An Immortal Man's Monument

Dust flew around the calamitous site. The small girl seemed ready to act on Ashley's plan, but needed to know the details. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Ashley lowered her head to get her message across to Alice. "I trust you, because you're not running away." Ashley surveyed the area to look for the tools to make her trap. "We need to attract that thing to the Reflecting Pool, but first we need to set the trap. I doubt whatever military they mustered up is the A-team of the military."

Hydraulic ligaments roared an impending doom to the military marching into the gates of Hell. The distinct form of the machine lingered against the cloud; it appeared to stumble and fall, but regained it's stature. The police yelled along the chaotic atmosphere, urging all to get back. With the police leaving, the escape routes would clog quickly and create a blocked passageway. That passageway would trap all the fleeing civilians and leave them helpless to the giant robot. Only a stupid plan with almost no chance of hope could save them now.

Ashley kept pressing the air around her to try and grant them some clarity. "We need to get some way of channeling those power generators into the pool. If we can take the main lines from wherever they're plugging into, we can create a large enough backlash in the pool to short circuit that machine." The chaos presented more of a veil than the dust. They would need all the help they could get to pull off Ashley's hack-job plan, but it looked better than running aimlessly and getting run over by a tank. "Do you think you can crawl under that stage to disconnect the wires hooked into main circuit?"

People were shouting and diving out of the way as a wall of green painted steel rolled onto the National Mall. It did not care. Civilians were not meant to be targeted unless there existed no other targets, and around it, a number of targets were arriving, each equally vying for his attention. And above him, a military chopper circled again and again, its shadow running rings around the crash site, the machine and the rubble that once stood as a monument. From inside one of the M1 Abrams, a driver requested that the bird overhead lower itself down and blow some of the dust and gas from out of the way.

The pilot, unsure about how the machine would react, did a low drop run. The Robot looked up as it came close, but did not move, its eyes following the body as the dust and gas was thrown into the wind and carried away from the small area that had now been set up about him. There were five tanks, two on the north side towards Congress Avenue and three others behind the Robot, stopping him from heading east. They seemed to have the same ideas as two participants in the crowd, to try and herd him towards the reflective pool, in between the line of long buildings. Most likely turn the whole area into a killing floor if it showed the least tendency of violence.

The manoeuvres they pulled were quite impressive. Four tarped trucks, nose to bumper, sat between him and Independence Avenue. There were hummers lining up too, machines with large wheels and even larger guns resting in their backs. Of course, they kept their distance. A good 50 feet away in all directions, while crowded up people jostled and tripped between the vehicles. Slowly the machine closed its large metal fists and looked up.

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”Oh, wow, Daddy. That’s a lot of soldiers. Do you think there’ll be any cuties?” Cassidy Roses’ voice carried over the deserted roof of the National History Museum.

Clement sighed into his helmet, raising a gloved hand and placing it over his masked face, the metal helmet fitting quite comfortably over his head as he wondered whether that was a fragment of his daughter cooing at soldiers, or the horrible thing in her head simply playing more games with the man. From the mirth he could feel in his head, overflowing from hers, he assumed it was one of the creatures little jokes. ”No, Cassidy, I do not think there will be any cuties pointing guns at my multi-million dollar machine.” She pouted, but Clement ignored it as he accessed software locked away in the helmet, trying to shake loose some of the cobwebs from the testing phase and make sure his suit was at one hundred percent.

As he worked, he casually hacked into the transmissions from the military, listening closely for any indication that they planned on firing without standing around and looking troubled first. They did not, luckily for them. [color=black]”Daddy, can I go play with the big metal man, please?”[/color=black] Cassidy Rose jumped on her toes, her face hidden by the almost identical metal helmet. Hers had none of the upgrades Clements did of course, but she was amused simply by the light on the front and the way it felt snugly on her head. Clement did a brief test run on both of his gloves. The left emitted a soft whine as he played with the amplification, while the other made a small flat shield on the back of his hand. He hefted it, like a shield, the hexagonal object light and bright in his hands. Beside him, Cassidy Rose flexed the durable material, knowing full well that she would be the one running into a spray of bullets and punching the machine head on. Although of course, the fight would be staged.

”Ready daddy?” The young girl asked eagerly, glancing over to him. Cosmos sighed softly as he raised his hand, his finger tips twitching gently at the helicopter as it circled above their “toy.”

What lengths a man would go to for his family.

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The steady thrum, thrum, thrum of the helicopters rotors died suddenly above the clattering sounds of engines and hydraulics within the wall of metal. It seemed to suck the sound with it, as eyes were suddenly cast upwards. Inside, a pilot briefly shouted a mayday as the thing fell like a coin dropped from a window, nose down and tail drifting out. From its perch in the sky it fell toward the robot, as if programmed to do so, its large metal stomach curving slightly as the pilot pressed his hand towards the glass and called for help.

With a speed that seemed impossible for the creature of such size and such obvious clumsiness, the robot lifted two large metal hands. The helicopters body buckled under its own weight, but the large metal hands simply sunk further into the body as the pilot and his passengers were jolted back and forth. A stunned silence settled over the soldiers as they glanced nervously at each other and began some soft chatter, as the machine simply stood; propping up the helicopter like it was lifting weights. Then, with a grind of old servos and motors, it opened its legs, turned it’s body and threw the heavy thing to the left, it’s body rolling over the upturned earth and in between the barricade of jeeps, trucks and tanks. It came to a stop with a crash, its panels creaking with distress a it’s blades lay crumpled and broken around it.

The order to fire on it was made a moment later.

Alice stared at Ashley as she told her the details of her plan to stop the giant robot and protect the lives of the "innocent" civilians. It was a stupid and nearly impossible plan... but it was a plan nontheless. Hey, if he succeeded, problem solved. If it didn't.... well... hopefully, it'd be good enough to allow the citizens to escape. Alice took a shaky breath before nodding, "Yeah... I can do that." Then, a military chopper started to go in, catching her attention. She watched as it flew in close to the robot before flying away, probably gauging how fast the thing could react. As that happened, a good, stout wind blew in, removing the dust and gas that was limiting vision.

She couldn't help but stare at the military force gathered, while Alice knew it wasn't THAT impressive... it was the most troops she had seen in her life. The civilians were all smushed together between the many viehicles, obviously trying to get out of here. The tanks were herding the Robot towards the pool... yeah... there was a lot going on. Her thoughts were nearly schizophrenic as she processed it all.

Suddenly.... the helicopter simply stopped working, dropping out of the sky. "Aw crud." Alice thought, watching as it feel towards the robot... this was not going to be good. The next event surprised her even more, as the robot moved with unexpected speed, lifting it's arm up so the helicopter fell into it's hands. It was still for a moment, and for a second, the image of someone lifting weights flashed into Alice's head. But then, the situation crumbled as the robot THREW the helicopter to the ground, leaving the once proud machine a crumpled mess. Seeing this as a sign of hostility, the military started firing. "Aw FUCK!" She quickly dove to the ground on instinct, hoping that no stray bullets would come their way. At that point, HE decided to add some input.

"You do realize you have powers..."

"... shut up."

Another laugh sounded in her head. Despite that though, Alice didn't get up. She looked around for Ashley, hoping... well... just hoping. She wasn't sure for what.

The crashing of metal and rutters created a hurricane of dust and shrapnel. Ashley ran to protect Alice from the storm that flew towards her. She threw her force forwards to divert the rutters from slicing through the duo. The dust arced around them, providing them with cover from the whirling dust. This would work to their advantage; if they cannot see, they cannot shoot. "I'll keep you protected from any debris."

The calamity distracted her from the attempted plan she developed. A bright sun and open skies, hid behind a cover of dust. "Let's get to that platform so we can get some sort of cover." Military arsenals burst forward the machine. Ashley ran for the platform under the roaring barrage.

She cut through the environment like Moses with a purpose. Her hand gripped against the dust-laden bar of the scaffolding, as she hurled herself under the platform. Her feet tumbled forward, as her head narrowly avoided an overhead beam. A cavalcade of wires and electronics lay scattered before her. She scanned the area, and moved towards the main power outlet to trace the source. Ashley followed the path to where the power cords stopped. A large breaker stood in isolation from the shadowed grass around it. This breaker would feed directly into the power grid of the central metropolis, but she could not ascertain with certainty how much power the outlet could provide.

The crowds stumbled in chaos through the cloudy area. She did not know if she outran her friend or not. She decided to light a beacon to the crowds. She lightly focused her energy to grow out a pulsing movement of molecules. A light touch would keep the vibration from hurting anyone, while giving a path for people to see; inside the path stood Ashley, holding out her arms with all of her strength with the fervor and compassion of a saint.

Safeties were slipped back and shells were slid into place. The cloud of dry earth thrown up by the crashed helicopter was enough to stop the tanks from firing blindly, afraid they’d hit each other in the confusion. However, a number of the soldiers had a keen idea where the thing would be by the flash of its eyes. The sound of gunfire was deafening in the little corral they had built, with the muzzles flashing dangerously. People screamed in panic as bullets whizzed above their head. Many scrambled over the machines blocking them off, but even more simply weren’t able to make their way through the crowds without being trampled. The sound of bullets bouncing off metal echoed over their scream as the great big creature in the dust moved towards the closest tank.

While it left a flurry in the dust, a funnel was made close by. The crowd stopped trying to claw its way over metal and ran towards the stage, ducking under the wild gun fire that traced after the machine. There was a pause as the pilot of the tank called out that the regular sound of metal repelling bullets was now on his armour, and not on the robots.

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”And the bait has been taken. Good. Cassidy, go help those soldiers.” Clement turned his head just in time to see his daughter bounce up onto the precipice of the building and then dive down to the street below. She did a roll as she hit the pavement, before running at full sprint towards the cloud of dust. She moved much faster than the trucks had previously, and in her wake she left deep imprints in the dry soil of the park. As he watched her leap over the trucks into the middle of the battle he activated his antigravity engine and rose above the building. How far he had come, it seemed. No longer a man devoted to science, but one to warfare and trickery.

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The Union’s Star paused as it crouched behind the flank of the tank. Sliding its large metal hands under the tread, it pulled upwards. Metal groaned in its limbs as hydraulics pumped into its hands and biceps, ensuring that it wouldn’t simply twist its arms from its chest. The pilot shouted something inaudible as he was shifted in his seat. The robot struggled at first to lift it, but it was only a matter of leverage. Squeezing the last out of his system he finally had the thing resting on its side, wobbling dangerously as one hand kept it straight. The Star paused as it heard the engines of jeeps rev to life and pull backward. Soon, heavy chain guns would be pinning him against the bottom of the tank, unless it could begin moving before...

It paused, looking towards the north, its eyes resting on the dome of a house painted all in white. Its programming shifted, and self preservation was put behind it as it moved at high speeds toward the presidential home, large mechanical legs making a sound like a steam train warming up. Behind him, two large military jeeps swung around and opened fire, aware only at the last second that they were soon going to run into a line of innocent civilians.

Alice quickly ran after Ashley, ducking the whole way. She quickly slid under the platform, sighing in relief at the relative safety it provided. As she rested, she noticed that Ashley was heading outside again. Alice stared, starting to stop her when Ashley suddenly lit up like a beacon, lighting the way for civilians. "Wonderful plan... " A few moments later, a lot more people were crawling under the stage. "Ok... scuse me, scuse me... sorry!" she finally pushed her way out of the growing clump of civilians. She quickly took stock of the situation, military shooting blind? Check. Robot with tank... "Wait TANK!?" She watched in horror as it held the heavy veihicle up in the air, "Damn..."

That's when the situation got even worse. The robot started to run towards the white house, and as two military jeeps rushed to stop the thing, they unwittingly set their path towards a group of civilians. "Fuck..." she started running towards the impending disaster but she knew that she would never make it in time. "Why am I so weak?" she thought, realising that the collision was too far away for her powers to reach well. Silently, she begged SOMETHING to give her strength.

"So you want the power to save these people... at what price?"

"Anything." she said, the image of the dead hostages flashing in her mind again... "Never again...." she thought, determination filling her.

The voice seemed to smirk before disappearing into the recesses of her mind. She felt dispair filling her before she suddenly noticed that the cuff was... glowing? She then realized that she felt... something... before she could analyze though, she realized that the collision was about to happen. Throwing up her hands and pushing outward., she summoned a wave of shadows originating from either side of the civilians, heading towards the jeeps. The gunk would hopefully stop the jeep without harming the people inside.

Bullets flew all around her. She thrust all of her meager power around her to push against the dust and debris that littered the air around her. Sweat dripped down from her brow and ran across her cheek. She spared her fair skin the nastiness of the dirt that lined the escaping civilians. No one stopped to take notice of the young girls sacrifice and courage; even the girl see hoped to team up with escaped from her sight.

Loose rocks and kicked up dirt erupted from cannon shell geysers. Breaking the barrier of encompassing dust, a robot swirled the cloud into the vacuum created by its movement. The loud screeching of bullets assaulting the metal chasis his their approach. Their engines roared through the calamity. Ashley began to move the air around her in a vortex to attempt to change the direct path of the jeeps, knowing she could not muster enough power to halt the jeeps entirely. Her power offered her enough to change the trajectory of the outside jeep, keeping it on par with the automaton, but failed to change the path of the jeep on a collision course with the stage.

Before the jeep could collide with the stage, a jean clad figure walked from the scattered masses with a dirt clogged hoodie. She lifted her hands towards the jeep and hoped to send enough force into the bottom of the jeep to catapult it over the stage and safely into the back of the Union Stars leg. A red bandanna hid any smirk that came to Bliss's face, but the look on her face let Ashley know exactly what she wanted to tell her.

A wall of black goo seemed to grow from the earth before the civilians. The drivers didn't know how this was about to plan out; if they hit it could be soft and would just rock the Jeeps. For one of the drivers, the question was never answered, as the front of his vehicle was pushed by an invisible force which sent him around the clump of escaping people. As they pulled onto the long stretch of green between the White House and the now destroyed Washington Monument, the Machine Gunner begin to let a hail of bullets loose onto the rear of the Robot. The other Jeep was not so lucky. It collided with the gunk, but it was soft enough to rock those inside of it forward just a little. But before they knew what had happened, it was lifted and sent flipping over. The gunk held to it, however, which pulled it off the correct trajectory over the stage; it was now aimed straight at the screaming crowd of people.

Cassidy Rose arrived just at the right moment, shoving her way unapologetically through the crowd as the machine came down. ”Get down!” She screamed through the speakers in her mask. Around her, people hit the deck as she ducked slightly. The bumper sailed over her head with her fingers wrapped tightly on it, while her head went down and the other hand shot up, grabbing the chassis of the heavy military Jeep. This landing was not so light this time, but the worse thing to happen was Whiplash, instead of someone being crushed dead. Grunting with the effort, Cassidy Rose pushed up. Her feet slowly sank into the earth as she put most of the weight of the vehicle on her shoulders and legs. People were scrambling out of the way as gunshots kept going off in the background. Slowly, she moved the weight to her over shoulder and only held the Jeep with the hand on the bumper, carefully placing it down to the ground. Soldiers inside looked out in shock as she gently patted the car, smiling flirtatiously under her ask at the men behind the glass.

She was off around the vehicle, planning to chase the Robot down like Daddy had told her too, but suddenly found herself breaking in the middle of the field. Holding her hands out like a man on a cross, a pretty girlie she remembered was straining with the effort of keeping the dust at bay.

Now, was her pretty friend around was the more important question...

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The Star was running in Zigzags as the ground around him erupted with blooms. The machine gun was trailing left to right over its legs and back, doing minor damage to his systems. However, it was zigzagging because the Gunner couldn't concentrate on a single weak point in its armour; such as the bottom of its spine. The star should turn around and attempt to stop them, but it could handle the bullets for the moment, or so he thought. When the driver realised that his gunner couldn't get any good shots off he did something risky; He put his foot down and the front of the Jeep rocked forward. The robot stumbled as it connected with its legs and sent him crashing to the ground, the Jeep crawling up its body. They opened the door and pulled out their fireams, aiming at the Machines head and pulling off shots against the side they could get to; A single optic was smashed, and sparks ran out onto the earth as the robot pushed its hands to the ground and shove upwards, its legs kicking the vehicle off and forcing it onto it's side.

With an angry fist it punched the door, which knocked the thing onto it's side. It lifted a big metal foot and brought it down on the Chassis, bending the metal beneath the anger. A mistake; the Tanks that had been trapped by each other were now straightened and each one had a barrel aimed at it. As the Star looked up, the soldiers evacuated the crushed Jeep and the order was given; “Fire on target. Dangerclose.”

Alice watched as one of the jeeps got pushed around the crowd by an invisible force. She sighed in relief, not caring who or what did so. Then, disaster happened, as the second jeep collided with the gunk. As it did so, a force started to flip it over the stage, but the gunk's weight messed with the trajectory, causing it to head for the stage. She dissolved the shadows quickly, but it was already too late. She felt dispair fill her, she knew that the chances of preventing all deaths was slim, very very slim. Suddenly, she heard someone scream for the people to duck. Alice watched as a masked girl, a hero, catch the jeep. She stared in awe, watching as she set the heavy vehicle down. "Wow..." she murmered, slightly in shock. She had heard of all these amazing powers, but she's never seen them used live.

Her attention was quickly drawn away by gunshots from another direction. She quickly turned just in time to see the robot's eye destroyed. It reacted by throwing the jeep and the men off. Alice, still feeling the strange... power thrumming through her, quickly raised her hand, creating a soft landing for the soldiers and and the jeep. She hoped that no one would interfere this time.

Unbeknownst, the cuff continued to glow slightly, as if feeding off soemthing.

"Easy enough, right?" Dirt circled in the calamity; nothing good settled with it. The bandanna pulled over Bliss's mouth and nose gave her a little more breathing room than the filth ridden air that showered around them. "Cover your mouth or you'll never make it out of here alive." With enough power to dislodge the scaffolding, Bliss sent out a wave that would damage the support by causing molecules to erupt around the front support. This would send the scaffolding falling forward. Once of balanced, Bliss would create a force of explosion behind the scaffolding to knock it forward.

"There's people under there Bliss!" Ashley commented as she kept her beacon out for all to see.

"I know..." She kept her hand aimed towards the back of the platform. "...That's why I'm being as careful as I can be."

"That's not reassuring." The molecules commenced their eruption and would send the platform over to create a safe haven for escaping people. "What did that accomplish?"

"It's a little shelter from the rain." Bliss turned back to Ashley. "Put your arms down and stop whatever it is you're doing." The intense strain of using her powers caused stress that Ashley had fought to suppress. "Work smart, not hard." The difference in opinions and ethics of the two always caused a schism in their practicality, but a shared goal always helped them along.

"What do we do now?" Her muscles could only stand so much of the strain the power caused. She could hardly believe she only held out her powers for a few minutes.

"You stay here. I'm going to look around." Bliss made good on her word and left without Ashley. She kept her eyes out for any kind of oddities. Calamity in mass gave a good deal of similarities; all she needed to do was keep an eye out for someone with a calm demeanor about them.

The tanks rocked back as the most important square in America was filled with the sound of firing. If anyone was standing too close, they would have been instantly deafened as the long muzzles jerked and then slid back, their explosive shells cutting a thick swath through the air before crashing into the earth beneath the robots iron feet. It tried to protect itself, hands surrounding its head and chest moving down to protect it's thinner upper legs, as huge clods of dirt were thrown up around it. And then the explosion, which seemed to rock the Earth and sent the machine off it's feet. It's angular shoulders made a thick trench into the soil. It's body was covered in thick black residue as it's outer armour was burned. Here and there, there was a gentle crackle as metal cool and a broken eye socket hissed and popped. Then a foot twitched, as old systems rebooted. The disorientation that it suffered was quickly being overcome, as its hands slid into the soil aside of it.

Tank fire was ineffective.

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Cosmos was over the field now. His eyes were locked firmly on the machine as he flew into the eye lines of a huddled group of terrified citizens and the scopes of numerous soldiers. He smiled beneath his mask as he saw the M1 Abrams uselessly attempt to bring down the machine he had retrofitted to serve his purpose. The worse they could do was slow it down for a few moments, rather than disable it. But he could. And as he stopped in the air, lifting his chin to look regal and lifted his left hand, he felt sure that this would be the beginning of something impressive. Something world changing-

I'll kill you!

What? He turned his head, blinking in surprise and trying to find Cassidy Rose from his elevated position, hovering over the remains of the Washington Monument. He saw his daughter, her body low as she ran full sprint at... Who was that? A lone woman, or more of a girl. She looked familiar-Ashley! ”No!” He yelled into the microphone on his helmet, but the creature in his Daughters head didn't care much; it was working on a mix of human instinct and plain old homicidal urges, eager to pull the legs off the girl who had ruined her first home since she had stopped being a popsicle and for even earning a meagre slice of attention from her father.

Clement had a choice; he could control the machine, still attempt to put his destiny on the track that all this work had been for. Or he could stop Cassidy Rose from hurting a girl he met once, and who had betrayed him for a friend. As he changed the direction in the air, forgetting that the robot could possibly go on to kill the president of the united states, he felt sure this was the right decision. Mainly because it made Cassidy Rose furious.

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The Machine was standing again. It stumbled slightly, but then reacted quickly as it heard the second volley of fire. It jumped and tumbled out of the way of the explosion, before it moved forward and grabbed the jeep with one of it's hand. Like a discus thrower, it did a small pirouette. The Jeep went spinning in the air and the tanks were suddenly the ones under the threat of ordnance. They moved back and Union's Star turned on its feet, beginning its steady run back towards the White House. It was almost there, it was almost able to fulfil it program. If it had paid attention it might have noticed the sound of a helicopter's rotors again. It might have paused and waited to see if the said helicopter was carrying heavy weapons. Instead, the Robot crossed the road before the white house and tumbled through the iron railings there. It rolled as it hit the ground and then sprinted across the White House Lawn.

Inside of the black helicopter, Elizabeth Jules watched with cold eyes on a computer screen. The nose turned toward the machine, sensors locked onto it's spine as it reached half way. Then an engine within the cockpit flared to life, while a large gun turret descended from the undercarriage. Then, a bright yellow energy beam cut the Union's Star in half.

Bliss worked quickly to survey the chaotic mess. Thick levels of dirt and rubble caused the situation to exacerbate the lack of information she could muster from what happened. Raining heavily upon her ears, she heard the screech of a familiar harping sound. She turned to gaze to the void thick with the ever encompassing dust, but lost track of her friend. Blowing away residue from the pouring dust, Bliss ran through the cries of distress and agony.

That vile creature she remembered from the night of the gala swept towards Ashley. With all the momentum that the creature ran with her attack would not be able to save Ashley from the attack. Instead, Bliss sent out a blast of energy to send Ashley flying away from the creature. Concrete roughly embraced Ashley's form from her less than triumph flail away from the fight. Making the most of her charge, Bliss lowered her shoulder and would throw herself towards Cassidy's left leg. Once she made contact, Bliss would lock her hands roughly around the lowest part of her mid leg, hoping to grab the calf muscle, and send a violent blast of energy into that part of her leg.

Cassidy Rose was grinning like a Cheshire cat beneath her mask, eyes wild as she made great strides in her running gait. The ground fell away under her as the distance became shorter and shorter, with Ashley not evening noticing the girl in the Jumpsuit. But in a moment, she was gone, onto the path that sat next to the stage. She blinked once, furiously, before she skidded to a halt and looked around with dim, rather unintelligent eyes. Then someone barrelled into her leg, which would have put her off balance if she didn't put another leg out to steady herself. ”Get off of me-” She began, barely looking into her face before seeking Ashley out with her eyes. And then she screamed. It wasn't human, the voice of pain that left her body, going to an almost unbearable level as she tried to jerk her leg away from the grip of the woman.

As she rose a hand to bring it down on the head and arms, she suddenly recognised who it was. ”YOU!” She called out, half triumphant and half blinded by pain as she tried to rain blows on Bliss.

Clement pushed his engine to full capacity, swooping down on the two of them. He could see Ashley, but now he had to stop Cassidy Rose. As his feet touched the ground he lifted his left hand and aimed a cone of white noise at the helmet he designed. It blinked and flickered inside, almost blinding Cassidy Rose as she was sent slightly dizzy, but still she tried to hit Bliss, the muscles in her leg screaming in protest from her fingers. They would not work correctly for a long while after this. With a moment's pause, Cassidy Rose pulled the helmet from her head and flung it away, snarling at Bliss.

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“Call the boys at R&D and tell him their laser works.” Miss Jules said softly, before typing in the command to fire again. The robot had lost any chance of making forward momentum, but it seemed to still be struggling, it's arms dragging half of it's carcass up the lawn. She smiled as it stilled when a diagonal line was carved from under one arm to the shoulder on the other side of the body. But her eyes were suddenly pulled to a second image being input from the cameras on the Helicopter. It seemed like some of the Superbeings that had gathered around the crash site were fighting with civilians? “And call some of the boys at the Security division. We might have onsite Super Villains. And we also want to recover the machine for Clement Industries. It looks useful.”

Adrenaline threw her forward and helped Bliss maintain her offensive against the creature. Unlike anyone watching the spectacle Bliss garnered something of a background of what this girl really was. Once she knew the details from Ashley she became more disappointed that she could not stop her when she had the chance. Now, she planned on making amends for what she failed to do that day. A fist flew towards Bliss, but in the fury and pain of her attack Bliss found it easy to fire an offensive blast for the fist to pass through. In the excitement of her assault she dodged her head to the side, avoiding the blow. With the leverage she took advantage of Cassidy's position and placed herself to place a fatal blow to the back of her neck.

With the joy of seeing her attack coming to fruition, she failed to catch the arrival of the new combatant. In an inadvertent move, Clements unleashed a white noise frequency that caused Cassidy to violently thrash back. Bliss felt the precise attack of her energy blast fly past her prey and into the ground. She plummeted over Cassidy's shoulders and fell to the ground. Momentum shifted greatly and Bliss found herself on the defensive. Fists rained down on Bliss, connecting with her frail forearms that she threw up for defense. Impact broke down upon her bones with an aching pain. To keep herself alive from the strength of the blows, Bliss clinched her fingers around the back of her head, giving herself protection from the flurry, but she knew she could not survive this. She needed to find a way to get her hands faced towards the violent creature that pummeled her.

Cassidy's hand ached and burned, but as the evil little bitch crawled over she tried to claw back, all the while trying to keep the damn noise out of her head. She took a moment, as her fists and nails rained and slash at Blisses' exposed underarms to glare up into the sky, catching her “Father's” eyes through the cameras in his helmet. Clement uttered a soft gasp as unimaginable pain tore through his mind, ever single synapse flash feeling like ground up glass being hammered into his flesh. His legs gave way and he fell onto his hands and knees, keeping in a shout of pain, determined to not let her win. Determined to protect one girl that had tried to hurt you, you foolish old man! But a single thought kept surfacing, a single thought that he clung to. I am still a good man.

The shield, blue in tone and circular, appeared above Bliss. Cassidy Rose, who had stepped back to avoid further pain to legs, blinked once in Confusion before she rained her fists down on it. The energy sparked and popped, as Clement pulled his helmet from his head and gasped a deep breath of air. ”Go! For God's sake don't fight her!”

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The Helicopter turned lazily in the air and Miss Jules watched, with a slightly bored expression, as it trailed over what remained of the Washington Monument. Her eyes were on the black haired woman raining blows on the smaller one. It seemed odd though, only a moment ago she was screaming in pain at the mere touch. “What's going on down there?” She murmured to herself, fingers tapping at keys to allow her a closer inspection of the small battle. Whoever was levitating suddenly fell, it seemed. The two were wearing matching uniforms, so maybe one partner trying to stop the other? The young woman raining blows on the young woman did not seem to be very “heroic.” Then the idiot Clement removed his helmet. She bared her teeth, not a smile or grin, but she bared them like an animal would at prey. “Clement has been discovered. I repeat, Clement has been discovered. I want Team Alpha and Beta here now. If you let him get away I will be selling your organs on the black market by sundown.”

Blood dripped down onto Bliss's forehead. It stung as it seeped into her eyes, but she could do nothing to stop the onslaught against her. Whatever Clement used on her allowed Cassidy the ability to take advantage of Bliss. She walked into a trap of his yet again, and now she found herself on defenseless while her life slipped out of her hands and into the hands of a scientist who needed others to fight for him. If she used her energy to close to her head the backlash could cause her to rupture her own head with her hand. Or worst yet, catch some of the blast wave against herself, and cause herself to become the victim of her own power that she unleashed on others so freely.

The attacks ceased. A blue barrier arose over Bliss, keeping her safe. With her history Bliss could only assume that he meant to take her alive for his own purposes. Using the tiny bit of room between her legs and the barrier, Bliss pushed her feet against the hard surface. Energy sprung from her hands that she braced against the barrier. "It's going to be tougher than that. I'm made out of tougher stuff than you, punk."

Groggy from the pummeling, Bliss stumbled to her feet and made a quick hand motion to summon forth energy to send a blast wave at Clement. Her wave shot out with an uncontrolled, primal force that split the force in two. Separate waves flew out from her hands, but one diverted far to the side and fell violently into the ground, shattering pavement. Her other assault flew with the wide spreading surface and velocity of her normal blast towards Clement.