The Youth of New York

After the little information A.I. had been able to collect, he already knew this "woman" was up to something. The one thing he wondered was how far she would go to achieve her goal. The way she spoke of the city, saying she wanted to "cure" it, just sounded like the twisted words of a villain to him.
A.I. scanned the area, looking for any signs of a trap. All he was able to see were a few cameras that seemed a little out of place, but that alone was enough for A.I. to know there would be more. If she had been there long enough to set up cameras, she had to have something else set somewhere in case the meeting didn't go her way. A.I. placed his hand on his pistol. He hoped things wouldn't escalate, but he was ready if they did.

"What do I have to say? Raw choice my friends. Times may be tough, but there is only one of me and four of you. And I assume there are even more to you than present. Clearly I am out numbered/"
She said starting to take a couple steps back towards her 'assistants'. They were greatly suspicious of her and would probably not allow her to leave on her own accord.
"Even if you were to allow me control, how simple it would be to remove me from power... But I see that your decision has been made..."
Vexus turned her back facing her associates getting ready to walk away, but then she stopped and looked over her shoulder.
"However... There was one thing that always perplexed me, Phoenix, what makes you so suited to lead a group like this?"
The real Vexus carefully slipped a gun into the hand of the clone that was speaking.
"Are you, or any of your team members, at the proper level of a hero? I know there are two here..." she said slowly turning around keeping both her hands behind her back and making eye contact with Deluge and Forcewave.
"I tested you earlier on your morals and motives, why don't we move on to organization practicality..."
The front most Vexus revealed her gun holding her arm out parallel to the ground, and shot at the four Talons members. The real Elena and the other clone revealed hand guns with silencers which they kept low and at their sides. The real Vexus shot at Phoenix and Deluge, and the other hooded clone shot at Forcewave and A.I.. Elena also redirected all of the camera towards the emerging fight so that she had all angles of the fight in her view. Absolutely no blind spots. Her infrared vision remained active in her right eye as normal vision remained active in her left. Her combat clone, which was to the left, was on standby waiting to see how the four of them would react. Each were getting two well placed bullets, though she was using the gunshots as a ploy to confirm her theories on each of their abilities.
Not only did Vexus have one of her combat clones with her, she also had over a dozen more clones hidden in the broken down trailer truck in the background just waiting to be activated. And on top of all that she had the entire structure rigged with explosives ready to come down on all of these heroes with just a snap of her fingers. There was not but a glimmer of hope left for the foolish young-lings.

"What makes me fit? MAybe that I would give my life any night for not only this team, but any person in trouble."
Phoenix was cut off by a sudden change in mood. Elena had pulled out a gun and now her and her associates were shooting at him and his team. "Find Cover!!!" Phoenix shouted and hit the deck behind a box. He peaked around the corner and threw a fire ball at the hooded figure on the right. This caused her clothing to set to fire and eventually burn partly off. This revealed another Elena. "Guy's either this chic has Plural's power, or she has clones!" he yelled to comrades.

He then charged a stronger fireball and threw it towards the same clones chest. With contact the clone was pushed back a little by the force. "Ok, AI you and Forcewave take the one on the left, Deluge you take the center. I'll Take right! Talons Engage!"

Forcewave was now paying his full attention as vexus gave her opinion on their answer to her proposal.She did not seem to be taking it quite well.She seemed like she was going to leave but stopped herself to question Phoenix on his answer.She also questioned the members of the team.She looked right at him and Deluge as she talked about what a real hero was.She seemed to know who they were.He wondered how this was possible.He did not have time to think of how though.
Two of them suddenly opened fire on them with handguns.Apparently she was not satisfied with their answer.Now she wanted them dead.As soon as he saw the guns pulled out he quickly ducked out of the way and took cover behind a nearby crate.This was definitely not something he would wish was happening.He certainly did not feel like being shot at.
As soon as he had gotten behind the crate and out of sight of the bullets he fired off a blast where the 3 vexuses stood firing.Hopefully it would manage to stop them.He then crawled along the crates, hidden from view to a different location.If any of them came to where he had been they would find nothing and be left wide open for him to attack again.

While Elena responded to the team's rejection, A.I. worked quickly on his wrist computer to hack into the camera's the woman had set up. He was having more trouble than usual, which was a sign that his enemy was fairly capable with electronics. Just as he had finished rerouting the cameras to his brain, he saw Elena pull a gun and fire a few shots. A.I. jumped behind a pile cinderblocks as each of the other Talons found their own cover. Phoenix burned off one of the figures clothes, confirming A.I.'s theory. Clones.

A.I. heard Phoenix shout orders at him and he nodded back. He was to take the Elena on the left. Quickly pulling his energy pistol off his belt, he fired three quick shots at her. Hopefully one would manage to connect with it's target. "Phoenix!" A.I. yelled to his leader. "We need to get out of here, it's a trap!" he shouted, hoping Phoenix would follow his judgement. He knew that the Elenas most likely had something set up other than the cameras, and if there were three of her, there's no reason she wouldn't have fifty more waiting in the shadows somewhere.

Perfect.
Their reactions could not have been better, exactly how she planned. They all confirmed her theories on their abilities, granted she did not know their full extent but she would be careful not to assume anything. Their leader Phoenix reacted quickly, attacking one of Elena's clones with a fireball attack. This one quickly removed the now burning robes throwing them on a dry spot on the floor as they continued to burn and was then hit by another fire attack.
Vexus was able to graze Deluge, who was a water manipulator, with one of her bullets. He reacted by sending a slicing wave of water at the center clone. The real Elena retaliated by violently pushing this clone out of the way with her right hand, but not without sacrifice. The water attack severed her right arm completely, any closer and it would have been most of her body. Vexus still wanted them to think that this forward most clone was the real deal. The actual Vexus removed her cloak and tossed it over to the clone on the right who's had been burnt.
Her infrared sensors picked up another attack, one from the member named Forcewave. It seemed like he used pressure waves invisible to the naked eye. Her alarms were going off but she would not be able to move in time. The clone who now had the cloak grabbed the other clone and the two of them dove out of the way, hitting the ground and quickly recovering to their feet. As for the real Elena, she took the blunt of the attack and it send her flying backwards. Midair, she was also hit by bullets that came from the robots weapon, two in her left leg and another made it to her shoulder. These were no ordinary bullets as they shot clean through her, she would need to make a point to avoid these further. The cameras has proved useful in seeing who had shot her. Vexus bounced off the ground and eventually skidded to a halt on the other side of the battle field. Damage reports were flooding in as she lay there with a twisted smile on her face, her two clones would be able to handle this for a short time whilst she kept an eye with her camera from above.
Elena got yet another alert, her camera system was being hacked. It could only be the one non-human they had with them. She noticed him fiddling with his 'watch' earlier. Seemed like she would have to reenter the battle sooner than she thought. To counter the intrusion, she started playing an image loop preventing him from seeing what was actually happening while he still thought that he had control of the cameras. Vexus stumbled to her feet as she reversed the hack, retracing the digital footsteps until she found herself knocking on the door to the mind of this interesting piece of machinery. She wondered if he would be able to keep up with her and hold out long enough, while the fight continued Vexus proceeded to bomb the walls of his brain with hacks and viruses. She had not regenerated her arm back, but all the other damage she had sustained from being blasted back had mostly been repaired as she casually made her way back into the conflict.
Meanwhile, the other two clones started to make their move. The clone who had a cloak on went sprinting around to the side as the other went and picked up the cloak that was still on fire. Once in range, the hooded clone grabbed her cloak and tossed it over Deluge and sent a powerful kick towards Phoenix. However, these things were only meant to distract the two for the briefest moment because simultaneously the other clone blew a combustible neuro poison into the the flame of the cloth which then exploded forward onto the four heroes and the clone stuck in the mix making sure to pour the flames far enough to encompass all the opponents, even the ones hiding who she saw with her cameras anyways. To the Talons, it may seem as if this clone simply blew gasoline over the flame to create such a powerful burst of fire but the smoke released by the flames was toxic and if inhaled would surly cause their downfall. It was not the strongest of poisons, but with all the movement caused increased blood flow which would only make the poison circulate faster allowing it to take effect more rapidly. Elena felt like these kids did not entirely understand what they had gotten themselves into. Granted they were powerful, but Elena Vexus is a force to be reckoned with.

Phoenix didn't have very much time to think at all, however he needed a plan and fast. Quickly he manipulated the flames and shot them into the sky, next he shouted "Jump back, and Deluge you need to dilute those fumes, I'm almost positive they're hazardous. A.I. Scan the area for more traces of the fumes, and find out exactly what it is. Force, jump back and throw some attacks with me. By the way A.I., go in for some close ranged attacks, these fumes shouldn't be an issue for you buddy. Talons Engage!"

He leaped backwards hoping his team would do the same, once he landed he blasted a full force fire wave at the enemies. He looked over to see if his team was ok, and then turned to the clones again. Going into a frenzy he started throwing fireballs rapidly at the clones. His adrenaline was pumping, and he was in full fight mode. Prepared for whatever was going to be thrown at him.

After having dove for cover behind the crates and launching a counterattack he had moved into position for further combat.The battle had just begun but it had already grown intense.What else is new he thought.All these battles seemed to get intense upon the moment they began.He used the moment of the 2 vexus clones planned attack using the fiery cloak and the smoke that got diluted away thanks to deluge's efforts to prepare his next attack.
Phoenix was engaged in close combat with one of them while Deluge launched an attack at the one that had been knocked into the wall and crumpled against it by his earlier attack.Just by looking he could see that these things were in fact robotic beings.That would most certainly explain why there were three of them that acted in unison like they did.Forcewave first decided to assist Phoenix by firing an attack that he guided around Phoenix's own fireballs to hide it even further than usual to increase the damage being done by the fire.
Next he decided to do something about the remaining one.He had an idea in mind.First he fired an attack at the ceiling a short distance behind where she stood causing a chunk of it to fall, then he redirected the attack directly at her to push her into the spot where the ceiling would fall atop her.

A.I. let out a gasp of pain as his mind was bombarded by viruses. "Gah! It burns!!!" he screamed, grabbing his forehead. After a few moments he regained his composure and jumped back into battle. "Sorry for the wait guys, I was being hacked. Took a moment for my firewalls to kick in." he explained to his teammates. Noticing that the cameras that he had accessed had been tampered with, A.I. targeted them and opened fire. Surely Elena was using them in order to get an advantage over the Talons.
Attacks flew through the air as A.I. added to the mix, sending more explosive laser rounds in the direction of the remaining two Elenas. "Phoenix, I was not able to get a sample of her gas while my minds was being hacked. I apologize." he said to his leader between firing volleys at the clones.

Things were starting to heat up. Phoenix and Deluge handled the toxic gas situation rather well, saving the others. It seemed that their robot was finally coming around. The fire manipulator sent a powerful wave of flames at the two clones. The one closest to Phoenix was sent back and had some damage done to her arms and facial structure. Looked almost as if her skin was melting. As for the other clone, she was knocked down as well but the damage was much more extensive. Most of her hair and face had been scorched off along with her arms and legs. All of the mechanics that were hidden by the faux flesh in her arms, legs and face could be seen. All aspects that made this clone look human were practically gone, but it felt no pain and kept on marching. She went to pick up a gun, But to no avail and quickly kicked it over to the clone dealing with Pheonix. A section of the roof was blown off and this Elena was forced under the falling debris. The real Elena cursed under her breath for one of her clones to be defeated so easily.
The one whom Phoenix was now bombarding with fire balls was bending, weaving and attempting to dodge his volley of attacks. One caught her leg and she lost her balance falling face first, she caught herself with her right hand and swung her legs around knocking out a couple of the incoming attacks. Laying back, she flipped herself back up onto her feet and started running towards Phoenix, still avoiding his attacks. Once she was close enough she flipped into the air aiming to land sitting on his shoulders, her legs on his back. Following, she crossed her legs around his neck, brought her hands to the ground and attempted to flip him down on his back. Now on the ground on all fours this clone bent backwards, her hands ending up on either side of him, then brought her knees up and over then powerfully down onto his stomach. She bent backwards again off his body, picking up the gun the other clone had kicked over earlier, and flipped herself back onto her feat pointing the gun at the fire-bender. If he moved even the slightest, she would put a pullet in his legs.
"Surrender."
The real Vexus was rather close to the action now, the robot had been shooting out her cameras instead of hacking them. She tried retaliating by knocking out his targeting systems and hopefully followed by his vision. His firewalls were very advanced but she was confident that she could break them down. Vexus then noticed the water-hero conjuring something up and a large mass of water swirled above her. Her scanners were running tests and she could tell by the size, mass and density that this was going to hurt. The container in her abdomen opened as the water started to move, she grabbed two guns keeping one in her left hand and tossing the other one up. The container closed and her arm began regenerating rapidly, she took aim at the water and began to open fire. She was shooting at the water to try and break the surface so that the initial impact, which would do most of the damage, would not be as great. The second gun came down just as her right arm had finished repairing itself, she continued to fire with her left but this one she held up very close to her mouth as she started to quickly blow out a type of gas. This was the same type of poison the other clone had used earlier, just much more concentrated. With her right hand, she began to open fire on the incoming water. The muzzle flash from the gun firing ignited the gas causing it to combust up and out wards breaking up the water even further. The water was practically right on top of her now so as one last safety precaution she hit the ground and dispersed her weight so that the pressure from the water was even throughout her body.
After the bombardment hat ceased, Elena brought herself to her feet, flipping her soaking wet hair out of her face.
"Well then, two down two to go..." she walked forward and stood in front of the pile of debris that had buried one of her clones.
"If the fire boy moves, I blow his brains out. And you don't really think that your cybernetic friend here is going to hold out much longer? I've been destroying his mind since out little conflict started." She looked behind her at the pile of debris, noticing a metal pipe with a sharp broken edge stuck in at just the right angle. Vexus took a couple steps forward and continued talking
"These clones were not inexpensive to create. And I will commend you on destroying this one for it is not a simply feat. Maybe you Talons do have promise after all, though I do have one more thing to show you..." after saying that, Vexus held up her left hand and grabbed right below her right wither her right hand. Her face winced a little as she started to apply more and more pressure until she squeezed through her own arm. She pulled what she had broken off and tossed it on the ground next to her. The point half way through her wrist and her elbow was not regenerating but was rather starting to spark up electricity. Vexus snapped her fingers.
"Bang."
The clone under the debris exploded sending shrapnel everywhere. The force from the blast send Vexus flying towards Forcewave and Deluge. The sharp pipe that Elena had spotted earlier impaled her from behind, piercing one of the poison containers she had in her abdomen. She landed right in front of Deluge, it seemed like she wanted the explosion to reach the two and cause them damage as well but it was too muffled by the debris to do all the damage she wanted. She rolled herself over and looked up at Deluge, her left side towards him. She gave him a smirk and quickly threw her stub of a hand into the puddle of water that surrounded him aiming to painfully electrocute him, holding a wet metal sword was a raw choice. And almost simultaneously she got on one knee, pulled the pipe out of her stomach and whipped it at Forewave. It was covered in an extremely powerful toxin and even the slightest scratch could spell death for the young hero.

Phoenix was on the ground and thinking quickly what to do. He knew the situation out The Talons in a rough spot. One bad mood, and they need a new leader. He racked his brain for idea on what to do. He looked to each of his teammates. Looking at their faces, feeling helpless in front of the very men he brought into battle with him on a nightly basis. No way would he stand for this, or let it go on any longer. "No more thinking." Phoenix said to himself. "Now it's time to act."

Swiftly Phoenix elbowed the clone in the ribs, followed by a bicycle kick to her hand knocking out the weapon. he grabbed her gun, and landed, pointing the barrel to hear head, he pulled the trigger. He fired off 3 more to her chest, stomach, and another to the head. Phoenix turned around, and blasted a strong fire wave at the other clone. "Time to demonstrate my speed." he thought to himself. Phoenix started running in circles around the clone, reaching his maximum speed of 80 miles per hour, he started throwing fireballs in the clones direction. Once he finished, he front flipped and cut her down the middle from head to legs with his sword, watching her split in two. Phoenix started breathing heavily and faced the one he shot the first few times to make sure she was finished with. He slightly hoped she wasn't finished with.

Oh my what an interesting turn of events this was.Just as the four heroes that were gathered here were on an offensive assault that had even managed to destroy one of the three vexuses in the process the tables had been turned.One of the two remaining vexus robots had managed to subdue Phoenix and had him held at gunpoint and it seemed that they wanted those remaining to surrender on the spot otherwise.Well let us just say it was kind of obvious what she would do if they refused to surrender immediately.

Forcewave was conflicted on which action to take.Though he did not wish for Phoenix to die he also did not want to surrender.He looked over in AI's direction to confirm what she was saying about him too having been completely incapicitated.It certainly seemed that way.He was not moving an inch.It seems it was down to just Deluge and himself.Two on two was not as advantageous as four on three.Vexus had just revealed that more of these clones could be created with ease.Forcewave was disapointed to hear this.She then suddenly ripped off her own arm at the point of the wrist.Right after doing so the very clone he himself had buried under a pile of rubble from the ceiling suddenly exploded.A pipe impaled her as she charged forward via the force of the explosion.In one swift motion she struck at Deluge and then threw the pipe at him.

Seeing the pipe coming he swiftly ducked out of the way therefore dodging it completely.At the same moment Phoenix had decided to act.It seems he was not content with being held at gunpoint while they continued to fight.Deluge had managed to withstand Elena's assault on him and had counter attacked.Forcewave was prepared to attack as well and at the slightest opening would do so.

It took a moment for A.I. to realize what had just happened. One moment his vision was flickering, the next he was on the ground, blown back by some sort of explosion. A.I. got up, and tried to reactivate his eyesight. No luck. He heard the sound of the fight, continuing without him, and spun around to face it. "I cannot see. But I can still fight." he said, following the positions of his fellow Talons through their dog tags. Twelve razors shot out of A.I.'s wrists, and targeted any sound that was not a Talon. His vision flickered for a moment, which was a good sign. In a few minutes, his targeting systems and eyesight monitors would be back online.

Still blind, A.I. guided eight more razors towards the sounds of his targets. "I'll be fully functional in just a moment, guys. And don't worry about my razors, I'm tracking your tags. They won't hit you." he said, jumping behind some debris. As he took a moment to breath, his vision flickered back to life. "Alright. Back in the game." he said, pulling out his pistols. He targeted the two remaining Elenas, firing four explosive laser rounds at each one. "Don't touch my mind again, cyberslut."