Awesome Squad: Assemble!

It had been a typically nice day in LA, the sunny but not too hot November weather giving Uriel a pleasant feeling. She had woken up feeling a bit groggy that morning, still not quite used to her fleshy human form. The mundane necessities of a human’s daily life were not something that æther beings tended to focus on when they watched the progress of humanity. Boring things were more or less ignored in favor of more exciting scenes like chaotic armed conflict and metahuman battles. The regular upkeep that the human body required was a mindless chore, and one that almost made Uriel miss her old æther form.

Fortunately, Uriel had something to look forward to today. It would be the first meeting of her new team of teen superheroes, the Awesome Squad! She had spent weeks putting out ads and flyers across the country, and while she was generally met with universal disregard she eventually received messages from interested candidates. Even those turned out to be mostly dead ends, but she had managed to find a handful of promising individuals who were willing to meet with her at Awesome HQ. She requested they meet her at 4 in the afternoon (Uriel’s shift ended at 3:30)  to discuss a future partnership.

Uriel rushed excitedly through her morning routine, finding joy in the fact that her superhero career was about to kick off. She took care of her bodies regular necessities and suited up in a black polo and khaki pants (she would change into her supersuit after work, Mrs. Penny didn’t find it appropriate on the job). Her commute to work was free of traffic as always, the sky providing a nice, clear path to her destination. One of the perks of being able to fly was you got where you needed to go quickly, and didn’t have to worry about pesky traffic laws.

Uriel stepped into Java Heaven  at 9:01, arriving fashionably late as she was wont to do. "You're late." Mrs. Penny commented as bell above the door announced Uriel’s entrance.  The sweet looking old woman was seated cross-legged behind the counter, nose buried in one of her light novels. She hadn’t even looked up to see who it was coming in. Uriel didn’t bother to reply, knowing Mrs. Penny was too absorbed to get into any real conversation. Instead she just poured herself a cappuccino and prepared for a long day.

The minutes ticked by slowly, each one seeming to creep along with less speed than the last. Doesn't this stupid thing know I have something to do today? Uriel thought to herself, glaring at the seemingly stuck clock with a look of exasperation on her face. Once she could even swear the clock turned it’s minute hand back a tick, as if time itself was mocking her. It didn’t help that Java Heaven had next to zero customers at any given time. Friday was usually their busiest day of the week, but “busiest” was relative. They received only a handful of customers throughout the day, most of them entering because the line at starbucks was too long and they just wanted a quick coffee to go. The lack of excitement was infuriating because it gave Angel nothing to do but wait in anticipation for her Awesome Squad meeting.

Finally, after a particularly long minute spent staring at the clock’s taunting hands, the day reached its end. It was 3:30. With a cry of triumph Uriel dashed into the bathroom to change, emerging after a few minutes as Angel, Guardian of Earth, leader of the Awesome Squad. "Hey, Mrs. Penny," Angel called out to her employer, "I'm gonna have a few friends hang out here, ‘kay?" She knew Mrs. Penny wouldn't mind, more activity in this desolate shop was always a plus, but it never hurt to ask.

"Okay dear. Stay out trouble." The woman replied, eyes still glued to her book. She had been devouring the thing all day, and was now almost done with it. Tomorrow she would no doubt be watching some silly soap opera in the back room. She always liked to alternate between reading days and television days. With an amused chuckle Angel sat down at a booth, casually sipping a hot cocoa. She had been waiting all day, and now she just had to wait a little longer for the arrival of her first team members.

Lyra had been running errands for her Mistress one day when a strange flyer caught her attention. A recruitment flyer for a hero group. Lyra had been trying to get out of a castle more. After she met that one woman and traveled some of the ruins in New York for a bit she had wanted to travel away from the Castle more. So she grabbed the flyer, finished her errands and returned to the castle. As soon as she had some free time she showed her mistress the flyer. It seemed to be alright as long as it didn't get in the way of her mistress' plans or get in the way of Lyra's duties. So in the morning Lyra took off, grabbed what little amount of money that she had and headed towards LA. At around 3:30 Lyra arrived at Java Heaven. Lyra checked the flyer, this was the right place. It was a strange secret base, well not so secret considering it was advertised. She opened the door and a bell rung. The place was empty, only containing a few people.

"H-Hello?" asked Lyra meekly. "I-Is this the place to sign up for the Awesome Squad?"

Helia was walking down the street as she held the flyer for a hero group in her hand. She took her dad's flight to LA and decided that it would be harmless to see what the group was about. She also didn't mind having friends to help her fight when it came down to it. She was almost at the meeting place when her phone rang. She brushed back her red hair and put the phone up to her ear.

"Yes dad i'm fine...no I haven't fought anything....no dad i'm not going around looking for bad guys, i'm actually going to go possibly join a super hero group." She said as she appeared at the doorway of a little shop.

Her dad's voice died as she moved the phone away and proceeded to hang up on him. She told him by and that she would see him later tonight. The name of the store was java haven and when she opened the door she saw that two people were already by a table. She brushed off her black school uniform and began to walk to the table. The smell of sweets filled her nostrils but she did her best to at least introduce herself before rampaging across the sweets that sat in the shop.

"Hey, the names helia." She said as she bowed to the side lightly. She smiled a small smile and waved a little. "what's yall name." She said sweetly.

"Huh... a coffee shop with a Starbucks nearby. This place'll probably tank soon..." Holding the hero recruitment flyer in one hand, and a chocolate smoothie from the nearby Starbucks in another, a newcomer arrives through the door, after being dropped off by a Limo.  

The girl was short, 5'1", and wore branded sports wear; black Yoga pants, an expensive looking pink jogging sweater, branded pink sneakers and designer adaptive shades, clearly the child of someone with alot of money. She was young though, and flat as a board, completely plain in her physique despite her wardrobe and make up. She also carried a pink-and-black gym bag. Adidas.

"...Um... Excuse me? Is this the place for the superhero group? Or is this just some kind of dress up club?" She asked, looking at the people assembled. Figures though, that people wouldn't immediately walk in with costumes on. She looked around the place, and the coziness of the shop was quite a change from the commercial vibe of Starbucks. The people were still in the introductory phase.

"Like, I suppose we'll have to show that we're the real deal then?"

Angel did not have to wait very long before her prospective recruit arrived. A beautiful young woman with dark hair and a timid expression entered the coffee shop, looking quite nervous. With a shy voice, she inquired as to whether this was where she could sign up for the Awesome Squad. She doesn't seem very confident, Angel mused, It probably took a lot of courage for her to come here. She smiled, instantly taking a liking to this girl. "It sure is!" Angel called out excitedly. "Here, take a seat. Can I get you anything before we begin? Coffee? Tea? Hot Cocoa? A pastry? This place might not be as popular as that dumb Starbucks, but our drinks are waaaaay better. " She herded the new girl into a seat.

Before they could actually start talking, however, the bell above the door chimed again. In strolled a girl in a school uniform with red hair and an aura of badassery that made Angel know she was looking for the Awesome Squad. She introduced herself as "Helia," and she seemed nice enough at the moment. She was noticeably more confident than the first recruit, but that wouldn't mean much until they actually got to business. "Hey Helia!" Angel replied to the redhead, "We were just about to start with introductions right now. How about you take a seat  and we can get rolling."

They were interrupted yet again when a third newcomer entered the shop. The Starbucks in the young girls hand drew a disdainful sniff from Mrs. Penny, but the old woman thankfully said nothing, instead standing and moving to the back room. The new girl's outfit was adorably pink and obviously quite expensive, and she stood with the entitled swagger of slumming royalty. The girl began by asking the obvious question of whether or not this was the Awesome Squad meeting, mixing in a gibe on their outfits. She then immediately offered to show that she was "the real deal." That's my kind of attitute! Angel thought to herself approvingly. This girl was the take-charge, get-things-done kind of person. She would have to work on her taste in beverages though. Starbucks was trash.

"I like the enthusiasm, but we should probably get the intros done first, eh? Come sit with us and I'll start." Angel took a seat at the table with the other two girls and began with her introduction. "The name's Angel, Guardian of Earth. I'm 19 years old, and my thing is that I can manipulate æther." She raised up a hand, summoning a cloud of pale blue mist in her palm. The cloud condensed into a sphere of glowing blue energy, holding form for a few seconds before dissipating. "I created the Awesome Squad because I want to save the world, but I can't do it alone; I need your help. Protecting this realm is a tough job. Doing it will take determination, skill, and heart, but to truly face evil you need more than that. All those adult heroes have plenty of experience, with real-world knowledge and well-developed powers, but there's a reason I'm only taking heroes of a specific age. It takes more than just power and skill to chase the dream I do. It takes more than determination and heart. It takes Purity of Spirit." She paused for effect. "All that knowledge and experience is invaluable as a superhero, but when you're staring in the face of true evil, and it's staring right back at you, those very strengths become an insurmountable weakness. How can someone who has already experienced the bone-crushing realities of adulthood be able to cope with the burden of evil? How can someone who has been tarnished by the knowledge of doom and still be able to emerge from the pit of hell unsoiled? It takes a pure soul, a child's soul, be stuck in the belly of the beast and laugh as it tries to suppress you. It takes youthful optimism to see the state of the world, fight battle after battle in the name of justice, and still be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It takes a young hero to dare a dream so great as the protection of an entire world. We may not be the most elite, battle-hardened, or powerful group of heroes. Hell, I've never led a team in life! But I know in my heart that we can make this dream a reality. I just need you to dream it with me."

Angel sat back, letting her speech sink in. It was the first time she had spoken in front of a group of people, and she was really nervous about what they thought of her. She hoped they didn’t just think she was blowing a bunch of smoke, belting out a set of lofty words without truly meaning them. She really wanted them to think about the Awesome Squad the way she did. After a few moments she decided to continue with the introductions. Turning to the first arrival, the shy girl, Angel offered a smile. "Ok, now that that’s done, your turn!" She proclaimed. "Name, age, power, and why you want to join the Awesome Squad."

Helia looked outside the window before she got up to show her power.  she pulled her hair back and cleared her throat covering her mouth and then she stretched herself.  She then began to sing.  Her voice was ominously sweet as a chilling shadow swam over the floor.  When she opened her eyes a fog had enveloped her like a beautiful dress that glistened gray.

"This is nerfram and he is my ally slash power."  She said then she put her hand out and nerfram enveloped it and then her hand dropped revealing that she had grabbed a thin almost 2D chainsaw from out of it.  The chainsaw was shiny and pretty much her height.

"And this is my weapon."  She said as she swung it onto her shoulder.

"And I am wanting to join because I need people that I can talk to and my dad says I need friends."

Diana listened to Angel's speech. Yawn, boring. Good thing she was wearing shades.

"That... was so moving." She said, though one couldn't help but think it may not have been completely sincere.

She watched Helia as she demonstrated her powers and her 'weapon'. Definitely someone to lookout for, but the Blade Princess was not too keen on showing all her powers immediately.

"Let's save some of the mystery for me." Diana said, taking off her shades and opening her unusually large gym bag. She took out one of her weapons, Blade Storm, and begun spinning the strange bronze, jewel studded cross blade like a deadly fan. She then performed a horizontal body flip followed by a one-handed cartwheel onto a table without even disturbing the small flower vase, showing off her control over herself and her weapon. She lands on both feet and bows.

"You can call me... Cheokram. I'm looking for a challenge, some fun... and cash, probably from the bad guys we'll be beating up." She said, smirking. She folds up the weapon and stashes it in her gym bag... who knew what else was in there?

Los Angeles, California. One of the most renown cities in the American union. It was the place to party to go on spring break, and a place of  liberal freedom, perhaps the most liberally free, save for Las Vegan maybe. However, while this grand place was known as one of excitement, acceptance, and freedom; There was another story, a chink in the chain, a whole other side to the coin. Los Angeles, and all of California was now a haven of darkness where some of the foulest and most evil men and women resided on this little god-forsaken rock called Earth. Yes, good old California and its long beaches, it’s beautiful blue waters, all alive with the vibrant youth and perfect sea breezes. Califronia, the home of glitter and gold, the home of Hollywood and countless celebrities. Who would have suspected that California would have ever gone so sour?
 
     Despite the increase of meta-human gangs with the flood of movers and refugees from the New York incident, or to not even take into account the current political outlook on meta-humans, California was beginning to rot from the inside out. The streets were just LITTERED with petty crime, and somehow it was as if by the next morning that it had been a perfectly normal day all over again. Murders and rape by night, pickpockets and muggers by day, and that’s not even accounting for the most notorious of them. Though today, Los Angeles had a special visitor, one who stood within the confines of the abandoned factory down by the docks. Dressed in an open black leathery coat, without a shirt, popped collar from the cheeks to the heel of his steampunk styled black combat boots, black clad combat leggings that looked like they belonged on special ops soldiers. His black gloved hands wrapped around the piper as he looked below upon his peons, or rather his “people” and a brilliant and flawless white smile complimented his tanned skin. Indeed, Las Angeles was in for quite a surprise once the lights went down. His glowing emerald eye shifted through the room as he tan a gloved hand through his blonde hair, fixing it back into it’s perfect spike. He then tugged upon his eye patch to fix it’s positioning ever so slightly.
 
     ”It’s almost ready, My King.” A familiar voice rang out. The Ethereal king looked from his little peons working, over to the familiar voice, it was his councilor. His councilor was twenty years old when Ouroboros had transformed him, brought him back from death itself. Ouroboros found it rather amusing that there were twenty and thirty year-old’s being so fearful and respectful to him when he himself was only about seventeen years old.
 
      ”There is no rush for this to be done. I’ve prepared for every threat imaginable. The Lych and Forcewave could walk in here and I've still planned for that." Ouroboros snickered ast that though. Though, he honeslty found that concept rather...unqiue. He took a sip form his flask, filled with the finest water from the Ethereal city.
 
     ”My King?” The councilor asked with a questioning eyebrow raised. Ouroboros simply chuckled at him, and turned around just in time to see a special someone walk through the old rusted door. One little mop-headed, pale skinned boy with bright blue eyes and an anxiety about him that was unmistakable had just entered the room. Ouroboros smiled as his son, Silus, who made his way straight to his father’s side, practically grabbing onto the coat and looking around. The thought of age becoming a random though at the moment, Ouroboros reflected on how awkward it might be to see Silus clinging to him as he always does. Granted, Silus in truth was very, very young and was simply eleven years old in terms of  human development, but it was an interesting thought.
 
     ”You went from one day old to eleven years old in six or so months…Thern you stopped growing. I assume this is the age you’ve chosen to stay?” Ouroboros asked the boy, who stood next to him, looking around with a sense of stricken paranoia about what was to happen.    
 
     ”Y-yes sir.” Silus replied. Ouro arched his eyebrow with an amused smirk. Silus never ceased to amuse him, the child preferred youth to normal aging? Well, who was Ouroboros to argue, after all he was stuck at seventeen for all eternity. Thank the maker he looks a little older, if he had to live a dry life it would not be pretty. He was pulled form his thoughts with a loud sizzle and a bang occurred. Ouroboros threw part of his coat over Silus as he turned around to look, seeing one of his peons fly against the wall, a large hole in his chest.
 
     ”IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THAT I WILL SKIN YOU ALL ALIVE AND FEED IT TO YOUR CHILDREN AND MAKE YOU WATCH!” He snarled, while he articulated it in a bit of a louder tone, it was not a scream, nor a roar; it was simply a very ominous warning with a narrowed eye glaring down at them. Silus poked his head out of the coat covering, looking at Ouro with a littler bit of an angry pout, like he was embarrassing him. ”force of habit.” He said as he walked off towards the councilor, ready to get his report. Of course, Silus was more than welcome to come along but he didn’t. Not this time…
 
     Silus instead shrunk away carefully, making sure to avoid his father’s gaze as he maneuvered throughout the factory, going through shadows. He made his way over towards the old factory maintenance elevators, the ones with the grate and not an real doors. This area was pitch black, nothing could be seen, save for the faint trace of the glowing emerald eye on the other side of the factory, heading for an office. Silus forced open the elevator grate, and looked to the old, rusty steel ‘rope’ that was used to lower and raise the elevator. He cringed at the thought of what that might do to his hands. He dwelled on the thought a little too much, he almost fell down, but instead he hopped back, his little heart racing as he let out an audible gulp and started panting with fear. His mouth went dry, and he he bagan to lick his lips, running his hands nervously as he looked at the shaft. Whilw hw rubbed his hands, he noticed that he was wearing his favorite hoodie, the one that he ALWAYS wore and that was way too big for him. He looked to the shaft, back to the zipped up hoodie, and then back to the shaft. He quickly unzipped his hoodie, revealing a yellow shirt and he wrapped the hoodie sleeves around his hands.
 
     ”J-juuust like Ouro….gonna be just like O-o-ouro.” He tried to talk himself into it. He then looked down to his dirty and worn old sneakers, hoping they would hold on for this. He took the leap of faith, grabbing onto the steel rope with the sleeves, placing his sneakers on the wire too, and slowly sliding down, inching his way there. His heart raced the entire way down, trying to not think about letting go…and you know how well THAT works out when you tell yourself to NOT think about something. He finally reached the bottom and looked out onto the floor, where the workers were currently putting things together. Silus smiled, proud of himself- THUD.
 
    Like a sack of bricks Silus found himself on the ground, a large pressure on him. He let out a little whine, and a grunt as he tried to push up. A familiar whine cam in response he turned his hear in just enough time to see Abra manipulate the light around the area he and Silus were, making the area pitch black, several workers looked over, they must have heard Abra fall on Silus. After a moment one worker just shrugged it off. ”Must be another bat” He said. The others all agreed and returned to their stations. Meanwhile, Silus pushed up.
 
     ”G-get off me!” He strained as he pushed, proving to get nowhere. He felt a long, wet sandpaper0textured tongue slide across his face and a little taunting chuckle form the wolf.
 
     You’re such a comfy seat though!” the wolf replied telepathically to Silus, who just shot him a glare. Abra wheezed out a little wolf laugh before hushing himself and getting off the boy. I’ll remember this next time you want to sleep on me because you’re cold! he teased, before Silus stood up, steadying himself and walking towards the wall just to the side of the elevator, making sure he kept to the shadows.
 
     He followed the wall, until he saw the glowing green eye up on the higher level, Ouroboros and his councilor were on their way back. Silus tried to think fast, but the more he tried to think, the more he felt rushed and pressured. He just had to think…he just had to think. What would he do? It finally came to him, like a light bulb turned on. Honestly the thought came from thinking abouyt thoughts…which led to a light bulb…still he got his answer. Abra, move the light from shadows, make it darker where I’m at and give me a LITTLE more room to work with!
 
     Meeeh, I don’t wanna. He replied. He looked to Silus who looked mortified at the response. His wolf was just going to let him be caught? They all knew full well Silus wasn’t supposed to be on this floor! Hhaaaa-I’m just messin’ with ya he thought, and suddenly the shadows became safer. Ouroboros stopped and looked down, right at Silus, who was sacred. Not that Ouroboros would really do anything, but still he didn’t like being caught for still like this. Ouroboros observed the shadows and noted that they were exactly 2.1 centimeters deeper than they were just moments ago before he entered the office. He looked around, hands behind his back. He knew of one particular threat form the shadows, and he was prepared…but he would not strike at it…not yet. He turned and resumed his walk with his councilor. Silus sighed and took a few calming breaths, to calm his heart, but the second he calmed himself he noticed the schematics for exactly what the workers were working on…
 
   On the table just out into the light was the schematics for a weapon, or some form of highly technical device. On the laptop next to it, it was Ouroboros’ personal laptop, with a screen replaying the same sequence of data over and over again. Silus looked at it and it was seemingly mess of random data, but Silus knew already what this was. For the first time in his life he needed to make a choice. Would he be the hero he wanted to be? Would he finally be able to go out and use his powers, the power his brother died to, to do good things? Oh how he wanted to, but if he did that, then he turned his back on his own parent, or rather his “daddy”. Ouroboros was his daddy, he protected him form harm, he was always there for him….but now Silus needed to betray him…or he needed to give up on being a hero.
 
     ”So then it’s only a matter of time before-“ Ouroboros was in the middle of his sentence, when one of his loyal workers came up the stairs, poanting and hollering at him.
 
     ”M-My King! MY KING! We, we-we” The man began, his stuttering was annoying, Ouroboros tried to retain his composure by closing his eyes and snarling through his teeth.
 
     ”Spill it.” he snapped as he looked to the man, biting his tongue.
 
     ”We can’t find the schematic, or the energy codex!” He said. Ouroboros’ eye shot open and then suddenly fell back to it’s usual relaxed place. He smiled and placed a hand upon the worker ansd chuckled as he walked past him. He removed his hand, and the sinister chuckling didn’t cease.
 
     ”Of course it is...” He said to the man, who began screaming in fear as his arm began to crack with sea foam green colored energy, his skin turning black as obsidian. The chorusing screams were met by terrified eyes that looked upon the Ethereal king, the man crumbling to black chunks, starting with the arm, and slowly his legs. The man tried to walk to Ouroboros, but he would not make it. Eventually his screams were silenced as the Ethereal energy closed off his air-way, asphyxiating the crumbling peon. With a thud, the peon fell to the floor, completely rendered to dust. They all looked at him and he smiled as if he were amused by the situation. ”You’re still here?” he asked them. They suddenly began tripping over each other, trying to get to any and every exit, ready to scour the area for whomever may have acquired the Schematic and the codex.
 
      ”But sir, the Schematic and the Codex isn’t-“ The Councilor stated. Ouroboros flashed a white smile and a mischievous rise in his brow. ”-But they won’t know that…” He added in, impressed by how suddenly something that seemed so major had flipped around.
 
     ”mhm…” Ouroboros hummed as he tossed a newspaper over his shoulder, leaving the councilor to fumble around trying to catch it. Meanwhile, Ouroboros snapped his fingers, and from the ground rose a thick concrete throne like structure form which he sat and looked down upon the “project”. ”Nineteen year old girl with super-powers is making a team, and sources indicate that there’s a nice little meeting going on about now.” He said with a stale smirk, sitting on the throne, playing with a combat knife.
 
     ”M-my lord, how do you know this group had anything to do with it?” The Councilor asked. Ouroboros laughed in a dry, low tone as he drug the knife on the arm of the make-shift throne, concrete on steel alloy making a grating sandy sound.
 
   Car alarms went off in the streets as the peons worked to find the schematics and the codex, the pointless devices that meant nothing to him really. Though this would allow him to put the second phase of his plan in action, as well as allow him to formally introduce himself to the newest additions to the young-meta-human community. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that he was a seventeen year old meta-human…looking to do the right thing. It would be a shame if he didn’t at least greet them. If they wanted to do good, he was obligated to give them the chance…
 
    ”I just…have…a feeling…” He said with a pleasant tone, pulling the knife from the arm of the chair and throwing it across the factory with a harsh whip. He crossed a leg up over the other, as he leaned back n his cozy little concrete seat. His councilor took his leave to begin his own search. With the room empty, he looked back to the arm of his seat and smiled. ”Bring them right to me….” He said a little singing rhythm to his audibly pleasing voice. His fingers traced the carvings he made. ”My little Loki” He said as he looked down upon the carved name Silus on the arm of the chair.
 
    This was going to be a rather amusing evening….

Lyra shook her head in response to the girl asking if she wanted anything to eat or drink. "N-No thank you I am fine." Lyra sat in a seat in near the entrance of the store, away from everyone else who walked in after her. Angel gave a speech, it was good but it didn't seem to have much behind it. Possibly because she was knew to talking in front of people, who knows. But compared to her Mistress it wasn't very good. The color in Lyra's face drained when the girl, who she learned was named Angel, wanted them to share some information. No one said she ever had to do that. She felt herself get more and more nervous for some reason as everyone introduced themselves. They all had cool powers and didn't seem nervous. Lyra at one point had powers but now all she could really do was fly. Unless it was a full moon but that was a different story and they would never be around her at that time anyway. But then all eyes where on her, it was her turn to speak.

Her heart started to race faster and faster. This was different then what she was used to. She knew what she had to do for her mistress and when she met Ellie she didn't seem this nervous. "M-My... umm... I..." stuttered Lyra. She had a lump in her throat now. She took a deep breath in, she might as well get it over with. "MyNameIsLyraAndICan'tReallyDoAnythingOtherThenFlyingAndIHaveAVeryImportantJobThatTakesUpALotOfMyTimeButICanStillHelpOutWhenIAmNotWorking." She wasn't sure if anyone understood that because of how fast she wasn't speaking but she didn't want to repeat herself/

Helia was the first one to respond, curiously by singing. As she sang, she summoned an unnatural fog cloak, which she called "nerfram." She then created a huge chainsaw from the cloud of fog, her weapon of choice. "Ohhhh... Pretty..." Angel cooed, impressed by the fog's mysterious beauty. Apparently Helia had joined for companionship, which was fine by Angel as long as she made helping people a priority. That chainsaw looked like it would be good enough for combat, which the Awesome Squad was no doubt going to be getting a lot of. Angel was more interested in what other secrets that fog held. "Very nice, Helia." she complimented, "And quite a beautiful voice. Welcome to the team." She handed the girl a communicator, which was just a beeper with a faux-chrome "AS" symbol on the side.

The rich girl was next, and she complimented Angel's speech, though Angel somewhat doubted her sincerity. She vocalized her intention to keep some of her skills a mystery, which Angel didn't mind. She herself had quite a few tricks up her sleeve. The girl took out a stunning cross-shaped bronze blade, inlaid with jewels. She proceeded to perform a series of complex and awe-inducing maneuvers, showing off a combination of incredible fighting skill and superhuman agility. Angel couldn't help but applaud when she ended her routine, landing softly on a tabletop and bowing. "Woohoo! Nice!" Angel cheered as the girl gave her name as "Cheokram." Her reasons for joining were a little unsettling, though the fact that she decided to join a hero team and not get "fun and money" through a life crime was enough for Angel to trust her. "You're a welcome addition to the Awesome Squad, Cheokram."  she said as she handed the girl her communicator.

Finally came the shy girl, who seemed more nervous than ever. She murmured out a few stuttered lines, then took a deep breath... And spluttered a long and hilarious sentence that Angel could barely understand, though she did catch the gist of it. Fighting back the urge to laugh at the poor girls nervousness, she instead smiled and clapped her on the back, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry Lyra, we're just happy to have you here. We understand if you have other obligations, you're still part of the team. We will have to work on that confidence, though. Flying is awesome, and you should be proud of what you can do, not to mention deciding to use it for the good of the innocent. I'm sure you'll fit in great here." She handed the girl a communicator and looked around at the 3 newcomers. It wasn't much, but it was a great start. With all of them working together they could really put a dent in the crime here in LA, and eventually all over the world.

She decided to address the crew. Ok Awesome Squad, this is just the beginning of what I hope will be a long and fruitful alliance. Those communicators I just gave you will alert you when a meeting is being called or when I need you to call me. You can also use the communicators if you're in trouble, pressing the red button will send out an emergency call that will let us know you need help. Use it when you need back up. For now, I need to... update the system. Do you guys have anything to bring to the group's attention before we break until further notice?"

Helia looked at the communicator intriguingly. She was always interested in tech but she was just not that smart. She was a math wiz but the second you put some machinery in front of her her mind would collapse. Helia was sitting comfortably in her hero suit which began to appear slowly without her knowing. As she sat there her fog began to thin itself out to the point that it was invisible to the naked eye but the chill it gave you was still there which is how you knew her fog wasn't gone.

"Is it cold in here?" Chuckled some random boy who sat down near helia.

His breath chilled the air as he breathed in and out. Helia smiled as his style reminded her of one of her opponents/friends. They were always friends but when it came to their jobs helia was understanding that they had to fight but even now they still keep in touch. Helia looked at the man then put her hands on her jaw.

"How good is your Ice manipulation?" She asked as she looked out the door to see a light snow fall.

Diana was quickly envious of Helia’s singing voice, and made no comment about her fog powers. What kind of lame power was fog? Diana kept it to herself, knowing that mouthing off during the demonstration period was just tacky. She turned to Lyra, who seemed quite shy and meek, quite endearing traits to the rich girl.

“Don’t worry about a thing Lyra. I’ll be glad to do your share of the fighting.” She said, placing a hand on her shoulders. “We should also get you some new clothes. How about we go shopping sometime? My treat.”Diana’s heroic character would now be in serious question, as she did the insidious deed of leaving her empty Starbucks on a nearby table rather than walk the five paces to the garbage bin.

“When do we get to the action?” She asked Mrs. Penny simply, with a smile.

That being said, she receives the communicator and puts it in her jacket’s chest pocket. She turned around to feel the temperature drop slightly, and she zipped up her pink jacket. A new hero approached, a young man this time, to add variety to this almost girl group. His powers were immediately apparent, a cold manipulator of some kind. Diana simply raised a hand and daintily waved him welcome.

      Great, his daddy sent out a few of the lowly peons to get him. Today was turning out just fan-freaking-tastic. He ran through the streets, Abra using his light bending abilities to keep light away from himself to follow Silus undetected. Meanwhile, Silus was wondering where the rest of his pack was! Hocus had better be nearby soon, Silus didn’t like being more than three miles away from the wolves at a time. Of course, he always had his telepathy…
 
      Hocus, Kais! A little help? I’m being chased here!” The called through his thoughts, sending his voice like a bullet into the minds of his wolves. He also tried to get a feeling for where they were at. Silus skidded to a halt when he popped out of the alleyway and noticed a large black wolf with glowing auburn eyes. It arched it’s leg and began urinating on the side of the police cruiser.
 
      That’s what I think of those leash-laws chubby! He snickered, turning and seeing Silus, his ears folding back. He began slinking to Silus, knowing that the little boy probably wouldn’t condone the behavior….Luckily for the wolf Silus had more pressing things on his mind. Like escape from the men who were after him! Silus hopped onto the black wolf and wrapped an arm around its thick neck and it took off. Of course Hocus had no idea where they were off to, so it did the first thing that came natural…it started running Silus to Kaisses. Silus quit shaking for a moment and his breathing returned to normal as he heard the sirens in the distance. There was very little he could do right now, not while he lacked full control of his powers and not while his wolves were so isolated. If they were going to make a stand against Ouro they were going to do it with Silus in the shadows and the wolves doing all the work.
 
      Silus tried to contact Kaisses, but he couldn’t something was keeping his mind all fuzzy and warm. It was euphoric, and then suddenly nightmarish…and then warm and fluffy again. Whatever was keeping him form thinking was pretty potent. Hocus came to a halt when they reached one of the more crowded regions. Wow…there were a lot of people in that building over there. Silus began to worry, what if the creatures came that way? His daddy wouldn’t kill all those people just to get these back…would he? Silus looked to his hands, the laptop and schematics Was he really helping anyone by doing this? Then he finally noticed something, he was cold. His little body quivered and trembled as he leaned back down onto Hocus, latching onto the black wolf using him as a living heat source. Abra was there too, though the light still being bent around him gave the illusion that he was not even present. You’re cold as Hell pup, go inside with the humans…We’ll stay here. Abra said. Silus shook his head, not wanting to leave the comfort of his “family” or Pack for the warmth of strange humans that probably thought he was an orphan.
 
       ”Hell isn’t cold…” Silus said, a pathetic attempt to simply change the topic so Abra wouldn’t make him go.
 
      ”Hell isn't real.” Hocus snapped as he walked through the shadows, darted across the street and shook the boy off. Silus looked to Hocus apologetically; forgetting that religious speak was one of the few things Hocus couldn’t stand. Silus was shaken off and the snow fell as he closed one eye in pain. Abra rubbed his furry cheek into Silus’ and chuckled as he bit onto the hood of his zip-up hoodie, pulling him to his feet. Silus sighed and did as he was told. He walked into the coffee shop, looking around nervously, only to look upon the television to notice that there was a “Breaking News” update. Apparently several cars were being found turned over, fires set in random houses with no suspects to be seen. Silus knew it already, his dad was trying to smoke-out the rat who stole his plans. Silus shook his head, at least there were no casualties. Well…yet.
 
      Silus reached into his pocket and pulled out some money, walking up to the register and went up to the desk. Of course he had aqquired the same addiction that Niall had gotten him hooked on. Chai was where it was at, though the second Hocus saw the child holding the hot Chai an audible scoff of dislike rolled through his mind, and Silus caught wind of it through the telepathy. Silus smiled, knowing he wasn’t going to be sleeping too much tonight, not while he was surrounded with all this caffeine. He eventually made his way over to the corner spot, sitting all alone. He placed the schematics on the table, opened up the laptop with the Codex of whatever it was, and sat there fiddling with a small glowing rock he had enchanted not all that long ago. The rock was glowing a pale heavenly yellow with sea foam green in the outer brims of it and the holy aura of the Ethereal power radiated from it. He suddenly noticed that some people in the shop had taken notice of him, he blushed shrunk down into his seat shyly and pocketed his enchanted stone. He looked at the computer and began trying to unscramble the password.
 
======
 
     Ouroboros sat, his one emerald eye glowing through the darkness, sheering the darkness like a knife. He let out an amused chuckle as the Visor formed over his one revealed eye, allowing him to monitor his minions, their status and it also allows him to see events through their eyes. Hefty little device if hew dared to say so himself. Right now he was looking through the eyes of workers, unimpressed by the work they had done thus far. It was obvious that his son was the one whom took the plans…he was there one moment, the next he’s gone and the schematics are gone as well. Though Ouroboros was very, VERY pleased with Silus. Silus proved ever resourceful while keeping under the radar, but that wouldn’t be the case for long. Ouroboros hummed for a moment.
 
       ”A!” He called out, a vicious and commanding tone echoed throughout the warehouse. 

      ”Yes Sir?” The Councilor asked as he walked a few steps forward, still remaining ten feet behind the large makeshift throne itself.
 
      ”Send out The Hunter…” He said, an amused grin masked by shadow.

Lyra smiled as everyone welcomed her. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. She blushed a bit when Diana suggested that they go shopping, her treat. "O-Oh, I couldn't I would feel bad." Then there was a gust of wind from the door being open, The air was freezing and caused Lyra to shiver in her light garments. A boy walked in and joked about how cold it was. The cold however was obviously coming from him. So he controlled the cold, which was interesting. Lyra's eyes drifted pass the boy and up to the clock and color drained from her face. "I-I got to go, I'm going to be late for work." said Lyra abruptly standing up. "I-I'll keep in touch." Lyra rushed out the door, passing by a young boy on the way out. She made her way into an alley way and took off, clutching the communicator tightly as she flew.

(Lyra has left the topic, sorry to take her out so earlier, but on top of what's happening I think I am hitting a creative slump so trying to limit my topics)