A/N: I wanted to try a new presentation style in this chapter, suggested by a good friend of mine. If you all like it, I'll stick with it!
Cami King, Cody Brooks, and Emilia Spencer slowly awaken, finding themselves in a strange hallway. The walls are made of blue-tinted splintered glass, while the floors are seemingly made of space itself with stars lining them. The hallway seems to go on for an eternity. However, not too far from them is White Rabbit, unconscious on the floor. Cami and Emilia run over to check on her while Cody looks around.
"What is this place?" Cody asks as he wanders, intrigued. He looks through the glass, but finds nothing on the other side.
"Cody, can you give a shit about another person for five minutes?" Cami snaps as she and Emilia try to wake up White Rabbit, but she doesn't budge. Cody stands still for a moment, considering her words, before walking further down the hall.
"What if we are stuck here..?" Emilia asks, her voice and body both trembling. Cami stays quiet, trying to avoid that possibility. Cody continues to walk further away, looking for something. Cami thinks for a moment, trying to figure out a plan.
"I think that we need to stick together. When White Rabbit wakes up, she should know what to do. She brought us here… I think." Cami states, avoiding Emilia's nervous stare. Cami stands up and stares out the glass. She narrows her eyes after a couple seconds, seemingly seeing something… "Is… Is that a person..?"
"What?" Emilia speaks up as Cody looks over at Cami.
"There's a person out there." Cami repeats, looking worried now. The man walks through the nothingness like he is walking underwater. Standing at 6'1" and slender with cream skin, this man carries an androgynous appearance. He has soft golden eyes and his short, bright pink hair is combed over. His face is soft and round. He is wearing an immaculate, but almost otherworldly, bright orange three-piece suit with a pink tie. On the tie is a black Omnisexual symbol. He wears a friendly smile on his face as he approaches the glass and, despite all laws of reality, walks through it with ease. He stands before the three teens.
"Hello there." He says, his voice sweet as honey. His golden eyes look past them and at the unconscious White Rabbit. "Dreaded skies…" He looks at the three before walking past them. He kneels down beside White Rabbit's side. "Oh my, you have overexerted yourself, little bunny…" He gently rubs the top of her hair about her mask.
"Overexerted herself?" Cami speaks up and the man looks back at her.
"Her ability usually allows her to come here when not being watched. She's not used to bringing anyone else here, let alone three people under pressure." He responds. He lets out a heavy sigh, "I will return you to your plane of existence, just outside her home. Return her there for safety." He orders softly. Before the three can respond, his golden eyes shine brightly, blinding them.
Cami, Cody, and Emilia find themselves standing outside an apartment door. Sitting against the wall beside the door is the unconscious White Rabbit. The interior of the apartment building is disgusting, like it hasn't been cleaned in a long time. The door that stands before them is far cleaner than the rest. Cami raises her fist to knock on the door, but it suddenly swings open. A man standing at 5'4, with a slim build rushes out. He has medium length black hair, cut like someone who doesn't cut hair did it. He has light grey eyes and light skin, with heavy eye bags like he's someone who's spent way too much time on the computer. He immediately pushes the three away and crouches down by White Rabbit.
"What did you do to her?!" He snaps, glaring at the three.
"I'm gonna need you to calm down, ma'am." Cody says and immediately gets punched out by the man.
"Wrong." He growls before turning to Cami, with Emilia now cowering behind her. "Anyone else? Or you gonna answer?"
Cami thinks and realizes Cody's mistake. "Sir, she saved our lives. We owe her a lot." At this, the man calms down slightly.
"Just go." He glares, causing the three to leave. Cody is now bleeding from his nose.
"I did not hear bigotry…" Cami asks as the three leave.
"It wasn't on purpose!" Cody groans, blood covering his hand.
"Next time you see him, you better apologize." Cami commands.
"Alright, alright. It was an honest mistake." Cody grumbles. "I think he broke my nose."
"After all you've done today? Good." Cami sighs.
The man does his best to carry White Rabbit into their apartment, lying her on the couch. He reaches up and removes her mask, revealing a soft and cute face. "Dammit Meeks, you need to be more careful." He sighs, worried. He sits down and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a blue and white fidget cube to calm his anxiety. After a couple moments, the ocean blue eyes of White Rabbit begin to crack open. "Mika! Are you okay?" He asks, making sure she can see him so she knows she's safe.
"Z-zeke?" She stutters, slowly looking around. "What..? What happened?"
"Three teens brought you here. I guess you saved them..?" Zeke responds.
"Oh yeah…" Mika rubs her head. "I brought us to the subspace…"
"You brought other people there?! You could've hurt yourself! You did hurt yourself!" Zeke exclaims before hugging his roommate tightly. She softly hugs back.
"Sorry… I couldn't resist." Mika states as they separate and she stands up, though her knees buckle and she falls back onto the couch. "Oof! Imma need a moment!" Mika says with a giggle.
"God, you are gonna stress me to death." Zeke sighs and shakes his head. The two stare at each other for a moment.
"Can we have pizza?" Mika randomly asks.
"…Yeah, I think that dude opened my virus by now anyways." Zeke nods in agreement.
Ryan Holland wakes up in his bed. He immediately rubs his face in an attempt to wake up, only to hear something startling.
"Good morning, kids!" The voice of Happy Paddy comes from his tv, waking him up fast. He knows that, without a doubt, he left his tv off last night. "I'm sure you have a big day ahead of you, kiddo, but don't forget to stop and relax. It's always good to remember where you came from and why you are the way you are!" Happy Paddy grins from ear to ear as Ryan is once again confronted with the feeling that Happy Paddy is staring right at him. "However! You should also get some ice cream! It's gonna be a hot day out and you don't want to be caught surprised by The Ice Cream Man!" Happy Paddy winks dramatically before he laughs, waving. "Bye kids! See ya! Have a great day!"
Ryan narrows his eyes at the TV before it transitions to a rerun of another kids show. Ryan then grabs his phone off the bedside table and calls Morgan.
Ring!
Ring!
Ri-!
"Sup." Morgan answers, yawning. "You know this is my day off, right?"
"Yeah, mine too, buddy. Got a concern." Ryan states quickly. Morgan coughs for a moment before speaking.
"What's up?" Morgan inquires, his voice serious.
"Have you heard of Happy Paddy?" Ryan asks.
"Hmm… The kid show host? Yeah, why?" Morgan responds as the sound of a toaster being used is heard.
"Lately, his show has appeared randomly on my TV. On top of that, his tweet appeared on my phone yesterday and I didn't even know he had a twitter. On top of that, he had some figurines of us during our battle against Black Sage and The Gorilla." Ryan informs. For a moment, the two are quiet before…
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Morgan breaks out laughing, a hearty laugh at that. He wheezes for a moment as Ryan just stares at his phone, annoyed. "So! Let me get this straight! You keep turning on a kid's show and forgetting about it?"
"I-" Ryan groans. "What about the figurines?"
"He's a kid show host! Maybe he loves superheroes!" Morgan responds, still laughing.
"Okay… Does it change anything if I say it feels like he is staring at me?" Ryan asks and Morgan laughs even harder. Ryan hangs up. "I'm gonna kick his ass."
Ring!
Ring!
Ring!
Ryan answers, "Hello?"
"Did you just hang up on me?" Morgan inquires.
"No, bad connection." Ryan lies poorly.
"Uh huh. Anyways, it's good you called. We have a mission." Morgan informs and Ryan sits up, listening closely. "Mayor Smith and Candidate Okada will be having a public meeting with the Reaverfall people today. You, me, Wings, and La Tormenta will be keeping watch, just in case. Get ready. It starts soon." Morgan says before hanging up.
In the center of town, before the majestic town hall, a crowd has grown and grown massive. It's filled with various reporters and journalists, all awaiting the Mayor and Candidate. Standing on the rooftop of the surrounding buildings are Blitz, Nightbolt, La Tormenta, and Wings.
"Oh boy! This oughta be interesting!" Wings chirps happily, clapping as she does.
"Meh." Blitz crosses his arms.
"Come on, Baby Blitz! We practically have a front row view of possibly our next mayor!" Wings jumps into the air, using her mighty wings to do an aerial backflip before landing quickly.
"Baby Blitz?" Blitz raises an amused eyebrow.
"Well, Big Muscle Cool Dangerous BabyBoy Blitz doesn't roll off the tongue as well." Wings says with ease, causing La Tormenta to surprisingly wheeze.
"Hmm." Blitz shakes his head, smirking.
"Honestly, it's nearly a guarantee with how Mayor Smith has handled a lot of his term." La Tormenta informs, staring down at town hall, where a hush has fallen over the crowd as a voice is heard over the P.A. System.
"Please welcome the Mayoral Candidate, Mister Saren Okada!" A feminine voice echos before Saren Okada exits the building to much applause. Saren is 5'7" and has slicked back black hair. His skin is almost transparent, and he has ice-blue eyes. He has a scar extending diagonally from his left ear to the right corner of his mouth from what he has claimed as a scar from self defense. He is wearing a standard black and white three-piece suit. He takes a bow and a wave at the overwhelmingly positive crowd. He approaches his podium and stands at it.
"Please welcome the current Reaverfall Mayor, Mayor Bill Smith!" The feminine voice announces again, but this time, it is met with the opposite response. Mayor Smith walks out, wearing a matching three-piece suit, but with the blazer unbuttoned and a slight coffee stain on the dress shirt. He awkwardly waves at the hostile crowd. He then approaches his podium and pulls at his collar before straightening his tie.
"How are you, Mayor Smith?" Saren inquires, his voice warm.
"I- I'm well." Mayor Smith responds with a nod. When he notices the crowd murmuring, he speaks up. "Uh how are you?"
"I am good, Mayor Smith." Saren says with a smile.
"I, er, understand many of you gathered here today have questions for us. Please uh ask in an orderly… uhhh.." Mayor Smith pauses, forgetting his words.
"Please ask in an orderly fashion. We are all civil adults here." Saren inserts himself, quickly winning the crowd over even more.
As the questions begin, Blitz walks away from the ledge. "This is going to be a long day." Blitz sighs. Nightbolt is about to comment when he notices Wings is staring at something nervously.
"You okay, Wings?" Nightbolt crouches beside her.
"He's here…" Wings says, clearly worried, as she points at a distant building. Nightbolt looks closely and realizes why she is so uncomfortable. Several buildings away, sitting on the ledge of the roof and apparently watching the debate…
Is The First. He is wearing a solid black hoodie and black jeans with military combat boots and, as usual, his futuristic faceless mask. He is resting his forearms against his legs as his feet hang off the building. He is as unreadable as usual.
"Blitz. Tormenta." Nightbolt calls the two over and points him out to them.
"Keep an eye on him. Don't mess with him unless necessary." Blitz orders, knowing what The Faceless Ones are capable of. The group continues to keep watch.
"Mr. Okada, Tribute Chronicles. What would you say is the biggest issue in Reaverfall City today?" A reporter asks.
Saren Okada stays quiet for a moment, pondering his words. Then, he straightens his tie and speaks up, "The biggest problem in Reaverfall City is the divide between the powerful and the powerless. Whether it's those with superpowers versus those without. Whether it's those society idolizes versus those it despises. Whether it's those with money versus those struggling to feed their kids. No matter which powerful versus powerless it is, the divide is astronomically wide." As Saren speaks, the crowd goes dead quiet, listening to every word. "I don't see a good reason for that divide, however. I dream of a world, not a neighborhood, not a city, not a country, but a world in which everyone stands on equal footing. A superhero is only born out of moral code, not obsession for the spotlight. A supervillain is only born out of depravity, rather than loss of options. I've studied many villains of Reaverfall. I've seen men cast out because their powers were strange. I've seen women given names that ended up sticking and pointing them towards crime. I've seen people who were too poor be forced into crime, then get vilified and looked down on as if they had a choice." Saren continues, his voice carrying great weight and passion.
Nightbolt looks over at Tormenta as Okada speaks. Her face is filled with agreement, to the point of nodding along.
"And that's not even mentioning the animalistic super beings. People that look like animals, unable to control their own appearance. Yet, they are looked at as less than, because they don't fit neatly into a society made container. A container built by those who don't understand them, who don't know them, who don't even see them as people."
Nightbolt now looks to Wings, who is absentmindedly rubbing one of her feathers between her fingertips as she listens with a surprisingly serious expression on her face.
"I'm tired of living in a world where we can just overlook these serious issues. This is why, if I am elected as your mayor, I will personally be partnering with The Initiative to establish programs to help rehabilitate any and all redeemable criminals within Reaverfall Prison. I will also increase the funding towards Harmony Mental Institute, in hopes of helping the mentally unstable, criminal or not. Thank you." Okada finishes his speech, all without any papers to read off of. The crowd is silent for a moment…
Before bursting into a round of applause. Saren Okada simply smiles as he soaks in the response.
As the applause dies down, the same reporter turns to Mayor Smith. "Mayor Smith, do you have a response?" He asks.
Mayor Smith remains quiet, realizing that he is at a severe disadvantage. "Well, uh…" Mayor Smith clears his throat. "See, powered individuals are dangerous and unpredictable-" Mayor Smith is immediately cut off by boos from the crowd. "Hang on! Hold on! Excuse me! What I mean to say is-!" Mayor Smith tries to regain control, but the crowd is suddenly kicked into another gear when gunshots echo down the street.
"I'll go check that out!" Wings announces and flies off the building. Nightbolt looks towards The First, who doesn't react to the gunshots whatsoever. The crowd, however, began panicking.
"Look!" La Tormenta points towards another rooftop, where FalconShot lays, holding a sniper rifle. Blitz charges a fire blast and shoots it at the assassin. FalconShot notices it just briefly and rolls out of the way at the last moment, shooting as she does. The bullet pierces Saren Okada's shoulder and several members of the crowd rush over to check on him as Mayor Smith runs into the town hall. FalconShot sets down her sniper rifle and draws her pistols.
"Nightbolt, you protect Saren Okada. Tormenta and I have this one." Blitz commands and Nightbolt nods, climbing down quickly and going for Saren.
Meanwhile, Wings lands on the back of an armored truck with Rippers inside. She tries to stop them, but they nearly shoot her with their assault rifles, causing her to fall off and tumble onto the road. She winces in pain as she begins to bleed from one of her wings, causing it to twitch. The truck continues to careen towards the town hall. As it parts, The Rippers exit and begin firing into the crowd, tragically killing several innocent bystanders. Wings, seeing this happen, gets enraged and takes flight, though she doesn't make it far due to her wing. Despite this, she gets to her feet and runs at The Rippers with breathtaking speed, glaring and gritting her teeth. Nightbolt forms his shadow whip and tries to stop them, but he only takes two out before one hits him in the jaw with the butt of their rifle.
The Ripper aims his gun at Nightbolt, but before he can fire, Wings hits a flying kick to the side of his head, sending the murderer flying away. "Come on, kid. Let's do this!" Wings says to Nightbolt, angry. As the two begin battling the Rippers and protecting the hurt candidate, Blitz charges a fire blast at FalconShot, who narrowly dodges once again…
This time with the use of pitch-black falcon wings, bursting from her back. Both Blitz and Tormenta are surprised by this. FalconShot takes advantage and shoots at Blitz with her pistol, but Tormenta intercepts it.
"Blitz!" Tormenta screams, jumping in front and taking the bullet to her ribs. Blitz catches her and back tucks away from FalconShot.
"Tormenta!" Blitz growls before laying her down behind him. Tormenta wheezes in pain as blood begins to come out. Nightbolt sees this happen and something seems to click in his mind.
"NO!" He screams as the shadows swell around him and he pulls them close, allowing them to hug his body. He lets out a second scream and throws his arms open, causing the shadows to be expelled and sending each of The Rippers to the ground.
"Shit…" FalconShot glares at Nightbolt's display before noticing Wings flying straight towards her, still enraged and trying her best to ignore the pain in her wing. "Hmm." FalconShot hums before turning around just as Blitz rushes towards her, his hand crackling with electricity. FalconShot is worried at first before suddenly smirking. She draws one of her knives and stabs it straight into Blitz' hand, causing the electricity to become unstable and explode. The entire rooftop is shrouded in smoke just as Wings reaches it. Nightbolt, after making sure all The Rippers were unconscious, rushes towards the rooftop as well, worried for both Blitz and Tormenta. As the smoke clears, FalconShot is gone, but Blitz lies in a heap on the rooftop. He is bleeding heavily from his hand while scraps and cuts line his body.
"We need to get The Doctor!" Wings announces. She tries to fly, but collapses next to the still gasping La Tormenta and lets out a pained squawk.
"I'll go!" Nightbolt says, panicked. He quickly begins to make his way down, shooting a look at The First as he does. The First has not moved whatsoever, still just watching the scene before him.
While the remaining Rippers are being arrested, two healers are on the scene to clean up. The first is Crimson Phoenix, who stands at five foot eight inches tall and weighs one hundred thirty pounds. She has a small build with a ruler straight frame. She has a flat chest. She wears a flame red bohemian skirt as well as a match peasant blouse underneath a corset that laces up completely up the chest. The corset is in a She wears red leather boots that are knee high and lace up the sides instead of zip. For warmth, she is wearing a cloak that is dark red. Crimson Phoenix is currently healing Saren Okada from his gunshot wound.
"Thank you, miss." Saren winces slightly.
"It's fine, Mr. Okada. Sorry if I'm taking a bit too long. Still learning." Crimson gives a friendly smile as she holds her glowing hand over his wound.
On the rooftop, The Doctor is currently healing La Tormenta. The Doctor is a 5'8" elderly man with neat gray hair and a gray beard. He has a gaunt physique and dark brown eyes. He is currently wearing a gray pair of sweatpants, some slippers, an old t-shirt, and a lab coat. As La Tormenta's bullet wound closes, the bullet pushes itself out.
"Eh, thanks Doc." La Tormenta groans as The Doctor moves on to Blitz' hand. "Anything for the pain?"
"Rest. No strenuous activity." The Doctor responds, a German accent dancing on his voice. The knife soon retracts from Blitz hand as, for a brief moment, everyone can see Blitz's muscles and nerves reconnecting.
"God, that feels much better." Blitz growls as he shakes out his hand, while The Doctor moves on to Wings' wing.
"You get rest as well. Nothing too extreme." The Doctor waves a finger at Blitz.
"Understood." Blitz nods as The Doctor begins healing Wings.
"You must be more careful, little one." The Doctor looks at Wings. "Without your wings, you are in trouble." The Doctor states as her wing wound closes.
"Yes sir…" Wings nods, feeling down.
"No, none of that, little one. Be proud you survived. Many did not." The Doctor tries to cheer her up. It doesn't work.
"Uhh, Doc. Maybe not your forte." Blitz states, grimacing.
"Understood. All four of you should be resting after today. No crime fighting until better." The Doctor waves his finger at all four, like a parent- or grandparent. Then, he begins making his way down the side railing of the building. Blitz scoots next to Wings.
"You did the best you could. You can't let this weigh on you." Blitz places a hand on Wings' shoulder. She shrugs it off.
"I could've done better. I could've been faster. I could've-" Wings shakes her head.
"Been shot?" Tormenta speaks up, sitting up. Wings' eyes go wide. "You did fine, Wings. In the end, all The Rippers that were here were arrested. The Falcon girl was the only one to escape, and we'll find her soon anyways. So, go easy on yourself. Hell, you flew with one wing." Tormenta says the last part with a smile.
"You're right. I did." Wings manages to give a little laugh before wiping her hand under her goggles.
"You want to go on a friend's date?" Blitz inquires, trying to cheer up Wings. Wings nods excitedly, chirping.
"Yes! Come on! Come on! Let's go!" She begins jumping around excitedly, quickly forgetting her troubles.
"See you two later." Blitz does a two finger salute before he shoots fire from his feet and flies into the air, with Wings following quickly after. As the two disappear into the horizon, Nightbolt walks over and sits by La Tormenta.
"You okay?" He asks, worried. She's quiet for a moment. She then just shakes her head. He places his hand on her shoulder and gives a light squeeze.
"I feel so weak…" She whispers. "People died, Ryan…" Nightbolt lowers his gaze to the ground and gives her shoulder another squeeze.
"It's like you said, we'll find her." Nightbolt repeats her words.
"I… I said that more for Wings. I don't know if we can… I wasn't expecting an opponent like Wings. Couple that with guns and…" Tormenta shows doubt in her eyes.
"Hey." Nightbolt looks her in the eye. "Don't do this to yourself. You are a good hero. We will find her. We will bring her to justice. Letting it impact your self-confidence is only helping her. You are better than that. You don't need help stopping her, she needs help protecting herself from you." Nightbolt says, passionately.
La Tormenta scoffs, but smiles. "You're right. Thanks, Ryan."
"Of course." Nightbolt stands up and offers his hand. "Wanna get some food?" Tormenta stares at his hand for a moment before taking it.
"That sounds great." Tormenta grins. As the two take their leave, however, something plagues Nightbolt's mind.
When he got angry… The shadows wrapped around him and he managed to use them to take out The Ripper's… Can he learn how to do this at will? Does he even want to? What if something goes wrong? For now, he can't think about this. He needs to focus on today, and get some food with Catalina.
(Black World by Lucas King)
Still sitting atop the ledge, The First calmly watches as Nightbolt and La Tormenta leave. He then turns back to look at the carnage caused by The Rippers. For a moment, he stays quiet. Then, he begins to click his tongue in a rhythmic way. In fact, it perfectly resembles a clock's pattern.
"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock." As he does this, The First waves a finger back and forth like a metronome. "The mice have found a block of cheese. Level one has been cleared. I look forward to the results of the next maze." The First coldly says before he slowly stands up. He then looks back at Tormenta and Nightbolt. "Run, little mouse. Find the cheese."
A/N: Please remember to review, whether in comments or DMs! It helps me a lot!