Heroes Uprising: Alternate Universe (Thread 3)

Scott watched as his blade was sliced in two and knew that he had been defeated. Juliet had a one-in-three chance of predicting and countering his attack, and due to her skill, she had chosen the right one. Scott transferred the broken sword to his left hand and smiled, feeling no shame in losing the sparring match to someone like Juliet. With his right hand, he shook Juliet's hand firmly in a show of good sportsmanship.
"I agree that it was a great battle. I would be happy to spar with you again any time."

Picking up the other half of the broken sword, he closed his eyes.
"It felt great to be able to use a sword again. By training with you, I think I can shake off the rust and be a great swordsman again. Having fun and bettering yourself at the same time is the perfect combination."
Placing the broken sword on a table in the armory, he returned to the dojo and turned to Juliet.
"Why don't we grab some dinner? That sparring match worked up an appetite."
Scott really liked Juliet, and he was thankful that he seemed to have made a real friend in this dimension, since Valor had detected no falsehood from her at any time.

Juliet smiled and responded with "I would like that". Juliet placed the Mutant Slayer back in the lockup, Scott noticing the care she took when putting it away. A weapon so durable yet she still treated it with so much gentle care, it really meant the world to her. Truthfully she wished she could bring it, but you can't just roam the halls with a deadly weapon in your procession. Making sure the lockup was secure she returned to Scott and the two took off towards the food courts.

As they walked and chatted, getting to know more about each other Juliet had taken them on a shortcut through the garden area. Passing through the same area Kiya got a glimpse of the two from behind just as they where heading back inside. Kiya hadn't processed her emotions at first but noticing one of her hands clenched seeing Scott with another girl, was she feeling jealousy? No, it didn't matter anyway, later tonight when the tournament ended then Kiya would be able to put this place and it's people behind her for good.

Scott smiled as he watched Juliet out up the Mutant Slayer. It warmed his heart that she cares for it so much, and he couldn't have been happier for this new start that she would have. They left the dojo, and Scott bowed in respect to it as he left. As they passed through the garden area, they casually talked as their friendship grew stronger. He noticed Kiya out of the corner of his eye, and it saddened him to realize that he had been like this with her just earlier today. Something hurt in his heart, a small bit of genuine feelings for her that he was not sure what to do with.

When they reached the food court, Scott got a couple slices of pizza to start. Biting into one, his eyes widened.
"Wow, that's good. New York has some great pizza places, but this gives them a run for their money."
Setting the slice down, he turned to Juliet.
"So, where are you from? I'm from Detroit originally, but I've lived in New York City for a little while now."
Since Juliet already knew he was from another dimension, he could be honest about himself.

Juliet had opted simply for a salad and sat down with Scott.    She wondered how she should answer his question at first.   "I guess technically I was born in Phoenix, Arizona alongside my sister.   Though I got sent away at a very young age.    I've spent almost all of my life in the mountainside area and in small villages, under the care of Master Velaraah, who raised me as his own and thought me everything I know about combat, and life in general I guess.    I never really attended school until joining Genosha."

Scott found the news that Juliet had a sister to be intriguing and inquired more about it.    Juliet kinda shrugged it off and responded.    "Ah I don't really know her, I was to young to even remember her name.    I vaguely recall... hmm, well I don't know what exactly, but I know something happened.   I on rare occasions get flashbacks of when I was virtually a infant in my dreams, something important enough happened that it always stayed with me, but I have no idea what it is.    Something that dramatic though to stay with me all this time, I guess she must of died or something when was both toddlers.    My birth parents I like to think couldn't handle the guilt and put me up for adoption so I could live a fulfilling and happy life elsewhere."

Juliet didn't come across saddened by this, but morose curious in a way.    Though if she was to young to remember pretty much anything at all, then it makes sense she wouldn't be that emotionally attached.

Scott politely listened to Juliet as she explained about her sister.
"Oh, I see. It must have been something pretty bad for your parents to give you up, yeah. Maybe someday you'll find out the truth about what happened to her."
He took another bite of his slice and finished eating it before continuing.
"I was an only child, and for the first thirteen years of my life, I lived as normally as any other teenager born in Detroit."

"About four months later, these idiot gangbangers tried to do a drive-by on this rival gang member that just happened to be walking through my neighborhood. There was this toddler who was going to be killed in the crossfire, and without thinking I tried to shield her with my own body. I didn't concern myself with my own safety, but it turned out that some aliens from another dimension were looking for a selfless individual like myself to give their power to. The armor they put on me shielded us both from the bullets, and even the original target survived."

Scott finished the first slice of pizza.
"After all of that died down, I was introduced to my savior, Empress Enjela from the planet Kasha. Her family had once been the head of a prosperous trade empire, but some savage aliens called the Grymwar conquered many of those planets and shattered that trade empire while building their own based on military force. In a bid to protect themselves from the Grymwar, the Kashans partnered with the Voltari, another sentient species on their planet, to build a powerful weapon. Unfortunately, a Voltari Soul cannot live in a Kashan body for longer than a week, and so they would need to find someone of another species to fight on their behalf, preferably a morally righteous being. My attempt to save that girl fit the bill, and so I was offered their weapon, an alien soul that would live in my body and gradually fuse with my own soul."

Scott took a bite of the second slice.
"Of course I asked a million questions and Enjela patiently answered every one. It was while we were talking that the most famous hero of my world Solaris, who disappeared a decade before I was born, suddenly appeared to announce that the Grymwar were making their way to Earth in order to claim the very weapon I was being offered. The lives of everyone on my planet were now at stake, and so I took the Voltari Soul into my body and met the man who would become my closest friend, literally and emotionally."
Scott finished the second slice of pizza and got up.
"Want me to bring you anything while I get mine?"

Scott's story was certainly interesting to say the least. This sentiment was shared by Kiya who had hacked into the school's security system and was using that to keep a eye on the couple. Juliet politely turned down Scott's offer of more food, she had enough.

Meanwhile a man of a darker skin tone, clean shaved and bald was heading into the dojo with a duffel bag.

Scott nodded and went to get himself a couple cheeseburgers before coming back.
"The man who would become my best friend had a real name that couldn't be translated into English, so I decided to call him Valor and he agreed to it after learning what that word meant. I trained for a year with Enjela and Solaris before they decided that I needed real combat experience. Thus, they arranged to send me to the Shadowgreen Institute, my world's greatest safe haven for mutants and enhanced humans. It's a nation unto itself located in Nice, France where many mutants had lived their whole lives. Shadowgreen is very similar to Xavier, although we have lovely views of the French countryside and easy access to amazing French cuisine."

Scott took a bite out of his first cheeseburger and ate it before continuing.
"Of course, I learned that Shadowgreen had its own way of dividing people. Enhanced humans like me were a minority and majorly looked down upon by the majority mutant student body. Mutants that could blend into normal human society were hated by mutants that couldn't and vice-versa. Throw in a constant competition to determine the best as well as normal teenage problems and, well, it was a wild ride."
Scott finished his first cheeseburger.

"I trained and fought constantly, claiming one victory after another. My whole body except for my face is scarred all over from four years of almost unceasing combat."
He rolled up his sleeve to show Juliet how scarred up it was.
"I still remember how I got every scar on my body, every one representing a step on my journey to protect my world from the Grymwar. I was forbidden to ever lose a real fight, as even a single loss would have meant failure to save my planet. I only kept my sanity through it all because Enjela and Alan were there that first year and kept me focused on the ultimate goal."

"My second year I met Chiang Kaishu, a Bodhisattva who trained me in weapons and meditation. His temple was so peaceful and serene that I loved going there. No matter how hard things got at school, I had these three people to cherish and love."
He took a bite of his second cheeseburger.
"My third year I met God, and he showed me how the world functioned. Whether he is the God of my world alone or of all worlds I do not know, but he certainly taught me a lot, especially about my destiny beyond the Grymwar."

Scott finished his second cheeseburger.
"My fourth year was when everything got interesting. I fought every major god of every religion except for God as The Creator, fought all of my instructors, and fought the most powerful people on my own planet. I also had my first sexual experience, although since I was seduced by her pheromones you could argue that it was rape. I graduated Shadowgreen at the top of my class and set the record for most ever wins and no losses during my tutelage, and I also swore an oath to become the Protector of my Earth. Then, the Grymwar arrived."

Scott stretched a bit before continuing.
"I rushed to New York City where they had arrived and fought them with everything I had. Their Chief, Dulzak, had a mystical power called Blood Magic that could negate my Armor of Valor while withstanding my attacks. On the verge of death, I tapped into the power of The Destroyer, a cosmic entity tied to The Creator that elevated me far beyond just being a mortal. The power of The Destroyer adapted to my own abilities and created a new Destroyer Arm that obliterated Dulzak and his Blood Magic. After saving all of New York City, I passed out and was returned to Shadowgreen."

"After I came to, I reveled in the successful completion of my mission and said goodbye to some friends I had made over that period in my life. My parents and I had grown apart, so I decided not to return to Detroit and instead moved to New York City. After I found a place to live, I went to school to become a Private Investigator, got my license, and opened Valor Investigations. I spend most days working cases as a PI, most nights as the superhero Crusader, and occasionally take on requests related to The Destroyer, which led me to this dimension. After a rocky first meeting with the True Notes, I ultimately ended up here with you. Hopefully the next chapter of this story is how I kept some fool from trying to steal Sandra's powers."

Juliet listened as Scott told her his story. "Well you certainly have lead one interesting live Scott. Sandra is a nice girl, if somebody is after her then I wish you the best in stopping them." Juliet thought about what they should do next now they've shared their stories and have eaten. "Do you want to take walk? We are both pretty new around here, maybe we can discover some new stuff together?"

-----

After using a scan tool the man that entered the dojo had found the hidden safe. Feeling around on the wall he eventually found the trigger to open the door. Opening the door he gets to examine the safe itself and the lock. "Code locked, won't be able to pick this. Looks like I'll have to blow the door open."

Scott smiled at Juliet's comment about his interesting life.
"It was quite an adventure. You've lived an interesting life, too, by the sound of it."
His face turned serious as the topic of protecting Sandra came up.
"I'll do my best to keep away her enemies. She's suffered more than enough as it is."

Juliet asked him if he wanted to take a walk and he nodded.
"Yeah, sure. I'd love to see some new stuff around Xavier."
He got up and headed to the door with Juliet. Ever the gentleman, he opened the door and let Juliet go first. Soon they were walking side-by-side, just enjoying each other's company.

Back at the dojo a explosion was heard and smoke filled the room as fire alarms and sprinklers went off. Having exited out to the main area (obviously not staying in the same room he just set explosives), he ran back into the smoke finding the safe cracked but not blown apart. He'd used a low power directional charge that was somewhat designed to cut more then just cause mass destruction, it's similar to what demolition team would use to make a building collapse in on itself rather then topple over. After some jimmy work the man was able to pry the damaged door open. Seeing Juliet's sword he snagged it, fit it in his bag the best he could and ran off leaving everything else behind. People was already coming in to expect what was going on and the stranger pushed past them before running off. Nobody seemed to stop him, suggesting either no mutants was currently present or if they where, they hadn't yet understood what was going on through the confusion.

-----

Juliet was enjoying her time with Scott, they where currently just casually walking around together, taking in the sights and any interesting events going on, and where just chitchatting about this or that. It was nice, peaceful and relaxing.

As Juliet and Scott were approaching a more populated part of the park, people were rushing around in panic and confusion.
"Did you hear? There was an explosion at that dojo near the Xavier main building."
"Oh, no!" a young woman cried out, "I hope no one was hurt!"
Recognizing that description as Juliet's dojo, Scott began sprinting toward the dojo with Juliet hot on his heels. When they reached the dojo, Scott shoved past the crowd and saw smoke pouring from the safe Juliet had showed him earlier.

"The Mutant Slayer!"
Scott rushed over to the safe and looked for it, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Sighing, Scott turned to Juliet.
"It looks like someone blew the safe and stole the Mutant Slayer. I don't know why, but I do know we need to get it back. Are there any security cameras in this dojo?"

Scott barely had time to examine the safe when Juliet shoved him aside to examine it herself.     At the sight of her fathers sword missing Juliet almost had a breakdown, growing weak in the legs as dropping to her knee's as tears started to billow up in her eyes.    "It can't be...."   If it didn't register before just how much the Mutant Slayer sword meant to Juliet on a personal level, he was seeing it now.     Losing that weapon was like losing a family member, like a part of herself had been snatched away.     Best thing he could compare to was if somehow what if he'd lost Valor?    A being he'd been though so much with and was such a dear friend to him at this point.    

Scott comforted Juliet leading her out of the smoke. After the shock of the situation had started to pass a bit, Scott inquired about if any cameras was present. Gradually getting her composure back Juliet did confirm that a security system was present. Scott ensured Juliet that they would get the Mutant Slayer back and asked if he could see the footage. Juliet nodded "sure, this way" and lead Scott to the security room down the hall. It was pretty big room with monitors that must of covered hundred of different places of Genosha.

As Tie evaded and parried each blow she could see the Angel flap her wings to cause the elemental storm tearing apart the stage. Angelica fired a series of blows that lit up the arena with golden light, but each attack was redirected not blocked by a skillful repose. One thing Tie never wanted to admit less Angelica gets even more overconfident was the power behind her attacks. As a Fallen Tie knew even one direct hit could cause severe injury. Tie stayed dived into one of the tornadoes Angelica created and poured her magic into it hijacking the powerful force. She forced the winds into the ground ripping up the stage even further causing debris to fly into the air, but even that didn’t stop Angelica as she charged through it to meet Tie head on again.

“Maybe it was foolish to use wind, but it’s been so long since we talked.” Tie grabbed a piece of concrete out of the air and kissed it. “Shimmering Pebble.” It glowed a bright emerald green. The light spread to most of the debris around them. As Angelica’s fist approached Tie’s face she was stopped. A fist slammed into Angelica’s stomach with a strength she expected from the Fallen Angel in front of her. Angelica flew back and looked around to see that light disappear and reveal clones of Tie.

“I guess we should be serious now. I’ll even make it easy for you to know which is the real me.” The real Tie’s eyes were covered in a blue fire. Powers that would cause most magus to collapse and die build within her. It was like a bright flare for any sensitive to these forces. “Let’s see, your poor watered down angelic abilities vs magic that would force King Solomon to his knees.”

The clones moved in using the element of earth to enhance their durability and strength to attack Angelica. Tie channeled all of the elements to strike down her opponent.

Angelica was baffled by the display, but quickly erased the expression from her face, refusing to give an inch " Even a fragment of my angelic power is worth more then the pitiful magecraft youve been forced to use, but " she held up a saphire using a word of power, caused it to start glowing brightly " Maybe it is fine to use it against one who has fallen so far "

Employing her host jewel magecraft, she used the power stored in it. The saphire grew in size, becoming an ofb, spikes jutting out of it. She leaped into the air as the clones got to her, using her immense strength, she hurled it at the real tie, but as it got halfway there it suddenly changed trajectory and smashed into one of the clones, a long golden chain blinking into existence.

" OHOHOHO " Angelic laughed haughtily " I command this human magecraft and my angelic grace, I must agree with you, lets stop playing around " light poured out of her back and formed wings, Angelic was calling on more power and getting dangerously close to the host limit, but her reason was starting to fade, Heavens berserker had come out to play.

Scott looked around, impressed with the set-up.
"This should definitely help catch our culprit."
Going to the switchboard, he rewound the footage within the dojo about thirty minutes before rumors of the explosion started circulating. The video was crystal clear and showed a dark-skinned bald man wearing dark clothing come walking into the dojo with a duffel bag. His actions indicated a professional, as he had known what he was looking for and how to find it. After using a scanning tool in order to locate the hidden door, he opened it and blew the safe.

"Hmm, strange that such an obvious professional would be tripped up by a code lock. Most of these guys have a cryptographic synthesizer or some kind of code breaking tool. Fortunately for us, he used explosives, and explosives leave behind a ton of evidence."
Scott left the monitor room and pulled a pair of latex gloves out of his back pocket before putting them on. Going by the safe, he could smell the smoke left behind and tell what kind of explosive was used.
"Our perpetrator used a low power directional charge to blast open the safe without destroying what was inside."

A look at the damaged safe door confirmed his findings, and he returned to the monitor room to watch the rest of the crime play out. As expected, the culprit blew the safe and took off with the Mutant Slayer. Since nothing else was taken of disturbed, it seemed like a targeted theft.
"Our professional thief may be working for someone, but I won't assume anything just yet."
Scott turned to Juliet.
"Do you know anyone who might have had reason to do this?"

Juliet was shocked and started feeling a great deal of anger watching everything go down, thought she did not outwardly show most of it. However when Scott asked about a motive, it baffled her a bit when Juliet thought about it. "No I don't know why anyone would steal it. I can only guess whoever wanted it must be a collector of relics, somebody who may know know of the legends and history behind the Mutant Slayer. Me and my fa, um, master lived a pretty exclusive life. It makes sense people would of had a hard time finding us before. But with Genosha being such a open and public place I imagine it makes it much easier for thieves to track us down.

However... how would they know I have it? The legends barely mention my family at all, only that our bloodline was the last one to have the Mutant Slayer in possession. I can't think of any legends that depict the sword being passed down to me, and when I got to Genosha, you was the first guy person I've actually told about it."

Juliet could feel in her heart, her instincts that Scott was not related to the crime. He was a very genuine man and she was certain he was not taking her on a goose chase. That left only one worrying a disturbing possibility, somebody must have been researching her family for a while, but was just never able to find them until they stepped out into the public eye.

-----

Having escaped the school and making it to a makeshift hideout in a forested area, a underground area that was kind of like a converted storm shelter. We see the man from earlier just in time to see his appearance change to one of a Caucasian man with short black hair and stubble beard hair. He removed the sword from the duffel bag placing it aside. He proceeded to grab a long trench coat that reached almost down to his feet from a hanger and put it on. He proceeded to tuck away the Mutant Slayer inside the coat as best he could conceal it and left the storm shelter, abandoning anything that could possibly link him to the crime (minus the sword itself) in some forgotten abandoned hole in the woods that would presumably never be found. Exiting the storm shelter he made sure to close the lid and proceeded with his journey towards the buyer.

Scott sighed a bit and nodded after Juliet finished her explanation.
"So that makes this a stranger on stranger crime. Those are the hardest kinds of crimes to solve, but at least we have some solid leads."
Using the security camera footage, he watched the man exit the dojo and flee through the crowd of onlookers into a forested area. Unfortunately, this forest was outside of their camera range.
"We'll have to go into the forest and search for clues the old fashioned way."

Scott handed Juliet a katana and exited the dojo with her. They quickly got into the forest, and Scott followed some footprints and disturbed foliage to ultimately find a covered storm shelter.
"How clever. It seems our thief had a base of operations well off the beaten path."
He placed one hand on the lid's handle to open it, but didn't do so just yet.
"He may still be in there. Are you ready?"
Scott knew that cornered criminals were the most dangerous, so he wanted to give Juliet a chance to prepare herself before they confronted him.

Juliet steadied herself and gave Scott a nod, she couldn't wait to teach this thief a lesson. "Lets do it, I'm ready".

-----

Meanwhile the trip the thief was taking was a long one, the man did not walk in a perfectly straight line and shifted directions every so often. The route he was taking was designed to avoid public places so the odds of being spotted would be at their lowest, however such a risk still persisted though random hikers or such. The route also covered various terrain types, including spots of hard land where tracks would be much harder to track then a soft leaf covered, mossy forest floor. This was all done on purpose to allude anybody that may try to follow.

"Jewel magic? How gaudy." Tie immediately raised several magical shields in front of her just as Angelics's golden chains slammed into Tie's clones. Holy energy burned through the small army and even slapped away most of the shields defending the Fallen Angel. Tie smiled as Angelica threw away any pretense of subtlety, and reached for the Angel restrained by her mortal form. Angelica whipped her chain again to tear through the shields, but Tie decided not to show much restraint either. She stomped her foot into the ground and dozens of blue tendrils rose from the ground and chased after the chain. Each one latched onto the weapon one by one slowing it down until it stopped just before touching Tie. Before Angelica could react a seeming mountain of ice rose from around Tie and launched forth into Angelica flash freezing all in its path completely encompassing the angel and the ring.

In moments beams of light burned from inside the massive structure of ice and shot out creating a spectacular light show. The ice exploded revealing a madly grinning Angelica who immediately flew towards Tie melting the remains of the ice in her path as if Tie's attack never existed.

"Wither." Tie uttered another spell as Angelica's now shining hands nearly reached their target. Magic attacked Angelica's mortal form and limited its movement and durability just enough for Tie to dodge the Angel's grasp before it wore off. The now Berserk Angel simply laughed and as she attacked furiously. Each blow dodged burned away the land with holy light. Tie barely had time to think and could only cast spells on instinct. Glyphs to redirect, summons to block, enhancement to simply barely match Angelica's speed. They raced all around and on the ring dancing around the time limit for disqualification.

"Time Alter, Quad cell!" one more spell she uttered gave her the necessary speed to get a meter between her and Angelica, but there was something wrong. A nasty smile followed by the Angel's signature laugh was her only response to such an action. Something was wrong and Tie felt it. She stopped moving back just in time to see six gems floating in the air surrounding the two. If Tie took one more step back she would have triggered a gem's self destruct. "Wow if I took one more step I'm afraid I would have ruined my clothes."

Angelica's powers spiked and was ready for one more strike. While acting dismissive Tie took this moment serious and knew in the next second this fight would be over one way or another. Angelica's wings stretched out reaching to the end of the ring. With one movement she flew towards Tie in the form of a beam of light. Tie instinctively activated an enochian barrier with her left hand stopping the charge. However, Angelica pushed against this with ease slowly fracturing and breaking Tie's arm. The fallen Angel ignored the pain and immediately placed her right hand on Angelica. In this moment Tie's words would show the knowledge and the wisdom of magic that only a human or a Fallen one could appreciate.

"Wither, Force, Spark, Mimic, Shroud, Bleed, AfflictionMiasmaNether,sdajidwajiosldkikawfiodjaw" Tie said over a hundred encantations. Each spell purposely cast after the other activating a specific effect that would over the course of a second shut down even Angelica before she could properly resist. Angelica screamed as her entire body was frozen, burned, blinded, infected, disintegrated, transmuted to other materials and a whole host of other terrible fates.

"So...sister." Tie spoke in between breaths. Angelica was stopped in her tracks still trying to simply withstand the pain. "are...we done now?" The enochian barrier Tie used for protection was shattered along with her left arm. Even her right arm was now nothing but shredded meat and bone after channeling so much power through it. However Angelica herself was barely able to stand. She was starting to heal, but even that wasn't enough as she keeled over and fell to the ground. Once glorious wings now faded in defeat as the rest of Angelica's power was too busy fighting the many spells and curses forced into her.

"I guess we are."

The battle was insane and intense as the other True Notes at least tried to follow the action. Eventually everything ended with a seemingly badly injured Tie standing over a kneeling Angelica. Sandra could do little more then watch on in amazement at the last few fights, she knew people like Tie and Riku was powerful, but this tournament was something else. Managing to utter up some sort of comment on the finish. "Wow guys I think it's over, I think Lilia won!"

Angelica was furious, how could a fallen angel reduce her to this?? She wanted to fight back, unleash her full power, but knew that was impossible, this body was already past it's limit and threatening to fall apart now, she had no choice " .....I.......a-admit...................defeat "

Mr.Reff was instantly there " Beg your pardon, didnt quite catch that, oh I kid I kid! The winner of the match is Lilia!!! "

The crowd cheered loudly as the match ended, Dr.Spaydes team bring both girls over to the med tent for healing. A five minute break was called so the stage could be repaired, meanwhile the contestants were all reacting in different ways. Emmet was impressed and felt a strong desire to fight Lilia now, Riku had been torn, he hated both of those angel twats and was hoping for a double knockout, but and he'd never admit it, he was mildly impressed by Tie, though still certain he could kick her ass. Noah had felt overwhelmed by the angelic presense and was wishing father Anderson could there to witness it. Tanesha was starting to feel nervous.

Lilia's fight had been insane, but then again most of these fights had been insane, she felt smaller and smaller with each passing battle, how could she measure up? Looking at the remaining people was not helping with this feeling. She knew Noah was strong, had seen him fight enough times, but there were the remaining two people as well. One was some chick in her mid twenties, long chestnus hair and wearing some leather outfit that belonged in a fetish dungeon, the last was a man that she couldnt quite tell how old he was, she settled on late twenties, african american and wearing a black suit, she'd barely noticed him the entire time.

Once the stage was cleaned up, Mr. Ref declared it was time to annouce the next match, the monitor once again flashed a names till it stopped.

Noah VS Sarah

Tanesha was annoyed as she let out a sigh of relief, but something told her she didnt wanna get in the ring with Noah, friends? or not. Noah fixed his collar and headed towards the ring, Sarah following behind him and very obviously starring at his butt. Riku shook his head, already seeing how this match was gonna go and again conflicted.

" Mhmm do you do confessionals? " Sarah asked as she watched Noah fuss with his collar " Cause I wouldnt mind meeting you in that booth " she winked at him to which he starred back at her blankly.

" I havent taken any vows with the church, my job with them doesnt strickly call for it, so im not able to help you in that, I can point you in the right direction "

Sarah pouted " Aww thats too bad, I was hoping to get on my knees for you "

Noah blushed, making Sarah think he was interested in her, when really he was thinking about the orgy with Emmet, Adrian, Garfield, Dave, and Donovan last night where Emmet had looked immaculate on his knees. He shook his head to clear the vision, now wasnt the time for that, he was in the tournament for a reason and he needed to make it too the next round. He took on a stance of Shaolin kung fu, ready.

Mr.Ref yelled his trade mark " YOU CANT ESCAPE FROM CROSSING FATE!!! " and vanished

Noah immediately charged forward at startling speed, not even activating his power, and striking Sarah in her stomach, but his hand seemed to go directly into her.

" If your trying to cop a feel, could you at least aim higher or lower? " she smiled seductively at him before taking a breath and blowing her stomache up like a ballooon and pushing Noah back. Her arms shot out and wrapped around Noah tightly " Ooh, you feel so hard and muscley! " she swung her arms around, dragging Noah around the ring in a circle, before letting go and sending him out of the ring.

But's light aura flared up and propelled him back into the ring, he unleashed a barrage of punches, but her malleable body seemed to absorb all of his attacks. She smiled as she pulled back her fist, blowing it up to gigantic size and tried to attack him but he vanished, appearing above and falling downward till he landed on her with a hard stomp, but Sarah's body folded bounced Noah high into the air. She reformed and held her arms up as if offering a welcoming embrace.

But Noahs light flared brighter as he fell and went into a spin, releasing a blast of light towards the ground to push him up again momentarily and allow him to tuck and roll on the stage and back onto his feet.

" Oooh, your pretty good, but just submit to me already, im gods gift to men after all "

Noah's eyes narrowed in clear anger. He didnt say anything and charged her head on again, Sarah flipped her hair and waited for her, but she sudden yelled out in pain as a blast of light with a force of a shot gun struck her. She was shocked, she was more or less impervious to physical attacks, but she had never fought someone with powers like this. Noah immediately clued into this and fired shot gun blast after shot gun blast.

Sarah was on the defensive now, but Noah was relentless, over taxing her power. Noah unleashed a brutal assault on the woman in a combination of shot gun blast and martial arts combos, delivering one final palm strike to her chest, her body blowing out complete and sending her airborn. She wafted through the air voming blood till she dropped on the ground outside the ring. MR.Ref flitted over to her and immediatly began the countdown " 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 , 10 and the winner is Noah!!!! "

Noah brushed himself off and turned away, his gaze falling on Riku, who'd been watching the fight intently, making it more then clear they were ready to face each other.

Noah had won his fight pretty decisively after figuring out Sarah's weakness, which means it was time for the last fight of round one, Tanesha vs the man in the black suite.    Sandra understood how Tanesha was feeling, she had many of the same thoughts herself.    She felt so far behind everyone, even Emmet seemed to be so naturally gifted with the Phoenix while Sandra herself was still struggling with the basics.    Even just trying to manage the power of seemed so hard, while Emmet made it look so easy.     It wasn't long ago that Emmet was actually asking Sandra for her help, but since then he'd seemed to have just sailed past her by miles.     How could she hope to possibly beat him?    Let alone the likes of Lilia or Riku and the crazy powers they showed off.     Noah, maybe???   She wasn't even certain on that as Sandra doubted they'd seen his full capabilities.

Nina seemed like the best possible option Sandra could face, and even then she seemed to be so fast and strong, and those claws, and fangs.   Sandra shrived as a cold chill ran right up her spine, Sandra was all to familiar  with the feeling of being mauled and tortured, and did not look forward to it again.    There wasn't really one person Sandra felt confident about beating going into the second round.    Maybe Tanesha if she made it, but then could Sandra even bring herself to fight her own girlfriend?    She honestly wasn't even sure if she could.    She certainly wouldn't want to, that's for sure.

Sandra laid a hand on Tanesha's shoulder getting the girls attention, and gave her a calming smile.  "Hey, remember we never joined to win this thing.   Just go out there and give it your all.    If you win you win, and if you don't then there is absolutely no shame losing to skilled fighters like these.   Just, go out there and test yourself.    Don't worry about the wins or losses, alright."     Sandra was just trying to ease Tanesha nerves some leading into her battle, though she wasn't sure if she was really being all that effective as Sandra was sure Tanesha could feel her own nervousness and fear.   But, she had to at least try to help her girl as best she could.

Tanesha winced as Sarah was brutally defeated, once again thankful that she wasnt Noah's opponent, but now the time had come. Tanesha smiled as Sandra talked to her, she was right, she hadnt had any real thoughts about winning this thing, more just putting to practice what Katy had been teaching them. She pulled Sandra into a tight hug and kissed her cheek " Thanks Sandy, i'm a bad bitch, regardless of if I win or not. Just gonna go out there and do what I do "

Emmet smiled, glad that Tanesha was showing more confidence, it was true that her chances of winning this tournament were low, but that didnt mean she couldnt experience growth from it. He glanced at her opponent, the man's expression was very pleasant and was giving nothing away.

Mr.Rep pole vaulted back onto the stage " Alright, looks like were at the final match of round one, theres no need for the machine, but were gonna use anyway! " the monitor flashed names for a moment till it stopped.

Tanesha VS Edgar

Edgar started walking towards the stage, his pace measured and leisurely. Tanesha followed behind him, her nerves were high, but she was determined to see this through. They faced each other and Mr.Rep yelled out " YOU CANT ESCAPE FROM CROSSING FATE!! " and vanished.

Tanesha jumped back, readying herself for whatever this guy would throw at her, but Edgar was still standing in the same spot, arms folded behind his back. Tanesha looked around wildly, was his power activated yet, was he a telepath? elementa? super strength??

" Calm yourself Miss Tanesha, I havent used my power yet " Edgar said soothingly " Just enjoying the atmosphere, i'm usually in front of such a large crowd, its nice. You seem quite nervous, would like some time? I can hold back as well if you like "

Tanesha glared at him and was about to clap back, but stopped when she realized she was shaking and sighed " Thanks but no, I didnt enter this to be looked down on and to be taken lightly, your gonna fight me just like you'd fight any of the other people in here " she glared moved into a fighting stance.

Edgar smiled " As you wish, I apologize Miss, you shall treat you with the respect you deserve "

As he said this, white cubes began to manifest all around him till he was standing in the centter of a field of cubes " A word of advice from me to you, dodge this "

Suddenly one of the cubes shot forward at blinding speed, on reflex Tanesha cartwheeled out of the way in time as the cube smashed into the ground. Tanesha's eyes widened as she saw the whole that was there now. What the fuck is this guys power? Tanesha wondered, but didnt have time to ponder as more cubes went flying. Tanesha was dodging for everything she ws worth, thanking god for Victorias rigorous cheerleader training.

Suddenly one of the cubes appeared out of knowhere caught Tanesha in her right arm. She screamed and skidded across the stage, clutching her arm. Fighting through the pain shequickly got to her feet as the next onslaught began. Meanwhile everyone was the fight closely.

" Hmm, this is a tricky situation " Emmet mused " Whatever this mans power is, it's keeping Tanesha at a distance and not allowing her time to attack "

" Why doesnt Tani just gas the stage? " Riku asked from his spot on Kano's lap " unless that suit comes with some poison resistance, that would really turn the tide "

Emmet considered that as well before realization donned on him " Shed wont, this avenue wouldnt allow for her to do so without we and the audience getting hit by it "

Riku shrugged " I can make a barrier around us.....but yeah I couldnt cover the whole arena, damn "

Emmet wracked his head for an idea till something came to him " Excuse me Mr.Rep, may ask a question? "

The referee cartwheeled over " Of course, i'm aways happy to answers questions! "

" Excellent, I was wondering, in the event of, oh say a gas attack, would we and the audience be in danger? "

" Thats an excellent question challenger Emmet " he turned and spoke louder so everyone in the arena could hear " Forgot to mention at the start of this, but you the audience are perfectly safe, no attacks like oh say poison gas can get to you, such attacks would stay within the confines of the stage, that is all "

Tanesha gasped but did not waste any time as the cubes came for her again, she took a deep breath and exhaled a billowing, purple cloud that quick filled up the stage. Tanesha could hear Edgar coughing violently and took off for the spot Edgar was in, the cubes momentarily immobile, she found Edgar just as the cloud dissipated. Edgar was bent over caughing, but he jumped back as Tanesha aimed a kick at him, but she kept up.

Edgars cubes were swirling around them, but Tanesha was too close for them to be used effectively. Coating her hands in liquid poison she went at him, aiming for his face, that gas attack was making him slower and physically weaker, but it wasnt going to last long. She needed to make contact, but that damn suit. Edgar didnt appear to be a melee fighter, but he was good at blocking. However the corrosive aspect of Tanesha's was king up for it, eating at at the sleeves of Edgars suit.

One of Edgars cubes came out of nowhere and in a bright flash of light, Tanesha found herself falling through the air and landing in water, once she resurfaced she found herself in the middle of a violent storm. She fought to stay affloat amidst the rough water " What the fuck?! " she exclaimed, not sure how she'd even gotten there or how she could get out. A massive wave loomed over her, blocking out the sky, but before it came down, light flashed again and she found herself back on the stage, coughing up water.

An uproar had happened the moment she dissapeard, but barely a minute later, soaking wet, she was back. " My aplogies, you caught me off guard " Edgar seemed to have regained his senses " I hope your not too startled "

Tanesha staggered to her feet, looking at him warily, somehow he'd teleported her off somewhere, who the hell was this guy? More importantly what could she do not, she'd put a lot of energy into that last attack and couldnt do it again on the same scale so soon, she also felt he would be prepared for it this time. She sighed but gathered her resolve, time to end this, however which way and charged him headon.

The cubes all zeroed in on her, but ducked and dodged around, focusing on taking the least amount of damage, but she could see it wasnt going to work, they were too fast. But suddenly she felt an odd sensastion and for a split second the cubes slowed down, creating a gap. Tanesha, with a burst of speed, ran through it and tackled Edgar, grabbing his face, her powers flooded into his body. She screamed as two cubes slammed into her and sent her skidding all the way to the other side of the stage.

Tanesha rolled and jumped to her feet, some bones were broken forsure, but she still managed to stand. She looked towards Edgar who was still laying on the ground, suddenly the cubes blinked out of existence. Edgar weakly raised a hand " I concede defeat "

Mr.Ref instantly appeared and checked on him " Challenger Edgar seems to be unable to continue, making Tanesha the winner!!! "

Tanesha was baffled, no way, had she really won? her strength gave out and fell back.

Nina raised an eyebrow when Tanesha suddenly managed to get past some cubes and reach Edgar. This girl may of had more tricks then meet the eye. If they where to meet, striking Tanesha down hard and fast might be the best course of action. Deception was a powerful tool, and one Nina assumed that Tanesha had used wisely by passing herself off as weaker then she in reality actually was, thus fooling with what Edgar had expected from her.

-----

Sandra floated out to the ring and ran over to Tanesha, gingerly giving her a hug and trying to be careful of her injuries, then followed up with a quick kiss. "Babe you did it, you won!!" Sandra was extremely proud of Tanesha for not giving up and pulling through. "Those cubes was something else, every hit of those must of broke something. Yet you took those hits and kept getting back up. You said you was a bad bitch, and you certainly lived up to it."

-----

Tesla watched on approvingly and couldn't resist the urge to take a jab at Katy, not out of any hatred or spite, but just for the amusement of doing so. "So the students won their matches and the teacher jobbed in the first round. Well Katy if that whole fighter thing doesn't work out, clearly you have a promising career in being a trainer."

Katy almost took the bate and lashed back at Tesla, but stopped herself just as she went to open her mouth. She just smiled and responded with "you almost got me there" before turning back to the ring. "Seriously I'm proud of them. Sandra is still a bit rough around the edges, but she has the least experience out of all of us. Tanesha has adopted her defensive maneuvers quite well though, and taking advantage of her cheerleader background was a smart move."

Scott flung open the shelter door and looked inside. Nobody seemed to be around, and a scan of Valor confirmed they were alone.
"We were too late. He's gone."
That being said, the scan had picked up a trace of the sword being there. When Scott had cleansed it, it seemed that some of his power had lingered on it.

"I can sense my energy in the Mutant Slayer, but we'll have to move fast. I don't know how much longer it will be until my energy evaporates from it."
He exited the storm shelter and took off with Juliet after the thief. It was a winding trail, but they kept following it. When the reading started getting stronger, Scott started being more stealthy. He wanted to see if he could tail the thief back to his client, hopefully catching both of them in the process. Scott was upset over what happened to Juliet, so he had a personal and professional reason to solve this case. Mixing the personal and the professional could be problematic, but when done right, it was phenomenal.