*Titans: Red War - TT RPG (Rated R)*

[Monster Guy]

Violet Lantern; Max Hudson
Shopping District

After he encountered Resonance, Nate had found them. "Hey, that's not a nice thing to say." Nate said as he walked over to them, "Don't be snobby", He said.

"Relax dude, it's just witty banter." Max replied. He honestly doubted the girl was insulted by Max's comment. "We do it all the time. Comes with the superhero job'"

Right at that moment, Resonance replied with a snarky comment of her own. "Please Night Light, if I was behind this you wouldn't be here right now. You'd never know about it."

"See!"

Nate then went ahead and asked Resonance a question. "I second his question though. If this is your doing, could you.. like, stop?"

Max sighed and rubbed the back of his head. While it probably wouldn't hurt to try, he doubted just asking nicely would do any good.

The girl just threw more snarky comments at him. "Who are you, some newbie member of the Tween Frighteneds? Alright Fox Face, hold on a sec..." She coughed twice, then started shouting loudly. Much louder than a normal human could normally do. A few bystanders keeled over, their hands clasped over their ears. The kids who were running around looting stores did not stop. They just laughed. "Eh, I tried Fox Face. Teenagers, right? Can't control 'em."

Then there was the familiar noise of a gun shot. "Well... Sorry, but if we're going to have a problem here..." Resonance held her hands in front of her self "I don't have time for it." Max was then hit by a blast of sound that had Max reeling. By the time it passed Resonance had taken off.

"Guess we gotta go after her..." Max said to Nate. "You might want to get some earplugs handy..." And with that, Max flew straight ahead.

He had planned to go after Resonance, but the sound of Lucas' voice caught his attention. "Help! I-I need backup! It's Wonder Boy! He's over here - Aaaagh!!"

Max looked around, and saw Luc was nowhere near by. "I told him to stay close!" Although, there was something fishy about this. When Luc was in some type of danger, Max would sense it. That's the way a Star Sapphire worked. They knew when their loved ones were in distress. Max hadn't gotten any kind of vibes from him. That voice sounded more dramatic than Luc would be, and to top it off, if Archie really were back, Luc would have called him Archie. Not Wonder Boy. Still, even though he knew something was odd about this call for help. Max decided to fly off in the direction he heard the voice coming from. If Archie really had returned, Max wanted to see for himself. This reunion had been two months in the making.

When he got close, he saw that Archie was indeed back. And in full Red Lantern uniform to boot. Archie was slamming into Lucas with his shield, knocking him through a brick wall, and raising his sword. "You possess great strength, but nothing else." He heard Archie say.

Now Max's love senses went off. Max took a breath, and flew in to help as fast as he could. He fired a blast of violet energy at the Red Lantern's hand, knocking the glowing red energy sword out, and making it disappear. "Er... That's not exactly true." Max said. "He does have me. Hi Wondy! Did ya miss me?" Max said with a smirk. He knew this moment would eventually come, and he had been prepared. Max had learned a lot about the Red Lanterns from the Star Sapphires. He knew attacking one in anger wasn't a good idea. Attacking to protect your loved one on the other hand, was a different matter.

 

[TheCharredDragon]

Hunter Sigbin/Canis Ryder; Linda Matulin
Shopping District

Linda was quick to get to work. Before anything else, she checked if there was anyone still inside the police cars. Thankfully, there were none and so she had one less thing to worry about. Now she had to think about how to put out the fires. She quickly surveyed the current area and saw a nearby shop. That would do. Shemade a quick plan in her mind and then jumped off of Sonic.

She quickly headed inside and saw that some of it has been looted but what she wanted was still there: the fire extinguisher. She took it and then sped back and placed it on Sonic. She repeated this process a few times until she had four of them on Sonic. She knew she was stealing to say, but with cars on fire, it's best to get rid of them as soon as one could before, perhaps, the fuel exploded.

Standing on Sonic, she readied one of the extinguishers and when they were at one of the cars, she let loose. Admittedly, there was probably a better way to handle this but what else could she do? This continued on until finally all the car fires were extinguished. She breathed a sigh. There were still those kids fo handle, but now the citizens were more likely to be safe.

Then she heard it, Lucas's cry for help...and her blood ran cold. ... Wonder Boy... Archie was here? She stood still. He was back? But...why? She figured he would stay out of here for a long time, considering what he did. ...she wasn't really sure what to even think about him being here. But she readied Sonic and went straight for the source. She had to see it herself.

Not just to help Lucas, but to also see if he was really there.

...

M-Buster; Kelly Matulin
Shopping District -> Jewelry Shop

Well, that wasn't surprising. Just as she had the gun shooter wannabe handled, something else pops up. She raise a brow in curiosity though. So Wondy (yes, you saw that right) the One Murder Wonder was here? As off as she thought the cry for help was, what with the overdramatic tone of it and the fact that he called Wondy, well, Wonder Boy instead of Archie, she still was going to go.

But what was she going to do with the little delinquent?

Oh well, it seems she really did have to use the duct tape.

She took out one of the rolls in her coat and made her way over go the kid. If it weren't for her mask, the kid would see an amused smile on her face. Kelly just got an idea.

"Hey, Ninian, think you could take us to the fifth level of that building?"

... In just seconds, the kids would find that he was stuck to the outside of the fifth floor of an old office building.

"All right, let's go."

Kelly sat down securely on Ninian before she headed off to where the sound came from.

...

Turns out, she arrived just after Max had stopped a killing blow on fellow teammate Lucas and calling him Wondy. Kelly casually jumped off Ninian, her relaxed pose obviously showing how she wasn't bothered at all that Lucas could've nearly died. She scanned her surroundings. It seems like it was some sort of jewelry store. But that couldn't be right. Why would a warrior like Archie go here? Unless...she looked inside briefly. There were two others inside. Seems like he was working for someone.

"So you're Wondy? Never thought I'd see you in front of a jewelry store," she said. She started analyzing the young man. One thing was for sure, bad guys always seemed to have the cooler costumes. "Good to finally meet you. Name's M-Buster. You really did leave an impression on Hunter Sigbin, you know."

She put her hands in her pockets. She carefully readied an acidic vial from the right pocket. Her daughter did tell quite a bit on the man, almost to the point that Kelly was tempted to tease her for liking him. But she knew it wouldn't help and that was what her daughter needed. It was thanks to that though that she knew that he was pretty much your average superhero in terms of powers.

"She's still got her hunting spirit though, so it might not be much," she said, ready to dodge an attack. The young man would notice there was a very tiny bit of anger in her, an almost protective one.

Kelly made a note to do her best to not accidently reveal her daughter's position, as she briefly saw her dash quietly into a nearby hiding space.

 

[Titan500]

Armoury
11th Street

They had attacked. Armoury reacted almost immediately, her newly-installed flight unit kicking into gear as her thrusters fired downwards, pushing her up into the air to avoid the substance that the spider's pilots had launched at her. It splattered uselessly against the ground behind her, gluing immediately to the concrete. It seemed as if she had managed to avoid a sticky situation (such a horrible joke, but she nearly laughed in spite of herself) by responding quickly. Did it work on similar principles to her expanding foam, or was it simply an adhesive? That second of limited observation suggested the latter, but that was not the main thing for her to focus on. What was important was that the pilot of the spider was hostile, and thus she needed to neutralise them before they took further action ... was that a flamethrower?

Whoever they were, they were clearly intent on doing more harm than good.

Armoury fired a net down at the spider tank, before immediately following it up with a set of missiles. How much damage her target could take, she was not particularly sure of, but the intensity of firepower she was currently deploying would help her find the suitable baseline. She wished she hadn't needed to strike, but such was her luck.

Hopefully she wouldn't die.

But maybe she could.

Hah.

 

[Sketchie]

---~---
Lucas Moncrief ; Nightmare
Shopping District
---~---​

Archie used his ring to shove Lucas back. Lucas held his stance, awaiting attack. "Once you turn 10 and are given a sword and shield, and left in the Themysciran wilderness only to be told to survive,” he growled sternly, “That is when you experience hell! Do not pretend to know a warriors struggle, you stuck up brat! You're nothing!"

This is what set Lucas off. His breath caught in his throat, anger tore through his heart. Archie created a sword and shield construct with his ring, swinging at Lucas. Lucas dodged, only to have his own attacked blocked by Archie’s shield. Think about what you’re doi-- OR WE COULD NOT DO THAT For a moment, Archie seemed to be distracted by something. No matter. Lucas took the opportunity and struck Archie in the lower jaw. “Don’t you ever tell me I didn’t struggle,” he hissed, watching Archie get up with narrowed eyes. “You may call me stuck up, you may call me a brat, but don’t you dare suggest I don’t know what hell is.”

Lucas launched himself once more at Archie, but Archie had the same idea, and hit Lucas square in the chest with his shield. Lucas was sent crashing through the brick wall of the store, landing rough on his side. He struggled to regain his breath and get up, but it was too late. Archie walked up to him, turning him onto his back. A sharp, painful cry escaped Lucas as Archie slammed his foot down onto Lucas’s chest. "You possess great strength, but nothing else," Archie said coldly, raising his sword to deliver a final blow.

This wasn’t the first time Lucas had been in this type of situation. He closed his eyes, awaiting Archie’s sword but-- like before-- it never happened.

Out of nowhere shot a blast of violet energy, knocking the sword out of Archie’s hand. "Er... That's not exactly true,” a familiar voice called. Lucas looked over to see Max had just flown in. "He does have me. Hi Wondy! Did ya miss me?" Max said with a smirk.

And then, there was another voice. "So you're Wondy? Never thought I'd see you in front of a jewelry store," the mom character said. "Good to finally meet you. Name's M-Buster. You really did leave an impression on Hunter Sigbin, you know. She's still got her hunting spirit though, so it might not be much." The older woman seemed to be in a defensive state, likely because someone was moving through the shadows. That’s fine. But with everyone now in the jewelry store, things were beginning to seem less and less streamlined and coherent. What the fresh hell was this?

Lucas lay on the ground, his breathing shallow. He kept his gaze on Archie, watching his movements. He couldn’t escape, and while nothing had been broken in his trip through the wall, it did hurt like hell, and he wasn’t in a position to get Archie off of him anyway. He had no leverage, and-- wait.

Sometimes, when you’re Lucas Moncrief and you’re very angry, you tend to forget that you have skills other than using your fists.

With tiny, nigh unnoticeable movements of his right fingers, a figure of a man rose up beside Archie. The marionette slammed into Archie, knocking him off of Lucas’s chest before going limp and collapsing on top of him. Lucas took this opportunity to get back on his feet, despite muscles and veins begging him not to. He staggered over to Max, placing his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder to stabilize himself. “The sooner we can get this all tied up, the better,” he muttered.

Turns out, he wasn’t the only one with that sentiment.

---

---♥---
Kathrine Smith ; Drama Queen
Shopping District
---♥---​

Pity the poor boy didn’t know what he was doing. Kathrine deftly dodged the ice blast, sashaying out of the way. “Ah, but this is a ballet! For moi, of course,” she giggled. “You would be a wonderful dancer, though, consider taking lessons!” Ice Boy lunged at her with his sword, and Kathrine caught it once more in the hook of hers. She smiled, looking deeply into Ice Boy’s eyes, pressing her sword into his. The heat from the steel began to cut into the ice, and it wasn’t long before the ice gave way. She pressed the button once more, and the sword lost its electric crackle.

Using her khopesh, Kathrine pushed Ice Boy into one of the counters, leaning into him. “You’re very alluring, pretty boy,” she sighed, “So sad that you have to lose this one.”

Or, that was her plan.

Until her cousin Lucas came crashing through the wall, followed by Archie. Then there was this sword deal, and then this really hot kid in a crop top came bursting in, and who’s M-Buster? That is such a mom name. Her name’s probably Helen or Deborah or something. What in the fresh hell was going on?

“What is this nonsense!” she screamed at the whole mess. Tears pricked at her eyes, her jaw beginning to tremble. “Why are there so many of you, all at once! Go away, all of you!” Kathrine turned to Ice Boy for a moment, mumbling a sorry, before looking at Archie. “Lantern, I asked you nicely not to kill that idiot. What are you thinking!?”

A lone tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with her standard dramatic flair. “Ugh. This whole thing is ruined, but at least I have what I need. Do I need to be here any longer?”

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Red Lantern
Shopping District​

Before Archie was able to finish Lucas off once and for all, a sudden blast of violet energy came from some direction and knocked the sword construct out of his hand. "Er... That's not exactly true,”, an annoyingly familiar voice said as Max closed in on where they were. "He does have me. Hi Wondy! Did ya miss me?" he then said teasingly as he beriched them with his ever so annoying presence. Archie was about to reply, but was cut short when another person came into view.

"So you're Wondy? Never thought I'd see you in front of a jewelry store,". Who was this, someones mom? she looked older than the others, and definitely too old to be n a group called the Teen titans. What sort of weird irony was this? "Good to finally meet you. Name's M-Buster. You really did leave an impression on Hunter Sigbin, you know. She's still got her hunting spirit though, so it might not be much." she continued. Oh god, she was Linda's mother. Archie cringed by the realization. Did that mean Linda was coming too? He didn't hope so. Everything considered, she was the only one he didn't hate in the team, and confronting her would be awkward on so many levels. He would just have to settle with killing Max, Lucas, the Ice guy that Ms smith was fighting and Lindas mom.. Eh. The odds now seemed overwhelmingly against him.

Then all of a sudden, something knocked Archie down. He quickly got to his feet and saw one of Lucas shadow things, who he had conjured while Archie was distracted by the entourage. Who knew shadows packed a punch, eh? He knocked it away with his shield, surveyed the scene. He had no idea what to do now. Did he engage all 3 of them? He vaguely remembered that there was another hero in a fight with Katherine in the background. He could not take on 3 people alone, 4 if the guy intervened. The thought of having to make an escape angered him beyond comprehension.

“Why are there so many of you, all at once! Go away, all of you!”, Ms Smith said dramatically (heh) as she started to understand the situation herself. “Lantern, I asked you nicely not to kill that idiot. What are you thinking!?” she continued. Archie snapped back at her. "Well, I didn't, did i?!". He quickly calmed himself down. It would not be beneficial for anyone if he went into a frenzy now. “Ugh. This whole thing is ruined, but at least I have what I need. Do I need to be here any longer?”, she complained, sounding like a kid at a library. She had a point. the easiest would be to retreat, considering they were done for the day. "No.." Archie said thoughtfully. "If your errand is done then there is no need for us to linger here." He walked over to Ms smith and swept her off her feet, holding her like a cheesy couple from a movie. He then hovered out of the store, and up towards the sky. "You got lucky this time, but your luck is about to run dry." he said threateningly down towards the small group of heroes. It was mostly meant for Lucas, but kind of affected all of them. He would not hold back next time he met the group, and he'd prepare himself for the day. Ms Smith had a triumphant look on her face as the two flew off.

 

[Monster Guy]

Violet Lantern; Max Hudson
Shopping District; Jewelry Store

Before Wondy could reply, Linda's mom entered the scene, and said some things to him. She even called him Wondy too. Ooh, Wondy wasn't gonna like that, Max giggled. Linda had apparently started crushing on Archie. Max couldn't blame her. Though the guy was a jerk, he was still hot. Even now, wearing that form fitting Lantern uniform. Although Max couldn't help thinking he'd look better in a violet one.

Then, Wondy was knocked down by some sort of shadowy thing Luc had made while Archie was distracted. Luc staggered over to Max, placing his hand on Max's shoulder. “The sooner we can get this all tied up, the better,” he muttered.

Then another person came out of the woodwork. An extravagantly dressed lady who just screamed evil went over to then. “Why are there so many of you, all at once! Go away, all of you!” She said overdramatically. “Lantern, I asked you nicely not to kill that idiot. What are you thinking!?” she continued. Was Archie working for this lady? Max wondered. He didn't think like Archie would be the type to work for somebody else.

Archie snapped back at her. "Well, I didn't, did i?!"

“Ugh. This whole thing is ruined, but at least I have what I need. Do I need to be here any longer?” The woman complained.

"No.." Archie replied. "If your errand is done then there is no need for us to linger here." He walked over to the woman and swept her off her feet, and hovered out of the store, and up towards the sky. "You got lucky this time, but your luck is about to run dry." he said threateningly down towards the group of heroes, before he flew off.

Max wanted to go after them, but right now there were more important things to tend to. He could tell his boyfriend was hurt, and needed help. So, he took Luc into his arms, just as Archie had done with his boss, and started hovering out of the store. "Well, I'm gonna head off to, back to the tower. My little Banetteboy is pain, and I have to go patch him up!" Max said lovingly before flying off himself.


Ice Dragon; Kyle Remington
Shopping District; Jewelry Store

"Ah, but this is a ballet! For moi, of course,” she giggled as she once again dodged his attacks. “You would be a wonderful dancer, though, consider taking lessons!” She caught it once more in the hook of hers. She smiled, making direct eye contact with him. The heat from the steel began to cut into the ice, and it wasn’t long before the ice gave way, and melted. She pressed a button on her sword, and the sword lost its electric crackle. Kyle growled a little. This woman was starting to get annoying now. He was losing this fight, and was this lady seriously flirting with him?

She then pushed him into one of the counters. “You’re very alluring, pretty boy,” she sighed, “So sad that you have to lose this one.”

And then one of his teammates came crashing through the wall followed by that red guy. Then more of his teammates came running in, and things got chaotic. It did however distract his opponent. She mumbled something to him, before turning to rest of the group that had arrived. A conversation followed, and then people started to leave.

Kyle was irritated by this whole thing. This was his villain, and his fight. Why did everyone else feel the need to intrude on it? He could have handled this himself. He yelled angrily, and punched a hole in a nearby wall. "AHHHHH!" The place was already damaged. What difference was one more hole in the wall going to make?

After he calmed down a bit, he walked over to the one person who was still there. The woman who was the mother of one of his teammates, and crossed his arms. "So... what now?" He asked in a deadpan voice.

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Grima
Shopping District​

The villainess, Resonance, only gawked at Nate as if he had just told a bad knock knock joke. What, was common decency and kindness taboos in the superhero business? "Who are you, some newbie member of the Tween Frighteneds?" she said in a mocking tone while smirking. "Alright Fox Face, hold on a sec...", she then said. Nate braced himself in case she was going to do something funny. She cleared her voice and looked like she was concentrating.

"HEY EVERYONE! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW! BAD KIDS, VERY VERY BAD! YOU ARE ALL GROUNDED, DO YOU HEAR ME?!", she suddenly shouted in a very, very very veryveryvery loud tone. Nate was thrown back by the sudden explosion of sound and hit the ground.

"Eh, I toiv Fov Fave. eeaver, ai? caov ovvov 'em.", she then said. Nate did not make any sense of it due to the loud ringing noise he heard in his head. He sat up to his knees and laid pressure on his temples. "Mawp... Mawp.. Mawp" he said, trying to focus his hearing on his surroundings. there was something sounding like a big bang, but to him it sounded like someone dropped a full grocery bag on the ground. Resonance seemed to be saying something, but he still couldn't make any sense of it. "Meep.. Meep"

Once again, he was interrupted by a loud soundblast, knocking him down again. this wasn't as loud as the one before though, and he could still hear properly.. ish.

"Guess we gotta go after her..." Max said to Nate. Somehow, he was still functioning. "You might want to get some earplugs handy..." he said before flying off. Nate stood up, looking around confused. "Yeah, no sh*t" he mumbled to himself as he tried to pinpoint what was going on there. There were still chaos going on, but it seemed the worst had died down for now. He wandered around and helped bystanders that had gotten in the crossfire, and tried to see if there were more kids around. It was obvious this was the kids doing, but blowing up a car, and causing mass chaos? That was hardcore, even for kids. He didn't know what he would do if he did come across anyone though.

Luckily, it seemed like it didn't need to come to that. following the violet light that was Max, he saw Max and Lucas in the distance, with a red version of Max, apparently, and a woman in a masquerade outfit. He ran over to where they were, in case they needed help. As he came closer, however, it was clear that the mayhem was subsiding. the red lantern flew off with the masquerade lady, and Max and Lucas followed them. It seemed like Kelly and Kyle were still there though, and he walked over to them. Kyle looked very angry, and he decided to talk to him.

"HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" He said, most likely a little too loud. He was still hearing a ringing sound in his head, and could barely hear himself speak. He figured it would go away soon, and gave it a go by talking in what he assumed was a normal volume. "What do we do now?". He looked over at kelly, and raised his shoulders in wonder. He took his mask off and sighed. He was bleeding from his ears, and he took a clean-ex from his blazers pocket and ripped it in two, popping them into his ears to stop the bleeding.

 

[VampirateMace]

Amanuma
Shopping District

As Ama ran closer, a violet streak zipped into view. That would be Violet Lantern, rescuing his beloved. Nightmare was lucky to have someone like that in his life. He fired at Archie's sword and taunted him. M-Buster arrived next, along with her dragon familiar. She had more taunts for Archie. Was this a good idea?

Let's be serious, nothing that had happened was good idea.

But with Violet's help, Nightmare was able to launch an attack of his own on Archie. The strange woman, who seemed to be with Archie and fighting Ice Dragon, was suddenly complaining and wanting to leave. Really, start an obvious crime and complain when you get caught?

Archie reacted though, sweeping her off her feet and carrying her into the air. Violet followed suit, carrying Nightmare off in a similar manner. Ice Dragon turned to M-Buster and asked her, what now? What now indeed. Ama could try and follow Archie on Kita, but given her speed and time it would take to summon her, he'd probably never catch up.

The masked hero Grima showed up, asking loudly what was going on. And again what to do. He removed his mask, right, he was that kid as well. And he was bleeding from the ears, trying to stem it with Kleenex. Ama drew out his wand, “Here, let me help you with that.”

As he proceeded to focus magic into a healing spell next to Grima's ears, there was a loud screech followed by a loudspeaker announcement, “Attention citizens! Clear out immediately! There will be consequences if you do not comply!”

Ama glanced over his shoulder. The SWAT police force had arrive, a line of them were holding up shields down the street, while several other armored were tackling the remaining suspects. Ama looked back at M-B, Ice D, and Grima, “I think we're done here.”


Nelly (AKA: Little Doc)
11th street

The metal man took off avoiding Nelly's attacks. She reached back and accepted the flamethrower from Scarlet, this sh*t was about to get real.

The metal man fired a net at them. Nelly depressed the trigger and burned through the net, though was suddenly jolted as a barrage of missiles assaulted the pod, tilting and denting it. What the hell? He was firing missiles a child!

Nelly cranked up the dial on her flamethrower, and sent half a dozen fireballs flying at her opponent. Meanwhile, Carlyle was gripping the back of her seat begging her, “Miss Mancini, please, I think it's time to consider retreat!”

“What?” screamed Nelly, “You think this vigilante should just get away with swooping in and attacking us for no reason?

“You attacked him!” reasoned Carlyle.

 

[Titan500]

Armoury
11th Street

She had misjudged the strength of the spider-pod's defenses; despite her initial assumptions, it was fragile and quite vulnerable to her missile barrage. It was entirely unexpected, and Armoury cursed herself for her mistaken impression. Her uncle would not have made such an error, and because of her choice of action, she could have done some tangible harm in the process. That wasn't acceptable. The only person who was allowed to be hurt in the pursuit of justice was herself and herself only. It reminded her that she was really just an amateur playing as a hero, but ... she had to do this. She had to maintain the reputation her uncle had crafted for himself. She wasn't doing a particularly good job of it, however; in hindsight, choosing to begin with the missiles had been the wrong starter to the battle, and a net wouldn't have helped much either, even if the spider-pod lacked a gas weapon.

By making those mistakes, she was really playing with fire.

Hah.

It was pathetic how she laughed at her own jokes.

Armoury rapidly descended, dropping to the ground through the heat of the fireballs. While an effective intimidation weapon, most flamethrowers lacked real effectiveness against large metal objects such as her armour, the heat of the flames far too low to do major damage, especially given how dispersed they were. Fireballs were not concentrated jets of heat, as could be found in welding tools, and thus simply did not have the ability to do any major harm to her. Warnings did pop up, warning her of a rapid increase in temperature, and she could feel how hot it was getting, but that was really nothing to worry about.

Her feet clung against the concrete.

She should have decided to do this first.

Her armour leapt into action, and immediately set off its EMP device, launching the electromagnetic pulse around her in an attempt to disable the spider-pod.

 

[Sketchie]

---♥---
Kathrine Smith ; Drama Queen
Shopping District > Smith Inc. Office Building, Chromium City Business District
---♥---​

"No..." Archie said thoughtfully, "If your errand is done then there is no need for us to linger here." Kathrine breathed a sigh of relief. Hallelujah. This had gotten out of hand. But then... Archie walked over to Kathrine and swept her off her feet, holding her in a classic princess hold. For a brief moment, you could almost detect a hint of a crush from Kathrine, but her fluster didn't last long. She quickly wrapped her arms around Archie's neck for support, looking down at the Titans as Archie flew into the air. "You got lucky this time, but your luck is about to run dry," Archie scowled. Kathrine smiled triumphantly as they flew off, far away from the shopping district.

She was unsure why she never asked Archie if she could fly on her own. She very well could, she wasn't incapable, but... she couldn't help herself. He was attractive. A little young, but still an adult. Dark hair, deep blue eyes, that serious tone, Archie wasn't bad looking, not at all. He was strict, and though sure he had understandable anger problems, he and Kathrine had a lot in common. It's not like any of that mattered. He could never feel love, so why bother?

At Kathrine's request, they stepped down once more at the office building. She motioned for Archie to follow her, and after unlocking the elevator, it wasn't long before the two found themselves in the small meeting room on floor 44. The closed the door behind them, locking the door. Most people had gone home at this point, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure no one would intrude. She turned on the screen on the table, revealing a map of Chromium City.

"Right," she said, taking on a serious tone. "I should probably give you a head's-up on what's going down. In two days, Thursday evening, there's going to be a banquet that I'm obliged to go to, and I can't get out of it. Which is a problem, because I have a very important shipment of industrial diamonds coming in at the same time. They're already paid for, so you don't need to worry. They'll be coming in..." She pointed to Pier 48, one of the lesser used piers. "Here. Now, I've heard that there may be a second group that wants the same thing I want. Either get there first and get the diamonds, or get there second, wait for our supplier to leave, and kill the second group. Shove the bodies into the ocean, just make sure you don't get caught, and get those diamonds."

"Part two. I really don't want the Titans getting in the way, so I'm going to plant firebombs here," she pointed to the shopping district, "here," an outlet on the northern end of town, near Vauquelin city, "and here," downtown Chromium, around several popular restaurants. "On top of that, I'll see if I can get either others who aren't too fond of the Titans to accompany the firebomb chaos, but worse comes to worse I have my men that can help cause chaos as well. Once you're done with diamonds, feel free to join them. Or go home. I don't really mind."

"There is, however, a bit of a perk. If you do decide to confront the Titans, you won't have to deal with Lucas at all, and his boy toy might be out of your way as well. Lucas, due to his own heritage, is also obliged to be at the banquet. It's a family deal, neither of us can leave. He's a Morgenstern, I'm a Smith, it's business, we need to represent our companies. So he's for sure out of your way, and he very well could drag whatever his name is with him."

"Now," she said with a pause, lacing her fingers together, "I suppose if you wanted to come to the banquet with me, I won't say no to you. I can get others on the diamonds thing. But, as I said earlier, Mr. Moncrief has to grace us with his presence, and I can't see that ending well." Kathrine took off her mask, pushing a stray hair out of her face. "So. Any thoughts?" she asked, looking at Archie with genuine curiosity.

---

---~---
Lucas Moncrief ; Nightmare
Shopping District > Titan's Tower
---~---​

"No..." Archie replied, "If your errand is done then there is no need for us to linger here." He swept Kathrine off her feet, before beginning his ascent. "You got lucky this time, but your luck is about to run dry." he hissed, before flying off to who-cares-where. Lucas shot a glare in the fleeing villain's direction, clenching his fists and muttering something profane.

No sooner had that duo left that he found himself swept off of his feet in a similar manner. Lucas stifled a grunt, his body unhappy at the sudden movements, but he wrapped his arms around Max's neck, grateful his boyfriend was willing to fly him. "Well, I'm gonna head off too, back to the tower. My little Banetteboy is pain, and I have to go patch him up!" Max said lovingly. Lucas chuckled as they took off. He was fond of Max's little nicknames, though let it be said that he melted almost every time Max said his name.

Lucas leaned his head on Max's shoulder, his mind buzzing. "Thank you for flying me," he said, softly, "I'm sorry all this had to happen. I got angry. I'm sorry." Pause. "It's my fault," he mumbled into Max's collarbone. He closed his eyes, taking painful, deep breaths. His body hurt, sure, but his heart hurt more. What was Max going to say? Was he going to yell at him? Would he even bring Archie up at all? He probably hates you now. -- ... Do you know anything about rational thought or..? Lucas stayed silent the rest of their flight, wincing a little as Max grounded himself.

"What're you gonna do now?" he asked, "There's a part of me that wants to be put down and take care of myself, but there's a bigger part of me that wants to stay in your arms." Lucas looked down at himself an-- dammit! Those were some good skinny jeans, and now the side was covered in tears. Lucas smiled weakly, shaking his head. "Though, maybe I ah, should go change into something else, while I'm durable enough to go through a brick wall and come out with a hellova lotta scrapes 'nd bruises, my pants look like something from a 2009 emo's closet."

 

[VampirateMace]

Nelly (AKA: Little Doc)
11th street

The metal man dropped down and braced the fire attacks. Well, of course, realized Nelly. The fireballs were only a good deterrent they made contact with skin or something flammable, they didn't last long enough to heat up the suit.

Then suddenly the mecha-spider collapsed with a massive jarring clunk. All three occupants made noises registering mild pain. Th flamethrower's tank had come down on Nelly's knee, and Scarlet's chin had come in contact with Carlyle's elbow.

Damn.

Nelly's mind quickly registered the situation. The spider had gone down, but was not hit by another vehicle or and sort of missile, so. . . either there was a massive system failure or the metal man had an EMP.

Time to bail. Carlyle had decided that too, grabbing Nelly around the waist and vaulting from the car. She clung tight to the flamethrower, she might lose the pod, but she was going to keep as much as she could. Scarlet race out in front. Nelly could see her mascara was running, apparently she was hurting pretty good. But she still had her wits about her, calling out, “This way!” as she dove into an alley.

She'd know better then to lead them back to the garage, instead the three of them would scurry around until they’d lost this crimson nightmare.

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Red Lantern
Shopping District > Smith Inc. Office Building, Chromium City Business District​

After a rather uneventful trip back to the office, Ms smith signaled for Archie to land. In truth, he had been worried they might have been followed, considering the rather unpleasant encounter downtown. Boy, that very well could have escelated into something grim. Its a shame Ms Smith had stopped him. He was mad, which was understandable. He ewas dangerously near the arch-nemesis clichè, and he knew it. The fact that Lucas and Ms smith were related only underlined that. It didn't matter though. Now they knew he was back, and it remained to be seen if they would try and search for him.

He followed Ms Smith into the private elevator which took them to the 44th floor. While in the elevator, Archie used his ring to change back into his casual attire. No reason to wander around like a glowstick this time of day, regardless of how few people would still be in the building. Ms Smith closed the door to the meeting room behind them, and turned some switch to reveal a map of Chronium city on a screen on the table.

"Right," Ms Smith said as she took on a more serious tone. "I should probably give you a head's-up on what's going down. In two days, Thursday evening, there's going to be a banquet that I'm obliged to go to, and I can't get out of it. Which is a problem, because I have a very important shipment of industrial diamonds coming in at the same time. They're already paid for, so you don't need to worry. They'll be coming in..." She pointed to Pier 48 on the map. "Here. Now, I've heard that there may be a second group that wants the same thing I want. Either get there first and get the diamonds, or get there second, wait for our supplier to leave, and kill the second group. Shove the bodies into the ocean, just make sure you don't get caught, and get those diamonds.", she said, laying out the plan. it sounded easy enough. He had taken on jobs like these a few times already and knew the drill.

"Part two. I really don't want the Titans getting in the way, so I'm going to plant firebombs here," she then pointed to the shopping district on the map, "here," an outlet on the northern end of town, near Vauquelin city, "and here," downtown Chromium, around some popular restaurants. "On top of that, I'll see if I can get either others who aren't too fond of the Titans to accompany the firebomb chaos, but worse comes to worse I have my men that can help cause chaos as well. Once you're done with diamonds, feel free to join them. Or go home. I don't really mind.". She seemed t have planned this through, and again, it seemed like a solid plan. The main priority, however, would be obtaining those diamonds, and that wouldn't be a difficult task, even if the titans intervened. Sure they might delay him, but they don't have the guts to do what is necessary to stop him. He went through the plans in his head and found a solution that befitted him the best.

"There is, however, a bit of a perk. If you do decide to confront the Titans, you won't have to deal with Lucas at all, and his boy toy might be out of your way as well. Lucas, due to his own heritage, is also obliged to be at the banquet. It's a family deal, neither of us can leave. He's a Morgenstern, I'm a Smith, it's business, we need to represent our companies. So he's for sure out of your way, and he very well could drag whatever his name is with him." she continued. Well that was fortunate. By now, he knew that having the very sources to his rage too near him all the time just proved to be counter-productive, and if the two main reasons for that were gone, the job would go off without a hitch. Unless Linda shows up. Her mother had said she had spoken quite a lot about him. He wondered what she'd said. Sure enough, he didn't really miss her, but having to kill her out of the way, that was too harsh, even for him. He shook his head and paid attention to Ms smith again.

"I suppose if you wanted to come to the banquet with me, I won't say no to you. I can get others on the diamonds thing. But, as I said earlier, Mr. Moncrief has to grace us with his presence, and I can't see that ending well." she took off her mask and looked at him with a surprisingly honest look. "So. Any thoughts?"

"Well.." Archie begun as he went through his thought process quickly to make sure he had gotten everything down right. "Securing those diamonds should be our top priority, considering their economical value. He took a short break. Wow, he had really gotten the hang of this "living like a normal person" thing, despite everything. "I suppose the banquet would be lovely, but like you said, it wouldn't look good for us if there were unnecessary bloodshed to attract unwanted attention towards us.." he paused.

The pause lasted for another minute while he sorted out his thoughts. "I'll go for the diamonds. Hopefully, it should go by relatively easy. if I get the time, I'll catch up to you at the banquet. If not, I'll send you a text and go home.

 

[Tangeh]

Resonance (Vivian Walker)
Shopping District

Vivian watched silently as hero after hero fell for her imitation of Nightmare's voice and scrambled to go rescue him. Was the kid really that important? She kept a careful watch on Wormbag as his captors hesitated upon hearing the cry for help, then tensed as a masked woman grabbed the trapped kid and made off with him on her snake. "Damn that stupid b*tch," Vivian growled, holding one arm in front of herself -

Another arm grabbed hers, and Vivian nearly made a move to dislocate it when a voice stopped her: "whoa, whoa. You're not thinking rationally."

Vivian sighed without looking over. She glared after the superhero as she retreated up a building, Wormbag in tow. "Devon..." Vivian grumbled, about ready to smack her closest ally. "I can take her one-on-one. I can get him back."

She made to pull away, but Devon held firm. One hand on her arm, the other leaning heavily on his cane. "Cut your f*cking losses and get the f*ck out of here. You won't get another opportunity to leave. You've drawn enough attention already."

Vivian could barely see Wormbag anymore. She sent a ping and the resulting echo told her he was somehow literally stuck five stories up. Could she afford to abandon him? Could she afford to rescue him? It was an impossible scenario. She focused her hearing in on where she had originally heard Wonder Boy:

"Why are there so many of you, all at once! Go away, all of you!” Vivian didn't recognize this voice. It was female, and didn't seem to be happy about the influx of heroes. Interesting, but that wasn't exactly important right now. “Lantern, I asked you nicely not to kill that idiot. What are you thinking!?”

"Well, I didn't, did I?!"

Huh.

A rough tap on her left shoulder brought her back to the task at hand. "How much time do we have?"

Vivian listened for a few more moments. The villains were fleeing. "...We don't have any. We... we need to leave immediately." She looked out of the alleyway, recognizing some of her comrades had been caught; a fate worse than death. She couldn't save them now. She had failed them.

"Don't look back, Res. Don't stop for nothing. I gotta take care of something. I'll see you in the morning."

Vivian hesitated for a few seconds, then fled through the alleyways. Away from the chaos, and away from her hideout. She didn't think she was being pursued, but it was better safe than sorry. She was in enough danger as it was. A loud screech made her hesitate. “Attention citizens! Clear out immediately! There will be consequences if you do not comply!”

'Devon...' Would he have been able to limp out on time? She wanted to go back, but she knew she couldn't.

...​

After an hour of lying-low, Vivian opened the rooftop window and slipped inside. The warehouse had a main entrance up front, guarded constantly by at least one street kid who would only open it for the password of the week, but she rarely used that door until she was bringing back a large stolen good. The skylight was quicker, and none of her kids could physically reach it. Several pairs of eyes stared at her as she descended cautiously to the ground. Many of them were the younger kids who were not involved in the days events, though it was clear that they understood what was going on. The survivors looked away, ashamed. Vivian spared them a few seconds of eye-contact, then turned her back.

"...You are all grounded..."

 

[Monster Guy]

---♥---
Violet Lantern; Max Hudson
Titans Tower
---♥---​

Lucas leaned his head on Max's shoulder. "Thank you for flying me," he said, softly, "I'm sorry all this had to happen. I got angry. I'm sorry." There was a brief pause before he continued speaking. "It's my fault," he mumbled into Max's collarbone.

Max bit his lower lip nervously. "Well... you shouldn't attack Archie in anger... But it's not entirely your fault..." Max replied. He knew Luc had a thing for taking things personally. Even when things weren't actually his fault. Although, he knew it wasn't wise to attack a Red Lantern in anger. They feed on rage the way he feeds on love. He wasn't sure if that statement helped or not. After that, Max kept quiet the rest of the flight home.

"What're you gonna do now?" he asked, once they landed back at the tower. "There's a part of me that wants to be put down and take care of myself, but there's a bigger part of me that wants to stay in your arms." Lucas looked down at himself and shook his head. "Though, maybe I ah, should go change into something else, while I'm durable enough to go through a brick wall and come out with a hellova lotta scrapes 'nd bruises, my pants look like something from a 2009 emo's closet."

Max chuckled. "Aw, but you look cute like that!" Max gave him a kiss on his forehead, and gently set him on his feet. "Anyway, you go get changed. There's still plenty of hours left of my birthday. We can just Netflix and chill. Are you sure you're ok though?" He raised his arm, and his hand started to glow violet. "A quick dose of violet energy should have you all fixed up!"

---

After everything got taken care of, Max had changed back into his civilian clothes, and plopped himself on the common room couch, and turned on the TV. The news just happened to be on at that moment. It was some politician making commentary about the riots earlier today, and how the city shouldn't have to rely on a bunch of teenagers to deal with their crme problems. Max wasn't really paying attention to the news. He was just there waiting for Lucas to come out, so they could agree on what movie to watch.

Ice Dragon; Kyle Remington
Shopping District; Jewelry Store​

Before the woman could respond, the kid in the fox mask loudly spoke to him. "HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Kyle was just about to angrily shout at him in return, but then the kid took off his mask off, and Kyle noticed his ears were bleeding. Figuring he must have been deafened somehow, and likely got injured in the process, Kyle decided to hold off on having an angry outburst at him.

Then the mummy guy came over, and did something to make the kid's ears stop bleeding. As he was doing this, there was a loudspeaker announcement blaring. “Attention citizens! Clear out immediately! There will be consequences if you do not comply!” While SWAT cars were arriving at the scene.

The mummy turned to face everyone, and said, “I think we're done here.”

Kyle nodded, then rolled his eyes. "We accomplished a lot today..." He said with obvious sarcasm, considering they had just let two criminals escape. Then, he walked out of the store, got on his motorcycle and headed towards the tower.

 

[TheCharredDragon]

M-Buster; Kelly Matulin
Jewelry Store, Shopping District

To say Kelly found the situation funny would be an understate. She outright thought it was ridiculous as she felt like she was watching a movie. Then again, she was in a superhero costume with a rather funny name herself, but that didn't stop her from forming that opinion. One minute, Wondy was being villainous and all (*cough*monologue*cough*), then the next thing was that Lucas pushed through the wall of the store, apparently interrupting a fight between a teammate of theirs and Wondy's employer. Superhuman or not, that had to at least a little bit.

After the comical crash, the young woman complained about what happened. That was an unusual reaction for a villain, in her opinion. Well, at least the way she did it. She sounded upset rather than angry. Her conversation with Wondy reminded her a bit of the more ridiculous arguments in movies and anime. Then, in an overly cliché fashion, Wondy flew off with his employer, picking her up bridal style. It took everything she had to not laugh at that. She did end up snickering however.


She managed to stop said snickering by the time Max flew off in similar fashion with Lucas. Kelly smiled under her mask and waved at them good-bye. It was nice seeing how much the two cared for each other. Speaking of caring, when Max and Lucas were out of sight, she made her way to the entrance of an alley just beside the jewelry store. There she saw her daughter staring in the general direction Wondy flew to.

Kelly sighed and shook her head. She had to hand it to her daughter for not hating a killer or holding a grudge. She probably got that from her father as she still had some tense moments when interacting with her parent-in-laws. Though it made her wonder what exactly made her think that way of Wondy. She did know it wasn't purely a crush. At least she hoped it wasn't. Otherwise, she was going to have Tim and maybe ask Max for help on finding someone for her before it goes beyond a crush. Actually, maybe she'll just do it anyway, as soon as Max was free.

She placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Linda didn't move but she felt her relax.

"You all right?" she said, though Kelly already knew the answer.

Linda was quiet for a few moments. Then she said, "Not really."

"Won--" Whoops. Correct it, correct it. "Archie?"

Linda sighed. She didn't answer. That was enough for Kelly though. It was at this point that "Elsa" and then Nate came about and asked (shouted, in Nate's case) their question of what they were going to do. Ama was quick to answer. She looked at the group behind her.

"Yeah, let's go home. There's nothing we can do here."

...

Hunter Sigbin/Canis Ryder; Linda Matulin
Jewelry Store, Shopping District - Linda's Room, Titans' Tower

Linda sighed and looked back at the direction Archie flew to. She wished Archie wasn't the way he was now. She wish she knew why he ended up that way as she still felt it was her fault, no matter how many times her more rational mind told herself. As short tempered as the guy was, he seemed like a good person. She stared for a few more moments before whistling. In seconds, Sonic was by her side and she was on him. Her mother was also on Ninian by this point.

She looked to Nate and said, "Wanna ride with me again?"

...

Linda grumbled, frowning.

"Why you little..."

With a quick movement of her thumbs, she executed a skillfull dodge and stabbed her enemy at the back...in her video game. After that little "surprise" at the shopping district, she decided to blow off some steam on one of her video games. Right now she was playing an "old game" (that was what some of the friends of Maria said about it) on her PSP called Dissidia Final Fantasy. She had been meaning to play it for a while but didn't get much of a chance to and she didn't feel like playing a Sonic game right now. She was playing as Cecil, wanting to give him a shot from what she read of him from his original game. He also reminded her of her father, if by just a little bit.

A few more button presses later and she shouted in happiness at beating the boss.

...

M-Buster; Kelly Matulin
Kelly's Room - Common Room, Titans' Tower

Kelly put on her new set of clothes after a quick shower, now wearing a plain red shirt and loose blue pajamas. It was a bit of a habit from her younger years to take a shower after any form of work. She found it relaxing. An amused smile spread on her face when she heard the cheer from her daughter's room just a few feet away. She probably beat a boss.

But first things first.

She made her way to the common room and found who she was looking for. She leaned on the back of the couch.

"Hey, Max, you got a minute to spare?"

 

[Sketchie]

---♥---
Kathrine Smith ; Drama Queen
Smith Inc. Office Building, Chromium City Business District > Smith Household
---♥---​

Kathrine listened intently as Archie spoke. "Well..." he began, "Securing those diamonds should be our top priority, considering their economical value." Pause. "I suppose the banquet would be lovely, but like you said, it wouldn't look good for us if there were unnecessary bloodshed to attract unwanted attention towards us..." Pause. Kathrine bit her cheek. Was he... actually considering it?

"I'll go for the diamonds. Hopefully, it should go by relatively easy. if I get the time, I'll catch up to you at the banquet. If not, I'll send you a text and go home."

What. Kathrine was a little shocked and a little confused. He'd rather catch up with her at a banquet than go crush Titans? Maybe she had misread him. Or maybe he was attempting anger management. She shrugged it off. "Well, if that's what you'd like to do. I should warn you, it is a black tie affair -- you don't have to come in a tuxedo, but keep it classy and formal. If you don't have anything, I'm sure I can pull some strings." She leaned on the table, twirling a stray hair with her finger. "Though, as a woman I can bypass the whole "black" deal. I'm thinking something striking, maybe red? Red and glitzy."

She took a deep breath. "I'll keep in touch with you. Right now, it's late, we should likely be getting home." Kathrine placed her hand delicately on Archie's shoulder, smiling. "Be safe, okay? I'll see you tomorrow." She promptly turned and started to the door, the sound of her heels echoing in the small meeting room. She paused at the door, looking back and giving Archie a small wave before exiting.

Kathrine took the elevator back up to the top floor, waltzing back into her office. She stepped into the closet and changed back into her regular work clothes, carefully hanging her dress up and putting the Drama Queen mask on the top shelf. The khopesh found itself in its home once more. She glanced at the time. She'd be late getting home, but it's not like her father would have any qualms with it. He never did. In his eyes, Kathrine was an absolute angel, which is how it should be. She was an absolute angel, one worthy of being worshiped by all. She took the elevator back down to the parking garage, carrying herself with grace as she stepped into her Mercedes.

The drive to her house was calm. She had turned the radio off, soaking in the barely-audible sounds of her car. Chromium City was gorgeous in the evening -- while it wasn't as colorful and popping as its sister city to the north, it had a certain grace to it. The office buildings, various statues here and there, even the streetlights all felt dignified. It didn't take long for her to find her way into one of the rich suburbs. You know the type. Huge houses, huger lots, perfect lawns, trimmed shrubbery, the kind of place where you're sure that no one under 17 has ever lived there. Ever.

Kathrine pulled into the driveway of a large, Victorian style house. It was a light gray-blue, with a dark gray roof, adorned with intricate white trim. She parked the car, stepped out and locked it, before pushing any stray hair back into its place. She put on a sweet happy face, walking into her house with a gentle, delicate step. "Hi daddy!" she said cheerfully as she made her way into the family room. She leaned over the couch where her father was sitting, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh! Kathrine!" her father said, turning to face her. He was a gray-haired man, but he wasn't ancient in years. Old, sure, but Martin Freeman kind of old. He had been watching the news, the TV the only source lighting the room. "I was worried about you, didn't you hear about the riots?"

Kathrine cocked her head, an innocent look on her face. "No, I didn't hear about them," she said, her voice sweet and airy, "They sound scary... I was just at the office late, daddy, I wanted to finish what I was working on."

"I understand, sweetheart. Just be careful, alright?"

"Of course, daddy." Kathrine gave him a sweet smile, before leaving him to his nightly news. She dropped her cutesy act in the kitchen, dragging herself up to her room. What a day. She changed out of her work attire and into a silk nightgown, letting her hair down. She sat on her bed, taking a deep breath. What a day. And tomorrow still had to happen.

---

---~---
Lucas Moncrief ; Nightmare
Titan's Tower
---~---​

"Aw, but you look cute like that!" Max chuckled. He gave Lucas a kiss on the forehead before setting him down on his feet. Lucas winced, putting his hand on Max's shoulder to stabilize himself. "Anyway, you go get changed. There's still plenty of hours left of my birthday. We can just Netflix and chill. Are you sure you're ok though?" Max raised his arm, and his hand started to glow violet. "A quick dose of violet energy should have you all fixed up!"

Lucas stayed still as Max healed him up, closing his eyes as he felt the ache slowly fade away. Deep breaths. Slow breaths. Let him do his job. He's not going to hurt. He wouldn't. Lucas gave Max a kiss on the cheek, whispering his thanks. He dragged his fingers across Max's shoulders as he walked past, before heading up to his room.

Carefully, he took off the shredded skinny jeans. Hallelujah, they hadn't been cut so far over on the thigh, he might have accidentally exposed... that. Lucas grimaced at all the scarring on his thighs, a visual reminder of his own mistakes. He ran his hand over the scars, wincing at some of the newer ones that hadn't completely healed yet. You should probably tell him someti-- no! We can never tell him! -- ... Sometime before he finds out. He shook his head. Now was not the time to lament. He set his jeans on his chair, before going into the closet and pulling out some gray sweatpants, slipping them on. He took a lavender tank top from off his bed and-- wait. Was this Max's? Honestly, probably Max's. Lucas shrugged and put it on anyway. Max could get it from him later. Besides, he liked wearing his boyfriend's clothes. They were close enough in height that most of their shirts fit each other anyway.

He walked back to the common room, rubbing the back of his neck. Looks like he wasn't the only one looking for Max's attention. He arrived the same time as Linda's mom. Keeping his eye on her, he quietly walked over to the couch and sat down by his boyfriend, putting his arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, Max, you got a minute to spare?" Mrs. Matulin said, leaning on the couch.

Lucas bit his lip nervously. Again came the feeling of being threatened for no goddamn reason. Okay. We're clearly overreacting. We know this. Mrs. Matulin is a nice lady and we like her. Please do not act hostile. He looked up at her, managing a blank face. Nailed it. He exhaled. Yeah. Okay. That was under control. Definitely. But did she really have to talk to Max now..? He had something he wanted to ask Max too, but he supposed it could wait. Maybe.

 

[Monster Guy]

---♥---
Violet Lantern; Max Hudson
Titans Tower; Common Room
---♥---​

It wasn't long before Lucas arrived, took a seat on the couch, and put his arm around Max's shoulder. Max couldn't help noticing the lavender tank top he was wearing. Max knew he had one just like that in his own closet. Max was sure that was his shirt Luc was wearing, and Max found this funny. "You look really good in lavender." Max whispered in his boyfriend's ear, and giggled.

Before they could agree on what movie to watch, Linda's mom came into the room. "Hey, Max, you got a minute to spare?" she aked, leaning on the couch.

Max looked at his boyfriend, and noticed the blank look on his face. He knew about his situation with his own mother, and would understand why he would feel uncomfortable having a mother there. Max might have had the same problems himself if this had been Linda's father staying with them. At the same time, Max felt like he should hear what she had to say. "Well... ok. Will this only take a minute? Luc and I are getting ready to watch a movie." He answered while running his fingers through his boyfriend's dark hair. He then turned to talk to him. "Speaking of movies, Luc, would you mind getting the popcorn ready?" Gesturing to the kitchen with his thumb. "Can't have a movie night without popcorn, right?" Max would have gotten the popcorn himself once they agreed on a movie, but since Mrs. Mautlin needed to ask him something, it was probably a good idea to get Luc out of the room for a minute.

Ice Dragon; Kyle Remington
Titans Tower; Gym​

Eventually, Kyle arrived at the tower, and parked his motorcycle in the garage. It had been an interesting day so far. He managed to freeze some kids who were running around looting stores. However, two costumed villains managed to escape relatively scot-free. If it were up to him, they'd be in jail right now. What was worse was that his fight with one of the criminals was interupted by his teammates. This is generally why he preferred to work alone, but his parents thought working with others would be a good idea. Well, look how that turned out.

He knew there was nothing he could do about it now. He decided to take out his frustrations on a punching bag. That was one of the benefits of living in a fancy tower, having easy access to a gym. Ignoring the group of people gathered in the common room, Kyle first went to his room, and got his music player and earbuds. Then, he made his way to the gym, put the earbuds in, turned on the music player, and started punching away at the punching bag. He had to be careful not to punch too hard, and send the thing crashing through the wall.

 

[Sketchie]

---~---
Lucas Moncrief ; Nightmare
Titan's Tower
Current Soundtrack
---~---​

"Well... ok. Will this only take a minute? Luc and I are getting ready to watch a movie," Max answered, running his hand through Lucas's hair. Lucas closed his eyes, humming contently. He loved it when Max played with his hair, even if it was only for a moment he felt immediately calmer. "Speaking of movies, Luc," Max said, grabbing Lucas's attention, "Would you mind getting the popcorn ready? Can't have a movie night without popcorn, right?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Lucas said with a quick nod, "Just call for me when you're done." He stood up, bowing his head to Mrs. Matulin before exiting the room and making his way to the kitchen. The room was silent. His head was silent. Calm before the storm. He pulled a packet of popcorn down from the cabinet, unfolding it and sticking in the microwave. Three minutes.

Y'know, Archie was right back there.

I clearly remember telling you I didn't want any of your bullshit today. Lucas sighed, leaning on the counter. You really are nothing. Strong, sure, but nothing -- Please, just shut up. I'm not in the moo-- You should have died back the-- I know. -- And yet, here you are, still alive. -- Accidents happen. Now go away. Lucas covered his eyes with his hand. You're so angry. You'll know he'll leave eventua-- I don't want to deal with you ri-- YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. YOU GET TO LISTEN TO ME, FUCKASS. -- Don't get violent. Please don't ge-- you're a horrible person a-- I don't-- he's going to aban-- please-- you're being manipulative right now, dumbass.

Lucas's hands began to shake. What are you talking abou-- He can sense when you're in distress! REMEMBER. -- Bbut that doesn't mean i'm being manipula-- you're stressing yourself out on purpos-- no i'm not! i'm trying to cal-- don't lie to yourself, you worthless child, you just want his attentio-- LISTEn that is my least favorite part about him being my-- oh ple-- LET ME FINISH that is the worst!! because i'm STUCK malFUNCTIONING i can NO LONGER malfunction in silence. -- And?

He knows. No matter what. I hateit ihateit ihate it i-- Manipulator. -- Did you liste-- Abuser. -- i ccan't do-- He hates you. -- stop stop stoP-- He's going to leave you-- pleas e idon t-- Just watch him, checking out literally everyone el-- that' s a li e you' r e lyi-- See? Stressing yourself out. Just so he can think of you -- i was tryign to ca lm dow n-- Why don't you just kill yo-- bequietbequie t bE QUI E --

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Lucas jumped at the timer, gasping for breath. It had startled him out of his thoughts, everything going quiet again. His heart was racing as he shakily took the popcorn bag out of the microwave and setting it on the counter. He got down a large bowl from the cupboard, and shook the popcorn out of the bag into the bowl. Lucas put his hands on the edge of the counter, hanging his head. He tried and failed to take a few deep breaths, struggling to take in a full lungs'-worth of air, breathing it out in short bursts. You're a wreck. He prayed Max wouldn't notice, that everything was fine, that Max would call him in soon and this day could be smoothed over soon. (And maybe Max could play with his hair again. That sounded fine.)

 

[Titan500]

Armoury
11th Street

The criminals (had they actually, beyond choosing to assault her, truly been criminals? {that didn't matter for now, because they'd broken the law and her job was to bring them in}) were attempting to flee, scrambling out of the disabled spider machine in order to escape. It looked like there had been more than one driver in the thing, but the apparent of age of one of them ... that youth ... it came as a surprise (not that she hadn't been much the same, but maybe the child had made the machine herself instead of playing in someone else's clothes). Maybe she could be lenient here ... let the girl go- who was she kidding - hah that was a horrible joke - but age didn't matter here, especially when she herself was probably only a few years older. Her uncle would have leapt straight for stopping everyone peacefully and calmly. He would have probably resolved the problem without even resorting to the violence she had been forced to inflict upon the spider machine. But her uncle wasn't here.

Only she was.

And she wasn't that good.

Armoury immediately flew in pursuit, rapidly catching up to the group into the alleyway. No matter how fast they ran, she had the advantage of a flying piece of power armour, and most non-metahuman mortals (excluding that Charles Atlas guy from a century before) weren't so physically fit to trump technology in this realm. Hence, she soon found the three in her sights, and immediately fired, launching a second net towards them to prevent their escape. Without the spider, escaping the net would likely be of far greater difficulty, and using a flamethrower in such close proximity to oneself without protection, on an object designed to wrap around them, wouldn't be a wise idea.

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Grima
Shopping District​

“Here, let me help you with that.”, Ama said, referring to Nate's bleeding ears. He used some sort of restoration spell to make the pain go away, and it worked quite well. It's a shame he didn't know healing himself. Who'd thught dark magic was supposed to only cause destruction and pestilence? Right as his hearing returned to normal, he was met by a loud voice from a speaker. “Attention citizens! Clear out immediately! There will be consequences if you do not comply!” it said. He covered his ears. "Auch, f**k you voice, you comply!" he protested.
“I think we're done here.”, Ama said in a serious tone. "We accomplished a lot today...", Elsa responded before getting on his Motorcycle. Nate nodded and put his mask back on and prepared for the flight home. Before he took off, however, Linda rolled by on her sweet ride. "Wanna ride home?" She asked. Nate took his mask off and de-materialized his wings. "F**k yes!" he excitedly exclaimed, jumping on the bike behind her.

Titans Tower, Common room

Back at the tower, Nate had a few unanswered calls from his dad. He didn't think bringing his phone with him on the mission was a good idea, but he would likely do that later. His dad was furious, demanding to know where he was. He was now scheduled to accompany his father on a press-release regarding the masked vigilantes that had messed up the better part of town. It also appeared as if Lucas and Max was gonna watch a movie in the room. surely, they wouldn't mind the mild political babbeling in the background. He would only read one of his tomes afterwards anyway, and he liked the company of others. The day felt like it had been a failiure, and a good read was just what Nate needed to calm his nerves. The others appeared tot ake it worse than he did, however, but he decided against asking them about it. Maybe he'd talk to Linda later.

Max was having a small conversation with Lindas mother, and Lucas was walking out of the room, looking very uncomfortable. Did he have a headache? A strong one, he looked like those people talking to themselves... Oh, was he talking to himself? Strange fellow. Nate decided to follow him. He was making popcorn, apparently, but it looked like he had run a marathon by the looks of it. Maybe he was exhausted after the mission.

"Yo, you allright there? You look distressed. Tough day, huh? Who was the red guy? it seemed you knew him. Did Max know him? Was it the guy who used to be here, whatshisname.... Archer? Archive? Billy? No? Gonna watch a movie, eh? Don't mind me, I'll just go over a few curses here in the corner. Let me know if you need anything done, I have a curse for practically Anything!.". He was babbeling. Darn. He was still somewhat excited. It had been his first real mission with the titans! And though it could have gone better, it was certainly an experience, nontheless! the gloom in the room was pretty obvious, but he refused to give in to it.