Eenie meenie miney mo! (YC CoP RPG)

Gentle whirring and pings came through the glass as the children of Sarah Lockheart watched her unmoving form through the viewing panel. Chevie’s hand rested against her little brother’s shoulder as he stood on the small stool beside her his 2 year old body stretching to watch his mum. “Ca’rn kids, I got places to be and yer ma aint going nowhere” Chevie reached around and took Hudsons hand as they followed Crazy down the long hallway, the staff of the small Champion Tower hospital watched as they left, turning to attend to the limp form of Sarah Lockheart as she lay on the hospital bed, tubes and wires trailing from her bruised and broken body, the nurses testing machines and tapping on liquid that slid down tubes.

Metal doors pulled aside as the trio walked out into the sunshine, crossing the compound back into Champion Tower. Hudson running ahead chasing a butterfly that drifted in and out of the bushes as Chevie walked beside Crazy “No word from dad yet?” she placed her hand in his as they walked “Nothing yet kiddo, we have sent word everywhere we can think of, but you know what SHIELD are like, and your dad’s mission is super top secret so we are doing our best, I am sure once he finds out what has happened he will come home” Crazy squeezed her hand as they walked through the front entrance, Chevie absentmindedly missing the doors and phasing through the wall as the others went through the door “bloody show off” Crazy muttered under his breath as he lead the kids up to the common room and left to meet up with the other Shadow Squad members, trusting they were safe with the other Young Champions.

Hours later the afternoon sun swam through the window of the common room, Hudson played with blocks on the floor as Chevie read on the couch, no one noticing that Hudson had spelt out dodecahedron with his blocks. The other members of the young champions had flitted in and out of the common room as the day went on each going about their own relaxing routine as the weekend came to an end. 

 Dropping her book and sighing Chevie looked over at her little brother and smiled “Huddy want to go play in the halls, I can phase with you now, I learnt how to” the small boy stood up excited and touched her leg I have a plan sister, I have been thinking it over and I believe I know how to get father to return speaking through their telepathic bond that was the only way Hudson was able to communicate with anyone, Chevie replied out loud “How?” Grabbing his sisters hand he toddled through the room, his nappy waggling as he walked and reached up his arms now raise me into your arms and take me up into the communications room bending over to pick him up she looked at him “where the heck is that?” his small face squeezed together in concentration and puffed his breath out in annoyance Head upwards I believe shrugging Chevie lifted him up onto her growing hips and bounced through the walls. Laughing as he gripped her shoulders they bounced through the walls disturbing other members of the Young Champions as they ran through their rooms waving at other members who rolled their eyes at the pair, used to the antics of their leaders kids.

They ran through the house in and out of rooms and down shafts but after an hour found absolutely nothing, puffing with the energy she had used up Chevie flopped to the floor with Hudson beside her Sister, what are you doing, we have plans afoot!   Ignoring him Chevie closed her eyes, her body depleted from the energy it took to phase she began to fall asleep as Hudson crawled across her chest and began pulling her hair, crying SISTER WE MUST BRING FATHER HOME! He yanked at her hair so hard she screamed and sat up lifting him up in the air and shaking him slightly “dude stop pulling my hair” Hudson kept crying and pulled on her hair harder “STOP IT!” she screamed in pain as she lifted him above her head trying to pull him off her in one big yank she managed to get him off but phased him up through the roof, dropping her arms she squealed and climbed on a chair phasing her head through the roof trying to find him, but all she could see was dust where he had been and a trail of wires leading to a room that she had no idea existed the whirring and humming from the room sounded through the corridors, standing on the edge of the chair, she pushed herself up wards trying to reach into the room and grab her brother but the chair broke, the back snapping with her weight, as the chair below her cracked and she fell to the ground banging her head and passing out.

Just as Chevies head was hitting the ground the building began to vibrate every door and window slammed shut as metal shutters dropped down, lights went out as purple and blue globes replaced them in every room and corridor, a voice broke out through the Tower disturbing those inside a voice echoed through the halls…

“Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled”

His short time in the Champions of Peace had certainly been interesting. First fighting Darkchild and his team of demonic emo evildoers, then the headmistress in a deep coma, her husband to war and.. meh, what was he complaining about.. He finally had some rest. And it wasn’t like Sarah was dead or something, she was just sleeping.. yeah.. sleeping with tubes sticking out of her mouth and wires attached to her chest. Frankly, it hit him pretty hard although he tried to hide it. It showed how attached he got to the people in this team and how frail life really was. That became abundantly clear when he saw Chevie laying almost dead on the ground before him as he tried to shock her back to life with electricity. Ugh.. he still had those dreams sometimes. Sure, everyone saw him as a macho goofball and in truth it was exactly who he was.. but like Shrek said to Donkey: “Ogres, or in Aidens case people, are like onions. They all have layers like onions”.

Then again, the headmistress being out of commission did have his upsides. He finally got around to doing ‘stuff’ without being watched all the time or send to her office for doing something illegal. Pfyeah.. so he destroyed some electronic stuff and took some stuff that didn’t belong to him, sjees who didn’t?! We can’t ALL be perfect little students like some of these ‘Young Champions’. Anyway, he didn’t spend his free time gaming and sleeping this time. He actually did something useful and productive for a change, learning parkour from Cly, engineering from Paragon. Yup! He was on his way to become the next Sovereign Son, Andferne or Nighthunter! Well, with a little extra training… for the next twenty years or so… myeah maybe not QUITE on that level.

But he did study those heroes with no or hardly any powers to see how they fought powerful opponents and he saw how effective the gadgets were that some of the heroes were using, smoke bombs, explosives, Honor-Rangs (although those were still lame!). But he didn’t feel quite comfortable just getting gadgets from anywhere, he wanted to build them himself. Hence where Paragon came in! After having practically begged and whined Paragon for days he finally gave in and taught Aiden engineering. The charming thief actually borrowed some of Paragons materials even though he was strictly forbidden, but hey that’s the risk of giving a thief access to your laboratory. His entire room was littered with various tools, goggles, electronics transistors and whatever else was needed to make gadgets. Aiden tinkered away at his desk soldering electric wires together with big goggles strapped around his head with his blond hair poking out in all directions resembling a mad scientist. Until suddenly he heard a sound behind him, as he looked around with his eyes magnified in his way too large goggles his pupils turned even wider as he saw Chevie running through his wall with Hudson on her shoulders. Quickly putting his arms around his little invention to try and keep it safe from the two little monsters running towards him at great speed. Running straight through him like a ghost she disappeared as quickly as she came as Aiden shouted out at her “HAVENT YOU EVER HEARD OF SOME FREAKING PRIVACY?!!!!” Ugh.. he could've been watching... well, you know!

As Aiden yelled he slammed his hand on the desk hitting on the little device he had been working on. An ear piercing sound became louder and faster by the second as a red light flickered on and off in the same rhythm. “….oooooooh crap…..” Was all that he softly uttered as he took the device in his hand trying to find the off button which he hadn’t installed yet and quickly looked around him in panic. “Crap… crap… crap!! CRAP!!” Stumbling across the room bumping into a closet and stepping on various tools to get to the nearest window. Quickly tossing the device out the window just as it went ‘BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPP’ he ducked on the floor and placed his hands over his head until a loud explosion rang throughout the halls from outside. Smoke was blown into his room by the soft breeze as he peeked his head out the window to see what kind of damage it had done “Ugh… please don’t let it be another bike or car… I’ve had enough community service..” Just as he looked outside alarms began to sound as metal shutters came down from the window with a crashing sound. “HOLY ……” Just barely able to pull his head back inside in time to avoid getting his head chopped off he fell to the floor rubbing his neck with his hands just making sure everything was still there. “Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled” The metallic voice echoed throughout the tower. Raising an eyebrow with an ‘oh crap’ look on his face he quickly threw his sheet over his inventions to hide all evidence. As he walked out of his room to the hall he immediately shouted at the people surrounding him “IT WASN’T ME!!!”. Ugh… if this came out he’d never hear the end of it…

"I'm betting today will be awesome." I told myself while staring at my reflection in the mirror. Setting down my eye liner i was ready to take on the world.. well maybe not today anything exciting would happen for me to save the world. Today though i'll need to show a new member of the team around! OMG am i excited. Giving tours is so much fun. I swear if i wasn't a superhero i'll be one of those people who give people tours at those cool little museums.  
 
First stop. Champion City Hospital. I walked passed some of the nurses who knew who i was here to visit. Looking into a viewing panel i saw Sarah Lockhart's unmoving body lying in a bed. "Sarah..." When i heard about what happened i almost went into shock. I basically see her everyday. Lately with her being busy with Hudson i've been more involved with helping her out with the Young Champions. Being in charge isn't something that's new to me it's just.. weird not having her around. Together we decide on what's best to do when training each member of our team. What we should throw at them in the danger room. What may be a bit too much for them to handle. Together we've made our teammates stronger than when they walked into the doors of the danger room their first time. She's taught me a lot i'll never forget, and when she wakes up she'll teach me some more stuff. I feel that i'll be able to take care of the team while she's not around, but.. it won't feel the same with out her. Resting my hand against the glass i whispered. "Sarah.. I miss you.." 
 
Second Stop. Hudson and Chevie. After visiting the Hospital i walked passed a room that the two kids were inside of. Walking in i saw Hudson playing with a little red train, and Chevie reading a book. Before announcing my presence i decided make a dazzling glow surrounded my body. "Hey you two!" I knew how to make the perfect entrance. Hudson stared at me while Chevie glanced at me not too interested, and kept reading her book. I must be loosing my touch. Looking over at Hudson he stared at me differently than most his age.. Like he was actually thinking about something. I saw him look at his sister then a second later she giggled out of nowhere.. Must have been something she read in the book. Ooooo a comedy book. Those are always fun to read. 
 
I sat myself down next to Hudson as he began playing with his cute little train again. Looking over to my side i saw a green bag filled with blocks. Grabbing it i pulled out a bunch of blocks and spelled out the word "Apple" and placed it down in front of him. "Apple" i said with a delicate smile. He stared at me like he already knew what an apple was. From watching him these past months i've noticed that he is smarter than most kids his age. He's gonna most likely be one of those gifted kids when he gets older. Once he reaches pre-school i'll be paying more attention to his learning development. I then emptied out the rest of the bag and he began to spell out something with them. "Beep" Looking down at my phone i needed to be at the tower's entrance in a few minutes. "OMG! I have you go! See you two later!" And i was off. 
 
Opening the doors i came across a younger kid that looked very demonic. "Hi! You must be the new recruit! I'm Cellphone Girl, but you could call me Blair if you'd like." welcoming him in i began the tour. I showed him a few places like the danger room, the library, and even where the bathrooms are just in case he needed to use the little demons room. Well now thinking about it.. I had to use the little mutants room. Telling him to hold up for a second i gracefully walked into the bathroom. On my way to the stall i glanced at the mirror to check if my make up was looking good, and it was. As i sat down on the toilet i began to wonder how well the demon kid will fit into the team. 
  
Suddenly the lights went out. "Guys... i'm going tinkle.. this isn't very nice!" I yelled out. Then purple and blue lights replaced them. "That's better i guess." Getting out i washed my hands and came across the door being covered in metal. Poking it i had no clue what was going on. Then a loud voice called out"Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled” Crap. "Hey KidDevil! i'll be out in a sec don't worry!" Stepping back a bit i aimed my hands towards the door and let out a beam of light. Nothing. Maybe i'll have to increase the temperature a bit. "Stand back a bit!" Giving it another shot a red light flew from my hands and burnt a whole through the door. Meeting my new teammate on the other side of the door i figured that we need to find the others. From what Sarah told me about what would happen in case of a Lockdown. It wouldn't be good.

Richter was focusing on lifting multiple rocks at one time. Currently he stood on one that had the shape of an inverted triangle based pyramid. The point faced the floor, but hovered around a foot above the ground. A number of rocks lay around the floor, and slowly they began to raise from the floor. One, two, three. Several more still sat on the ground. Focusing his mind, the fourth rock lifted from the floor. Each of the flying stones began to wobble. Almost unnoticabely, the rock he stood on wobbled a few times, then more, then he fell as alarms began to blare loudly throughout the base. His head smacked the floor with a thud, although not very hard. He stood up and rubbed his head with a groan. "Lockdown has been initiated, remain where you are. Lockdown has been initiated, all enemies will be controlled." He stared at the door as a metal slider slammed shut over it. Window it is. He spun around to stare at the sealed window. Oh, for... The large triangle shaped rock lifted up and flew forward, hitting the shutter over the door with enough force to knock a large hole in the center. Proud of his handiwork, the young geokinetic vaulted over what was left of the metal thing that was supposed to keep the baddies out and looked from side to side down the corridor. He couldn't see anyone, but he hadn't really worked with the team yet.He didn't know anything about their powers. "Uh, can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" He said, loud enough so someone would hear him.

The young boy sat in the dark, steel room, patiently awaiting the giant flat screen monitor to come alive.  Thankful that he finally had a moment to himself, he had made his way to the Champion's danger room to brush up on some things.  The mission to the arctic had been an interesting one.  There in the cold, white snow, he had gone toe-to-toe with his mentor's powerful arch-nemesis and not only survived, but held his own.  Feeling invigorated with a new sense of confidence, Darko excitedly searched through the supervillain database until he finally found what he was looking for.  A monotonous female voice repeated the words on the screen.  
 
<Darkchild, leader of Tenebrasque In, former member of the Ice Dragons, Classification: Omega, Powers: Telepathy, Telekineses, Metallic Skin, Magnetism, Super Speed, Fire Manipulation, Super Strength, Manipulation of Nuclear Energy, and Darkforce Manipulation.> 
 
The last one in the long list of abilities was the only one Darko really cared about and the reason he was here in the first place.  During the mission to the arctic, Starkiller wasn't the only villain that had piqued his interest.  Darkchild, the apparent leader of the faction they had battled, had shown incredible powers and abilities that day; powers that astounded the young boy, not because he couldn't comprehend them or because he had never seen anything like it before, but because of the mere fact that he knew that he should be able to do all those things himself and more.  Clicking on the video section of Darkchild's profile, he saw the scenes of his winged darklings attacking the CoP's vessels.  They were powerful monsters, each one considered a threat, each one with the power to rip most superheroes in half, and Darkchild had summoned hundreds of them.  Darko's eyes widened as he looked through the other video clips, showcasing DC's darkforce manipulation prowess.  Deciding he had finally seen enough, Darko turned off the monitor and turned the lights back on in the giant steel room.  Just then a couple of his teammates walked by and looked at him strangely.  Staring blankly at them, Darko waited for them to exit and when they did, he went right to work.   
 
Standing in the center of the room, the raven haired boy did what he was so used to doing.  With only a thought, he summoned a small darkling that immediately began running around, looking for something to attack.  "Stop!"  Darko's words echoed through the impressive structure until the creature stopped and looked at him, ready to do its master's bidding.  Darko reached out his hand toward the darkling and concentrated on it.  Closing his eyes, he envisioned the creature becoming bigger, stronger, growing wings, and extending its claws.  Absolving his mind of any other thought, he focused in on this image, yearning to make it a reality.  After a short moment, he slowly opened his eyes and saw the darkling slowly transforming, its skin expanding and its muscles bulging.  The prince of darkness smiled, careful not to break his concentration, but then....  
 
A shrill beep broke the silence in the danger room as the already ably reinforced walls were covered in a metal shutter.  "What the f#@k..."  The darkling by his side went back to normal, visibly tired, but, strangely, did not disappear like darklings tended to do when they had exerted too much energy.  Instead, this darkling echoed it's masters last word, "F#@k!"  
 
"What did you just say?" 
 
"F#@k!" 
 
"What the..." 
 
"F#@k!" 
 
Darko looked at his creation in awe.  From what he knew, not even Darckhild's darklings had the ability to talk...or rather...swear.  Before he could say another word, a booming voice, similar to the one from the computer, resonated through the room.  <Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled.>  
 
"Lockdown?" The shadow manipulator looked around dumbfounded.  He hadn't been briefed about any "lockdown."  Confused as to what to do, Darko ran to the intercom system in the room and pressed the button.  Immediately a surge of electricity ran from his finger to the rest of his body.  He fell to the floor as the same robotic voice came through the intercom.  <Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled.>  
 
"I know that! You already said that! Get me the hell out of here!"  The voice at the other end kept repeating the same phrase over and over again, but was now getting louder.  The words began blaring from all angles of the room but were now in a much deeper tone.  A metal door opened in the west side of the danger room.  Seeing this as an opportunity to escape the confines of the room, Darko ran towards it, followed closely by his darkling, who all the while was repeating same swear word over and over again.   As he got to the doorway he saw that there was no exit, no hallway leading to freedom, instead a set of bright red eyes looked backed at him.  Stepping out from the shadows a metallic monster revealed itself, pointing its gun-turret hands at the shadow manipulator and once again uttering the phrase that had quickly become the bane of the boy's existence.    
 
< Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled>
 
"Oh f#@k..." 
 
"F#@k!"

*….Hush Hush, Hush Hush there is no other way I get the final say…..* groaning “Ugh I refuse to believe it’s morning yet..” rolling back over in his bed Michael slowly fell asleep again.

*….SOMETHING’S GETTING IN THE WAY, SOMETHINS’S JUST ABOUT TO BREAK, I WILL TRY TO FIND MY PLACE IN THE DIARY OF JANE….* sitting up right in his bed, hands over his ears the music blared round his room. “Okay..Okay im up..im up..shut up already” despite his protest the music continued “Fine” pulling back the covers and walking up to his alarm cloak he turned it off.

15 minutes later Michael made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Yawning he poured himself some coffee while leaning on the bench eating his cereal. Taking a mouth full of his cereal Chevie with Hudson  on her back ran past him and disappeared through a wall. Leaning back in surprise “Naw.. Don’t wanna know”

After finishing his breakfast Michael was just about to head out the door when a loud alarm and robotic voice echoed round the room

<Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled>

Metal shutters snapped down on the doors and windows and flashing blue and purple lights replaced the others. Sealed in he started banging his fist’s on the metal shutter blocking his way “Oh Come on let me out if this is a joke I swear I will kill whoever did it” with no answer his voice raised slightly “Fine then” aiming at the doors Michael let off a Lighting bolt only to have it rebounded off the shutter round the room. Thinking to himself *Immune to lighting..they really thought of everything..Okay come on thinkthinkthink..wait the doors metal and metal can be broken by…….thats it*

Putting his plan into action and praying it would work Michael stood in front of the metal shutter and concentrated this time he shifted into his super strong diamond form. Holding both hands over his head he swung and smashed the shutter into pieces.

Stepping out into the hallway it wasn’t just the kitchen affected, everywhere metal shutters closed off each exit. Any means of escape were shut, “And here I thought today was gonna be boring”

Softly, tenderly, almost caressingly her graceful alabaster fingers strode over the back of the countless books in her massive wooden bookshelf, felt the leather, the paper and every little mark frequent reading had imbedded in them. A history of love for literature and poetry.

 There were so many of them, the names of their   creators immortalized in impressive and at the same time plain letters on the cover. Poe, the Shelleys, Stoker, Melville, DeSade, Capote, Hawthorne, Heidegger, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Dürrenmatt, Gryphius, Grass, Tieck, Gaiman, Kästner, Frisch, Spinoza, King, Wittgenstein, Nietzsche, Goethe, Schiller, Gottlieb, Kloppstock, Baudelaire, Novalis, Voltaire, Kant, Maupassant, Dickinson, Bronte, Hemingway, Mann, the names knew no end. In her dreamy state she kept skimming the titles with her skin and a never ending line of memories and highlights was created before her inner eye. Good times and bad ones, events mutually shared with the protagonists of those novels through episodes of personal tragedy and terrible depression. Whenever the infinite weight of her disease had smitten her down, whenever the ugly medusa had shown its face to darken her world reading had been a solace to her casting a ray of heartening light into the sinister vale that her mind was.

And this time, after the Arctic and her temporal absolution from the burden that her powers were, after encountering Starkin, learning about the existence of Exfayria and thus being reminded of everything that she had lost in her childhood, after meeting Darko, the boy who was a reverse of her own powers but still felt so familiar with all the darkness inside of him, she could need an escape from all those occurrences more than ever before. But it would not come. When she picked up a book and placed herself on the Biedermann-styled couch in her room the usual feeling of rapture taking her to places far better and exciting than this cruel world did not set in.

She read the worlds but she would not understand them, her blue eyes would rush over the pages in the accustomed speed and pick up the letters to combine them to words but at the end she would always ask herself what she had just read and could find no answer. So she read it and read it again, read till she felt that her eyes would explode, till tears of frustration welled up and it would not change anything. She had read the same page for an hour before she had angrily thrust the book into a corner and wept. Only to get up, take the book anew and asking it for forgiveness before she put it back into the shelf. Lovingly she had stroked the cover knowing it was all her fault if she could not concentrate.

As she stood before her enormous collection of the written word Despair knew all too well why. The scene of their leader and mentor Sarah Lockhart how she lay in that bed reanimated by monstrosities of engines that she could have commanded with a mere thought before and her who had been so strong and present once almost disappearing in the white sheets hounded her every waking minute. Of the Young Champions Despair had been the first one to leave the coldly sterile room because she could not stand the sight.

Now, weeks later she still carried the double burden as she as the world’s strongest empathy did not only have to bear her own concern but also that of her teammates young and old, bright and shadowy. For her the whole of Champion Tower had become a dark fortress infested with the sulking of desperation, a dull black veil of sorrow kept her prisoner and clouded her mind. At times it was as if she was separated from the world and swam through thick mud.

Now that she tried to choose her next reading from the great masters this became more obvious than ever. She simply lost herself in the chaos in her mind, where pictures of Sarah mixed with famous episodes from classic novels. Mistress Redhead in her miserable state in her bed. The infamous whale catcher Captain Lockhart at the front of her vessel. The mother of Chevie how she played with the kids. The redheaded beauty that lay in Dracula’s arms. So many and still none was the only true one. For how long she stood there she could not tell, time became blurry and hazy, a strange concept to someone who picked up the emotions of a whole city.

Something was coming. Something troubled. Two of them. Approaching fast…

With a scream the Angela Atra threw her arms up to protect herself as something jumped at her from her personal library. Out of her personal library. A ghostlike form, ephemeral, spiritual. While her high and at the same time melodic cry still hovered in the air like the wail of   a banshee her training already took charge and she started chanting a banishment formula against ghosts. The whole room lit up filled by the glorious white light that she radiated while casting, every single corner and single artefact was bathed in it and it shed light upon her and everything. For a moment she could recognize… Chevie?

Quickly speaking the abortion formula Despair ended the spell. Who knew what might happen to Chevie when she was phased if she was hit by such a spell? Chevie already had no time to thank her for it as she disappeared through the next wall. What madness was this?

Her thoughts were soon distracted as she witnessed a thundering explosion outside. Too much happened at the same time, the Fallen Angel was confused. She needed a moment to reconcile and gather her thought. One more the world had proven too fast for her, had stunned her with its ridiculous speed. Full of pain she massaged her temples when the computer voice sounded through her room.

“Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled”

The next thing she witnessed where how steel curtains were smashed before windows and doors and how the whole tower made sure no one would escape. With massive concern the empathy now looked around in her completely dark room.

“I do assume this may not be commonly seen as a fortunate incident. Some of my comrades might even refer to it as a so called worst case scenario…”

These past few months i've been trying to get used to being on this gorgeous Island. My teammates.. They have all been so nice. I wonder if it's because they really are or if it's because of my past with Blair. They probably feel bad for me. From what i've noticed it's hard for people around here to not like her. They know her as the cute adorable sweet pink hair pixie that flies around the tower helping out our leader. 
 
The Blair i knew isn't the same girl that i knew in high school. She changed the day she got her powers. All of our friends did. She was still a person who cared a lot about other people, but she wasn't always so happy.. I feel that her being really happy is a way for her to cope with problems. Being a counselor she doesn't want people to think of her having problems as well. Why should they come to her if she can't deal with her own? The way i like to deal with my pain. Running away from the problem. I know it may be a coward move.. but hey at least i'll never have to face it ever again. I did it with my parents, and i did it with the people who kidnapped me while i was on my own. It works. 
 
Since i have a blindfold on i could feel the eyes of others staring at me, though i just keep it to myself. People wonder what i look like without my blindfold. They wonder what my eye color is. If i'll be pretty without my blindfold.. My teammates don't know about this but whenever i'm alone in my dorm. I take it off. Looking around my room i see if everything is what i imagine it to be. I even sometimes look outside of the window to see just how beautiful the Island is how everyone describes it to be.  At night when others are sleeping i stroll around the tower. I don't need light to see where i'm walking to. I just use touch, and sound. 
 
But for now i'll keep it on since i feel an echo flowing softly through out the tower. Normally a person wouldn't be able to hear the loud noise this soon, but i on the other hand could pick up sound better than most. Getting up from my bed i touch the wall with my left hand making my way to the door. Touching the door knob i wait a second for the sound waves of the loud explosion to pass me. Then i turn the knob to open the door. Walking out of my dorm i could hear people in the corridor wondering what's going on. Saying stuff about the lights going off, and them being replaced by these purple lights.    
 
  
" Lockdown has been issued, remain where you are. Lockdown has been issued, all enemies will be controlled"
 
 That answers our questions. Behind me i could hear a metal covering my bedroom door. Great i left my grenades in there. Clutching onto the dagger on my side i'm ready to take on any Robots that may wanna harm my teammates and I.

The youngest Lockhart found himself alone in one of the many cabling systems around the Champions tower, luckily the core of the cables linked up alien technology called the Orb, this not only lit the tunnel but the Orb was much like a nervous system, there where many all over the building that provided a wireless link back to the central computer system which controlled the entire building, It would take someone of great intelligence to manage to take control of one of the nodes and then pass the changes out over the building, that and the fact that anyone with Lockhart blood was able to bring any of the security, something that after the events to come that may change.

The mind of Hudson Lockhart

“How confounding, I once again found myself at the mercy of my simpleton sister. Not only did she find it impossible to follow simple direction to take me to the control room; she then went and phased me into the cabling system. I want my mummy and daddy, Think Hudson; your one of the smartest people in this dumbfounded world, how do you get them back...Wait I'm in the cabling system..by myself, this means I can reroute the system and send a message to daddy”. A little giggle escaped my mouth. “get a grip of yourself Hudson, you have to find the glowing thing that mommy’s always playing with. It did not take me long to discover the it, I had to crawl down the tunnel, following the bright purple cables, purple is my favourite colour, mommy wears it on her suit, so now I find myself sitting in front of the Orb.”

“Now I must confess I am not as up-to-date as one should be with alien technology, but then I am only two years old and all my parents and the rest of these stupid adults get me is Ben ten toys, I mean how is one meant to be current if no one gets you a repulser ray ...OHHH look at how shiny the orb is..Concentrate, I have work to do. Now if I am right I just need to place my hand on the orb.”

As the young Lockhart did it turned from a pure white colour to a dark orange, “Welcome” it said aloud, Hudson clapped his hands in excitement, what happened next will stick with the young champions for the rest of their lives as the two year old child began to “reroute” the system.

“Now the purple wire needs to be replaced with the blue...damn this chubby fingers to hell”, I found myself clapping once again as the orb turned bright pink. “Champion tower now entering lock down.” “Stupid Orb that’s not what I want you to do. Hudson what would daddy do...pull out all the cables of course!” so I began pulling, “Building entering defensive mode, please evacuate within the next ten minutes, after that all personnel would be treated as hostile!!” “after every cable I pull the thing talks, how enjoyable.” “Flooding fourth floor”/ “Danger Room moved to rec room” /”raising heat to unsafe levels on levels 10 to 19.” /” activating jet engines, preparing for take off”.

The system continued to talk as he pulled and soon the frustration became to much for the little boy and joy turned to tears and he soon realized how alone he was in the tunnel, all he wanted was his mommy and daddy! So he did the one thing any two year old would have done he threw a tantrum kicking and screaming, hitting the orb, pulling more and more cables out. Leaving the Young Champions no choice but to deal with the chaos that was unfolding.  

Richter was unsure of how best to describe the situation. A catastrophe? Too mild. A disaster? Again, that didn't quite capture the true nature of it. The apocalypse? OK, maybe that overdid it a little. “Building entering defensive mode, please evacuate within the next ten minutes, after that all personnel would be treated as hostile!!” He was fairly sure that was bad. Besides, because of the lockdown there was no way out. He walked down the corridors, placing his ear to the walls near the sealed doors, making sure no one was locked in them. There was nothing left to it. He had to find a way out. He had to. Checking his watch, he realised he was running out of time. He rubbed a hand over his forehead, panting as he began to sweat heavily. It's warm. Really warm. A loud bang sounded from nearby. He sprinted towards it, faced with a large hole opened in the middle of the floor. He looked up. Someone had busted through it, from one floor above him. The heat was starting to get to him, and he started to get dizzy. Dehydration was beginning to set in. He hopped into the hole, the rush of air cooling him off, landing a number of floors below. To take the strain of landing off his body, he sent out a minor earthquake. He rubbed his sweaty forehead again, and looked around. Sat by a wall was one of his team mates, Crimson Eagle. James grinned as he saw his fellow Young Champion.
 
"Found a way out?" He asked hopefully. He doubted it, but one always had to hope. He placed a hand against the wall and tapped with his index finger. Maybe he could break through a wall and get out that way...No. The walls were too well constructed. They'd withstand even the most powerful quake he could muster, approximately magnitude 6. "Dammit!" He growled. He wasn't best pleased that his plan had hit a dead end. Even with that, he couldn't escape the feeling there must be some reason the tower had suddenly become murderous. "Eagle? I got something to say. Promise you won't laugh, but I didn't know buildings were so homicidal." He grinned at his friend. Some light comic relief was needed in such serious circumstances.

“Oh for fuc…..” before finishing his sentence water cascaded down the corridor towards Michael catching him off guard he was sweep away with the force of the water only to smash against one of the metal shutters blocking the windows. Groggily looking round and rising to his feet the water in the hallway began to rise up rapidly until only a ting portion of air was left in the room.  

Taking his last gulp of air Michael dived into the icy cold water * I am so screwed*. Michael searched for any escape slowly though he began to run out of breath a slight panic struck him *okay calm down think you can’t go into your diamond form  your gonna be too heavy you’d be stuck here until someone came to help and if you stay in human form you’ll…..wait yes that’s It hello!! Im too heavy in diamond form I fall though the floor* with that Michael concentrated and shifted into his diamond form again. Within moments of changing his form he sunk like an anchor in the water. Speeding down through the water filling the corridor Michael hit the floor with a thud and the combined weight of his diamond form and the speed at which he sank caused the steel to crack and give way. 

Hurtling through the air Michael crashed his way through the next few floors below him followed by the same water that could have been his grave earlier. Finally crashing on the main staircase the water swept him down the very last flight of stairs. Lying their in the water Michael smiled “Whoo I did it” only to look up and see his friends CellPhoneGirl and some other kid that looked like a demon. “Umm I don’t suppose either of you guys know what the hell’s going on cause I just nearly drowned on the fourth floor and the only reason I didn’t is cause of this skin” blowing a kiss into the air above him “Thank you whoever' up there for that i owe you one” getting up he shifted back into his human form only to find out he was drenched his clothes and hair soaked completely.

Seeing Tempest fall through the ceiling was a bit surprising, but i'm glad to see at least one more member of the team was alive. Let's just hope the others are. "Okay you two. We need to seriously look for the oth-"  
 
I feel.. the ground.. shaking.. What is going o- 
 
All i see is black.. Wait.. opening my eyes i wake up to feel debris on me. What the hell? I check around to see that the other two are okay. I wonder how long i was out for.
  
"Guys.. stay here for a second.." Even though it was slightly hard to already see around here with the lights being all blue and purple i felt that there was a change it how the light was being reflected. It was like it was almost.. smoggy. As i walk i get more closer to the end of the hall and i noticed it was a bit harder to breathe. Is there some poisonous gas in the air? No.. I don't think there would be something like that in the tower.. and plus i would be on the floor dieing probably.
 
Looking behind me i could see the two staring right at me as they wait in anticipation of what will happen next. Taking another step forward i realize just how stupid i am. It's smoke.. Which means one thing...  
 
Pressing my back against the wall i hold my hand over my mouth as i look around the corner to see that the whole entire hallway is either gone or covered in fire. There was an explosion.. and this fire will spread fast.
 
I spin around to see Tempest and Devil Kid down the hallway and i shout to them. "Run!" I've dealt with having some of my skin burnt badly before. I won't mind having it done again if it means getting everyone out of this tower alive.

(This is her in a coma having memory flash backs etc)

Water dripped from the compress as she pressed it to the wound on Mikes shoulder “Mike, stay with us, the Jet will be here soon, I promise to get you on there safe, Andy would kill me if I let his best soldier die" she looked down at the handsome man, he was so strong and sure of himself, unlike any man she had ever met. For months she had lusted after him, but never had the guts to trust her instincts and ask him out, so young so scared.. even with Andy’s approval. His eyes flickered open as he smiled through the blood “If I do, will you promise to let me take you dancing…”

“Her vitals have not shifted in some time Blair, I am sorry” the nurse patted Chevies shoulder as the pair left the hospital heading back up to the tower, turning to the doctor she frowned “That family should know what is going on Doctor, there are minimal brain waves..” The doctor looked over his glasses at the woman “Sarah Lockhart is not just anyone Kitty, and you will be good enough to remember that” chastised the nurse disappeared down a side corridor as the Doctor continued to watch over the still body of his old friend.

“Come on Sarah I know you’re in there… people need you out here”

“Miranda this is insane, if we create this they are going to use it to destroy the last remaining bit of peace in the Middle East” slamming her hands down onto the table in frustration she glared at her younger partner “I know Sarah.. there is only one thing for it” they looked at each other long and hard and began the process..

“What in the hell was that?” the walls shook with the force of the explosion, only minutes after the entire city was put on shut down an explosion erupted through the halls outside the hospital “Get her to safety, move the bed underground into the missionary system, get the equipment, the rest of you get to safety, follow procedure” Racing into the large lift they hurled the body of their leader down into a safe place.

“The butterflies are bluer today than the Octopuses’ mummy” looking up from the flower in her hand, she watched her eldest run across the wet sand, flicking up the water as she did her grin wide “The what Chev?” her daughter ran through her not seeing her as she raced up the hill, turning to watch her go, calling out to her she watched the trees shimmer and dance, white light flashed through the eaves as she watched Chevie disappear…

“Doc, her vitals are flickering” chaos rampaged through the underground facility as they ran to save the failing heartbeat of their leader “Grab the defibrillator and prep her chest, get the adrenalin as well, notify Blair and Eclipse HELL get MIKE if you can!!… if you can find them..” Pushing down hard on Sarah’s chest they pounded as hard as they could, the doctor climbed on board slamming his fists down until the machine was ready…

It was quiet in the Great Hall of Champion’s as she walked, the sunlight filtered down through the leadlight image of the founder's of the C.O.P above, casting a beautiful rainbow glow across the statues and photo’s. At the end of the hall he sat, waiting for her to join him, his legs open, his arms propped on one knee as he watched “Your early” she said as she sat next to him, their knees touching “I’m never early Red, you should know if I am here it’s perfectly on time” a smile crossed her face for a moment before she became sad once again “What about Chevie, Hudson and Mike… will they be ok without me?” he raised a finger to his lips and pointed at the sun “I always loved the way sun hits the statues” he moved his finger to wipe the tear that was slipping down her cheek “It’s your choice you know Red, I chose to die.. Maybe you need to choose to live” the tears continued to drip pooling on the floor, causing a puddle as Andferne spoke “I am so tired Andy…” her took her hand and wrapped it in her own kissing her forehead as he stood “You have to keep doing this Red, there is no one else.. Your time will come soon, but please.. watch out for the Octopus” he disappeared as she nodded standing up she took one last look at the light before stepping through the puddle.

“I have a steady heartbeat, pulse is returning to normal” huge sighs echoed around the room as the leader of the Young Champions.. Co-leader of the most powerful team on the planet opened her eyes and smiled slightly with a raspy voice “Lovely day for it hey?”

She was trapped. Like the legendary Zeus had been enclosed by stone walls the metal walls of her room made an inescapable prison. One more the world had turned too fast for the Angela Atra and now it proved unwilling to explain itself.

“Computer, I demand an immediate explanation for this almost intolerable situation.”

Only silence answered her. Despair reacted with fear. A constricting feeling rose in her chest and gripped her heart with cold oppressive fingers threatening to squeeze the air out of her lungs. What was happening here? Lockdown? What did that mean? Was the tower under attack? And if that was the case why had she not been informed?

This must not be.

Breath. Focus. Release. Breathe. Focus. Release. Use the ancient techniques taught to you in what seemed a lifetime ago. Let it not get the better of you. Do not succumb to it. Master it instead of becoming mastered by it. Your emotions are part of your self, you are not a part of your emotions. You are more than that. Listen to the rhythm of your heart. Slow it down and use it as a mantra. Use the silence of your surroundings and let it fill you. Feel the inner piece of the universe. Wait a moment…

Silence? Not so much.

There was a simple but disturbing detail that ripped through the assumed silence like a knife ripped through cloth. Relentlessly it hovered in the stillness of the room almost imp-like. At first barely noticeable it became more and more prominent after being witnessed for the first time and managed to fill the room. It was a strange sound, annoying in a wet way, irritating even. A hissing. A snake? No.

Gas!

Whatever had happened to the computer, now the cursed thing tried to subdue or even suffocate her with gas. The Light Witch had no intent on finding out about the incomprehensible plans of the artificial intelligence. She had to get out. Fast.

With trained ease she recited the complex Latin formula that enabled her to cross the border to the light realm and thus teleport. From one moment to the other the gothic style of her room was exchanged with the simple but glorious radiant white of the other side. And although the burning tides of light branded against her barriers this was the moment when she felt at home the most, in a place of abundant and overflowing energy without any place for darkness or shadow. Here everything was simple. As easy as it could burn her, it could heal and free her of her burden as no one else was in there. If she had the opportunity she would spend more time here but the nature of this place, as deadly as it was filled with life, forbid it. One moment too much and she would burn like a pale waxen candle. If she could only…

Once more the world reacted quicker than her. It was a mystical strike that made her head ring and her teeth clatter. Paralyzed her muscles and clouded her mind. And through her out of the light realm. Like a fallen angel she dropped out of her light portal and met the hard physical world again in the form of a cold and solid metal floor.

A moaning escaped her slim throat as she felt cautious fingers touch her shoulders. Words were spoken but she was not yet conscious enough to understand them.   A blurred but quickly clearing view revealed silken black hair, a trained body, something sparkling in her hand, a… blindfold? Boom Boom?

Despair was about to say something but then her ears picked up the whirling sounds of machines coming down both sides of the hallway. Fully knowing both their lives depended on her being able to fight now she staggeringly fought herself back to her feet and stood back to back with her teammate while glowing white orbs appeared in her hands ready to face what might approach them.

Fear. 
 
I sense it echoing through out the halls of this place. It's so strong that it can easily take control of anyone. In the moment i find Despair we both realize that we will have to fight for our lives. With our backs touching each other we were ready. 
 
The moment i took on step forward i felt a shock run through my body, or was it only through my mind? This strong pulse gave me images i never thought i would have to live. For split seconds i was even able to see what was happening around me when i took my blindfold off. It was odd..It was a lot similar to the predicament we were in now. Just.. worse. There was so much disagreement. Too much bitterness between this team. Looking at a window i was able to see outside, while at the same time i could see metal covering it up. When looking outside in the vision i saw.. A war. 
 
Turning back reality returned, so i put my blindfold back on once i saw a robot that came from down the hallway. I launched my dagger towards it which landed in the center of it's body. I ran towards it jumped grabbing onto a piece of metal that stuck out of the ceiling and swung my legs to kick the dagger deeper into the robot's body. Then with another swing i jumped off wrapping my legs around it's neck. Pulling the dagger out of it's chest i decapitated it.  
 
As i saw more coming i did a back flip off of it to meet back up with Despair. "We need to find Mistress Redhead... I saw something.. Something.. That will change us forever.." 
 
 I felt a shiver.. I heard a voice.. A voice that wasn't here.. A voice that won't be heard for another month.. It was the voice of a girl crying.. She lost something close to her. I know this voice.. It's Blair's voice. I sense something within in her tone.. Something that i've never heard before. There was something.. New. 
 
Pulling out my long sword i waited for the bots to come closer so i could then slice them apart within seconds, but i wondered how many more would come after that. I knew Despair was handling herself well, but who knew how long she would last. Our best bet was to leave this spot, and get to MR she is our best bet to survival. It might take a bit though.
 
I felt another vision returning to the moment i left off. Their was an explosion. I felt it here, and in reality. One was from anger, while the other was from an enemy. I know i can't die here if i'm seeing all of this, because.. then that means i'm going to have to live through this horror. I don't feel that i could stop this from happening, but maybe.. just maybe i could make the outcome better.  
 
I now saw someone with me. Despair. It looks like the both of us will be with each other when Hell comes. Or am i just seeing parts of reality flowing into these visions?.. Am i going crazy?

Rising to his feet Michael was happy to see CellPhoneGirl at least she might know what was going on around here. Walking over beside her and the demon kid, CellPhoneGirl was cut off mid sentence as the ground beneath them began to shake. Losing his balance Michael fell on his back as large chunks of debris fell on top of him the combined effect of the coloured lights and dust blurred his vision making everything in sight hazy and blurred. Slowly moving around Michael freed his arms and lifted the chunks of debris off his body, whatever that had knocked him of his feet threw of his balance slightly looking over the place the dust and something thicker that clung to the air made everything blurrier, Through the haze Michael heard CellPhoneGirl shout to them “Guys…stay here for a second” Michael listened to her and saw her look round the corner “Run” she shouted. 

*Run….run from what* running down the hallway towards her he copied what she did and looked round the corner. Flames covered every inch of the hallway and the fire was spreading at an alarming rate. Turning to CellPhoneGirl “Run? We are not running are friends are still stuck in this tower somewhere Look we’ll slow down the  fire maybe it’ll stop from spreading and then we can go and try get everyone out Kay good”

Shifting back into his human form Michael ran towards the fire and before being engulfed in the flames started to create a wind to hold back the flames. The temperature in the hallway dropped significantly the air was crisp and a frost began to form at his feet. Small spurts of fire broke through the wind that he had be creating and the fire still seemed to be spreading, limbs flailed in every direction to try and put out the fire before it could do anymore damage

*Crap* pushing himself harder Michael forced the flames back *Guys I need a little help here we need to block the fire back with something but if I do it it’ll flair up again and burn more stuff. CellPhoneGirl you think you and that demon looking kid sorry no clue what your name is could smash some of the wall or ceiling on it. Y’know hold it back a bit more” 

A strange day it was. A building that houses the Young Champions suddenly became murderous for no apparent reason. Something was up and Ryan knew it from a gut feeling he had. Sitting against a wall after drinking a ton of water, the teen looked up and saw the broken ceiling he had caused from the thirteenth floor; chuckling at the fact that he had broken through six floors. The heat really got to him. Resting his body, Ryan soon saw someone come down the opening. "James" he said quietly as he smiled to see a familiar face. "Found a way out?" James asked as he placed his hand on the wall, perhaps to see if he could break through and create an opening. "Dammit!" Guess not. "Ryan?" James said as he grinned. "I got something to say. Promise you won't laugh, but I didn't know buildings were so homicidal."  Ryan chuckled, a joke to help alleviate the situation was good, but there was still something to be done. 
 
"James," Ryan said in a sudden serious tone as he got up from the wall, "The building said that the place was on lockdown and that nobody can leave, then it says that we had to leave the area before lockdown occurs. I didn't design this building but I think that something is up with the central computer."  
 "Like a glitch?" James responded. 
"Maybe not, the computer is always checked. My guess is that someone-"  
>crack<
"Someone what?" 
"Did you hear that?" 
"Hear what?"  
"Like a crackling noise or something."  
"Like that?!"  James shouted as he pointed over Ryan's shoulder.
 
Ryan turned around as he saw a blue crackling wall of electricity coming towards them. "RUN!!!" The duo began to run the other direction, but suddenly stopped at the appearance of another wall of electricity coming towards them; and the walls of the hallway began to turn blue and sparked. The hole that Ryan made was all the way back and the electric wall came closer, crackling louder than before. "James," Ryan quietly said, "We're toast."

Warren notices somebody asking him to knock down a wall to get rid of the fire he smiles and says “no problem but I have a better idea dude.” Pulls all the fire in to a big ball then in to a snake like construct and sends it in to his chest the flames were all gone but he burned a large hole in the front of his shirt. “f@#k so much for looking nice for the young champions.” tears off the remaining parts of his shirt and burns them.   “How’s that for getting rid of the fire?” “Where to next dudes and dudetes?” Kid devil smiles “and to think I thought you guys were going to be boring!”

The walls of electricity drew closer. There was little time to think. His breathing became fast and shallow. He didn't do well with pressure, he was hyper ventilating, he couldn't think or move. The wall drew closer, and James could feel the heat from it coursing over his body. It was a short distance away. However, the generator seemed fragile enough. As the plan formed in his head, he started to calm down. But now he had almost no time to act. He had to get this right the first time. "Maybe not." He turned to Ryan. "Cover your ears, this will hurt." Standing up, he held his hands apart, then breathed in and slapped them together, sending out a small seismic shock in the air. The blue electrical barriers stopped for a moment, then recommenced their slow advance. James growled and clapped harder. The shock released into the air shorted out the electrical wall on one side of the pair. "GO!" Richter shouted, sprinting down the now clear corridor.