begin regular training as a group.

---

Chiang sat down at a circular table and had Scott and Kiya sit across from him. After deftly fixing three cups of tea, he handed two to his guests. Scott took a sip and sighed contentedly as the warmth filled his chest.
"You haven't lost your touch, Master."
"Well, I should hope not," Chiang replied with a smile.
After this pleasantry, however, his face grew serious.

"I know that you two aren't here on a social call. I sense that you bring news of a serious matter."
"Yes, Master. We have come to consult you on how to exorcise a spirit."
"Describe this spirit to me."
Scott handed the conversation over to Kiya, as she could provide much more information.

" Obviously, as a number of fighting styles used are real, most of it obviously breaks the laws of physics, so a lot of it isnt usable. But if you have the creativity and inginuity, and arent an idiot its perfectly viable to learn stuff from fictional sources, also dont act like you dont practice kamehameha's out on the beach with water where you think people cant see you, I see you bitch, I see you " Riku explained.

Everyone returned to their seats as Sandra, Tanesha, and Victoria started their performance. Emmet dabbed at his face with a cloth, his mood gradually improving as the three girls sang, at the end he applauded them with the rest of the group, no one having anything bad to say, sans Riku who said Gods country was a trailer park.

Nate walked out of his office, having been there for the last hour getting his lesson together and enjoying the kids performances " Excellent work you guys, I gotta say the improvement you've all made since the start of the class have been spectacular, i'm so proud as your teacher. Alright lets get started "

The girls returned to their seats as Nate took the stage " I think, no you are ready for competitions, which is why i've signed you up for round one of the national show choir competition, Sectionals. It'll be held next month in L.A where you'll be competing against other choirs "

He let his words sink in, seeing various reactions. Emmet was beaming, this is what he had been waiting for, the chance to show off their skills, improve them, and defeat opponents of comparable skill. His mind was already going into overdrive with possible songs and costumes.

Garfield whistled " Wow, you really think were ready for this? " they'd been focusing on fighting and staying alive, it was shocking that they were also students, in a show choir.

Nate nodded " You are, believe me. You can do this "

Victoria raised her hand " Will we be the only mutants....uh non humans at this? " that was usually the way the cheerleading competitions went, their were a lot of strict rules in place, mainly to prevent cheating and things of that nature.

" Possibly, Genosha is the main hub for mutants, but others are living out in the world. It wouldnt be surprising if we ran into others as well. That being said the rules for mutants in these are no using powers of any kind. No attempting to attack or sabotage, but that one obviously goes for everyone. They'll have plenty of stage equipment for the flashier performances "

Katy blushed a bit at Riku's comment "Well, who hasn't tried a Kamehameha before, right?"

After the girls performance Nate came out with some news.    Tesla was quite excited over this news for similar reasons to Emmet, a stage to show off and crush her opponents.    Though she also thought her mother would be pleased Tesla had made it this far.    There was a bit of pride and legacy there that push Tesla to be no less then perfect on a stage like this.     Between herself, Lillia and Emmet, there was absolutely no way a True Note wasn't winning this thing.    The rules Nate explained was obvious enough not that Tesla intended to break them anyway.     She was fully confident in her talent alone.

"Wow so we get to go to LA?" Sandra said, a little surprised.    She never thought she'd get to perform in L.A of all places, or at least not in such a short amount of time.    They don't even have a year of practice under their belts and already competitions in Los Angeles?     It feels like it was all happening so fast.

Cassandra was quite curious, like so much else she knew of, but never actually experienced L.A before.    She wondered what it was like.

-----

Kiya took the reigns on the conversation "It seems like the spirit can't physically interact with the world, so it uses scare tactics and illusions to cause people to take their own lives, mainly though suicide. It has a fondness of haunting a abandoned railway, it creates a illusion a train is coming causing scared people to jump from a high bridge in a desperate plead to survive. The spirits presence does seem to interfere with electricity. It forced me to have to reboot, and it left Scott's car dead as well when it passed by."

" Alright then, moving on we have a new member auditioning, you ready Dave? " Nate asked

Dave nodded, he was a little nervous, but this was probably the simplest situation he'd been in for the last few months " Yeah I have my song picked out "

Garfield kissed him on the cheek and wished him luck, Dave blushed and stood up, catching Emmets eye for a moment, the other boy gave him a dazzling smile, making Dave feel a little light headed. He teleported onto the stage and took a breath.

" Hey everyone, im gonna perform " Date rape " by Sublime, one of my favorite bands " he inputed his song choice in the machine and the music started playing.

Dave:
Let me tell you about a girl I know
Had a drink about a hour ago
Sitting in a corner by herself, in a bar in downtown hell
She heard a noise and she looked through the door
And saw a man she'd never seen before
Light skin, light blue eyes, a double-chin and a plastic smile
Well, her heart raced as he walked in the door
And took an empty seat next to her at the bar
"My brand new car is parked right outside
How'd ya like to go for a ride?"
And she said "Wait a minute I have to think"
He said, "That's fine. May I please buy you a drink"
One drink turned into three or four and they left and got into his car
And they drove away someplace real far
Now babe the time has come
How'd ya like to have a little fun?
And she said "if we could only please be on our way, I will not run"
That's when things got out of control
She didn't want to, he had his way
She said, "let's go"
He said, "no way!"
Come on babe it's your lucky day
Shut your mouth, we're gonna do it my way
Come on baby don't be afraid
If it wasn't for date rape I'd never get laid

During the break in the song, Dave did some light choreography he'd prepared.

He finished up and he started the car
He turned around and drove back to the bar
He said "now baby don't be sad, in my opinion you weren't half-bad"
She picked up a rock, threw it at the car, hit him in the head, now he's got a big scar
Come on party people won't you listen to me
Date rape stylee
The next day she went to her drawer, look up her local attorney at law
Went to the phone and filed the police report and then she took the guy's ass to court
Well, the day he stood in front of the judge he screamed, "she lies that little slut!"
The judge knew that he was full of shit and he gave him twenty five years
And now his eyes are filled wit tears
One night in jail it was getting late
He was butt-raped by a large inmate, and he screamed
But the guards paid no attention to his cries
That's when things got out of control
The moral of the date rape story, it does not pay to be drunk and horny
But that's the way it had to be
They locked him up and threw away the key
Well, I can't take pity on men of his kind
Even though he now takes it in the behind
But that's the way it had to be
They locked him up and threw away the key
Well, I can't take pity on men of his kind
Even though he now takes it in the behind
Date rape!
She didn't want to, she didn't want to, she didn't want to, she didn't want to
Take it!


Dave started off a little shaky, but it wasnt long till he was getting into the performance and belting the lyrics out. He finished and took a bow, the group giving him a round of applause, Emmet, Garfield, Sandra, and Riku giving him a standing ovation.

" Welcome to the True Notes Dave, a bit of a Sublime fan myself " Nate congragulated Dave, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

Emmet and Garfield pulled Dave into a tight hug and congragulated him.

" Excellent work dawling, I look forward to getting to perform with you " Emmet told him excitedly

" Me too bro, you did so good " Garfield added.

Dave smiled bashfully, not used to getting praised for singing " Um yeah sure guys, thank you "

Sandra came over to the group "You did great for your first time Dave. Don't worry, you'll only get better with practice." She gave her friend a hug and a pat on the back.

-----

Somewhere far away from Genosha, in a part of the world where it's still night. We look in what seems like a cultist colony, lite by wooden touches and campfire what should be green grass is stained red with blood, all around the area is what remains of corpses, mainly bits and a scatter limb or head but no complete bodies. A bloody trail lead to a shine, a temple type of building. Inside was lite with torches lining the hallways. Blood drenched the floor and painted the walls as more remains was seen scattered around. From the distance came the whimper of a mans cry's. Panning down the hall and into room we seen a scared man laying on the floor with his upper body prepped up by the wall he was using for support. Over near a bookshelves was a woman angrily looking at books and throwing them on the floor.

The woman turns revealing her face to be Nina, Nina had disappeared from Genosha over a month ago after getting exiled from the Fear Factor. She walks over and squats down by the man. "These books, I've already seen all of them before." She grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him as she stood and proceeded to life him clear of his feet, dangling him by his neck and choking him. "I need more then your false mythology. Tell me where to find the information I seek." There was a long pause as the cult member, the last one considered his options. He realized no matter what that he was going to die here, least he could was set this damn vampire on a suicide mission. Struggling he managed to utter a single word "Lycans"

Nina dropped the man letting him breath "speak". The man explained that there was a Lycan camp about 10 miles Northwest, they sometimes traded supplies as they had a mutually beneficial working arrangement. The man said they knew more about the supernatural then humans, if anywhere had the answers Nina wanted, it would be their archives. Nina stomped on the mans head crushing it, it was time she visited a wolf camp.

Once everyone was back in their seats, Nate went on with the lesson for the first half of the lesson. As he put his papers away he turned back to the class " Alright then, theme for the day is Christmas stuff, yes yes I know its still a ways off, but lets still have fun with it "

Garfield was the first to volunteer " Cool, I know the perfect song to kick this off! " he hopped onto the stage and started picking his song.

" Why do I get the very strong feeling I know what song he's picking " Tanesha said to Riku

The demon shrugged " Probably because it's painfully obvious

As the music started playing, Riku and Tanesha rolled their eyes, but in a friendly way as they both loved the song too.

Garfield:
I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you, yeah


I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need (And I)
Don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I don't need to hang my stocking
There upon the fireplace (Ah)
Santa Claus won't make me happy
With a toy on Christmas Day


I just want you for my own (Ooh)
More than you could ever know (Ooh)
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you
You, baby


Oh, I won't ask for much this Christmas
I won't even wish for snow (And I)
I'm just gonna keep on waiting
Underneath the mistletoe
I won't make a list and send it
To the North Pole for Saint Nick (Ah)
I won't even stay awake to
Hear those magic reindeer click


'Cause I just want you here tonight (Ooh)
Holding on to me so tight (Ooh)
What more can I do?
Oh baby, all I want for Christmas is you
You, baby


Oh, all the lights are shining
So brightly everywhere (So brightly, baby)
And the sound of children's
Laughter fills the air (Oh, oh yeah)
And everyone is singing (Oh yeah)
I hear those sleigh bells ringing (Oh)
Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need? (Yeah, oh, oh)
Won't you please bring my baby to me?


Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas
This is all I'm asking for (Ah)
I just wanna see my baby
Standing right outside my door


Oh, I just want you for my own (Ooh)
More than you could ever know (Ooh)
Make my wish come true
Oh baby, all I want for Christmas is you


You, baby
All I want for Christmas is you, baby (You)
All I want for Christmas is you, baby (Ah, oh, ah, oh)
All I want for Christmas is you, baby (You)
All I want for Christmas is you, baby (All I really want, baby, ooh)
All I want for Christmas is you, baby (All I want, all I really want is you)


Garfield belted out the lyrics to the song happily, showing that he reallly enjoyed the song, adding in a lot of acrobatic moves and ending in a split. The group applauded his performance as he returned to his seat.

" Boy that is one of the most basic christmas songs but damn if it aint still a bop! " Tanesha told Garfield

He agreed " Yeah, but its one of my moms favorite songs, every year on december first " he laughed.

Katy decided to go next, so the theme was Christmas. She seemed to be pondering her choice even up on stage. "Alright I thought about it, I'm not going to go main steam. I heard some Islanders songs on Youtube so I'm going to try my had at one by the Irish Descendants." The music started and Katy began.



It was a nice relatable song, most would probably want to visit home for the holidays if they could. Plus Katy wanted to pick out one of the more sensible songs she'd heard.

Lone Wolf and Scott finally dragged their friends to the practice field. Since they were beginners, Scott let Lone Wolf take the lead. He started them off with a basic Japanese Karate stance, making sure that it was good and solid on each of them before they started punches. When the punches began, Lone Wolf specialized it. Marcus was encouraged to pair that with a telekinetic blast, Lithuel with a gout of fire or purifying light, and Eric with a gust of wind. With endless possibilities before them, the students were finally starting to get excited.

After a couple hours, Lone Wolf spied a strange building that he had never noticed before. It looked like a dojo, but he was too far away to tell.
"Hey, guys. Let's go check out that building."
Eric, Marcus, and Lithuel were exhausted, but grudgingly agreed to go. The five headed for the building, curious to learn if it was a dojo as Lone Wolf suspected.

---

Chiang listened patiently as Kiya explained her dealings with the ghost.
"Hmm, hard to tell from that if the spirit is a wraith or simply a lost soul. Either way, you will need to research that railway and see if there were ever any major accidents on that stretch of track. If many people died in a horrible accident, some may be unable to pass on and could manifest as the last thing they remember. They might possibly be angry about their untimely demise and may be seeking revenge on the living."
Chiang took a sip of his tea before setting it down.

"Before we can exorcise this spirit, we must determine if it is a lost soul or a wraith. There is a separate procedure for each one, and we want to get it right. We must also act quickly, lest more lives be lost."
"Kiya is an expert with computers, so it shouldn't take us too long to research."
Chiang handed Scott a box that looked like a walkie-talkie.
"What is this?"

"It is a Spirit Box that will allow you to communicate with this spirit. It has a built-in databank of letters that will allow words to come through. This will allow you to pick out individual spirits."
Scott stood up and headed back to the SUV with Kiya.
"Thank you, Master Chiang. We'll get started immediately."

Before long Scott and Kiya was on their way once again taking a portal back to Earth 1.     As they drove Kiya posed the question of how Scott wanted to handle this.     This spirit did seem to have effect of electronics but did not seem capable of a physical attack.     She suggested maybe Scott use this voice box from Chiang to try to communicate with this spirit.     Logically one would think if Kiya went she'd only short out again anyway as the spirit got near.    Kiya suggested that as Scott tackles that job, that Kiya herself would take a deep dive into the web to see what information comes up.

-----

As the boys made their way and entered into the building, they seen a large area with two instructors currently present.    One was a tall (they guessed around 6'2) somewhat slender but well built red haired man with unique black blade.    The other was a somewhat shorter women, must have just barely topped 5ft at most.    Despite her size Wolf and Scott could tell the girl was somebody who'd trained most of her life.    Something would strike Scott as familiar about this girl, like he'd seen her around somewhere before.

The two instructors in question was Juliet and Tenshi. Over the past month the two had seen a upgrade, moving out of the gym the older Scott had seen into their own building with a much bigger space and more students.

The group applauded Katy's performance, many deciding what songs to perform. Tanesha decided to do a song with Victoria and Cassandra.

Tanesha, Victoria, and Cassandra:
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen
But do you recall?
The most famous reindeer of all?

Tanesha:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names;
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Tanesha, Victoria, and Cassandra:
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Cassandra:
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history

Victoria:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph we love you boy
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Bringing us Christmas joy

Tanesha, Victoria, Cassandra:
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Cassandra:
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history

Tanesha:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph we love you boy
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Spreading the Christmas joy

Victoria:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph we love you boy
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Bringing us Christmas joy

Tanesha, Victoria, Cassandra:
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen
But don't forget Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer


The girls performance got everyone moving in their seats and enjoying the performance.

Cassandra quite enjoyed the song, it put you in a good mood and the applause to follow always made her feel so accepted. She shared a hug with Tanesha who'd kinda become a big sister to her since she arrived, ten took a bow with both Tanesha and Victoria. They left the stage and rejoined Sandra who's now been joined by Katy. "Amazing performance girls!" Sandra exclaimed, sharing a quick kiss with Tanesha, and a hug with Cassandra and Victoria. "I agree, the 3 of you are very good" Katy added.

Tesla took the stage next deciding on a Christmas classic for her song.

Tesla:
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad

I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart

I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad
A-ha!

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad

I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart

I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad

I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart

I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas
I want to wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad

Following Tesla's performance and the applause, Riku dragged Garfield and Dave onto the stage with him " Ok its time for the baddest bitch in the room, ok second, to perform along with my backup/students "

Dave rolled his eyes, but was ready, he felt like he had a lot of catching up to do in terms of musical performances " What did you have in mind "

Riku grinned " Well basic christmas songs are fine and whatever, but theres one musical that not only covers christmas, but another holiday as well "

Garfield thought for a moment then broke into a smile " Dude, I love that "

" Good to hear that half and half, cause now were gonna kidnap Sandy Klaws! " Riku declared and conjured up three mask for them as the music started.

Riku, Dave, Garfield:
Kidnap Mr. Sandy Claws...

Dave:
I wanna do it!

Garfield:
Let's draw straws!

Riku:
Jack said we should work together

Garfield:
Three of a kind

Dave:
Birds of a feather

Riku, Dave, and Garfield:
Now and forever
Wheeee
La, la, la, la, la

Kidnap the Sandy Claws, lock him up real tight
Throw away the key and then
Turn off all the lights

Riku:
First, we're going to set some bait
Inside a nasty trap and wait
When he comes a-sniffing we will
Snap the trap and close the gate

Dave:
Wait! I've got a better plan
To catch this big red lobster man
Let's pop him in a boiling pot
And when he's done we'll butter him up

Riku, Dave, and Garfield:
Kidnap the Sandy Claws
Throw him in a box
Bury him for ninety years
Then see if he talks

Riku:
Then Mr. Oogie Boogie man
Can take the whole thing over then

Riku, Dave, and Garfield:
He'll be so pleased, I do declare
That he will cook him rare


Garfield:
I say that we take a cannon
Aim it at his door and then
Knock three times and when he answers
Sandy Claws will be no more

Riku:
You're so stupid, think now
If we blow him up into smithereens
We may lose some pieces
And then Jack will beat us black and green

Riku, Dave, and Garfield:
Kidnap the Sandy Claws
Tie him in a bag
Throw him in the ocean
Then see if he is sad

Riku and Dave:
Because Mr. Oogie Boogie is the meanest guy around
If I were on his Boogie list, I'd get out of town

Garfield:
He'll be so pleased by our success
That he'll reward us too, I'll bet

Riku, Dave, and Garfield:
Perhaps he'll make his special brew
Of snake and spider stew
Mmmmmm!

We're his little henchmen
And we take our job with pride
We do our best to please him
And stay on his good side

Riku:
I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb

Garfield:
I'm not the dumb one

Dave:
You're no fun

Riku:
Shut up!

Dave:
Make me

Riku:
I've got something, listen up
This one is real good, you'll see
We'll send a present to his door
Upon there'll be a note to read
Now, in the box we'll wait and hide
Until his curiousity...

Riku, Dave, and Garfield:
Entices him to look inside
And then we'll have him
One, two, three


Kidnap the Sandy Claws, beat him with a stick
Lock him up for ninety years, see what makes him tick

Kidnap the Sandy Claws, chop him into bits
Mr. Oogie Boogie is sure to get his kicks
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, see what we will see
Lock him in a cage and then throw away the key!!!
Ha,ha,ha,ha!



The three put on an excellent performance with a touch of comedy and magical effects courtesy of Riku, taking a bow together as they were applauded.

As the applause started to fade Katy spoke up "you know Sandra, that song easily double as jab towards you." Sandra laughed, technically Katy wasn't wrong. The directors of the Nightmare Before Christmas did by chance come up with a fun little song that fit Sandra's struggles pretty well. She replied "You'd have to change the Mr to Ms though." As a spot opened up for the next performance Katy would suggest Sandra and Cass do a song together, Sandra liked the idea as she'd worked with her twin a number of times before and it always went well, Cass was picking up the art of music quite nicely. Cass was exited as well always open to teaming up with one of her best friends.

Sandra and Cass too the stage next. "Alright, we're going to skip a week forward and a song about New Years. Christmas and New Years have become basically one in the same anyway. So we think it still fits the theme well enough." The girls then started their performance.

No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It's the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now's the time for us to say...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I

Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he'll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he's astray
Keeps on going anyway...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I

Seems to me now
That the dreams we had before
Are all dead, nothing more
Than confetti on the floor
It's the end of a decade
In another ten years time
Who can say what we'll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of eighty-nine...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I

As Scott and friends got closer to the building, Lone Wolf's idea that it was a dojo turned out to be correct.
"Leave it to Lone Wolf to be able to spot a dojo anywhere," Lithuel said.
The rest of the guys chuckled. As they got closer to the dojo, they could see that there was a man and woman practicing with swords.
"That girl looks like Sandra, right?" he said.
The rest of the guys agreed.

However, to martial artists like Scott and Lone Wolf, there were obvious differences. The young woman was shorter than Sandra by a few inches, but she had been training her whole life in martial arts.
"The girl has had over a decade of heavy swordsmanship training. Her balance and technique are precise, her lower legs and knees sizeably conditioned. Her master was a fine swordsman on par with All-Fist."

Scott nodded.
"They're mutants, too. Valor is detecting heavy mutation in their spirit. Their powers are tied to their martial arts, further amplifying them."
Eric smiled and shook his head. Nothing got past the extraordinarily trained senses of these two.

Lone Wolf made a motion for Scott and others to stop. As the representative of the All-Fist Dojo, it was a matter of honor that proper dojo etiquette be practiced here. Stepping forward, he placed his hands at his side and bowed deeply with his head down.
"Greetings. I am Lone Wolf, the representative and future Grandmaster of the All-Fist Dojo. My students and I humbly seek permission to enter your dojo."

Scott made a motion for the other guys to bow, and he did so, as well. While Alan's All-Fist was far less formal than Lone Wolf's main branch, it was still the right thing to do.
"I am Scott Young, a future Master of All-Fist assisting as a Senpai to Senior Master Lone Wolf. I and our three friends, beginners in the martial arts, humbly seek permission to enter your dojo."
While Eric and Marcus stayed respectful, it was all Lithuel could do not to laugh. Such pomp and ceremony wasn't practiced in Hell where he grew up, and it took every bit of restraint and respect for his friends to keep him quiet.

---

Scott nodded.
"The ghost train only appears at night, so let's go to the library and do our research. I would like to know as much as possible before we tackle this thing."
Scott pulled up to the library and they went in. They found a computer and he let Kiya take the seat as he pulled up another one.
"Alright, Kiya, work your magic."

Juliet and Tenshi was getting in a brief practice while the students inside was going over some basic train routines. When the four boys approached both Juliet and Tenshi returned the same greeting. Both recognized Scott but the others was new. Juliet spoke up Welcome guests, I am Juliet Velaraah and this is Tenshi Homarru. The master is out right now, but we'd be honored to show you around." These men all seemed capable, Juliet wondered if they was all on Scott's level. All where respectful, though one seemed not to be serious. If Scott trusted him though, Juliet would allow a pass.

Leading the two inside they came into a large practice area separated into two halves. One half of the future warriors was practicing synchronized strikes, the other half was training with synchronized kitana slashes. As the two showed the group around Juliet spoke up to Scott. "It's good to see you back again so soon Scott, I was expecting you to be gone longer this. How are things over in your world these days?"

-----

Kiya took a deep dive into the web. Before long Kiya had found the likely cause. "Many years ago the bridge was shut down due to structural issues. It could handle a person walking it without issue however the 100+ tons of a train was a different matter. Somehow one faithful nice a train got connected to the wrong set of tracks, supposed a short somewhere in a faulty track switch. The switch was supposed to stay connected to the left putting trains on a set of tracks going around the mountain. But whatever had happened, the switch had shifted to the right, taking the train though the mountain. As the train passed over the bridge it did not give way, but the tracks did buckle due the bridge structural issues. It seems part of the track snapped sending the train off the rails and plunging into the valley below. Partly coaches and partly cargo, 77 people died that day. No survivors. After this incident haunting started happening, they say the conductor still rides the rails to this day.

To fix this this the town removed the track switch, putting in a section of solid curved track so no train could ever turn the wrong way again. The old tracks was just abandoned and left to grow over with moss and shrubs. It wasn't worth the expense to the two to dig up and remove the entire section of railway."

Once Sandra and Cassandra left the stage, Tanesha stood up and called Riku, Adrian and Tyrone to the stage with her, Riku shot Garfield a look, which made the boy stare at the ground. Tanesha explained which song she wanted them to do, Riku gave his customary grumbling on things involving heaven and angels, but others was on board too. Adrain felt vague memories associated with the song, but pushed them down.

" Alright ya'll, were gonna bring some soul to the stage with " Let it snow " by Boys 2 men and Brian Mcnight "

Tanesha, Riku, Tyrone, and Adrian:
Let it snow, let it snow
Let it snow, let it snow

Tyrone:
Hey, it's another Christmas Holiday
It's a joyous thing let the angels sing
Cause we're together

Tanesha
We got a thing here, can't let it slip away
Though outside is rain and sleet
When our bodies meet...
I don't care 'bout the weather

Tanesha, Riku, Tyrone, and Adrian;
Let it snow, let it snow
Outside it's cold but the fire's blazin'
So baby let it snow
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Adrian:
Ohhhhhh, come over here and help me trim the tree
I wanna wrap you up baby
Then you'll see you're the only present I need
There's so much more
Waiting for you in store

Riku:
From this precious day
I can gladly say
There's no place that I'd rather be
And ohhhhhh, you are my everything, come a little closer

Tanesha, Riku, Tyrone, and Adrian:
God must have sent you down from heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaven


Let it snow, let it snow
Outside it's cold but the fire's blazin'
So baby let it snow
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Let it snow, let it snow
Let it snow, let it snow
I don't care 'bout the weather baby
As long as you're here with me


The four of them put on an excellent performance, their combined voices complimenting the song perfectly, even the parts where Riku and Tanesha heavy with the riffs and kept trying to out sing the other, which added to the performance pleasantly.

The team had a merry old time as they continued to sing and dance to Christmas tunes until the class came to a end. It was now time for a new set of classes, many had pretty mundane studies to look forward to however for a few things wasn't toning down quite yet. As the class thinned out and everybody said their farewells Sandra, Tanesha, Victoria, Garfield and Emmet gathered together in a circle. "Well I hope you guys didn't tire yourselves out dancing, because we from choir practice straight into cheerleading practice."

Sandra was rather excited, she'd taken to cheerleading rather well much to a certain somebodies dismay, who still tried to claim she sucked and slept her way into the team. It was alright, Sandra rather enjoyed putting that bitch in her place and shutting her up. It was kinda becoming one of the highlights outside cheerleading itself.

Harmonia had successfully infiltrated the school, she wasnt sure if her it was purely her skills or the schools security just sucked. Either way she was disquised as an old grey haired librarian. Given the information she'd received, she knew that the true notes had choir first thing in the morning. She passed by the classroom a few times, questioning why they were singing christmas songs this time of year and noting that they had some real talent.

As the class ended, she made her move, Emmet Jone, Sandra Fuller, Victoria Duval, Tanesha Mack, and Garfield Parker all had a free period for cheer practice, wasnt that kind of thing usually at the end of school? Electing to not question this scools scheduling practices, she decided to make her move.

She spied Tesla Nova, Katy Karma, Dave Hudson, and Cassandra Goodman walking down the crowded hallway towards their classes, Kano joined them shortly after. She'd start their, with a thought, she let her power activate.

Dave was reached into his backpack and handed Tesla his notes for math class, he was fairly good at it so a lot of people always asked to see his notes, of course most of them didnt bother to give them back. Suddenly there was bunch of noise in the hallway, behind them two students were felling at each other. Soon it escalated to shoving, not helping that one of the teens had super strength while the other was a pyrokinetic who hurled a fireball as he was shoved into a hall.

Soon their was more yelling and fighting broke out, the hallway dissolving into chaos. Dave teleported out of the way of a spray of acid " What the fuck is going on?! " he yelled, this wasnt natural, something or someone was causing it, a telepath?

Kano was attempting to defend himself and break up several fights at the same time, Dave gritted his teeth, he could feel his anger rising and rising " Enough asshole! " he teleported out of the way another spray of acid and smacked the guy with his heaviest text book. The anger soon reached Tesla, Katy, and Cassandra who had been defending themselves as well.

Harmonia watched amused, rage was one of the biggest motivators of war afterall, she noticed that Kano seemed to be resisting her power somewhat, what had Luthor said about the guy being an Asgardian? She snorted, it wasnt like she hadnt seen people seemingly immune to her power, for a time, but rage consumed all.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Riku licked his lips as he zipped Kaisers pants up " Feel better? "

Kaiser nodded and sat back as Riku joined him on the boulder, they were currently sitting in one of the " safer " spots in hell, Kaiser looked up at the stormy red sky and felt calmer, no in small part due to Riku's skillful mouth. He'd had Riku bring him down here on a number of occasions for training purposes, normal people couldnt survive in hell for very long, but he was far from normal, thanks to his mother. " .....Jonathan "

Riku " Yeah, the emotions I felt from him only come up when he's around wolfie, curious that there coming up now, given all the time thats passed, I guess you could say its a good thing "

" I dont know, Jonathan was captured on that day " a pained expression crossed the assassins face, Riku knew he didnt like thinking about what happened on the day that Emmet was captured by the hellfire club. Riku patted his shoulder

" Dude, it wasnt your fault, you know that. Also I think we can assume that old Johnnies alive, if they'd killed him then Emmet would have blown up the earth, their connection is too deep, even for that bum bitch to suppress "

Kaiser could agree with that, his mother and Jonathan had a deep love for one another that transcended all, the only other thing comparabale was Emmets love for his children. He didnt remember them, but the way he treated Kaiser and Willian was big indicator that the emotions were still there " What am I doing........Mother should have been freed of that fucking groups hold by now, but still he's suffering " Kaiser dug his hands into the rock, his body shaking in anger.

" Given who were facing, it cant be helped, he's basically my mother too, so believe me when I tell you that I feel the same way as you do, I just cant emote it the same way. But when its all said and done, were going to win, just have to be patient and make our moves carefully, as Em always told us, i've finally decided to listen to him " Riku told him as he checked his phone for updates on his social media " Dont fall out of the emotionless asian warrior trope now, you've got competition for it now "

Kaiser rolled his eyes, but relaxed " Your right, as you usually and annoyingly are. But I want to find Jonathan, i've been trying but none of my contacts can find anything "

Riku smirked " Guess it's a good thing I have better contacts then, cause I've been searching as well, sorry I didnt tell you, but I didnt wanna bring anything up that might give false hope, in someone I actually like. I cant say i'm super close, but I think i'm getting there, i'll keep you posted. For now we just keep up this happy school life crap, thankfully the mages association is giving my team more jobs, not to keen on handing out praise for me, but I dont really care, their frustrastion is all I need "

He looked up as something something came towards them from the horizon, it appeared to be a large, grey skinned preying mantis with the head of an eyeless man. Riku sharped his nails into claws, but Kaiser held out his arm to block him " I need to blow off some steam "

Riku nodded and watched as Kaiser vanished and reapeard above the demon. A few minutes later nothing was left but a few smoldering heaps of flesh. Kaiser took a few breaths and flipped the kill switch in his mind off, he looked back at Riku who was starring at him with a hungry expression " After I fuck your brains out, can you drop me off at the dojo? "

" Yeah, now back to that fucking my brains out part "

---------------------------------------------------

A void opened in the dojo and Kaiser walked out, having stopped to take a shower in his room first, told Riku he'd see him later. Kaiser made his way to one of the rooms that Shigure used for more advanced students, knowing that the master of the dojo was out, so no one should be using it. He took one of the wooden swords down from the wall and began practicing.

Everything happened so fast, at first there was confusion that lead into self defense but now Tesla was just getting pissed over "GET THE HELL BACK!" before punching one student square in the face knocking him out cold. Another student tried to swing at her from behind but Tesla took on her diamond skin, the guys first hit Tesla full force causing him to recoil while screaming in agony, having probably broken his own hand against Tesla's body. Tesla glared over to him. She walked over to the students grabbing his broken fist in her hand. As he screamed he fell to his knee's but instead of begging to let go he instead remained defiant. "Is that all you got... you... blonde... BIMBO!!" Angered even more by this Tesla kneed the guy in the jaw, both breaking it and knocking him out. She looked back towards the crowd of fighting students "Who else wants a piece of me, huh?"

Katy training was put into good use as she was fending off attacks from all sides. There wasn't any time for chokes so she was just going for knock outs. Katy didn't know what these people's problems where but they picked the wrong damn girl to mess with.

Cassandra was putting her newly harnessed telepathic powers to the test, influencing students to turn on each other instead of attacking her.


While all this was going on Sandra, Tani, Victoria, Garfield and Emmet where just reaching the gym. Walking inside they had to first hit up their respective changing rooms. The girls hit up the ladies lockers while Garfield and Emmet went to the men's. While changing Sandra posed the question "so Vicky what routines are we trying out today?"

The scene in the hallway was chaos and the teachers that had initially arrived on the scene. Kano felt a haze clouding his mind, a strng rush of anger. But it wasnt enough to completely cloud his senses, unlike what was happening with everyone. Was it because of his asgardian blood? Little else made sense. He made his way through the yelling and fighting crowd and grabbed Dave to stop him from bludgeoning a man to death.

" Friend Dave, something is wrong, you must help me stop this ceasless battle! "

Dave glared at Kano " Dude, fucking talk normally!! "

Dave gestured angrily and Kano found himself blasted backwards by a burst of magical energy. He easily landed on his feet. but Dave was gone and another blast struck his back. Gritting his teeth, he focused on controlling his breathing, his father had taught him the technique to help him keep a cooler head in times of duress.

----------------------------------------------------------------

" I was thinking we could practice routines 1, 5, 8, maybe 12 too. The football team is playing next friday so getting that big pyramid off would be an excellent finisher move " Victoria explained.

During all the chaos Tesla and Cassandra spotted each other. "You" Tesla said with hatred in her voice. "Cease her!" Cassandra commanded sending a number of rioters at Tesla. Tesla plowed though them with little assistance to Cass annoyance. Cass focused as Tesla started her approach and suddenly a water blast hit Tesla in the back jolting her forward though she managed to recover her balance still being in diamond form. She turned behind her to see Katy who'd gone in hard on power training over the past month, learning water blasts as well as ice projectiles. She turned back to see Cass grinning and it was obvious Cass was using her mental powers to cox Katy to her side. "I knew you was a treacherous bitch." The three would engage in battle, though Tesla would find herself mainly trying to fend off Katy. Cass was playing her strengths, staying out of battle herself much as possible and having others do the leg work for her. It was fine though, Tesla had a score to settle with this cunt as well. Then Cass was all hers.

-----

"Heck yea girl, I'm down for that" Sandra replied. The pyramid would be amazing to pull off in front of a crowd.

Harmonia was considering if she should kick it up a notch, a side effect of her power was an addictive quality, sometimes it was difficult for her to stop. But suddenly she snapped out of it as she sensed something big coming. You didnt live in the world of mercenaries and assassins for years without gaining a sixth sense for trouble.

Ashe suddenly appeared in the hallway and everything came to a stand still as an enourmas amount of power rocked through the hallway, knocking everyone off their feet and coating them in a thin layer of frost. Harmonia took off immediately, moving at great speed through the halls. Harmonia had had her arms and legs replaced with cyberntic appendages, along with a few extra goodies, time to get to the next location.

Kano was the first on his feet, startled by the power that professor Ashe had just exhibited. Whatever or whoever had been causing the rage in people appeared to have been scared off.

" Someone explain what was going on " Ashe asked, his voice its usual monotone.

----------------------------------

Soon the cheer squad was gathered in the main gym, Emmet and Tanesha standing on either side of Victoria as she gave out instructions, starting with their pre practice stretches, they were going to do a few minor excersises then go for the pyramid.

After Ashe made his appearance Cassandra seemed to come to her senses, realizing she was forcefully controlling multiple students including Katy she panicked and quickly let them all free. So that's what anger felt like? It was quite a scary feeling. She'd been afraid and concerned, but anger was new to her. It was strange though, what had caused such a feeling to swell up like it did?

Katy and the other few students controlled by Cassandra seemed to somewhat come out of a daze more then the others. Katy remembers being angry, fighting with students, but her memories since the point Cass took over where a lot more spotty. "Aw jeez, what the hell just happened?" Katy along with a few others seemed to have a bit of a mild migraine, likely a side effect of Cass having a lot less training then Emmet and Sandra with her telepathic powers, so probably still wasn't quite perfect with them yet.

Tesla reverted back to her normal form, being one of the first after Kano to stand she recalled the students she fought with. "Mr. Ashe you should probably get the medics, we have injuries." One person Tesla remembers leaving in pretty bad condition, but no doubt others may have been hurt during this. She glared at Cassandra, her first thought being the science experiment was starting to show it's true colors and caused this riot. Cass telepathy happened to pick up on these thoughts probably because they was strong thoughts directed at her. "Hey I didn't cause this" Tesla pushed though whoever was in her way believing Cassandra was lying and walked up to confront the girl. "Don't give me that you lying bitch of a lab rat, who else would be capable of making a bunch of people go mad?" Cass was recoiling back a bit afraid "B-b-but even if I wanted to, I'm not capable of manipulating this many people, maybe a few, 3 or 4 possible, but not this whole crowd. I don't have that much power, please, I'm telling the truth."

Tesla grabbed Cass shirt, Cass turned away and closed her eyes not wanted to watch the attack she expected to come, but didn't. Slowly peaking her eyes open to look Cass had seen that Tesla had indeed intended to punch her, but Katy caught the other girls fist in her palm. Katy spoke up "Enough Tesla, Cassandra didn't do this. So if I was you, I'd back off." The two girls exchanged a serious steer down between them. Tesla yanked her fist back and let of Cassandra although not without giving the girl a shove so she feel to the ground. "Fine have it your way, continue to be this things little mind raped white night. But I'm warning you, she's going to strike sooner or later. Don't come crying to me when your stupid ass doesn't figure that out until it's to late." Tesla turned around and walked away from Cass and Katy.

Katy knelled down to see if Cass was alright, thankfully the girl didn't seem to suffer any harm from her fall.

-----

Sandra was excited for this as the group went through their stretches. Outside Glee Club this was probably the most fun thing she looked forward to.

Dave rubbed his head, the anger haze faded away and he could see clearly now. What the hell had happened?

Kano was explaining to Ashe what had happened " Professor Ashe, we were all making our way to our next class of learning when an intense burst of anger seemed to possess everyone, I felt it's effects but as strong as everyone else. I was unable to dissern it's source unfornuate

Ashe listened as Kano spoke, it was the work of a mutant but he wasnt able to tell who or he wasnt allowed too. He mentally contacted Doctor Spayde and told him to expect a large group coming to the medic bay. He raised a hand and everyone was teleported, much to Williams annoyance, to the medic bay.

Dave walked over Katy and Cassandra, he'd caught Tesla's actions before she'd left " Hey, you guys ok "

---------------------------------------------

Harmonia leaped onto the side of a building crawling up the side like a lizard, she reached the top and threw herself onto the roof, she checked the time and saw she was right on time. She pulled out the long box she'd hid their awhile ago and retrieved the high grade sniper rifle from it. She quickly got into position and peeped through the scope into the gym. She chuckled " A fucking pyramid? Well aint that conveniant "

Meanwhile in the gym, the squad had finished their first excersizes and were now attempting a pyramid. Not the usual kind, but more of a double sided pyramid, with Garfield being at the bottom, seeing as he was strong and sturdy enough for it. Meanwhile the others started to get into position. It took awhile, but thankfully Victoria had been working them hard on the positioning.

Soon the group had it formed with Victoria at the top, Emmet and Tanesha helping to support her, Sandra positioned a little ways below them. Now they just needed to maintain the position for a full minute.

" Not bad " Harmonia commented and trained her sights on Victoria " I always hated bitches like that in school, just supposed to test them out, buuut accidents do happen after all " after a breath, she pulled the trigger.

Garfields spider senses suddenly went crazy, the last month Riku had "trained " him in it's use, increasing his range and adding magical detection as well " EVERYONE DUCK!! " he screamed and shifted around, causing the pyramid to break apart. Victoria yelped, but had no time to be angry with Garfield as something blew through her hair. Emmet quickly flew down, grab multiple squad members that couldnt make the fall themselves. Victoria doing the same.

Harmonia frowned, mostly at missing the chance to shoot a cheerleader captain, well it seemed like the spider brat really did take after daddy. Guess that meant it was back to testing, but now she didnt have to be quite as nice about it.

Everyone crowded around Garfield, once they realized that he had tried to warn everyone about something, his spider sense went off again and jumped back, some struck the ground and made an impact where he'd just been " It's a fucking sniper! " he yelled

Katy responded to Dave's question. "Hey Dave, yea we're alright. I'm still feeling some side effects from Cass being in my head, but it's nothing a ice pack and laying down for a little while can't solve." Cass lowered her head "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Katy didn't mean to make the girl feel bad "Hey Cass no sweat. Your abilities are still a little rough around the edges, but you've come a long way in only a month. Besides you was affected by that same thing that caused the rest of us to rage, so don't blame yourself."

-----

Everything was going well until Garfield suddenly yelled and shifted causing the pyramid to fall, as it turns out this would save Victoria's life. Garfield would jump back again as a bullet hit the floor where he stood. Garfield exclaimed it was a sniper. "Oh no, don't tell me it's more mercenaries" Sandra said concerned. She could seem to pick up much on much of anything though. She asked Emmet if he felt anything? Emmet admitted he didn't sense anything exactly, though there was a strong feeling of anger from the direction he pointed out to her. It was strange though, Sandra didn't sense anybody in that direction.

Thinking about it the shooter was using a sniper, maybe they was further away? She decided to focus in the direction Emmet pointed out but put more power into it, there had to be somebody suspicious out there somewhere. Before she could find anything something happened, Sandra felt a severe migraine hit her. She dropped down to a knee from the pain and soon felt something wet from her nose. It dripped onto the floor as Sandra raised her hand to her wiping away... blood? Sandra didn't understand, what was going on to hurt her this much?