I had been at peace.

For the first time in recent memory, there had been nothing.

No guilt over not healing, no frustration at Vicky and my lack of progress, no worry, no sadness.

I had been empty for one blissful moment.

It was torn away just as quickly as it came.

My eyes tracked the woman as she ran across the street, almost getting hit by a car. Her child clenched tightly to her chest as she vanished out of sight.

Frustration was the first emotion to hit me. Then guilt sneaked in. A small amount of concern snuck its way in. Then it was all washed away in a flood of rage.

"God dammit."

Everyone in the cafe gathered around the bar windows, watching as more people ran from the park. Their shouts and screams echoed in my ears as I pushed myself upright. My sweet, delicious cocoa was left behind as I went to the door.

Someone was putting the children in the park at risk.

Someone had ruined my peace.

Someone had made me waste three dollars and a good cup of cocoa.

They were going to pay.

The door chimed again as I pushed my way out, jogging in towards the park. An older man stumbled past me with a little girl in a princess carry, their faces blue and ice in their hair. A young woman limped past with a bloodstained calve, supported by an older boy on one side.

Part of me was tempted to stop and heal them. Habit wanted to take over. Logic won out and I continued towards the park. Treat the illness, not the symptoms. I was probably the closest hero, and who knows how many more people would get hurt if I didn't try to stop it.

The park was full of screams and the distant sound of barking. I tried to hurry as I stepped over to a tree, wrapping my arms around it. Its biology blossomed into my awareness. Wood flowed around me like water, practicing saving me precious seconds in the construction of the armor.

I stepped back as Sequoia, my mask set in a ferocious scowl, a bow and arrow in my hands.

There wasn't any time to double-check my equipment. Screams and barking drew close, as a kid came shrieking towards me. Hot on his heels was something that resembled a dog, white fur with a fat eyeless head.

Knocking my arrow, I aimed. There was no hesitation, there was too much anger to hesitate. I let go just as it was about to overtake the kid.

I didn't miss it. The arrow soared past the kid and struck the monster in the chest. It yelped as it came to a stop, stumbling to a halt with the shaft buried in its chest. I knocked another arrow as the kid reached me, grabbing my waist from behind and squeezing tight.

The monster, but the arrow in its chest made it slow. By the time it was halfway towards me, I had already aimed. Letting this next arrow fly, it caught it in the socket where its eye should have been. It tumbled to the ground and lay still, a pool of blood forming under it.

More screams and barks still echoed through the park. The area around me and the kid was quiet for the moment. Except for the kid pressing his face against my leg as he cried. I reached down to the kid, prying him off of me.

"Kid. Listen to me." He looked at me, his face a red mess of snot and tears, as he hiccuped.

"I have to go save other people. I need you to be brave. There's a cafe in that direction. It'll be safe there. Tell them to call the PRT. Got it?"

He looked about ready to start sobbing again. Part of me wanted to yell at him. A memory of Vicky slipped in, and I squeezed his shoulder.

"Be brave. Be a hero." It seemed to get through to him, as he nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Go!"

The kid took off at a sprint towards Babel, and I ran over to where the monster's corpse was.

It had been a dog at one point. Its body plan was the same, even if its head were a mutated mess. It was bloated, leaving it with a massive snout and ears, but no eyes.

This didn't match the power effect of any cape I knew in the city. It looked far too similar to biotinker work, and it sent a nervous shiver through my spine.

I drowned the nervousness in more anger and took off in a sprint. As I ran, I planned. If these were blind, they had to rely on sound and scent. I formed a grenade in my hand from my reserve, mixing the glue with capsaicin.

Following the screams and barking, I found a woman and a girl hiding in a tree. At the base, a pair of mutant dogs clawed and bayed. Scratching its bark as they tried to climb up to them.

Without a second thought, I hurled the grenade towards the dogs. It missed either of them, striking the tree and bursting. Strands of glue exploded outwards, coating the dogs from head to tail in the concoction.

The stench of the capsaicin reached me a moment later. It affected the dogs far worse. It sent them into a frenzy, thrashing and biting at everything nearby. One hit the other and got stuck to it because of the glue. The other one bit in return, and they started to fight.

"Run!" I yelled at the two in the tree. The woman jumped down with one hand covering her nose, before turning to help the child out. Cells shifted with my intent, and the bow became a spear.

I didn't leave the dogs to get free and hurt anyone else.

Flicking the blood off the spear blade, I noticed a new noise. A cracking, chiming sound. As if someone was snapping two-by-fours with a wind chime.

Turning around, my eyes widened as I spotted the source. A ball of black light was flying towards me. I leaped to the side, landing heavily on my side. Despite getting out of the way, I could feel cells dying in my armor as the water was turned to ice. Scrambling backward away from the orb, I watched it continue on a straight path.

It flew over the corpses of the dogs. The crackling, chiming sound got louder as the blood froze under and around them. There was a loud crackling sound as the blood froze, the glue turned into a jagged crystal chain, and the bodies bulged and then exploded with icy shards.

My eyes tracked it as it continued on its path. A trail of hard ice and split trees in its wake. Slowly, I picked myself up and checked my surroundings. The screams and barking were more intermittent now, and no people or dogs in my immediate line of sight.

I took a moment to catch my breath and excise the dead cells from my armor. It was hard to hear my thoughts over the sound of blood rushing through my ears.

There was no way one single cape was responsible for this. The mutated dogs were dangerous to civilians but they didn't seem like they'd be much of a threat to me. That freezing orb, however, was a massive threat. The two were so different, there was no way any cape could produce both, right?

Under the pounding in my ears, I heard a faint buzzing. My head snapped up to try and find the source. Eventually, I spotted it. A small golden drone, flying on a set of nearly invisible wings. It has no face, only a single camera lens that twisted as it focused in on me.

After staring at it for a moment, I realized what single cape in the city could cause this: The only cape that could make anything one time.

"Fucking Leet?!" I almost shouted the words at the drone, my anger flaring.

"Glad to be recognized!" That annoyingly high-pitched voice came blaring out through the drone's speakers. "Welcome to the Zone, what's your name stalker?"

"Sequoia. What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I jabbed my spear at the drone as I yelled at it. "There are children here! Take your damn game elsewhere!"

"But children love games! Even if they don't tend to play a masterpiece like this one." A small chime came through the mic and he let out a small noise of excitement. "Thank you for the donation Giga — I can't say the rest of your name. You know the rules. Thank you for the donation though!"

"Pay attention to me when I'm talking to you!" My voice cracked as I screamed at him, getting livid. "Stop this and maybe you'll get out of this with only a stay in jail!"

"Sorry, not sorry. Gotta keep chat happy you know? They're interested in you!" He gave a happy hum, the drone flying slightly closer. "A new stalker in the Zone, they want to see what you can do!"

"I'm not here for your entertainment, Leet!" My grip tightened on my spear as I resisted the urge to hurl it at the drone. "If you're not gonna get out of here, then come out here and fight me!"

"I don't need to do that. After all, you're already fighting the Zone!" There was a smugness in his voice as he clicked his tongue. "And there's one thing you gotta remember about the Zone."

"Never let your guard down."

There was a snarl behind me. I cursed and spun around, swinging my spear like a bat. It smacked into the dog that lunged for my neck, the impact reverberating along my arm. There was a crack. The dog was knocked off course, crumpling into the snow as it landed.

Two more dogs were just behind it, and I had no time. They latched onto my arms, and their weight carried us to the ground.

I lost my grip on my spear as it thrashed, trying to rip through my armor. Some part of me noted that their teeth were barely scratching it.

The rest of me panicked.

Things descended into a blur of flashing teeth, white fur, and snow. I tried to rip myself free and failed. The two of them started to pull my arms in separate directions, trying to tear me apart.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the third one get up and limp towards us.

Desperation fueled instinct as I focused on my power.

The dog on my right arm yelped and let go as a spike jabbed upwards into its mouth. I twisted, still shifting the material to my right hand.

The other dog didn't get a chance to react.

There was a wet squelch as I drove a dagger into its neck, blood spraying out across the snow. It tensed up for a moment before going still.

Scrambling to get back up, my hand managed to find my spear. Breathing heavily, I got to my feet. The two remaining dogs grouped up, one limping and the other bleeding from its mouth.

The knife on my off-hand disintegrated as I focused on it. Breaking apart into small pellets, each a little capsaicin grenade.

I hurled the handful of pellets at the dogs as they started to move. The one with the limp got caught directly by several, each exploding into a little red cloud. The effect was immediate. It started thrashing around, pawing at its distended snout while howling.

The other one got out of the way and lunged at me. Without a second thought, I stabbed. The tip caught it in the chest, the momentum digging it in deeper until it burst out the back.

I almost lost my grip as it thrashed, trying to bite at me even as it slid further down the spear. Its movements grew more sluggish, and after a few moments, it went still, dead weight on the spear.

Rather than try and dislodge it, I detached part of the spear. It hit the ground and stayed there, a dead lump.

The last dog was still thrashing around, having buried its snout in the snow. Focusing on wood in my hand, I made a new weapon as I walked towards it.

An ear twitched and it brought its head up, growling at me. My new sword flashed in the light as I swung it.

For a moment, everything was still.

"No hesitation at all! I'm impressed, Sequoia." Leet's voice cut like a needle from the drone. "Got that all on camera. Chat loved it, though you got some haters for killing dogs."

"I am going to kick your ass," I snarled, turning to glare at the drone while leveling the still-bloody sword. "I am going to kick your ass and see you rot in prison you annoying bastard."

"Sure you will Sequoia!" He kept up the smug tone as another chime sounded out. "Thanks for the donation ICWe-Oh ha ha, very funny. Anyway, Sequoia, good luck trying to find us!"

The drone suddenly darted upwards above the treetops and took off. With a growl, I took off after it in a sprint.

Wherever it was going, there had to be something happening. If I were lucky Leet would be there. There were no more screams now, only the occasional bark. I could hear the sound of PRT sirens getting closer.

Uber and Leet wouldn't stick around for much longer if the PRT were going to arrive soon. If I were going to catch either of them, I'd have to make it quick.

Coming around a pine tree, I saw a flash of silver before I ran into something hard. Bouncing off it with a yelp, I stumbled back several paces before getting my footing.

"Identify yourself!" A very familiar voice shouted at me. Wearing a silver suit of power armor, splattered with blood and shallow scratches. Was Dean. Or more specifically, his superhero persona, Gallant. Who had one of those blood-splattered hands pointed in my direction.

Standing just behind him was another recognizable figure. Short, dressed in a green dress with a visor, was Vista. It was easy to tell her eyes were fixed on my sword, which was still covered in blood.

"It's from the dogs." I hurriedly explained, flicking it to the side. A thought made the outer layer waterproof, letting the blood slide off. "I'm Sequoia. Hero."

"Never heard of you." Gallant lowered his hand after a moment. "But we'll take the backup. Where were you going?"

"I was chasing a drone. Uber and Leet are out here somewhere." It was impossible to see Gallant's reaction, but Vista crossed her arms.

"I told you we saw the Snitch earlier." She let out a huff, an icy cloud flowing from her mouth. "I could have caught up with it."

"Control was clear." He was firm as he spoke, turning his eyes to the surroundings. "Focus on evacuating the civilians."

"I'm going after them." That got both of their attention. I placed a hand on a nearby tree, pulling just enough material from a fingertip to access it with my power.

"I wouldn't recommend that alone." He tried to explain, watching me as I formed a shield on my off hand. "Uber and Leet do not have a dangerous reputation, but they're still villains. Uber can be a problem in a one-on-one fight, and Leet has seemingly invented something more dangerous than his norm for this."

"He can't get away with this." Pulling away from the tree, I looked between the two of them. Anger was still simmering in my gut.

"He's injured, who knows how many people for his stupid show? How many kids? He's crossed a line, regardless of this invention."

"She's not wrong, Gallant." Vista added in from Gallant's side, stepping towards me. "This needs a strong response. Besides, imagine if he gets to keep this new invention. He might be able to use it for something bigger than even this."

I didn't wait for them to agree. Taking off at a jog, I could hear Vista call out.

"Wait for me!" She took off running after me.

Gallant cursed under his breath and followed a moment later.

"Control's found their stream." He yelled out to us as we ran. "They're doing something at the central plaza!"

"What have they got with them?" I yelled back, slowing down slightly so Vista could keep up. "What are we running into?"

"Uber's dressed in military gear, a gas mask, and is carrying some kind of ticker tech rifle!" Vista shouted from just behind me. "Leet's wearing an orange hazmat suit and is carrying around some big device! Odds are it's what is causing the effects!"

"Like that?" I jabbed my sword towards one of the black light orbs as it floated into view. It seemed to squash to the side, space pinching in on itself, and I glanced over at Visfa.

"Like that." She kept her hand pointed at it until we were past.

We covered the ground quickly, slowing to a walk as we got closer to the center.

"How are we going to do this?" Gallant asked, coming to a crouch behind a bench. "Control has permitted us to engage."

"Go in and kick their behinds?" Vista offered as a joke, and they both looked over at me.

"Why are you looking at me?" I glanced over the bench towards the Plaza. My eyes widened as I saw the silhouette of Uber.

There was a loud bang as I ducked back down. A bolt of something whizzed over my head. It struck a tree on the opposite side of the path and exploded with electricity.

"I think he knows we're here." Vista snarked as Gallant let out a sigh.

"Vista, give us some cover on the way up. Once we're up there I'll try and deal with Uber." Part of me bristled as Gallant issued the orders, but I stayed focused. "You two focus on Leet. If we can't capture them, just focus on whatever device Leet has."

"Fine." My anger at Leet outweighed anything else.

Vista was already working on the cover. I watched as the path seemed to shift. Asphalt rose from the ground, stretching with space to form a wall.

"Go!" I gave the order this time. We ran up the path, Vista running a hand along the wall as she went. In the sky above the wall, I could see something forming. A roiling cloud, shifting with multiple hues. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Vista and I rounded the corner of the wall first, getting a view of the central plaza.

More of those strange power effects floated in circles around the fountain at the center. Orbs of black light, crackling balls of lightning, vortexes of snow and twigs, and fireballs all spinning around him.

Leet was at the top of the fountain, dressed in an orange hazmat suit. In his hands was a device covered in antennae and dials he was constantly fiddling with.

"Look out!" Gallant shouted from behind us. I reacted by wrapping my shield arm around Vista. Ignoring her shout, I crouched down beside her just in time.

There was a loud bang, and I felt something slam into the shield. Crackling electricity exploded out from where the blow impacted my shield. It did its job perfectly, with no electricity reaching my arm.

"Thanks." The ground shot up between us and Uber as Vista flexed her power. Gallant got into the newly made wall just a moment after us. He leaned out and started launching colorful rays from his power toward Uber's position.

"I'll need you to make me a path." I glanced down after Vista. She gave me a nod. Keeping one hand on the wall, she pointed another hand towards the fountain. Space shifted, expanding and shrinking in a way that hurt my brain. The fountain was suddenly next to me, and the power effects flew over us.

"Thanks." I gave Vista a nod and stepped up onto the fountain.

"Sequoia, hey." Leet's voice was higher-pitched than before as he looked down at me. "You know, I was just joking with you earlier, right? It was for the show!"

"Surrender now and let me kick your ass." He backed up towards the edge of the top of the fountain as I got closer.

"Don't you mean or?" His hand slapped a button on the device, and the temperature grew around me.

I dove to the side just in time as a pillar of fire shot up from the ground. Some of the cells on my outer layer of armor died from the temperature change. That might have killed me.

"No, I'm kicking your ass regardless!" I yelled at him, seeing red. He teetered on the edge of the fountain's top as he desperately worked the controls of his device.

With as much strength as I could muster, I hurled my sword at the device. It hit it on the back and punched through the metal, sparks flying before it punched out the other side.

"No, no no no!" Leet shrieked as he tried to work around the blade. There was a whooshing sound all around us. The power effects shot upwards into the cloud forming above us. He stared up in horror.

I shouldn't have broken it.

"BLOW-OUT!" He screamed, tossing the device aside and diving off the fountain. I didn't follow him, jumping to where Vista and Gallant were waiting.

There was a thundercrack as the cloud swelled in size. And then, it burst.

A wave of multicolored energy exploded outwards, flying towards us. Space expanded around it as Vista tried to contain it, but it moved faster than her power could expand.

Without a second thought, I grabbed Vista, wrapping myself around her and putting my shield up. A pair of metal arms grabbed my shoulders as Gallant joined protecting Vista.

The wave washed over us.

There was a moment where I could sense exactly what was happening through my power. Some cells died of overheating, some froze, and my shield completely died as electricity rippled through it.

Then it got through my armor to me, and I passed out.

AN: So, this has been a difficult chapter to write. This is the second version of this. I wasn't really happy with the first version I wrote. It just felt stilted. This version turned out better.

Everything flows better, it shows off where Amy is with her "powers" better, it'll lead to further development, and it introduces Sequoia to two of the Wards. Much happier with it. I might wind up posting the original version as an Apocrypha or Omake or something.