Denver Disaster
Emergency Message! Emergency Message!
At exactly 10: 09 AM in the date XX, an unprecedented attack has occured.
Grimm alongside numerous bandit criminals emerged from the sewers of Denver and began assaulting and attacking the city. Reports reveal that the Grimm had come from below, and attacked when they discovered prey. While authorities were quick to respond and Huntsmen were sent out, the damage had already been done. At least a few dozen had already been killed due to the quick attack, and countless more severely injured. A few of the criminals even killed some Huntsmen, and later on it was discovered the control room to the sewers had been attacked with those inside all dead.
The heroes known as Living Bullet, Krunk, Valhallen, and Huntress Tina had arrived and aided. With the former three aiding in killing off the Grimm. Valhallen himself reported to using his powers to annihilate the Grimm and even the ones coming from outside the city.
However, an anonymous video had been sent early revealing this:
Video Playback: *Valhallen is shown using his guitar to summon lightning, one that hits a warehouse full of Dust and causing a massive explosion*
The video is of Valhallen being the direct cause of the absolute destruction of the warehouse and causing immense damage. While nobody was hurt, many are now jobless with some giving blame to the hero while others are confused. Ultimately, while no charges are placed on Valhallen, the city has decided to focus on repairs while also keeping an eye out for more attacks.
"Well, this certainly changes things." Inside Sebben's office, all the heroes and Huntsmen with the exception of Tina who was helping out back home, were gathered. The mayor of GrimmFall looked at the television report of the attack two days ago before looking back at the ones who helped out the city. "I read your reports, and this certainly doesn't bode well."
"Talk about being framed." Yara rolls her eyes. "I swear, people can be so dumb. As if Valhallen would attack after saving everybody. Stupid gossip journalisms."
"I'm more ashamed that I let these jerks get one over me." Valhallen sighed. "Didn't think my own attack would be used against me. Oh well." His eyes then narrowed. "Would have been better if I captured that Fallen however."
"Lady mean." Krunk growls while his eyes looked toward Living Bullet who was silent. The man had his helmet off, but the side of his face was covered in bandages with his ear the most covered. The damage done to it being great, but thankfully, his quick healing will finish it in just a bit compared to months for a regular person. Even then it didn't stop the mood he felt.
"...I suppose this one is on me." Sebben sighs. "While it's very rare, sometimes my actions in trying to steer away from a bad future can make things worse." In his original vision, the Fallen and her allies were fewer, and only went to the Dust Warehouse and nothing more. Instead, even more people died with collateral damage being worse, and Denver in a great panic since they never experienced, let aside think, this would even happen. To top it off, Valhallen is now accused with no Fallen in their prison.
Of course, another thought otherwise.
"No." Living Bullet muttered. "This ones on me." His fists clenched at his side. "I was so stupid. When the Fallen left me, I thought the worst she did was take my stuff. Instead, I played in her hands and was blind to the fact of what she did. Heck! I never thought to consider that maybe she did something to me."
Memories of the pain he felt in Denver. As he recalled the way he screamed when the Beetle Grimm burrowed it's way through his ear, screeching and tearing at his inside while he was at the Fallen's mercy. Fearful that he would not only die, but that his friends would get hurt because of his ignorance.
"If anything, it's my fault." Living Bullet says with guilt. "The plan was good. It was because of me that it failed and changed for the worse. That Grimm listening in on everything and learning who knows what. If it weren't for me, we'd have captured the Fallen and Denver wouldn't be in the situation now."
"If we're talking about failure, I'm no better." Ross then surprisingly speaks up, not wanting the hero to feel down. His eyes going toward his arms, where beneath his sleeves, his skin, while normal again, was still a bit of a lighter shade after the damage done to it. "I had a chance to capture one of the Fallen's allies, but I failed and he escaped without so much as even injuring him while he injured me."
"Uh. Talk about brute force." Yara rubbed her back as while her back was okay, she swore she still felt some phantom pain. It felt bad that she got manhandled like that, it doesn't happen often.
"Us too." North nods with Erika in agreement.
"We were at the mercy of the Fallen and her...child," Erika still wasn't sure what that girl was. "And if it wasn't for Valhallen and the others, we'd likely have been taken and tortured until our last breath." All of them failed in some respect, and it was that Sebben decided enough was enough.
"Perhaps now is no longer the time to play the blame game." Sebben tells them all. "If anything, we are all at fault to some degree, and we must move on from it. No doubt our enemies are doing so, and whatever it is they were after-"
"-they must have gotten it."
Arthur Watts grinned as he overlooked the Dust they had. But his eyes were on the true prize. Where inside a special container, thanks to Salem's little pet girl, was a small yet potent fragment of Krunk's own unique energy the girl absorbed.
"This is going to be fun."
"As such," Sebben continues to talk. "We must move on and see what we know. Ross, what can you and Yara tell us about the man you faced?"
"Him huh." Ross thinks back at the battle with the criminal. "I can say this much, he wasn't very skilled in any form of actual hand-to-hand combat." The man used basic moves and nothing more during their battle "But he's not stupid, and physically he overpowers me and Yara, and probably Erika to." When he tried escaping his grasp, Ross discovered that he couldn't even move despite the fact that as a faunus, he had superior strength. Didn't mean much though when his enemy was tougher.
"Plus he could use Dust in nasty ways." Yara added in. "He injected the stuff into his body."
"Isn't that unsafe?" Sebben's secretary Callie says, knowing the negative effects of doing such an act. Usually ending with the person either crippling themselves or dying from it.
"Tell that to him." Yara growls, remembering how she got slammed into the car. "He's actually kinda like Boris," Yara then mentioned none other than the Invisible Hand member, and his own power. "Like, the little brother version of him. Though it seems he can use Dust more versatile."
"Not to mention a high tolerance for pain." Ross adds in his own observations. "Nothing we did made him flinch. Meaning he either can take a hit very well, or, maybe has a Semblance that helps out in that regard."
"I see." Sebben nods in understanding. So this Fallen had a power-house criminal. Though it seems this one wasn't just a person who used brute force all the time, and knew how to plan considering how he led Ross and Yara to face many Apathy and used it to escape. Still though, to use Dust like that as well. Indeed, there was likely a Semblance at play to allow the man to use the Dust so effectively. "And what about the woman Tina faced."
"From what she told me," Erika started. "She's a decent swordsman, but even better archer. Plus she had some kind of power that could manipulate glass while also utilizing a Grimm hand." Eirika snorted. "If that isn't indication she's part of the Fallen, then I don't know what else is."
"I also got information on the jerk who let the Grimm in." Now that got everybody's surprise, as many then turned to Yara who had a smirk on her lips.
"You have found something?" Ross asks, with Yara nodding.
"Took a while to do it, not to mention maybe hacking into the city's cameras and stuff, but I found this." Yara then held her reward for spending hours to locate none other than a video of a man with a slim build with short black and gray hair as well as a thick mustache and eyebrows, and green eyes. "Our little hacker. One who left a small girt in Denver." Yara then held her watch and an holographic image popped up. One that seemed to be some digital code.
"What is that?" Valhallen asked.
"Pretty." Krunk liked the colors of red and blue.
"Aesthetics aside, this is a virus." Yara then gives her explanations. "Took a bit to find the nasty little thing, but it was implanted in the sewer control systems. One that, given enough time, would have spread across everything connected to Denver's systems."
"Everything?" Kallie sounded a bit worried, with the others also not liking that kind of idea.
"Okay, maybe not everything." Yara decided to explain herself a bit further. "Obviously not Denver's weapon systems, closed networks, and isolated parts. But it would have worked its way to the emergency channels, basic communications relay, and even stuff like Traffic Lights and the public lighting system."
"So even though it won't be controlling the higher defenses," Sebben closes his eyes, imagining just what the virus could have done if given time. "It could still cause great panic and potentially ruin the city in some regard." One doesn't need to point weapons to threaten someone. They can always use something people use and know daily, and mess with it to create a stir.
"Such a thing could put the entire city in chaos." North also understands it. As while this man will only have access to the lower class systems, it's still systems used by thousands of people. Messing with that would indeed cause a great uproar.
"But thanks to me, I dealt with it." Yara bragged a bit as the image was then blasted away. "Once I found it, I ensured not a trace of it remained and left an anti-virus just in case. So no need for Denver to thank me."
"Very impressive." Sebben chuckles. "Still, how would you rate the threat of this person?" While none of them have faced, let aside battled the man, it's quite clear he's a tech genius of sorts.
"Oh, that." Yara decided to think it over a bit. "If I'm being honest, whoever this guy is, is no armature, I'll give them that much. But I can't really rate their abilities too much, because this virus, didn't even looked like they tried hard."
"Still, even if he isn't a combatant, he's definitely a danger considering he was capable of hacking into some of Denver's controls." Kallie wrote down what Yara said, to better keep an eye on this man. "But now for the person of interest, the Fallen."
North and Erika both slightly felt unease. After all, they had been under the woman's mercy, and were injured quite a bit from her strange Grimm along with that child. It wasn't a lie to say she had them instantly beat, while they could do nothing but hope help came as she gave them numerous small wounds that may have healed, yet still left a mark on them. Living Bullet himself looking away as he unconsciously touched his ruined ear lightly. So, Valhallen spoke.
"She wasn't anything too special if I'm being honest." The man leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms. "She seemed like a typical Fallen. Enhanced strength, speed, control over Grimm, that kind of stuff. Though she did have a variety of attacks with what seems to be power over the elements."
"I see." Sebben however, could tell there was more. "What else was there?"
"Honestly, the real problem was her regeneration." Valhallen then says. "She was tough, but what made her a real problem was that nothing Krunk, Living Bullet and I did left even a mark on her."
"Not even Krunk?" North says with mild surprise. The rest in the same agreement, as Krunk is practically a powerhouse.
"Explain please." Sebben asks with Valhallen doing so.
"I zapped her with lightning, cut her face in half, she was thrown into a billboard, heck, Krunk turned her into goop." As if to demonstrate, Krunk grabbed an apple and squeezed. He opened his hand and all that was left was mush...which he then ate so he didn't waste any food. Yara giggling at that alongside Erika. "Er, ignoring the eating part, she just regenerated like it was nothing."
"That is...worrisome." As a man who did everything he could to battle the Fallen, naturally, Sebben did his best to learn about them. Their powers, their weaknesses, all he could read up or learn in battle. So the mayor was fully aware of their powerful regeneration abilities. Yet this woman's healing factor was clearly a step forward compared to most, as most Fallen would certainly die when being turned into mush as Krunk did to her. Only Sammael would heal from that, with perhaps Moloch, though it would take hours for Moloch to heal, yet this woman regenerated from what appeared to be instantly.
'Or...is it truly regeneration.' It wasn't as if Sebben didn't believe Valhallen, no, he did. But his mind began wondering if this Fallen actually had more than just regeneration, but something else. Unfortunately, he'd have to see her himself to actually make any guesses, including the one of his theory of what she actually did to survive a blow from Krunk. "Which reminds me," Sebben stares at the God of Rock. "You mentioned a child with her."
"Yep. A little Fallen girl I think." Valhallen shrugged, unsure of what the kid pretending to be human was. "She wasn't much trouble. Though for normal folk, she is lethal. Has the power to drain energy like aura in an instant."
"We can attest to that." North speaks up with Erika also with him. The two were drained totally, and were left unconscious for a while until they were patched up.
"So this is the Fallen's group." Sebben at last saw the enemies they faced. "We have the Fallen who has the aid of fodder bandits to do her bidding alongside Grimm. A bandit leader, a man who has great strength, a scorpion faunus, another who can hack, and a woman with a Grimm arm with a strange Fallen child with them. This is her group, now allied with Sammael."
But then, what were their goals?
Sammael had no need for Dust, nor any reason to attack Denver. Making Sebben believe this Fallen's group, while allied with Sammael, were doing their own thing. Which made sense. Those like Scar, and Moloch sometimes had their own agendas and schemes. Meaning the attack on Denver was this woman's doing, not Sammael. Still, whatever her scheme was, couldn't be good if it meant attacking the city and killing many. Didn't help matters that it seems the Fallen had no qualms in doing things herself, and leaving lasting damage all while ensuring she wasn't known to the public.
'It seems we'll have to face her again later on.' Sebben thought, already getting ready to contact the other heroes and allies to keep an eye on the Fallen and her group. 'But still, whatever her plot is, we'll stop it. I just worry that we won't be facing just her for long, but others.'
Others who didn't seek to stop the Fallen...
...but join them.
Inside a hidden place, secretive that only top Satyra members knew, the leader of Satrya watched the news while narrowing his eyes. He then looked at a video that one of his best members managed to get in secret showing Valhallen...facing a female Fallen.
'So this is the one Catra mentioned.' It's been over a week since one of his allies brought Catra to him, who then spoke of what she found in the Wilds. Of a woman she described that wasn't normal, and it didn't take long for him to realize it was a Fallen. Yet clearly, she was someone that did her own thing as the leader of Satyra knew that not all Fallen just obeyed Sammael like that.
Hm. While he had no interest in being friendly with the Fallen in general or cared, maybe a temporary alliance can do. If this Fallen truly does have control over the Wilds, then maybe he can get a few...items that he knew were there but long since hidden.
"You," He then spoke to a nearby lieutenant. "Get me Catra. Perhaps it's time we see what this Fallen wants. After all," His eyes then went to none other than Dark Kat. "She should be like you."
"Hehehe." The Mobian Fallen grinned. "With pleasure."
"Well isn't this interesting." Looking up the news, none other than Snively Robotnik saw the panic in Denver, and all the damage that was caused by it. But he didn't really care about such things at all. No. What he was more interested in was this. A virus he found in Denver's systems before it was destroyed by an outside force.
A code that he found could be very useful, with the right adjustments. Of course, he would first need to find the maker of the one who made it to get a full idea of it the virus before using it for his own.
"Well, I do have some time off." Snively grinned as he then got to work to search who made this little piece of malware.
"Guh." Doing a few basic exercise movements, none other than Katz was finally good and healthy. After being rescued and taken back to the castle, the Mobian was given a minor surgery to fix up the damage inside of him. Not to mention dealing with the venom in his system, that left nasty effects on his body. That damn scorpion. He swore, if he ever met him aga-
"Aw man. And here I was hoping more damage was going to be done." Hearing a voice, Katz turned and saw Massive speaking with Mastermind. "Shame. I would have liked seeing more blood."
"Who cares about that." Mastermind spoke to him. "I'm just amazed none of us have ever thought to use the sewers to make an attack."
Attack? Sewers? Katz was confused. Then again, he had been busy recuperating from his wounds to see what was going on these days, other than this blasted cold weather. So Katz went to investigate, where he then found his phone which he discovered was full of new news. Checking it, he saw none other than Denver of all places was somehow attacked by Grimm.
Though his eyes widened when he saw one of the supposed criminals that took advantage of the attack and growled. It was none other than that big buffoon he beat back in the plane, meaning the scorpion might have been there and involved. His phone cracked under his grip, as he remembered how he lost, was shot at, then poisoned and forced to flee postponing the battle.
Seems he knew where his next stop was to find that lousy faunus. And this time, he'll kill him.
And this is the aftermath of our little battle. The heroes may have lost this battle, but like heck will just give up. They'll be ready for next time, and do their best to ensure they can't win. But, it seems some others have also caught the eye of Salem's cabal, and are now interested in them. While another just wants vengeance.
Plus it seems Watts has a new power source to play with, uh-oh. Next time, a trip back to Japan and after, another surprise that has been coming for a long time.