ic Our Better Angels

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

11:00 PM, Friday May 5th

 

The message had mostly gone to spam in ArchAngel's troubalert app. It was useful to have to find emergencies nearby and usually didn't cause much trouble. However a few of the spammed messages had made it through. 

 

Yo n00b,

We been watching. You probably think you're pretty great huh? Well guess what? You wrong lol. Anyways, we're gonna pull off a crime so 1337 you won't be able to stop us. You mad bro? So n00b you wanna try and stop us? Party on Aspen Drive, gonna be someone's last birthday. Try to stop our mad skillz. We dare you. 

Gonna pwn you,

TR011

 

There was only one party on Aspen street that night. A birthday party. Miss Michelle Sands was turning seventeen and pulling out all the stops. Well so it said on the internet link that had been attached to the message. No parents in one of those huge mansions in the neighborhoods near Claremont. No invitation needed, and if you were over 21 you had better be bringing booze.

[Chimeric]

Annie Sage, psychic Claremont Student with delusions of grandeur sat on her bed, legs straight in front of her with her back stretched comfortably over her soft blue pillows. She was in her room at Claremont, a small private room with a window over looking the nearby woods at the far edge of the campus. It was a great view she found, perfect for quiet study or a reflection on god and classical music. A small slice of peace and heaven in her otherwise traumatic and erratic year. But it wasn’t the view she was contemplating this Friday evening, rarely did she have the time to enjoy it these troubled days. Her weekends had been consumed with an ever increasing hunger for justice, and satiating that hunger came an ever increasing reputation, over the past few weeks ArchAngel was making a name for herself as a new Hero in the Freedom City Superhero scene. 

 

It was only a matter of time before some villain singled her out to make a name for him or herself, probably another new comer looking to establish themselves as she had not crossed paths with anyone who wore a costume or had a cool lair. It was when she was deepest in her thoughts that her phone chirped. She pulled it out of her back pocket, it was her light grey Iphone.

 

Oh! This is the wrong phone. She thought, surprised. Someone was trying to contact her on the mobile phone she got specifically for the use of her super ego ArchAngel. The public personification of her private secret, that she was an Angel sent here to earth to right the wrongs of the wicked! Her super hero mobile phone was a matching bright gold Iphone. Much to her dismay no one had contacted her personally since she started super-heroing, she felt like her lack of popularity stretched from one life to the other. This was the first time someone reached out to her and she couldn’t help but be excited when she opened up the message.

 

Yo n00b,

We been watching. You probably think you're pretty great huh? Well guess what? You wrong lol. Anyways, we're gonna pull off a crime so 1337 you won't be able to stop us. You mad bro? So n00b you wanna try and stop us? Party on Aspen Drive, gonna be someone's last birthday. Try to stop our mad skillz. We dare you. 

Gonna pwn you,

TR011

 

She clenched her phone infuriated, she was indeed mad at the Troll. She was  ArchAngel and she did not like being trolled, she spent the last few weeks beating up bank robbers saving cats from burning buildings and the rest. Who was this trickster? She wanted to dismiss the insult off hand, she’d like to believe someone who’d single her out might have some suaveness or ability, but she needed to treat this threat seriously, regardless of the issuers lack of class or tact. She sighed, sometimes she felt so out of place in her generation. She couldn’t wait to grow up. She pressed her finger on the smart phone glass and opened up the attached link. 

 

 

Huh… So close. This address was just about a mile away, she could fly over there in a heartbeat. She decided that whoever had sent her this threat may know who she is, or at least that she was a Claremont Student. She got up from her bed and slipped on her white sneakers that were always tied, she grabbed a new grey zip up hoody she purchased recently and tied an orange bandana around her neck. 

 

There was an ever growing need for a costume, especially if she was going to avoid getting trolled in the future. She fumbled with her one window for a moment before getting it open and then took flight. She used her telepathy to conceal herself from onlookers, but in all likeliness the Claremont security system had been picking her up for weeks now. She flew low, just over trees and houses. Thirty or forty feet above civilians in their backyards cooking barbecue, her concealing ability working wonders. She landed a block from the Aspen Street mansion, easing her psionic focus away from her concealment powers so she appeared again as herself. She would approach the party on foot.

[Kolohehonu]

PC

 

Tyson Masters looked over the message again. He had his costume in a small backpack, and approached the entire situation with care. Whoever was doing this was a killer, and probably didn't care if there was collateral damage. He strode up to the party on foot. As he saw people getting out of their cars he realized that shirt, tie, and slacks was way overdressed. Oh well, nothing to do about it now. Last thing he needed was to have to go into this situation as a costumed super hero.

 

It would be like the cops coming and knocking. 

 

In any case, Tyson made a quick lap around the building. It was a mansion and already he could hear the loud music playing and the lights flashing through drawn curtains. At the speed he was going he was effectively invisible. He approached the front door, where people were coming in and checked, it seemed exclusively for weapons. Tyson smiled and ran over to a quieter side of the building and vibrated his molecules. He and his costume slipped right into the mansion. 

 

Betcha didn't see that one coming. 

 

 

[Chimeric]

Once Annie reached the estate grounds she realized how big this party was going to be, the huge home was bursting with bright color and reverberating with intense music, she folded into an irregular stream of people walking into the mansion’s oak mouth. She was impressed and jealous, there was a security detail here checking people as they entered. Who the hell was ‘Miss’ Michelle Sands? Annie fumed silently as she waited in line, she had her own seventeenth birthday in an AEGIS safe house after her parents were killed. The burly and surly guardian of the Sands Mansion party, a bouncer in black, put up a hand as he relayed to Annie his mission.

 

“I need to check you for weapons.” He said with perfunctory duty. Annie was a tall young woman and the bouncer towered over her.

 

“No you don’t. I’m ‘good’.” She said softly, her hand flowed in front of her gently like she was channeling the force. She really didn’t want this bulking security guy touching her.

 

“You’re good.” He affirmed and stepped aside. She entered briskly and was immediately stunned by the roaring noise, the endless lights and the masses of people. It was going to be next to impossible to find this real life Troll. On the upside, she was more blended in than ever. She pulled her grey hood over her brown head of hair and proceeded to wade through humans into the depths of the party. She was using her psychic senses and ESP to keep a watch of the entire party, she didn’t think it prudent to start randomly probing peoples minds but at least she could begin to search for something or someone out of place.

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

Annie's behavior earned her a suspicious glance from the other three bouncers at the door. But they let her pass. If one of their peers said she was ok, why argue? When she passed through the doors she was hit by the sound and the fury of it all. Strobe lights pulsed, music throbbed and at least fifty people were hanging around refreshments. 

 

Off to her left she could see a dance floor with almost a hundred people having a good time. The dj had a box on his head which pulsed out patterns via the screens on the faces. He was in the middle of the mob of people standing on a small tower of speakers. 

 

Tyson found himself in the same room. It wasn't difficult for the young speedster to blend in. It was dark, except for the strobing lights and the whole place was covered in fog. He saw drugs being passed, and people slipping off to be by themselves. Not his concern. 

 

As Annie scanned the room she noticed two dead spots. Two places where she could see a mind should be there but got static. One was the DJ a flat dead silence. The other was a shimmering deflection, a young lady who was flanked by two of the same guards as the door had. Then there was a third mind. A mind like crackling lightning, it burst with energy and was running at a pace unlike anyone else in the place. There were Speedsters at Claremont, and this was a fairly swift moving if highly erratic mind.

 

Annie and Tyson also caught sight of a few people, slightly older than most of the crowd, lounging about. To the untrained eye they wouldn't have made any impression. But Annie and Tyson both saw what looked like guns of some sort, tucked away. A few also had batons of some sort. They were laughing and hanging out with the rest. Seemingly at ease.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Kolohehonu

[Chimeric]

There was a lot of security in this place, maybe they knew they were being targeted by this ‘Troll’ or maybe they were the trolls. Annie felt off balance amidst the sea of people, she felt adrift in the situation and confused.

 

How do people even enjoy these ~things~? She wondered frustrated by the roar of voices, the abyss like infinity of feelings and thoughts. The voices were alone were enough, but there was so much static below the surface here. She was pushed back and forth in the moving of the crowd as she pushed herself through to the dance floor.

 

I should… try to blend in, I guess. She pulled her orange bandana over her mouth and nose. Her current costume, a hoodie and a colorful bandana was both convenient for poorly hiding her identity and a nifty rave get up. She swayed left and right to the lights and the oppressive beat, unable to avoid feeling a wave self consciousness. She eyed the drugs being passed around, and felt disgusted. She felt like she was sinking into this quagmire of sinners and sodomites. The fear that she alone would be singled out as someone with a pure heart terrified her.

 

Righteous. This DJ has no mind, has he a soul? A chill crept up her spine and goosebumps extended along her arms. A most evil omen if there was one. She sensed the shimmering deflection of the fortified mind of a young woman being flanked by bodyguards.

 

Huh.. could that be Miss Michelle Sands? She assumed that the party was the target of some Troll, she was expecting it to be a vain but harmless teenage affair,  she wasn’t expecting the armed guards and defiant or empty minds. 

 

Am I in over my head?  She then felt a cognitive blur, like a sentient hummingbird flowing through the crowd, displacing constantly. There was someone here moving so fast that they could be beyond the touch or sight of mortals. She looked around now, subtly peering through the crowd hoping to get a glance at whoever this was. 

 

This speedster, is he part of this parties extensive security? If that’s the case then why all the armed guards, if this individual could take them out in between a blink… Is he another super hero? Is he the ‘Troll’? She had to find out, she reached out to him, just with communication at first, but she decided to go deep. She couldn’t take any chances.

 

“Who are you?” She asked telepathically her voice was both eery and strong, and then she was probing deeper into his mind, deeper into what lay below it, she had to understand what he was, and what made him tick.

 

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

Annie peeled back the layers of the speedster's mind. It was what could be described as racing, but everything a speedster did could be described that way. It was like standing in a sandstorm thoughts flashing and racing faster than even the speedster could keep up with. 

 

The question opened up a whole slew of images. A black and green super suit with a silver H on it. A red and orange suit with two golden S's on the chest. Hyperactive and Summer Son. She saw the image of the man in the black and green suit standing beside other heroes. She also saw the same message she had received flash through his mind. 

 

"Ok. Telepath. That's {unexpected}." Tyson thought. The thought of unexpected was a slew of other thoughts, positive, negative, frustrated, excited. Unexpected was a word, and it seemed like the speedster wanted to use every connotation at once. "I'm Hyperactive,m and if you'd like to talk I'd rather do it the old fashioned way." Hyperactive moved off to the side exiting the room. "I'm here to stop a supervillain. If you're it, well we can settle this without anyone else getting hurt."

[Chimeric]

Annie moved back and forth to the repressive 2/2 beat and electronic distortion, she was pensive. She was glad another hero had joined her, and that boosted her confidence, but she still didn’t fully trust or have faith in Hyperactive’s abilities… Although she didn’t sense any reason not to trust Hyperactive when she probed his mind, he appeared to be a good man. She acknowledged that if it weren’t for her abilities, that she probably wouldn’t trust anyone. She made a decision, she was going to work with this Speedster.

 

“I am here for the same reason HyperActive, I am sorry that you’d rather talk in person… but this is much safer. In time we can talk face to face.” The voice echoed inside of Hyperactive’s mind, it felt softer than before, more feminine. Annie felt a connection with the young man, that always happened when she looked into someone’s mind. She couldn’t resist empathizing, she still couldn’t shake the feeling of Professor Psion’s invasive psychic presence.

 

“I’m ArchAngel. What do you know about this super villain? I’m here because I got a text on my Iphone.” She sent another psychic message and afterwords prayed it didn’t make her look like a rank amatuer.

[Kolohehonu]

PC

 

"I can respect that." Hyperactive responded. "Whoever this guy is, he's been blowing up my YouTube channel and all sorts of videos of me." Yeah Hyperactive was vain. It had been an aggravating blow to his pride. He'd taken down as many of the comments he could, but there were still quite a few floating around. Yeah he wanted to put this guy down.

 

"I'm sorry for being guarded. I'm not used to telepathy, none of my colleagues have that skill set." He sighed to himself. Yet another power that the Warriors did not have on the roster. It was also one he was instantly glad not to have there. "Have you figured out who Miss Sands is? Haven't had much of a chance to look around just yet. Security is also weirdly high for a seventeenth birthday party." 

[Chimeric]

“It’s okay…” She didn’t want to probe any deeper into Hyperactive’s mind, but she had the feeling he might of been thinking something much ruder than what he relayed to her. She learned that beyond finding out if someone was trustworthy their private thoughts were best kept to themselves, people thought all kinds of things and probing into their minds was a great way to wind up hurt, in more ways than one. She made a mental note of his mention of colleagues, that was something she would follow up on when the situation allowed it. She had more pressing matters to attend to.

 

“Hold on, there is a woman here who might be Miss Sands. Let me check.” ArchAngel turned her attention towards the young woman with the shimmering mind being flanked by security. She gulped, she had never seen a mind like this one before. She did not know whether it was just protected or something else entirely and she was anxious. She steadied her posture in the crowd of dancing teenagers and twenty-somethings and extended her piercing mental gaze into the mind of the young woman, she was looking to find out who she was.

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

Looking into Miss Sands' mind was like trying to listen to radio when you were just outside of range. It was staticky and Archangel felt like she was getting feedback of other people's thoughts.

 

Well the security seems ridiculous but daddy insisted. I wish I could slip these guards! There's so many cute boys but it's a little hard to do any flirting when you have two bouncers hovering over you. Came a clear burst of thought. She laughed and smiled st a few other girls who came and chatted before lying about needing to talk to someone else. Daddy's overreacting we get threats all the time. This I'm sure is nothing different. 

[Chimeric]

She must be wearing something to protect her mind, or maybe she has a latent metahuman ability. Who is her father? I wonder if he received a similar threat from the ‘Troll’. ArchAngel pondered the situation, she did not like the fact that there were gunmen on the sidelines who were watching for trouble. She was afraid that some of these innocent kids would get hurt, this situation could get out of hand very quickly if the Troll made his move. What was the Troll’s game plan? He alerted everyone, the father, the two superheroes, he must know that there would be a response. Maybe he was planning on it.

 

 ArchAngel was standing in the crowd of dancing teens and flashing lights, her eyes went from watching the crowd to resting on the DJ. It was hard to get a good look at him, his was the last unusual mind in the room. Was he another Superhero in disguise? More security? Was he part of the threat? ArchAngel maneuvered through the dancing crowd to get closer to the DJ. She wanted be closer to him, if he was a threat she’d like the chance to put herself between him and the crowd.

 

“Hyperactive, Miss Sands is being guarded by two bouncers. All of this security was hired by her father.  I’m not picking up any mental activity from the DJ. Be on guard.” ArchAngel sent a telepathic message HyperActive’s way. When she got as close to the DJ as she reasonably could in the crowd, she put her hands up in the area with the rest of the partiers and began to hypnotically rise and fall to the music. Never taking her eyes off his elusive figure she proceeded to probe his mind, if it existed, for an identity.

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

There was nothing. Looking into the DJ there was nothing. Archangel peered straight through the DJ. He was an empty shell. There was nothing there. 

 

Suddenly the music changed. It got quieter leaving just the throbbing base. The DJ held his hands up and the platform, which was already a small tower went up a few more feet. 

 

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Who's having a good time?" There was a roar of applause. The voice was distorted and mechanical like someone was using a computer vocalizer. "Well we need to thank the lady of the evening Miss Michelle Sands! Look what that good old Sands Construction money can buy! Well Miss Sands, why don't you join me here for a special announcement?" Suddenly there was another music shift and part of the crowd... parted. There was a path for Miss Sands to walk right up to the tower.

[Chimeric]

    A robot! ArchAngel was shocked, the DJ looked so life like. She tightened her fists and was tempted to send him flying through a wall. This must be the troll! She did not send him flying, she realized she did not have all the pieces to this puzzle. She did not understand what he was after just yet or if anyone else was working with him.

    Where was Hyperactive? She mused. She kept her disguise up and stayed with one half of the crowd as they parted leaving a walkway to the stage for Miss Sands. She decided to warn her.

    “I am ArchAngel, I’m here to protect you. Do not approach the stage. You need to shut down the party and get all of your guests out.” She sent a telepathic message to Miss Sands, she hoped it would work. Her primary goal was to avoid any innocent casualties.

[Kolohehonu]

"That's my cue." Tyson muttered. Moving a crowd like that, yeah no that was not just charm. In a flash of motion Hyperactive swapped into his costume. He locked the face shield in place. In a burst of speed he was right in the gap. 

 

"Alright as much as I love a good beat." Hyperactive took in the eyes of the people around. Those who had moved looked either glassy eyed or confused. "I think that one earned a beating. You're the Troll aren't you?" Hyperactive flipped one of his coins and caught it. 

 

"Well guess you caught on n00b." The screens on the DJ's face all switched to various troll face memes. "But I happen to have another trick up my sleeve. Let's turn this party into a real rager." He spun a dial and the bass kicked out a pounding rhythm... 

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

There was a definite and nigh instant change. The crowd looked angry. The DJ bot leapt straight down in front of Hyperactive. It slammed a fist into a palm. The faces of the helmet turned red. 

 

"Gonna pwn u n00b." 

 

Archangel found herself no more than fifteen feet from where Hyperactive was. As crazy as that was, the people with weapons drew them and... handed them off. They passed them into the very angry crowd. The guards and bouncers also drew weapons, leveling them at one another. 

 

While Miss Sands looked afraid and not angry, the two body guards both went for their guns. They looked at her glaring. 

Edited May 9, 2017 by Kolohehonu

[Chimeric]

This is bad! ArchAngel looked around her, the faces of the crowd were twisted into masks of rage. She could sense Miss Sands being cornered by her two now infuriated bouncers. She did not have to rely on her danger sense or psychic awareness to know that she was in trouble, her mental defenses would have protected her from the DJ’s music and that made her a target. 

 

“Righteous!” ArchAngel levitated out of the crowd quickly and flew over their heads towards Miss Sands, she furrowed her brow and focused on one of the bouncers. She was going to try and make him go flying into the other, hopefully taking two birds out with one stone.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Chimeric

[Kolohehonu]

GM

 

Hyperactive kicked into overdrive. He lashed out with a series of kicks at the Droid, but that wasn't his pressing concern. He was going to try and shield Miss Sands. He flipped backwards out of reach of the Droid, watching the slow motion brawl about to break out. He turned on his heels. In a flash of speed he was in position in case ArchAngel didn't get the guards away in time. 

 

There re was a blast of gunfire as both guards fired at Miss Sands. Hyperactive being in the way threw the aim off one, but the second squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit right in Miss Sands stomach and she fell backwards to the ground. Before Hyperactive could react the DJ leapt across the crowd to him and landed in a three point landing. 

 

"Enjoying the party? It's quite the killer." The DJ went for a haymaker at Hyperactive, but just barely missed, shattering the masonry where the Speedster had been standing. The droid shook the hand off and set himself up for a fight as the riot grew all around the young heroes.