[System]
Age: 6 years and 8 months

Hometown: Amherst, NH, USA

Description: Arthur looks like he has been recently zapped by a loose wire all the time. He has poofy and wild blonde hair. A constantly nervous expression. He still has baby blue eyes, something his mother dotes over. He's small for his age at 36 inches. His skin is very pale from almost never going outside.

Personality: Arthur is a shy child and very much is a "Momma's Boy". Due to the smothering of his mother he has grown to be afraid of doing anything without her. The only time he can be without her is inside of his room where his stuffed triceratops Tyrone keeps him company. He doesn't like being outside because it's so big. Crowds of people are scary. In fact... everything is scary, except Mommy!

History: Arthur was born on an average New Hampshire day in the summer. He grew up in the town of Amherst under the care of a loving mother and a caring father. Mother quit her job to spend all of her time with Arthur. She loved taking care of him and raised him well until Father died when he was four. His life insurance plan and life savings made it so they could live comfortably, but something in Mother snapped and her parenting behavior grew to excessive levels. He did not mind, but he could sense the hostility from other parents and children whenever they were in public and Mother was overparenting. He had absolutely no clue that he would be whisked away and tossed down the rabbit hole.

[User]
At Howl's suggestion, she became more enthusiastic. A chance to explore this new wonderland? It sounds like a lot of fun! And plus, Isabelle is tempted to try to draw her adventures in this land at some point.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Isabelle said, hopping on her feet a bit. She looked around for a bit for the exit. Well, the little girl and cat can't go anywhere if they don't leave the room, can they?

[Assistant] Riley turned her gaze from the little cat to the buttons he was referring to. They were all strange, intricate patterns, like nothing she had ever seen before. Obviously a classic riddle, befitting of a fairy as devious as Howl. Her hands absentmindedly went behind her head, and she began working her hair into a braid. What do the symbols do? Whatever their meaning, she felt she had to make a decision quickly. This brought to her mind a small memory of home. Mum wanted to move house, to the midlands, but Da fretted with numbers until the home they had picked up was bought by someone else. Riley remembered Mum having a large argument with Da, using long words like 'indecisive' or 'tentative', as well as a great many words she said later not to repeat. Riley most certainly didn't want to imitate that behaviour, so she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pressed one of the buttons at random. It turned out to be the one on the far right.

[User]
Falling, Arthur felt he was falling. He took a moment to realize his situation and hugged himself. Realizing that Tyrone was not with him he began to panic. He was falling! He gasped several times grasping at thin air for something to grab onto. Tears began to roll down his face as fear ripped right through him. He closed his eyes shut tight while praying this was simply a horrid nightmare and that Mommy would come and save him. Suddenly, he landed in something soft... and damp.

Arthur waited for a few minutes before eventually deciding that he was not going to wake up yet and he reopened his eyes. He saw pillows. Dozens of them. This was not his room. He sniffed and wiped the tears from his face before he started to look around to see where he was. His vision was blurred from his fear, and he simply could not think straight. He then saw a bit of movement in the room and he froze.

Arthur stared at the black blur a long while before his vision finally cleared enough for him to realize that a cat had just spoken to him. His eyes widened to its extremes. His neighbor had a mean cat that scratched him the one time he tried to pet it, and ever since he had tried to avoid getting near cats whenever possible. A talking cat simply proved to be more than he could handle.

"N-n-no!" He cried out as he twisted around and began to dig into the pillows in an attempt to escape this nightmare. "I just want to wake up!"

Deeper. "Wake up!"

Deeper. "Wake up!"

He made a small hole to climb into and began to blubber in it. "I want my Mommy!"

[Assistant]
"Yeah!" Howl cheered with an equally excited leap in the air. He landed gracefully, did a neat little turn and a twitch of his tail, and raised his paws up against the wall, ears perked. "This is a very special room that has no door -- but you can push one of those buttons there! Do you see them?"

Carved among the intricate patterns on the coppery wall were a series of buttons with strange symbols on them:

---

The button lit up with a gentle green glow; the light spread quickly throughout all the carved lines that networked throughout the walls of the tiny room, until the coppery little room was full of angled patterns of dim neon.

BRRRRRM CLICK!

Above Riley's head, a copper ceiling slid closed, sealing off the room from the water that had been floating overhead.

Howl spun in place and flashed a fangy grin up at Riley. "See you later!" He turned his back to her, coiled his haunches, and leaped through the wall as if he were nothing more than a ghost -- but the wall was completely solid.

The room began to shake and rumble like a very old elevator.

DING!

All of a sudden everything went still and quiet; the lights were gone and the shaking had stopped. For a tense moment, Riley was alone in silence -- until the wall behind her split open like elevator doors, revealing a chaos of muttering and clattering noises and buttery-sweet smells.

"Make way, coming through, out of the way!" called a waitress as she sprinted through the crowd with an enormous tray of covered dishes held over her head. She rushed past the elevator door and disappeared among the filled tables to the right. The tables were all filled with enormous monsters with scales or feathers or fur or spines, all shoveling ravenous forkfuls of savory meats and sweet desserts into their fanged or tentacled mouths.

The waiters and waitresses that darted about, however, were very much human. They wore uniforms of pink and blue, which matched the gaudy decor that gave the huge restaurant a very particularly nostalgic feel.

Directly in front of the elevator was a worn red carpet, which led directly to the hostess' podium, above which glowed a bright green neon sign:

welcome toLilyrose House
The hostess was a teenage girl with flyaway black hair and a pink uniform that was slightly fancier than those of the other wait staff. She wore a patch over her right eye, but her left eye caught quick sight of Riley through the elevator door.

"Hey, there you are!" she hollered, gripping the podium. "You're late!"

---

The black cat tilted his head and swished his tail, and for a moment he waited for this new visitor to finish being scared -- but when the boy showed no signs of anything but distress, the cat lighted up onto the disheveled pile of pillows and craned his neck to peer into the little cave the boy had made in them.

"What's a mommy?" he asked quizzically, triangle ears perked.

[User]
Arthur's mind instantly went to the worst possible scenario. That this place had no mothers. That was tragic and awful. He definitely could not stay here.

Quivering lips, he slowly turned towards the terrifying monster that was the cat. Then the walls. His eyes scanned the walls for any signs of a door. He refused to interact with the speaking animal. If he pretended it did not exist then maybe it would just leave. Besides, damp or not these pillows were actually somewhat comfortable. More comfortable that what this room felt like to him: prison.

He wished he still had Tyrone with him. At least he knew how Tyrone would deal with this. Tyrone always had ideas.

[Assistant]
"Wait, you didn't-" shouted Riley, as the fairy cat jumped away and phased through the far wall. She ran over to the place where he escaped through, but no matter where she touched, it was solid and impassable. Then, there came another mechanical whir, and she could feel the distinct force associated with accelerating downwards. Then, everything goes black. Agonizing seconds pass, and Riley looks around for something, anything, that would shine any light in literal or figurative sense on her situation. Then, the wall parts, revealing a commotion on the other end. Humans rushing about under the lazy eye of horrendous beasts. Riley gasped, and this made one of the human women turn and glare at her.

"Hey, there you are!" she shouts. "You're late!" Riley didn't know what to think.

"I . . . I don't understand," she says, trying to hide her confusion. "I'm not late for anything. You don't know me, you don't even know my name . . . right?"

[User]
The cat blinked its huge eyes. It tilted its head. It backed out of the boy's way and sat down again, curious.

What Arthur would see on the wall were quite a lot of straight lines and neat angles, like the wires on a motherboard, that covered the entirety of the coppery walls as well as the floor. The ceiling, of course, was water -- like an upside-down pool with no bottom in sight.

But also on the wall was a row of circles that might be buttons, lined up just low enough that Arthur could potentially reach them with small effort:

"You wanna get out of this little room, huh?" the cat went on with a fangy grin. "Why not push one of those buttons? I bet they'll take you someplace neat."

---

"Your name's not important," the hostess said testily. She suddenly tossed an apron at Riley's head. "What's important is you get to work. Grab some dirty plates and take them back to the kitchen, and don't talk to the clients no matter what. Skedaddle!"

The monsters, meanwhile, paid no attention to Riley -- they were far too invested in devouring all the food in sight, as quickly and as messily as possible. The room was filled with slurping and chewing and grunting noises.

Suddenly there was a crashing commotion. A few of the monsters lunged over their table, grabbing for something that was running away between the plates. A little white fuzzy animal sprinted along the table, leaping away from their grabbing claws and tentacles -- it tumbled to the floor and skittered away again just out of reach of a hungry monster. The little poofy animal skidded and hid inside an oversized cup on the floor, shivering, unsure what to do.

"Pick up the pace!" the hostess hollered again, and threw a wad of paper at a passing waitress.

[Assistant]
Arthur stared up at the water ceiling. He was puzzled about why the ceiling was water. It should be in this room and he should be swimming in it right now. What if this was actually a dream? That made sense. This was a really really weird dream. He felt himself calming down at that thought. He then decided to try something.

He climbed out of the pillow hole he dug himself and grabbed one of the least heavy pillows. With all of his might he threw it up into the water just to see what would happen. Would it splash? Could he even make the throw? Would it fall out of the water and land back in the pile?
 He had no idea. However, weird water like that in a weird dream like this one could only bring about weird results. At least as far as he could imagine.

The buttons were interesting, but they were going to be there for as long as he was dreaming and with this dream being so weird he had no idea when he would wake up. Either way, the buttons could wait. So could the cat.


[System]
Age: 19

A very down-to-earth girl who's currently attending college. She lives alone in a campus dorm, and is known for being a major bookworm. She studiously completes her assignments, keeps few friends, and overall has a bright - but somewhat lonely - future.

[User]
Nefas nodded as she listened to Sarah, drinking her own tea as she did. Once Sarah had finished and seemed to really hate these people, Nefas could read her thoughts of course so she knew what these people had personally done to her.

Nefas pondered momentarily as she went over what Sarah had said in her mind...Her hatred towards these people. Then before she even realised it her mouth started saying things "I can kill them for you, if you'd like?" She said kindly but rather surprised at herself. For Nefas, that was almost a flirt. If she wanted to kill someone, she would do so because she wanted to... not as a favour to some human she had only just met. She was Lucifer's daughter for Hells sake she doesn't need to propose ideas to someone else...she can just go a head and do them! However, so far she liked Sarah and would be quite happy to dispose of people for her.

[Assistant]
Sarah nearly spat her drink out. "K-Kill them?!" she repeated, trying very hard not to shout. "No, I don't want you to kill them! That would be horrible!" They were major jerks, sure, but killing them? That was taking things way too far!

...Although... whispered a devious little monster in her brain.

Killing them was out of the question, no ands, ifs, or buts about it. However, the darker parts of Sarah's mind began to churn out a tiny sliver of an idea, until eventually, even her best morals couldn't drown it out. Here she was, sharing a meal with the apparent princess of Hell itself. She didn't want to kill them, but...

"But..." she whispered, an unfamiliar and wicked glint in her eyes, "maybe something else? Like... I don't know, something to embarrass them or really freak them out?" No matter who you were, if you weren't in PKA, you were probably against them. And Sarah was most definitely against them. And after everything they'd ever gotten away with, surely just a little bit of payback would be justified, right?

Some tiny part of Sarah's brain wondered if Nefas was having an effect on her, but its tiny voice went unnoticed. Ideas like this were surprisingly hard to ignore.

[User]
Nefas's face slowly turned into almost a Cheshire cats grin. The air around her would almost turn black. "This is interesting Sarah... What would you have me do? ...I can do anything" She smirked evilly. Seeing this innocent little thing sat in front of her drinking tea but having these dark thoughts made her skin tingle pleasingly.

"You name it, from plagues, to making them sneeze spiders or even making their manhood disappear... I can do it all." She said raising her arms a little in an almost godly fashion. After all, it was true, she could do literally anything. The laws of physics did not apply to her, she was not from this world.

[Assistant]
"Anything?" Sarah had to admit, she was in just a bit of awe of Nefas right now. If what she said was true - and frankly, Sarah fully believed it was - then the possibilities before her were endless. Her good morals took a heavy blow from the temptation to deal out some righteous punishment on the boys who'd made so many people's lives miserable, and ultimately, she couldn't resist the idea.

But what to do? What would be an appropriate punishment for PKA? Her thoughts wandered back to the poor girl who'd had fake nudes put up all over campus. Sarah hadn't known her personally, but that had been one of the biggest injustices she'd ever witnessed. She decided to correct that.

A quick glance at her cell phone revealed the time to be 5:30pm, meaning most of PKA was either still in class or in the campus cafeteria, meaning they were all in a decidedly public location. With a wicked, eager little grin of her own, she turned to look back at Nefas. "I've got it," she told her. "Would it be possible for you to disintegrate all their clothes at once?" She pointed back in the direction of Ivy. "Not just the ones in here, but all the PKA guys on campus, too?"

[User] Nefas laughed a little at her 'evil' intentions. It was so mild it was cute. "I sure as Hell can... But I'd need to know what they look like. ..What is it you humans have that replicates ones image? A pho.... something... So long at I can clearly see their faces I'm good to go. Unless you want the whole town to lose them also..." Nefas smirked as she looked Sarah up and down a little "Though seeing you in just your flesh would be a wonderful sight" she said still smirking as she got out her spell book. Over the thousands of years shes been alive she has come up with many dark spells for her own entertainment. She could kill you slowly and painfully, chop you up, put you back together again and have you breathing in the space of five minutes if she really wanted to.

[Assistant]
Sarah's face flared red again. "N-No no, that's... that's not necessary," she assured her nervously. "Just the PKA guys will do." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. "I think you're talking about a photograph, or just 'photo' for short. Here." With a few quick taps of her screen, she pulled up the school's main website. Fortunately for her, PKA being the largest frat on Ivy meant that they got a wonderful group photo posted every year. She pulled it up, zoomed in for a better view, then presented the phone to Nefas. "That's them. This was taken at the beginning of the year, so it's got all the current members in it." Unless they've recruited some new guys since then, she considered, but it didn't matter. If there were any new guys, they weren't responsible for what had happened to that girl.

She looked to Nefas one more time, eyes filling with both excitement, a dark glee, and a nervous apprehension all at once. "Can you really do this? I mean, I don't... I don't really doubt you are who you say you are anymore, but is this really possible?"

[User]
Nefas continued to smirk as Sarah went a wonderful ruby shade. She took the phone of the girl and looked at all of their faces. Now she knew their identity. She didnt need names, just how they looked. She let out a menacing giggle as Sarah questioned her. Nefas pulled out her spell book and began flicking through the pages.

All of a sudden as she opened her book the air turned rather hot. Soda cans started to explode in the vending machines. Things slowly began to boil. This was not because of a spell she was reciting, no this was just her dark magic coming through to silently prove to Sarah that anything is possible.

As Nefas began to read off her spell, her eyes turned black like night. It was as though the pupils had taken over her entire eyeball. She was peaking old, very old latin, crossed with some of her own demonic tongue. A wind picked up around her, blowing both her and Sarahs hair around softly. The lights began to dim. Then nothing, all of a sudden everything was back to normal. All the people in the restaurant were acting normal, no one had even seen Nefas do anything. If Nefas didnt want to be seen, then no one could see her. Only Sarah could have sen what had just taken place. Nefas was now visible once again to all. No wind. No creepy eyes. No heat and no boiling objects.

However, there was one thing very different. Nefas waited. There it was. Shrieks from terrified males. Followed soon by laughter from onlookers. The men Sarah wanted naked were now terrified and completely butt naked. They had no idea what had happened to them. One minute they were enjoying being dicks, throwing their food around like monkeys do with poop and bam. Naked in the blink of an eye.

Nefas gestured for Sarah to take a look at her handy work. She sat there and smiled ever so sickly sweet -but clearly a prideful- at the blonde sitting across from her.

[Assistant]
Sarah's eyes were locked onto Nefas, even though her entire body screamed at her to run, duck, hide, do anything to get away from the demon in front of her. But she couldn't move. She watched in frozen terror as Nefas began to unleash her magic, every last lingering trace of doubt vanishing into nothing. She was who she said she was, and there was nothing left for Sarah to question. She was in the presence of a demon.

And then, suddenly, just like that, everything was back to normal. Sarah blinked, not quite able to comprehend the sudden normalcy of the room. Then she heard the screaming. Her head snapped toward the boys at the other table, then her cheeks went red as her hands snapped up to cover her eyes. It had worked! They were completely naked! She listened with a giggly glee as they panicked, rushing out of the fast food place with a steady stream of profanities. It wasn't until they were finally out the door that Sarah finally lowered her hands, but the grin never left her face.

"That... was... AMAZING!" she cheered, before realizing she was yelling. "Oops..." She lowered her voice. "That was amazing! I can't believe it! It really worked! You really are a demon! And we really did just get revenge on all of PKA!" She bounced excitedly in her seat, certain she'd be hugging Nefas right now were it not for the table between them.

[User]
Nefas chuckled as Sarah bounced around happily. She liked seeing the girl smile. She had rather a sweet, innocent look. Something inside Nefas tingled when she saw the blonde happy. Hell, it made her smile a little. It was just the corners of her mouth twitching up slightly, but for Nefas, that was pretty much a grin.

"Was there really any doubt? I did arrive in your apartment from your ceiling." Nefas laughed a little. "It seems you have finished your food... Shall we head home now? Or is there something else you'd like me to... torment?" She said the last word with a lot of dark excitement. Punishing people was one of her very favorite past times. She was the daughter of Lucifer, was anything else ever really expected?

[Assistant]
Sarah giggled, still grinning from ear to ear at Nefas. "Heh, I guess that's true," she admitted. "I guess I just didn't really believe what I'd seen back then, but now..." She shook her head, grin still in place - clearly, this serving of revenge had been a long time coming for her. "There's no doubt in my mind; you really are a Princess from Hell, and with all the power to match! ...Though I'm still not quite sure how I feel about that, to be honest," she admitted, grin finally faltering. She normally wouldn't have said so out loud, but Nefas could read minds. No real point in hiding it.

With a nod at her suggestion, Sarah stood up and took up her garbage. She paused a moment then, considering, then shrugged and took up Nefas's garbage as well. Might as well, she thought to herself. She did just make one of my minor dreams come true. Tossing the trash, she held the door and beckoned Nefas out. Soon enough, they were on their way back to the dorm room.

"I'll probably take a shower and start getting ready for bed once we get back," she told Nefas on their way back. It wasn't that late in the day yet, but Sarah's classes started fairly early, and she liked having plenty of sleep. Plus, I still have some homework to finish, she remembered. Demon Princess or no Demon Princess, her schoolwork still went on.

[User] Nefas' smile faded as Sarah seemed to be negative toward her powers. This caused a frown to now pass over her usually emotionless face. She could read Sarah like am open book. She didnt seem to like her. Even after what she had just done for her. "My father was right. You humans judge us even after we do you favours." Nefas glared at Sarah, her glare was seeing right through her into her soul. She was slowly getting angrier and angrier. How dare she be negative after what Nefas had just done for her. Her eyes slowly went black. The wind was picking up as they were now outside. Nefas was easily angered, and once angered it took a lot to calm her down.

[Assistant]
I wonder if this is what a rabbit feels like when a lion's staring down at it? Sarah briefly wondered. She certainly felt like one: frozen in fear, eyes wide and locked on Nefas's blackening gaze, and wanting so desperately to run screaming in the opposite direction. Sadly, her legs refused to move. "I-I'm sorry!" she stammered desperately. "It's just... I mean, I've never heard anything good about demons, and now here's one right in front of me!" She realized immediately that she was probably just digging herself that much deeper into the hole she was already in, and in a slight panic, tried again.

"I-I just need time, okay! Time to get used to you and what you can do! You haven't done anything to hurt me yet, and I'm really sorry I'm not more grateful for what you've just done! Believe me, it was amazing! I haven't had something that good happen in a long time! I just..." She faltered again, then sighed. In a much more subdued tone and looking away in shame, she continued. "I'm sorry. I really am. There's just a lot of stories about demons being these evil, manipulative beings, and... and I guess I was prejudging you. You haven't done anything to deserve that, and I'm sorry." She looked up, daring to meet Nefas's eyes again even though she was quite sure she saw the first circle of Hell reflected in them. "But you have to understand, too: suddenly playing hostess to the Princess of Hell isn't something I can just accept without any hesitation. You scare me. Your power scares me. I don't think you're evil, really, but it's gonna take some time before I'm completely comfortable around you, alright?"

Hey, Nefas already looked like she wanted to kill her. Might as well put it all out there at once.


[System]
Appearance:

Race: Human
Class: Paladin
Main-Hand Weapon: Longsword
Off-Hand Weapon: Kite Shield, Steel
Secondary Weapon: Greatsword
Armor: Full Plate
Powers: None - his faith is all the power he needs.
Skills:
Diplomacy - Carver is a great communicator, able to get what he wants out of people by being straightforward with them. In additon, his palpable earnestness and good looks tend to make him very popular wherever he goes.
Knowledge of Religion - Having lived in a monastery all his life, he knows a fair deal about the various faiths of the realm.
Tenacity - With faith as his armor and honor his shield, there his little Carver cannot endure - he will get back up and get back up and get back up.
Weaknesses: Cannot tell a lie to save his life.
Utterly shackled to the (very rigid) moral codes of his order.
Personality: Carver is the quintessential knight - he is obsessed with justice, honor, courage, and compassion. He's a compulsive do-gooder and sometimes a bit of a stick in the mud, and sometimes he can be a little too sure of his own judgements, but he is really, fundamentally a good person out to spread good into the world. In combat, he is a protective fighter - a blow will not fall on his comrades if it may fall on him instead, and he prioritizes a solid defense over any kind of offense.
Background: Carver was born in a great city far to the north, and given over by his parents at a young age to the local order of holy warriors. He was brought up as a crusader, a servant of the goddess of the sun and compassion, and taught his whole life the virtues of justice, integrity, and faith. Now, as part of his Crusader's Rite of Passage, he has journeyed to the south, seeking to right the wrongs, uplift the downtrodden, and spread the radiant light of the sun to all dark corners of the world.
Other:

[User]
When Carver came to, he was struck by the sensation of not being on fire. He took a moment to appreciate how fine it was to not be immolated, then sat up quickly, his head swimming.

He'd passed out. Weak. Selfish. Failure. Carver shook his head in an attempt to clear his brain of these thoughts. There would be time for self-loathing later, but not after everyone who could be saved had been.

The knight examined the structure he'd been hidden behind for a moment. It was well-constructed, though obviously done in a hurry. Carver suspected Kelvin might be behind its creation - he wasn't sure who else could have thrown it together. He felt a pang of gratitude for the man who had risen to the occasion when Carver's strength had failed him. His was a noble example, indeed.

He rose, shakily, and brought his gloved hands up to touch his unhelmed face. No burn marks. Alula's handiwork, or maybe Furnace's - once again, those he was meant to be protecting seemed to be protecting him. He'd have to do better.

His head pounding, Carver stepped back into the clearing and was struck by two sights. One, Furnace was conscious, and conversing with Kelvin a short distance away; and two, Vis had returned, bringing with him someone new - a child, staring at Alula with rapt wonder.

Kelvin and Furnace's efforts required thanks, thanks he would be sure to give them sooner rather than later. However, for the moment Carver was concerned with the health of the others - Alula, who had displayed such uncharacteristic power, and the girl, whose home had obviously just been burned down.

"My lady!" he called out to Alula, managing not to wince from his soreness as he sauntered over to her. "Are you unharmed? I must offer my most sincere apologies for collapsing, as I did. It was... unbecoming of a knight, and will not happen again."

He gave a warm smile to the girl and dropped down to a crouch to look her in the eyes. "And who's this one? Child, do not fear. No harm will come to you, not now. I am Sir Carver, Knight of the Sun, and I am very pleased to meet you."

[Assistant]
Suki grimaced as she sat up. Alright, it seems she was going to have to drain someone soon. As she thought about this, her eyes had drifted over towards the man who had carried her out of the town. No, best not to take him yet...perhaps she'll find someone soon. Besides, he did not look like he could take a kiss from her and live, even if she wasn't trying to kill him.

Muttering softly under her breath, "Saving someone like me was a waste of time.", she glanced back towards the rubble of the town. Her scythe was still back there. Although she could probably summon and assign an undead to bring it to her, not did not seem like the right time to do so. Turning towards Separ, she smiled. "I'm pretty certain that Kelvin and the paladin would keep everyone else safe. After all, you've only just gathered us today. It would be a horrible joke of the divines to kill us all off." Attempting to reassure the man, Suki looked around.

Now that they were semi-safe, they would probably have to find the rest. Although running away now, while the paladin wasn't around, wasn't such a bad thought either.

[User]
Kelvin

If she wanted to stay awake, that was her own business. But when he decided it was time to sleep, he wasn't going to be waking for a while. "The half elf returns." Kelvin nodded in thanks. It was good to have a bit of warning, not that he would have put more than two crossbow bolts on anyone who jumped them, right at the moment. That girl was interesting, seeming to have multiple voices speaking for her at any one time. Personally though, if he had to choose one it would be the more dominant one. It seemed accustomed to giving out orders- not a trait he prefered, but the voice was practical and could hold up a conversation. He would have to see if he could draw it out more often for conversation, no offense to the poor girl it was speaking through.

The scarred rogue appeared, carrying a child. Not a great development, but she could be useful. Old enough to do basic tasks at least, and to learn. Kelvin left them to talk to the oracle, instead choosing to do some more work on the shelter, until the gnome awoke."I wouldn't mind some practical help, I suppose." Kelvin looked at the crooked arm and grimaced. "It won't feel pretty for me to set it though. I am no doctor, so I will just have to straighten by feel." He paused for a moment, and felt his own arm up and down, looking intent. It was an odd idea. He knelt next to the small man and carefully felt the arm. If the little guy was moving about with it, he must have decent pain tolerance. "Start when I tell you, not before- and please don't light me on fire." On a burst of inspiration, he picked up a stick and offered it to the poor guy, mimicking biting it with his teeth. Kelvin turned back to the arm and felt gently above and below the break, then suddenly tightened his grip, twisting the arm just slightly and bracing his body against any possible thrashing. "Now."

Kelvin chose to look away from this particular event. Even as a man who had seen fingers crushed in gears and blown apart bits of partners, some memories were best left uncatalogued in ones brain. Other thoughts were better. Such as about Separ. Kelvin winced. It was really a shame. He hadn't anything against him or that hooded girl, though he didn't trust her looks. Survival was the main thing for now.

[Assistant]
(For Alula, happens prior to Carver)

Khat looked to the ground and scuffed her boots in the dirt, the floating person was really nice and she could sense the warmth of hair kindness radiating off of her, 'or is that the warmth of her glow?' she wasn't sure but she felt warmth.

"What girl?" she asked, looking past Alula with even more interest, tilting her head at her before reaching up to tighten her bandana, "You're here aren't you? at least you look like you are here, its all relative, to me you are here and to someone else you might be there, but to me you are here, so what other girl must there be?" For a very long time, Khat had been blabbering about things that people didn't really understand, or interpreted as the babble of a child, Relativity was one of them and she felt like she was on to something despite the critics of the adults.

[User]
When the knight, Carver, knelt to look at Khat, she squirmed and promptly hugged Vis' leg tighter, making him meep. "Momma told me not to trust a man in armor." Blurted Khat, as her mind was taken back to the first weeks she worked with her mother. A knight of some minor lord had barged into the bakery with his gaggle of squires and demanded free cake for all of them, her mother told them to get out but instead they got violent, smashing up furniture and threatening to do the same for her. Momma finally relented and gave them what they wanted and Khat watched on as the men filed out, laughing and eating her mother's hard work. Then a the knight touched her mother's chest and she ran into the kitchen to cry, though at that young age she didn't know what had happened, she had an idea of what it meant now. She clutched onto Vis' legs more, and Vis put his hand on her shoulder.

"He'th noth a knighth, he ith a paladin." Said Vis reassuringly, squeezing her shoulder gently to comfort her.

"I don't care," she retorted, glaring at the armored man, "he's wearing armor."

Vis frowned beneath his scarf but shrugged the frown away, instead he looked up at the sky and squinted, the sun was setting and throwing it's dying colors out into the sky in a chromatic spectical of oranges, reds and purples. Khat followed his eyes and yawned, it was getting late and she usually slept by nightfall, falling asleep in the kitchen after kneading the next day's dough. She looked up at Vis, "Can I sleep?" Vis nodded and thought about a place where she could bed for the night, looking around, he saw a willow tree with a large branch jutting into the clearing, Vis picked her up and approached the tree, holding her like a baby. He ascended the willow until he reached the branch, finding a a wide divot in it where he then placed the child, Vis looked around and was satisfied she wouldn't fall, anyway, the tree wasn't that tall.

"I'll be back, gonna clean up." Vis climbed back down and asked the group, "ith thare a thtream near here?"

[Assistant]
Furnace didn't get the idea of biting on wood. Wood wasn't food. He tried that. But as Kelvin held his arm right. And what felt like surges of negative energy ran trough his arms, he noticed he was gritting his teeth. The wood was a safeguard? This guy was really smart.

When Kelvin gave the signal Furnace concentrated and forced another golden white coil from his hands to dance along his arm.
The sparks sank into the flesh and they both heard the unsettling sound of setting bones. Like wet leather being strained against a hollow tree.

A few sparks missed their mark and jumped up Kelvins fingers instead. Immediately clearing out diminutive cuts amd bruises on his working hands.

"Thmph yuth."
Furnace spit out the stick.
It had deep bitemarks in it.
"Thank you."
He stretched his arms. He felt a little sore, but the pain was banished and he noticed a strong feeling of relief.

He looked around. The structure was unclear in it's function. But appeared well built regardless.
"How can I aid you in return?"

[User]
Alula looked over at the child, still hiding behind Vis as she spouted some strange nonsense. Well. At least the kid was curious. And yet the oracle knew that an illiterate child from a poor village wouldn't be able to understand a higher standard of magic, and she didn't really have the patience left to talk to the child.

"The girl is here, and yet not. She does not need to concern herself in problems that might cause her harm."

Alula looked down upon Carver, her flashing eyes displaying anger.

"Yes, but all Knights of the sun are rather unbecoming."

Her face contorted again, from anger to defiance and back to anger. An internal struggle, and argument with herself.

"do not be so cruel to him. All Paladins are dangerous. he protects us. Yes but for how long. His love of the sun will soon overshadow his protection. the incident was not his fault. It should not take an entire squadron of Paladins to 'guard' a village."

Alula shuttered, repressing voices. She put a hand to her forehead, her light fading for a moment.

She watched as Vis put the child up the in tree, finding it odd that he would choose that as a place to put her to bed. She only hoped that someone bought tents before the town burned. And she only hoped no one would insist on sleeping with her.

[Assistant]
The child's reaction wasn't one that Carver was entirely unused to. Armor was a mark of power, and power was all too often abused at the detriment of the poor. Likely, this child or her mother had had some bad experience with a thuggish hedge knight or minor lord - perhaps Carver might pay said men a visit, when the matter at hand was attended to.

Another voice from his past. "We do not make them love us, Carver. The Sun loves all, and asks for nothing in return. So must we."

He smiled at her again as she was lifted to the tree. "I will keep watch, child. You will be safe."

He turned, his smile fading as he heard Alula speaking. She was still in the bizarre state she'd entered into during the battle, seemingly at war with herself over everything she said. However, most of her disjointed statements seemed to have a single theme - she was displeased with the knight.

He frowned. "My lady, if I have offended you, I offer my most sincere apologies. It is not my intention to threaten, nor to displease. And if you take issue with my faith, then... this need not be a matter of conflict between us. The Sun teaches us to understand, not to convert. If you are no longer desirous of my protection or my company, then you may release me from my vows, and I will depart without incident." He paused. "I... am glad to see you well. I did not stay close enough to you - I feared that that enemy spellcaster may have harmed you, after I was almost hit from behind by some spell."

Carver straightened his back and turned on his heels to walk away. "I will keep watch for the rest of our party. You all should rest. We will decide our next move when we are all gathered."

It should not take a squad of Paladins to protect a village. He would do better.


[System]
High King Jorvi the Elder (Weyland), son of Sigurd the Hammerer.

The elderly king of the realm, Jorvi has reigned for over thirty years, and has grown weary and old. His legacy is going to be contested by two candidates – his young grandson Alarik, the Earl of Grensmark, and by Jorvi's younger brother Hjalmar, the Earl of Harkland. A feeble old man, his mind isn't what it used to be. He rarely leaves his castle anymore.

Prince Alarik (Weyland), Earl of Grensmark

Alarik is just a boy and an untested youth by Borrland's standards, but what he lacks in years and experience, he lacks it not in courage, ambition or martial prowess. His father Rickard died of wound gone bad, when he fought a duel agaisnt Hjalmar. They fought over the ownership of a longboat named Wyvern, which passed to the hands of Hjalmar. Thanks to this dispute, Earl Alarik holds a personal grudge agaisnt Earl Hjalmar.

Earl Hjalmar (Weyland) of Harkland

Earl Hjalmar rules the lands of Harkland in the northwestern coast south of the Isles of Hjorska, and he has come close to the Earl of the Isles, Bannon More. He is brother to King Jorvi, and many years younger than him. A man in his late fourties, Hjalmar is a figure of great stature in Borrland's politics. He has fought against a giant and won, though it happened decades ago.

Earl Sigmund Ivarson of the Isles

A man in his thirties, Sigmund has been titled as the Dragon of the Seas, as he has raided many trading ship from Taranis. He is a cunning man, who has a notorious comtempt for authority - as long he and his people can live as they always have, Sigmund is content. The Isles are highly autonomous, but still a part of Borrland, as the king hasn't put Earl Sigmund into too tight a leash.

Thane Bram Halvorson of Serpentstone

A wiry young man in the service of Earl Hjalmar, Bram is one of the Earl's trusted lieutenants. About six feet tall and just above twenty, Bram has progressed quickly in Harkland. The son of a thane, Bram was taught the ways of the sword, the shield, the javelin and the axe in his childhood and youth. He became a thane at the age of seventeen, after leading a raid against the goblins and killed a very large goblin.

Harlan the Younger, Gorlund the Unicorn and Aubry the Hammer, thanes of Serpentstone

These three are friends and comrades of thane Bram. Harlan is nearing forty years of age, and is the senior of the group. Gorlund the Unicorn claims to have seen a unicorn one times in the forests of Harkland, but he also claimed he was dead drunk at the time. Aubry the Hammer, as the name suggests, likes to use hammers as his weapons. He often wields a two-handed warhammer.

Burgomeister Georg Whitehair of Beornhall

Georg is the burgomeister in charge of Beornhall's city council. The council consists of him, the captain of the guard, a judge and five other members from the city, like notable merchants and well known individuals.

[User]
Thanks for the late miracle, Bram composed in his head. He felt pain in many parts of his body, but it wasn't anything new. He forced himself up, as the thugs were occupied with the young woman. She had approached them quite handily with the axe, but it was time to even the odds. Bram still had the walking stick with him. It was made of thick pine, and while it wouldn't crack any skulls, goblin or human, it would make nice bruises.
 Bram was standing, and took a swing with the stick at the fourth man, who had emerged from the alley. He had a woolen tunic, though it was hard to see his face in the darkness. Bram aimed at his head, and the stick struck true to the side of the head. The man fell, not knowing what had hit him. "Bastard!", the man grunted grunted, spitting.
 Bram struck him again to his head, this time knocking the man out of the fight. The last attackers, though still in the fight and circling the young woman, they seemed to be getting nervous and insecure. They were holding their distance from the woman, weighing their options. To fight or to fight, that was the question.
 And the answer came quickly. After a couple tense seconds, a shout came down the street. Bram didn't turn at the shouter. "Halt, in the name of the Earl. You're under arrest." Bram recognized the voice, and it belonged to one of the guardsmen of the town. He had fought with him on couple occasions, although Bram didn't remember his name at the moment.
 The attackers didn't halt, but turned their tails and ran away, both sprinting into different alleys. Bram didn't want to go and chase them, as his head was still ringing. It would turn into a headache by the morning, but he'd survive.
 "Nicely struck", Bram said to the woman He checked on his friends, although they were bruised, they'd be all right in the end. "I didn't catch your name, by any chance. Mine's Bram."

[Assistant]
"Thank you. My name is Bóthilda Sørensdotter. How are your friends?" She asks a she walks over to the man she struck with the axe. A small pool of blood was forming under him and was shining darkly in the moon light. She uses part of his tunic to wipe the blood off her axe and returned it to it's place on her left hip. With the guardsmen came her uncle with an axe in one hand and a dagger in the other.

"Are you hurt Bóthilda?." He ask after he gets up to her.

"No uncle. Just got hit with a stick a few times."

Tørmun shakes his head and puts his weapons away. "Well we probably best get back to the others." He turns to Bram. "Ah Thane Bram, I am glad to see you and your friends mostly unharmed. If you need anything I will be glad to provide any assistance I can." Tørmun adds a half bow with his right fist over his chest.

[User]
"They're a bit bruised and battered, but they'll walk it off, I believe", Bram said to Bóthilda. "And Tørmun, wasn't it? It's been a while since you've visited Serpentstone."

Bram helped his friends get up. Gorlund groaned as he rose up. but stayed otherwise silent. "I am too old for this shit", complained Harlan the Younger. Aubry rose up and facing Bóthilda, said to her "Thank you again, young lady, for your assistance. Your axe strikes true."

"She can handle an axe, it seems. How about giving a chance at Jormundgard?", Gorlund asked. "The Earl still needs a few recruits, and she's good as any."

"Works for me", Harlan said. "After all, she wouldn't be the first."

Bram thought about, and found himself agreeing with his friends. "It seems you're a wanted woman, Bóthilda. Would you like to come to the castle in the morrow, to serve in the earl's guard?"

[Assistant]
"Aye, it's been nearly two year's since I have passed through. Now that my youngest son is now strong enough, I have returned to leading our village's trade caravan. He was born nearly a moon's turn early and seemed that he may have perished shortly after but the gods are good and he grew stronger every day." Tørmun replied. He half turned to his niece, while he listened to the comments said about her. He gave her a half nod to let her know she had done well.

"I had planned to go to the castle in the morning to offer my services to the Earl to begin with. I thank you all for your praise and will be at the castle on the morrow to pledge my axe to the Earl should he want it." She looked to her uncle when he clasped her shoulder. He gestured that it was time to head back to get what sleep they may. "I bid you farewell thanes, may you find your way home unmolested any more this evening." She said to the thanes before she turned to follow her uncle back to their lodgings. The trip was made in silence as both persons were tired. When they arrived she removed her brigandine, her boots, and gloves before she collapsed into her bed and going strait to sleep.

[User]
"Should we have told her that the Earl isn't home?", Aubry pointed out as the four thanes neared the castle. The young woman and her uncle were out of earshot. "She's capable, I'll give her that."

"Well, there's still a few beds in the barracks to fill, so fitting her in shouldn't be a problem", Bram said. The four thanes walked to the barracks, and Bram, for one, collapsed to his bed.

-----

Earl Hjalmar was standing on the wall of Beornhall. He had arrived to the capital a few days ago, as his brother, King Jorvi of house Weyland, wanted to have a family feast and meet his quarreling relatives. Like I would let Alarik inherit the throne, Hjalmar thought. Only over my dead bones I would let him be king.

It was late night, and a chilly breeze blew. Hjalmar liked the feel of the wind on his face. It had a salty and fresh quality. The wind is coming from the sea.

Hjalmar walked back to his quarters, and started to sleep. It was going to be a busy and long day tomorrow.

[Assistant]
Bóthilda woke in the morning feeling a little sore from the night before. As she dressed she noticed a large bruise formed on her shield arm where she had been struck by one of the sticks. She muttered to herself to remember her shield next time as she finished getting her brigandine on. With her axe in it's place on her left hip and her shield on her back, she left her room to go to the common hall to meet with her uncle and other companions.

"Good morrow niece." He gestured to an open seat across from him for her to sit at. "I pray you rested well."

Bóthilda sat down and quickly started to eat the food that was set on the table. "Just a bit sore from last night's ordeal." She said in between bites.

"Slow down or you will choke." Tørmun chided. "The court won't open for at least another hour." He tore a chuck of bread off and used it to soak up the fat from the sausage.

"Yes uncle. When do you plan to leave?"

"In a few more days. There are several places still to stop on our route. Mostly small villages though there are some larger ones to stop through."

There was a silence following for a few minutes before Bóthilda spoke up. "Could you let father and mother know I will come home again? I know father won't worry as much but you know how my mother is. She doesn't think women should fight and that I am more likely to come to harm."

"She is not fully wrong Bóthilda. Though in your case you will probably leave them regretting underestimating you. Here take this." He reaches down to his boot to retrieve a dagger with a slightly longer blade and a wickedly sharp edge. He offers it to her hilt first. "Consider it a parting gift from me. And be carful it is as sharp as it looks. You aunt gave me that just before you youngest cousin was born. Anyway I'm sure she wouldn't mind you having it and don't go losing it either. I expect to see it next season when I come back through here."

Bóthilda nodded. "I'll keep it on my person at all times and sharp as well."

"Good. Now let's finish eating so I can get to work sell these goods, maybe buy some, and you get to the castle. I will try to be up there at noon to see you and pay my respects to the Earl or his steward."

The pair ate in silence for the remainder of the meal and went their separate ways afterwards. Tørmun watched his niece go up the street through the crowd to the castle for a few moments before turning to sell his wares. Bóthilda went up the streets to the castle taking her time and arrived just as people were being admitted to the hall. She stood third in line behind a two merchants who had complaints about some of the caravan merchants under selling goods similar to theirs. She listened to them as they complained to each other and to anyone who would listen.

"Can you believe the nerve of these peasants! They are under selling our goods. I've seen their wares and there is no way they acquired any of that for so little a price." The first man said.

"I know. Those Wood Hollow traders can be the worst. They sit right on the border so whose to say they haven't been trading outside the kingdom. I've heard the Earl of the village made a pact with the trickster God with the lead trader, the Smith, and the captain of their milita." The second man said without trying to be discreet.

Bóthilda tried to keep calm as they spoke. Fortunately for her the steward began listening to and giving solutions to the merchants. Neither were fully satisfied but still a bit more content than before.

Bóthilda stepped forward and spoke. "Thank you for your time. I came here today to enter the service of the Earl in the Jormundgard if he would have me."

[User] Eirik the steward looked down at Bóthilda. He had admitted many men and women to the castle, and at least half of them had left before the end of the day. He didn't like it, and the newcomers put a strain on the castle's own folk. In the end, though, it was his job. "Like everyone else these days, young lady. But as per the Earl's orders, I am to direct you to the castle yard. The thanes and the newcomers are already there. Find the thane named Hadvar Arnsgeirsson and introduce yourself, he welcomes the newcomers to the retinue and will show you around. He has one good eye and at least six feet five tall, you'll probably won't miss him. But I bet you won't make it past noon." Eirik shifted his attention to the next waiters. "Now, what do we have here?"


[System]
Age: 18

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Weapon: Fists. Send help.

Crow's Beak: Crow's Beak is, at its core, an alternative form of the ubiquitous poleaxe-- a Lucerne Hammer. Also known as a Bec de Corbin (from which the moniker 'Crow's Beak' has been derived), this weapon is characterized by the four-pronged hammer at its head, curved spike upon the opposite side (the eponymous "beak"), and an even longer spike that extends from the top of the haft.

In the case of Crow's Beak, the shaft of the weapon is long and sturdy, extending well above his head at six feet even. Rather than one solid unit, though, the bottom half twists off into a semi-automatic shotgun, providing Luke with some now sorely needed ranged offense, whist the top half simply maintains its original function as a slightly long-handled warhammer. Finally, the aforementioned, sole piece of carryover his original weapon comes in the form of that topmost spike, now a thin yet sturdy coil of steel that retains the stabbing capabilities of the classical design whilst gaining an additional boring (as in the ability to bore through something) utility, in case sturdy armor should be encountered that he cannot simply smash, shoot, or stab through.

Specialty: Close-Quarters Combat, with a focus on all aspects of unarmed fighting as well as simply outlasting opponents through sheer guts and an advantageous semblance. Not a tank so much as a sponge, and not the tip of the spear so much as the glue keeping everything else in one piece. Soon to begin working on middling and longer ranges.

Semblance: Healing Blood: Rather than focusing primarily on the defensive, shield-like capabilities that most Auric individuals come to take almost for granted, Luke's semblance causes it to take an almost entirely different route when dealing with physical trauma— rather than outright absorption and nullification, his aura instead fuels massively overdriven levels of healing. In essence, rather than stack up defenses, Luke's method of survival is always being able to get back up for more after something flays him alive. While still tougher than a normal human by leaps and bounds, you're more likely to see him spilling blood than any other Hunter. This is, in actuality, not quite a bad thing— that same aura-charged blood, when in contact with another's wounds, will impart similarly accelerated restorative effects until it evaporates. In a way, it befits him: To be knocked down seven times means you must stand up eight, and to help others means you must be willing to invite harm upon yourself.

Personality: Luke is a person that can be described, plainly put, as "selfless to a fault". Driven by a deep-seated sense of justice and desire to become a hero, all it usually takes for him to want to step in and help someone is a moment of weakness, or the sign of someone being in need— something he often denigrates as him just being nosy and incapable of leaving well enough alone when he takes issue with something. That same sense of self-deprecation colors a good portion of his self-esteem; he has pride like any other guy, and will stand up for himself if under what he deems as undeserved attack, but his admiration for those he is surrounded by far outweighs that which he holds for himself. Prone to monologuing in his own head, he is a natural conversationalist even in spite of his status as a "recovering pariah", equally capable in the roles of both straight man and wise guy. This is why, to some, he may seem like a simply good-natured, friendly young man with a keen ability to laugh at himself— rather than the fairly melancholic and snarky, if permissive fellow lying beneath the surface. In some ways he's a walking contradiction, being silly and sober in the same breath— just as he values and preaches safety overmuch for someone almost suicidally willing to rush into danger for the sake of another. Too smart to ignore his faults and too dense to acknowledge his virtues, "selfless" really does fit the bill— for the value he places upon himself can be practically nonexistent.

Color: Black Hole

Emblem:

Appearance:

A bit on the short side, at 5'7. Athletic physique, as is the standard for those putting themselves through the type of physical training necessary to even think of becoming a hunter, if on the slimmer side of things. Interestingly, that little hair-antenna seems to be some form of indicator of his emotional state, easily as expressive as the rest of him, gray eyes included. Tends to like hoodies, sneakers, and jeans or khakis whenever not in uniform. Hailing from a town in the mountains near the northern tip of Vale as he does, even the long days spent outdoors hiking and training in preparation for his enrollment at the academy haven't done much to change his medium complexion, and his relatively long and straight black hair makes for good insulation in the wintertime.

[User]
Jack Orpheus | Dragon's Den

As Jack and Luke searched the back area, they were constantly met with dead ends and areas locked down by the security system... So far, the only route was back to the party floor. There was no alternate route out. As the two came up to around that floor, they scanned the situation... White Fang members were searching through the crowd, one of their team mates Ciel was within the crowd as they remembered. They can't see her at the moment, there was no high point to survey from, but there was a way around the sides. It looks like it was just going to be them three, as Mokuren was outside and locked out... Jack volunteered to survey the situation and told Luke to stay put and prepare a plan while he observed the room layout and enemy positions.

He's managed to figure out the general positions of the White Fang members, and spotted the White Fang's leader here... The mask was a real give-away. On the other hand there appeared to be two more major officers so to speak, based on the commands they were giving. He caught their names, Morgan and Mordred... A plan of combat may be difficult with this many people, but he has enough information, including Ciel's position, so he returned to Luke with the information.

"Ten enemies, seven of which are mooks, two seem to be officers, and there is one leader, it's possible there are more, but those are the ones I see now. I've found Ciel in the far corner..."

"Hey, you! Aren't you a bit young to be here, girl?"

Jack heard this over the crowd... It looks like they've spotted Ciel.

"If we're going to act, we'll have to act fast...", he stated. So what can they do? What can Ciel do? Jack was a little glad Mokuren wasn't here, she didn't really have a mind to keep civilians out of combat... So what was the priority? Was it to win this battle as efficiently as possible? If only they can get the rest of the civilians out of the area, this would be far easier to approach. Radio communications were jammed unfortunately, so they couldn't count on help from outside...

There was no good chance to act yet, so he waited for the moment...

[Assistant]
Lucas Schwarze--Desperate times...

Luke's face hardened, also hearing Ciel come under scrutiny of the forces patrolling the now locked-down nightclub. This situation had gone to hell in a handbasket quickly, and their search for a good place to tunnel out of had come up alarmingly empty for a nightclub in the middle of a city.

Really, how did this place turn into Fort Knox?

Shaking the train of thought away, Luke glanced out of the corner of his eye to Jack, who was currently doing an amazingly accurate impromptu impression of a loaded spring, waiting for the perfect moment to act.

He needed a moment, huh?

That gave Luke an idea.

"If you need a distraction, I've got you covered." he said lowly, switching down from drills, to gauntlets, and finally back to watches. Crouching low, he practically assumed a runner's pose straight off of a track meet, a curiously mischievous fire in his gray eyes.

"Just give the word."

[User]
Mokuren Sabella| Nowhere in particular

The fox girl wandered down an alleyway after casually disengaging from the man who had been given far to many stats to place when he started the game. If she had stayed around, it would have become even more boring that in already was, so she left. And now, she was being treated to the exclamations of pride from a man who had gotten all the right cards this morning. But then, something hit her nose. A rather, stabbing smell. Having been eating people for quite some time, she was well attuned to the smells of people's blood, so she could avoid those who had the nasty illnesses, even if they didn't know it yet. She was no doctor, so she had no name for it, but she was certain that she didn't want to eat him.

"You should go see the doctor. There is something wrong with your blood" She told him, ignoring the confused look he gave her as she walked past. Sure, she was a homicidal faunus bitch - Cannibalism would not be the accurate term, since she ate humans and was not fully human - but she had her standards. So, instead she followed her ears to yet another dark alley - there were a lot of dark alleys - and stuck her sword though the chest of a man with a woman pinned against the wall.
"You'll do" She cooed, as the woman took the opportunity to run away screaming.

[Assistant]
Jack Orpheus | Dragon's Den

"No, we can't get the... Wait...", his eyes darted all across the floor, as the one called Morgan began to scrutinize poor little Ciel, the other White Fang members began to move around their superior... The amount of civilians between each one became smaller and smaller. The main problem was going to be what came after the move he had in mind, it appears Luke has an idea too. A moment's distraction was all he needed, and that was what Luke was offering.

"A distraction then...?", if they can clean up the several standard mooks, then they can create a more controlled battlefield. Neither Luke nor Ciel can tackle that many weak targets in an instant. On the other hand, if he had the space, Jack could. This came down to how well he can make use of what precious moments Luke can get him. The look in Luke's eyes told him he was pretty gung-ho for this. The White Fang members were moving into a formation in case Ciel turned out to be dangerous... Well in her current state, she wasn't quite, but...

"Alright then, let's go", he said, snatching a poker chip from the table beside them.

"This is the signal, when I throw it at one of the mooks, unleash hell", he stated. His smile returned in this moment, and before Luke can respond with proper words, like a blue shadow he darted away towards the chandeliers.

---

From above he surveyed the targets, and the path he should take if he were to get his opportunity... Yes, got it.

"Time for the main event", he smiled. He nicked a White Fang mask from the back area, so he was putting that on. Though he added a blue gash on it with his dagger while he was on the chandelier, it was still glowing. He threw the poker chip he had picked up earlier, and threw it down, hitting one of the White Fang members square in the back of the head, enough to make them groan. This was the moment. It was time for Luke to charge, as Jack watched from above for the perfect moment.

"But seriously though, these masks are really cool", he muttered to himself.

[User]
Lucas Schwarze -- Desperate Measures

Give them hell, huh?

At that, Luke's face split into a broad grin, a dark chuckle rising from his chest. Oh, if Jack wanted them to have hell, then he had the perfect thing in mind. Adjusting his stance, he eagerly awaited the go signal, keeping an eye on Ciel every few seconds. Drawing inspiration from the sight of her in such a tight spot.

He was brought back to attention by the sharp thwack and groaned "What the hell..." that was Jack's signal.

Here we go!

With a righteously furious roar, the perpetually resilient teen charged forward into the crowd, on a beeline straight towards the group surrounding his teammate. A few turned at the source of the sudden racket, but those that didn't fell prey to one universal aspect of psychology amongst all sentient beings.

"HEY!"

A loud call out to nobody in particular always gets everyone's attention.

At once, all heads turned to face him, as he stood there, huffing and puffing like a wolf looking to blow their houses down. Perfect setup for Jack to work some magic. He just had to hold their attention for a few more seconds, and luckily for all of them, Luke knew exactly how. His midnight blue team leader had no idea how on the button he was about Luke raising hell in this moment. Really, it was kind of literately perfect how this was all about to play out. Drawing from the anger he had kept in check all throughout the day, Luke became the single most hellish thing on the planet.

An irate customer.

"I'D HATE TO RAIN ON YOUR 'HARASS A LITTLE GIRL LIKE IT'S MIDDLE SCHOOL' PARADE, BUT JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW?! I TRY TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND RELIEVE MYSELF, BUT I'M SUDDENLY LOCKED OUT BY A FUCKING ROBOT GARAGE DOOR, AND YOUR DJ DECIDES HE'S LOST ALL TASTE IN MUSIC AND PLAYS THIS GARBAGE! IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY CRAP LIKE THIS, AT LEAST MAKE IT SANDSTORM SO I CAN HAVE A LAUGH!" he screamed, looking to be the human personification of a great volcano god blowing their top. This was actually very cathartic, and the suddenly thespian Hunter-in-training found himself on a roll.

"AND BETTER YET, I COME BACK TO ALL THE STAFF ARE WEARING MASKS LIKE IT'S SOME DUMB PARTY, AND SURROUNDING SOME POOR KID LIKE THEY WANT HER LUNCH MONEY! DO YOU THINK SCREWING WITH A MAN'S BLADDER IS A GAME?! I THOUGHT WE GREW OUT OF LOCKDOWN DRILL ONCE WE GRADUATED HIGHSCHOOL, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS PLACE'S DEAL? THIS IS BEYOND SHITTY SERVICE, THIS IS LITERALLY IMPEDING MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS! MY RIGHT TO LIBERTY! I'VE DEALT WITH SOME SUB-PAR ESTABLISHMENTS IN MY TIME, SO I WANTED TO BE NICE, BUT LOCKING DOWN THE BATHROOM IS TOO DAMN FAR! I'M WRITING THIS PLACE UP!"

Delivering an ultimatum, a rant, and most importantly, a distraction, Luke found himself needing to disguise a cheshire grin.


[System]
"Can't we all just get along?"

Username: SunsetOverdrive
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Main: Braum
Appearance: John is 6'4
True Appearance: In his true form, John loses his ability to wear a shirt, making him topless for as long as he remains in this form. His muscles also get larger (but not comically so). The fur of his pet Danny becomes white as snow as well
The Unbreakable Heart (Passive): In his true form, John gains extra durability. Becoming twice as tough as a normal human. He also becomes strong enough to heft his massive shield with little effort.

Warm Hug: John sends Danny to an ally, who wraps himself around their neck like a scarf. While under the effect of Warm Hug, the ally gains a durability bonus from The Unbreakable Heart at a 50% penalty. John can not benefit from Warm Hug.

The Unbreakable Shield: John can summon his shield at will. This shield is a massive tower shield that completely conceals his body from view.

By Your Side: John takes a mighty leap (that seems to ignore gravity) to an ally, covering the distance in a fraction of the time it would normally take. If the ally is under the effect of Warm Hug, then John can use this from twice as far away.

Line In The Snow: John plants his shield in place, which causes allows him to create a construct double of it who's length is three times the height of his shield.
Personality: John is a very soft spoken man, he always has a gentle look to him despite his physical build. He has a love of small animals, and even has a pet ferret named Danny, whom he cares for greatly. He is a gentle giant martial pacifist, only resorting to violence if left with no other viable option. Otherwise, he tries to solve problems by talking things out. Even when angry, he manages to maintain a degree of dignity, as his anger is more 'righteous indignation' then rage. He is a very outgoing guy who wears his heart on his sleeves (when he's wearing a shirt that is), and he loves to meet no people. Due to being the eldest in his family, he is a naturally protective person

Short Biography: John had a relatively normal life growing up. Not a lot of really noteworthy things happened in his childhood, at least until he was eight. That was the year that John became an older brother to a baby girl, and it changed him fundamentally. While John was always a nice guy, having a younger sister brought out his nurturing side, something that was pushed even further when the next new addition to the family came along; the twins. Now with three younger sisters, and parents who were suddenly very busy with work, John found himself thrust into the role of caretaker for his little sisters.

This had a huge effect on his growth as a person; as having to take care of himself and his sister made him domesticated. He cooked, cleaned, took care of them when they were sick, and any other house work that needed to be done. To his surprise, John found that he didn't mind how the needs of his sisters had taken up so much of his time. As they grew older, John found himself needed less and less. To fill up the new free time he had, he turned to working out, getting a pet ferret, and video games. One day, he came across a game called League of Legends, and was instantly drawn to Braum, as he felt the man was a kindred spirit (real or not). So he found himself babysitting his ADC in bot lane most every game, with his lucky ferret Danny napping in his lap.
Other: The heart is the strongest muscle

[User]
Arthur relaxed in his seat as he browsed the usual menu, though his eyes roamed the page his mind was a thousand miles away. Only 24 hours ago everything about this situation would be entirely different with himself sitting alone in a corner with a cup of coffee in quiet contemplation. That was then, now he sat in a relatively open area with what could be called a friend trying to come to terms with the idea that people, regular people, had been given powers and abilities from a video game that many people played! Madness was the only way to describe the situation now with his voice turned to a trumpet and another man had been gifted the powers of what appeared to be Talon, though as of yet they had not accomplished much in finding out the truth.
A soft chiming noise stopped his heart cold as he glanced up wide-eyed and stern faced at the dancing Meep hovering over his head. He gave a panicked 'eep' of surprise that came out like a trumpet as he reached out and grabbed the meep in both hands, putting it in his coat before anyone could see it. Nobody but those effected could see the creatures he had come to discover but that did not mean he WANTED those who could to see. Too weird.
The brunch menu was pretty standard so he flipped the menu and slid it to Alex, gesturing with his index finger to the eggs benedict and then a picture of a glass of water. Not being able to speak was a huge problem but if he and Alex could come to an understanding then maybe both of them could get to a better way of life. Arthur dared to hope.
As he turned to stand he was met full in the face with the towering figure of Clarice, the only server in the establishment he had a hard time speaking to. Though he would never admit it to himself or otherwise he fancied the tall woman as an example for all women. Strong, beautiful, and capable. Why she worked here confused him to no end. Though they were of the same height, Alex standing closer to 6'3, he still felt short compared to her.
Unlike his lanky form this exquisite creature exuded strength.

Arthur opened his mouth to greet her but forgot about his predicament, the only thing escaped now was a low-pitched tuba sound. His eyes flared in alarm as both hands shot up to cover his mouth and slide back further into his seat. Frantically, he made various gestures towards his throat and offered a small head bow in apology. Hopefully Alex interpreted it as somewhere along the lines of 'My friend here has a bad cold.'
Arthurs head sank a little lower in relief when the server walked away to help other customers. He took out the phone and texted Alex.

(message reads; Imagine that one with powers. What a sight to see!) Arthur tried to chuckle as he sent it but again it sounded like a chime. The meep in his coat pocket peeked out to see what was going on.
Another meep trailed along Clarice's shoulders but never let her see it. Playful as ever.

@Eklispe

[Assistant]
Claire was never really fond of the young man half asleep at one of the chairs in the lounge. He was consistently late and she perceived him to be a sloppy vagabond and rather lazy as well. It was here that she found herself feeling slightly irate at her rogue coworker as he had the audactiy to scoff at her as he heard her mutters, her irritation aggravated by the lack of sleep from the past couple of days. The comment wasn't even directed towards him anyways!
"Hmph, I wasn't talking to you Garrett...Be quiet would you? Oh wait, you already are~" Claire said to him without bothering to look at him as she poured herself a cup of hot coffee...which felt very warm in her hands, probably due to the poor insulation of the small styrofoam cup in her hands. After adding a little bit of cream and two times the reccomended serving of sugar into the brown liquid known to keep the world turning, she took a seat away from Garrett and enjoyed it for the limited time she had back in the lounge, knowing she'd be needed out there soon.

Clarice entered the room and poked at Garrett, you could tell she enjoyed bothering the him. Garrett never really spoke to others nor reacted dramatically as far as she observed so far, but you could gauge his mood by the facial expressions he displays. To her, Clarice was like a curious cat pawing at a raven that seemed to be content to just sit there and let her toy with him. Claire remained quiet while she longed for a cold white mocha frappucino. If there was ample time before nightfall, she could probably swing by the cafe again to grab one real quick after she was done here, before she went to the gathering. She would feel so much better too! The blue haired maiden sipped her coffee as Clarice left the room as fast as she had entered in order to serve a few customers who had walked in. Claire took this cue to quickly down the rest of the hot coffee and took a deep breath, straightening herself out before joining Clarice out there in the grind, only to find to her surprise that a couple of the people from the cafe were here as well. And the "Braum" was here too!

"I'll take this one!" Claire said to Clarice in passing, and then made a beeline for the polite young gentleman (John) she had briefly encountered yesterday. She offered him a smile as she whipped out a pen and a pad. "Welcome to Darkwell City Diner! Shall we start you off with a drink?"

@Card Captor @rivaan

[User]
Travis

Souls... Souls! Souls! Souls!

Travis couldn't block out the voices, and now they were getting louder! His eyes dashed from side to side, he would look shifty as hell if someone could see his face. And... now a waitress came over. Shit! She was so polite too. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What does he do? He politely took the menu and smiled, but tried not to look at her. "Hehe, uhmmm, thank you." He weakly said. The boy's stomach felt like there was a rock in it, and his heart was going to jump out of his throat and onto the table. When the woman walked away, he exhaled with relief and slouched into the seat. However, what probably didn't help his situation was the nervous, nearly maniacal giggle that escaped his mouth.

"Hehe. Hehehehehehehehehe."

FUCK!

Travis stood up straight almost immediately and decided to stare at the menu. He did have a bit of change in his pocket... he could get a drink. Where the hell did that laugh come from? Was it nervousness? Was it insanity? Did anyone hear him? He took his non-weapon hand and rubbed his face, like he just had a long day at school. He was really starting to feel the pressure of his predicament now. What... the... hell... does... he... do?

[Assistant]
Sam Cross

Sam flashed a pleased smile when Artemis claimed that she was 'smokin' hot'. The way she said it though was as if the compliment was coming from Spock from Star Trek. Still, Sam took it gladly all the same. Then Artemis stated that she was as ready as she would ever be. Sam wished she could say the same. She felt mentally prepared to go in there with her cautious mindset, but what if something did go down in there. Unless they were going to try to hit her with a flamethrower, Sam really didn't have anything impressive to back up any kind of nefarious goings on that might happen to them. Sam hadn't tried and didn't know how to produce flame or anything like that. Still, knowing that Sam had brought with her some pepper spray and a switch knife in her purse. Just in case. So, she supposed she was ready, but not supernatural power fight ready. But, hey! Maybe Sam was just too stuck on the idea that violence would occur. For all she knew this could be a totally calm and peaceful encounter. Still, in a way that would be a shame, some part of her craved a thrill of fighting like one craves riding rollercoasters.

An elderly voice cracked it's way through the intercom and for a moment she wondered whether they had called the wrong person, however after a moment a second voice made itself known. It was a younger voice that asserted that the two of them had been invited. With this the doors worked their way open automatically. Carefully, Sam went through the entrance, her heeled boots making a greater clack as the floor turned from concrete to a shiny, tile floor. The whole area was nicely kept but... plain. There was no real splash of real color anywhere, just this cream color and the dark desk at which sat an older man. Her eyes met with the eyes of the elderly man who then welcomed them to the apartments. Liam crept his voice to direct at the man, stating that more people were to be expected before turning his attention to the two of them welcoming them in turn. In the end, he claimed that this mysterious Matt person was waiting for them.

Oookay. Well, this was all very villain like. They had the old butler desk dude and then a mysterious guy who was in charge at the end of an elevator ride up to his lair. With a thump, the doors shut automatically behind them. Sam couldn't check to see if they were locked or anything, but the sound made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She clutched her black leather purse closer to her. Artemis seemed to have the situation under control, inquiring about what was going on as if she wasn't even phased by it. She looked at the sense of ease that Artemis had gotten and Sam was suddenly quite upset at herself for appearing such a coward. At that moment her eyes steeled a little bit as she felt much more like herself with the daring confidence she usually held.

Sam strutted her way over to the elevator before getting face to face with this Liam guy. "No, how about this:" she snipped, "you tell us what this meeting is about right now or we don't go up there." She punctuated by jabbing her finger up to the sky. "Oh, and maybe stop acting so snobby and villainy, okay? I mean, do you realize how fucking creepy you're being right now?" She was now satisfied with her blustery, daredevil-like confidence and looked back at the gatekeeper with a challenging look. As if to make her point known, unbeknownst to Sam the temperature of the nearby space rose just a few notable degrees.

@Leolycan

[User]
'Well that was certainly fast. Almost frighteningly so' John remarked to himself at the sudden appearance of the waitress. "Yes, thank you very much. I'll have a large glass of orange juice, and a sausage and cheese omelet." In truth, he hadn't gotten as much of a look at the menu as he would have liked, but he really didn't want to waste this girl's time. So it would be better to go with something safe that he knew he would like. Since his mother had been in the service industry when she was younger, she made sure he grew up knowing how to treat a server.

'Hold on a minute; haven't I seen her somewhere before?' He wondered to himself 'she looks so familiar...perhaps, she was at the cafe yesterday? Yes, that sounds right...but who was she? The girl who first ran over to that poor man? No, I think she had a different hair color. Well I can only hope that we don't know each other personally, otherwise this might get very awkward.' While his mind was on this train of thought, he made sure not to stare too intently at her. People in her line of work often had to be friendly with all manner of freaks and over all rude people, and John didn't want to be one of them.


[System]
Introducing the (hopefully) One and Only:

Hero Archetype: Inspired by Maxima
Alias: None taken yet, waiting to earn/be given one.

Age: 18

Team: YJ

All of Maxus-El's powers derive from his Almeracian/Kryptonian physiology. Many of his powers derive from Psionics and Telekinesis, the genetic gifts from his mother; whereas others have been incorporated into his bloodline from his Kryptonian heritage, and as such are based on Solar Energy Absorption/Storage. At present, he has little experience absorbing radiation from a yellow sun. As he becomes more acclimated to it, more powers will arise from his Kryptonian heritage. As some of these powers overlap, they will reinforce and strengthen each other.

Force Field – Maxus-El can create a personal force field fitting closely over his skin. It incorporates a micro-environment, capable of sustaining his life even in outer space and provides amazing protection against physical attacks, even moreso against energy/radiation. This power is passive in nature and instinctive.

Telekinesis – Maxus-El has developed this ability in specific ways. At present, it is merely tactile until further developed. He can use it as a physical booster, temporarily increasing his strength to superhuman levels (up to 50 tons maximum weight, 1/5 Superman's carrying capacity). Additionally, he is a very proficient flier, achieving speeds comparable to commercial airliners of the day.

Telepathy – Line of sight, or greater if the subject's mind is known/previously contacted. Maxus-El is still learning fine control, but so far he is able to see through somebody else's eyes and/or establish and maintain a mental rapport with a subject well known to himself much farther out. As an interesting note, he has learned to use his telepathy to rapidly assimilate language skills from any mind with which he has contacted, giving him a superhuman Linguistics ability.

Heat Emission, Eyes – Maxus-El is capable of concussive "Heat Vision", capable of searing through osmium steel. This is a trait common to both sides of his heritage, and will likely be the first ability to increase in power as his body adjusts to Earth's sun.

Durability – Maxus-El has inherited his mother's durability. While not true Kryptonian Invulnerability, he is superhumanly durable. In time, this ability will develop in the same manner as his other overlapping powers.

Solar Regeneration – The first true and purely Kryptonian power that has manifested in Maxus-El, he has the benefits of Regeneration and Self Recovery so long as he is in the presence of solar radiation. It speeds the process by which he heals on a cellular level and purges his body of impurities. Though unaware of it at this time, this power also maintains his physical integrity, keeping him in top form and giving him unforeseen longevity.

Weaknesses: Kryptonite. While it will not physically weaken or kill him, the radiation will displace any stored solar energy from his body, removing his access to powers originating from, and weakening overlap powers that are reinforced by, yellow solar energy.

Personality: Prideful, balks under the thumb of authority. Raised on stories of his biological father, he tries to do what is right. Considering that he was raised by his mother, Maxima, it has influenced his personality away from the Superman ideal.

(Brace yourself, DBZ analogy:) Think Vegeta, after joining up with Goku's group later on in the series and mellowing.

Appearance: Maxus-El takes after his father greatly, if not exactly; he is his mother's child in the details only. He has black hair of middling length and bright, green eyes that tend to trail red energy when readying for combat. He is slimmer of build than his father, but still very toned and athletic. Unless additional uniform or gear is provided, he will be garbed in the black, gold and white uniform of an Almeracian Imperial Elite Soldier, devoid of rank insignia. Cape is flowing and white, detachable for less formal affairs. A gold-on-black symbol of the House of El can be found on his shoulderpiece, if somewhat abstracted, the Imperial Seal on the other.

The Almeracian Royal Family had maintained its superiority and gained its powers thusfar by carefully planned and acquired couplings and/or arranged marriages for millennia. Maxus-El is the result of the coupling of Maxima and Kal-El.

His biological father is unaware of his existence, and remains so. During his upbringing by Maxima and the few loyalists not destroyed alongside their civilization, he was raised to be a combatant, trained in weapons of all kinds, tactics, history, hand fighting, and technology. He is an accomplished pilot of multiple craft, atmospheric or spacecraft.

Most importantly, Maxus-El was raised as a Prince, despite the fact that his mother was deposed and Brainiac destroyed their homeworld. Nonetheless, he retains the privileged status as the rightful Prince of Almerac, with the attached education and attitude. An interesting addition to his education, that his forebearers did not have – he was taught from an early age the stories of his father. Invariably, they make him out to be the Paragon of All That Which is Good and Right, an unparalleled Champion of the People. It was Maxima's wish that he grow to one day be something like him.

Unaware of the goings on with Brainiac and Metropolis, Maxima sent her son away to meet his father and join the Justice League. His heritage and training should have given him instant membership, she figured, but the idea went away the moment Maxus-El saw what was going on. He drafted himself into service with the JL, allowing them to place him where they saw fit so long as he could lend his expertise to the cause. While not ideal, he was placed with Young Justice. Maybe it was a trust issue; his mother has a checkered history with the group.

Despite his training as a leader, he is willing to step back (at least for a while), owing to his novice status on the planet, let alone the team.

Maxus-El has yet to receive a Hero Name. Not that he needs one to protect his identity, as he doesn't have a secret identity just yet, nor protect his loved ones, as he hasn't any on Earth. All the same, he wants one. Just fits with the interesting cultural practice on Earth.

When flying, unless trying for maximum speed and terrain permitting, Maxus-El tends to adopt a standing posture with arms crossed. It gives him a very superior, "looking down upon the ants below" vibe.

The craft he used to get to Earth is stashed far away from the action, and can be accessed in person or remotely by a piece of wearable tech. The ship's name roughly translates to "Almerac Imperial Vessel - Resolute". It can be easily accessed by one of Almeracian heritage (or their assistance), otherwise more than moderate effort is required. It is a personal conveyance, the equivalent of a luxury-class corvette; but it boasts an impressive communications and defensive package, including weapon systems and cloaking. The Resolute has serviceable living quarters for a crew of five, though it only requires one to fully operate. Sadly, with technology being easily corrupted by Brainiac, it had been sealed away along with the remote device.

Immigration laws being what they are, Maxus-El is currently (in the broadest term possible) an Illegal Alien. But seriously, try to deport him.

His telepathy has a lot of room to grow. At present, he is working on the ability to link several minds, providing a silent, small unit communication network untouchable by technological countermeasures.

[User]
The remaining founders of the Justice League walked over to the rest of the group. Batman noted what he'd heard in the numerous conversations. The knight was strictly about the endgame and damning anything to do with science or machinery. The 'deaths' weighed heavy on this one, who removed his helmet. Superbeast and Captain Marvel were steadily becoming friends, as were Static and Bluebird. Doctor Light seemed more interested in the civilians they had saved and brought back to base camp outside of Metropolis. Starfire watched over her friend, Raven, who was still unconscious. Kid Flash looked to be trying to regain some of his energy eating several of the protein bars and MRE's the military had provided.

"Everybody listen up..." Batman spoke getting everyone's attention, "Nightwing as well as the remaining civilians in the city are being held under what used to be the Daily Planet. As some of you have noticed many of the drones seem all too similar, and it isn't their programming. I've estimated around 90% of the techno-zombie drones we've been facing are in fact duplicates of the League's multiplying man, Ditto..."

"Nightwing's alive?!? That's the best news I've heard in days!" Superbeast responded.

"Before Brainiac can build a larger army we need to take down the remaining three drone generators and find out where he's keeping the original Ditto. If Ditto can't be saved we'll have to take him down." the Flash commented.

"We're gonna call it a day for the most part, however Batman has stated he's going back in to attempt to free Nightwing." Wonder Woman said crossing her arms almost as if she disapproved of Batman trying to go in alone yet again.

"I asked you not to tell them, Wonder Woman..." Batman said in his usual tone.

"While Batman didn't ask for help, any League members wishing to volunteer may do so. Those of you in Young Justice will be sitting this one out..." the Amazon continued noticing what appeared to be a metahuman flying towards them in the sky, "Batman, were you expecting...?"

"He's here." Batman said to the point.

~KL~

[Assistant]
The Captain's eyes lit up at the mention of Nightwing's status. This seemed to be just the news the two teams needed to get their spirits up. Now Billy had to consider going with Batman or not. Sure, his extra fire power could be the turning point in the battle to save Nighwing and all those civilians, but if he left then he couldn't defend the safe zone if the 'all mighty' Brainiac decided that Metropolis wasn't big enough for his huge ego. Ultimately, the crimson clad hero knew that he couldn't just stand by while his fellow Leaguers got to go out and bring the fight to Brainiac whilst saving their fellow hero and a load of civilians.

"I'll go with ya, Bats! Still got some kick left in me, stamina of Atlas and all that..." Captain Marvel proclaimed as he stepped towards Batman and Wonder Woman with an eager look on his face. When the approaching meta got closer Billy tried to stifle his laughter at the individual's means of flying. Ever since the appearance of Darkseid Billy normally burst out laughing when he would see a super-being flying in a standing position. Billy kept his humor to himself though since he didn't want to offend the incoming flyer, at least not yet.

[User]
Finn was still in a bad mood and people seemed to still be trying to just look on the bright side of this situation. His annoyance rose a bit when Wonder Woman said to call it a day and he rolled his eyes. How on earth could she call it a day when there was still a mechanical menace out there that had enslaved several members of the league? It seemed like he was the only one besides Batman that was taking this situation seriously and now the subject of the Caped Crusader going back to find his old sidekick was brought up. William wanted to kill some more techno-zombies and continue his crusade against this evil science.

"I'll join you Batman, my sword is still hungry for the flesh of these sinful scientific monstrosities" he replied to them as he held his longsword firmly in his right hand, the blade glinting in the sunlight. His attention was then drawn to the figure flying towards them, Batman seemed to know this new individual and William wondered if this was good news or something bad.

"Are they friend or foe?!" he said firmly to Batman and was curious to hear the league founder's response. If this new person was an enemy then they were going to have a taste of God's fury.

[Assistant]
From a distance, the flying figure was merely a dark silhouette with a white cape buffeting dramatically in the breeze. As he drew closer, certain details became apparent: The newcomer looked, aside from the flying, like a normal, well-formed human youth. Dark of hair and strong of feature, he was well-groomed with a air of authority about him. His facial features, well... were familiar. Frightening even, in their familiarity.

He could tell that he was being observed; that was the point. Low altitude, slower speed on the approach. Let himself be seen, and see them. The nonverbal responses from the military present were a clustering of shock, reservation, and suspicion. The strange newcomer's approach slowed further as he neared the group of Earth's Heroes. He settled lightly upon the ground a few paces from the two Justice League founders, Batman and Wonder Woman, and walked the remaining four steps required to enter range for polite conversation.

Up close and personal, the reason for the odd looks was obvious: This person was a dead ringer for the Last Son of Krypton, the inestimable paragon of righteousness, Superman. Details were off, of course. He had green eyes, bright and intelligent, and a slightly more slender grace about himself, hinting at dexterity training necessary to a person that did not rely on nigh invulnerability.

He spoke with a solid, confident voice, initiating conversation stiffly. "Thank you for receiving me, Sir, Lady, though I recall requesting Diplomatic Courtesy on behalf of an Envoy of Almeracian Royalty. As this request was summarily ignored, I can only assume that you have something of greater importance taking priority?"

His eyes darted about, taking in details around him. "Please forgive my impatience. I had a long journey here. I am Maxus-El, First Prince of Almerac, of the Imperial Bloodline."

He pressed a small white strip of material to the inside of his cheek and handed it over to the two Founders. "Run this through your biometrics, such as it is. It will confirm my identity and relation to two members of your League. It was Mother's wish that I enter the ranks of the Justice League. She was insistent that it was a worthwhile endeavor, and that as a Legacy I would be given direct consideration."

"In the meantime, what is the situation? I am noting indications elevated stress, unless you Terrans always look like this."