Midnight Bloom (IC)

[Gizmo]

Without a word, Trevor moved to an ornate grandfather clock resting in a nearby, shadowed nook, in what Fleur couldn't help but notice was the one spot in the large sitting room not viewable through the massive window which looked out onto the estate. Opening the glass over the timepiece's face, he deftly moved both hands counter-clockwise until they pointed directly upward. With a soft click, the entire section of wall behind the clock shifted, sinking backward then rotating around to reveal an inky silhouette, edges blurred by the shadows apart from a pair of gleaming ruby eyes which glared outward with malevolent inner light.

The rail thin teenager stepped forward, a change in his posture making him seem suddenly larger as he pulled a black jacket from the uncovered rack and slipped it on. "Always a next time," he intoned in a strangely cold and flat voice, buckling the coat across his chest, "until it's stopped." As his grandfather looked on with grim satisfaction, Trevor Hunter was quickly replaced by wraith-like Midnight. The featureless mask was the last piece he donned, completing the transformation. "Let's go."

[Electra]

Stesha blinked as the figurative lightbulb went on over her head. "You're Midnight!" she blurted out. "And so you were..." she added, turning to Travis, then trailed off. "Wow, I had no idea, but it all makes sense now! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she promised. "I just need to take your hand, and I can teleport us both to the forest," she told Trevor, reaching for his hand. Taking his hand, she touched the flowers braided into her green hair. There was a moment where the world was full of green and the smell of freshly mown grass, and they popped out in the middle of Wharton State Forest, near a large blackened circle of foliage. Stesha reached into a flower and pulled out a battery operated lantern, turning it on for some light.

[Gizmo]

The instant they arrived in the wooded area, Midnight vanished from view reflexively, stepping out from behind a tree on the opposite side from the one Fleur was expecting. "Teleporting," he observed flatly. Shaking off his discomfort, the teen knelt beside the dead foliage and withdrew a pair of tweezers and a small, disc shaped device from his belt, then set to work collecting samples. The analyzer beeped a few times before the black clad heroes voice softly noted, "Toxin confirmed in flora, soil samples are clean." There was a brief pause as Midnight held a pair of fingers to the side of his head. "Easier to just clear the-" As though interrupted he stopped midsentence and nodded. "Showing off. Right."

Standing he turned back to Fleur. "Poison stays in the plants, leaves ground usable. Someone's making room for new plants the hard way."

[Electra]

"They used dangerous toxins to kill all these perfectly healthy plants because they couldn't use a tiller?" Stesha demanded, turning to look at the blighted land. "Well.... well screw that!" she exclaimed passionately. Reaching into her belt, she pulled out a big handful of seeds and pitched them across the ground. The second they touched down on the ground, they seemed to explode into life, sinking roots down into the dirt, sending up shoots and leaves, and inexorably shoving the dead plants aside into a large pile on the side of the patch nearest the two heroes. "At least the ground is healthy, that's something. But it's still stupid and dangerous. Who would want to show off that way?"