The Gala

Black slid out of the bathroom and came face to face with a man who seemed quite under dressed for the occasion as he left the bathroom. "Get out of here bro." he said patting the man's shoulder and walking past. Peeking out around the corner he watched the man floating above the guests which had been corralled into the center of the room by a handful of robots. "Doesn't seem that tough" he whispered to himself, sizing up the man he floated above the face in the crowd he was wielding some kind of weapon but that looked like it was it. Turning the corner from the area where the bathrooms where BlackOut created a ball of electricity in his hand sparks showered down from his hand bounceing to the floor and disappearing from view.

"You guys always know how to ruin a party don't you" He called out from across the room drawing the gaze of the villain. "So do we really have to fight or is there anyway I can convince you to ya know just leave? Honestly I'm really not in the for this at the moment." Black stood striking his best hero-esque pose, the ball of electrical energy swirled around his outstretched palm "So whats it gonna be?" he said raising an eyebrow daringly though the gesture was probably lost due to his mask. He then flung the ball of energy past the the man missing intentionally, it sailed crashing into the wall above the stage splashing against the wall and turning into a shower of sparks, it was more of a warning shot than anything.

Ashley paced back and forth in the large conference room tapping her fingers nervously on the large table in the center of the room. Pandemonium never loans itself to subtlety; why would it today? The calamity echoed through the halls reminding Ashley of the danger she faced. That machine looked amazing, and performed impossible feats. Feats that could change the balance of power forever, if only she could get that secret and perfect it herself. She could already harness molecules in the environment, but this was different. If she could change molecules, change DNA, change biological beings, the power she would possess would elevate her above all others.

And now here she was. The girl who sought to be the most powerful being in the world, dragging her nails across a boardroom table out of fear. The room grew smaller around her as the door leading out became more pronounced to her. A tip-tap of a heel against a smooth floor accompanied the black-dressed girl across the room. Her trembling hand moved the handle of the door open and she opened the door to walk into the hallway of the third floor of the complex. Thoughts of past experiences with heroism still lingered down the hall to the elevator. If she took the elevator to the second floor, she could escape from a safe distance. Her finger jabbed at the '1' button. First floor, here she came. A ding ringed out at the second floor as the electronic number changed. Ashley took in her environment with closed eyes.

With no breaths to spare, the elevator came to a stop at the first floor. Ashley stepped into the antechamber and surveyed the scene. Shattered ice and scared people. She would need one of those. Atlas definitely shrugged in this event and Ashley saw an opportune time to pick up the pieces. They levitated around her, protecting her and giving her a powerful weapon to use.

"Looks like its my time to really act"He thought to himself in anticipation.With eyes closed he concentrated on every single shard of ice around him.Sighing with satisfaction as they rose.Circling around around him like planets orbiting a sun.Slowly he increased his reach drawing in more shards of ice.Ranging from large to very small.The puddle of water at his feet forming into a ball and rising infront of his face.With all of the ice still levitating around him as he walked up to the man in the mask.
"Looks like fun.Can i join in?"

For a moment, a very immature part of Clements psyche, the same part that now wiggled and squirmed at the back of his brain as if it wanted to pulse its way out of his skull, demanded that there could not be an obstacle in his way because he was too important. Of course he wasn’t. Any man or... Monster in this case, should understand that nothing is too important and that there will always be some obstacle in your way.

He turned a camera towards the voice, which seemed to stand outside of the bathroom. He must have changed, simply for the occasion. Still without turning, he watched the energy on the Costumed man’s hand. He watched the sparks and wondered if he was creating heat or energy. And then the miniature arc of lightning actually crossed in front of his eyes. He tasted the heat on the air, felt his hair stand up slightly and practically heard the little clap of thunder that came after the superheated expanding air fell back into itself. He practically smiled when he heard the odd strangled gasps of the crowd below, his head now turning to look at the Hero stood there.

Perhaps he was smiling because he wanted to be stopped, wanted someone to strap him down to a dissection table and find what had gone so wrong in his brain. What had crawled its way into his skull. But the thing backseat driving on his shoulders reined that thought in quickly.

He was a moment from speaking, when a door opened and a pretty young woman stepped out of an elevator. He had been watching them solely for the purpose of trying to deter the Security Guards. Out stepped a pretty young woman who seemed at ease with the situation. And then that awful statue, of the indifferent man and his weight made so easy, was reanimated. Shards of ice floated from their position on the floor, making a cold halo of shards. Ah. So there were two Heroes? He could handle that.

And then the Third appeared and Cosmos practically dipped in the air, the way his shoulders slumped and the air escaped him. This one seemed to be doing similar trick with the many slivers of ice left over by our Dear Departed Atlas. He also seemed to be joking with Mr Lightning and His Fist of Wonders. Cosmos lifted his free hand and covered his eyes, still watching them through his security cameras of course, and said softly. “Now what?”

The thought was presented clearly and he immediately disliked it. The mere action alone would cement him in their minds as nothing more than another Madman with disrespect for life. Would that be what he would become? A man who would sacrifice the lives of many to save his child? In any other situation, he would have stopped there, dropped his weapon and simply tried to escape. But the machine needed to be disconnected and then loaded onto the Truck waiting at the rear of the building. He would have to find a way to stop them from attacking him and from following...

“Gentlemen, Madam, I don’t suppose I could simply ask that you take a step back let me steal the very large device?” He actually sounded upbeat, but it was false as the Representatives Smile whom had just scurried off back behind the stage. He hardly paused before he sighed out a response, as if the question was rhetorical. “And I wouldn’t expect that explanation behind my motives would be lost. So shall we do something predictable?”

Without waiting, he dived into the crowd below. Using the outer people as a buffer, he landed on his feet and pointed his Ray Gun at the closest man. He put his hands up and immediately, the Doctor threw a disc at his wrist. The thing opened and sealed over his arm, a blue light on its side suddenly turning red. He did this as many times as he could, throwing discs around onto the arms of the Gala goers, while calling out. “I’ve just put a number of explosive devices on the good people here. Move towards them and I will set them off!” He made sure to watch the heroes using the five floating cameras.

Empathy from a man holding hostages? He seemed very discomforted about something other than the confrontation. Not just staring down a three-on-one fight, but a deeper reason. "That's a nice little trick you have there." She spoke over to Deluge. "If things get real bad, real fast, starting throwing ice at him. I'll take care of the rest." Icicles orbited her as she took a step towards the Cosmos. He dove dramatically towards the floor and armed several party goers. Wanting to get closer without harm she allowed her icicles to drop to the ground. She walked towards Cosmos with her hands in the air and came to stand before him. "I don't know why you want it, I don't care either; what I do mind is this device being used by people with small minds. You seem to have a plan, tell me what it is, and if I think it's a good idea I'll help you disconnect that DNA device for you." She spoke with an air of confidence into the severe situation she included herself in. "Otherwise, we can throw down and have some straight up gangsta-shit go down right here and now. But really, who wants that." She kept her hands lifted over her head, as she gave him a look that demanded only one answer.

“I’ve just put a number of explosive devices on the good people here. Move towards them and I will set them off!”

That statement struck Black like a train, sending his stomach plummeting to the floor and leaving his mouth hanging wide open. "Son of a bitch" he muttered to himself his bewildered state transforming into fury. His rage began to bubble to the surface as he stared across the lobby toward the crowd of people. Black clenched his jaw and balled his fist, shaking with anger a bolt of electricity jumped forth from his body involuntarily melting away as it his the floor. His heart pounded filling his ears with the sound of the rhythmic thumping that was steadily increasing in speed. His hands were tied there was nothing he could do which honestly pissed him off more that this man's blatant disregard for the lives of these people.

"You seem to have a plan, tell me what it is, and if I think it's a good idea I'll help you disconnect that DNA device for you." He turned his head to see the woman from earlier who apprently also had superhuman abilities speaking to the man. Those were the only words the BlackOut was able to make out through his anger. Then a the dim voice of reason whispered to his through the fog of emotions that polluted his mind at the moment.

Let him speak it could by you some time. The idea danced through his mind dispelling most of his blind rage and allowing him to think somewhat clearer "Damn it " he growled through his clenched teeth "I'll hear what you have to say." he could not believe what he was saying he was a hero for god sake, he never backed down before and now he was trying to reason with this bastard. He couldn't risk getting any of these people hurt though and he knew that, even if it meant his pride was going to have to take a major blow.

The people scattered away from him, after finding out that the Discs were packed with explosives. The herd tried to avoid those that had been tagged, while also trying to not move away from each other as the Doctor pointed his Ray Gun towards them. He could have laughed, that so many people would act so frightened, while there were three “Heroes” so close. He didn’t, however, because underneath it all he would much rather be doing anything other than this.

Of course, that wasn’t an option.

His cameras, which had been bobbing softly in the air and watching the two Gentlemen and the Lady, watched as one of them stepped forward, towards the crowd. The people parted like a school of fish from a predator, allowing the Doctor to point his weapon at her. Again, he thought she was pretty, but in a platonic way. She made him wonder what his own daughter would grow up to look like. When she spoke, however, he hoped Cassidy Rose would have a different disposition.

"I don't know why you want it, I don't care either; what I do mind is this device being used by people with small minds. You seem to have a plan, tell me what it is, and if I think it's a good idea I'll help you disconnect that DNA device for you. Otherwise, we can throw down and have some straight up gangsta-shit go down right here and now. But really, who wants that."

Clement frowned at her, his tight lips dark under his small black beard. He never liked swearing, especially stemming from women, but that was perhaps a dated outlook. The world had changed and he would have to change with it, but he supposed he would always dislike it when a woman behaved in a crass manner. Unfortunately, Clement would not be spared from more profanity.

"Damn it. I'll hear what you have to say."

One of his hands reached down, taking a small unremarkable detonator from his waist. It was there simply as insurance, because if the sob story he was about to tell would not pluck at the heartstrings of both interested Heroes the Guests would remain his final bargaining chip. He took a step back from the woman, walking instead towards the stage. The gun was trained on the crowd still, but he had things to do. And undoubtedly, the police were almost already circling the building and setting up a perimeter.

“Fine. But I would like to remain uninterrupted.” He paused, levitating slightly into the air before lowering onto the stage, sitting before them, with the Ray Gun resting on his knee. “My name is Ignatius Clement or rather, Dr Cosmos as the Media has been calling me. Recently. Roughly 128 years ago, I came to this universe from another. My home was dying from a rapidly spreading disease that resisted any form of Medicine, so ten of us were chosen to use a prototype Dimensional Doorway. Unfortunately, I was the only one that arrived. I served this country for most of my life. I aided in both world wars where I could, against the marching feet of Fascism and Communism. And in 1945, I met a woman named Julia. She and I would go on to get married and have two children. A boy and a girl, Cassidy Rose and Adam.” Here, he paused, putting the Gun back into its holster before reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose.

“There must have been discrepancies between our DNA. Or it must have been a side effect of my own Genetic Manipulation. We had two children. At the age of ten, they began to develop a number of discrepancies in their Nervous System. Tumours, generally. Or the genes decayed beyond repair. As it happened, major organs began to shut down one by one. If the screams were anything to go by, the pain was excruciating. In an attempt to halt the process, I began work on a pair of Cryogenic Chambers. I completed the first, but the second was taking longer than I expected. I thought my son was stronger... I thought he would hold on as I began the freezing process. But I was wrong.”

He leant back, taking a soft breath. “There was no technology, no way of helping Cassidy Rose. Not on this world, not for... Heh.” He laughed softly, smiling up at the Guests, the Heroes, the whole lobby. It did not reach his eyes. “Not for 66 years. In that same year, I decided I had to return home. Back to the world I abandoned. The project cost millions of my own dollars, funded by the early Clement Industries and within the year I had gone...” Clement paused, as if someone was whispering in his ear, as if someone was encouraging him to keep quiet about certain things.

“I found what I was looking for. And more. And then I had to repair the Door. It took so long. So long, I had to wonder at what would happen to my Cassidy Rose. 47 years, I was kept parted with her, as Julia slowly went mad from the grief of losing both children and finally passed away. When I returned however, the world had changed. Cassidy had become the property of not only the U.S Government but also the property of Clement Industires.” He spat the name, looking in disgust at the lobby. “I had to turn to a life of crime simply to retrieve her. And after that, I couldn’t simply take back my Company and use this machine to its fullest potential.”

He nodded his head towards the Genetic Manipulator, frowning slightly. “So. Who would like to... ‘Throw down and have some straight up gangsta-shit go down right here and now.’ Now, who really wants that?”

With great interest he listened.All of the preconceptions of the good doctor were blown away all at once."How could i stop someone with motives this pure"He said a bit out loud half laughing.Usually when "villans" were out to steal something.It was for some nefarious world enslaving scheme,and yet here this guy was.Doing it all for his precious daughter.He had half a mind to go straight to the man and help him out right now."Do whatever you want.I wont stop you"Sean shrugged as the ice shard around him fell to the ground.Turning in to water as they touched the floor.

"So how does this help you?" Ashley shook her head perplexed. "Are you going to change her DNA to fit in with a more homogeneous build?" She looked around the room to see the people held in stasis by their own fears of the situation. "I won't attempt to understand the technical aspects; you would probably waste both our time if you tried that." She tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "But, once you save your daughter, what next? What do you do? Who will you have become, and can you live with that?" Ashley walked over and jumped onto the stage. "So, you know how to disconnect this thing right? Just tell me what to do and we'll have this thing back at your place in no time. I have a friend I'll call to see if she can help with any of her 'specialties.'" Ashley stood with her hands on her hips without a care in the world as to how the situation looked or what ramifications could come from it.

Black stood his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes trained intently on the villain as his story winded to its conclusion. Black felt some empathy for the man though honestly he could be full of shit for all he knew and he wasn’t exactly comfortable putting all his faith in the sob story of the man holding a room full of hostages. Watching the other two heros react Black weighed his options, going over every one of them in his mind and deciding that the best way to ensure the saftey of the civilians was to he the Dr. disconnect the device. Levitating himself upward from the ground his arms still crossed across his chest Black hovered over the crowd setting himself down on the stage face to face with the Doctor. “I suppose if you are telling the truth and not just trying to manipulate the good nature of a hero… then I could help you…” He said struggling to find the right way to word the statement. “but, you have to let these people go, and I know what you’re thinking what’s to stop me from kicking your ass once they’re out the door?” he held out his own arm looking to Dr. Cosmos. “Slap one of those explosives on my arm and that way if I try to stop you, you blow me to bits. That sound fair?” he smiled, hopefully letting the Dr. know he was sincere.

"Do whatever you want. I won’t stop you.”

The gentleman at the back seemed to bow out of the little dance, the scattered and frozen remains of poor dear atlas dropping from whatever field he could emit. The pretty little crystals were gone when they landed, melting faster then he should have expected. He turned his eye away from him, relieved that at least one of them would not attack him as he began preparations of for the removal of the machine.

"So how does this help you? Are you going to change her DNA to fit in with a more homogeneous build? I won't attempt to understand the technical aspects; you would probably waste both our time if you tried that."

Cosmos turned his head, to the perplexed sounding woman whom he had asked to hear his reasons. He was beginning to like her. She calmed him in a way and would have gotten her an assistant job in any other decade but this one. “To put it simply, I will be using my own DNA to phase out the unaltered genes in her body.” He paused, with a sigh. ”I would have preferred to use Human genes, but with her mother gone...” The doctor hovered up, moving his feet apart and placing them on the stage. Clement cast an eye over the Gala goers.

"But, once you save your daughter, what next? What do you do? Who will you have become, and can you live with that?"

He knew. The answer was presented to him by something using his cranium as a cradle. But the thing wasn’t trying to be helpful. It was simply forcing his hand to lie. ”I can live with anything...” Clement reached a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, mumbling into his wrist. But the thing that the young, pretty woman misunderstood was whether or not he would be happy living it. Sometimes, Right and Wrong no longer matter. What does, however, is survival. And everything that Clement has done, will do from that day after, will come down simply to survival.

"So, you know how to disconnect this thing right? Just tell me what to do and we'll have this thing back at your place in no time. I have a friend I'll call to see if she can help with any of her 'specialties.'"

Clement suppressed the twitch of a smile. He was another step forward. ”Wonderful. First, you’ll need to break the power connections. They should be located at the rear of the stage. And then there are numerous devices linked into the main computer to monitor the entire process. They can be severed. After that, we’ll disengage the Capsule and the Omega Cores and then the main Computer itself, which will make it easier for us to transport when the time comes for it-“ He paused, however, turning his head to the last of the Heroes. He almost completely forgot about him.

The hero had a thoughtful look on his face, like he was weighing up his options. He was a clever man, then, and wouldn’t simply throw his weight around until he got what he wanted. Namely, Clement in a jail cell. He seemed to make up his mind, as he slowly levitated into the air and moved over to the Stage, landing with grace before he began to speak.

“I suppose if you are telling the truth and not just trying to manipulate the good nature of a hero… then I could help you…”

He paused and Clement became worried. If that mistrust had been seeded, there was nothing the good Doctor could do to remove it. It would be a point of contentation between them both, perhaps?

“but, you have to let these people go, and I know what you’re thinking what’s to stop me from kicking your ass once they’re out the door?”

”The thought had barely crossed my mind.” He muttered under his breath.

“Slap one of those explosives on my arm and that way if I try to stop you, you blow me to bits. That sound fair?”

Clement would have laughed in the man’s face within a moment’s breath if not so much was at stake. He could it see it now, the man who manipulated electricity simply overcharging the circuitry on his wrist. It would be completely foolish to put any stock into this act, because it could so easily go wrong. And yet.

”Very well. But only if you allow the Scientists to stay behind. And if you promise that when the time comes for me to take this equipment, you’ll help me escape.” He rose an eyebrow at the Hero, wondering if this would be too much to ask...

"Well?" Ashely fidgeted with the tear in the side of her dress. Threaded fabric came apart even more as she touched it. "How are we going to take apart this apparatus? " Crowd noise dropped from fever pitch to dull roar, only to rise again to frantic panic. Wires ran through the scaffolding and into the device like arteries to an organ; the device itself looked fascinating. So much mystery lie inside this device, and so much possibility for her within it. Fear dissipated, not behind a rush of adrenaline, but behind a selfish desire to further harness the environment around her.

The curvature fit along the palm of her hand. Grazing the shell, she felt so close to what she wanted. "Get those scientist up here to get this show on the road."

"Alright, I can help you escape that shouldn't be to much trouble." Black crossed the stage leaning up against the back wall crossing his arms across his chest again. His gaze shifted from the The Doctor to the crowd of civilians they were still quite panicky and who could blame them If he were in their place he would most likely be feeling the same. "Well you should get to work disconnecting this thing so we can get out of here." Black returned his stare back to the villain on the other side of the stage he still did not trust him. As for the woman he was not not sure what to think of her, but she seemed like she was on his side but he would not let his guard down just yet. "So where are these scientists that I keep hearing about" he joked looking around. He did not see them anywhere and he was quite sure they would not come out to help to help Doctor Cosmos disconnect and take their invention willingly.

The young girl, whom he had yet to inquire about a name, was fidgeting. He saw in her an eagerness that many scientists share, when the troubling morals had been cleared away. They were all children, desperately wanting to pull something apart and find out how it ticked. Then afterwards, they could hope to put it back together again.

“Alright, I can help you escape that shouldn't be to much trouble."

”Wonderful.” He claps his hands eagerly and turns toward the crowd. Reaching for the detonator on his on his belt, he carefully took it and pulled the power cell from the bottom. As he replaced it, he hovered from the stage to the floor. ”Would the Gentlemen and Ladies wearing my fashionable bracelets like to have them removed? Step forward.” As requested, the frightened hostages did. He removed one of his gloves and placed his thumb on a tiny window on the bottom, which opened the Discs. They deactivated after that, before he slid them into his belt. After every one of them had been taken, he smiled softly.

”While it has been wonderful to earn your acquaintance, I would ask that you orderly make yourself a way to the front exit. When leaving, do so slowly, so that the good officers of the NYCPD don’t mistake you for me. And when you are being interviewed for your ten seconds on air, do try to be civil.” As he was talking, the small hovering security bots moved from the exits towards the rear of the stage, bobbing happily in the air. The squirreled away scientists were on screen. As they looked grim and upset, the rest of the Gala goers scurried away. Clement turned to the Superhero and the Heroin whom wanted to help him and floated back up onto the stage. As he walked towards the left, he stopped in front of the Gentleman.

He took out a disc and gave it to the man. “Please, wear it. Just to cement the trust.”

Afterward it had left his hand he walked down the stairs. Back here, a bank of monitors and a group of men in white coats greeted him. Elizabeth Jules also seemed back here, tapping a foot and looking impatient. Clement stopped and turned to look over his shoulder and calling out, ”Miss, would you like to come and help, please?”

So, it this was a company affair now. Ashley felt replaced by the new wave of engineers and scientist to the platform. Cosmos spat off some idle chatter with his former colleagues. She could hardly care about the irrelevant payback. This machine needed her attention; she needed the secrets it possessed.

Reality came back in the sound of clattering heels along a metal scaffolding. "Let's get to work. This man's waited long enough." The dark part of her statement rang in the fact that she truly believed it. She actually cared about this man. Her weakness showed like the unrepairable hole in her dress. "We need to know what it is you're doing; don't just unplug stuff without telling me." Authority bellowed in a tenor through the scaffolding. Her small frame standing upon a pedestal of her own aspirations.

BlackOut took the disc from Cosmos inspecting it for a moment before placing it on his wrist. "Snug fit" he said opening and clenching his fist. He was fairly certain he could short it out if need be but he was a man of his word for now. Besides he had no real intention of being killed if he couldn't disable the device. Black watched as the good doctor left the stage to address the scientists the woman followed soon after.

Sighing he floated off the ground again levitating toward the crowd of civilians ensuring that they made it out of the building safely. He watched from above, there seemed to be no problems as the filed out of the building slowly and orderly. Black could see the lights of dozens of emergency vehicles flashing from outside the building. The colored lights splashed against the windows as though they were making sure that everyone inside knew were there. Though Black knew they would never dare enter the building, not in a hostage situation. Honestly even if the did they would probably just get in his way.

As the last hostage stepped out the door Black returned to the stage, he sat down on the edge of the raised platform. His eyes shifting back to Cosmos, the woman and the scientists as the began to disconnect the device. "So how long is this gonna take" he said turning his eyes back to the now empty and trashed lobby.