Heroes Uprising: Alternate Universe (Thread 3)

Bawla and Harmonia circled each other, opening rapid fire as theyed dodged bullets. Harmonia suddenly cleared the space between them, pumping out her power to increase Bawlas aggreesion and make her sloppy. But to Harmonias suprise, her power didnt appear to be working on the crazed girl " Ugh, what the fuck are you?! " she aimed a kick at Bawlas mid section while simaultaneously shooting.

Harmonia's foot connected with something, but not Bawla, who was back flipping away while still keeping pace with her shooting. Harmonia gave chase shielding her face, she think she had it figured out, the girl was a shield, she was projecting a force field that not only protected her physically, but mentally as well.

" Seems im gonna need to get a little rougher with you! " she'd had her drones on stanby, now she summoned one, armed with a modified rocket launcher and started firing.

Harvey was attempting to drown Iskandar in a sea of lava, but the man was swimming through it. Raising his arms, the lava pool rose into the air, compressing into a ball. Harvey shot a rock spike from the ground, aiming it for the ball " Survive this, bitch! " the spike pierced the lava ball, but the ball itself suddenly burst. Iskandar plummeted to the ground at a rapid pace, gripping onto a piece of the spike.

Harvey had just enough time to move himself backwards on an earth platform, but Iskandar crashed into it, sending Harvey flying. Iskandar shot forward like a missile and grabbed Harvey by the ankled, before slamming him into the ground. He was about to smash the boys skull, but large hands made of lava yanked him back. Harvey coughed up a little blood, more angry then hurt, commanding to lava hands to thrash the seemingly invincible man, he have a limit or weakness.

Adrian continued his electrical assault on Limos, the girl was durable, even as he weighed her down by increasing the gravity around her. She feel face first to the ground, Adrian quickly charged up more electricity and zapped her till he was breathless. He checked the damage saw a hole in the ground, she'd burrowed into the ground. Given Harveys fight, that was a bold move to make.

He scanned the ground, trying to determine where she'd reamearge. Suddenly she burst forward, Adrian turned to blast her, but was shocked to see that Limos had changed, her body seemed to be a combination of electricity, earth, and lava. Propelled upward, she grabbed Adrians leg and threw him back towards the ground.

Iko hurled a few of his knives into the air and angled them so they'd bounce off of each other and spiraled towards Thanatos. The older man swatted them away with his sword, swiftly dodging Iko's next attack as he moved in. Soon the two were exchanging rapid attacks, Iko's quick hands snatching his thrown knives out of the air and charging them with chi.

Both combatants jumped away from each other. Iko noted he had several shallow cuts all over his person, while Thanatos was sporting one along his cheek. This man was a fearsome opponent. Taking stock of the other fights showed a constant teetering between each sides, with Adrian doing the worst, it seemed a retreat would be prudent, but they needed something to make an opening for it.

Adrian screamed as he crashed to the ground and Limos landed on him, smiling cruelly and yanking his arm. His vision was blurry, but he could just make out Limos starting to latch her mouth onto his arm.

Addy...

Adrian froze, that voice......He lashed out with all his might, causing a black hole to form in the sky above. The fighting immediately came to a halt as the landscape was torn up and sucked into the sky.

" Retreat! " Iko and Thanatos yelled to their respective people. Iko made a dash to grab Adrian, but Thanatos beat him. He momentarily grabbed Adrians head then was gone. Iko scooped him up and fled, Bawla and Harvey behind him. As quickly as it formed, the blackhole collapsed and vanished.

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Riku yawned " Yeah thats neat " directed his multi eyed crow to descend down to the first floor.

" Indeed friends, I can sense your amazing warriors spirits combined! " Kano enthused " Your contribution to this upcoming battle is greatly appreciated

Emmet nodded " agreed dawlings, thank you "

" Yeah, its nice to have people who care and arent raging psychopaths "Garfield put in, to which Riku flipped him off.

The scene on the ground floor as horrific as the attic. Five of the Lee's were lined up in a row, all in terrible states much like the grandmother, covered in blood and vomit and convulsing.

" Why do they look so bad but the little girl and the two guys didnt? " Donovan asked, looking away from the horrible sight.

" A difference in power, this white rider is boosting their abilities well past what they should be. For that type of power, its effectiveness is dependent on the persons potential " Noah explained " The three on the second floor are probably the strongest in the family, meaning its simpler to boost them to what they'll naturally achieve, as for the rest, their power growth wont go much higher, thus boosting them is putting such a heavy strain on them "

Emmet had deduced as much, it honestly didnt appear that they would last much longer, which was odd. Surely the white rider would have more success if he didnt squander his resources, though he could simply controll more people but Emmet got the feeling it wasnt that simple.

Suddenly mass of shadows converged in the living room, most people looked at Riku who shook his head, saying it wasnt him. As the shadows receded, a girl with long, blonde hair and wearing a school uniform appeared. She looked at the Lee's on the ground and sighed. She walked over to the dining room table and passed a hand over it, a bunch of items were suddenly crammed onto it.

" This is worse then I what I was told, I should have asked for more money " she got to work grabbing this item here and mashing another.

" A potions set up, so she's a mage " Riku said, scanning the items on the table " From what I can tell she's gonna be making a lot of healing stuff, meaning she's working with the the four apacolypse ponies "

With plans set for the following day Kiya gave Scott a hand in closing up and they left.

-----

Cass at this point finally made it to the school and ran to the choir room, arriving at the doorway she yelled "SIS" and ran over to give Tanesha a big hug. Seeing a text message was one thing but to see everybody in person was actually alright was just so much more of a relief. She shared a hug with Sandra to before finally noticing the crystal ball. "Wait, what is all this?" The group gave Cassandra a rundown quickly catching her up to speed on the events that has transpired so far. "So these people are friends of Emmet, but somebody is manipulating them and forcing them to fight you guys? That's messed up."

-----

Troy and his group had just arrived back to Fear Factor HQ, his team had to get a idea of who they was working with at some point, they may as well witness the rest of the team now. The place was more crowded by now as everybody was up and about. Nina was still there almost had if she'd been waiting. "Any trouble with Abby?" Nina responded back "hasn't left the room." As Troy left to check on the girl Nina examined the new recruits. Looks like Eva had a makeover. And so this was the other Tenshi Troy had spoken of? Then lastly Alex, both smart and oh so very strong. Gotta give the guy credit, much of a dick as he was this wasn't a half bad batch of new recruits.

Scott smiled as Kano praised them and Emmett thanked them.
"We should be the ones thanking you. We will all do some good here-together."
Lithuel rolled his eyes and Scott shot him a stern look. He got the message and looked more respectful.
"I'm sure we'll take these wimps down with your help."

Everyone chuckled at Garfield's comment. Lithuel had once been a raging psychopath, but fortunately for both his friends and foes, he was mostly under control. Everything got serious as the view of the Lee family came into focus. All five looked quite pissed.
"I will not stand for this," Scott said, his voice low and dangerous.
His friends nodded in agreement.

Their attention was suddenly drawn to a mass of shadows in the room. The girl that emerged looked young and innocent, a stark contrast to the shadows.
"How strange," Marcus said.
Scott caught her words.
"She's a healer hired by them. How despicable that someone like her would allow this to go on. I want to talk to her about this."
Eric stepped forward.

"If she's their main healer, we'll want to take her out of the fight as soon as possible. I could possibly send her several dimensions north if I can get an opening."
"Or I can send her straight to Hell," Lithuel added, fingering the hilt of his sword.
"No, Lithuel," Scott replied, "We're warriors, not killers."
"Just a thought," Lithuel quipped with a smile.
"Just send us where you need us and we'll get the job done," Lone Wolf said confidently.

---

The next day, Scott and Kiya came in to work.
"We're gonna do some surveillance work today. I want to catch that import/export company bringing in something illegal."
Scott grabbed an expensive video camera out of his desk. They then left and went to his car.
"Think you can get the best angle to film from?"

"Wait going after the healer now might do more harm then good" Katy said. "We should focus on the guy controlling the Lee Family first. For now at least we know the healer keeping them alive. If we take her out, the mind controller might just hide away until it's time for his team to attack. At that point, he might force the Lee's to go all or nothing and fight to the death, be that death via us or the over excursion of their own powers. It's already proving difficult enough as is to find this mind controller guy, we can't risk alerting him we're onto him. We might never find him then."

-----

"Of course." Kiya said taking the camera. "If there is any public surveillance in the area being it security camera's, traffic camera, etc. I can break into all of those systems as well. Nobody won't be able to make a move without me seeing it. With Insurance Fraud being a big issue people have even installed cameras into many of their vehicles so drivers can protect themselves in court. Just say the word, and I'll have eyes literally all over the area."

" Katy has a point " Victoria said " I know we all, ok most of us, wanna save the Lee's, but we have to be smart about it and think it through "

Emmet " Agreed, as it stands this girl may be the only thing keeping the bulk of the Lee's family alive, we also dont know who she is, its highly likely shes not just a simple innocent girl hired to heal "

" That goes without saying, I can tell from here that the bitch aint harmless, based off of my crows limited perception check, she's got some very subtle magic circuits, meaning she's cloaking herself somewhat, i'd also like to mention we probably have a good mix of heroes and killers, well those of us who arent on a very short leash " Riku added " This faint magic is hella familiar, i'd try to get closer but theres the off chance she'd notice "

The girl suddenly looked directionly into the crystal balls view.

" Dude I think she noticed " Dave said her stare was unnerving, like she could see not just the multi eyed crow, but those who were looking through it.

" This girl is no mere mage it seems, a retreat might be prudent my friend " Kano said, his body reflexively tensing up, ready for combat.

Riku started to pull his crow back when something knocked into it, dragging it upstairs, the crystal balls view momentarily spinning before coming to a stop on what appeared to be a small, bipedal white rabbit in a vest and top hat,

" Oh for fucks sake, not the witch of wonderland again! " Riku groaned in annoyance " She's the one that sent the card men after us that last time "

The white rabbit suddenly lashed out, it's disturbingly human hands wielding a pocketwatch on a very long chain. Riku directed his crow to dodge the attack and lunge forward with it's very sharp talons. The two clashed in the small hallway, till the white rabbit had the crow bound in it's chain.

" It seems some unwanted guest are peeping "

Thorny vines suddenly began growing, oscuring the crystal balls view with rose petals.

" I think you've seen enough "

The crystal cracked and shattered.

"Well then... so much for being undetected." Sandra commented. That begged the question, what now?

-----

Nina got up from her perch and walked over to the three, her performances and thirst for blood at the tournament providing a uneasy feel around her. Meanwhile Alex seemed a bit more curious about her demonic power. The vampire looked at Eva and smiled, Nina could feel Eva and Tenshi where the most out of the loop. Alex seemed to have no unease about him though, he must be aware Nina wasn't the same as she was before. "Relax girl" Nina said addressing Eva. "I only go for fresh blood, your rotten flesh is of no interest to me." Nina turned to Tenshi next, sensually running her finger up his chest and licking her lips, her fangs growing as if she eying up a delicious meal. "You on the other hand, I like" Alex seemed to be aware the entire time Nina was just fucking with them, with Eva and Tenshi being so out of the loop wouldn't know that.

Emmet pondered Sandra's question " Well it goes without saying but it's highly unlikely the horsemen will return to that house now "


" Not with their clover blown, that mage will move the Lee's to another location, immediately " Noah said " A pity we were discovered when someone said we wouldnt be "


Riku whipped around, glaring " Oh pedo the pirate has something to say, I didnt see you doing or saying anything useful you unsalted french fry! "


Noahs light armor flared up and Riku conjured hellfire in his hands, getting a collective groan in the room as people either moved out of the way or moved to try to stop the two.


" Aha! "


Everyone paused and looked at Emmet, the overwhelming bloodlust in the room momentarily halted


" Wise Emmet, you have an idea? " Kano asked


" The inklings of one dawling, how do you all feel about camping? "


This seemed like a strange question at till comprehension dawned


" Oh! Your talking about moving to a spot with no people " Garfield


Emmet nodded " Indeed, these people have already shown that they dont care about who is in their way. So to prevent innocent people from being involved and allowing us some room to set the stage in our favor "


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


Eva glared at Nina, it took her a moment, but she remembered who the vampire was, but she recalled encountering her in the basement before and it hadnt gone well. But that was then, before Jericho had put her through all of those experiments and refitted her body. But more importantly she had Troy back, the we, THEY, THEIR " LOVE " was back and she could feel it was stronger then ever.


" Dont touch him, he's with us " Eva snapped


Something in her voice made Nina take more note of her, they were both undead, but Eva was a mesely zombie, some brain eater. Eva's face and skull split open wide and revealed a swirl of red and brain matter that seemed to be taking shape into something disturbing


" If you want blood so badly, I could supply you, though it'll probably be too spicey for you! " Eva giggled madly


As much as he was curious to see a vampire/demon hybrid and a super powered zombie fight it out, for research purposes, Alex stepped forward " Now isnt the time to be fighting amongst ourselves, is it? "


Eva put her face back together, Alex was right, she didnt like it, but Troy said they were all working together, her and Troy, together again. Her love for Troy was an inferno of passion and dwarfed her hatred of Nina and vampires in general now.


" Yes, yes Alex your right, I lost my head for a second there, or my face " she smiled " Yes together, against the True Notes "


Alex sighed, she wasnt as bad as Bawla, but seemed to have momentarily traded one unhinged woman for another or more depending on what he knew about this lot.

Nina took note of the zombie girl and took a step back from Tenshi, who himself seemed able to move now reaching for the handle of his sword on reflex, though he did not draw it. Nina did not fear the girl and approached her once more. "So you've changed in more then just appearance? How interesting. I've been though some changes myself." She was interested to see Eva's new abilities, even if she still seemed to be a bit of a loose cannon.

-----

"Well moving away from people would be the best move." Sandra had to admit she didn't really come from a camping type of family, but she did love the outdoors and nature. Katy spoke up "if we're setting up camp then where are moving to, out to the training ground?"

Emmet shook his head " Well need to go off island for this, one of the many unnocupied islands around this part of the sea should more then suffice "


" Hopefully theres one that some organization isnt using or we havent blown up " Dave said, he went camping with Donovan and Garfield sometimes so he was good with this " I'm assuming were trying to lure the horsemen after us? "


Emmet was about to speak when his phone started ringing. He checked the caller and answered " Hello, this is Emmet Elizabeth Jones.....What!? " Emmet exclaimed, to the group he said " Adrians in the hospitable, he's been attacked! "


Everyone was shocked, their minds immediately going to the horsemen, given they'd been attacking them for the last two days it wouldnt be suprising. Riku put out the hellfire he'd been holding, hearing that Adrian was injured in the hospital made him feel....strange....it was hard to put, he was into Adrian and they were " friends " or something soooo he should care?

As he pondered all of this, Emmet was staring at him out the corner of his eye. He listened to the nurse a bit longer then ended the conversation.


" Should we go check on him? " Victoria asked, in a tone that said she didnt want too, even months later she didnt feel comforable around Adrian.


" We need not all go, I would say myself would be sufficient...but I need to coordinate this opporation, including all the gear we'll need. Riku, could you be a dear and go check on him? "


Riku looked up startled " What?! uh yeah sure " he opened a void to the hospital, Tyrone called after him to hold on, saying he was gonna go too, Riku shrugged and the two left through the void.


Emmet turned back to the group " Alright then, were going to need to scout out a location and obtain supplies "


Donovan raised his hand " We have a bunch of camping stuff, uh though I dont think it'll be enough for everyone "


" It definetly wont " Garfield told him " We can always get more, though the best stuff is in the mall that just got burned down..."


" That wont be a problem " Emmet said, already on his phone and ordering everything they'll need plus more.


" How do we determine which island to go to though? " Victoria asked


" We can use Platinum Chariot, naturally " Emmet said as he was going over possible camping/battle outfits.


Platinum chariot being the airship Riku stole during the Agnes Sheets incident. After he'd left it in Riku's backyard, Emmet had the bodies cleared out of it and had some automotive and aviarary friends of his modify it.

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


Alice called Jet to pick up her and the Lee's, setting the house on fire as they left. She reappeared in the basement, taking note of all the new arrivals and being annoyed at Eva's presence. She had the Lee's all lined up and resumed her work in getting them patched up.

Nina walked away from the group almost as if she already Troy was on his way out. Troy walked though the door with a rather submissive looking red haired girl in tow and brought her over to the rest of the team. "Abby this is Eva, Tenshi and Alex. Team, this is Abby." The girl clearly didn't belong among the group, only mustering up a scared and wary "hello". The fact that she was here meant Troy was holding something over her. Wasn't the first time, Troy had a bit of a knack for taking something a person had done in the past, and using it against them to make them feel like less then garbage, to get it into their heads the world will forever be against them, and getting them to submit to his will. He had Tanesha Mack previously, now it was this girl Abby.

-----

"So why can't we just jump to the nearest empty island?" Sandra asked curiously. Tesla spoke up "I assume the geology of the place we pick is important. After all you don't want to be hiking up and down the side of a mountain all the time right? Also there is the question of if the island has wildlife. I'd rather not get bit by a snake in the middle of the night while I'm sleeping, thank you very much."

Scott and the others were not sure what the plan was exactly, so they just kept quiet. Once the True Notes settled on a plan, they would go along with them. Marcus was a bit nervous about going into battle given that he didn't know how much his combat skills had been affected by losing power. Lithuel had also lost power but wasn't nervous due to his combat instincts, which had not been dulled. Lone Wolf was as strong as ever, only having lost some knowledge due to his younger form. Scott still had his Destroyer Fist, so that would be more than enough to see him through. Eric's power was unchanged for the most part, so he would be fine. Once Marcus got his confidence in combat again, they would go back to being the extremely powerful warriors that they had been in their own dimension.

---

Scott nodded.
"Go for it. The more eyes we have in this area, the better our chances. I want these scumbags behind bars."
Scott gave her a brief smile and then looked out the window. With Kiya's help, Valor Investigations was better than ever and they were on track to being the best in their field.

The two eventually reached the destination. Kiya took Scott's camera and got it into a great vantage point on a nearby building, her hacking ability allowing her to slip past security easily undetected. She returned to Scott after no more then 20 minutes. "Camera is in place." The next part Kiya did remotely, hacking into all traffic and dash cams in the area. "Alright area fully secure."

Riku and Tyrone arrived at the hospital and quickly located the room Adrian was being held in. Dr.Spayde stood by the boys bed, his hand pressed to Adrians forehead. As Riku and Tyrone approached, they could see Spayde was busy healing Adrians wounds.

Riku picked up the medical report and whistled " Damn, he got fucked all the way up, is he gonna make it doc? "

" Obviously, I'm exerting more energy patching him up then normal, but he'll be fine " William said.

Riku walked to the other side of Adrians bed, even with Williams work, Adrian still looked a mess, but markedly better then he had before " Hmm, if your still eating the same stuff, I can get dinner, as a thanks for putting up with this clubs bullshit " he said, aware of Williams cannibalism.

William shrugged " Part of the job, but thanks I'll take it " He pulled his hand away and stepped back to stretch " Gonna let him rest abit before I resume healing him. Dont want his body to get to used to my power. He should wake up in a bit "

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

" Kaiser, with Riku gone, your the best at piloting PLatinum chariot, would you mind scouting out a location? " Emmet asked, still ordering the necessary items.

" Of course " Kaiser said automatically

" Excellent, who wishes to accompany Kaiser? " Emmet asked

Finished messing about Tenshi and Eva, Nina then turned to Troy and Abby. "So you finally ready to tell us about this girl? She clearly lacks the killer intent the rest of us have." Troy looked at Abby and grinned "You would think so, but she can be quite the little killer when set loose." Nina sized up the terrorized girl "Really? I find that hard to believe." Troy responded back "You doubt my recruitment judgement? How about if Abby here rips you i half, would you believe then?" Nina thought this was a interesting claim, the girl did not look physically strong so was she hiding a power? "She would be dead before she even took a step if she dared try it." Troy smirked "You see that's the thing, she wouldn't even need to take a step. Your already in the kill zone, you just never realized it." Troy was making some bold claims, so what was this girl hiding?

-----

"I'll go" Katy said. Sandra looked over to Tanesha, she'd go if her girl wanted to go. Tesla didn't seem to bothered either way, if Kaiser and Katy wanted a extra hand then whatever, she'd tag along.

Adrian groaned as he started to regain consciousness, his body felt sore, but his mind seemed to be worse. He was struggling to remember where he was, who he was. How had he gotten here? He wracked his brain for answers, but that only brought pain.

" You ok? "

He looked to his side to see Riku sitting in a chair, looking at his phone. Adrian felt his thoughts stop spinning, however slightly " Sing "

Riku raised an eyebrow " Sing what? "

" It doesnt matter, anything please, just sing, please " He needed something to distract him, to help him focus, otherwise he feared he'd fall down some hole of forgetfulness.

Riku put his phone away and stood up, two obviously mind controlled male nurses walked into the room as music started playing.

Riku(nurses):
Freak like me
You want a good girl that does bad things to you
You never been with no one as nasty as me
Spice up your life, come get a freak (do do do do do do do)
Freak like me

Tie him down to my queen bed
Tease him just enough to hate me (hate me)
Tied it tight enough, he can’t break free (break free)
Keep him waiting 'til he try
This can go one of two ways
We could flip the coin, I'll be your slave (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Call you daddy, give me a nickname
I ain't afraid of a little pain (no, I ain't 'fraid of a little pain)

Yo, yo, yo, yo
He wanted some'n else and
He wanna be selfish
He wanted them three rounds, DC had to come help him
Look, I know your position
Try to squeeze in the full nelson though
Beat on it, beat, beat on it
Mercy like a black belt give
Daddy the grand master, daddy I want it faster
Them bitches you fucking with I know they gon' need some practice
So bring 'em along wit' ya
I'll teach 'em how to smash ya
When I made a little mess on it
He told me to clean my act up

Freak like me (tryna freak it down)
You want a good girl that does bad things to you
You never been with no one as nasty as me
Spice up your life, come get a freak (yo yo yo yo yo, yo yo yo yo yo, yo yo yo yo yo)

Hey, I could take a big bat
Bet that he thinking this a game
Hey, batter, batter swing
You could put it on a swing
Freak like a triple xxx flick
Put her on a chain
This pussy off the chain
This kitty insane
I could fuck him in the rain
I could fuck him in the range
I could fuck him everyday
I'ma fuck him 'til he sing
Milkshake bring the boys to the yard
I'ma need the whip cream
I ain't ever been vanilla honey
Just wait until you get a taste
Skirt off, fuck in the backseat
Take that shirt off, baby, put it on me
Got me like "yeehaw", ride it like a horsey
Kinda like seesaw, up and down on the D
Give it to him

Freak like me (need a freak like me)
You want a good girl that does bad things to you (you want a good girl)
You never been with no one as nasty as me
Spice up your life, come get a freak (do do do do do do do)
Freak like me
Freak like me
You want a good girl that does bad things to you
You never been with no one as nasty as me
Spice up your life, come get a freak (do do do do do do do)
Freak like me



Riku sang, the two nurses providing decent backup vocals and some choreo. Riku danced sexily around Adrians bed, his finger, physical and shadows, ran along Adrians body in a teasing manner. As the song ended, Riku sent the nurses out the room " So? "

Adrian sighed in relief " Thank you, that was good "

" Your damn right it was, so who jumped you? "

Adrian shrugged stiffly " I dont know, the last thing I remember is getting a text from Emmet to meet in the choir room, then I woke up here "

William had mentioned that something seemed off with Adrians brain chemistry, Riku bright enough to deduce this wasnt amnesia based off too many knocks in the head, no someone had erased part of his memory " Anything else come to mind? "

" No.... " Adrian said looking away, that wasnt true, another thing that was at the forefront of his mind was Keyanna. But why? He hadnt thought about her in years, he'd had no reason too, she was dead. But this did make his realize who was probably behind the four horsemen " Are you the only one that came? "

" Naw, Tyrone's here too, doc said only one visitor at a time, everyone else is prepping for what will probably not be our only battle against these horsemen jackasses " Riku said, his gaze trailing the lower part of Adrians body " Want help with that? "

Adrian nodded " Yes, after, could you call Tyrone in? "

" Sure " Riku said as he started pulling back the covers.

A few minutes later Riku left the room, licking his lips " He wants to see you " he told Tyrone.

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

Karen rolled her eyes, not remotely impressed by this snivelling little victim " A telekinetic i'm going to assume " This made her think of Sandra and immediately pissed her off, which wasnt difficult given the current situation. Leaving this up to the four mercenaries left a bad taste in her mouth, she wanted in on the action.

Alex was curious what her power was as well, though he felt Troy was overestimating her. If she was as he claimed, then he could be dead right now, unless he had dirt on her, which would typical of Troy.

Alice was nearly finished with the first batch of healing potions.

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" I'll go too " Tanesha said " Doesnt seem like theres much else to do at the moment "

" I'll go too " Dave decided

Sandra elected to go as well, with that decided, Dave teleported the group back to Emmets place. He had to sit down for a moment, his ability had grown over the last month, in that he could bring more then two people with him when he teleported, but he was still a little tired from the magic he'd worked earlier. Soon the group was on the ship and in the air, clearing the island after a few minutes.

" Uh does anyone else still feel weird being on this thing? Given what happened " referring to the mass slaughter Riku carried out on it.

" No " Kaiser responded, unsurprisingly.

"Solid guess Karen, but no it's not telekinesis." Nina was getting annoyed, this girl surely had some kind of abstract power they was never going to simply guess, did she? No doubt Troy was having fun with this little game. "Alright whatever, say this girl is as strong as you say. How exactly is she going to help us in her condition. She's no fighter, the bitch is petrified just standing in this room among us." Troy answered back "You are right Nina, Abby is quite the little coward. However if backed into a corner, well lets just say you wouldn't want to be anywhere near her. Besides her passive nature could have it's uses."

Nina was curious what uses Troy was talking about when it suddenly hit her. "Your thinking infiltration, to have one of us on the inside of the True Notes? That would be useful actually, but it may be hard getting them to accept her after the whole Kiya ordeal. Plus what about the mind reads, Emmet and of course Karen's best buddy Sandra." Troy already arranged for that. "That's where the Fear Factor come in, Jet assured me he has power that can take care of that annoyance. For now we're going to play things by ear, but if this Four Horsemen fails, we've already got backup plans."

-----

"Last time I was on one of these types of things, I was being kidnapped and driver nearly sold me off to the highest bidder. So yea you could say I have mixed feelings right now." Sandra said this referring back to the cyborg Kiya. Of course Riku's brutality when dealing with the soldiers didn't exactly help in giving this aircraft a comforting feeling either. "Well personally feelings aside you two this airship is the best thing to suit our current needs" Katy said in response to Dave and Sandra. "I know, don't worry I don't regret coming. Some of us just need a moment to get over the um, awkwardness of being on this thing."

Truth being told Sandra would feel more comfortable self flying with her telekinesis, but doing that had limitations this airship doesn't.

"I know Riku did not just give you hoe nurse treatment." Tyrone came in with a smile, secretly glad Adrian looked ok for now. He was about to come in for a hug, but realized Adrian might still be in pain especially since the doctor said he'd resume the treatment later. Instead he took a seat by the bed.

"So, whose ass I gotta beat?"

Tanesha squeezed Sandras hand softly, she still remembered Kiya taking her on the aircraft and being virtually powerless to stop her " I know how you feel gurl, though I missed that psycho bitches rampage on here, he told me everything in waay to graphic detail and hey, at least this one looks nice " she was referring the drastic and stylish changes in the airships decor that was obviously Emmets hand, complete with a portrait of him.

" Im fine with it too, place just gives me the creeps " Dave said, he was getting weird vibes.

" Since you've started learning magic, it will reflect in your mutant ability, you'll be more sensitive to certain spaces like this, where something horrific happened and permanently impacted it " Kaiser informed him as they started passing over islands.

" Uh are you saying this thing is haunted? " Dave asked as a half joke. Kaiser shook his head.

" Not exactly, Riku just has a habit of twisting things when he lets the darkner aspects of his personality out, despite how he generally acts, he's holding back a lot "

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

With nothing else to do for the next few hours, Emmet informed everyone to rest up and remain on standby for the time being. He requested Tesla stay and asked if she'd like to hangout. They soon found themselves at a quaint little tea shop. It obvious that Emmet frequented the place a lot as a personal table with his name on it was present. They sat down and were immediately brought an ornate tea pot, along with cups and small containers for sugar and honey.

" How are you dawling? " Emmet asked as he poured them each a cup.

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

Karen snorted " This again? I cant stand that group, but even I can say their not idiots, no matter how assuming this chick is, there still going to be suspicious of her "

" I have to agree with that statement " Alex said " counting Victoria and Tanesha as one incident, this tactic has been used twice and I dont see any evidence to suggest they believed her. Further more the group doesnt appear to be extra reliant on telepathy "

Something occured to Karen " what about that Sandra look alike, isnt she a telepath too? "

" Your referring to Cassandra Goodman, the principles adopted daughter, yes she appears to be a telepath and a telekinetic like Sandra " Alex said, it didnt appear to be common knowledge that Cassandra was a clone however.

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

Adrian nodded at Tyrone in greeting, ignoring the comment about Riku, he got down to business " I think I have a good idea......Keshia Belcourt, I received a message about her before I was attacked by whoever. My memory has been erased of the fight....but Keshia keeps coming back to mind " Tyrone was shocked, he hadnt heard that name in forever and for good reason, she was dead.

" Her brother Luthor still seems to have it out for me, theres no one else who could have hired those four missionaries "

Sandra could always rely on Tani to comfort her. As Tanesha pointed out the renovations Sandra had to agree "Yea babe I don't think there is anything Emmet doesn't remodel if he gets his hands on it."

-----

Cass headed to to grab a bite to eat then she might take up Emmet's suggestion and take a quick nap. Her mothers words was still on her mind, as was Tanesha. She felt that desire mother had mentioned, to fight for what you want. But she still wrestled with her contemplation, could she really turn her back on Sandra after how nice the girl has treated her? She was still quite unsure of how she wanted to proceed.

-----

Tesla made up a cup of tea. Tesla wasn't sure why she didn't expect the question Emmet asked, maybe because they've already been hanging out for a while with the meeting all while this question is usually more of a conversation starter, but they had changed settings and it was just the two of them now. "I'm alright I guess, just waiting to see what kind of crap arises that we need to deal with next."

-----

"Obviously she wouldn't just walk up, knock on the door and ask to join. It would have to be staged just right. Still you both have a fair point, all I'm saying is it's a option if the proper opportunity presents itself to us." Troy understood the True Notes would be on high alert, but he also realized a number of them where still suckers for being the good guys and protecting the innocent. And that can always be exploited. Still getting Abby on the inside was not his main goal, just something he'd had in the back of his mind.

When Adrian said Keshia that threw him for a loop. He paused for a few seconds before responding "Oh."

He was expecting it was likely the four horseman or some people Adrian might've rubbed the wrong way. Not the girl Adrian killed and her brother. "Well shit. I assume you didn't tell Riku, but wtf"

Trying to grasp with the weight of the situation Tyrone put his head into his hands for a few moments. He figured all of this was their fault and even more his own to some extent. The fact Victoria was put in danger because of this was almost too much to handle. He took a deep breath and looked back up at Adrian with a little more determination than he had before. "Alright, so we're back to being partners in crime again." he joked with a wry smile.

"I guess its easier since we know that you're their target, or at least a target. Any ideas on what we should do?"

At this point Tyrone was more worried about everyone else's safety especially Victoria's. He doubted sacrificing himself would do anything and even if Adrian isn't good Tyrone understood why he did what he did. To him this felt like a cycle of revenge that apparently continues beyond death, but either way they needed to deal with it.

Adrian wasnt sure how to answer Tyrones question " Luthor was always a planner, it always made playing games with him a pain in the ass, even with my skills. This is only the beginning of his game. The gauntlet has officially been thrown, it seems. He doesnt care about the group, he's only working with Troy as a means of getting to me "

The way this scenario usually went, the people a person most cared about were the ones targetted. Such things were in short supply for Adrian, even with the True Notes. This fact would not be lost on Luthor, so what was he aiming for?

He starred at Tyrone out the corner of his eye, He'd called them partners in crime and that was true. When it came time to cover up his crime, Tyrone had been the first and only person he'd thought to call. As close as he was capable of, he guess he cared about the boy and to some extent Sarah. Growing up they were more like siblings to him then his actual ones.

" For now all we can do is deal with the four horsemen, if we can manage that then theres fear factor. Luthor will probably begin the next stage of his plan....you may be targeted. If not because of your involvement then because your the closest thing I have to someone I actually give a damn about "

His mind flashed briefly to Emmet, then for a longer duration to Riku. Maybe there were more people then he wanted to admit. His inial plans were becoming warped and it was hard to remember exactly what he wanted anymore. Power, absolute power, but that felt cliche, he wanted to understand the power that Emmet and Sandra wielded, the phoenix force, the fire bird of rebirth......

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

The airship hovered over an island, Kaiser started to bring it down to a slow descent then touched a button on the panel. A droid detached from it and flew down, the monitor showing what it was recording.

" Are those fucking dinosaurs! " Dave exclaimed " What are dinosaurs doing on this island, or alive? "

" Yeah this is looking like some bootleged jurassic park " Tanesha commented " Pretty damn sure we dont wanna have to fight them plus these horsemen "

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

Emmet scooped some sugar into his cup, followed by a dollop of honey, and lemon juice before casually stirring it in " Yes, our dance cards are eternally stamped by this coflict or another " he didnt sound like he was particularly bothered by events, almost like he was enjoying himself " To be frank dawling, you have seemed more...." seemed like he was trying to think of a word or side stepping another " Aggitated, even in this group of sharp and quick tongues. Your attitude towards Cassandra since we discovered her and Lone Wolf from your outting have been particularly harsh "

He raised his cup and took a sip " Tre magnifique "

Looking Tesla square in the eye and holding her gaze " Is there something you'd like to talk about "

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

Eva was glaring at Abby, who was this weak little mouse and what was her relation to Troy, surely they werent an item, nooooo it wasnt possible, no she and Troy were a WE, yes thats what he told her. Abby noticed that Eva was starring at her in a very unnerving way, the definition of if looks could kill and that might not be just an expression with the undead girl.

Alex mentally sighed, it was refreshing to see that Troy was as simpleminded as ever. It made him appreciate Adrian a bit more, both were evil but he'd prefer a more intellegent evil. He looked up as As a dapper looking older gentlemen entered the room, followed by Harmonia and and another girl supporting a naked old man, the grandfather of the Lee's.

Alice gestured for them to line the man up with the rest of the Lee's, her first batch of healing potions just about done, well the preliminarie anyway.

Harmonia, missing an arm, gestured with her remaining one " Meet Limos(famine) and our leader Thanatos(death) with that were all together and can I just say, i'm fucking pissed! "

" Calm yourself Harmonia " Thanatos chided her " That was an unexpected encounter, but it was refreshing all the same " his phone beeped, pulling it out of his pocket, he checked it "Hmm, it seems we are to face the true notes tomorrow, off island as the seer Iskandar is controlling has relayed to our employer "

Harmonia smilied chillingly " Oh goody, i'm gonna take all of my anger out on these brats, it cool if I go full arsenal? "

Thanatos raised an eyebrow " It's been awhile i've seen you in that state, by all means "

" Fuck yeah, this is gonna be sweet " Harmonia said, licking her lips

"Hopefully those are robotic. Like if they are real, where the heck did they even find the DNA to clone them?" Sandra would of been more surprised, but after meeting Cassandra if scientists could perfectly replicate a human, then it sounds to reason they can replicate anything else. "Sheesh I hope they don't pull a JP2 and try to bring these monsters to the mainland."

-----

Tesla and Emmet's gaze remained locked as the girl seemed to consider her argument, although Emmet could see a pain, but also a fear in Tesla's eyes. Wanting her to open up Emmet applied a little more pressure, telling her he could something was bothering her and just in general trying to get her to come clean. With enough careful prodding Tesla began to speak.

"It's just..." she sighed. "Why, you know. Why'd I even bother? To make my way here, to join the True Notes. My life has been completely fucked since I was kid. My own fucking father father tried to murder me, succeeded in murdering my mother and got his own dumb ass killed in a police shootout. You have any idea what that does to mindset of a 12 year old? I tried to live a normal life with my godfather after that, but was never able to open my heart up to others again. I put a shell around myself, take care of yourself and don't trust nobody. For some reason I connect with you bunch and what happens, we accept a backstabber into our midst. It just supported what I thought all along, that you can't trust nobody but yourself. How long until Cass goes and pulls a Kiya on us huh? And some mystery men from some far off alternate universe, how do we know what their true intentions are? Then our own mismatched group of misfits has some of the shadiest motherfuckers imaginable, including a literal demon waiting to murder on moments notice. What's the point getting invested? There's no way this was meant to last."

As he let her vent out, Emmet think he understood. She said itself, the events of her childhood messed her up. Tesla completely blocked out getting emotionally attached to people, and when she did start to let people in, Kiya came along and kidnapped Sandra. That snapped Tesla straight back into defensive mode and she started blocking people out again, afraid of another betrayal, of getting hurt again like all those years ago. Emmet was surprised she came forth as easily as she did, but after years of bottling this up Emmet figured Tesla might of been a little desperate to get this all off her chest.

-----

Troy sent Abby back to confinement as the Horsemen came in. While Abby was a possibility, she was in no way his plan A. He only brought up the True Notes as the others where in doubt of how dangerous the girl was and nagging him about uses. He watched this Four Horsemen, looks like they where in rough shape. Not exactly the most amazing of first impressions."

Emmet sipped his tea as he listened to Tesla bare all of her emotions, not just listen but feel. Ever since he developed telepathy, he found that he'd also developed the power of empathy, sensing and manipulating emotions. Juggling two newfound abilities had not been easy for him, but he was always one to rise to a challenge, with ample practice, he'd managed to get a foot hold on both powers.

He could practically see the terrified, twelve year old Tesla, it was almost poetic how her mutant ability had manifested, diamond over her skin, the same as walls around her heart. Tesla wasnt the type to get close to people,to let them in. Since joining the True Notes, Tesla had slowly but surely started letting people in, but the incidents with Victoria/Tanesha and Kiya happened, causing her to retreat back and put her walls back up. Add in Cassandra appearing, along with Scott and his gang then it all had become to much for the girl.

" Tesla " Emmet said firmly " Take a breath "

She did

" Now let it out "

Emmet had her repeat this a few times till she'd calmed down " Good ,given the past events in your life, its understandable how your views havw come to be this way. Dawling your feelings are valid and real. When someone so close to betrays you, it effects all future relationships. But I believe i've seen a significant change in you since you joined the group, You smile, laugh, and sing with us, your trully apart of our group "

" He took another sip of his tea " If not, then when I sent that message out and gave everyone the option to leave, the you of before would have done so without hesitation. But you stuck with us, because you care, far more then you believe you do. For Mr. Young and his friends, the circumstances that brought them here are questionable, but in the month they've been here and living in my home, i've come to believe they mean us no harm and are decent people "

" For the shady people, as you put it, in our own group. Theyhave their own reasons for being here, but they are with us, have fought beside us and done nothing to betray us. I'll be honest dawling, Riku is one of the people I trust the most, he is honest, often brutally so. He is unabashedly himself in everything he does and makes no apologies for the fact. Even his penchant for violence and murder are.....hmm charming, to me anyway. He also seems to be fond of you, in whatever capacity he is capable of "

He thanked the server that brought them a plate of biscuits and began skillfully cutting one open to apply jam " I wont tell you not to be suspicious of Cassandra, truthfully your not the only one, just most others arent quite so vocal about it. The circumstances around her discovery line up fine, but there is something I cant quite put my finger on. For now shes quite better then miss Skies was, to say the least. Tesla, your a very special girl, youve suffered so much, but your still here, theres just one thing to do "

" Whats that? " Tesla asked quietly

Emmet smiled as music started playing " Live "

Emmet:
It used to feel like a fairy tale
Now it seems we were just pretending
We'd fix our world
Then on our way to a happy ending

Then it turned out life
Was far less like a bedtime story
Than a tragedy
With no big reveal of the hero's glory

And it seems we weren't prepared
For a game that wasn't fair

Do we just go home?
Can we follow through?
When all hope is gone,
There is one thing we can do

Let's just live!
Day by day and not be conquered by our sorrows
The past can't hold us down
We must break free
Inside we're torn apart
But time will mend our hearts
Move onward not there yet
So let's just live![3]

Tesla:
Can we get back to a happy place?
We've suffered so much pain and sorrow
After yesterday is there any way
We can trust tomorrow?
Will we go through life
Filled with strife like it's torn and tattered
Can we keep this up
When we all know that every hope has shattered?

And the lesson isn't new
That some dreams just can't come true

When it finally falls
And the battle's through
When our faith is gone
And there's nothing left to lose

Emmet and Tesla:
Let's just live
Day by day and not be conquered by our sorrows
The past can't hold us down
We must break free
Inside we're torn apart
But time will mend our hearts
Move onward not there yet so let's just live

Emmet:
When it feels like there's nothing
Worth living for
Everything is broken
The light's not there anymore
Tesla:
And the story
Takes an unexpected turn
A friend is suddenly gone
We can cry our lives away
But if they were here they'd say
Go forward you must keep moving on

Emmet hopped up during a break in lyrics to dance, inviting Tesla to join him.

Emmet:
Let's just live
Just one day let's forget our problems
Let's fall in love with life
And just be free

Emmet and Tesla:
The sun will never fade
The night won't steal our day
Let's laugh and dance and love and let's just live


The shop exploded with applause for the two as they returned to their seats.

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

" They appear to be real " Kaiser confirmed as they zoomed off for another island "it's not too suprising, there are a lot of things that should be dead, still roaming the world "

The next island was smaller then the last and seemed very dry, hardly any green life or animals.

The talk with Emmet was quite... nice.    It's like he understood her pain, probably better then Tesla had thought he would.    She found it interesting that he also seemed somewhat suspicious of Cassandra.    It was even more surprising Riku had a fondness for her.     Tesla wondered if Riku truly liked anybody.    Although it would explain his tendency to give her little bits of advice from time to time.    He made her feel like she belonged, that people actually cared about her.     Emmet and Tesla performed a song and dance together, finishing to a roaring crowd.    After this little talk Tesla started thinking that maybe she has been a little to cold towards people.

As they stood and soaked in the cheers Tesla comment towards Emmet "By the way, don't think this changes anything" Emmet could tell this wasn't related to what they spoke about moments ago, there was a more fiery passion behind that comment "I'm still coming for that top spot."     Just as Emmet thought, this was geared more towards to the top singer competition within the True Notes.     While Emmet likely always considered Tie (insert student name) as his real rival, it's no secret Tesla considered herself to be in that same conversation.    She's openly said and made no secrets of wanting that top spot in the past.    And it seems like she still desired to best the two of them going forward.     So that friendly competition seems like it's remaining firmly in tack.

-----

"Huh, this one basically looks like an desert. Like was Genosha built on the one and only good island around here?" Sandra asked.

Emmet smiled pleasantly before taking a sip of his tea " I'll keep that in mind dawling. I'm curious to see how you'll challenge me " there was a little jest in his statement, but while he believed he was the best singer in the group and none of the others were close to his level, he still welcomed any and all challenges as he wanted to see them grow and enjoy themselves. He also noted Tesla's emotional climate seemed to be slightly different now " How are you feeling now? "

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

The next island was full of rich plant life and appeared to be a good spot, then watched a large plant devour a cow, more observation showed the entire island was filled with carnivorous plants.

" You know, fucked up as this place is, its pretty nice looking, would make a good painting " Tanesha commented, it had been awhile since she painted anything, all the training and cheer practices and singing sessions had taken up a lot of time.