New "episode" time! I don't really have much to say about this one. We got a fight on our hands—a 2v1! I also want to make sure everyone understands that, unlike Season 2 of the original All For Luz, this one is going to be longer. As I said, this is going to have 3 arcs, all of which have AT LEAST five chapters. Not a blanket statement that each arc has five chapters. Also, compared to the original Season 2, this is going to be less depressing. At least, in the first half.
Also, sorry for the late upload. I've been busy. To keep a long story short, adulting blows. To anyone who says that they want to grow up and become an adult: No. No, you don't.
Also, Also. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others. But that's fine!
With that being said, I hope you guys enjoy the "episode"!
[Opening Song: Bokurano – By: Eve]
*The scene opens with the strumming of a guitar in a slow, methodical rhythm, as Luz–dressed in a white bodysuit with a red cape attached to her back, kind of like a hero costume you'd see from a comic book, with her back facing the camera–slowly rises in a void of darkness, a bright white light in front of her; all the while a quiet choir-like voice hums alongside the strumming of the guitar. Luz looks over her shoulder, a lone brown eye looking back at the camera before it zooms in on her eye as the beat drops.*
*The drums kick in, continuing the same beat before, but this time more intense alongside an electric guitar. The camera zooms past her shoulder and into the bright light, as a cityscape looms underneath, the title of the story appearing once again, "The Owl House - All For Luz" appears, with the Japanese Kanji " フクロウの家 - すべてはルスのために！ " Underneath it, and in smaller font. This time, there's a large bright yellow 2 next to both English and Japanese.*
*The guitar riffs, causing the scene to change to the same Luz from the beginning standing atop a building, overlooking the city of Waterbury with a solemn yet hopeful expression on her face. She takes in the scenery around her, a smile taking up her visage as a hand touches her shoulder. She turns around and sees Julia, who is also wearing a costume consisting of a white shirt, a large pink feather coat over her shoulders, a purple corset, brown shorts and sandals, along with red goggles on her forehead. Next to her is an older black-haired woman in a skintight futuristic suit with purple streaks going through it, resting an elbow on Julia's shoulder. Luz smiles, before walking over to them as a disembodied voice sings this opening's song*
"A world that's lacking black and white"
"Where sorrow kills us deep inside"
"I cannot stop myself from falling to the other side again"
"So, are you waiting?"
*The scene changes to two young boys running through a forest, both with white hair. One has red eyes, the other has green eyes. The boy with green eyes has the red-eyed boy by the wrist, both dressed in rags as they're running down the forest to an open clearing at the edge of a mountain. The boy with red eyes has a worried look on his face before the green-eyed boy lets go, getting to the edge of the cliff before turning around, looking at the red-eyed boy, smiling with both his hands behind his back.*
*The red-eyed boy relaxes, calmly walking toward the boy, an honest, caring smile on his face, reaching out to the boy as the scene changes. The boy looks older, a horrified look on his face (the boy was Yoichi) and the red-eyed boy (All For One) reaches out toward him, that same concern as before as the city of Tokyo is in the middle of a burning battle. The scene glitches out to Luz, in her hero costume in Waterbury, where it looks like a large battle had taken place, stumbling forward with blood on her hands as she looks down at said hands, panic and horror in her eyes as a ghost of All For One appears over her shoulder, a reassuring hand on her shoulder, all the while the disembodied voice continues to sing*
"Decayed, we break and stumble while reaching for the light"
"Is there somewhere to search and find?"
"A reason to keep up the lie?"
"When misery will block the way, never cry"
"'Cause I'm by your side through all the hurting!"
*The beat reaches a crescendo, then drops as Luz stands up, the spirit of All For One disappearing as a vengeful look appears in Luz's eye, red sparks burst around her, dashing forward toward a shadowy group of villains, rearing back a punch to gut check the first one. Julia swings in from out of nowhere, wrapping up one of the villains in string, swinging them away into a nearby building. Hunter appears next to Luz, generating a light sword, helping her fight the same villain she's attacking, as an older-looking woman in her mid-20s (Riley) lunges at a taller villain with a purple smog Quirk, her eyes bursting with an explosive energy.*
"Take every single bitter feeling"
"That the future we are reaching…"
"I want to hold you forever through everything…!"
"Break away, 'cause that's a hero!"
*The scene cuts to a different scene with Vee (in her human form) alongside Camila fighting off a witch (Millie) inside a large penthouse in the human realm who wears the Elite Emperor Coven garb, each taking turns attacking the witch, Camila using a sword on her hip, and Vee shape-shifting their arm into a large mace, both of them missing their attacks, allowing the witch leap back, create distance between them, and to create a magic circle and blast off a fire spell, which acts as a transition for the next scene all the while the voice continues the song*
"Take every prayer repeating,"
"Hold dear to every meaning…"
"My broken body will carry onward through the dark!"
"I'll fly to where you are!"
*The scene changes to Luz standing in front of a blue portal of some kind, a shattered vial of *something* next to her as she looks to her left. The ghost of All for One stands next to her, offering her his hand. For a moment, she looks hesitant, before she takes it. The two glitch out, replaced by shadowy versions of Caleb and Philip, then those two glitch out to be replaced with a menacing All For One, before Luz and the ghost of All For One appear again, as they step through the portal to a place entirely unknown, but not before Luz looks over her shoulder once again, her eye now red, and a smirk on her face, with the opening coming to an end as the disembodied voice finishes the song.*
"Crying out!"
"A heart that reflects the words of the love it found!"
"Never doubting any step…!"
"We'll rise up to see a new end, once again!"
*The beat of the song reaches a crescendo again, before closing out with a final riff, as the portal vanishes–closing in on itself–revealing a familiar cabin in the woods, as the light of the moon shines down on it with an ominous eerie glow.*
[Beacons Of Hope, or Despair? – Part 2]
Julia wasn't going to lie to herself and say that she wasn't a little bit nervous. She shouldn't be, but she was. In the two months that she's been a Professional Hero for the United States Government—which, according to the online ranking charts and fan clubs for all of the Hero Teams, she ranked fourth in the country, just under Ranger, Cross, and Luzura—she realized that underestimating one's opponent could easily lead to dying a very early death.
She'd know. She had died once.
But that was then, and this was now. But speaking of "now" there were the other heroes and their groups, and what their powers were.
Ranger was the leader of the pretentiously named "Heroes of Christ" in Texas. His power, Earthshaker, had something to do with manipulating the ground by creating small Earthquakes by stomping, and from there controlling the ground. Continued and prolonged use gave him migraines.
Cross was the leader of The Children of Hope, and her power was fairly basic but insanely powerful under the right circumstances. She called her power Blood Bending. Essentially, she could manipulate her blood and turn it into weapons that she could use, though it was limited to melee weapons.
Sure, she had to injure herself to use her power, but considering that she only needed a tiny opening to use her power, and considering she was immune to all blood transmission-related diseases, the only real risk to her power was if she overused it.
There were rumours about Cross that she wasn't what she seemed to be, but Julia felt as if that was just media ramblings. Besides, Julia had met Cross. Cross didn't seem like a bad person. Sure she was a little weird, but she wasn't evil like the media was making her out to be. The worst thing she had done before becoming a Hero was accidentally kill someone's pet dog when her power first appeared.
As far as Julia was concerned, accidents happened. There was no need to condemn someone based on an accident they couldn't control.
Finally, there was Luzura. She was, well, she was Luz. It was redundant to say, but her power was to take powers from others, and if she felt like it, give the powers that she stole to other people.
It went without saying, but Luz was terrifying in that regard. She could be a potential threat to just about everybody, so it was a good thing that she became a hero. Not that Julia could see her as anything but. Especially given both of their lived experience regarding that place. She knew that Luz wouldn't want to inflict that kind of pain on anyone.
She was just that pure of a soul. Sure, Luz had her ups and her downs, and she had skeletons in her closet just like everyone else. But she wasn't a bad person. Maybe a little twisted, but then again who wasn't?
All of that is to say that Luz was not, nor would she ever be an evil individual.
However, Julia had recalled reading a thread on Reddit about Luz and it had been about how terrifying it would be if Luz decided to become evil and take over the world, and it continued about how that would've been a nightmare scenario given what it was that she could do, and just how quickly she could do it, too.
But, again, that would never happen. She could never imagine that Luz would become evil.
Anyway, the point was that she was under those three, and for good reason. While she was strong, she wasn't as strong as them. She wasn't as fast as them. But what she lacked in power and speed, she made up for in defence, resilience, and creativity with her power.
She also may or may not have taken inspiration from Doflamingo's move set from One Piece. It made sense, given that they had essentially the same power, with one being fictional and the other being real. Some things couldn't translate well, while others did expertly.
So, she decided that she was going to make the most of it and test out one thing in particular that she had been meaning to try out. Just to see how useful it would be in an actual fight. No one ever set vetting new members to Beacon wasn't a good time to try out new things.
Julia stood across from Riley and Hunter, arms crossed with a neutral expression on her face. She sighed looking them up and down. She could tell at a glance that Hunter was the stronger of the two—he just gave off that kind of energy. That being said, Riley was no pushover, either. However, there were striking differences between the two.
For starters, Hunter's posture told Julia that he was constantly on edge. Constantly aware of his surroundings, and that he was ready to pounce at even the slightest given prompt. There was also a very sharp, very pointed look in his eyes. A look that screamed, "I will beat you within an inch of your life if you try anything funny".
Typically, that was a red flag. But, at the same time, Luz had that same look in her eye when she was out in public and at the mall. Luz was paranoid, and clearly, so was Hunter. That was why she was able to pick up on that little detail.
Finally, there was the aura he gave off. He gave off the aura of a trained professional. As if he had served in the military. It wasn't impossible to assume that, either. Cadets were a thing, and while it wasn't exactly the same thing as serving the military, it was still something that gave a similar experience to what it would be like at training camp.
In contrast, there was Riley. She was laid back, had a lax demeanour about her, and stood with a slouch. Hell, her hands were in her pockets, signifying that she wasn't exactly all there at the moment. With just a glance, one would assume that she wasn't even paying attention to the situation, only that she was here to test out and leave once she failed.
But once again, it came down to the look in her eyes. Or, in her case, eye.
She was analyzing everything. Every detail, every inch of the rooftop, didn't go unnoticed by Riley. Down to even how Julia's outfit crinkled and shifted in her wind. It was as if she was making sure that everything was in her line of sight. However, if Julia were to guess, the lack of depth perception made things more difficult, so she had to be sure of where everything was.
That made Riley slightly more of a threat than Hunter. Because while Hunter was focused on the main threat, that being Julia, Riley was focused on everything. The worst part was that it was out of necessity due to her lack of depth perception.
That meant that Julia was going to need to keep the pressure on Riley most of all, rather than on Hunter. Though, in the same breath, she knew nothing of their skill. For all Julia knew, they were both pushovers and needn't be worried about.
Julia cleared her throat, getting the pair's attention. "Alright, I'm gonna set some ground rules, and they're pretty simple. We go until either of you says "I give up" or until I say "Stop." No lethal force is allowed for obvious reasons, and if you're too injured to fight, please don't make it worse for yourselves. The last thing we need is to overwork Ms. Noceda, even if you do fail. Do the both of you understand?"
"Yes," both Riley and Hunter said unanimously. A smirk took up Julia's visage, and when she uncrossed her arms, in the blink of an eye, she shot out well over 20 feet of hardened string and whipped it in the pair's direction. The string travelled so fast, that they looked more like blurs than string.
Hunter bolted forward, light particles following after him as he appeared mere inches away from Julia's person, his left arm coiled back with his hand balled into a fist ready to punch her square in the face.
Rather than be worried, Julia smirked. "He's gonna have to do better than that…" and with that thought, she stomped the floor in front of her. As soon as her foot connected with the ground, and as soon as Hunter's fist was an inch from Julia's face, a large pillar of string formed under where Hunter stood, and shot upward.
The result was that Hunter was sent flying backwards, rag-dolling in the air for a second, before he was able to recuperate mid-air and land safely on the ground. His eyes narrowed, frustration clear in his eyes as Julia felt more than a little cocky after knocking him out of the way before it was too late.
She wouldn't lie, that had scared her. She had never come that close to being hit. Truth be told, her reaction was muscle memory, not an actual response. Her fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, and she picked fight.
At the same time, Riley dived under the wave of string, before picking herself up and rushing Julia down. Julia spotted her from the corner of her eye, gaining distance on her, and decided to employ the move she wanted to try out.
Snapping her fingers, a single string leaked out of her finger as it rapidly took the shape and appearance of Julia; clothes and all. Once the clone took shape, it launched itself toward Riley, meeting her halfway and winding up a roundhouse kick. Riley put up a block to absorb as much damage as she could, expecting the attack to do next to nothing to her.
After all, Julia didn't exactly look all that strong. She looked as if a strong gust of wind could knock her over if she so much as lifted a foot. Riley had every right to assume that Julia was physically weak, especially a clone version of her.
So, imagine her surprise when she's thrown nearly ten feet back, dazed and in more pain than she'd ever experienced in recent memory. She had to struggle to stand back up after taking that much of a blow, so much so that she barely dodged out of the way of the follow-up kick, ducking out of the way.
Hunter sped past Riley, aiming for Julia for a second time, only to get stopped by a clone of his own. He had to switch up strategies at that moment, grinding to a halt and thrusting his arm forward at the clone. Julia had no idea why he was doing that until she noticed that there was a golden light coming from his palm.
Julia had only a split second to duck, seeing as the clone she had spawned was right in front of her. She was lucky that she did, otherwise she would've taken a solid beam of light to the face. The clone had a massive hole punched through its chest, before catching on fire from the heat of the light and burning inside out.
"I thought I said non-lethal!" Julia called out as Hunter scoffed.
"Yeah, it wouldn't have been lethal had it hit you. That was a string clone. You know? Highly flammable?" Hunter retorted, closing the distance between himself and Julia. She knew she couldn't do the same thing a second time, so instead, she reached out to grab him by the collar of his shirt.
Hunter flinched the moment he was grabbed and was equally as shocked when he was slammed into the ground with another force to wind him. At the same time, a loud explosion boomed out from behind Julia as she caught Riley slipping her glove back on her left hand, and for her clone to be nowhere in sight.
"So, it seems like I've got to use a stronger string to make the clones, otherwise they're basically useless against explosives and fire-like abilities," Julia thought, frowning. Glancing back at where Hunter was, she was shocked to find him gone. She looked up and saw him hovering there, a pair of golden wings sticking out of his back as he frowned.
"You should learn to pay attention more!" With that, he clapped his hands together, and after pulling his hands back, a rapier appeared. She narrowed her eyes before palming the ground. Three large string-like spikes flew toward Hunter, only for Hunter to transform into light particles, and zoom past her. He reconstructed himself behind Julia, and she could feel the tip of his sword touching the back of her neck.
"I believe that, is game, set, and match," Hunter quipped as Julia sighed. Her heart was racing, and adrenaline was flowing through her veins. She had never been pushed that far in her life. It was clear that Hunter had more experience than he let on. It was also clear that he would make a very obvious choice to become a member of Beacon.
But Riley… she hardly did anything.
"Alright, Hunter, you passed," Julia said, and just as she did, she felt the tip of his sword disappear. As she stood up, she looked back over to Riley and frowned. "Me and you will run it back. Hunter stole the show entirely, so this will be your chance to get into Beacon. Got it?" Julia said as Riley nodded.
The two got into place, and as they stood apart from one another, and as Hunter began to walk toward the sidelines, Julia noted something interesting from how Hunter looked back at Julia. There was a peculiar glint in his eye. What that glint meant, she didn't know, but it looked… threatening. As if to tell her to not fail, or there would be consequences.
And from the slight flinch that Julia had seen from Riley after the fact…. "Something's not right here…"
Whatever the case was, Julia wasn't going to hold back. Neither was Riley, given how her sole eye narrowed in what appeared to be annoyance and frustration. After a three-second long silence, Julia started the second round proper by closing the distance between Riley and herself.
The moment she was in striking range, Julia snapped her fist forward, only for Riley to grab her wrist with the same swiftness as Julia's strike. In the blink of an eye, one moment, Julia was in front of Riley, the next, Julia was on the ground. However, before Riley could follow up her slam, Julia tapped the floor, created a string pillar beneath her feet, and launched Riley back.
But Riley wasn't rag-dolled like Hunter had been. Instead, Riley had gone with the momentum and landed perfectly on her feet, before dashing forward. Julia had just gotten to her feet and was already being pressed by Riley. She was overwhelming Julia, not allowing her a chance to use her string from a distance.
That was Julia's major weakness. She was not a close-range fighter. Her strength was long-distance combat, and being able to deceive and trick others by using her string clones. All she could do was dodge, duck, and weave the countless kicks, punches, jabs, and elbows that Riley was throwing her way.
Her movements were blurred, but Julia could keep up with them. Not once had she actually landed a hit ever since the throw, and while it felt like forever, it had only been thirty seconds since the match had begun in earnest.
It only became a problem when Julia began to feel the fatigue from the back-to-back battles, whereas Riley didn't seem to be breaking a sweat. Though, to be fair to Julia, she was a kid whereas Riley was a full-grown adult in her 20s. Each attack thrown was starting to get faster, not that it actually was mind you it was merely Julia getting tired, and each block or dodge Julia tried to respond with was getting sloppier.
"I can't land a hit on her, but she can't land a hit on me," Julia noted, moving her head to the left to avoid a right-handed jab. She was about to move her head back into place, only for a lightning-quick left hook to slam into the side of her face, and knock her to the ground. With the small distance created between herself and Riley, Julia used the attempted knockout to gain further distance.
Once there were five feet between herself and Riley, Julia began to allow her fingers to unravel into string. A trick she learned about her power was that she could turn herself into string, but only a limited amount. For example, she could unwind her hands. With that, she could create several whips to lash people with from afar.
The whips extended and extended and extended, shoving Riley away. What she was doing was dangerous. Not because of the damage it could do to Riley, but the damage it did to herself. Her power, String, wasn't just limited to generating String. She could turn parts of her body into string.
Now, granted, she couldn't turn her whole body into string. But, should she want to, she could unravel parts of her body. If at any point, those strings were cut, though, that part of her body would lost. She gambling right now, especially considering the no-lethality clause was all but protecting her, but she was getting desperate and tired.
She was going to end this fight. Right here, and right now.
Riley pushed back against the wave of strings as they began to form into large whips. They wound together, each string individually twirling and twisting as the form from the shove was starting to bruise the parts of her skin that they were pressing up against.
Riley wasn't going to use Bomb Touch on the strings. Both because now was not the time, and also because she was a woman of her word.
But, that didn't mean she could use Bomb Touch on her surroundings.
Stomping on the ground to give herself some standing ground, Riley grabbed a loose chunk of concrete about the size of a rock and ducked under the two massive whips that were formed from Julia's right arm. They dashed behind Riley and began to circle back around. Riley only had a handful of seconds to pull this off.
She activated Bomb Touch on the chunk of concrete and hastily chucked it toward Julia. Julia was about to jump backward, and just as she got off the ground, the whips began to close in on Riley. But Riley didn't care. She already won. She pressed down on the side of her hand with her thumb and smirked.
"Detonate."
The chunk of concrete began to glow, and it was only when that happened that Julia realized that it was over. The chunk of concrete exploded, and shrapnel flung toward Julia faster than she could react. They embedded themselves in her shoulder, just below her cheek, and littered across the chest of her body.
Riley felt panic set in, her shoulders dropping as the realization set in at what had just happened. "Shit! That's not what I meant to do!" Riley rushed over to Julia, as did Hunter, both to check on the damage. When they reach her, Hunter shot her a glance that, without words, told her she fucked up.
At least, that was what it was at first, as when they made it to the body, it began to unravel entirely and trail back to the elevator. It was only then that they realized that the doors never closed, and standing in the elevator was Julia, who smirked.
"Well, it's good to know that you two realized that something was wrong. It also goes to show that I wasn't making a mistake by sending a string clone to fight you two," Julia said as she finally stepped out of the elevator, arms crossed as Riley blinked, staring at Julia with disbelief in her eyes.
"How—You—Huh?!"
"I just realized something… there was no blood," Hunter noted, looking over to Riley, whose eyes widened in realization. "Now you get it. I noticed it just as the fake Julia unravelled. I have to admit, that was clever. We never actually got to fight you at full power, then?" Hunter said looking over to Julia, who made a so-so gesture.
"Kind of. My clones are just as physically fit as I am, but they're 75% weaker than my actual body," Julia explained, smiling. "I was never in any real danger, but I have to admit, that was rather creative, Ms. Stewardson. But if that was actually me, I more than likely would've died. Three of those impact points were vitals, and I'm fairly certain one of those shrapnel pieces blew through where my heart would've been."
Riley flinched as Julia approached her. They were two feet apart, and Riley could tell that Julia was less than pleased. But that wasn't who she was worried about. She knew damn well that if she didn't get into this team, that either Honoured One or Phosperhous would show up in her stead.
And if either of them were her replacement should she fail, then all bets were off.
"Please, let me join, I need this. My mom has cancer, and I desperately need the money to pay her medical bills. I'm sorry. I know the mistake I made was a fatal one, but none of the other hero teams accepted me, and I can't get a regular job due to how dangerous my power is, I—"
"I never said you failed," Julia interrupted, raising an eyebrow as Riley's eyes widened.
"Huh?"
"I said, I never said you failed, Ms. Stewardson. I was just telling you that so that you would do better next time. While Luzura tends to… end most of her villains, that only really happens to those who truly deserve it. Most criminals we catch are bank robbers and the like trying to get an extra paycheque due to their newfound power. So, seeing as you're now a member of Beacon, one of the main things we'll be training you on is how to control the output of your powers explosion and the damage it can do."
Just like that, Riley's panic faded away, as a small, grateful smile took up her visage. Though, on the inside, she was nervous. Nervous because she could feel Hunter's glare levelled at the back of her head.
She almost screwed up the mission and had Julia not been as forgiving as she appeared to be, there would've been a real, honest-to-God chance that she would've failed and cost them everything.
"Thank you, Julia," Hunter said, bowing his head slightly as Julia gestured for them to enter the elevator. As Hunter passed by Julia, she stopped him, grabbing onto his shoulder with physical strength he didn't expect. Her mouth was next to his ear, and then, she whispered.
"I know who you are. I know what you are. I know why you're here. And for your information, the only reason I don't rat you and your accomplice out is because she's Luz's cousin and because I can tell Riley cares more about Luz than whatever stupid mission my father sent her on. I know about his assassin group, and I know he's just as much of a hypocrite as he is a narcissist. So, for your sake, you should pray to whatever God you believe in, Witch, that Luz doesn't sniff you out. Because if she does, I won't be responsible for what happens."
Hunter paled as Julia let go, before gesturing for him to enter the elevator. She winked at him, and his blood ran cold. "She really is Tyler's daughter…"
"Uh… is everything alright, Hunter?" Riley asked as he went to say something, only for Julia to speak up.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just told him about the recent mouse problem we've been dealing with. I guess he doesn't like mice!" Julia said as Riley snorted.
"Heh, has light powers but is afraid of mice. That's sad."
"Hey!" Hunter shouted, annoyance coating his tone. He grumbled, entering the elevator as Julia followed after him. He was far more concerned with how Julia figured him out so quickly.
And that's when he remembered one, very crucial detail.
Tyler had been grooming her to take over his business.
Of course, they had met. It had been a year ago before she had been banished to her room. Their interactions had been brief, but they had met. She must've remembered his face, which was why when they first made eye contact, she seemed shocked. Not that she made it known to those around her—he could read people's intentions through their eyes. Something that he was trained to do back home.
Of course, she had met the other assassins. Riley must not've remembered her. It was possible. She was an airhead 99% of the time.
Of course, she knew about That Place. Tyler, his wife, and now that he remembered, Julia, had been to Castle Unity before.
It was only then that he realized just how much of a mistake he, Riley, and Tyler made. Had he hoped she had forgotten? Or did he not remember? Tyler's memory had been failing him recently—a sign of Dementia, or so he was told.
Of course, of course, of course!
How could he have forgotten!? He was so focused on the mission and was so tired from Dimension Lag that he didn't take the time to realize just who was a part of Beacon!
As the elevator doors closed, Hunter came to the staunch realization that Beacon was no longer under their mercy. He and Riley were under Julia's. Julia's and the wild, untamed monster that was Luzura.
Because, even though Hunter was confident in his ability to fight Luz, winning was an entirely different story. That was why Riley was here, to hopefully atomize Luz before she could catch on to the deceit.
But if Julia knew…
Then the plan had failed before it even began.
[XXXX]
"N-No! P-Please! Let me go! I-I promise it won't happen again! I promise! I—" The voice of a panicked woman came to a sudden halt when a purple beam of light blasted through her head, A man covered head to toe in shadow sat, a singular finger outstretched as his soulless, blue eyes stared down at the corpse of the woman before him.
"Idiot. Nobody can do a damn thing around here…" The man thought, frowning. "Where is Jerry? Someone fetch me him. Now," the man ordered as three men dressed in Nazi attire saluted him. How revolting. They truly believed he was one of them? He was only using them for his goal.
He hated dealing with these fools. Hated dealing with their hateful nonsense. He was the only one here, aside from Jerry, Christopher, and Derreck, who wanted nothing more than to see these idiots gutted and killed. They only came together and overthrew the prior leadership on a whim, and while they had lost Wrecker, it didn't matter at the moment.
Osmosis, as was his name given to him by the media, was only here in the leadership position of The Order in order to take his revenge on this shitty city. It ruined him. It disfigured him. His face was no longer the same because of the police. He was robbed, beaten to near death, and was homeless until he met Derreck and his friends.
He remembered his time on the streets. How it was mostly his fault. How he didn't even want to be there in the first place, but had to due to outstanding circumstances.
How it all led to his disfigurement.
He would forever hate the police for what they did to him. The police, the people who supported them and by extension the supercops dubbed Heroes.
It all needed to fall. To be wiped off the face of the Earth. Starting with this city. But he didn't know how to begin. He was a disfigured homeless man with friends in similar positions. What the hell were four bums who lived on the street going to do?
Then the MPA happened, and he awakened his power, alongside the rest of his friends. His power wasn't the strongest out of the four of them, but it was definitely the easiest to master.
Bullet Lasers.
A power that gave him the ability to fire out energy from his fingertips that was powerful enough to punch through several rows of titanium steel alloy, and it travelled pretty quickly, too.
It was then, when he unlocked his powers, that he, Derreck, Christopher, and Jerry, attended an Order rally, which they promptly turned into a slaughter fest, killing the leader, and usurpering the role. He played into the bit, promising to "unite the master race" just to keep the buffoons appeased.
But in reality, they were all means to an end.
All of them were.
Even the three he usurped this shit-infested waste of time Cult.
"You called, Osmosis?" A lanky-looking man with short, shaved blond hair and a large, bushy beard spoke. He was dressed in a white wife-beater with a pair of blue jeans, accompanied by black stomper boots.
"Jerry. Do me a favour, and go out with Christopher. When you do, I want you to cause a commotion and attract the attention of Luzura. Your Dustshould be more than enough to kill her. We need her out of the way so our plan can work," Osmosis stated as Jerry blinked, sighing.
"Uh… Osmosis… you know that if she so much as touches me, I'm fucked, right?" Jerry said as Osmosis's eyes narrowed.
"Did I stutter?"
"No sir!" Jerry replied immediately, straightening out, fear coating his expression as Osmosis scoffed. They might've been friends in the past, but he was his leader now. He wasn't going to stand being talked back to. Especially not now. Not when their plan was so close to completion.
"Good. Now go. Christopher will be good for making sure anyone who tags along with Luzura gets dealt with, too. But if Luzura is stupid enough to go on her own, then so be it. Both of you are more than enough to take her down."
Jerry nodded, before retreating back into the darkness.
He would not let his plan go to waste. He wasn't the only one who wanted Luzura dead, though. He was mostly doing this so that he would get off his back. "Nosey sheriff…" That was when an idea sparked in the back of his head. "Actually, that could work…" A small smirk took up his visage. It would be a perfect way to get rid of that fat fuck.
He always hated his smug, disgusting face. Osmosis stood up from his chair and began to walk toward the door of his office, which was completely shrouded in darkness, just as he liked it. All so his face could be obscured from view.
He had an email to write to Beacon. An email about a corrupt cop who worked with The Order.
[-To Be Continued-]
[Ending Song: Where Our Blue Is/ 青のすみか – By: Tatsuya Kitani]
*The ending opens with the sound of a gong ringing out, followed by the riff of a guitar, playing a calming melody. A series of flashing images of Luz and Julia hanging out, smiling, and enjoying each other's company appears, before it cuts to Luz walking down the streets of Stamford, dressed in a black hoodie and grey sweats, a solemn look on her face.*
*The scene continues with Luz looking up at the sky as the drums kick in, Luz's eyes flashing red, before changing back to normal. She looks across the street, and see's Julia, smiling and waving at her. Luz goes to wave back, but a bus drives through the street, and when it passes, Julia is no longer there. Luz looks away, continuing down the road, this time with a more hurried pace, all the while a disembodied voice sings.*
"No end to the blue, when everywhere I look I see its hue."
"Can't turn from the truth,"
"When I've seen it as clearly as the day I'll have to wake up without you."
*The scene glitches to Luz and Julia sitting in their bedroom, watching TV, with Luz looking downtrodden, and Julia talking happily. Although, it's as if Luz can't hear her, and is seemingly ignoring her presence. That's when Julia seems to fade away, which prompts Luz to get out of her room, stepping into the main living space, where Camila, Emelia, Riley, and Hunter are all standing, looking at her, concerned, as the disembodied voice continues.*
"It rings all around,"
"The song of the cicadas crying out,"
"Makes it so loud, the depending sound,
"Of silence from your mouth."
*The scene changes to Luz, dressed in her hero costume, standing in a void of darkness. Behind her, flashing memories of her, Julia, Emelia, Camila, Riley, and Hunter–all fond and having fun with one another–fading into the background like dust, as Luz looks up from the floor. In front of her, Julia stands, a dark blurry line running over her eyes as she smiles, reaching out to her. For a moment, something flashes overtop of her–a beaten, bloodied, and bruised version of her reaching out for help–but it returns to normal, and makes Luz startle backwards, panic in her eyes as the song brings itself up to a crescendo, whilst the voice continues*
"No matter how hard, I try to hold…"
"Those innocent days will soon fade away and I'll have to let you go."
"Left behind an eternity ago,"
"Even so…!"
*Following along with the riff of the guitar in the background, the darkness gives way to light, as it shows more happy moments between Luz and Julia specifically. Running along the beachside, reading books together, watching movies and snuggling–all things normal couples do to pass the time. Mixed within are times where they're fighting villains with one another, aiding one another, the voice continuing to sing to sombre song*
"But even so..!"
"Blue still lives in me!"
"But even so..!"
"Blue Clear as the sea!"
"Even though a single prayer, a single word"
"Could change our fates, I know it's way too late to be heard!"
*The scene changes to Julia and Luz sitting across from one another, staring into each other's eyes, happiness between them, only for it to break apart when Julia begins to fade away. As she does, Luz frantically tries to chase after her. Just as she fully disappears, Luz tries to say something, but the words are caught in her throat, and instead, she stumbles to her hands and knees, tears burning down her cheeks as she silently cries, gripping at the carpeted floor in despair, all the while the song continues.*
"Just like a love that can never quite reach,"
"Or just like the colours that run down my cheeks, forever burning,"
"I couldn't even whisper to curse you,"
"The words in my throat that I never spoke:"
"You're my one and only, best friend"
"I wish I could have told you then…"
*The ending finishes as it slowly fades into a picture of Julia and Luz happily standing next to one another, behind them being a concert they were recently at. Just as the camera zooms in to capture their faces, the glass cracks in between them, as the voice finishes the song.*
"No matter how bright, no star can burn forever.*
"Tried to hold tight, you slipped through my fingers…"