[noted]:
Surprise - sudden new chapter because it's my birthday! Also, I'm quite fond of you guys, especially since chapter one got literally ten reviews in like, a week as well as faves and follows. Usually, my stories gain one, maybe two hopefully after three chapters. So thank you guys for a great birthday present!
Chapter two's up and ready to go. We met PD13 last chapter, though they weren't really very talkative (except for Lux) so hopefully, we'll learn a little more about them in this chapter, but it'll more or less be their fighting styles and nothing too deep for so early in the story and then maybe something else, I'm not sure.
Also, just wanted to thank all the authors once again for their amazing characters and for the authors whose Oc's are in Esoteric - don't worry! They'll be coming in sometime soon and we'll hopefully get to see them in action as well. If you guys have any questions, then leave them below and I'll answer in the next chapter. But, in the meanwhile, have a great day and thanks, wind-bearers!
Wowza03: Esoteric being terrorists would put a damper on the story? Well, we'll just have to see how this story plays out and anyways, there's more to them than they appear.
TheBunnymastermind: There's quite a vast difference between PD13 and Esoteric - PD13 are obviously SHIELD based and professionals in the business, whilst Esoteric are a little...controversial. it's explained more as the story progresses tbh.
[ chapter two ]
pelea
Translation - fight
Appropriation - "Muy bien, tienes una pelea."
"Paradox 13, these are -"
"We know who they are," her voice is tired like weathered rock and her blade for a tongue snaps at her superior like the action has been bred like wildflowers into her bones, crossed over her chest like an annoyed mother and Spiderman raises an eyebrow beneath the mask. Fury only sighs at the frost-bitten nature of the girl clad in black, and she stands straighter when she can see the annoyance lurking like crocodile tails beneath the surface. "We see them every other night on the news, trashing the city. We never said rookies."
From behind Spiderman, Powerman squeaks in surprise. "Hey! We're doing our best and we're not rookies!"
In the back, the boy clad in yellow and blue leather snorts, folding a hand around his mouth to stifle it. "Y-You sure, big guy? I mean, non-rookies don't go tossing cop cars at civilians."
"It was an accident!"
"Or so you say."
"Enough!" barks Fury, hands splayed like an open book offering verses to the readers, eyes wandering across the war zone that's erupted between the two teams. Barbed wire replaces soft tongues and fences push through skin against one another and he can feel his patience waning as the boy folds back into a silent soldier at the back of the group.
In front of Paradox 13, the girl clad in black speaks up again, hip cocked but posture more open. "But it's true, Fury. We never said rookies."
"And they aren't rookies, Stalker. They've been employed here for two years, have trained at SHIELD Academy and have kept New York safe in your absence," Spiderman reels back in shock as Fury levels a stare at the girl, who builds bricks like Lego houses across her skin as he scolds her, especially as he'd called them rookies earlier. Her arms fall to tuck behind her back, and her posture straightens - an unconscious act of respect, but respect nonetheless. "Spiderman's team are heroes, and it would do you a little more good to respect them, and me, as your superior."
"Yes, Director, I stepped out of line," Stalker bows her head for a moment, before sighing and holding out a hand in greeting towards Spiderman, head cocked in scrutiny when Fury leaves the room. "Spiderman, forgive me. My name's Stalker."
He grabs her hand the way she knew he would - without hesitation or parameter, and she can see the edges of his mask pull up in a grin that, if on show to the world, could have blinded her as he folds his fingers around hers, warm and welcoming and far more open than Stalker's ever had the pleasure to meet. She pulls back, unsure of how to continue.
"No worries, water under the bridge. But, you already know my name, so - this is Iron Fist, Nova, Tempest, Powerman and White Tiger," he lists off the heroes like fingers on his hands, nudging White Tiger when she gives no reaction, unlike the others who had given a small greeting. Stalker nods to them and turns to her team, scattered around her like disarmed dominoes at the team's kindness.
"This is Lux, Bolt, Shark and Rouge," she copies Spiderman's movement, a soft trait that doesn't sit well with her with it's simplistic movements, but she does it anyway. She starts with the Hispanic girl in a grey jumpsuit, sliding towards the boy in yellow and blue, before landing on the boy with a grin that resembles shark teeth and towards a timid looking blonde behind him, hands tucked behind her.
"Alright, glad we got that out of the way. So, you needed our help?"
Stalker sighs fitfully, head turned away as if in shame, and gives a reluctant nod, but when she moves to speak, Shark is standing in front of her, almost shadowing her with a wide grin on his face, arms crossed over his chest. Spiderman pulls back from the close proximity, ignoring the barked laugh that escapes Shark and the boy shrugs. "We just need a bit of help coercing them into...well, silence," he snickers, putting up a finger over his grinning mouth and Stalker groans, "And I know what you're gonna say - 'let's talk tactics then' but no."
"No?"
Shark leans forwards, watching his slightly disgruntled prey. "No. We don't talk team tactics until we can see what you guys can do. All of you," he murmurs, eyes lingering on Tempest as she tucks herself further away from the underlying confrontation, challenging her into the open. Nova hooks his arm tighter around her shoulder, top lip curling in warning at the animal-themed hero.
"You guys don't really have a good grip on being nice, do you?"
Shark shrugs. "Gotta do the best with what you get. So, we're gonna have a little rally."
"Rally?"
"Yeah, a rally," speaks up Lux, her fingers twirling a knife bleeding light across her knuckles. She tosses it into the air, letting it twist like a ballerina a few times, before it heavily places itself back in her palm, and she peers over her shoulder, fingers arched over the tooth bursting with light of the weapon carefully. "A competition or something. We need to see what you can do," her fingers flip the knife so the handle lands in her palm and she gestures towards the others, "and so you can see what we can do," and when she turns it back to herself, the sharp tip pressing above her collarbone, it breathes self-sacrifice.
Spiderman hesitates, turning back to his team but he can see Powerman's knuckles flexing, the muscles beneath Tiger's skin tensing in excitement and Tempest is hovering off of the ground slightly, a wicked smile lighting up her usually melancholy face. Spiderman smirks beneath the mask, and tilts his head back to Paradox 13 as he turns towards his team. "Alright, you got a fight."
He can almost feel the smirk beneath Stalker's mask as she nods behind Shark, who gives a whoop of excitement and bounces towards Rouge, throwing an arm over her shoulders and talking animatedly, dipping his head in and tossing Lux a high-five when she approaches. Spiderman's own team gathers around him for a moment, waiting to be placed and when satisfied, they nod and break apart, to find Paradox 13 shoving Rouge out first.
"I want the big one."
Powerman's brows raise at the sudden transformation from cowardly to cocky, as she pops a hip and her lips twitch at the sides, chewing on the edges of a smile. He cracks his knuckles and wanders forwards, holding out a hand towards her. She stares at it, like a foreign being before slowly, slipping her hand into his, unusual to the custom of friendliness, but it's not something she was brought up with.
They pull apart, and Powerman dances back, as the two teams convene on one side of the room, furthest from the fight. "You sure you want to fight me? I've sorta got super strength."
But his words filter away like water down a storm drain, like bricks disintegrating into dust when she lifts from the ground, taking flight beneath her feet like it's tucked between her toes and she throws her arms in a violent arch down her sides, and fire ignites like starlight in her hands and across her forearms. The blond smiles, any trace of fragility and cowardice woven away beneath the reeds of her strength. "You don't have to be super to be strong."
He blinks at the sudden crack down her spine, the way she folds effortlessly into maturity like it was bred into her long before childhood had brushed a hand on her. In the disarmed state, Rouge rears forwards, and he dodges her foot for a moment, twisting out of her path and swinging a fist haphazardly after her. She presses into the ceiling, pushing off to send herself arching a fist of fire towards Powerman's chest.
He dodges again, twisting like a piece of wire, and wraps a large hand around her leg. She gives a squeak of surprise when he pulls her back, holding her upside down by her leg and smiling in victory, before he groans as her other foot plants itself securely against his cheek, forcing him to let her go. She drops to the floor and bolts like she was born to run, and when she's a far enough distance away, the flames across her arms burn brighter, and she's throwing fireballs towards the dark-skinned teenager. But her jaw slackens like a store window when he walks through the heat like it's water.
She turns towards her team across the room, eyes widen. "Oh for - he has impenetrable skin! Does the universe hate me!?"
Rouge ignores the way the Ultimates snicker slightly along with Shark, and she bounces back when Powerman throws a large fist towards her stomach, hovering just above him in the air. He smirks under the sunglasses, pulling back when she throws another flame ball towards him. "Turn up the temperature a little," he taunts, gripping the fluttering end of her ponytail so that's she's pulled back down to earth. "It's a little chilly in here."
"For you," she answers, fist landing squarely in his stomach, but he only bends slightly but nonetheless, releasing her - but not before a swift jab to the ribs. A shocked, squeaked gasp pulls itself forcefully from her chest and her hand folds over the damaged area. She hits the ground, hands fisting into the metal and Powerman pauses over her when she shudders a breath from her lungs.
"W-Whoa, you okay? I-I couldn't have hit you that hard, I pulled back, I didn't -"
"First rule: never pull back," says the blond, holding a hand out for him to take and pull her up - and he's so careful with her hands, she's almost moved by the sudden care this giant displays, "And don't worry about it; my bone structure isn't exactly what you'd call sturdy. Not your fault. I yield." The girl from before, arms licking flames and eyes narrowed like ice is no longer there, but the timid girl that had tucked herself behind Shark is suddenly all he can see. But she's warmer now, as if the flames had melted some of the ice she'd held towards their team.
When they return back to their respective positions, the Ultimates are allowed to choose their opponent. Tiger is immediately up, stretching her arms and pulling Iron Fist alongside her, picking their opponent next. Stalker pushes out Lux, who growls in annoyance before sidling up to the center of the room, and as she did so, she threw out her fingers and four knives appeared floating above her hand. They slipped between her fingers like puzzle pieces, and the Latina gave a wide, reckless smirk.
"Looks like I'm the one that's picking up the slack, huh, Rouge?"
Rouge snorts behind her hand and Tiger narrows her eyes. "Don't be so sure about that."
"Never doubt your opponents before they throw the first punch," comments Iron Fist, hands folding like origami cranes in skin and Lux only tweaks her lips into a smirk as she readies her battle stance. There's a pregnant pause that stretches like war-room wire between them, before a harsh yell cracks the silence like a bullet and Lux is throwing her torso forwards, knives made of light sending daggered teeth towards the white and yellow-and-green superheroes.
However, Iron Fist and White Tiger are ready and prepared, and a few seconds pass before Tiger launches herself at Iron Fist, feet first into his waiting hands, flipping her out of the way of the knives and propelling him out of their path by the velocity given. They plunge into the wall behind them and Tiger flexes the claws on her fingers, relaxing when Lux gives an annoyed sigh. She rolls her shoulders in slight anger at her missed targets, turning to glare at Rouge when her laughter gets louder.
But she's aware of her surroundings, as Iron Fist battles forward, trademark fists biting through the air with the yellow chi and instantly, Lux is bending backwards into a backwards handspring, over and over, narrowly missing each punch until the wall is against her back and Iron Fist misses her head slightly and sends a hold into the wall. Her smirk widens, and gently, she cards her fingers through the loose strands that slide across his shoulders. She can see the downwards turn of his mouth, the scrunch of confusion that knits itself between his eyebrows beneath the mask and it only pushes her glee higher.
"You're good with your hands, Blondie," she remarks, and Iron Fist only has a moment to harden his features before suddenly, she drops from view, bending at impossible angles until she's sliding under Iron Fist and hooking her arms around his shoulders in moments from behind. "But I'm good with the rest of my body," and his legs are swept under himself, making him land on his back to stare up at the brunette, who grinned in triumph.
It was cut short as Tiger soon took the reigns, swiping her claws in deadly arches and her legs make contact with Lux's chin, and the girl growls through the pain when she hits the floor. It continues like this, until one moment, Lux is between the two heroes that sprint towards her at different points and the next, she's projecting herself off of Tiger's shoulders and she pulls the girl in a circle, connecting her with Iron Fist and the two tumble like broken crates. Her loud victory whoop ends the challenge and Lux bows towards her team when they cheer.
"Probably should have taken the big guy when I could have if I could beat you two," she calls over her shoulder, ignoring the proverb about strength from Iron Fist.
However, she stops short at Tiger's words, features falling slightly until she pins them back into place. "I really don't like you."
"Feeling's mutual, kitten."
"Enough," barks Stalker, approaching Lux and gripping her around the top of her arm. Lux naturally goes to bare her teeth against the elder girl, but she backs down when she can see the visible down turn of the black-clad girl's eyebrows. She sighs and retreats back to her space, dropping unceremoniously against the wall like a tantrum giving child. Stalker turns to the other team, sincerity leaking across her words. "I apologize for her attitude; she's sort of a risk taker. But I do believe it's our turn."
Spiderman, from his space next to White Tiger, massaging the small of her back when she subtly takes a place beside him - an unwritten need for touch, he's found, in the two years they've been together - nods, distracted by the embarrassed look that sits in every line of her. So he doesn't see the way Bolt bounces up and holds out a hand to the other brunette female in the group, tucked higher on a ledge broken into the wall by training years.
Tempest stares at his hand for a moment, and when he gives her a wide grin, bursting with one-sided friendliness when Nova seems to ruffle a little bit, she glides down without taking his hand and walks to the center of the room. He gives a bark of laughter and joins her, stepping back a few feet. He dances his curled fingers in front of him, as if looking for the air to breathe in the room. "So what's your power? I mean, you're not entirely helpless, are you?" When she doesn't answer him, he hums low in his throat. "Not much of a talker either, sweetheart?"
"I'm not very sweet either," she murmurs, low enough that he strains forwards slightly towards her and gains a punch to the face. A short chorus of 'ohh' follows the smack and he glides back away from her when she tries to hit him again. Although, his outgoing personality beams bright when he grins around a bruised bottom lip.
"I wouldn't say you are; you're stronger than you look," he says, and he jumps forwards to send a well-placed punch to her abdomen, and when she bends, uppercuts her in the jaw. He dials down a little bit when he see's Nova's energy flare a little darker, taking on an angry navy blue and a few moments of fighting pass until he finds the courage to speak in his lungs once again. "So really, what's your power? I'm trying to guess, but I know it's not super-strength like your buddy over there since you don't...look the part, no offence."
Between her gasps of breath, Tempest shrugs. "Guess a little harder."
"I like you," he says, and his grin widens more when she laughs slightly, and he pulls back when she kicks her leg out in a round-house kick, "it's not fire is it, cause that would be totally awkward for you and Rouge to talk about."
"Bolt, stop talking and start fighting!" Yells Shark over the clatter of bruised skin and bloodied knuckles. Bolt pauses, and his smile widens, taking on a more warrior tilt as he nods. The outgoing personality is still there, but the force he'd retracted on his punches comes back tenfold, and Tempest can feel her skin splitting at the seams. Then, when she shows her powers, as the anxiety of the sudden shift in his attacks hits her chest, he continues with the onslaught, even when she uses everything she has.
It's moments later, when she's shot a sharpened piece of air towards his shoulder and caught him slightly, blood oozing across the yellow and blue of his costume, his smile slips slightly when he see's the disappointment in his team's shoulders. So he turns towards her, holds out a hand crackling with electricity and he shrugs. "Sorry kid, gotta set an example for you guys."
She doesn't hear him, so she throws out another blast of air that, while cutting him across the stomach and sending him to the ground, dances his electricity off of his fingers like an extension of himself, an arm that crawls along the scattered body of her air and she only notices when the blue light punches her square in the chest. It arches and crawls along every crevice, far more painful than the electrified jabs that had hit her. She gives a screech of pain, hitting the ground and she scratches at her skin, the static burning at her tanned skin.
He huffs a breath, pained from the cut across his stomach but slight guilt crosses his chest in an 'x' when instantly, Nova is pulling her up into his arms and murmuring close to her, as if his words will get the pain to stop - but Bolt knows it won't. So he doesn't flinch, when he's walking away and the angered fire in Nova's throat hits the air.
"What the hell, you asshole! You just electrocuted her and you're not gonna say sorry!"
"Hey, no-one said I couldn't electrocute someone, besides it's -" but his voice closes around the words when he turns back to continue his point, when he can see the crumpled form of Tempest and the red that bends itself over her arms. His brows turn down in confusion, as Iron Fist presses a glowing hand over her blistered skin and he stares at his own hands. He'd held back, he hadn't thrown that much into it, had he? He can feel the anger from Nova's glare from behind his helmet. "I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't -"
"Perhaps now's the time to take a break," Stalker's hand shoots out in front of him, a bar to the collection of heroes that crowd around the brunette, who tries to push herself from the cosmic heroes hands to stand on her own - a physical barrier to stop from caring about the brunette. "And maybe talk battle plans later."
"Yeah," hums Spiderman, voice a despondent note as Bolt flinches under the glare from behind white paneled eyes, directed straight towards his own helmet. "Yeah, maybe."