Champions of Peace: Our World Aflame RPG

A Month ago... 

Now... 

6am Windsor Lodge Champions City

12pm

Location: Champions Tower, Medical Bay...

“There are some days really I hate this job.” Those were the words going through Charles mind as he stood staring at letter chart. “E…A…P…C…R…A…G…T…” Holding his hand over one of his eyes, he looked forward at the chart across the room as he did his best to call out the letter as they got smaller and smaller. “Um…R?” Squinting his one free eye, he leaned slightly forward as the letters suddenly began to get blurrier. Standing just behind him, Nurse Jane was jotting down a few notes as Charles continued with his eyes exam. “I think that’s good enough, Mr. Barnes.” She said as she walked past him. Every since his date with Talon, the young patriot had begun to notice that his vision was beginning to get disordered more than usual lately.

Leaning back against the wall, he put his hand down by his side as he waited impatiently for Ms. Jane’s to give him her assessment. “So, what’s up doc?” He asked in lowly voice as he continued to lean against the wall. She waited a moment to answer him, making a few more notes on her sheet before finally looking up from her clipboard, “Well the good news is that you’re not completely blind.” She chuckled. “But the bad news is that you do appear to be nearsighted now. Whether not this is just due to your age or some kind of side-effect from this transformation you described, I’m not sure.” Leaning herself up against the wall next to him, she placed the clip board under her arm, “It’s shouldn’t affect your hero duties, but I will order you a pair of glasses that I strongly recommended you wear when you’re not out saving the world.”

Turning to him, she continued to smile as she could tell he had heard enough about his vision problem, “But enough with the bad news, how have you and Laura been?” Looking down at the floor, he smiled. But before he could answer, his C.O.P.’s communicator began to go off. Pulling it from one of the pouches on his belt; clicking it on, Eclipse voice suddenly blurted out, "Champion Squad, come in. All available squad members make your way to Phoenix, Arizona. Use the emergency teleport function if you have to, just get there now. And I want someone to find the source of this explosion, whether it was a bomb, a supervillain or just some scared mutant kid. The epicenter of the explosion is marked on your map, we'll meet there."

“Duty calls.” He said, pushing himself off the wall as he placed the communicator back into his belt. “Lucky for you.” Jane said jokingly. “I’ll let you know when your glasses come in, and tell Laura to stop by later, her and I need to catch up on some gossip.” Pulling his mask over his head, Charles grinned as he walked towards the door, “I’ll let her know. And thanks Jane, I really appreciate this.” And with that, he was out the door.

Location: Phoenix, Arizona…

Clouds of smoke could be seen rising up high from what was the city of Phoenix literally just hour ago. Making one complete flyby on the city in his hover car, War Killer looked down at the devastation before him. Seeing literally buildings destroyed, along with patches of fire that raged on in different areas below. Dust began to flow up from the ground as the car hovered just a few inches in the air, the wheels of the vehicle mechanically sliding back out from underneath before finally planting itself not too far off from where both Eclipse and Edward were. Getting out of the car, the Star-Spangled Hero looked around him as he made his way over to his teammates, seeing emergency crews everywhere.

As he approached Eclipse, he gave him a glum look as he looked at the destruction that surrounded them, even noticing some of the members of the Red Cross watching them as they waited for the rest of their teammates to arrive. Looking down, the Red, White, and Blue Champion’s eyes grew wide as something caught his eye just a few feet away. Moving some rubble away, he bent over, picking up a metallic pole that was buried within the death of a city. Holding the pole up with one hand, he looked onwards the unforeseen disaster that lay before his very eyes.

In the dark there was movement. Octagon breathed out slowly and concentrated. In the deep shadows of his room, Octagon was grabbing objects and moving them around. It was almost like telekinesis in this deep of black, but he could almost feel every object he held suspended in the air. He held heavy things and small, delicate things. This was his practice for using his powers to pick things up. In dark places like this, he was the only one that could even tell things were moving. His concentration was so deep that the slightest of sounds ripped through the silence. Immediately dropping everything in the air, Octagon picked himself up off the floor, listening to the broadcast on his COP communicator. Taking a running start, Octagon teleported several times in order to get to Arizona.
 
The sun beat down mercilessly. It was over 100 degrees and Octagon had to squint everywhere he looked. The fires weren't making it any cooler, and Octagon had to watch were he was stepping. There was either broken glass or fire everywhere. Using his dark energy powers, Octagon scooped all the broken glass up and put it in a pile. He looked around for his teammates, but something else caught his attention. There was a rescue worker trying to pull a young girl from some wreckage. The weight of the building was shifting around and the girl was paralyzed with fear. A wooden beam cracked and the rubble above the rescue worker was about to collapse on top of him. Octagon teleported and created a shield big enough to contain the rubble and he supported that with strained muscles. 
 
"Go!" Octagon shouted through gritted teeth. The panicked rescue worker fled from the building as it crumbled around them. Octagon knew he couldn't support the weight much longer. Thinking quickly, he dove for the girl and grabbed her. He teleported out as the building collapsed. The little girl looked up at Octagon with wide eyes and let out a painful scream. An older woman, the mother of the child, came rushing in with an angry face. She took the child from Octagon with her brows knitted in anger. She muttered a quick "thank you," while walking away cooing her daughter. Octagon just looked at the ground. He might look ghastly, but he was one of the good guys. People seemed to forget that sometimes. Shaking his head, he looked around and spotted some of this teammates. He teleported over to find out what was going on.

Scion's Apartment in Champion City

 
"At 12.00pm today, the city of Phoenix, Arizona, was torn apart by a violent explosion. The explosion emanated from Midtown, but soon touched many other areas of the city. Whether this is the work of terrorists or superhumans had yet to be identified, but the casualties are still being counted..."  

“Oh God….” Aaron could only mutter that as he sat in a state of disbelief watching the news. He was a part of the Champions of Peace, one of the most powerful forces on Earth, and yet horrible things like this still happened. It was a horrid reminder that in the end they were all simply human. It was a sad day to be a human in general, when they could commit such painful acts against each other. It didn’t matter if the culprits were super powered or not, in the end Aaron would bring them all to justice.

"Champion Squad, come in. All available squad members make your way to Phoenix, Arizona. Use the emergency teleport function if you have to, just get there now. And I want someone to find the source of this explosion, whether it was a bomb, a supervillain or just some scared mutant kid. The epicenter of the explosion is marked on your map, we'll meet there."

That was Eclipse on the COP communicator. Aaron knew it was time to stop mourning and avenge their deaths. He leapt up from the couch and turned the TV off, then ran into his room and started changing into his normal gear. Once fully prepped Aaron ran towards the door, but stopped and turned around to feed his cat Walter. He might be gone for a bit, and he didn’t want to come home to a destroyed apartment again just because his cat would get hungry and pissed off. After that he finally left his apartment, rushing outside and pulling out his communicator to activate the teleport systems for the first time.

“Here we go…” And after a push of a button Aaron was ripped from his current location and brought to the other’s location in Arizona….
 

Pheonix, Arizona

As soon as he appeared amongst the rubble Aaron quickly turned away from the others and vomited, proving that his first trip through was the most pleasant thing in the world. He spent the next minute or so recovering, and when he felt good enough he turned to join the ones already here. There was Eclipse, War Killer, Edward, and Octagon; all members of the Champions of Peace just like him. He tried his best to seem fine, but as he looked around the chaos and death only made him feel worse. He approached the team with a hand over his stomach.

“I’m sorry for being late, the trip here wasn’t too smooth.” He called to them as he looked around once more to observe the damage, “So what’s our first plan of action? Do we stay here and help survivors or do we scout around for the person responsible?”

He was almost next to them when he felt something underneath his foot, looking down to see that he had stepped on a small and torn up teddy bear. Instantly his sickness was gone, replaced by a need to destroy the monsters that caused this chaos and killed so many people.  He would restore order here and across the world, whether it would be by his words or by his blade it didn’t matter. He continued forward with a look of anger and determination in his eyes, and his heart urged him towards battle. Before moving to join the team he picked up and carried the tarnished symbol of innocence with him, putting it in his pocket and planning to never let it go until he had dealt with the matter personally.

Champions Tower, Angeni's Bedroom

Athena the mother of Helena Troy also known as Angeni in the hero world is the goddess of  wisdom, order, military strategy, and tactical thinking. The only god with the authority to wield Zeus’ thunderbolts, she dispenses justice with firm resolve. She expects those who follow her to carefully discern right from wrong, to be steadfast in their judgment, and fully commit themselves to all that they do. " What can we do for you my child?". The statue of Athena spoke calmly. 
 
Helena ocean blue eye's looked up at the statue of her mother and before speaking back to her she took a deep breath. " Mother, I must defeat Zeus." She said tightening her fist hoping her mother would agree with her.  
  
"You are not ready to go up against my father Zeus and neither are we my daughter. Athena said knowing her daughter will not agree with her." Every champion must have wisdom, tactical thinking, strategy, and order if they want to succeed like Hercules, Perseus, and King Jason." She said trying to convince her daughter not to face the sky god just yet. " You have these gifts but you do not use them and that will keep you from defeating Zeus."
 
"Hear me out mother for at least once, he's attempted to kill my friends and I shall not sit here and watch anyone of them die at the hands of a madman,"Helena said trying to hold back all the rage she had kept buried inside of her for so long.  
 
"You're daughter does not need wisdom or this pitiful patience to succeed in defeating Zeus, Athena. All she needs is courage, toughness, and rage to defeat the stupid man and she shall succeed." The statue of Ares shouted out interrupting the conversation between the two. 
 
"You've always been the foolish type Ares and that is what makes you weak."Athena said now arguing with her brother.
 
" HA! me foolish? I think not sister everyone knows that is the Ares way." Ares laughed.
 
" There is no Ares way half-brother. All she needs is trickery, luck, and speed and she shall succeed in defeating Zeus."  The statue of Hermes said getting involved in the argument.
 
" Are you kidding me? nobody would want to take advice from a delivery boy." Ares said continuing to laugh.
 
" You three are both wrong and foolish.. Helena Troy you're mother is right at one point you have these gifts you always have but you lack in using them. If you want to succeed in defeating Zeus you must unlock these special gifts and then you shall defeat Zeus but do not forget you must unlock the following gifts: Courage, Wisdom, Trickery, and Hope." Apollo said ending the argument between his family.
 
" I thank all four of you for granting me these gifts as a child and now I know what I must do." Helena smiled and bowed at the four Olympian god statues and as she was about to say something to her mother the Champions communicator went off. " Champion Squad, come in. All available squad members make your way to Phoenix, Arizona. Use the emergency teleport function if you have to, just get there now. And I want someone to find the source of this explosion, whether it was a bomb, a supervillain or just some scared mutant kid. The epicenter of the explosion is marked on your map, we'll meet there." 
 
Helena's eye's widen at how serious this sounded and this was probably a chance to unlock her courageousness or hope." Once again I thank you four but now I must go my friends seek my help." Helena quickly spun around and suddenly she was now wearing her breastplate with a red star in the center and lying just in front of an eagle crest and her blue shorts patched of white stars. " Wish us luck mother." The goddess of patriotism flew out her window and into the beautiful blue sky.
 

Phoenix, Arizona

After speaking with the four god's who were gonna help her in defeating Zeus, Angeni had finally arrived at her destination landing next to her fellow teammates who seemed to be investigating the scene. " Forgive me for my lateness, I was meeting with my family." She said eying the place her face mood changing into sadness at what she saw. “So what’s our first plan of action? Do we stay here and help survivors or do we scout around for the person responsible?”Angeni turned to her fellow teammate Scion and spoke with a tune full of anger and revenege. "I would like to volunteer with scouting around for the person responsible for this and if I shall find him he will answer for this crime."

The Champions were assembled, save for a few late members, but as Eclipse looked around at the devastation around them, he felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. They were too late. As heroes, every member of the Champions of Peace was completely dedicated to saving lives, to preventing this kind of destruction. Looking into the eys of his team-mates, Jason knew this was tearing them apart. To distract himself from the pain, he tapped his communicator and barked sharply into it: "Wanderer and Paragon, report." The other missing team members were accounted for, Overkill had been out of the game for a while now and Jason recalled Feral Nova mentioning something about a prior engagement. "Especially you, Paragon. You're a speedster, you should have been here before me!" Lowering his wrist, Jason assessed the options. 
  
"So what's our first plan of action? Do we stay here and help survivors or do we scout around for the person responsible?" Scion asked. Angeni muttered something angrily to him about taking care of whoever was responsible.

"Whoever is behind this won't be anywhere nearby... This isn't just some mutant who lost control of their powers, the explosion happened in the busiest part of the city. To top it off, I had an aerial view of the blast on the way here, and it was obvious to see that this was the result of three bombs, detonating in close proximity. This was no accident." Eclipse replied, having deduced by this point that the explosion was clearly an attack, and probably a set of bombs, rather than a set of exploding superhumans. "If you can lift rubble, get started on the search and rescue. If not, try to find the source of this. If it's a bomb, then there must be some remnants left. War Killer, walk with me." Eclipse beckoned his fellow leader, knowing that with no powers, Charles would be of limited use in lifting debris. As the robotic casing surrounding his legs carried him forwards, Jason's mask peeled back to reveal his face, looking slightly sick. "I'm not sure why I summoned everyone here, to be honest, Charles... The bomb has already detonated, it's too late for us to show up and save the day." He groaned, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "This kind of thing makes me sick... I've dedicated myself completely to what we do, to saving lives... And then something like this happens, and wipes all of those lives out in the blink of an eye. It just..." The young hero trailed off, looking absent-mindedly into the distance, before suddenly becoming focused on a specific point on the horizon, his eyes widening in horror. Then the noise hit them. The echoing remnants of another explosion, no more than a few miles away from where the Champions stood. 
 
"Octagon!" Eclipse roared, activating the thrusters in his boots and soaring into the air above his team. "I want you to teleport ahead, now! Angeni, you're with me!" He lowered his voice and adjusted his communicator, speaking so that only Edward's comm. device would receive the transmission. "Windsor, I need you here... This could just be a distraction." As Angeni leapt into the skies after him, both heroes turned their backs on their team-mates and hurtled through the air towards the most recent explosion. "Paragon, there's been a second explosion!" Jason barked into his helmet, sending a message to the speedster. "I'm sending you the location, you need to meet us there now!" By the time he had finished speaking, Eclipse and Angeni had already arrived. The scene was a total reverse to the place they had been only moments ago... Before it was eerily quiet, but now the air was thick with the sounds of screams and explosions. One bomb had already detonated, but if the previous location was anything to go by, there would be two more soon. "Octagon, cover the ground, get as many people as you can as far away as you can!" The leader yelled as his suit automatically sent the transmission to Octagon Freak, diverting his gaze from the mangled remnants of the first building to be torn apart. "Angeni, the next explosion will be either there or there," the hero pointed to two locations left and right of the source of the destruction. "you take the left, I'll take the right!" 
 
Jason had only just reached his destination when he was tossed backwards through the air, as an explosion obliterated the lower section of a skyscraper. Regaining his balance, Eclipse instinctively threw out his hand, attempting to telekinetically seize hold of the building... When he quickly remembered he no longer had his powers. As the building began to topple, the armored Champion plummeted down towards the ground, hurling himself towards the gap in the structure created by the explosion. Planting his feet in the ground firmly, Jason activated the second function of his armor, as the plates began to move and shift, raising him higher off the ground as the tank-mode was initiated. Holding his giant, robotic hands above his head, the young hero braced himself for impact, as the toppling corner of the skyscraper landed heavily on his metal palms. It didn't require much physical exertion on Eclipse's part, but he was all too aware of how vulnerable his now exposed head was, and how the armor would not be able to bear the weight for long. By this point the building was leaning and while Jason was slowing the fall, eventually the whole thing would topple over. "Paragon, we need you, NOW! Evacuate the building!" Eclipse bellowed, gritting his teeth as the armor began to creak. Neither Angeni nor Octagon were fast enough to evacuate the whole building... Only Paragon was capable of such a feat. "PARAGON!" Jason screamed as his armor began to crack, and the walls of the building crumbled in his grip...

"Bone structure shows that the vic is a Caucasian female, 18 to 30, and based on the level of decomp, he's been dead for about 3 years." said Dr. MacAskill into his recorder, looking over the skeletal remains of another victim of anonymous murder in D.C. "Looks like all the fingers, both arms, and legs were broken before the victim was killed, and there are several marks in the bone indicating the killer made some deep incisions with a blade, but didn't kill."
Detective Robyn Snow stood behind the doctor, watching him as he looked over the body. "So you're saying she was tortured?" she asked. Brendan could see her hate toward the killer building in her eyes.
"Unfortunately, yes. Whoever did this wanted her to suffer. Did you find any info on the girl to save me from having to do a facial reconstruction?"
"Nothing yet." she told him. "Looks like she had just moved into the building. Everything is still boxed up, but I've got the uniforms going through, seeing if they can find anything. Only thing not in the boxes right now was this book." she said, handing over an old looking leather bound tome covered in runes. "I have no clue what it says. You seen anything like this before?"
Brendan took the book and slowly flipped through the ancient, yellowed pages. "Hmm... Very interesting..." he mumbled.
"You can read that?" asked a very suprised Snow.
"Oh, of course not, but I do recognize it. What we have here, is a spell book. Seems our victim here, was a witch." explained Brendan, holding the book up.
Robyn scoffed at the remark. "So you're tell me that if I go look in the fridge, I'll find some expired eye of newt next to the mayonnaise?"
"Of course not. Witches hate mayo. They use Miracle Whip" he stated so matter-of-fact-ly, Robyn wasn't sure if she should believe him or not. "What's confusing me right now, is why she's been dead for years, but she wasn't discovered until now."
"It's weird," Snow started, as the pair walked to the kitchen area of the large upscale apartment, while Dr. MacAskill's assistants began packing up the body to bring it back to the lab . "the superintendent said she's been great about paying her bills. Always the first one, in cash, every month, like clockwork. All the neighbours just assumed whoever lived here was quiet, or worked long hours, since they had never even seen her. Then about a month ago, the payments just stopped."
"That is weird." Just then, his Champions communicator beeped for what seemed like the one hundredth time during the investigation. "Excuse me for a minute, Detective, I've got a very important phone call I have to take." he said, pulling out his phone, pretending it was ringing. "By the way, I'd go check the closet. Some homo magi are known to set up a magical shrine is dark areas like that when the first move into a place to help build magical energies in the new home, or something like that." he said, before stepping out into the hall, and turning his communicator on. 
"Paragon, we need you, NOW! Evacuate the build..." Eclipse's voiced yelled through the comm. Before Paragon could even swear, he had taken off like a bolt of lightning.
Just as he disappeared, the door of the apartment burst open with Robyn yelling. "Brendan! We have to evacuate everyone! There's a bomb in the closet that could level this entire block!"
 
Paragon never heard Snow's words, as he tore across the country at top speed, while the scenery around him became a blur. At this speed, everything was almost at a complete standstill, as the countryside quickly turned to the deserts of Texas. A final quick push, and he was in Phoenix witnessing Eclipse attempting to hold up a crumbling office tower. Without even a thought, the speedster knew this is what needed evacuating, and rushed into the shattered, leaning tower. He grabbed everyone he could find, two at a time, and ran them to a safe distance away. The close quarters of the building forced Paragon to slow his speed, making the people's movements seems like they were trying to swim through molasses as the hero picked them up, and ran them out. By the time he reached the final people on the top floor, all the stairs leading down to the ground floor had crumbled to nothing, while the angle of the falling building made navigating even more difficult. With lightning fast reflexes, he grabbed the last person trapped in the tower, and ran toward the nearest window. The glass shattered, as the shards seemed to slowly float around them like feathers, while Paragon leaped from one falling piece of rubble to the next, slowing his own high speed fall while keeping the girl in his arms safe. Once the couple reached the ground, the building gave a loud crack and crumbled under the grip of Eclipse. The secritairy trembled in his arms, as Paragon lay her down with the rest of the survivors, as he slowed down to audiable levels again.
"...AGON!" came Eclipse again, after what someone who was inexperienced at moving at speeds like that would perceive to be ages, but was really only the time between the ticks of a second.
"I'm here, E. Everyone's out of the building and safe. What the hell's going on here?"

Octagon was still scanning the wreckage of the blast when things suddenly got very quiet. Most of his teammates had arrived at the scene, but nothing seemed right. So much destruction and the great "heroes" couldn't save the lives of hundreds caught up in the blasts. Octagon was began thinking that they couldn't save everyone and that self-pity would only distract him from saving those left. His reflection was cut short by a crack in the distance. 
 
Gun shots? Octagon thought. No, too loud and too powerful... Another bomb. Octagon snapped his head in the direction of the sound and could almost see the destruction as it was happening. He heard Eclipse barking out orders, and Octagon didn't even need to hear what he was saying. Before any of them had much chance to act, Octagon was gone. On the other side of the city, things were in chaos. People ran in random patterns, screaming like children. There was so much to do. The woman hanging from the toppled building, the man under his car, the little girl lost in a crowd. Trying to act without overthinking everything, Octagon sent out hands to grab the woman and the little girl. Turns out the woman was the little girl's mother. Octagon teleported over and lifted the car from the trapped man and put him aside on a mattress that fell from an apartment building. The building the woman was hanging from was getting ready to topple and traffic was piling up in the streets. Octagon built a giant wall to hold the building and scooped up all the people and put them aside. Octagon looked back at the building and people were still trapped inside. He made a hole in the wall and extended a ramp to the ground. As people exited the building, Octagon kept busy by pulling people from wrecked vehicles and trying to block off sections of rubble. After a few minutes, Octagon had about four blocks cleared out when he heard an office building come tumbling down. He saw a blur flying in and out of the building that had to be Paragon and Eclipse was trying to hold the building up. Teleporting to a nearby rooftop, Octagon reinforced the building on all four sides near the bottom and helped to clear out the people around the base of the building. 
 
"It's days like today," Octagon grunted. He maintained his focus and tried to make sure he could catch Eclipse if he fell while trying to keep pressure on the building while Paragon did his work. "Days like today..."

Requiem a term generally reffering to death. Normally a requiem is a celebratory event rather than moarning. Meant to be joyous and happy for the loved one who has gone to a better place. It also however could be for moarning, a time when many lives were lost and sorrow was found. In the short life of Destiny short being in angelic years not ours there had been a fair amount of times calling for such an event. All the times had been cheerfull however except for one, that was up untill now. The first darker underlining of the name came when sevral angels fell fighting off a hoard of demons. Destiny lead the final attack but do to odds it was only her and two sisters who lived. This awarted her the name of Requiem as well as the name saint Ion. This moment of horror she found herself in today though had no aparent silver lining.

Phoenix Arizona

Destiny Salvat Ion sat on the roof of one of the many sky scrapers of the city. Well supose she couldn't say many Arizona was more a rural country kind of place. None the less downttown Phoenix was a busy hub of people. She liked the cityscape she likeds being able to get to know others and see the world with more eyes than one. Seclusion was the last thing she wanted while on earth. She was grounded affter her actions and while the fallen got her wings back she was still far from her grace. Being around people made her feel less rejected as well as was just welcoming. Brushing aside some of her white hair the angel layed on the roof and looked down at the streets below. Admiring the traffic and hectic lives of those around her.

She never thought the term hot as hell could be true on the planet. Now she believed it Phoenix may of been only ninety or a hundred degrees, which was allready awful but beacuse it was so dry it was worse. She could have sworn it had to be atleast twice what the weather forcasters said. She was thankfull her clothing was always light in color and weight and exposed skin. IF she had to actually dress casually today she was confidant she would have melted or drowned to death in sweat. Not fun in general but especially to one who looked as beautiful as her the angel had thought to herself.

A knott formed in her gut suddenly, something was wrong. She couldn't tell why she fealt it but she had an instinctive fealing something bad was about to happen. Destiny leapt to her feet and turned back to the ledge trying to get a sense of what was going on and where it was coming from. In an instant what was once a booming portion of the city was changed forever. All that could be seen was the ball of flame the deafining roar following it a second later. Smoke billowed into the skies and instantly chaos had broken free. The fleeing and cowering heard below was for nothing however. Following the first was another blast. Another chunk of the city demolished in a fashion to quick for anyones liking. Each blast looked at a 45 degree angle from where she was. "F--k" she swore realising what it was. The triangular pattern was designed to increase damage, everything in the center would fall to just from the three blasts around it.

Her wings flapped lifting her into the blue sky and sure enough the third explosion came. The building where she once stood fell into ruin. From the skies above Requiem, an angel who while fallen at the moment still lived for rightiousness was forced to watch. A massive chunk of the city was leveled, turned into an apocalyptic scene from her worst nightmares. As the smoke began to settlle Destiny found herself looking at fallen structures and burning buildings. Cars were flipped over bodies filled the streets. A tear from the fallens crystal eyes fell from her cheek. COuntless dead in a moment, more death in an instant than the angel could take in. A mass of dead to mourn, a requiem that spoke volumes of the hard times of this world. She hoped she would come across some of the heroes soon, she wanted to do more than pick up the remains. Now though that was all she had.

She had concealed her wings in the tatoo patterns on her back as she aproached the paramedics that were around. Not being in any form of casual get up they assumed she was a hero and directed her attention to wear it was needed.  After awhile of lifting debree and treating broken bones another explosion was heard. At the time her hand was holding a scalpal, she had just finished digging a shard of broken glass that had goten lodged in a mans arm. He was in the middle of thanking Destiny when the explosion went off. The small blade was crumpled into almost nothing as the anger built up in the angel. "Im going to let you go, good luck miss." The man remaked in concern but a hint of hope remaining in his voice.

She spoted two people flying in the distance. She couldn't make out mutch but maybe with there help something could be done. The two split up and she went for the one who seemed closest, a second detonation went off and Destiny saw the building fall. Thankfully whoever the hero was he had super strenght the building was staying up at least for the time being. With the empending explosions likely to come soon to further obliterate the city and one of the few hopes of anything remaining safe in Phoenix the angel tried to speed it up and fly to the individual as quick as possible. People were begining to show up nearby. A blur all that could really be seen as bodies apeared out of nowhere. A speedster was helping the man who looked like some kind of robot by the looks of things. The building crumbled almost as soon as Destiny got close. She landed by the group of people and the heroic speedster near by. As the armored person started walking towards them the angel spoke. "I'll make this quick names Destiny I go by Requiem and I hope like hell you have an idea on how to stop these atrocities. I can't take more of this bull sh!t we can do better...right?" Determination was in her voice up untill the last bit which was simply pure desperation.

Ground Zero Of Bombsite One

It could only be described….as pure and utter chaos. As the next bomb went off the entire city shook while the team sprung into action under Eclipse’s orders, but even so the wanton suffering and death that surrounded them would take more than superpowers to put an end to. Aaron ran towards an abandoned car and did his best to drive towards the area of the explosion, watching as Octagon, Eclipse, Angeni, and the newly arrived Paragon raced off to save whomever they could from the crumbling buildings that surrounded them. Windsor was going to deal with the area here while Aaron would do his best to help deal with the area closest to the new explosion. No area was too safe at the moment, but the city’s medical emergency teams had set up a temporary headquarters and a series of smaller stations where people could go if they needed medical attention. And at this point many of the unfortunate victims needed medical attention.

Once at the scene of the explosion, the young knight was doing his best to try and help guide the survivors to the nearest medical station since people have to be kept in check during an emergency of this magnitude, or the situation could easily turn into an animalistic stampede. Aaron knew that this could sometimes be more dangerous to the survivors than the debris, and was doing his best to keep the survivors calm and organized while also looking for anyone who might need help. His search didn’t last too long though, telling a nearby medic to continue moving the people as he sprinted towards a young woman who was frantically pointing towards an apartment building that was quickly burning and crumbling to the ground.

“You have to save my little brother!” the teenage girl shrieked as she pleaded with anyone nearby to help her, “He’s still in there! Somebody pleasehelp!”

“You need to calm down ma’am!” Aaron made it to her and forcibly held her still, “What floor do you think he might be on?”

She was silent for a moment, her frightened expression frozen in time on her face. After it finally registered in her mind that someone was going to actually help her she seemed to snap out of it and broke free from his grasp, quickly turning around and pointing back at the middle of the building. “We live on the fifth floor, but he ran back in there to look for his girlfriend!” she moved her finger so that it pointed up higher, “She lives on the eighth floor! You have to hurry!”

He nodded and moved past her towards the building, but had to turn around when someone grabbed his shoulder. It was a man wearing a fireman’s uniform, a sight that most of the people were glad to see including Aaron. The fireman used the back of his wrist to wipe some sweat away from his dark brown skin before releasing Aaron and lifting up his fireman’s axe. “Let me come with you. I’m the only firefighter in the vicinity right now since we have problems all over the city, and I bet you could use my help.”

“I’d be honored, but we have to hurry.”

“Then let’s go!” The fireman lowered the tip of his hat in acknowledgment before following Aaron into the inferno. There was an elevator, but to use one during a fire was never a good idea so the two heroes ran past it and immediately began sprinting up the stairs, avoiding the flames and rubble as they made their way up to the fifth floor. Once they made it there they both moved through the hallway, searching for anyone who might be there. Their search yielding no results, and the two men moved back towards the stairwell just as a large piece of rubble came falling down towards Aaron. With his quick reflexes the firefighter swiftly jumped and knocked both of them out of the way. It was proof enough that the building was on its last leg and would soon give out.

“Thanks!”

“You can thank me later hero! Let’s get to the eighth floor before this place either burns us alive or falls on us!”

“Agreed!” Aaron exclaimed through a cough caused by the smoke before they continued their journey up the stairwell. They had to dodge more fire and rubble as the building began to shake, but it wasn’t long until they reached their destination. On the eighth floor they did the same as they did on the fifth, calling out and searching for anyone left behind or trapped. Aaron kicked the nearest door in and searched the place, but found nothing. The fireman broke open another door with his axe and looked around, calling for Aaron when he found two bodies lying on the ground. It was a young boy and a young girl, most likely the little brother and his girlfriend. The young knight quickly knelt down and checked their pulses, glad to feel their life signs.

“They’re still alive, so we need to get them out of here fast before the smoke kills them!” Aaron yelled while taking his enchanted jacket off and draped it over the young boy before lifting him up in his arms. “You take the girl and let’s get the hell out of here!”

The fireman nodded his approval as he did the same for the girl, both of them now only protected by their undershirts. Once they had the children, the two men moved quickly towards the stairs and began their descent. The fireman’s helmet protected his face, but Aaron’s eyes were beginning to sting from the smoke, making it harder to see as he followed his ally down the stairs. As they passed the fourth floor and moved down towards the third, a loud creaking noise could be heard. The fireman made it down to the next flight of stairs with Aaron coming soon after, but a large amount of debris and burning wood fell and blocked his path.

“Go on without me and get her out of here! I’ll find a way out on my own!”

“You damn well better!” and with that the fireman reluctantly continued down, leaving Aaron to decide his next move. He quickly moved into the hallway of the third floor in search for a way out, running towards the window to try and use the fire escape. His sight was blurring from the smoke and the tears, but Aaron managed to open the window and crawl out onto the fire escape stairway. Once there it seemed like he was home free, but as he lay there catching his breath and recovering from the smoke the building violently shook once more, knocking the stairway loose from the building and sending the two of them falling towards the ground.

“Not like this!” 

Smoke continued to fill the air around them as the young patriot stood amongst the destruction before himself and his fellow teammates, his hand still clasped tightly around the flag as he held it in place. “So what’s our first plan of action? Do we stay here and help survivors or do we scout around for the person responsible?” Scion suddenly asked; Charles could hear the concern in his voice. Looking over at Eclipse, he turned his attention to his fellow commander as he began to speak. "Whoever is behind this won't be anywhere nearby... This isn't just some mutant who lost control of their powers, the explosion happened in the busiest part of the city. To top it off, I had an aerial view of the blast on the way here, and it was obvious to see that this was the result of three bombs, detonating in close proximity. This was no accident." Nodding his head, Charles had also gotten an aerial view of the disaster himself, but was still surprised at how observant Jason was, but he still could not deny that he could tell this wasn’t an accident.

"If you can lift rubble, get started on the search and rescue. If not, try to find the source of this. If it's a bomb, then there must be some remnants left. War Killer, walk with me." Driving the pole of the flag deeper into the ground, the Star-Spangled Hero left the flag flowing in the wind as he began walking at Eclipse’s side. Watching as Eclipse’s mask peeled back, he instantly noticed the sickening look on his best friend’s face as they walked amongst the city ruins. "I'm not sure why I summoned everyone here, to be honest, Charles... The bomb has already detonated, it's too late for us to show up and save the day." Hearing the sound of failure in Jason’s voice, Charles could see that he was really beating himself up about this. “Then we do our best to be ready and to make sure we try better to see these kinds of things coming before they happen. You called us here because it was the best decision you could think of at the time and whether or not we were too late to stop this from happening or not is out of our hands...but that doesn’t mean we can’t still do our best to help those who need it now.” Giving Jason a slight smile, Charles placed his hand on his friends shoulder as he tried to give him hope.

"This kind of thing makes me sick... I've dedicated myself completely to what we do, to saving lives... And then something like this happens, and wipes all of those lives out in the blink of an eye. It just..." But as Eclipse’s mind wondered off towards the distance, the two Champions heard it coming before it truly hit them. For just a few miles away, the two teenage heroes’ widened as the sound of another explosion, fire and smoke filled the air as within seconds of the sound could the two feel the shockwave of the blast hit them, causing Charles heart to jump due to the force. “What was--?” Before his mind could even realize what had just happened, Eclipse had already leaped into action. Activating his boots’ thrusters, the Champion of Vine City soared high into the air as he began ordering his fellow teammates towards the second blast site, leaving Charles where they both once stood.

War Killer quickly began to follow after on foot, “Dana, come back here!” A young woman’s voice yelled out causing the hero to stop dead in his tracks. Turning his attention to his side, he saw as a woman chased after her young daughter through the rubble of the city. But his eyes grew wide with distraught as just above them a large wall of what was probably once part of a large business building began to tumble over; most likely due to the shockwave that just hit. “No!” His feet digging into the gravel, Charles began to racing towards the two at full speed, “I’m not going to make it--!” Not thinking twice, he quickly slung his mighty shield forward, sending it spinning forwards. Slipping on the rocky surface, the woman fell on her back as she grabbed the small child; the mother clinging to her child as the large stone wall continued to crash down upon her. But like a streak of red and white, War Killer’s shield sliced through the air, digging itself deep into the around right before the woman as the wall smashed down upon her.

Holding the small girl tightly in her arms, the woman was trembling in fear as her eyes slowly began to open. To her surprise, she was shock to find that the metallic shield had plated itself in the ground just before her, the shield standing straight up, creating a gap between her and the stone wall before her. Placing his hands on the side of the wall, he dug his black boots into the ground as he bent downward; thrusting his legs upwards as he lifted the side of the wall just high enough for him to find the young woman holding the child, her eyes peering up at the red, white, and blue hero in complete awe that she was actually still alive. Feeling his legs beginning to give out, he groaned as he felt the pain beginning to build due to the weight of the wall, “Lady…move…now...” He moaned as he gritted his teeth, sweat rolling down his cheeks as he continued to use all his strength. 

The woman suddenly snapped out of her almost death experience as she heard his voice, causing her to quickly squirm out from underneath the wall, allowing Charles to finally realize his grip on it. Bending over, he placed his hands on his knees as he began to take a few deep breaths. “Thank you.” The woman said to him, the little girl still safely in her arms. “Are you two alright?” He asked them. “Yes…are YOU alright though?” She asked with concern as it was obvious he was in pain. “Yeah…I’m fine, don’t worry.” He lied as he was almost certain he had just pulled his left shoulder out of socket. Looking over at her, he gave her a forced smile to ease her concern for him. “You better get out of her, it still isn’t safe here.” He warned her, clasping his hand tightly around his shoulder as he continued to groin in pain.

The woman nodded before then making her way towards Red Cross station that could be seen not far from where they were, the little girl looking over her mother’s shoulder as she waved back at him, causing a light smile to appear across his cheeks. BLAM! But that smile was gone as the sound of a sniper rifle echoed around him. Looking around frantically, trying to find where the gun shot had come from, his eyes looked up to one of the half-destroyed buildings as he saw Edward drooping a man from the top of the building. “What is he doing?!” Looking on in completely horror, he watched as the man began to plummet towards the ground.

But his fears were diminished as Edward appeared once more, catching the man by the leg just a mere few feet from certain death. Making his way over towards them, he saw as Edward knocked the man out before then pulling out his communicator, “Guys we have incoming I just neutralized a sniper who claimed to be part of a cleanup crew for a guy named Madros…” Charles brow rose curiously as he heard Madros’ name, knowing that it would be impossible for him to be behind this as he was already in their custody. Walking up next to Edward, War Killer pushed a button on his belt causing his blue Pontiac Solstice to drive up next them. Pulling out his own communicator his mouth opened as he began to speak, “War Killer to Champions, finish up what you’re doing and regroup back at HQ. There’s nothing more we can do here for now and we can return if we have to, but for now we have bigger problems to deal with.” Putting away his communicator, Charles opened up the door of the car as he looked over at Edward, “Get in or fly along side, we’ll meet the rest of the team back at Champions Tower.” Charles said to Edward, giving him those options before then placing himself in the driver’s seat as the car then began to lift itself off the ground and into the air.

After the collapsing tower rescue, Paragon was racing around the ruins of the city, saving as many people as he could without over-stressing his body. After getting what seemed like his one hundredth "Thank you" in as many seconds, he finally slowed down enough to hear his phone ringing.
"Brendan, where the f*** are you?" asked Snow, who's normally calm, cool voice was having trouble masking a sense of worry and urgency.
Paragon thought quickly, responding, "I uhh... was called to another job. Why?"
"A bomb was found in the witch's closet, set to blow soon. The thing could level the entire block! I'm just making sure you're out of the building."
"Yea, I'm out and pretty far away, now. Did all of the evidence make it out?"
"En route to your lab as we speak, doc."
"Awesome. Get everyone out of the area. Bomb squad should be able to take care of it. Stay safe, detective"
"You too, B." she replied. 
As Paragon hung up his phone, he swore under his breath. There was no way the bomb in the witch's apartment could be linked to the Phoenix ones, could it? Before he could start drawing conclusions, his communicator sprang to life with Windor's voice.
"Guys we have incoming i just neutralized a sniper who claimed to be part of a clean up crew for a guy named Madros. Anybody know what we should be expecting, or who this Madros dude is?"
The speedster went to work on his miniature wrist-mounted computer, an update of the one from his glasses, which he had given to Brooke for her birthday last year. He quickly pulled up the Champion's data on Madros, and read through it quickly, to relay the info to the team who didn't yet know. "17th Century... Magic coin..." he mumbled to himself, as he read up on the target. "Immortal... Adopted by witches..."
Just then, War Killer jumped onto the communications "War Killer to Champions, finish up what you’re doing and regroup back at HQ. There’s nothing more we can do here for now and we can return if we have to, but for now we have bigger problems to deal with.”
Preparing to head back to base, Paragon continued to read through Madros' information. "Hates magic... History of torture and murder... Victims include humans and homo magi..." Suddenly, everything clicked. "Everyone! Do not head back to base!" Paragon yelled into his comm. "I repeat, do no return to base! We have a related situation in DC. I think Madros has planted another set of bombs there. Metro PD has found one, but they'll need our help disposing it. We also need to search the area for more, because if it's anything like here, he's set more than one to maximize damage and panic. War Killer, head back to base with Eclipse, see if you can shake any more information from the bastard, since you guys know him best. Windsor, go with them. I saw your work on the sniper, and not that I approve of your method, we may need that to save more lives. I'm sending a transport to take pick up those who can't get to the capital in time. It will be here in 2 minutes, and get you there in less than 10. We are on a deadline people. Move!"
Like a bolt of lightning, Paragon took off across the country again. The intense speed and distance made his lungs feel like they were on fire, and his legs were molten lead, but he fought through the pain. No more people would die today, if he could help it. Enough people had died and suffered in Phoenix, and there was no way he would allow it to happen in the city he called his home.
He screeched to a halt in front of the building he had left not long before, as the bomb disposal squad prepared to head into the building. Scanning the crowd of officers, Paragon spotted Snow and rushed over.
"Snow! We have to get everyone out of here, now!"

Requiem stood and listened to the others. She had no clue who any of them were but the who and what was hardly relevant in the current situation. Far as Destiny was concerned all that mattered was where the attacker was and what they would need to do to stop them. She would journey to the edge of the galaxy if she had to this kind of destruction couldn't be tollerated. Soon the comunicators were a buzz with chatter and the team were planing to leave. So far nobody had complained of those she was with about her tagging along but even if they did she wouldn't much care. Destiny went off to aid in the rescue and assistance parts as she waited to head to the next location.

Muscles tensed as she lifted a large piece of granite off the ground. A young girl had been underneath the buildings remnants. Debree had colapsed into essentially a small room the woman trapped in a bubble basicly. Lifting one gray rock after the next a small tan arm reached outwards. Geting a sence of the girls location Destiny put her telekinisis to use knowing now where she could move things without puting the young girl in harms way. Earth and debree was moved away liberating the young girl. Her large brown eyes displaying her gratitude and general shock to be alive. Rather then say her name though or thanks she pointed to another individual. Looking to her right she barely was able to make out an individual that was falling. She smiled greatfull the girl was focusing on that which mattered. Picking up the small brown haired girl Destiny took off towards the individual.

Newspaper and dust flooded the air as the fallen angel tried to reach the person in time. Milk white feathers marked the trail as her wings kept her aloft. Thankfully if the bombs had one positive side effect it was in clearing the streets. Reuiem had nothing she needed to dodge or go around just burned cars and shattered walls to fly passed. Drawing close to the individual she dropped the girl lightly on the roof of a car as she went for the desending blond. By the looks of it he was only in his teens or early twneties and one of the heroes that had come to aid the survivors. Her arms stretched out as she positioned herself in the proper stance needed to catch someone who fell from a building. The fallen angel skided to a halt as she cought the fellow hero her wings taking a few small cuts as she shielded the two from any rocks that might of been kicked up in the landing. The young girl ran up to them and started pulling on the heroes sleeve as she pointed at the teddy bear the man had.

Setting him down she brushed a lock of white hair infront of the tatoo covering the small cross. She overed her hand as form of greeting. "Name is Destiny Ion and in return for saving your life your going to take me on the flight to the next believed bomb site." She smiled yet still stood in defiance, her will to aid in things driving her every thought. After dropping the girl off at the make shift medical center set up to aid in helping the number of wounded Destiny went back to meet up with Aaron and the others. She found a sliver of joy in the moment as the little girl had huged her mother who in turn greeted the stuffed animal. Destiny stayed to the outside of the vehicle that picked them up. She used her abilities to allow herself to stay to the vessel without geting in the way of the others. Requiem felt she was still a tag along and being such she tried to stay out of the way of the others so long as it wasn't tied to the handiwork in keeping others safe.

Edward looked at Warkiller, he could tell he wasnt happy with him or that like himself he wasnt thinking especially straight right now.  Warkiller pulled his communicator towards and face and begain to speak in his usual clear  and authoritarian style “War Killer to Champions, finish up what you’re doing and regroup back at HQ. There’s nothing more we can do here for now and we can return if we have to, but for now we have bigger problems to deal with.” Edward looked at the unconscious sniper once again, his body motionless bar the tiny movements of his lungs and chest. Each of the perps breaths felt like a mockery of what Edward stood for. The princes mind flashes the all to famiular pictures of the massacre that brought about his birth,  the men like the man laying in front of him who made it happen. Edward feels his blood warm up another couple of degrees and his knuckles tighten,  bad unheroic thoughts begin to surface in his mind. Hearing Warkiller speak once again “Get in or fly along side, we’ll meet the rest of the team back at Champions Tower.” Edward focussed again on the situation around him " I will take the lift thanks , I dont think ive gained the power of flight yet" he chuckled in a disguised fake way. His mind now wondering what Warkiller was thinking Charles knew Edward couldnt fly , clearly the two of them needed to regroup and gather themselves.
 
Sitting in Charles car as the two  champions flew back to HQ Edward turned to his fellow champion and asked " You know who this Guy Madros is dont you?,  theres something on your mind . I dont need to read it  to know  something is there."  Before Warkiller had a chance to answer Edward spoke once again " I know the dropping the guy of the roof was alittle extreme compared to my usual methods before you or the others reprimand me at HQ. He said he wouldnt talk, and he had just taken a shot at me and the EMT's on site i wasnt thinking especially straight. I just wanted to get the information and try and help out you know." Turning his head away and looking out of the side of car he sat in silence for the rest of the journey trying to contain his thoughts and clear  his mind while his focus kept shifting to the deaths he had seen and the explosion of his past. 
 
Landing finally at COPs HQ Edward followed Charles into the meeting room and took a seat, Edward sipped at some water the usual cooling sensation wasnt there it was as if his body refused to feel any differently and the champion begain to sweat under his armour.

Edward hopped into the passenger’s seat next to Charles who was buckling himself up as the chair slowly began to rise into the air. Looking out his window, Charles watched as they rose higher and higher into the sky, seeing the destruction before them. Rising high above the clouds, the young hero steered the car in the direction of Champions Island and proceeded in that direction. Quickly pulling out his communicator, Charles placed it on the dashboard in front of both he and Edward as Paragon began to speak, “…War Killer, head back to base with Eclipse, see if you can shake any more information from the bastard, since you guys know him best. Windsor…” As the team’s speedster continued, Charles was slightly annoyed as his fellow teammate giving out orders right after he had just given his own, but he could tell that Paragon obviously knew something the young patriot didn’t and he agreed that it didn’t make sense for them all to return to base when he, Eclipse, and Edward could deal Madros themselves.

Picking the communicator back up, Charles began to speak, “Edward and I are in route now to Champions Island, Paragon. Take the rest of the team with you to D.C. and the rest of us will catch up with you after we finish up our business back at HQ.” Clicking off, he placed the communicator back into one of the pouches on his belt. “ You know who this Guy Madros is, don’t you? There’s something on your mind. I don’t need to read it to know something is there." Edward asked as Charles look straight ahead as they passed through a cloud. But before he could answer, Edward continued, “I know the dropping the guy of the roof was a little extreme compared to my usual methods before you or the others reprimand me at HQ. He said he wouldn’t talk, and he had just taken a shot at me and the EMT's on site I wasn’t thinking especially straight. I just wanted to get the information and try and help out you know." Looking over at Edward as he looked out the window, Charles smirked slightly, “It may have been a little extreme but to be honest I probably would have used the same tactic myself. Did you get the information you wanted?” He asked his fellow Champion who nodded in reply. “Then I’ve got no problem with how you handled things.” Charles smiled as he turned his head to the front once again as they continued on their way.

Location: Champions Tower, Headquarters of the Champions of Peace…

Dust began to blow up from below as the car gently descended into the towers hanger bay. Jumping up out of the driver’s seat, Charles looked up to see Eclipse as he landed next to them. “Is Madros still in the holding cells?” Charles asked Jason who commanded his mask to peel back, revealing his face to Edward and War Killer. “He is. I gave an order to release him and have him taken to one of the interrogation rooms on my way over so he should be waiting for us now.” Nodding, the three made their way to the elevator as they headed to where Madros was now being held.

 Standing together in a room right across from the one Madros was now sitting in; they looked at him through a one way window as he waited for them to enter into the room. “So how do you want to handle things, E?” Charles asked as he leaned himself up against the wall, looking over at his friend for his answer. “I think we should let Edward interrogate him. He knows both Charles and I, so it might be best to send in someone Madros has never met before.” Staring at Eclipse for a moment, Charles looked over at Edward who was drinking a cup of water. “Alright, you’re up Edward. And remember, the quicker we figure out what he’s planning the faster will be able to locate the rest of the bombs.” Eclipse then turned to Edward as he made his way out the door, “And don’t be fooled by him, he likes to mess with your head so stay calm and focused and don’t let him get in your head, understood?”

Watching as Edward entered into the room with Madros, Charles stood next to Jason as they observed the both of them. “Are you sure he won’t let Madros get to him?” Charles whispered. “He should be fine, and if either gets out of hand we’ll deal with it.” Sighing deeply, Charles pulled his mask back as he opened a can of Dr. Pepper, taking a quick sip. “If you say so, but millions of lives are possibly on the line here, we can’t afford to make a mistake now.” He said as he took another sip, watching through the window as Edward began his interrogation.

Aaron was falling towards the ground at a rapid speed. But since the young girl he had struggled to save was somehow safe and sound he could die knowing he did at least a little good before passing on to the next life. He had a good life while it lasted, and he hoped that the team mates he cared for would go on to save the day even after his passing. The young man was most definitely afraid, but his faith would temper his resolve and make him strong even in the face of the end. God gives, and God takes away. He closed his eyes for probably the last time, and began to pray.

“In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sanct-“

But before he could finish his prayer, Aaron felt himself being snatched out of the air and held by something as they moved through the air. He slowly opened one eye, looking out at the crumbling city before him, before opening the other and looking up at the face of his savior. She had the face of an angel, and once he spotted the flapping wings…that was when he realized a real angel was saving his life. Aaron’s mouth hung open in awe as he beheld his angel of mercy, using her wings to shield them from falling rubble. Once safely on the ground, Aaron slowly and weakly stood to his feet and almost couldn’t believe what had happened. It took the same young girl he had saved to finally snap him back to reality as she tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the small teddy bear protruding from his pocket.

“You can have it.” He said with a weak smile as he took it and held it out for her. She looked to be almost a teenager, usually too old for stuffed animals, but in this time of crisis it seemed that any form of comfort was enough for her. Aaron had kept it this whole time as a memento for his desire for vengeance against the monsters that caused this atrocity, but as the young girl held it he knew that it wouldn’t be anger and revenge that saved these people. It would be hope.

A still shaky Aaron turned to his angel of mercy and still couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t until she offered her hand to greet him that Aaron realized he was staring. She said her name was Destiny Ion, and that in return for her aid she wanted only to help. He shook her hand firmly, feeling the fear in his mind slowly fade away as he saw the determination in her incredibly blue eyes. It was enough to inspire him onwards as well, and after dropping the girl off at the nearest aid station they headed out just as Aaron received orders to head all the way to Washington D.C. and help. A transporter arrived just in time to take the rest of the team to the newest site, while Eclipse, War Killer, and Edward went to apparently interrogate a suspect. Aaron hopped in and sat near the angel, feeling his suspicion growing and wondering to himself if she was indeed an angel of mercy…or quite possibly an angel of death.

As they exited the vessel that brought them to D.C. Destiny jumping off the wing she rested on the fallen looked to the soul she had saved. "I can't say what I am for sure now but I assure you its acts of mercy I long for not execution." Her smile was kind her words coming from a general understanding of what went on behind the young warriors eyes. Resting at an easy stance she then focused in on the details of the situation at hand. The entire team had picked up that in all likely hood the next set of bombs would be at monumental structures. It all made sence to be hounest, no surprise that the destruction was with the single goal of disrupting order. WIth the actions needed to take place decided Requiem took flight towards the Pentagon.

The diversity of the world was welcoming and in a way the angel was thankfull for her mistakes. It allowed her to descend to the world and witness its glory entirely. Phoenix was a desert rough dirt and brush more than anything else. The sun blared down with scorching heat giving the metalic surfaces of the city a constant gleam. Washington however was diffrent in almost every way. Grass was on any surface not of pavement and steel, trees provided plenty of shade. Destiny had an inspired hope to aid in keeping the world as alluring as it was now. That meant for starters that she wouldn't let an act of destruction like the one hours before transpire ever again in her pressence.

She flew near the Pentagon and could make out the distinction of security in the courtyard. Everything seemed calm and natural except for a singular spot in the center. No logical security net would have three people in a single area something was off. Instincts kicking in she chose to drop into the yard. In highnsight it may not have been the wisest of ways to aproach things. Guess that was what she got for being so gun ho in a situation she was un-acostomed to.

Wings seemed tto burst into a shower of crstalyn light as they vanished. Nothing but her tatoos that indicated their existance remained. A bird with no wing can not fly of course so this ment she went from the grace of a dove to that of a rock. A rather gourgous rock but none the less something gravity pulled down. Nearing the end of her acrobatic but not exactly perfect fall she performed a roll. Such a move distributed the shock of landing and allowed one to continue. That was a parkour trick for two, three story falls top however so her landing was alot more painful then she would of liked. Getting up she was staring at barels in no time.

Floodlights burst on making hiding imposible and everybody in sight had guns drawn before she could manage so much as a bat of an eye lash. The orders were barked from what felt like every damn angle imaginable. The three in the center however were a bit more armed then one would expect. Pistols were the majority the three before her though had rifles trained at her head. She could tell they were the right people to point fingers at do to the surprise bag near by and heavy weapons. A Staff Seargeant came stomping down the path way. His white hair and friendly eyes came off almost like what you would expect of Santa if he lost wait, except the rest of him seemed fit well enough to snap Destiny in to. The variety of badges marked him as what she officially concluded the "bad a-- or hard a--" catagory by her knowledge. "Tell you rookies and civies what, either A you explain now and the problem children go where problem children go. Or you can be a pain cause problems and may or may not end up carcerated or dead" the grandpa Bad A-- ordered. The fallen read the official name but found hers more suiting.

Maintence, maintence and service complaint was the excuse to first come from the three men. Some where down the line they messed up the tall tale, or atleast the scruffy one who looked like his eyes were about to burst from his skull did. What followed was a bit more methodical but still didn't seem to register as valid by grandpa Bad A--. He then looked to Requiem his eyes calm yet his agitated face sugested if the question was A B or C and she so much as thought D she would have a bullet between the eyes. "Sir as you most likely know earlier today Phoenix was leveled by massive explosions set with an even greater blast radius which went well with the chain of detonations set up. The C.O.P derived that Washington D.C. was likely to be the next target." The staff seargent proceeded to look her over for some form of recognition she was with the team. Her eyes looked in his coldly "I have no place with them there was no time. Between keeping the state out of harm or getting a metal I preffer aiding the country." Naturaly the hounor beween brothers(or sisters) of war was not something you could fake, these people had little desire for acomodations. This concluded in the general being in her favor.

"Sarge didn't Private Adams go missing a week ago that guy isn't him." Grandpa Bad A-- proceeded to look at the man and drew his pistol. Abrams' imposter withdrew the detonater as he raised his rifle the others soon following in his act. It may have been stupid and reckless but not wanting more death today Destiny jumped in the way. Her wings spreadout to take most the bullets as she moved towards Adams. Her knee came up in a sharp arc the hand holding the detonation system was kicked out and the arm broken. With a quick motion barely visible by human eye she lashed at one of the other two her blade cut off the bullet heading for the mans heart thankfully before puting a gouge in his wrist. The last of the three was less fortunant taking a round into the shoulder from judge of the entry wound he was probably never going to use the arm again. Her wings managed to take the magority of the rounds sent his way though.

Escorted to a large open room the seargent shook her hand thanking her for keeping the situation as clean as possible. She sat in the cafeteria some thing a majig they claimed to be medical gear was bluged into her arm. Every where she went a pole and some blood came with. Her wings also couldn't be retracted at all, tomarow morning she could leave but her wings would have to rest casually rather then fold into her back like usuall. The red ribbons around them had no help in the matters. Her ice like eyes looked to the seargeant with a tired smile. "Just shut up and help those others will you?" He gave a salute before punching her in the arm and walking away. "Great more bruises" was all that came to mind as she sat trying to recover faster than she physically could.

Edward walked into the interrogation room. Nodding to his fellow champions as they closed the door behind him. Pulling out the chair on his side of the table he sat down calmly and starred into Madros's eyes. The second their eyes met Edward felt a wave of anger strike him deep inside his chest making him grit his teeth, the champion began to utter. " Madros i presume?, we are going to have a little chat  the outcome of which will decide how you spend the rest of your days. You know what we are here to talk about and you also know the cost that will be paid if you decide to lie to us. Your not a popular man  here in Champions city and i suggest you be as cooperative in our investigations as possible. You may feel this is an idle threat and iam trying to intimidate you into talking as some sort of interrogation technigue, your would be wrong in this case.  Your old friends Eclipse and War Killer have ordered me to get information from you and i will get you to talk , i may even enjoy it depending how stubborn you intend to be. But enough of this idle chatter lets get down to business." 
 
" Where are the bombs , all of them?"  Edward listened with his mind as he probbed at Madros grey matter. Madros begain to laugh hysterically  and without moving his lips he replied " You wont find anything in here... whoever you are " then his lips took over from where his brain left off " Your petty threats of violence in exchange for details of my plans are feeble. You wont harm me since your quite simply not going to endanger possible information extraction and risk all thoose lives. As for your clumsy telepathic reading , do you honestly think your the first telepath i have had to deal with. ( breaking into a smurk) is this amateur interrogation hour? do you even want to save these peoples lives." Madros turned his head towards the the frosted glass on the side of the room looking where Edward knew his teamates where standing " Heres a bit of information for you to savor, hearts and minds . Strike at the hearts and minds of any people and then chaos will reign" looking back at Edward Madros tilted his head  as he sized up the champion. " You know my name i want to know yours. It's only polite coversation after all rookie." Edward coldly replied in a voice as blunt as butter " My name is not your concern its my questions that should be.  Where are the bombs ?, i want names none of this cryptic BS." Slamming his hand through the table Edward looked at Madros face to face,  a few centimetres between them. " Your just a common terrorist , whats the matter? cant fight your own battles? have to rely on goons with guns and bombs the weapons of cowards to get you master plans to work?"
 
Edward continued " You know i caught one of your hencemen ?",He named you in seconds. You obviously dont rate loyalty highly on your recruitment drive. " Madros expression changed from one of cocky smugness to one of slight annoyance " You dare call me a coward and a terrorist and mook my allies " Windsor smilled at Madros obvious annoyance " Hearts and minds Madros, heart and minds.  So what makes you such a cowardly individual ? is it a weak heart or a weak mind?." Madros now notably started to go red as his annoyance slid towards anger. " Feeling strong are we , its easy to be as you are when your not bound to a chair." barked Madros  this was what Edward was waiting for a reason to smack  Madros around. He had been waiting to do it since he heard his name  at the bomb site. In the blink of an eye the prince of power had torn Madros from his bonds and had pinned him on the wall at the back on the cell. A flurry of punches to the body exploded from Edwards fists, this was a message  a warning and alittle payback. Edward heard the door open behind him . Turning and looking at his fellow champions he didnt stand down, he just turned his head over his shoulder and looked as Madros laying on the floor " I am Edward Windsor , and i will see you pay for your crimes Madros".  
 
"Washington or New York" he said as he walked out of the door

Hanging his head in disappointment, Octagon boarded the transport. He had to keep moving and try again. Humans didn't understand him, but he understood them perfectly. He felt every death personally and felt the web of repercussions that left families in tatters. He knew how closely connected humans were and he felt all their pain. Maybe it was a result of his being the only one of his kind on the planet. He closed his eyes and waited for the transport to land in Washington.
 
Minutes later, he stepped out of the door of the transport and stood in the blaring sun. He had assumed that major monuments and attractions would be the natural targets, as did everyone else. They all split up and went to different memorable places in DC. Octagon wasn't completely familiar with the area, but he knew of the Lincoln Memorial. He admired Lincoln from the history books. He found a giant, living embodiment of this figure sitting in an equally-sized throne. He looked around and noticed the columns, and of course, all the people admiring and taking photos. There were a few gentlemen trying to fit in, but they weren't doing a very good job. Some walked in groups, others as individuals, but they never stopped moving. Octagon could see their quick glances around. If they were Madros's men, they were checking on the bombs to make sure civilians didn't discover or tamper with them. 
 
Walking quickly through the crowd, Octagon grabbed an individual and wrapped his mouth. They quickly teleported to the roof of the structure where Octagon held the man up by the lapels of his suit. 
 
"Where are the bombs?!" Octagon screamed at the man. The man simply smiled in return. Gunshots began firing and people began screaming. A few agents were climbing onto the roof with their SMG's drawn. 
 
"You shouldn't have yelled. We're constantly checking each others' backs and they saw me disappear with you. Your raised voice let them know where we were," the man smirked, cockily. Octagon's brow furrowed tightly enough to bend steel as more agents crowded the roof. 
 
"We have you, as well as the civilians beneath us, surrounded. If you harm that agent, we will kill you and all the civilians. Get on your stomach and put your arms out to the sides!" one man yelled. Obviously they hadn't done their homework, as they didn't know what Octagon's powers were. He formed a dark scoop and grabbed all the agents on the roof. While they were all suspended, Octagon disassembled their weapons and scattered the pieces. He kept his concentration and brought them down to the ground level with him.
 
One of the agents leaned over and yelled into his radio, "What's the situation up there? Is that super contained?" His head snapped back to his hand. His weapons was turning black and disassembling while he still had it. He looked around and the other agents were losing their weapons also. Octagon grinned at his trick, but he knew they were packing more heat. Keeping the agents contained, he moved quickly, attacking agents individually. He got to the one with the radio and tripped him, but while he was in the air for a second, Octagon sent a bone-shattering punch into the man's chest. The pavement cracked slightly as he hit the ground. Octagon teleported to the nearest agent and chopped his neck. Teleporting again, Octagon kicked one man off his feet and spun to take another agent down with a follow-through kick. 
 
Octagon stopped when he heard a gunshot. He looked up as people screamed. Three agents had taken hostages and demanded that Octagon surrender or they would kill the civilians. Octagon raised his hands over his head slowly, but with a smirk hidden behind his cowl. A large fist formed beside the agent to the far right of the bunch. It barreled through all three agents, causing them to lose their grips on their guns, their hostages, and their consciousness. Octagon gathered up the unconscious agents and piled them in front of the structure and moved all the people away. He picked up a live one and brought his face as close as possible to the agent's. 
 
"Only asking once. WHERE ARE THE BOMBS?" Octagon shouted. The man kept his lips pressed, but he gave it away. He began glancing at the monument. But he wasn't looking at Lincoln... He was looking at the pillars! Octagon tossed the man on the pile and made a make-shift prison out of nearby benches and loose concrete. He teleported to the nearest pillar and studied it. He found a bomb attached at the base. It all made sense now. If the bombs were attached at the bases of the columns, it would cause the whole structure to come down. He quickly ran from pillar to pillar, grabbing the bombs. The timers were getting short and Octagon had not gathered them all yet. He sealed the bombs he had in a dark construct and threw them high into the air. He looked where he could not get the bombs and surrounded that with a dark shield. The bombs exploded safely in the constructs, but the structure was now missing a few pillars. But with the other dozens of pillars, the monument was in no danger of collapsing, which left Octagon relieved. Taking a minute to inhale some fresh air, Octagon steadied himself. He got on his COP communicator and radioed the team.
 
"Lincoln Memorial's safe. No casualties this time. Let me know where else I can be of assistance."

Location: Champions Tower, Interrogation Room…

Charles propped his back up against the wall behind him as he and Eclipse stood in the small cube like room. Looking through the one way mirror the looked into the room next to them as Edward entered and was now standing across from the villain known as Madros. Not wasting time, Charles looked over as Eclipse turned on a recording device on the small table in the center of the room with, making sure they got every word of the conversation.

“You think he’s going to talk?” Charles asked; his eyes locked on Madros as he sat before Edward. Eclipse didn’t say anything but simply paid attention to the conversation as it began to unfold. Edward didn’t waste time getting to the big questions, knowing that they were short of time it was best to get the answers they needed as quick as they could before it was too late. Even though they knew the bombs were located somewhere in Washington D.C., there exact locations were still a mystery to the rest of the team who were already beginning their search there.

“What is he-?” Eclipse said in a shocked tone as Edward suddenly began to pound upon Madros. “Dangit!” War Killer shouted as he quickly burst into the interrogation room as Edward simply looked back at him but continued to pummel Madros on the ground. “Stand down, Windsor!” Charles ordered. Seeing as Edward wasn’t letting up, he quickly grabbed his fellow Champion’s wrist as he lifted his fist and prepared for another blow. “I said stand down!!!” Charles roared once more as he pulled Edward off of Madros who remained lying on the tiled floor, blood now running down his lip.

“When I give you an order to stand down, you stand down. Got it?” Charles said as he Pulled Edward out of the room and into the hallway with Eclipse. “Madros!” Eclipse shouted, pointing Charles and Edward towards Madros as he could be seen making his escape down the hall. “What the-!” Charles held his tongue as Eclipse pushed him and Edward out of the way and quickly began to chase after the villain. “Wars, you’re with me. Ed, meet us in the hanger bay! Move!” Eclipse commanded.

Following a few feet behind, Charles and Eclipse trialed Madros up the stairway that led up to the roof of the tower. Only to the two heroes’ surprise was there a helicopter waiting for Madros. Quickly whipping out his pistol, Charles began to open fire on the copter as the mad man swiftly leaped into the open door on the side of the helicopter as it began to hover away from the rest of the building. Eclipse still running towards the edge, not letting Madros get away that easily. “Jason, wait!” Charles shouted as he grabbed Eclipse by the shoulder, ending his pursuit as the copter began to gain altitude and distance from them.  “Let him go, we have to get this information to the others; will handle Madros later.” Looking him dead in the eyes, he could tell that Jason wasn’t happy about letting his arch-nemesis escape but still listened anyways.

Minutes later, they quickly made their way into the hanger bay where Edward was waiting for them. Loading into one of the jets, Charles buckled himself into the plane’s cockpit as the jet began to lift off of the ground and into the air. “Alright, send a message with the location of the remaining bombs to the team in D.C. and let them know we’re on our way and will be there soon.” Charles ordered Edward as he directed the plane through the clouds, setting a course for Washington D.C., “So what do we do about Madros?” He asked Eclipse, “He’s tomorrow’s problem, right now let’s focus on stopping these bombs and making sure he doesn’t take any more lives.” Nodding his head, the young hero turned his eyes forward once more as he was glad to finally feel like this mission was coming to a close…even though for some reason he could only wonder if it were only just beginning.