Five Across The Eyes (IC)

[Sandman XI]

It was late possibly midnight. The five people patrolling Riverside tonight used to be 'normal'. Well as normal as you could be when you dress in black leather and go hunt criminals. Things used to be tougher for them. They didn't have powers . But on Halloween night that all changed. The five were approached by a man that seemed to know them personally. He said that he was going to give them a gift to help fight the zombies that were plaguing the streets that night. All they had to do was accept it. They took the gift. After the zombies stopped, the man was never saw again, yet they kept their gift. They had gone from regular people to... superheroes. They were happy about their situation. Though they wondered if the man would ever come back. That was almost a week ago. They had relocated themselves from The Fens up to Riverside. They justified it to themselves that real heroes would need better accommodations to get the scum off the streets. They hadn't taken code names yet, but then again they were the types that didn't need them. Austin was the leader. His gift gave him massive strength and a tough body. His working code name was Rock. David was a dutiful follower. His gift gave him the power to change into anything. His working code name was Change. Walter was a fun guy to be around. He was also the one that would listen to people's problems. His gift gave him improbable blade skill. His working code name was Wit. Amy was there to help too, though less to lend an ear and more to make sure no one got hurt. Her gift gave her the ability to control electricity. Her working code name was Zap. Finally there was Thuy. She was the planner always making sure that everything went according. Her gift gave her... enlightenment of a sort. Her mental capacity soared to the point where she could use her brain to do almost anything. Her working code name was Mind. Tonight would be a fateful showing for the quintet. It all started when they found their way into a bust that Mind had planned. There was a drug ring around these parts that no one knew about, but Mind scanned the area with her... mind. She quickly drew up some plans and rallied the others. This would be their first real outing. They found their way into the building and started sweeping up.

[ex3lev3n]

November 5, close to Midnight

Razorwing found himself in very unfamiliar territory tonight. He was used to slinking in the alleys of Freedom's slums or gliding silently through the night sky like a bird of prey, but here in Riverside the streets didn't get that dark and the buildings weren't that tall. While he felt out of his element, his reason for being on the roof of a vegan bakery staking out a three-story building down the street was one he was all to familiar with. Word on the street was that behind the facade of this innocent looking office building was a drug manufacturing operation, and Razorwing was here to shut it down. Tonight.

[Sandman XI]

Wesley usually scouted the area around this time. Usually. He had to balance his super-civic duty with life in general. He had no problem with either. It was just that sometimes sometimes one outweighed the other. This is one of the times he was on the hero side of life. He really appreciated this part. He could make the world a better place. Whether it be stopping a robbery or saving reality from a tyrant. He'd done both an then some. And one would think such power would go to someone's head. Not here though. The feeling of doing helping out was the only thing that mattered. He kept it close to home tonight Riverside is where he lived. Sure he could be anywhere right now, but sometimes you gotta sweep your own doorstep. And then he saw it, a row of office buildings open suspiciously late. He had to check this out.

[Sandman XI]

Mind busily scouted through the building with her powers. She searched for any sign of intelligence that was not hers and her friend's. It was the second and third floor! They had turned this whole building into a front! She quickly teleported the group up. When they got to the second floor, they saw a massive area full of scientific gadgets and chemicals. This was no ordinary operation! The people who were there were shocked that they had been uncovered. They hadn't prepared for such an invasion. Several of them scrambled others looked dumbfounded. There was no way they could deal with heroes. Rock cracked his knuckles and neck, "[bg=#FF0000]Time to take out the bad guys.[/bg]" The group agreed in unison. Zap flew up and began to blast all the equipment into smoldering scientific junk. Mind froze the operators with fear. Rock rushed the ones that were frozen, pummeling them with hard blows. Grabbing one by the neck, the obviously outmatched man tearfully begged for mercy, Please, I... I have a family." Rock scowled as he tightened his grip, "[bg=#FF0000]I'm sure the people you sell this stuff to have families too. I'm damn positive they aren't families anymore afterwards.[/bg]" A sickening crunch later the fearful man met his fate. With a screech, Change morphed into a large bird of prey with large talons. His job was to get the ones who were lucky enough to break free of Mind's tampering. He sliced and a few of them down. Wit took this all in. These people didn't look like the types that could take much from his blade, much less Rock's assault and Change's... whatever the heck that was. Though he had to stop these people. It was his super-civic duty. That was his justification. He took down a few of the stragglers that Change missed. that not as harshly as his partners. glancing blows and just enough panache to make it feel like it hurt enough to fall down.

[ex3lev3n]

From his perch on top of the bakery Razorwing could see flashes of electric energy on the second and third floors of the office building.

Looks like someone else had the same intel. Let's see who.

Rising from his crouch and taking a few steps back, he ran towards the edge of the roof and jumped, extending his arms as his suits glider wings sprung from their housing. He flew towards the building across the street, and when his descent drew him near the street, he drew his grapple gun and fired the swing line towards the row of offices. The grappling spike struck concrete, and he activated the winch, reeling himself up towards the third floor of the building adjacent to his target.

He took a moment to assess the situation. Razorwing could see the carnage going on inside the lab, carried out by a team he had never seen before clad in black leather uniforms. While he could appreciate their methods, they were sloppy, and by the looks of it people were getting really hurt. Although he had savagely beaten his share of Freedom's criminal dirt bags, he never went so far as to continue the beatings after the threat was neutralized.

Pushing off from the facade, he crashed through the window of the third floor with a forward somersault, and landed amid the wreckage of drug manufacturing equipment, right in front of a mountain of a man holding what appeared to be a scientist in his massive hands.

Grabbing one by the neck, the obviously outmatched man tearfully begged for mercy, "Please, I... I have a family." Rock scowled as he tightened his grip, "I'm sure the people you sell this stuff to have families too. I'm damn positive they aren't families anymore afterwards." A sickening crunch later the fearful man met his fate.

Razorwing shouted, "What the hell are you doing?!", but his words were drowned out by the cry of a large bird of prey circling about the room.

[Sandman XI]

Now explosions? Great. Wesley swooped towards the building only to find the vigilante Razorwing swinging in. "Right. Seems like his style. What's he up to," Wesley wondered aloud. He quickly made his way into the building right after Razorwing. He was about to ask him personally what was up but the scene answered any questions. It seemed Razorwing was just as confused as Wesley was. What seemed to look... and smell like a hidden drug factory was being torn apart by some FORCE Ops wannabes. He didn't see Rock's display of power, but Change's giant bird act and Wit's sword stylings registered as they cut down the others. He looked to Razorwing confused and angry, "Some of your crew?"

[ex3lev3n]

He looked to Razorwing confused and angry, "Some of your crew?"

Razorwing spared a glance at the newcomer what flew in on feathered wings that seemed to recede back into his body upon landing. Tall, dark, broad shouldered, and covered in tattoos: the young man never met him before, but he knew it must be Knight.

"Not a chance," he growled, setting his gaze upon the massive frame of Rock. "This f***er just broke a man's neck in cold blood..." he let the words hang in the air for a second, unsure whether Wesley knew his own violent history or if he'd believe that they weren't associates of his.

[Sandman XI]

All eyes were on the two intruders. The group had made handy work out of the defenseless people. Their job was done. Mind scanned the area again She sensed that the two were confused and angry at their actions. Hearing his deeds spoken in anger, he stepped forward to greet the two. He looked to Razorwing with a serious look, "[bg=#FF0000]Listen, I only did what I did because I had to. If those guys were still jumping around there would have been,[/bg]" he pointed to the mass of broken equipment, "[bg=#FF0000]all of this,[/bg]" he then pointed outside, "[bg=#FF0000]all out there.[/bg]" Mind subtly pinged Zap and and Change to the ready. She was a bit more amicable, greeting them with a smile and a curtsy, "[bg=#FFFF00]You must be Razorwing and Knight. I've heard so many about your heroic exploits. You see, we're the new heroes on the block. We just wanted to come in sweep up the bad guys and then leave without any trouble. We just made sure we did our job thoroughly.[/bg]" She winked to Razorwing, "[bg=#FFFF00]I though you would have been proud of us.[/bg]" Wit wiped his blade and sheathed his sword, "[bg=#000000]I really didn't think we'd go that hard into the fight. See, before we were just normal people. We just recently got our powers. I guess we don't know our own strength.[/bg]" Rock looked to Wit sternly, then back to the heroic duo with a shrug of feigned acceptance, "[bg=#FF0000]Yeah, I guess we didn't know our own strength.[/bg]" Mind looked to Knight, "[bg=#FFFF00]If I hear correctly, you can even fix these guys.[/bg]" Rock interrupted with a mumble, "[bg=#FF0000]Not that they need it.[/bg]" Mind looked to Rock with a sigh, then back to the duo, "[bg=#FFFF00]you can fix them, right?[/bg]" Wit nodded, "[bg=#000000]If you do, we can let this whole incident slide and hand these guys to the police proper. We can even show them this little lab here.[/bg]"

Little did the group know that one of their victims... I mean one of the criminals made it away. He stealthily made it up the catwalk as the group was talking and made it to a thingamajig that looked like it could pick up barrels magnetically. With science. looking to avenge his fallen comrades, he swung the giant machine hanging from the ceiling at the group of people talking. Knight, Razorwing and Mind all noticed this before hand while the others didn't see it until it came at them. The wild swing was heading toward Razorwing!

[ex3lev3n]

"We don't kill people in Freedom City, no matter what," he said threateningly to Rock.

The young hero tried his best to convey the message, though he felt like a hypocrite hearing his own words. Who was he to admonish someone else's actions when he himself had committed similar acts during his time as Ronin's apprentice?

Razorwing noticed the unique load-lifting machine hurtling towards him just in time to leap away from the attack. His finely-honed reflexes had saved his neck yet again. Standing from his rolling dodge, the young vigilante pulled his grapple gun from it's holster, aimed up at the catwalk, and pulled the trigger. The swing line found purchase, and he reeled himself up towards the attacker.

Aiming his gun at his attacker, Razorwing fired again. The tethered line wrapped around the scientist, his arms and now bound to his sides.

[Sandman XI]

Rock nodded, but mentally rolled his eyes. He tried to sound like the message really hit home, "[bg=#FF0000]Right. No killing.[/bg]"

When Razorwing zipped up the line the poor guy tried to run off but was quickly anchored to the ground. "Listen," he pleaded... I just wanna get out of here. You... you guys are crazy. Please don't hurt me I'll tell you everything! Just let me go!"

[Sandman XI]

Wesley looked to Rock as he looked to him back. It was a very mean staredown. Wesley was about to step forward to the crew but it looked like they would meet him half way. Wesley looked to them all. His voice was stern, but not nagging. It was almost paternal, "What you did here was unacceptable. There are better ways to do this. It's 2010, not 1985. Are you aware that this style of heroics is outdated and wrong on so many levels?" He sighed and rubbed his eyes, then crossed his hands across his chest, "Yes I can return them to life. As for the 'get away with a slap on the wrist' offer, I'm not sure of the procedure here." He would have talked more but he noticed a large piece of equipment coming towards them. He instinctively jumped out of the way. Razorwing's motion's were fluid. He hadn't heard much about him, but he liked him better than these guys.

[Sandman XI]

The five listened to Wesley as he droned on about was 'right'. They kept straight faces, even though Mind put a vision of him in their head as a barking dog. "[bg=#FFFF00]Thank you very much for your lesson, Knight. We all appreciate your kindness.[/bg]" She would have continued, but had to instinctively jump out of the way of the beam. All five of them looked up to see Razorwing tying up the bad guy. They all clapped at the show. Rock nodded and looked to Wesley, "[bg=#FF0000]So, about that reprieve? We gonna get out of here? If we do, I can promise you,[/bg]" he looked up to Razorwing and shouted, "[bg=#FF0000]and you,[/bg]" he looked back to Wesley, "[bg=#FF0000]would have our help. Any time you needed it. So, what do you say?[/bg]" Zap and Change floated over to Razorwing. "[bg=#FF80FF]That was pretty awesome how you did that,[/bg]" the girl smiled, "I'm sure we could learn a lot from you guys." Change nodded, "[bg=#0000FF]It would be very cool to have a teacher who knew the ins and outs of the business.[/bg]"

[ex3lev3n]

Razorwing wasn't used to praise, so he had to hold back a smile when he was told how awesome he was. He holstered his grapple gun and folded his arms across his chest, trying to look the part of the stoic street avenger. He was about to say something to the two that floated up to him, but the words got caught in his throat when he noticed how cute the girl was.

Years at Ronin's side taught him to never underestimate anyone, never take anything at face value. This girl, cute as she may be, was ready to kill every last person in this room. He wanted to kick himself for the momentary lapse of concentration. For all he knew, they were just trying to butter him up with flattery to save themselves from a serious ass-kicking at his hands.

"I'm not really the 'mentor' type, but I could show you a few tricks of the trade," he said a bit harsher than he had meant. "But first, let's talk about your methods."

[Sandman XI]

Wesley watched the three talking up there on the catwalk. He shook his head. He had to deal with these three down here. Possibly by himself. "Think back to the time before you had these powers. How was life different then?" He crossed his arms and looked at the trio. He then walked over to the dead people and gave them a second chance at life.as soon as they woke up, Mind tied them up with psychic bands. Wesley looked over to the girl and nodded, "Much better." Rock was silently impressed to see Wesley's work in action. "Now, see how easy that was? No one had to lose their lives. You could have subdued them this easy. What's so wrong about that?"

[Sandman XI]

The four others stood in awe of the power they had just seen. Even though they saw it it was like a dream they didn't believe. Mind could sense their uneasiness. She quickly subverted their minds into talking about something else. Mentally placing Knight out of their heads, all five focused on Razorwing. The two closest to him smiled while the others made their way up there. "[bg=#FFFF00]So,[/bg]" Mind said happily, "[bg=#FFFF00]I hear you're going to be a teacher? Well sensai,[/bg]" she smirked, "[bg=#FFFF00]what shall we learn today?[/bg]"

[ex3lev3n]

The young hero hadn't been paying much attention to what was going on downstairs while he was engaged on the walkway, except for the big guy shouting up at him, but he did happen a glance towards Knight as he approached one of the deceased. The young hero's eyes widening at the sight before him. At first he thought that maybe the man wasn't killed, just really hurt, and that knight had healed him of his wounds. Then the man went rigid, as if under some sort of outside control, and knight approached another of the victims.

Razorwing knew that the man was dead, he had seen the big guy break his neck. He had heard the snap-crunch, saw the man go limp like a rag doll, but again the motionless form moved. His body jerked, then a loud POP came from it as the broken tissue and bone reformed itself, and the man stood shakily to his feet.

What. The. F**k?

Foggy memories of his death on the lawn of Danger Mansion came to him, and with it the gnawing sense of futility that overcame him in it's aftermath. He stood there like that, deep in tormenting thought, for longer than he had realized as he was jerked back to the here and now by a voice calling him sensei. The voice came from a beautiful Asian girl standing near him on the catwalk that wasn't there a moment ago.

"You already learned your first lesson, and it's the big one here: no killing," he replied to the group as a whole. "I'll give you another one after you answer a few questions, but first," he said as he put the index and middle finger of his left hand to his temple, activating his mask's encrypted commlink. Razorwing spoke the address then removed his fingers from the side of his head. "Cops are coming. Let's get out of here."

[Sandman XI]

"[bg=#FFFF00]Gotcha,[/bg]" Mind winked, "[bg=#FFFF00]Need a focal point.[/bg]" She placed her hand on Razorwing's chest and all of the heroes disappeared from the lab. The next place they were on was the roof. "[bg=#FF0000]That's always fun,[/bg]" Rock said sarcastically with a shaking it off motion. "[bg=#000000]I dunno,[/bg]" Wit said, "[bg=#000000]kinda makes you wonder what happens.[/bg]" Mind smiled faux sinisterly, "[bg=#FFFF00]I place you in my head for safe keeping.[/bg]" Charge stretched with a relieved yawn, "[bg=#FF00FF]That's why it feels so warm and tight.[/bg]" The five laughed and then turned back to see Knight and Razorwing. "[bg=#FFFF00]Thanks again,[/bg]" Mind nodded.

[Sandman XI]

Wesley heard an audible wet pop as he was lifted from the room onto the roof. He didn't know it, but Mind had tried to keep him gone. Wesley was a more mentally strong than she thought. He looked over to the group as they conversed. He could tell that they were four lighthearted friends. Did power drive them to such heinous acts? Why? He pondered what they might be up to later on. He received a rather lewd vision of Mind and Razorwing together before it faded to black. Apparently the girl was reading his brain. And the others? He didn't know. He looked to Razorwing and then the crew. Mind winked to Razorwing before the crew blinked away. Wesley looked back to Razorwing. He sighed, "So..."

[ex3lev3n]

Razorwing found himself atop the roof of the office building-turned-drug lab, his mind reeling from the unexpected teleportation. His hand rested across his chest where the Asian girl had touched him, the young vigilante seeming to savor the fleeting sensation of her contact. He dropped his hand to his side and looked to Knight.

"Yeah, about that," he replied. "I'm not sure what to make of them. They don't seem to be wholly evil, though I question their real motives." Razorwing looked past Knight toward Downtown, the lights of the city illuminating the chilly night air. "And they're powerful. Not sure I could have handled that myself if things got ugly," said the dark clad hero in a manner of gratitude to Knight.

[Sandman XI]

"They're mavericks," Wesley said a bit worried. "I think we should keep a watch on them. Especially the girl. I'd say she's the leader." How observant he was, but now little he knew. He smiled a little less worried, "And if anything goes wrong. You got me and I got you." He pulled out a blank business card and wrote the name Knight on it, below that a phone number. "Anytime you need me, just call up."

[ex3lev3n]

Razorwing took the offered card with a nod and placed it in an empty slot in his utility belt, retrieving a zippo-sized commlink as he did so. "Mavericks we can deal with," he said with a half-smile as he offered the piece of equipment to Knight. "I'm always on the job. If you need back-up, just use this."

[Sandman XI]

Wesley nodded and took the commlink. It had been a little over a year since the last time he had one of these. He looked at it with fond memories. After the nostalgia bomb dissipated, he slipped the device in his pocket. "Thanks a lot, man. You don't know how much this means to me. Besides it's much cooler than a cell phone." He chuckled, "Sorry I can't give you a cell phone." He stretched a yawn as a pair of large fluffy angel wings popped out of his shoulder blades. "You got elsewhere to be tonight?" He smiled boastfully, "I'm sure I can get you there faster than any mode of transportation."

[ex3lev3n]

Behind his mask Razorwing's eyes widened at the sight of Knight's majestic wings as they grew from his back. The wingspan of the outstretched wings was incredible, though the young hero wondered if they could produce enough lift to sustain flight.

Well, it's probably cake for him to rework his bone density. I wonder how fast he can go...

He looked past Knight again to the back lit skyline of Downtown Freedom, and a small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"There's something I need to check out in the Fens," he replied to Knight as he took a few paces back, preparing himself for the rush. "Nothing major, but you're welcome to come along..." he sprinted past Knight with incredible speed, "if you can keep up!" he yelled to Knight as he leaped from the roof of the office building. The jump itself took him nearly thirty feet out before Razorwing threw out his arms, a pair of glider wings unfurling from their housings, and the dark clad hero rode along the cold breeze, gliding silently like a shadow over the streets of Riverside.