Heroes Uprising: Alternate Universe (Thread 4)

Kiya stayed linked into the camera she used to find Emmet in the first place. It failed to capture the teleport stuff but otherwise gave Kiya a decent view of what went down. She arrived just as the battle finished and walked up to Emmet and the girls. "Seems like Riku's brutality is starting rub off on the rest of you." She didn't even look at Emmet as she kneeled down between the girls and placed a finger on each collar. It only took seconds for Kiya to figure out the devices and caused both to deactivate and unhook without going off.

She scanned the two women and one of them did have cloths that was compatible enough to fit Kiya. She would let the girl keep her bra and underwear but otherwise Kiya wanted the top, pants and shoes. That'd do for now until she could get herself some proper cloths.

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Juliet's power was in effect the second Dave's barrier broke. At this point the clock was ticking. It was now just a matter of lasting long enough for Juliet to turn the tide of Hannibal. Juliet was primarily a sword fighter but didn't have her weapon on hand, not exactly like you can just casually carry a long blade around school grounds. So she was have to rely on her hand to hand skills instead.

For Katy a bottle of water wasn't much, but it did allow her to shape a dagger. She figured she could also shape water or ice bullets when she needed range.

Katy and Juliet flanked Hannibal as Dave attacked. It was hard to tell if this guys armour had any weakness, but Katy and Juliet both knew the most exposed part of any armour was the joints. After all armour was useless if you couldn't move. So as they came in Juliet went high for a chop to the neck and Katy went low aiming a stab to the back of the knee.

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There wasn't much more to say after Troy got the scoop on Nina's abilities and before much longer both parted ways. Troy was curious though that if Nina was at her weakest the whole time she was serving under him, and seeing she was already one of his stronger fighters even in that state given her speed, power and toughness. Then how strong will she become later now that she's starting to regain additional powers?

He'd sensed an odd disturbance some time ago, followed by an unknown presense appearing and making its way towards him. As it got closer it recognized it as Kiya Skies. Emmet made no move to stop her as she appeared and approached the two girls, already seeing her intention.

" I shall take that as a compliment, though I would say im not quite up to par with Riku's brand of carnage, overall area is still relatively fine " Riku probably would have spawned a lake of blood at some point or something else more to his taste " More to the point it's been quite awhile since last we saw each other, how was your time with Mr. Young? " he was speaking fairly conversationally, especially considering the last time they'd seen each other, Kiya had kidnapped Sandra and handed her over to Darren Sheets.

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Milo was working hard to disturb the bubbles field, managing to delay quite a number of the explosions. Daves attack dispursed the bubbles around Hannaibal as they struck him, whatever the armor was made of, it was durable as their was barely a scratch on him. Hannibal buckled slightly as Katy struck, but shifted out of the way of Juliets attack, twisting around to grab her around the collar of her shirt and hurl her towards Milo.

Milo was just barely able to slow her down enough to catch her, but the moment he did, he felt an odd liquid on her, Hannibal had managed to place some of his odd liquid on Juliets jack when he grabbed her. Juliet ripped the jacket off and threw it, barely a second later it exploded. The room was again filled with a chain of explotions that seemed to grow progressively stronger and throwing up a spoke field.

Dave cast spell to allow him to sense everyone in the room, but Hannibal barreled into him out nowhere, slamming him into a table. Daves scream echoed through the space as he felt his left arm break. Hannibal gripped him tightly, his liquid beginning to coat Daves body.

The way Emmet spoke told her all she needed to know.    He did not ask who she was, and he even knew Scott, a traveller from another dimension.     Weather it be on purpose or just pure dumb luck she got sent here, it seems Kiya was home, so to say.     "Things where going well until a target I quite literally had my sights on opened some kind of interdimentional portal and snapped me back here.

Kiya was quick to strip the one girl and dress herself.     A white tank top, skinny blue jeans and white sneakers wasn't exactly to her taste of clothing but it would have to do for now.    At least these girls thankfully wasn't in uniform.    "And how about your crew of misfits, everybody still alive?"

Kiya assumed things had not suddenly just quieted down after she left with Scott.    She also realised her data on this group and their capabilities was likely to be quite outdated.

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This man wasn't just durable but to hurl her at Milo with that much force, Juliet knew he was strong to.    His liquid seemed not restricted to bobbles either as seen with the incident on her jacket that she and Milo barely escape.

Katy knew they had to do something and a idea came to her.     "Sorry Tani, I'm going to have to steal one of your moves here.     Katy remembered how Tanesha would use liquid poison to make whips so she would do the same, just with water.    Katy would quickly reshape her previous dagger, she had to make the whip thin to stretch out the length but it should still be strong all the same.

Katy spotted Juliet moving into position, the two shared a look and Katy got into position behind Hannibal.    She threw the whip out and managed to wrap it around the big mans thought.    This was Katy's intent as she the main body of the armour seemed to strong to get though.     Pulling back on the water whip to try choke Hannibal Juliet swiftly closed in and threw a punch into Hannibal's face.

Both girls knew Dave was not alright, his scream was clearly one of pain.    But they couldn't focus on that right now.    Until Hannibal was out of the way, there was nothing they could to help him.

" Indeed, though things have been rough lately, in any event this is no place to converse and these women need to get home, lets be on our way "

Before Kiya could ask what he meant, she was gently lifted into the air along with the sleeping women. Emmet covered the woman in only her bra and underwear with mass of cosmic energy that looked vaguely like a blanket, it was getting close to sunrise, but they still had the night sky to enjoy. They moved briskly through the night sky, high enough that they couldnt really be seen by anyone below.

As they moved, Emmet began humming a tune to himself, it wasnt long before it transformed into a fool blown musical number, making Kiya remember how she'd started to think it was strange that no one randomly burst into song in Scotts world.

Emmet:
I can tell it's you by your footsteps in those shoes
Someday I'll find the time to see marigolds bloom
I can tell it's you by your footsteps in those shoes
Someday I'll find the time to see marigolds bloom (Oh!)

Emmet(Sleeping women):
I'm always in the way
Nobody does this gracefully (Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I shouldn't be this afraid
To take time to feel okay (Oh-oh-oh-oh)

Emmet and Kiya:
I can tell it's you by your footsteps in those shoes
Someday I will find the time to see marigolds bloom
I can tell it's you by your footsteps in those shoes
Someday I will find the time to see marigolds bloom (Woo!)
Marigolds bloom (Woo!)
Marigolds bloom

Kiya:
I'll wear makeup in bed
Just to feel significant (Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I'll write every word that was said
And I'll still feel unfinished (Oh-oh-oh-oh)

Emmet and Kiya:
I can tell it's you by your footsteps in those shoes
Someday I will find the time to see marigolds bloom
I can tell it's you by your footsteps in those shoes
Someday I will find the time to see marigolds bloom (Woo!)
Marigolds bloom (Woo!)
Marigolds bloom

I can tell it's you by your footsteps in those shoes
Someday I will find the time to see marigolds bloom



By the time the song was ended, they'd arrived at the womens house, they were roommates, Emmet gently floated them into their beds and tucked them in, then flew off with Kiya back to his place. The landed in the backdoor, Emmet ushering her into the kitchen, turning on the lights. Put on a pot of coffee, and pulled out and assortment of sugars and creamers. His collection had grown given how diverse the true notes taste were.

As he busied himself, he explained everything that had happened since Kiya had left for Scotts dimention. Darren Sheets grandmother trying to continue his work, Riku changing into Sandra to take her place and assaulting the womans base, A younger Scott Young appearing along with four of his friends, them abruply leaving, mercenaries referred to as the four horsemen, the battle on the island, and Emmet's transformation into the dark phoenix, and the fallout to now.

He'd place a mug in front of Kiya and floated over all of the sugars and creamers, he seemed to favor mixing content to get a particular kind of flavor.

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Milo immediately dashed over to Dave to check, in the process he shifted over to Juliets power. He helped the other boy sit up, lamenting the fact that he had no healing powers.

" Thank man, but i'll be fine, need to focus on this a-hole " Dave was fighting back tears but now wasnt the time for that " He used mana to reinformce his broken arm, mentally patting himself on the back for being able to pull that off. With a nod, Milo dashed over to help the girls while Dave realized he couldnt put this off anymore and tried to tap into spacial magic.

Hannibal foudn that his strength had started decreasing, it had been a slow process that he didnt initially notice at first.His armor was gradually feeling heavier, he jerked back when he felt the water wrap around the exposed portion of his neck and squeezed, cutting off his air, Juliets fist hit his helmet covered face, making him jerk back.

" Are you really having a hard time with these kids? " Andrerw asked in surprise " Want me to help? "

" NO!! " Hannibal roared, he'd stopped generating bubbles, instead letting the liquid run freely from the slits in his armor, an explosion knocked Katy, Juliet, and Milo backwards, causing another smokescreen. Hannibal tossed his helment off, revealing a heavily scarred face. He found using his ability to make bubbles was an effective method, but it wasnt the only way he could use it.

A dazed Milo climbed to his feet, he looked around but couldnt see anything, where was this guy hiding. Upon gaining Juliets power, he found that while it was an aoe type, it could be used to mark a specific person, he'd did so with Hannibal, so now he was being drained by sources. He could feel his own strength slowly growing.

" Aaaah!! "

Milo felt a fist strike his back and an explosion searing it. He fought to keep his footing and immediately began moving. Again Hannibals odd agility was allowing him to move seemlessly through the the smoke. Soon Katy and Juliet were beset by exploding sneak attacks, while enough to deal pain and sear flesh, they explosions were strong enough to blow off limbs. It had turned into a macabre game of hide and seek, with everyones strength and fighting capability being chipped away.

When she left Emmet mainly use fire, he had Phoenix, telepathy and telekinese but wasn't that good with them. He'd clearly come a long way, as did Sandra by the sounds of things. "So The Four Horsemen. They got desperate enough to call them in, and you guys still won." Kiya had to admit, she was impressed not that she was showing it. They had a reputation even among her kind. Fortunately she got to cross paths with them. Kiya made up her cup of coffee and had question for Emmet. "So why exactly are you being so forthcoming with me? Last time I was here I technically completed the contract I was paid for and brought Sandra to Darrel, this after pretending to befriend your group for some time. Surely you can't be trusting me right now?"

Sure, Kiya did turn on Darrel after delivering Sandra. Her contract was to get Sandra there, said nothing about getting her out again. But Kiya wasn't exactly helping Sandra due to having some bond with the True Notes, so seems odd Emmet would seemingly be so open.

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Head armour was generally thinner then body armour and while Juliet still didn't penetrate, Hannibal clearly felt her attack. She started to think it wouldn't be much longer and she'd be able to knock the helmet off, exposing a area they could attack. Hannibal had other plans however causing a explosion that knocked everyone back. By the time Juliet regained her bearings Milo had be struck. Soon she was hit with a mini explosion and next was Katy. The big explosion earlier cause a smoke screen Hannibal was using to his advantage, and the strength she was absorbing from Hannibal was starting to get offset by the damage this smaller explosions where doing.

After a number of hits Katy was the first one to fall to a knee, the damage just starting to her. Juliet and Milo where in pain but still on there feet. Juliet though had been observing every attack Hannibal made against her and Katy who was nearby. Milo couldn't be seen clearly though the smoke. Juliet had learned Hannibal's pattern and as he came in for another sneak attack Juliet launched herself at Hannibal, striking the bigger man with a jumping knee to his now exposed chin with enough force it sent him flying back and sliding along the ground. Juliet stumbled and almost fell from landing after the jump, but managed to catch herself.

With a great deal of discomfort Katy pushed though the pain she was in and stood up. Nice move, Juliet used her martial arts skill to figure out Hannibal's attack strategy and predict his next move. Katy could tell all 4 of them where in a pretty way though. Hannibal was definitely weakening, but just how much fight did this man have left? At this point it a matter of who would wear out first, them or him. And then even if they get past Hannibal, there was still the matter of the other one.

Emmet poured himself another cup of coffee and made another mixture of creamers, adding honey this time " Dawling your attempts at befriending us were incredibly transparent. That being said, hmm I suppose i'm simply following my intuition. I dont trust you, but I dont see you as a threat now. I'm sure your intelligent enough to know that accepting any jobs against the true notes wouldnt end very well for you "

He starred at his spook for a moment then floated it over to the sink and brought out a more ornate looking one " I also sense something different about you, perhaps Mr. Youngs dimention agreed with you, to some extent, in any event we are not enemies " Maybe it was the wheels of fate turning, signaling a change on its way.

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Andrew had to admit, he was surprised that Hannibal was being pushed so far by these kids, the red headed chick appeared to be a martial artist of decent skill. He was pretty curious about the tall, dark haired guy. Like red head, he wasnt on the list but he was curious if they couldnt fetch a price for him anyway.

Those two were still on their feet, obviously damaged, but seemingly maintaining their strength, while Hannibal, monster that he was, was slowly wearing down. Then their was Dave he was sitting down perfectly still. Andrew didnt have a lot of experience with magic, but enough to know it was annoying to deal with.

" Hannibal wrap it up already! "

Hanninal's ruined face twisted into what was suppose to be a smirk " I'm ready "

Dave was trying to tap into imaginary space like he'd done in the movie theater, but as he was being to grasp something, he felt something above them. Focusing more, through imaginary space he was able to tap into this spacial prison with his senses. It felt so wild, but that was drowned out by horror as he realized what Hannibal had been doing.

This whole time he'd been running a distraction, he hadnt stopped using his bubbles, instead he'd been using them to form a massive one above all of them, given it's size....what the fuck was he trying to do? Wasnt he and the other guy trying to capture them?

His body suddenly started moving on its own, adrenaline beginning to pump through him as he ran. His mind was going in multiple directions now, he needed to warn the others, but what would be the fucking point if they couldnt avoid it, he wildly thought for a moment, what would Riku do?

Riku: I wouldnt be in this dumbass situation in the first place(ignoring the fact I was in a dumbass situation like this last night) buuuuut if I was and most of my options werent viable and I happened to only have what you have, I would work with that, especially if i've done something like that before, if anything go the cliche route and want to protect people, you have Katy with you so thats all the license you need to be the basic bitch you were meantr to me

Dave rolled his eyes, but as he ran through the smoke, it dissipated, revealing everyone. At that moment Hannibals massive bubble was also revealed as it began to drop. Andrew was on his feet in an instant, damnit Hannibal had gone off his rocker. Unfortunately the spacial prison was rooted, so it was take to long to undo it or separate any of the people in it.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Dave reached the others, he didnt know what he was doing, but he jumped, reinforcing his legs to let him get higher then he'd normally be able too, he reached out with his non broken arm. The bubble popped, releasing the explosive energy, but Dave pulled the bulk of it and himself into an imaginary space.

" DAVE!!! " Milo screamed

He and the others all blasted back by the remaining energy.

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Dave wasnt sure what had happened next, he remembered feeling pain, an incredible amount of it, then nothing, to now where he was falling. It felt like his body and mind were being pulled in multiple directions, twisted and stretched out further and further. His vision couldnt make anything out but a maelstrom of colors. It felt like he had broken through something cause his falling felt like regular falling now.

Suddenly he stopped, or something had stopped him and suspended in him in mid air. He blinked rapidy, trying to stay conscious, but his strength was all gone. But before he passed out, his sight focused on a young boy sitting on a throne in front of large table, full of people. But Dave could only focus on the boy, because it was someone he knew so very well, even with the red eyes.

" E-Emmet? " was the last thing he said before passing out.

"Maybe. I do disagree on one thing though. I may not of been able to befriend everyone, but all I really needed was to get in with Sandra and her friend group. There where members of the True Notes that where, and did give me chance with enough effort. There was also other members of your party that was never going to accept me regardless how hard I tried. You though, you don't fit into either of those camps do you?"

Kiya let that question linger for just a second before continuing.

"Emmet you are neither naive nor untrusting. You are perceptive, incredibly perceptive. You aren't merely "perceptive for your age", no seemingly at a glace you knows a persons nature and more about them then you have any right to know. I don't know exactly what it is, but something about you is just different. Different then Riku, different then your Phoenix sibling Sandra, different then anybody else in this school or across the world's that I've met. Somehow, you just feel like something more.

So where my attempts transparent? To you and those following your judgement, yes. To the others? Not so much."

Kiya had been feeling this way for a while. Emmet wasn't normal for a human, he wasn't even normal for a mutant. And she suspected there was something deeper to him then even the Phoenix Force.

"Either way I do see one solution to all our past problems. If trust is a issue then why not hire me yourself? I can't exactly accept contracts from others if I'm already working for you. You built your own home here on Genosha, so you don't seem to be lacking on wealth."

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The remaining explosive energy not just shot the 3 remaining students back but also kicked up anything that was loose. When all was said and done Juliet found her buried under a table and several chairs. Especially after absorbing strength from Hannibal all fight she was able to push the debris off her and stand up. Soon as she did she almost winched as a sharp pain shot up her leg. Juliet was pretty sure she'd picked up a left ankle injury, not a break but maybe a sprain, possibly a fracture? It's fortunate she managed not to give it away, the last thing Hannibal needed was a injury to target.

She called out to Milo getting a response but when she called out to Katy there was silence. She looked to see Katy strewn on top of another batch of rubble. She ran over and during this, despite her pain tolerance, Hannibal would pick up on the ever so slight limp she had. Juliet lifted Katy off the rubble and placed her flat on the floor. Nothing had gone though or punctured her, she was alive and breaking. But Juliet could see something struck her hard in the head, knocking her out cold. Juliet expected some piece of metal be it a table frame, chair leg, etc. Something was picked up in the explosion and collided with Katy with enough force to turn her lights out.

Dave was a brave hero. Whatever he did, he sacrificed himself to take away most of the explosion. But with Dave gone and Katy out, it was down to just herself and Milo now.