Cleansing the Nest (CVU Semi-open Event)

The video spread promptly, what did it mean? A disease in need of being erradicated, a nest soon to be visited, what could it possibly mean? Theories over theories popped up online, indicating a plethora of possibilities that neither could be properly affirmed or denied. Agencies gathered any officers available to analyze the modified voice reverberating during the few minutes of video, his identity was unbeknownst, his reasons even more mysterious and how he managed to tap onto the global network for enough time? The most difficult inquiry to answer, as it was, astonishingly, the one with the faintest trail.

Nests, those were where the vermin first begun to develop.

Where society's cancer quiescently grew, nourished by our ignorance, irrelevant at first until they mature, shfiting into major problems, chaining our ideals to their egotistical excuse for justice. Not unlike weeds poisoning a garden, he would reap them from their root.

Millenium Academy - 4:37 p.m.:

Busy day, nothing new at Millenium City. Nothing except the troubled eyes of heroic figures witnessing over and over again the very same video scattered throughout the news. Cleanser, the bird-masked man who randomly decided to communicate his selfish crusade against an imaginary sickness. Journals laughed, others worried, but life moved as it would. Terrorism wasn't as commonplace as believed, especially at Millenium, such a grandiose city, a beacon of hope throughout the country. Where legends were made.

The unexpected target.

How to make mere minutes heard, plaster his visage onto history, pass his message onto others.

Four masked figures approached the outer walls, mostly envisioned as possible students or visiting third parties. Uniformed as heroes, they all shared a symbol between themselves, which could be theorized as partaking a group of heroes. Bird masks, oddly shaped, clearly inspired by the design of a crow's beak. Eyes fixed on the palissade of concrete around the Academy.

A shirtless figure steps up, long white hair hanging from behind his long mask, arms trembling at incredible speeds as his fists met the wall multiple times within seconds, its effects ostensibly akin to an earthquake that could be swimmingly felt from anywhere in the campus. It's source, however, now nothing but a wall beaten to a pulp.

A curtain of smoke rises.

Four shadows can be seen amidst it.

@cleanser:

Percy had seen it the first time through, alone in a rarely-frequented lounge with a wide window that opened to the bright, shining city. The sunlight was streaming in, uninhibited by glass panes, and a few little birds had gathered. She wouldn't really admit to anyone that she'd been watching re-runs of What's New Scooby-Doo when the message came on. Percy was sixteen, after all. Not technically too old for Scooby-Doo, but also just old enough to be slightly ashamed of being caught watching. Even if there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Greetings. You've never heard of me, how could you? It doesn't matter. Everything changes. Everything will change. Call me Cleanser. I've come here to tell you of a disease. Yes, an illness afflicting our society, chaining us down. Heroes. Villains. Politicians. Figures of power. Their selfishness has brought us down, it has weakened us, eaten away our dreams and replaced them with obedience and a faux sense of incapability. I'm not here to heal them, that's beyond me. But starting today I shall purge their nests. The Cleansing has already begun, what will you do?"

Anyway, she listened, like over half the planet was listening, to the strange young man with long arms, intense eyes, and a crow's beak. She had to wonder if he'd spent a lot of time watching and listening to crows. He definitely talked like one, moved like one. And, obviously, looked like one. It gave her an idea. Usually she could rewind the program and get the last five or ten minutes back - at the very least she'd catch the bit of the episode where the song played and a chase scene went on, at best she'd be able to rewatch the speech. Listen for undertones that weren't quite in the human decibel range, maybe there was something else crow-like about him, the way there was something seal-like about Percy.

Before she could, though, the birds on the windowsill scattered to make way for a scruffy-looking tomcat with one eye missing and a bite torn out of his right ear. Voldie, despite being named after a Harry Potter villain for his flat nose, and his roughed-up appearance, was a frequent visitor to Percy whenever he could find her. Today he looked a bit rougher than usual, maybe even a little spooked.

"Stray dogs again?" Percy didn't even think twice about getting up and going to the window to rub his head. The cat made a sound to the negative, then a noise she recognized, but couldn't quite place her finger on. Usually, tame animals like cats and dogs spoke fairly easily to her. But she didn't think she'd heard him quite right.

"Sorry, but did you just say..." She felt the first tremor, probably before most in the school would. She had an animal's sense of balance, after all. She looked back at the stray. "An earthquake, in Millennium? But how - "

Not just any earthquake. Now came a second visitor to the windowsill, a real black crow whose bulk drove Voldie to move over somewhat, away from the seal-girl's hand. Someone is breaking down a wall. One of the school walls. You need to hurry if you want to stop that. Warn the others.

Percy stared at the bird for a moment, but the crow had told her things before that had checked out on investigation. This wasn't something to mess around with, either. More tremors were coming through by the second, hard enough now for humans to feel very clearly. A chill ran down her arms. Starting today I shall purge their nests... Millennium Academy was a nest for young heroes. The bird was right, she had to warn students and faculty, if they hadn't already gone to check things out. Maybe it wasn't connected, but maybe it was.

"You two get off campus," she commanded the bird and feline. She couldn't really make them do anything, but at least she could tell them to be safe. Without checking to see if her order was heard, she started running out of the lounge, toward the dorms. Dorms first, since she needed to grab her knife and sealskin, and that's where most of the other students would be. In the time she'd spent considering what was going on, the tremors had stopped. Whoever it was, was inside.

She tore through the halls, shouting almost incoherently at anyone she passed, "Someone's broken a wall, I think!" Though usually the "I think" disappeared with her down her path. That was what she'd say, breathlessly, as she rushed through the common area and up into the girls' dorm, before fumbling with her keys and scrambling into her room for her coat and knife and a bottle of water off her desk. It would be with the same urgency, though quite a bit less speed, that she went to make her way outside. If anybody stopped her, she'd try and pull them along while trying to explain the situation, hopefully getting to the scene before there was too much trouble.

@cleanser:

I probably should have expected something to go disastrously wrong the one time I decided to take a break from my routine. The biggest surprise I normally get is coming home to find out Worthington the fourth had decided to leave me a trophy of one of his successful hunts. It only takes me a second to then grab the mouse and flush it down the drain, however dealing with four masked terrorists busting into a school seemed like one of those things that might take a little bit more work to clean up.

I hadn't even planned to stay in Millennium City that long, after all the only reason I came was to check out the school. Which had gone pretty well, at least given that I hadn't really planned to go in the first place. I'd just stuck around in the city on a whim more than anything, I'd never been to the city before and thought I'd just go ahead and see the sights before taking off. I'd barely left the campus before I felt the ground shudder and the thunderous sound of something being reduced to rubble. That's probably when I should have known something was off, after all, how often does the east coast have earthquakes. Still, hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that.

At least I had to wherewithal to know something was off, especially after I saw a huge flock of birds take to the sky right over one spot in particular. Curious I wasted no time checking it out for myself. Within seconds my body folded in onto itself as the short fur covering my body extended into feathers. In the blink of an eye and a quick flap of my wings, I was airborne. A green dove heading towards the wall surrounding the Academy.

Which leads me to now, perched on the roof of a building watching as four figures stroll through a large hole in the wall. While I'm not earthquake expert, it was pretty clear to me that the hole was likely the work of the trespassers. To be honest, I'm kinda starting to think there never was an earthquake, but it's probably too late for that anyway. Regardless of it being a school for the superpowered or not, these guys were still breaking into a campus full of kids and they didn't look like the friendliest of sorts.

Now I was pretty sure there would be no shortage of people coming to deal with them, after all, it was the patron city of superheroes. However, it looked like I was the first one on the scene so why not at least see what they want. After all, maybe they were just lost. Trying to ignoring the huge probability I'd soon be joining the wall in that pile of rubble I left my perch in a flurry of feathers. Soaring down in front of the figures before reverting to my usual form.

Stretching my arms out in an attempt to stop them from advancing I called out to the group. "WAIT! WAIT! Can you all stop for one second? Because I'm not sure if you guys know or not but this is kinda a school. And unless these have changed a lot in the last two years most of them prefer it when visitors come in the front door. Which in this case happens to be over there." I nodded my head towards the entrance gate, "So unless y'all have a really good reason for coming this way, I think everyone would be happier if you just went thataway."

Must be coming from this way.

The ground trembled and she only kept on walking right through it as students all around her fell. People panicked and ran. Contrary to belief, not everyone at the academy was necessarily some kind of powerhouse.

"No offense but"

*Crack crack*

Holly "Mayhem" May walked forward popping her neck to and fro, as she walked forward towards the giant hole in the wall the four crowd masked figures stood behind.

"When people wanna have a tea party, they don't knock hard enough on your door to bust it down. You saw the video, right? Everyone did. Look at the masks. These creeps know exactly what they're doing."

Brash. Arrogant and seemingly in charged, Holly was already in the midst of picking out which one of these guys would be her opponent. Her plan being simply to fight him and then once she was through with him? To use the incoming kinetic energy to beat the rest of the invaders into the ground. Just like that. Nothing to it, really. There was no need to overcomplicate things or to treat this like a bigger threat than it really was.

Right?

"So why don't we skip to the part where I beat the ever-loving shit out of you four and then everyone else can just have what's left when I'm through with you."

She points to one of them as the dust clears. The one with the silver hair and vibrating arms.

"Why don't we start with you first, gorgeous?"

@selkie_percy: @menagerie: @missmayhem: @cleanser:

Yin could tell that Millenium City was a unique place because of the effect that she had on people here. With the high concentration of superheroes, super people and those more used to seeing folks of unusual appearance and ability, this was the first place that she had visited where absolutely no one looked at her with eyes full of wonder or resentment. Here, she wasn't a clumsy alien with a plethora of powers or an outsider by her unusual appearance. She was just one freak among thousands or more. She couldn't tell whether she liked that aspect of this place or not, but she hadn't planned on staying, regardless. Her life was a life full of wandering and scavenging to survive and any constraining attachments or bonds with anyone or any place were liable to lead her back into her old life of standing by and doing nothing when she needed to act the most.

Kinda like today.

Laying atop a building nearby the city's college for upcoming superheroes, eating beef jerky and an apple that she had stolen from... somewhere, she heard the sound of shattering brick in the distance and and decided to make sure that it really was brick that she was hearing and not some "flying brick's" face. She followed the noise to its source; four metahumans standing in front of an enormous hole that had recently been blown out of the wall and a few standing opposite them within the institution. The bricks themselves had been flung into the building, making it clear that the four wearing beak-like masks were responsible for it. To the average human living on this planet, the affiliation of these four would be obvious but Yin was, for all intents and purposes, "living underneath a rock" with no concern for the media or internet.

She floated downwards a few yards behind the intruders until she could be seen by some of the students within the building. Her question was simple and spoken with words meant for everyone in the immediate area to hear. She couldn't have cared less who might've answered her.

"What exactly is going on here?"

@menagerie: @selkie_percy: @missmayhem: @preserver:

Words, introductions, teases, for all their worth, Millenium Academy students took quite a while to get their hands dirty, attempts at accessing the situation briefly after the announcement were needless, it was crystalline what just occurred, specifically due to the four figures now standing before curious and frightened students. Mute, all of them, the words fell on deaf ears as all reactions they were able to gather were as animalistic in nature as the abrupt collapse of the Academy's outer protective wall.

Grunts, perhaps one or two audible to those greeting the assailants.

The first to act was the silver-haired behemoth who crushed the wall as if it was mere papier-mâché, a couple steps forth as if ultimately ignoring the invitations for a fight. However, he came to a complete halt mere centimeters away from those who single-handedly opposed their invasion. Behind him, a man covered in leathery clothing, more specifically a semi-open jacket and the average pair of pants, all darkened in color, contrasting with his white t-shirt, a chain hanging from his waist-line, identity covered by a metallic helmet shaped as a crow's head. The third figure was a woman, a strong build even for her ostensibly minor frame, yet what was most interesting were the astonishing amounts of scars scattered throughout her arms and fists, her mask also seemed quite peculiar on its own, shorter than the rest, made of some sort of stone. However, the final person remained the biggest mystery, shrouded by apparently ancient clothing, he just had a heavy atmosphere surrounding him altogether, entirely covered by the mahogany hues of his trenchcoat, face entirely covered by what would seem like a plague doctor's mask.

Tension was well-nigh palpable.

Seconds go by, no reaction.

Then, out of nowhere, the brute vanishes without a trace, simply reappearing in front of the green-skinned pacifist who was the first to address the situation. Elbow cocked back, fist stiffened before pistonning it full-force towards the kid, not once as a normal punch, yet multiple times at an incredibly high speed, aiming to squash every conceivable bit of his body with fists that would seem more like rocks repeatedly smashing against bone and flesh.

The Cleansing has begun.

@cleanser: @menagerie: @missmayhem: @preserver:

Percy was running onto the battlefield, struggling with the cap on the water bottle. No one had stopped her, and no one had answered her, at least not as far as she could tell. When she arrived, she could feel the tension in a manner beyond most humans' ability. Selkies, more than seals or people, had a powerful sense of empathy. She could at least derive the feelings from her fellow classmate, the one here already, and the two green strangers who seemed to be on the school's side.

Growls and grunts from the assailants, but it was no animal language that the Selkie recognized. All bird masked, each different yet they were obviously together. She started to tip the water bottle slowly with one hand, the other catching the water midair, when the slightest twitch of movement caught her eye from the direction of the green boy.

Her first day of classes, she had chosen to ignore an ally in need to assail the enemy. Days later, she'd offered herself up to try and save a life, and failed. There was a balance in there, somewhere. A balance she'd needed to find.

You need to act, but lives come first. Before even battle.

The bottle dropped, the rest of the water pouring out, joining the midair puddle. She focused on it, dividing the contents exactly in half, focusing on every drop. Eight and a half ounces of water didn't seem like much, but it might be enough for what she needed. She did it as fast as she could manage, which was admittedly faster than it had been at the beginning of the school year. Maybe not fast enough to save him from one or two powerful strikes, unless he evaded. She didn't attack; she accepted that she wasn't meant to be an assailant. Instead, each of the two midair puddles rushed across the field and met the fists, one for each. Perhaps they wouldn't stop the blows, although that was the point, but they would be solid enough to at least soften them. One hand directed each of these movements, her eyes barely able to follow the attacks, but able nonetheless and in time to catch them.

Her other hand drew the whalebone blade from its sheath. Softly, so softly that the humans on the field might barely hear it, she began to hum.

Idir ann is idir as

Idir thuaidh is idir theas

Idir thiar is idir thoir

Idir am is idir áit.

It wasn't English; it was Gaelic, though impossible to tell whether it was the old Irish type, or the Scottish. It soothed her nerves, helped her focus the magic. An old lullaby, no incantation to it, but perhaps to those who heard it, it might have the same effect it had on the singer: a soothed calm. She didn't know if she'd have that Selkie ability. Only one way to find out, she supposed, continuing to focus her attention on the silver-haired assailant and his target. Only one way to find out.

@selkie_percy: @cleanser: @preserver: @missmayhem:

Tensing up as the attackers seemed to disregard my advice and continue walking towards me I was surprised that instead of shoving me aside they stopped. Albeit closer then I might have liked, but I wasn't really about to start complaining. Flashing the friendliest of grins I could manage given the situation I desperately tried to ignore the fact my heart was beating out of my chest. Every animal instinct I had in my body was telling me to turn and run, to let someone else deal with them. Honestly, I knew I wouldn't stand a chance if one of them started getting aggressive, but I could at least try.

All my attention focused on the four in front of me I'd barely registered the three others that had moved to confront the intruders. I heard them approach but I'd yet to have any time to look their way, as taking my eyes off the four seemed like a bad idea. Time crawled by without anyone making any moves, the four invaders simply stood there staring. With a nervous gulp, I attempted to again speak up. Hoping they'd be a bit more responsive to my words. From the looks of it one of the people that had come was looking for a fight, but if the situation could be ended without one everyone would leave better off.

"Thanks for going ahead and stopping for me, so now if you guys just wouldn't mind going the normal way I'm sure we can just settle this nice and easy. Sound good?" Putting the words as kindly as I could I waited, hoping against the odds it would work.

I couldn't even track the man's movement as he closed the distance between us at record speed. By the time I noticed he was no longer where I was looking the first blow had already been thrown. My mouth opened to cry out in pain as the first fist sunk in, but the force had blown all the air out of my lungs. After that, it was just a blur, my body slammed limply away as before scraping to a stop on the hard concrete. Even with my eyes open, I couldn't tell a single thing about what was happening. My vision completely blotted and blurred by tears, the only thing I could feel was the burn of my throat as I desperately tried to pull in any air. Yet none came, and while adrenaline had numbed the pain of the blow I could still feel it. The crushed feeling in my abdomen slowly growing warmer and warmer and the inability to move anything. My head spun horrific, unable to form any thoughts besides the violent desire for oxygen.

Hey, it's that sexy green skinned lady again.

She smirked if but for a moment. But the first launched attack she expected to be upon her. Not the other kid.

For the first time in a while, Holly's eye grew in botb shock and anger. *THOOM* Her charge towards the boy in the midst of being brutally beaten without delay. Really, if there was anything that pissed Holly off, it was a bully. “How bout you pick on someone your own size you piece of shit!” She shouted as she lunged in between front of the white haired speedster and the green skinned kid in to not only protect him from his onslaught, but to benefit from it. Each punch the man would throw, would ultimately add to ever growing supply of kinetic energy. This became evident in the fact that wholly felt nothing but squished cheeks

Maybe the man would stop when he saw his punches had no negative effect on her. Maybe he wouldn't. The way she moved ,it didn't make much a difference beyond her not wanting to be held at bay or stopped as she approached. Her fist tucked towards her body as she moved forward, before it would rocket out.

Nothing but a brawler before the eyes of most, her liver shot was a combination of power and precision, dedicating some 135581.79 joules (50 tons) towards his liver at a perfect angle for full energy transfer, aiming to leave her ruthless opponent pissing blood.

@cleanser: @selkie_percy: @menagerie: @missmayhem:

The sounds were chaotic earth trembled and screams began to fill the campus. For a moment Anastasia hadn't really noticed she'd had her headphones burried in her ears and was caught up working details out with her family for a summer vacation. Eventually it was clear however though that it wasn't in tune to her music selection but something going on. Someone had gotten bold enough to attack the school, Ana assumed plenty of heroes would be on the scene soon enough still apart of her wanted to be a hero to so she picked up her guitar and rushed out her room.

She could see it on approach Holly was already in the mood for a boxing match. Percy was doing something with water, though what escaped Ana. The jade skinned visitor from the other day was there but seemed to have taken a hit. There was also the jade skinned figure from Fort Knox. From what she could remember from that fight the lady didn't exactly feel at comfortable at the time but had a decent defense game. Opponents were four in number, right then game plan.

Tugging on her ear what looked like a headphone jack was slipped into a necklace resting beside a choker around Ana's neck. She motioned her hand over her guitar and with a surge of electricity dancing in the air her guitar began to be coated in layers of steel. Quickly becoming more of a genuine battle axe shaped like a guitar then a musical instrument. The golem her family had given her was summoned from the necklace partially it's arm perhaps briefly scene in the lightning before it was commanded to be a coating to form a weapon. "Knox Lady, can you cover him?" She screamed as she jumped from the rubble of the fallen wall. She came down with an axe swing but not aimed for the behemoth confronting Holly and the visitor.

Rather she turned the broadside toward the target, and looked to strike Holly's back for a moment her arm became armored covered in metal and stone. With a metric ton of force behind her strike she looked to help power up the young classmate. Landing in a crouch she finished with what was the simplest of actions for her. Sticking her ear jack like extension into something. One was in the necklace but the other was free. That one she pushed into the asphalt road, able to listen to and feel the road and earth and more specifically at the moment the pipelines. Reaching into them she commanded them to spring upward already disrupted by the shaken earth of the previous tremor they came rather willingly. A series of geysers shot from the road hopefully ruining the footing of the assailants granting a moment of opportunity. If nothing else though it would at least provide the school's water bender to have more to use then just a water bottle.

@preserver: @cleanser: @selkie_percy: @menagerie: @missmayhem: @missmayhem:

Max found himself in complete and total shock as his eyes watched live coverage of the place he once called home being attacked by a group of four villains. His mom walked into the room and her expression changed to match the one that currently lived on her sons face. He looked at her and she looked at him. "I'll never get used to this you know" The words were meant to be funny but, Max could hear the hints of worry in her voice. He stood up and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Mom...I...I have..."

"I know Maxy...just make sure you come back alright."

He smiled at her weakly before dropping the golden helmet onto his head. He was engulfed in a quick flash of light and where Maxwell Hastings once stood Mr.Mystic now took his place. Golden armor scattered across his black unitard that appeared to have stars moving around within its fibers. As he moved it shifted from the strange black to a deep blue. He gave his mom one more wave before flying off from the patio.

Millenium Academy

He thought he was too late, the fighting already started. Students decided to meet these villains head on and while it hadn't been long since he was a student these were freshman. He saw one kid get thrown across the field like a ragdoll and his instincts immediately kicked in. Golden boots touching down beside the boys body he gently placed one golden palm on him. "Alright listen I don't know if you can move but....right now this isn't the place for you all okay. Just stay here until someone comes to help I guess." He tried his best to sound confident despite this being his first real outing as a hero. The battle with the Avatar was different, he didn't have to worry about keeping people safe. This time though there were four villains, each with unknown powers, and each out for blood.

He patted the boy on the shoulder one last time before shooting off towards the fighting. He needed to get his priorities in order. <Alright so right now I just gotta take this one step at a time. I need to just delay any fighting long enough for the students to get away. Once everyone's safe I can take it from there...should be easy right> His thoughts were cut short by the need two more students deciding to get involved which now made things just that much harder.

Behind the helmet his spellbook expanded from his eyes and he searched for the right option to use. He needed to imobilize this guy and avoid hitting any of the other students. He couldn't throw out Jilg without risking catching a student and Togofor or Morne would do the same. He had to think but, how much time did he have before someone else got hurt. His mind started going wild, he needed to make a choice....he had to take a risk here. If he used the green pane of Togofor it would make this guy a hell of alot easier to deal with and would leave the kids with no choice but to run. It...it would have to work.

He halted his flight once he was just beyond the wall and his hands began moving. Shapes appeared in his palms as he began generating the mana he needed to cast his spell. "Togofor Kluchuduun Thirku" A golden ring of mana began spinning beneath Max's feet and from within its borders seven thin panes of mana took shape. Each one taking a different color from red, orange, and yellow. To Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. His left hand moved behind the green pane and it shimmered ever so slightly. With the quick movement of his arm he would send it flying towards the brute and unfortunately Holy would get caught in the effect of the 5x5 pane. If it managed to connect any living material it touched would feel their strength drain until they were no stronger than an infant for a few seconds.

While it moved he followed, the other six remaining panes floating behind him. His hand to hand expertise was lacking but, his magic made up for that. Hoping the green pane would catch his target he would shoot his palm forward and unleash a single concussive blast of magical energy no more than two feet from the mans chest with the hopes of sending this brute flying backwards away from the other kids.

It only took one moment.

The blurry figure who so promptly vanished from sight, boasting of outstanding speed, struck the first blow against the one who could, arguably, be described as the weak link of the team. The primary target not for those who crave to win a fight, but for those wishing to send a message: that they will demolish anything standing in their paths. A barrage of punches would come and, as expected, others promptly rushed from their previous anxious stances to confirm they would side with the heroes, endeavor to halt any sort of progress those terrorists could possibly have. It was a fun game, amusing even, words spat their way accompanied by gazes of courage and recklessness, supporting even more the idea of an inevitable fate - defeat.

A child slides in-between the muscular behemoth and the verdant-skinned kid who feebly coughed, being tossed aside like nothing. Punches wouldn't cease to stop, not until the sudden realization that they had absolutely no effect, a situation akin to slapping a puddle, ultimately useless. Someone who didn't have much endurance, yet managed to halt his adamant fists, it was a distinct enemy that they faced, unlike those who would turn to paste by blocking such fierce flurry of blows. She could have considered herself unstoppable, even untouchable by a brutish figure such as her assailant, yet those cocky stares and often annoying quips met nothing but an unscathed calculism and coldness.

A step back, fists clenched, if she could telegraph such move any more it would be surprising. Indeed, they say there is no point in knowing what comes for you if you cannot dodge it in time, still he didn't exactly require to escape his fate. Wind is cut by the rocketing blow, thunderously impacting his ribcage as a soundwave blew alongside the powerful zephyrs. No grunting noises, no gasping sounds, if anything the little girl would come to realize her fist didn't immediately finish its movement. No. Rather than merely overwhelming his flesh and bone with a breath-taking jab, it actually sunk deep into his body, still shaped after her hand's shape after she withdrew her hand.

She wasn't the only one untouchable.

It was time the entire team begun moving as an unit, especially after such terrifying greeting of the heroes before them. The scarred amazoness roared, her golden locks slit through the air, arms wide above her head, elbows bent forth. In a moment, her two hands moved as if levers in a factory, shooting forward as she leaned, hitting the ground without much of an impact. What was mysterious, however, were the rumbles that were soon to follow. Behind her, the entirely covered figure folded his arms, merely observing the scene from afar. Waiting.

Crack.

An abrupt occurrence, with no forewarning aside from luckily placed bets or extremely ambitious assumptions proven correct, the slightest cracking sound was all they had to react as right underneath the hit-first-ask-second child, as well as the exe-wielding goth and silver-haired freak of nature, the ground instantaneously split open. At this point, the green orb was well-nigh reaching its target, yet a curious happening had taken place, as when he first fell through the gaping schoolyard, instead of going into the hole, he vanished from sight.

Not even a second later, a dark violet-hued smudge would appear centimeters away from the wizard's face, revealing the missing musclehead with both fists cocked aback as he immediately unleashed the classic one-two combo, aiming for the helmeted figure's face. Another portal popped right underneath him, and just as quickly as he resurfaced, he disappeared once again.

Virtually at the same time, the punk-looking motorcycle rider of the invading crew removed the chain from his waistline, hidden from the others' view, his eyes were set on the mysterious water-bending teenager with dual-colored hair, as his chain rapidly fired from his hands, aiming to knock her head. Oddly enough, rather than a swimmingly foreseeable swing, once it was midway through its course, its speed seemed to escalate tremendously.

Another portal opened, this time right beside the enemy group who leisurely advanced towards the heroic fledgelings of the Academy, and the four harbingers of the cleanse reunited once more.

@preserver: @selkie_percy: @missmayhem: @the_girl: @maxwell_hastings: @cleanser:

After what felt like an eternity air began to flow through my lungs, however with each breath the slight rise and fall of my chest shot wave of pain through my body. As if the act of breathing itself was doing more harm then good. My eyes forced themselves open, blinking away the tears of pain blurring my vision. I could barely make out the profile of someone standing in front of me, intercepting the behemoth's blows. I had no idea who they were and if able I would have given at least the smallest sign of gratitude. As the initial numbness caused by the hit began to wear off feeling returned to my limbs. The ever-increasing throbbing in my head only getting worse as time went on. A heard words being spoken, however, they felt sounded distant and detached, as if they were being spoken in a world opposite my one.

...pick on someone your own size... can you cover him?....right now this isn't the place for you all, okay.

However, one person's voice spoke louder than the rest. A figure shrouded in gold who appeared besides me, saying this wasn't a fight I should be a part of. A sentiment that I didn't object to, not only because the mere act of speaking proved to be excruciating, but because I couldn't say he was wrong either. Not in the state I was in, and likely not in the state I had started. The attacker's strength was in a league far above my own. Nothing could have been done about that, in a world full of monsters like them my power was nothing more then a near parlor trick. This was just my punishment for thinking itwould be enough.

Tasting blood I realized how hard I'd been gritting my teeth, my lower canine had pierce through my tongue leaving the taste of iron in my mouth. If there I could have done, if the result of me interfering was always going to be this. Why was I so damn pissed and more why did I feel like I failed? How did I fail when I never even began? With no answer coming and my role in the battle only becoming a burden to others I knew their was only one choice. I tapped out, letting whatever determination I had that was keeping me conscious fade away. Knowing the defense of the school was and always had been in the hands of the other heroes.

@preserver: @cleanser: @selkie_percy: @menagerie: @missmayhem:

"Where..." What happened all happened so quickly to the world around him but, for his eyes it all seemed to be in slow motion. A violet hued smudge appeared next to his helmet, so close he didn't have time to react. His arms moved upwards but it felt so slow compared to the two fists that rocketed forwards. His vision went dark, everything around him was black. His eyes opened and this time he saw the sky moving overhead, it was peaceful in a way. Was this heaven, was this what it felt like to die. There was no pain just a sense of relief and relaxation that was all ended when he realized that the grass was getting closer. His body hit like a toy thrown across a room by an angry child; he bounced across the earth leaving a small path carved through the dirt.

All the pain rushed back through every nerve in his system. Synapses in his brain firing off telling him to getup and run like he had done before he had the power to help people. He felt his sense of self preservation trying to pull him away from all of this for his own sake. The pain grew worse and he felt himself wanting to leave.

"Protect"

The voice penetrated his deepest thoughts like a hammer slamming a nail into a pane of glass. Any desire that was welling up in him was suddenly shattered by that one word. His eyes drifted upwards, watching another student get attacked. What kind of hero was he if he couldn't protect the people around him; if he couldn't protect his past peers than how could he ever live up to the heroes like Supra Man or The Prodigy. No, he had to commit to this just like he commit to stopping the Avatar. He had to do everything in his power and than some to make sure nobody here got hurt. He aimed his palm in the path of the chain and let out a single word "JILG!" An ankh of golden magical energy rocketed forward passing through the metal chain before hardening and stopping it in its path.

He lifted himself to his feet, fists balled at his sides as the remaining six panes of multi-colored magical energy assembled behind him. "Thats....enough..." He wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear him. "I SAID THATS ENOUGH." He placed his palms in front of both the blue and red panels before swinging each arm to send them towards the villains. The blue pane would arc and approach from the front. Any non-living material that passed through it would be quickly cooled to the point of flash freezing. The red would arc and approach from the back. Any non-living material that passed through that one would be quickly heated to the point of spontaneous combustion.

Maxwell lifted his body and placed himself between the villains and the school. "Troth" A sigil of blue mana formed on the back of his right hand and the remaining four panes of multi-colored magic assembled behind him. He left enough room between himself and his enemies to ensure he would hopefully have enough time to react to whatever they decided to throw his way.

@the_girl: @cleanser:@selkie_percy: @menagerie:

Holly stands with her hands to her side in a brawler's stanc, the expression on her face saying "Hit me" towards her opponent. She was rearing to go, the culmination of her opponent's strikes stored as energy ready explode out at whosoever was so unfortunate to receive such onslaught. But, something stopped her. Not the man in front of her.

"Hey. Green boy. You alright? Can you hear me?"

No response.

"Shit."

She swore underneath her breath. The combat pragmatist in her wanted to take the kinetic energy he gave her and to move to another opponent, ganging up on one of them for a minute to swiftly take them out and then moving to another one. The chick expected the guy before her had the same or similar powers at least, given how he just ate enough of an impact to send a 2700 pound car flying several meters away without so much as moving an inch. But there was the kid behind her. She didn't even need to look at him to tell he was out cold.

To stay here wasn't the heroic thing to do in her mind. It was the human thing to do. She was the kind of girl who wanted to enter a room, walk up to the largest guy in the room and take him out with one well placed swing to the jaw. But the little guy? The guy who wasn't all that big or powerful but was humble? and couldn't debate That wasn't who she wanted to see get hurt. It pissed her off how the kid was either really dumb or really ballsy to try to walk up to some guy who just busted down a wall and eat hits from him. But, pissed off as she was, she couldn't help but respect it none-the less.

She stood, and by the sounds of it, everyone else was occupied.

**** yeah, Max.

The only word she could think of as he spoke "THAT'S ENOUGH!" He said. In the heat of the fight Holly silenced her thought and replaced them with the raw instinct that she and others had drilled into her. To be like water. Soft, and then hard, to ebb and flow with the tide of the fight. She lunged forward at her opponent. Fist raised up and forward to-no. Her hands went low to her behemoth of an opponent as she sought to explode forward like a bullet, seeking to swing around him like a pole, land behind him and commence what would actually be a grapple.

Her small sized leant itself well to her strength, for her center of gravity was low. She need only her natural Lift and lean. If his feet stuck to the concrete, she would rip up the concrete with the maneuver. It was no strike. No. She sought to pick her gargantuan foe with force to bring a car ten feet into the air with her, lean back and suplex him into the ground with such force as to drive his skull into the ground like a nail hit by a hammer.

The best part of the maneuver was that as flashy and high flying as it was? It wasn't meant to do the man any harm. No. It merely would take him off his feet and set him off for Max's freezing attack. Her eyes were on her opponent, but Menagerie still rest on her mind. Someone needed to get him out of there, but she wouldn't call out to anyone. She wouldn't take her eyes off her opponent for moment, or for all she knows, they could both be done for.

Hang in there, kid.

@cleanser: @menagerie:

Ana would have liked to think someone else would have come more qualified to assist others. That getting someone out of the area was a job another could do, in all the frantic nature of combat however nobody had yet. Something which was also a priority in the case in what seemed to be everyone's mind. The earth had started to rumble leading to an idea quick forming within the punk's head. Taking her guitar turned axe she tossed it toward the sidewalk behind Kyle. As the axe sank in the metal like coating fell away to instead dip into the granite.

This would allow Ana to extend her reach of control, to puppeteer the earth around the green figure. She would seek to move it further toward the school grounds away from the chaos. With her ability she knew she could probably make earth and stone rise to defend against further attacks. To focus on this proper she had to take a knee herself though her headphone dipping into the asphalt of the road. Which would allow her to similarly control the road about her for defense should an attack come her way.

That said however she couldn't hit as hard as Holly nor did she have the versatility of magic. Her focus for the moment would be on trying to make sure Kyle was clear of the area. Her defense only went so far in the given moment. She thought however with her limited control from her headphone based ability she might be able to counteract the earth shaking force of one of the assailants. Herself having already been sparred plummeting down as the road became an extension of herself.