Welcome to my third chapter, and I hope it is as pleasing as the rest have been. I figured that now was a good time to bring things to a head, and have a bit of a dozy planned for the coming parts after this. I am also trying out a new character break pattern, to try and make things more obvious as to whose perspective the paragraph is coming from. I would very much like to hear everyone's thoughts, as I am kinda just making this up as I go. While I am rereading my own work multiple times, I am sure I missed a few things here and there and perhaps didn't type as fast as I was thinking, so if there are any errors do forgive them. I will eventually find them all, and fix them in every chapter, but for now I am simply trying my best. Also, given certain things occurring in my life the next few chapters might not come as as soon as these have.

So with all that in mind, please enjoy the chapter and I hope that it is something that can make your day a bit more enjoyable. Have an excellent one, OldTundra out.

Naturally I own nothing but the time I spent writing this. Enjoy.

[Taylor]

It was exciting, though perhaps if Dad saw this he would freak out and probably pass out, and I couldn't really blame him if he did. To see this many insects working together like this, hundreds of bugs, hundreds of spiders weaving in tandem all to make a suit for me. Black Widow silk was stronger than kevlar, and to be honest probably the second strongest spider silk I could think of, given I didn't have access to the Bark Spiders it was literally the best I could do. So many people spent money on their suits, thousands of dollars if what Parian's website said was true, and they did it for good reason. So many gangers would be more than happy to slip a knife into you, or shoot you in the back, and no matter what you could do, if you weren't bulletproof you were dead.

Yet after everything I went though, all the pain and suffering Sofia and Emma put me through with their little hanger-on Madison, I still wouldn't let that break me like it did before. The fear, the hate, the rage, it was so much easier now. I could do something, I could be better than them, better than poor little Taylor that had been shoved into the locker. Perhaps Mom is looking down at me, proud of my choices, but even then to think about that, it still hurts. After mom died, dad was lost and ran away to the inside of the bottle and I didn't know what to do. Then when camp ended, and I had some hope that things would be better with Emma by my side, she went and turned into a vicious little monster. They tormented me, bullied me constantly and the school, and its teachers, did nothing. Sofia was so perfect, Emma was so pretty, that apparently they could get away with anything. No matter what they did, no matter what evidence I had, they always got away with it and I looked like the villain of the story.

No more.

I was going to be a hero, I was going to be better. I had control now, my life would be defined by me, and not what they say about me. What they claim I am, is not what I am, I am a hero. And I will prove it! Though, I will admit my outfit is a bit darker and kinda villain-ish to be fair. Well, hopefully it will work out tonight, after all, what is the worst that could happen?

[Kol]

I was up before my alarm even rang, my hand slamming down on it and disengaging the alarm a full thirty minutes before it would even go off as I practically jumped out of bed, my eagerness matched that of my first try at this intern thing. If all went well, and hopefully it would, this would go nothing like the last time and soon enough I would be working at least in part, with the staff of Brockton General. I had even heard Panacea was scheduled to do a few rounds in the afternoon there, to visit some of the people in the trauma wards, it would be interesting to meet a hero as notable as her.

Though perhaps it is best I get my day started rather than thinking too much on how it should go. Getting dressed after a quick shower was a mundane affair, yet as I came downstairs I could already see my breakfast on the table. My mother, it seemed, knew I was going to be up early and had prepared accordingly, she really did know me rather well. "Sit Kol, eat your breakfast and calm down. I know your excited, but you need to moderate yourself." she said simply, sitting down as well to begin eating her own food. My father stepped into the room, still dressed in his robe and rather comical house slippers, as he joined us at the table. "You were right Hua, the boy is practically ready to skip out of the house." he said with a gruff, yet humorous tone of voice. "Though perhaps this time he can manage to come home less bloody, and more willing to speak on his experiences." he said with a tone of voice that still showed he was upset after the weeks of silence on the matters from before. I had told them nothing, nothing concrete at least, and simply had tried to deflect worry to keep them from trying to confront anyone at Medhall. He knew that if his parents went up there, something bad would happen and he did not know how he would react to losing his parents for a second time in his life. Not yet, not this soon, I do not know how I would continue on if that happened to me again.

So I kept it from them, for their own safety, because I knew what would happen if they went into Empire territory and went up to them with the vengeance he knew his father would unleash with words. He had been good at tearing into people, it was a technique he would tell me, to tear into your opponent with nothing but words left them with little patience and mental fortitude. When people were stressed they made mistakes, they admitted things in anger that could be used against them. But in this case it would get him either torn apart by Hookwolf or murdered in the streets by thugs, or the odd falling piece of metal. None of those potential outcomes was acceptable, and he would probably go crazy if it happened.

So I ate my breakfast, smile on my face as I spoke to my family. They had smiles, and my mother seemed to be reassured that things would go well today. Putting the plates away, I kissed her cheek and shook my father's hand once before I grabbed my shoulder bag and stepped out to head towards the bus stop. They stood at the door, staring down at me and waving me off, and I could only thank whatever god existed that I had such a fine family.

[Amy]

Stress, that was just what my days had been comprised of for weeks, months even. Stress mounting at such levels that I am surprised I haven't gone bald yet, and despite that I knew I couldn't stop. People needed help, every single person in this ward was a case that needed immediate treatment, and without me that didn't have a high chance of recovery. Yet within minutes of seeing 'Panacea', these people were out of danger and well on the road to reclaiming some normalcy in their lives. It made me feel good, to see what I could do, and yet despite it all it was a burden that weighed me down. As these thoughts were hitting me, I felt a subtle shift of joy before turning to its source and saw her. Golden hair, beautiful smile, and bright eyes looking at me from the doorway. "I am here to get you Ames! You gotta go to General right? You have an appointment set up there don't ya?" she said with that same light lit to her voice I loved, and yet even as those thoughts hit me, the disgust with myself resurged up.

I loved my sister, and no matter how disgusting I knew it was I couldn't deny it.

No matter how much I tried to fight it, to change it, the truth was I would do anything for Vicky because I loved her. She was the only truly bright spot in my misery, as I simply went through my life healing others. Carol, my mother, would disown me if she found out how I felt, but not because she would hate it but because of the image it would send to have such an incestous member in New Wave. Though if you really thought about it, she would probably think I wasn't good enough for Vicky. That I should do more for our public image, that I should heal more than I currently did. It was practically a jail sentence, to be confined to such a fate like this, but I wouldn't deny it. It was my responsibility, because I was the only one that could do it.

The only other healer in the city, of any actual use that is, was Othala and she was a fucking Nazi. The little blonde racist giving her talents only to the Empire, and only ever really was seen running with Victor when she would buff him to make him a problem in fights. That or when an endbringer would attack, and they would send her to help heal others for the immunity it offered them. Kaiser was a smart man, and despite how much of a threat he was, he knew that people would generally ignore him so long as he and his power were overall beneficial during critical moments.

It was a shitty situation, but it was one I understood.

So even as I walked out with Vicki, and she picked me up and flew me across the city to Brockton General, I couldn't help but think about the world we lived in and how many more people I would have to heal from blade wounds due to the Empire. Vicki was humming to herself now, and I couldn't stop from staring at her. "What's up Ames? Something on your mind?" She asked, she must have caught the stare. "Nothing Vicki. Just thinking about work." I deflected before Vicki chuckled. "We need to get you a boyfriend Amy. All this hospital time and no play makes for a dull girl. Perhaps Dean will know someone good. Or perhaps you'll meet a cute boy at the hospital. Who knows.~" she said in that playful singsong voice that made my chest clench.

So even as we were coming down on the roof, meeting the General Staff Manager, it was hard to focus as we went down into the hospital. The man was talking, but it was just muted noise I couldn't focus on. Eventually I found myself in the trauma ward again, in yet another hospital like always, healing more people. This time however I noticed a few new faces, hovering nearby and watching as I worked. The Staff manager noticed and smiled, "Ah. You noticed the interns. It's that time again. Always good to take in some new faces, and see which ones are cut out for this sort of life. I am sure I don't need to tell you Panacea but we always need more hands for medical work. This can really be exhausting." He said, and while I certainly agreed it still twisted in my gut that he said that. Something dark spoke up, wondering just how many people he healed in a day. If he made constant rounds between every hospital to treat the injured on deaths bed, or those struck with incurable diseases or saddled with drug addictions so deep that their bodies are shutting down.

The thoughts stopped though, as I met the eyes of one of the interns and something resounded in my mind. Like a ping bouncing off a radar dish before it went away. His own eyes widened as he met mine, and there was an odd sense of connection before the feeling faded, leaving only mild confusion in its wake. I felt something nudging me over, as if something inside me wanted to get closer and find out just what was going on but I wrestled the feeling back, a surge of annoyance flashed through me and must have twisted my face into a frown, because Vicki noticed and gave me a look before following my eyes. Perhaps she figured I recognized him, or perhaps she made an assumption, because what happened next was just typical Vicki behavior and that could cause problems. Considering how we were both staring at each other, and the look I had, it was almost expected to see Vicki march up to him and jab him rather hard in the chest with a finger, which for Vicki pushed the guy back a fair bit.

"Why are you staring so much huh?" she let out, her voice almost a growl as the man stared back, his eyes filling with anger and I could see this ending very poorly. So I did what I always did and made to intervene, "VICKI!" I called out, reaching out and grabbing her hand and tugging her back. "The hell are you doing Vicki!" I said into her ear, my tone scalding and embarrassed, the girl looking back at me. "I thought he did something to you, or you recognized him. Is he a Nazi? Some thug you have healed before?" she asked in return as the Staff Manager saw what was developing and interceded as well. "Is there an issue here? Has our new Intern done something?" he said as he held his clipboard, my attention was drawn back to him. "Nothing is wrong Glenn, just a bit of mistaken identity and my sister being a bit too sensitive. Sorry." I said, my voice low and appropriately remorseful.

I pulled Vicki aside, and stared up at her. "Don't do this again Vicki, you always do this! Thank you for looking out for me, but I doubt the Hospital would be letting in thugs or gang members, especially one in PRT territory. Lets just take a breath, and move on Vicki, I will be fine. You can go for now. I will be home for dinner tonight." I said, staring up at her and couldn't help the feelings that surged up at the sight of her before stomping down on them, yet the smile I had seemed to reassure her. She sighed, and walked back over to the man and began to apologize, the heat in his gaze never left but he nodded his head once. "Sure. Mistakes happen." he said, even as he rubbed the spot where she had jabbed him, and the discomfort was clear. Walking up to him, I gave a small smile. "I also apologize, my sister can be a bit excitable at times and is a bit protective." I said as I held my hand out. "I am Panacea, if you would like I could take care of any bruises she gave you." I said, because I could feel that annoyance at the back of my mind fading at the offer. He looked down at my hand before giving back his own smile, "No need to worry. I am fine, it was just a bit more shocking than I was expecting rather than actually painful." he said as he stepped back into line with the other interns. My hand was left in the air, almost foolishly, and I put it down feeling a flush hit my face which Vicki saw and had an entirely different grin on her face. Seems she was getting ideas again, oh joy, that is gonna be an enjoyable conversation tonight.

She put her hand over my shoulder and squeezed it, her eyes filling with an entirely new understanding, the wrong one that is, "Oh, I see how it is Ames. No worries, I got your back. He is kinda cute, you should give it a shot." she said as she let me go and backed away, winking at me in some knowing fashion. "I will be wishing you luck!" she said before she practically stormed away, off to do other things. I let out a grumbling sigh, rubbing my face with my hands as I turned back to the Staff Manager and got back to what I had come here to do. Another hour of healing, all the while curious interns watched on, though every time I saw the guy that had turned down healing I felt my annoyance return a bit.

What the hell was this guy's deal huh?

[Kol]

The fuck was this girl's deal huh?

Then again, perhaps it was my mistake to envision the greatest healer as anything other than what she was. She was a teen girl, and her sister was known to be rather protective and less inclined to resist causing collateral damage, be it to buildings or even people that got in her way. But to come up to him like that, and jab him like that when he hadn't done anything was enough to stir up some anger. Yet he held it back, burying it down as much as he could while he stood there and watched them talk as Panacea dragged her sister away to seemingly chew her out. That was enough to assuage my anger a bit, but there was always more just under the surface it seemed these days, always bubbling and boiling asking to be unleashed. Yet I couldn't, I couldn't let it out and simply go off on Glory Girl of all people, especially not in the place where I am hoping to work in the future. So I simply bit my tongue, and held myself in check, even as they came up and apologized.

It was enough to help push down that violent desire.

So now, I was simply standing with the others as the Doctor spoke to us, going over what the patients all had and we could sometimes see the rather dramatic changes they went through with Panacea's care. It was rather drastic, and more than a bit shocking in some cases as we watched some people lose massive amounts of weight as catastrophic damage was healed in minutes. I would admit, I was envious of Panacea, she was easily the greatest doctor in the world. They say her power lets her instinctively know just what to do to heal someone, and that baring the restrictions due to available body mass that she could even regrow limbs given enough time. It was an amazing gift, and it provided her a unique look into the genetics of people and the process of healing that would normally take months or years to happen. It was oddly visceral to watch the process up close.

Yet as amazed as I was at this, the anger from before was still bubbling just under the surface, even as my guide and educator for this trip continued to speak. He was going over the condition of the patient, the process of healing that was being observed, as well as the traditional methods one would have to apply in order to start their road to recovery. But in this case, these people were just getting an elevator ride to recovery via the magic touch. The rest of the hour went in this fashion, continuing to follow the group around as the Staff Manager continued to go over expectations for incoming Interns, and by this he meant actual Medical Interns i.e. Residents. It was a stage I was hoping to get to in time, provided things went well and I was able to continue pushing forward in my career no matter how badly the opening days on the path seemed to be.

Panacea continued her work, finishing up the last patient that had been slated for her in the day, turning back to move on with her time she stared at me a bit as she passed me, but as it looked like she was about to say something that same 'feeling' I got from the first time I met Glory Girl returned, pressing down on me and almost demanding a sense of reverence or awe be felt. I turned and saw her arrive, yet in this case she was followed by the obvious form of Gallant. The Silverish armor and twinkling little lights couldn't be confused for anyone else, and it was then that my irritation surged forth and made me clench my teeth at the sight of the girl again. Yet I bit it back again, looking over at the wall and seeing the time was drawing closer and closer to 8 in the evening. Clenching my hands, I let out a heavy breath, as I turned back to the group as he finished his closing statements and began to dismiss everyone. Making my way past the group, a silver form stepped in front of me. "Is everything okay? You seem a bit tense." a calm and almost regal voice sounded through the helmet, I felt something in the back of my mind as if something was pinging off something else. Gallant's body shifted a bit, almost tensing up though it was hard to tell past the armor and I could feel my observational skills taking a sharp uptick as I felt pressured. I finally noticed Glory Girl to the side, watching the interaction sharply as Panacea also watched from her side. It almost felt like I was being sized up, and a part of me demanded I step up as well to return the pressure. I buried that feeling for now, forcefully slamming it back in place as Gallant shifted again as if sensing the burgeoning hostility.

"No, I am fine. It is time I get going though. A pleasure to meet you Gallant, I hope you have a good rest of your day." I spoke simply, as he stared back at me before nodding once. "Of course, you too. Be safe going home." he returned as I finally was able to move past him. It was good that he had moved when he did, because I felt like I was on the verge of rolling into a rage and I didn't know why. It was almost as if the small flare from Glory Girl's actions before had been the snowball that had begun rolling down a mountainside. It was almost more than I could hold back, I needed to get home, to calm down without anyone near me. When I got past the front doors of the Hospital, I practically broke into a run.

No one noticed that smoke had begun to waft out of the corners of my mouth, my brown eyes taking a reddish tint the entire time as I moved out into the city, completely bypassing the bus stop in my rush to remove myself from that situation.

[Dean]

He had never really felt such anger before, not from anyone aside from Lung had he felt that, a deep seated rage that did not seem human. Something that was barely conscious, something that truly ate at you from the deepest pits of one's psyche. That was the kind of anger than had been burning in that young man's chest. Just below the surface of that professional, mature demeanor, had been an anger so hot it had scalded his senses. He had been trying to use his power subtly, to try and coax that anger down without having to result in direct intervention, and yet nothing he did so much as took the edge off it. By some force of will, he had managed to push it down enough to leave in peace, in order to perhaps go and vent that rage elsewhere.

He turned to face Vicki and Amy, and frowned behind his helmet, had he not been wearing his helm they both would have seen the nervous and pensive look on his face. "You were right Vicki, something was off about him. Did you do something to him, either of you?" he said trying to reason just why a person like that would have that sort of rage. He had felt that anger pick up upon their entrance into the Hospital, and when they were seen by the man, but there was no direction to it. It just surged up, almost like a flood tide, threatening to overwhelm everything in its path. It was a terrifying prospect, and he had fought many people before and felt all sorts of anger, and that was one of the most horrendous he could remember. "Vicki, did you do something? Attack or injure him? Because what I felt wasn't normal. For some reason, he was a boiling pot of rage." he said as he walked up to the two, Vicki letting out a huff. "What do you mean 'did I do something'? All I did was question him once!" she said as Amy rubbed her face once, her own irritation surging.

"She overreacted when she caught me staring at him, and it is Vicki so you know how that goes. She walked up to him and gave him a shove, and given how strong you are Vicki and your own tendency to forget this fact, there is a pretty good chance she at least gave him a painful little gift to remember her by." she said while looking at Vicki, all the while said girl looked like she was being victimized.

"It was a little push, a poke really, I can't help it if he can't let things go even after I apologized. But if he holds on to grudges that easily then, all the better to find out now Amy. It wouldn't do to try and set you up with a guy like that. We are gonna need to keep looking around." she said, causing Amy to flush again at the embarrassment of it all. It was amusing watching this ballet of emotions go up and down, but that did help piece some of the picture together but it still didn't make sense fully. It was too much anger, too much Rage, for something borne of such a mundane reason. It was giving him a really bad feeling, because anyone that holds that much rage back is bound to snap and make a mistake that they might not be able to recover from.

[Taylor]

This was the worst! Holy Fuck, why did this happen on my first night out? Why of people to run into, why of all the gangs, did it have to be Lung of all things? These were the questions I was asking myself as I stared down the flaming form of Lung as it stomped and incinerated my bugs, even now growing more as I made to try and escape. Yet what they said about Lung proved to be true, the man gained more powers as he ramped up, because he had clearly heard me. The gravel under my feet must have given me away, because the claw gripping the edge of the building proved that as the near 7 foot tall burning man pulled himself up and over the edge. And yet that only motivated me to run more, dashing back and hitting the fire escape ladder quickly, sliding down it as fast as my light body could. The panic in my blood gave me more energy than I had ever felt before, even as every insect I could still reach kamikaze's into Lung, if only to give me a few more seconds to make my break for it.

I had just started this, my Cape debut was supposed to be simple and yet effective. Find some thugs, deal with them and turn them in and try and make my name known, actual cape name still pending but hopefully it wouldn't be something creepy or plain on PHO. Then after taking the thugs down, call the PRT and see if I could get slotted onto the Wards, a simple and flawless plan if ever there was one. But obviously the universe did not agree, and gave me exactly what I needed, a fight to really make my name known. 'Newbie Hero gets cremated by Lung on her first night' would be on the front of the PHO board by the morning, though to be fair, I had survived far longer than I thought I would at this point. Lung was moving far slower than I thought he would at that size, even looking at him now it was clear something was wrong with him, one of his eyes was oozing viciously and swollen shut, the other had insects he was still fighting off. That was the fact that made my heart swell, the plan worked! Even ramping up, he was still blinded and that was making everything harder for him, and was perhaps the only reason I am still alive.

But perhaps Lung heard that, because he turned to face me and let out a gargled roar of rage. 'I KWiL YoU kID!' resounding out, echoing down the street and through my ears like a heavy bass horn, and then I saw the fire blossom out from his mouth and wash down the road towards me. It was not a solid construct, but then again it didn't need to be with how narrow this backstreet was, the brick walls of the buildings on either side were doing wonders for funneling it towards me. I knew I couldn't escape it, I was going to burn, and that was going to be the end for sad little Taylor Hebert.

At least that was what I thought before the arms wrapped around me, pulling me backwards, and tucking me against a chest that was rather warm, as the scrape of steel on stone echoed around me. Fire washed past me, I knew it did, because the heat and the bloom of orange and crimson washed past what I could see on the edges of my vision. Pulling back, I saw a rather tall, and rather broad man, young man by the look of his face, holding me and a blooming barricade of layered steel wrapping around us almost like a flower as the flames rushed over the edges of the flower. It was an almost beautiful sight, very cinematic if I was to say so myself. For a moment I marveled, then I managed to piece things together about the only one who could use steel in this manner. But he couldn't be Kaiser, as Kaiser had almost never been seen without his toadies or his giant Valkyrie women bodyguards.

The man then spoke, "Are you okay kid?" and his voice seemed relieved, almost thankful as he stared down at me and I couldn't help but flush a bit at it, before nodding once. "Good. I…am glad I could help. But you need to go kid, here take my phone and call the PRT." he said handing me his phone. The Metal of the Flower began to shift, and was being pulled back into the walls and floor it hard sprouted from, as he turned to face the oncoming form of Lung. That is when I noticed something else, he had begun to steam a bit. He looked angry, wrathful even, and as he stepped forward muttering to himself, his form began to swell and grow. His clothing ripped and his pale skin was revealed to be swelling up as if he was gaining mass rapidly, almost like Lung. Metal began to pour off him, gathering in a burning pool that was cooking brick and mortar, boiling the asphalt where it touched and then I understood. He was going to throw down with Lung of all people. I needed to call the PRT, and I needed to do it now. Dialing their emergency number, it was only a single ring before it was answered.

'PRT Emergency Line, what is your emergency?'

"I am a Cape, I ran into Lung and now another Cape is currently fighting him in the back alley behind 8th and Morgan. There are other thugs further back, they have been restrained but we could really use some help." she spoke into the phone, before a roar echoed loudly enough, and was answered by another, only this one seemed to reverberate through metal, and the sound of shattering brick could be heard as Lung and what I could only describe as some sort of Burning Metal Golem man came through a wall, locked in melee.

'Armsmaster is on his way, five minutes out. Retreat if you can.' came the 'helpful' tone from the woman, as if that was going to do anything. If I could run away, I would, but not with Lung here threatening to kill Kids. Though, I would admit I got some really good backup it seemed. Who would have thought I'd wake up today and get to see a Kaiju fight in the making. That thought made me sigh in exasperation, before I slapped my forehead.

What in the hell was this day?

[Kol]

What the Hell was this Day?

That was the most fitting question to ask for this situation, because no matter how I looked back at what had happened to me, I had no answer. Every time I had hoped for something to go right, more and more seemed to get in the way, trying to make the day even worse. From the overwhelming anger at the slight against me from Glory Girl, all the way to watching some Cape kid running from Lung. At first I had been inclined to simply ignore having seen it, thinking she was just some other villain that had over reached and poked the dragon when they shouldn't have.

Yet something about the cape pulled at him, almost urging him to intervene, it was almost as if it was a second chance to do something right. To be a hero, and to save a life that he could save, and the Shard at the back of his mind supplied him with information. He could do something, finally, he could feel it waiting just out of sight. The metal was waiting for his call, the rage in him simmered down and offered him courage and strength, and that was enough to make him move. He took her in his arms, and the Metal responded to his call, shielding them both as he sent her off.

He was still nervous, and yet under that the rage surged forth calling for glorious battle. His blood sang, his rage poured forth and his body began to swell as it prepared for battle. Metal poured like lava from his skin, soaking into his body and hardening it beyond anything it could have been without it. His skin went from pale, to Iron Grey and began to deepen more and more as more metal was soaked into him. Nearly 8ft tall now, matching Lung himself now, heat wafted from my form and his as we met in a furious clash of flesh on metal. His fire did nothing to me now, it was barely noticeable but his strength was still there and that shoved me back despite the fact I had to weigh over 4 or 5 times as much as he did, if the math in my head for the weight of my metal form was right, which it was.

That was another oddity, I knew the exact weight and composition of my form now, given its Metallic composition, I also knew I would be able to accurately analyze the full mass and complete composition of anything Metallic just by looking at it or feeling it. It was how I knew I could call on my metal, from whatever alternate dimension it was in, and that I nearly had 1.29266 10 to the 22nd kilograms worth of various metals and alloys I could call on or roughly equivalent to the Mass of Pluto, that sheer amount of metallic elements was at my disposal, but I also knew I couldn't just pull all of it at once. I had a limit, but of course, as I fought with Lung I felt that limit increasing by a sizable portion.

So as I wrestled him out of the alley, accidentally going through a wall as we both hit the street, my form was coated in more metal and almost instinctively taking on a sort of armored look. My fingers were no longer fingers, they were claws and my arms looked like overlapping plates were growing into place, or more accurately being formed from the steel that was pouring across me. My chest was a dark gray, but with a steady red glow from the heat there, I could feel it growing in my chest as a fire began to ooze out of me. Lifting one of my hands, metallic bars as thick as industrial I beams surged from the ground, hitting Lung dead in his chest and sending him up into the air. But it did not stop there, as the air above Lung shimmered and metallic girders in a U shape came down and locked around his chest and slammed him back into the road viciously.

My blood sang more, my mind flooding with joy at the violence I was committing upon my enemy and yet even now I could tell it was not 'me' in the purest sense. My shard was pushing me, reveling in the use of my abilities to crush my foe, and it was giving me all the motivation it knew I needed to continue doing so. It was telling me that I was being a man, a hero, saving not only the girl but countless others that would suffer at Lung's hands. It told me to fight, to keep going and keep escalating until Lung knew just who he was, the apex predator. It was the wrong thought, because that broke whatever hold I had been under, and my shard displayed its dissatisfaction as I raised my hand again, and more of those same restraining girders shot down and pinned Lungs extremities to the ground, just to keep him from escaping but it seemed that it was unneeded. Lung had been far more injured going into that fight than I had assumed, he was not moving all that well right now and his growth had stagnated to a crawl. Something the girl had done most likely, and to think that whatever she had done had effected Lung to this extent was rather terrifying going off just what I knew about the man. She would be a very powerful hero in time, perhaps one of the greatest.

It was this thought that was broken by the sound of a Motorcycle roaring onto the scene, and a familiar set of armor stepping off it. The sight of the beard and the halberd were enough to clarify, Armsmaster had arrived and given the look on his face he had questions for me and the girl. Or to be more specific, he had questions for the girl and suspicion for me, given standing next to the young heroine was a nearly 9ft burning metal golem man, or at least that was what I was getting coming off of him through that stare. The girl in turn looked excited, eager even, to see Armsmaster standing there halberd in hand as he walked up to the girl. Looking over at Lung's restrained form he turned to face her again. "Explain, now." he said, curtly and with absolutely no room left for argument. Yet the girl didn't hesitate to go over things, and how they had led up to the moment.

"I would have normally not tried to take on Lung, but when I heard him ordering his men to kill kids, I had to do something." she said and that small concession did make the girl more endearing, at least in my mind. Armsmaster took that information, and looked up at me before looking over at Lung. "Given the metal manipulation I would like to say your Kaiser, but there is no record of Kaiser being able to do what you have. So I am going to assume that you are a new cape as well?" he asked, and I only nodded once. Trying to speak like this had proven fruitless, as it seemed no air could escape me, or sound for that matter even as I did try to speak. Though with the combat ended, I could feel my power taper off, and begin to dial back even if I felt like I would be able to hold onto it if I really wished. Something to remember certainly, even as great chunks of metal began to slough off my form as my size reduced, the steaming metal falling to the ground like wet clay and sinking back into wherever it was that it had come from in the first place.

"Intriguing." I heard Armsmaster mutter out, before he made a call with his helmet and turned away. Though I had an entirely different issue at hand, I had no clothes on under this mass of metal and I knew it. I had watched my clothes burn away before, yet had paid it no mind then, but now that I was about to be in public I couldn't allow that. So exerting my will a bit, I probed my power to see what I could do with it, and it was a simple enough measure to create rudimentary clothing with it. A set of metal armor remained wrapped around me, crude and violent looking, but slowly refining until it was a form hugging suit of semi-molten metal. I could tell my form beneath it was still that Iron skin I had changed into in the beginning, so the heat did not bother me at all nor did the weight. I also noticed that I was having no trouble breathing, or to be more specific, I was not breathing at all and still did not feel any adverse effects. I would need to observe this more in time, but for now, I didn't have to worry about drowning should I get tossed into the bay or have to spend an extended period of time encased.

Armsmaster came back while I was ruminating on my apparently very versatile powerset, and handed a card to the girl as he looked at me. My form was back to my typical size, just a tad over 6ft tall and yet still covered head to toe in that metal form, as I focused on it I could feel my form taking a more solid plate like structure that seemed to move like a set of broad scales. The heat finally died down in part, as I stepped away from the bubbling asphalt. The girl came up to me and smiled at me, "Thanks. You know, for saving me from Lung when you did. I really do appreciate it. I don't have a Cape name yet, but if you would like to work together again I would love to have you." she said, holding out her hand, and I couldn't help but laugh a bit at her personality. She was certainly a bright girl, and an honest one.

I rubbed my throat a bit, suddenly a bit more remorseful I couldn't talk before I leaned down a bit and gestured to the ground. Metal words began to form there for her to read. "Can't Talk like this. But sure thing, anytime I can help Kid." the words spelled out before they vanished. Standing back up, Armsmaster was leaning over and watching. "Ah, I see. Inconvenient but understandable, sometimes powers have trade offs like that." he said as he looked back at me, though I could hear some cars approaching with sirens. Both police and PRT vehicles coming up to stop, as Lung was tranq'd a few times as they began to try and cut into my girders. Holding up my hands, they vanished as they were pulled back to wherever they came from, that planetoid mass of metal I could feel beyond the 'wall' of my dimension.

Armsmaster looked at us both before coughing into his hand once. "I figure that the two of you will probably be heading back after this, as I imagine this was a rather unexpected debut night for you both and taking down Lung on your first night out is certainly not a matter that can be overlooked. You could become targets, so I would like to recommend you come by the PRT to register with us as Heroes, or at the very least as Rouges. I would strongly recommend that you join us proper, your abilities would be greatly appreciated joining us in either the Wards for your case young lady, and perhaps the PRT official in your case Sir?" he said, framing that last bit like a question given I was exactly presenting any defining traits in this form. Words formed in the air to the side of me, "It is Sir, and I don't really have a cape name as I really wasn't expecting to have to do this tonight. Or ever really. But you deal with things as they are dealt to you, so I figure I might just see where the chips land. I only intervened to help her out, and I wasn't planning on being some hero, well aside from being her Hero then and there." he spelled out, the girl chuckling a bit as she began to bob back and forth on her feet a bit, seems her excitement was really getting to her.

"But I supposed seeing what you have to offer wouldn't be the worst scenario, but perhaps another time as it is quite late and I feel like escorting the young miss back home would be very prudent. I am well enough, but perhaps she has someone to get back too." I spelled out, before the girl seemed to go rigid and curse a bit under her breath. Armsmaster nodded at that, and offered his hand to the girl regardless, before shaking my own. "I hope to hear from you soon, and hopefully as prospective team members. My crew will handle transporting and keeping Lung restrained safely. Thank you for your assistance tonight, you have done this city a massive favor getting him off the streets." he said, before turning around and walking back over to bark orders at the PRT goons. Which left me and the kid alone, the silence starting to pick up. "So kid, you know what I look like beneath this, and I can only hope that you will keep it between us?" I asked as I gestured for her to follow.

She fell in step beside me and nodded vigorously, "Of course. You helped me out, and I am not about to rat out someone that helped me. Not that I could give anyone much, as I have never seen you before in my life and to be fair it was dark and I could feel my blood rushing in my ears and was far more focused on the flames." she said to me as we moved down the street, stepping aside into an alley once we were suitably far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the PRT. I could feel the metal around me, a few of them were cameras so I simply pushed a little and the cameras crumpled into neat little balls of metal. Waving my hand again, I created a dome of metal around us, yet with vent holes for breathing as I created a small orb of flame in one hand. "I figure that since you already know what I look like, even if only a bit, and if we are going to be meeting more in the future." I said, letting out a sigh as I realized I didn't have much of a choice. I had made a choice, a decision that was going to affect me going forward from this point on. Also nothing about the girl was triggering any of my more cautious instincts I had been getting lately, and her body language was honest and straightforward so she wasn't lying when she said she would keep my secret. My helm faded away, pulling back like a river of metal parting, "My name is Kol, though I have no clue what to call myself Cape wise." I said, offering her my hand.

She looked at it, then at me before taking her mask off. "I am the same, no cape name yet, but you can call me Taylor." she said, as she shook my hand. "A pleasure to meet you Kol, I hope we can work well together in the future." she said with a smile.

Right before I heard a knock on the wall of my dome, and a singsong voice echoed through it. "And I am Tattletale, I would love it if we could talk for a bit.~"