The Return of a Talon: Rise Of Halo (closed)

by **Andrew** April 6th 2020, 9:42 pm

Andrew Pettiglio sat atop the streets of New York, looking down perched like a falcon ready to strike in his new costume.
"They're going to crucify me." he gulped
The hustle and bustle of the busy streets reminded him of the old times. The scent of smoke in the air. The light breeze from the cool morning. He was ready to return to the public and be the hero he was meant to be. Life did not stop just because he left to train and find himself after Lucius Alba exposed him. The once arrogant and fearless leader understood wings can break even on the angels that put themselves upon the highest of pedestals. Alba had a point with one thing, however The Phoenix still hated what the man stood for. If nothing else, the man was one of his word. He took everything from him. Luckily there was still one woman who believed in him. A young woman who he saved in college named Anna Moran. A reporter now for Good Morning America. She had always believed in him and wanted to have a press conference and a Q and A with the hero after his time gone.

The meeting was set for 10:00 AM. With only 15 minutes left he knew his time in the shadows was coming to an end. Despite battling addiction and harnessing his newfound powers, something just didn't feel right. A pit in his stomach let out a gurgle. "So how did it feel getting crushed by Rise?" he pretended to ask himself. "Oh thanks for asking it felt-."

He looked down to see a young woman wearing a pair of Lightning bolt earrings on a television screen.
"Ty." whispered, voice almost quivering.
"She's so much better off without you. Let her live her life." Another point Alba was correct about.
As he stood up and prepared for whatever was about to go down on camera and microphone he smiled lightly.
"Take care of yourself. Be safe. Be you." He turned his back. That chapter in his story was over but they were both heroes. Maybe one day they'd fight together on the same side of justice but he didn't count on it. It was a big world and frankly he was erased from hers.

Back to the point at hand, her setting up shop at the statue of Phoenix doesn't lend well to his newly discovered humble attitude. None the less, he knew why she picked this spot.

He walked slowly with his mask off, his newly dawned uniform. beard gone, hair clean cut. His chest dawned a star and he worse an american flag blue colored suit with red accents.
"Good morning Anna."
"Oh my goodness! I was just about to start worrying you were going to chicken out." she jested punching him playfully in the arm.
"Well if it's any consolation I'm more afraid of this than I was to fight Lucius Alba in a Las Vegas Casino."
"Consolation prize noted. Take a seat cameras roll in two minutes."

A small crowd was starting to gather and Andrew took in another deep breath. "Elena Marie. If you're out there right now would be a great time to need a reality crisis."

"In 3...2...1..."

"Oof"

"Good morning America! I'm Anna Moran here with a friend, a hero, and former leader of The Talons, Andrew Pettiglio...The Phoenix!"
A good amount of people clapped. A few kids cheered. Most just stared wondering what would come out of his mouth after disappearing again.
"Good morning. It's a pleasure to be here." Andrew spoke, shifting in his chair slightly and clearly not very comfortable.

"So, I have to ask what happened with Rise. Why did you leave the city? Where did you go?"
"Well here I thought we would ease ourselves into the interview just diving head first, ok. It's...complicated. Lucius Alba made a lot of good points to me. I was doing things incorrectly. Now I am by no means condoning taking a country by his means; or some of his behavior. However, I was arrogant. I thought because I could take a bullet and because we saved the world a few times I was invincible. there are things that can hurt you that aren't physical Anna. I left because this city didn't need me. Now I'm certainly not going to sit her in front of a statue they built of me when they thought I died and claim they need me now. However I just want to help. Not just by taking justice into my own hands but also by helping the brave men and women who serve this city everyday with a badge or a firetruck."
There were a few more claps but still as the crowd grew people were silent.

"That's certainly a new perspective we aren't used to hearing from Phoenix. So where did you find this new sense of purpose?"
"I spent time in a lot of places. Not to play the mysterious card but y'know I had a spiritual journey both in and out."
"Well I can understand that! So I have to ask Talons? When are you getting back together?"

Men in masks were making there way into the crowd. Andrew kept an eye on them.

"The Talons are done. I won't be seeking them out. I have other plans. The Talons were focusing on symptoms I'm here to fix a disease. Furthermore, I am no longer the Phoenix."
He pulled a mask from one of his belt holsters. Putting it across his face.
"I will now be going by The Patriot. A new symbol. A new idea."
"Can I still call you Andrew?"
"Of course, I'm not hiding my identity."

"Well. Andrew. Welcome home."
A masked man fired a rocket at him.
"Anna, down!" Andrew dove at Anna and wrapped around her taking the rocket and throwing her into police custody."

After standing upright he cracked his back.
"Why?" he glared down.
"Because you failed us." many large gunman showed up and started pointing weapons at him and the crowd.
"Put your weapons down now. I will come with you. No one needs to get hurt!"
"Tell that to my wife!"
Another rocket fired at Patriot's chest, this one stronger than the last. Taken by surprise he was sent tumbling backwards.
"Boy you are out of practice Phoenix!" the masked madman shouted.
"Crap. Ok. Let's go." He dove at the man.

by **Arcana** April 6th 2020, 10:40 pm

Hear about the supposedly dead returning and you’ll want to look into it. That was Sean’s reasoning for looking into this conference that this reporter had called together, though he had to admit he had nothing better to do. For the moment the supernatural world was silent and Zell was busy acclimating to whatever memory issue had struck him like a ton of bricks. Mike promised to keep that in order while he investigated these rumors and whispers that were permeating the world around them. Bridging the gap between LA and New York was as simple as bringing open as portal, swirling with mana that projected the world beyond.

He stepped through after changing into more civilian looking clothes, and the plain looking leather satchel thrown over his shoulder. It was comfortable, though the amount of stuff within would likely have been deceiving compared to the size. He stopped by a local café, picking up a cup of coffee to shake off the grog that came with waking up so early and made his way to where the interview should be happening. Likely others would have heard of the info, but he wasn’t there for others, just his own curiosity. Slowly the crowd began to gather, and he stuck near the back, pulling up his hood and weaving a small glamour to avoid having any pesky eyes on him.

Eventually the familiar face did appear, though the costume was a little different. He didn’t look too different than the last time they saw one another, though he didn’t expect the man too look unrecognizable. A lot had happened, though he could remember their clash with Rise and how poorly that went. He was surprised that didn’t end with the local law enforcement trying to throw him in one of those maximum security meta prisons. Might have been Zell and his trillion-dollar influence, because that didn’t sound too far-fetched actually. Apparently, whatever had drawn the hero away for that period of time had managed to change him somewhat or maybe just how he talked.

Way humbler, though Sean was never inclined towards shouting accusations like that.

A few men moved through the crowd, masked types that practically screamed trouble though he didn’t do anything about them immediately. Maybe they were they heckling type and not the doing something stupid like causing a commotion types. Not that they likely expected someone like him to be present, just the hero who could shrug bullets off like nothing. Which made him wonder why people ever even bothered trying to shoot him, though that sounded like human stupidity. Sipping from his plastic cup, Sean watched the short speech the hero gave which ended with something along the lines of working alongside the brave men and women.

”Come on Andrew, you’re soundin like a cheesy PSA now,” He groaned, despite the smirk that came along with it. Maybe the world needed a hero that cheesy, especially after the big fiasco with Atlas not so long ago. The city was recovering after all, maybe they needed a new symbol or something like that. It could have been a nice press conference but that would have been asking too much.

Someone spoke up and fired off what looked like a rocket. He tried to draw upon something, but the explosion was off before he could act, though the only one hit was the newly named Patriot, who seemed fine. Following the lead of the man with the rocket someone else pulled out a rifle of some kind and happened to point it directly at him. Well that wasn’t too smart now was it?

”Lemme guess, put my hands up right,” The man glared at him or he assumed that was the case. What followed what a jet of blue fire and the end of their gun curling downwards as the metal melted and warped. He didn’t have the time to react after that, the back of his hand protected by a small current knocking the weapon from his hand and a swift strike to the solar plexus knocking him to the ground gasping for air. That drew the rest of their attention, though they couldn’t keep their attention on him for too long when Patriot was jumping someone else. Things were quickly getting crazy, and people were scattering the moment fighting started. Propelling himself from the midst of the stampede, Sean landed in a more open section of the gathering area and threw back his hood.

”You got a bad habit of causing trouble don’t ya?” He said, smirking toothily.

by **Andrew** April 7th 2020, 2:17 am

"Remember, restraint." The hero thought to himself. As he tackled the man with the rocket launcher he monkey flipped him, shoving his feet into the mans cheat and throwing him over his head. Explosives dropped. Andrew rolled backwards and landed on the dropped RPG rockets and a loud boom was let out from beneath him. Looking to his left he saw a kid with his jaw dropped.
"Hey bud you gotta get out of here!" He shouted with a smile through the riot. A man with a AR-15 pointed it down at Patriot before seeing the kid.

"No!" The Patriot clenched a fist and a stream of ice snaked its way around the man and began to tighten around the terrorist and the end of his gun.

"I will never regret that power up." he smirked. Quickly back to his feet he made his way back to the center of the chaos he saw a familiar face hooded figure take down their cover. The former friend sent the terrorist packing quickly causing Andrew to grin again. "Old habits die hard." he responded to his brother.

"You got a bad habit of leaving your six open still I see." he swirled around Sean and put an elbow in the gut of an armed assailant before grabbing Sean and leaping out of the crowd. "We need to do some crowd control and quickly. I'm not your boss anymore and I don't have time to explain how but I got ice powers and can quickly contain this. What do you have in your arsenal to quickly cap this?"

by **Arcana** April 7th 2020, 2:45 am

Sean didn’t stop the man from lifting him away from the crowd, pulling away from the hold and brushing himself off. Looked like these guys were more prepared for someone like him compared to someone Patriot. Well, they were in for a rude awakening if they thought he was so easy to taken down. ”I got a bit of crowd control on me. Fire, water, earth and air are just the basics,” Sean explained pretty quickly, drawing upon a small maelstrom of wind within the palm of his hand and turning towards the remaining ones scattered within the crowd. Not all of them stood out but his eye managed to discern most of them.

”I can watch my back,” He added, fluidly making a few hand motions as he sent a few jet streams through the crowd and seemingly split it with little effort. This left them confused, shocked by the sudden and seemingly invisible force separating them. ”you’ve got like…a few seconds before they get working again,’ So long as Andrew was still as ridiculously fast as he was back then, well they shouldn’t be having too much of an issue taking the thugs down.

He slammed his left foot down and twisted it, watching the concrete beneath the feet of a few shift to more the consistency of sand, sinking down and trapping them in place. Everyone around them began trying to run in the opposite direction while they were stunned by the double attack.

by **Andrew** April 12th 2020, 1:45 am

"I joke my friend." Andrew grinned back to his compatriot. It felt like old times. A flurry of arrows came from a man. The bowman began to multiply and shot all of his men in the head.
"We do not tolerate captivity. You know how the boss operates."
"I'm going to assume your power is to get more annoying with each replica." The Patriot thought to himself looking at Sean as if to come up with a plan quickly.

An flurry of arrows flew in their direction and Andrew created a wall of fire. Golden and white. If it wasn't in a dire situation, one could stop and look at the specimen as something not of this dimension. The arrows seemed to melt on impact expect for a for. Laced with some kind of sedative he was certain Sean could handle. Dashing through the fire the embers seemed to dance around the hero's skin. Unharmed by his own creation. He was making a beeline for Anna.

One clone was about to put his hand over her mouth before Andrew slid and created a small shard of ice, tossing it at the man's bow string.
"I'm no marksman but that was a good throw wouldn't ya say?"
"Ha." the man scoffed at the hero.
"If only a bow was your only worry, Phoenix."
"Didn't you knuckleheads pay attention, I don't go by Phoenix anymore."
"That's what the boss calls you. That's what I'll call you. I'm one of his Sacred Seven. I wouldn't take that title lightly."
"So I'm assuming the number six is afraid of you?"

Anna took her opportunity and kicked the man in the shin before Andrew leaped and frog kicked him planting both feet in his chest, sending him flying backwards. A cloud of what looked like toxic smoke appeared where the clone's skid halted.

"Deluge don't let them too close when you hit em!" the hero shouted over his shoulder before turning around and seeing the onslaught of more arrows and clones.
"Anna are you ok?"
"Andrew don't let them hurt me please." she begged basically nesting her face in his chest.
"Hey, hey, it's going to be good. You got two former Talons here."

"Then why is it you stand no chance of escaping our plan?" The voice boomed.
Andrew couldn't tell which archer was the real one but their arrows were no joke one grazed Anna's leg and she began to faint.

"That sedative won't kill her just knock her out. Not everyone is lucky enough to be weapon proof."
Andrew picked Anna up.
"What do you want?"

"We want you and the Elena Marie spawn to come with us, quietly."
Turning back to Sean and holding Anna tight Andrew thought this would be a good opportunity to get to their boss. This felt too coordinated. No way he could flip the table that easy.
"What do you say brother, we going with them back to their club house, or wanna try and take down an army back to back?"

All civilians were out of harms way. This was either going to be a good ol' fashioned brawl or they were going to fall into the plans of the Sacred Seven's servant. Either way, Andrew was happy knowing his best friend has his back.

by **Arcana** April 12th 2020, 9:15 pm

”Yeah, very funny,” Sean found in tense situations his accent tended to return, harshening his words but overall he had a feeling that didn’t matter. They were facing down a group of armed thugs and now…a self-multiplying archer. Now that was going to be annoying, though he had dealt with worse things before. Wonder what else was up his meta-arsenal or perhaps just literal arsenal. He took a deep breath, feeling the mana flow through him and small currents of air spinning invisibly around his forearm as if to preemptively make a small barrier. They had patriot and his fire, which should have made defense a little easier against something as simple as arrows. Because obviously arrows couldn’t be made of anything other than basic metals, right?

The way most of them evaporated against the wall of gold and white flames was proof enough that most of their weapons were basic. Even if they made quick work of the guys this archer brought along with him, and the accuracy was impressive enough. He wondered what kind of combatant they were dealing with. He just had to defend himself, forming a small barrier of air within his hands and batting away any arrows that got too close. It worked for the most part, but the same arrow that managed through the fire also managed to partially bypass his own defenses. The cut was small, no more than minor bleeding really but whatever the hell he had on the head was the issue.

Without even needing to think he worked on flooding mana to the area of contact and through the arm that was hit. Sure, he couldn’t heal himself but that didn’t mean he had no way to defend himself. The magic was mostly towards blunting the effects of poisons and toxins, reducing lethality and perhaps increasing the time before he went down if it was something like a tranq. Not that he was confident enough in his mana control to maintain this forever, and in combat that might have made things even worse. He let a breath hiss through his clenched teeth.

Andrew had his own problems and he had his, clones shooting more of their arrows and Sean being forced into action. Forming a sphere if air around him with a quick spin, pushing as many arrows away as he could and dodging around the rest. ”Think you can take them on while protecting her? Don’t got an issue but pretty sure we’ll need you at your best if we wanna get outta this thing,’ The area around them was good enough for his earth magic, all he would have to do was cause enough chaos and take them down before they could be a big issue. ”I wanna fight but I don’t know. I’ll follow your lead here Patriot.’

by **Andrew** April 20th 2020, 2:32 am

Sean was right. If they had any chance of going back to back against the man underneath the helmet then they had to be perfect. The screams of the crowd were now all but gone. The street they were on falling almost deafeningly silent. This city had a way of changing tunes quickly. "Anna, I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Ok, Deluge! Let's do this."

Andrew rubbed his hands together and ice started to form around the group creating a giant dome.
"Ok Anna, trust time."
He created 4 walls around her with tiny holes for her to breathe.

"I was paying attention. It seems you can only create clones of yourself within a line of sight. That means nobody out."
The voices let out an almost sick laugh.
"A great deduction! However, aren't you now stranded in here with me?"

Before the small army could finish talking Andrew dashed quickly towards Sean skidding to a halt by his side.
"I know it's been a while since we've teamed up. Remember attack pattern alpha? I go high you take low."

The Patriot was off leaping up to the building's rooftop closest to them. The first arrows fired at him bounced off him, once hit the ground in front of him and quickly a wall of putty wrapped around him.
"Dammit I have to stay sharper, I haven't been in the field in a while.
Andrew let fire dance up his skin melting away the putty to a smoke drifting off.
Before the next wave of arrows could come he grabbed the nearest archer and clenched in on his helmet. The metal gave way the grip of the hero and holes formed like a bowling ball where his fingers were.

"Which one of you is the real one?" He tossed the man in the air and spin kicked him with immense force into a wall of his friends. The one he kicked also turned into a smoke. This one didn't look toxic.
"Interesting."
The men were on their feet in no time and punch after kick after punch they became a cloud of smoke. That building top was cleared.

"Deluge! It seems only specific clones are toxic I can't figure out the difference yet!" He said while running and dodging arrows with grace. Finally he was hitting his stride. Pulling the staff from his belt's pouch he let it grow to its full form.
Spinning it like a baton he created a great gust knocking the next building top's goons to the ground.
Many purple clouds were forming as they hit the concrete beneath.
"Heads up!"He shouted in warning to his partner with only two rooftops to clear.
He leaped to the next building and buried the staff into the gut of the next archer and flinging him at another group like a lacrosse ball. He too was just normal smoke.
The buildings behind him were starting to fill back up with baddies.

"Oh, for the love of god. Of course there's more"
More and more were forming.
Andrew had easily taken out 30 of them by now but for every 2 he took out it seemed 3 more came back.
"What part of Sacred Seven did you not understand?"

The voice came from Anna's safe place.
"No"
He leaped off the roof and created a slide of ice as he moved to try and slide faster.
"New powers of yours? Interesting."
The archer grew a pair of wings out of his back. Seemingly tipped with a metal like material.
"I have some tricks too."
His wing smashed the ice pillar into pieces and sent Anna tumbling over.

"You just don't get it Phoenix. I'm not here to prove a point of strength. I was instructed to take you back to my boss. Every single member of the Sacred Seven has a bone to pick with you heroes. Especially him."

"What did I ever do to you? I did nothing! I've been gone for 4 years!"
The man took off his helmet. Revealing a scarred left side of his face.
"You're absolutely right. When I needed saving where were YOU?"
The scar on his face looked like a burn.

"YOU were careless in one of your squabbles with that Elena Vexus bitch and YOU burned down my apartment. Collateral damage is a thing Phoenix. Your intentions were pure and I get it. My sister died and I got a dermatologist's nightmare on my mug. How did you apologize? YOU left this city for 4 years doing god knows what, leaving us to fend for ourselves. The Talons that so many believed in gone. This was after your LAST return where Lucius freaking Alba handed you your ass on a platter. Andrew. You may claim to be doing something better, something new. There will ALWAYS be ramifications of your past mistakes and it is YOUR call to make up for them."

Andrew realized the young man made some good points.
"I'm so s-"
"I didn't ask you for a damn apology! I TOLD you to come with me! Now you and your Talon friend are going to get in my helicopter and I'll let this woman go free or I'll put an arrow through her head."

The man nocked an arrow and drew the string back in one swift motion.
"I'll give you 3 seconds and super speed won't save her look around even if you get her there's a dome around you, a friend you'd abandon. the possibility of at least 1 of these clones putting a hole in her pretty little head. You say there's a new way to do things? Show me."

"Ok. let her go. I'll come with you."
Anna looked shocked.
"Good choice"
"Andrew, I..."
"Anna go to the hospital. Don't worry I will contact you when I finish up business." A hole formed in the ice and she walked out of it before it closed behind her.

"I'm a man of my word Andrew. Now let's see if you're a man of yours. When you made the opening for her I got a line of sight. One snap I either make the clone disappear or one thought and that woman is dead."

He retracted his staff and put it back in his belt.
"Deluge doesn't have to be a part of this."
He looked to his left and waited to see how his brother in arms was fairing.
The clones started disappearing in numbers. Only a few remained.
"Oh, trust me, you're both a huge part of this."
The man put his helmet back on and gestured to the rooftops.

by **Arcana** April 27th 2020, 1:48 pm

Breathe in and breathe out. Maintaining the mana through his body to push off the potential drowsiness that came with being drugged. He didn’t know what the stuff was, he knew the archer was confident enough within his skills to knock him out. Andrew was busy protecting the reporter chick, which meant he could focus on trying to take this guy down. Everyone had weaknesses, this guy likely and he just needed to find out what that weakness was. The chink in his armor, something that would let him take the guy down with some kind of grand sweeping motion. More breaths, and he called upon more wind magic with a sweep of the arms, batting away the hail of arrows that fell upon them from the seeming massive amount of clones that were continually being created.

Defending himself was the primary intention, as he ducked and rolled out of the way of the few that managed to break through his defense. Sean quickly transitioned into a crouch, firmly pressing the heel of his shoe against the ground and bringing down the street beneath some of the clones, which caused them to collapse and seemingly dissolve from the impact that came with it. Did that mean some of them weren’t actually people? Well, if that were the case that meant he didn’t have to hold back as much as he was. Though it was easy to argue that he wasn’t holding back at all.

Sean propelled himself through the air, arrows flying through the air not far behind him and blown upwards as he landed on the nearest elevated position. Somewhere he could get a better look at the area around him, hovering over the roof top that now held him as a few more of the arrows narrowly managed to miss him.Soon enough he could gather the positive energy within to nullify the poison, at least enough not to lose consciousness from it. That was all that mattered, since he was pretty sure Andrew didn’t want to give up to some punk who decided to take over what he assumed was some kind of press thing.

Well he was wrong somewhat on the fighting on thing, when he noted out of the corner of his the woman walking out of a large dome of ice, which either meant the villain was down or something else was happening. What did it mean exactly? Ducking into a roll, Sean sighed and tried to make some kind of sense of the battlefield. Perhaps he was dealing with the main body, which left him with the many copies that were about and shooting their arrows. Was it to keep him busy?

A few arrows poked at his defense and in annoyance he crafted a barrier between him and them. A black substance that seemed to turn the arrows into black powder. That was when the clones began to disappear, save for a few and left him confused as he descended to the street level, feeling the radiant nether coursing through the sigil. ”Wonder what the hell this is all about now,’ He muttered to himself.

by **Andrew** June 22nd 2020, 4:44 pm

"Ok, let's get out of here."
Andrew motioned to Sean with his head to follow, hoping the hero would tail.
The group made their way to the helicopter before being black bagged.
The archer mumbled something to the pilot and to the cellphone he could hear, but nothing of significance. Andrew knew the duo was not going to die today. After what felt like hours the helicopters landed, it was inside of a hanger, inside of a mountain. Andrew recognized this place.

The markings on the walls were that he studied under Elena Marie Realm Walker.
"Ya. I know you know." The archer muttered pointing down a staircase for following.
Before him were 8 Statues. One was of the archer who apprehended him.
"Usually Tyuki was the one in these situations." he internalized to himself as he pressed onward down the staircase.

The torches seemed to light as he walked further and further. A purple and green flame dancing from their tops. "I..I've been here." He said out loud before the man slammed a bow into his gut.
"You're going to stop talking RIGHT NOW. No spoilers for any guests. You're going to act surprised like it's Christmas fucking morning and you got a pony. Understood?"
That was a bow made out of serious stuff to make Andrew grit, however he nodded and kept following.

The got to a room that was once just a treasure room from Andrew's memory. Now sat a throne inhabited. A man with long brown hair a beard going halfway down his neck, and elegant robes draping.

"It's customary to bow before a god." the man said rubbing his beard.
"A god really?"Patriot scoffed at the mangy looking man in the seat who shifted slightly.
"Yes. A. God. One ready to bring a great flood upon the world you've given your life trying to save...twice now?"

"Kneel!" Shouted the archer.
Andrew created a sword of ice quickly and let the point grow behind him stopping at the archer's throat.
"I won't ever kneel again. Not for you. Not for your crazy friend over there. No one."

The archer grinned.
"You're much more humble but that loss of control must really be under that thick skin. No more girl. No more team. Only fan boys left. Such a shame."

"Enough! Remember we want Andrew here to join our cause not try and mess it up. Do your best to remember that Eagle Eye."

A name something something to work with finally. That would come in handy later.
"So you know who I am, who are you?"
The man cackled, as if Andrew should remember.
"In due time. In due time."

"Now how about you and your friend? Any questions?"
Andrew's ice sword shattered and he prepared for the worst.

by **Arcana** June 29th 2020, 6:52 pm

Go along with the bad guys? Well this didn’t scream trap at all but then again traps always had a way of being less obvious. Last time they rushed into something, well that ended up with Andrew seemingly dying by the hands of some mutant. He rested the palm of his hand on his forearm, feeling over the small abrasion created through the contact with one of the many arrows. Well, he managed to keep himself from going under but that didn’t keep his consciousness from blurring a little. He wouldn’t be at the top of his game but that was fine, so long as he didn’t get himself stuck in a no-win scenario. A helicopter lifted them away, leaving him some time to look through the knowledge catalogued through his mind, a mental passage he had been trained to conjure through hours of practice and training.

Things that no mundane mage would have known or even the most taught would have found within their lives. His mental mindscape would have taken the form of an expansive white plane, though with a thought it took another form. A massive library with seemingly no end, giant bookcases that stretched into the sky above. If he had all the time in the world, he might have been able to read through everything that crystalized around him. This world alone held so much information; this plane and all the ones connected to it. As well as the stars that blinked into existence once someone stepped into the void beyond, though he was told not to grasp for the knowledge there. The reason why there his mother and at that time mentor gave no information on.

All it took was desire, and he was floating through the many imaginary cases until he came across one. Pulling the book from the shelf and quickly reading through it until he found the spell he needed, written in script he would have no known otherwise . The words taking on a glow and then shifting into English, simple things he needed to chant to himself. Something to purge the poison within him, to undo the very thing that was slowing him down.

With a deep breath the whirring of chopper blades came back, and he was there again. Whispering the words of the spell and letting the mana flow through his body until he felt the curtain of haze fall away. He woke as they flew into what looked to be a mountain, sensing the slightest hint of radiant mana that reacted with his own. There was something special about this place, though he wondered what exactly that was. Well, only one way to find out.

He followed them through the halls which seemed to be carved into the mountain, harsh barks coming from the yahoo with the bow. Familiar runes lined the walls at some point, though they became more curious in context of this place. What exactly was the shouting one trying to bring them into. It was when they came before a man, decked out in the robes of a king with the hair of a pauper that he found himself even more curious. What were they working with? Would he need to blast his way out of here anyway? There was enough earth to make a quick escape.

Then of course he claimed godhood, which made him scoff. Nearly chuckle if he didn’t bite back the instinct that came to laugh. It was possible he had a spark of divinity, but he could also have been a metahuman with too much self-importance. ”A self-proclaimed god and his dog, so you’ve stated you want Patriot but that doesn’t explain why I’m here. I doubt you have a place for me in your pantheon,” Perhaps he was meant to be a hostage, something to hold against the hero…former hero? It was possible, considering he wasn’t known for his ability to shrug off bullets. Too many questions, though he already had a few spells ready to prepare himself should they throw something at them for his mouthing off. ”won’t be the first god who’s had it out for this world either, though I’m not entirely impressed by what you got,” The Black Beast, The Dark Traveler even had a showier feel to them.

Not even a servant with a cool sword to lead the charge. ”Not exactly smart to say you want to wreck the world to someone who supposedly saved it twice like he’s gonna buy the church pitch. Doubt he’s gonna be swayed by whatever bullshit you have, considering he’s got nothing or whatever shit your arrow boys sayin,” They already had his answer, he wouldn’t let them have their way and destroy this world. Even if they had the power to do so. Not while he breathed. He clenched his fist and grit his teeth, letting his own stance be known verbally and physically.

by **Andrew** July 13th 2020, 7:20 pm

"Sean now isn't the time for a fight."

Andrew put his hand on his friends shoulder.

"We are drastically outnumbered, out gunned, in their territory and I know this place I... I've been here before. That throne was just empty. I understand the marking on the wall. That technomatter that Vexus is so fond of. This is a practically a shrine to the people who invented it. Hers may have come from another earth but when I was training these last few years I came here once and learned a lot. He may not be turning water into wine, but he is a deity. The walls written with talks of his arrival. The 7 Trumpets, Sacred Seven as it were. The presumable four henchmen you have stocked away as your apocalypse horsemen that stand above the seven? I have pieces and knowledge but Sean we can't win here. Let's just listen."

The man with the bow, Eagle Eye went to bury his weapon in Andrew's stomach again. this time it was caught and burned into a melted mess of what was once a weapon.

"Call off your dog and I listen. Otherwise I promise we will break out of here."

The 'God' laughed. "I know you're entirely aware of what I need. the fire of a realm walker. The magic of a Collin, a few other things. You two can help me bring the end of days and enjoy them, or you can sit and cry. Something's different in those fire eyes I've heard so much about. Did something dim you? You were so ready for a fight when I heard your tales in Taverns across realms. Oh... pumpkin. Is is it Tyuki? That's it isn't it. You do know I can make an exact clone of her that follows your every desire. Wouldn't that be a happy ending?"

Andrew gritted his teeth. "I learned control. I learned when to unleash and when not to. As both of you said if I saved this place twice and died over it why would I end it?"

Two pairs of thunderous boots walked into the grand hall.
"I'm interested. Also I really thought the Tyuki line would snap that calm demeanor"

Fingers snapped.
"This room has been turned into a power dampener like those collars dogs have to wear that an agency I've heard about rounds up."

Andrew felt his powers fleeting he looked at Sean quickly.

"Show me you two can beat part of my army without your powers. Show me that FIRE inside you. Show me that RAGE I know you're suppressing."

Andrew looked at Sean. "You ready. I hope you still remember Talon training.

Planting one foot firm and getting into a boxer's stance he looked his enemy up and down. He was covered in armor from the chest down. Did this man intentionally only give them face shots?

The big oaf swung his club and Andrew ducked and bobbed his head like a professional fighter before dashing at the 8 foot tall man and burying a knee into his face before using the momentum to roll over top of him, stand on his hands and push up twisting in the air to prepare for a counter.

by **Arcana** July 14th 2020, 1:25 am

It was always time for a fight. Especially when he stood face to face with a god that claimed they wanted to destroy the very world he called his home. They were nothing more than an enemy now, someone he couldn’t talk out of following his path. ”A deity who thinks he has the right to end the world with his revelations bullshit. Well aren’t we lucky,” He grumbled, watching the one with the bow trying to threaten them and having his weapon melted to slag . That guy just did not know how to control himself did he? It didn’t matter as the self-proclaimed god continued to talk, taunting Andrew as if he were trying to get him to fight. Would that work or was he playing a game he had no chance of winning?

Attempts to cause him to snap were made through bringing up Tyuki, though that didn’t seem to work really. Instead he jumped to removing the power from them, somehow turning the room into a power dampener and causing the mana to flee from him. Looked like he would be having no magic working through him, which meant they were entirely at his mercy. ”Talk about a pain in my ass,” One of the men made their swing at Phoenix, though he managed to avoid the strike at him and Sean reacted accordingly. Watching another with a wicked looking curved sword to try and slice him in two.

Power negating was interesting, but it didn’t always touch something like magical items. He pivoted, avoiding the slash narrowly as it sliced through the front of his shirt and took a few steps from the attack. Well, he was already used to be the fragile one so this scenario was not far from what he usually did. With a burst of speed forward, his fingers wrapped around the man’s wrist and gave a harsh twist, causing their fingers to relent on their weapon and cause it to clatter to the ground. This was followed by him wrenching them into a knee which collided with their stomach driving the air from their lungs and throwing off their rhythm entirely.

With that done Sean picked up the weapon and skittered back a few steps and spun, slamming the hilt of his weapon into another person’s face who had made a move with what looked to be a chain weapon. Their nose crunched, blood spurting from it and stunning them for a few moments. He could have used the wicked blade but he knew Patriot would have not liked him killing any of them; though he was curious what they could do to get out of this. ”Really regretting following that jackass,” He spun his weapon and prepared to defend himself next.

by **Andrew** August 20th 2020, 8:24 pm

The two were like a well oiled machine. Perfectly navigating the room, weaving around like an elegant dance of can kicking. A larger soldier dashed at Andrew before the hero could brace himself. He dropped to a push up position and used his dexterity to swing his legs from behind to in front slamming the shin of the guard. The Patriot quickly leaped up and threw two right hooks, before taking a knife off the guard and throwing it into the wall switch. He then let go of the guard and tore a piece of his cape off, stashing it in his pocket. Making sure to get the insignia.

The lights seemed to surge while Deity stroked his beard. One eyebrow cocked with a grin. The room made a noise. "Sean. Close off the door!" Andrew shouted leaping across the room and landing back in front of the god.

Looking him up and down Deity clapped. "Well now. You two will be a great addition to the ranks. Say Eagle eye I believe they may even be more skilled than you."

The archer scoffed arms crossed. "Still mad that good ol' Andrew broke your toy? Don't be so stupid next time. If you attack someone mean it."

Andrew looked into the man's eyes. So familiar. So disgustingly familiar. "You're so close I can see it!" the god laughed. "We have proved our point. I know what your next move is."

"Sean, we need to.."
"Talk to.. Zell?"
Dammit. The man really did know.
"How? Ah yes. I assumed you'd be going to involve HIM in this. Why don't you ask your brother how hubby bodes right now?"

"Sean don't let him suck you in. I'm right here, talk to me." Things weren't going to go well if Collin went off the rail and tried to slay a god.

by **Arcana** August 20th 2020, 9:34 pm

Sean ducked and weaved through a flurry of blows from multiple directions. Something was blocking the flow of his mana, that much he knew but even with the greatest of locks there had to be a weakness. A crack within the wall that allowed him to draw upon his magic even in small doses. Enough to reduce these goons to nothing more than sniveling piles on the floor. Just an iota of power would have been enough to break the flood gates. Sean bit his lower lip, a low annoyed growl working through clenched teeth as he felt the scrape of a bladed weapon nick him on the side. He left Andrew to what he was doing, caught between trying to draw back his magic and avoid the various weapons meant to destroy him. Well, this deity was playing for keeps wasn’t he?

Having a weapon in his hand made deflection easier, the ring of metal against metal reverberating through his head and even his bones. How long could he last? How long until his muscles began to ache, until he couldn’t continue to stand on his feet? A touch of ache in his lungs popped up, further made worse because his mana flow was slowed. Almost as if it were shut off. The man spoke, questioning how Zell was doing and he had to wonder what the hell that had to do with anything? Did that have to do with why the self proclaimed god came to this world? Spinning, he slammed the hilt of his weapon into the nose as he stepped back a few feet to close off the door or whatever he was hoping to do.

”Not sure what you’re trying to get at. This more of that godly shit talk you’re trying to drum up? Not gonna work on me. Too scared to fight me right, so you gotta lock my powers up right?” he hissed through his teeth, silver eyes flashing dimly. He just needed more time, a few more moments to get something working up. If he could talk the deity into dropping the restrictions, well that would have made things easier. He pried at the seal upon his own mana, wondering if he could have the burst of power bring his powers back. ”So what do you say god? Still too chicken shit or are ya gonna turn off the dampening?”

by **Andrew** October 14th 2020, 2:56 am

"SEAN" Andrew almost screamed as he turned his head at his best friend.

The hero tossed a bolt of fire above his head as a floating hand was coming down upon it.

"Ok listen man. We are out numbered. Drastically. We don't know who or what he has here. We don't even have a plan. You and I BOTH know I love kicking some arrogant ass as a team but we need to think this one through. He's sucking us in."

The Deity laughed and clapped.
"IS THAT RESTRAINT FROM ANDREW! WELL I WILL BE DAMMED!"

Andrew gritted his teeth and created two swords of ice.
"Enough!"

"We clearly aren't joining you. There's nothing you can take away or threaten me with anymore to do what you want so really your leverage is as stable as a dinning table with 1 leg. WE have what you NEED. YOU are not an interest to either of us."

Deity held his hands to his face like a kid about to reveal a secret.
"What if we were already surrounding The Archon and their offspring?"

Andrew quickly turned his head.
"Sean I can have us teleported there right now. I'm letting you make the call it's your family he's threatening. Though, I can't be sure it's not empty."

Andrew let the ice disappear and elbowed the closest guard in the teeth knocking him out without turning his head.

"Well gentleman?" the villain cackled.

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