17 Rapture
Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results." As the world moves ahead to yet another new age, I think about that quote now more than ever. With this new year comes new challenges and new limits, and while my last desperate scheme for redemption has paid off far more than I've ever dreamed, I still fear that our already pushed limits might not be enough. So I guess you could say that I, Chelsea Danvers, am trying to not repeat fate in my self made world gone mad.
It may have been only a short time since the Vacuum, but from it, we've become more organized than ever. A year of research finally fell through as we've now had our official helix database for all future threats to come, and we've come up with a definitive schedule for ourselves so that we can be more organized than ever on who can show up when. Unfortunately, with Phil still recovering from his injuries, that means that I once again had to take the reigns of leadership, which means that I had to double down on the thing I've always done best: experiment. If you can't change your situation, I can at least give the best tips to deal with it. Besides the three lessons, everyone was given training that would best be helpful to them.
Derek and David were given a series of digital tracks at different times, all designed to increase control, situational awareness, stamina, and motivation for faster scores, plus the added message to the public eye that no matter what, they were out there patrolling. Kate and Sofia's new developments have also been promising, to the point where the only thing I could recommend was added close combat and reaction speed training from Phil. Though Sofia has stated that this is more just his excuse to heal a "fragile ego." Maria and Ivan both essentially were given the closest to basic exercise. If Maria's powers were tied to her vitality, I thought the inverse would be true. And Luckily, I was right, though; safer methods are still in the works. Ever since his battle against Gyro, Ivan has been trying to workshop more powerful attacks while still keeping himself mobile; I can tell out of everyone he is making the most improvement though, I think this is due to his sheer tenacity more than me though.
Even with all that, though, I still felt crippling uneasiness, almost like a sixth sense that something that was about to get all the madder. But for now, it was nothing more than an average day at work serving my 8-foot tall roommate three servings of month old pop tarts as I decided to get my scheduled social interaction. It may have been a couple of months since I had given him a haven into our bunker away from his home, but I guess like all of my teammates, it must be hard trying to work with someone you could blame for all the world's problems. I think what's even worse is that despite the guilt, I was thankful that we at least could be alone together.
"Phil once told me over the phone he can make a killer omelet; I'm sure if you pressured him he wouldn't mind-"
"Trust me, Chelsea, you could feed me a freeze-dried hash brown, and I wouldn't care. A near year in the sewers can do that to you. Honestly, it's your diet that I'm worried about."
"I'm surviving quite fine on my Scarlett Dull and days on the computer, besides I get my exercise."
"Then maybe you do have powers because I didn't hear anything except the dilly-dallying of digits."
"Great alliteration but I can assure you-"
Our lovely back and forth was fatefully interrupted by the familiar sound of my police scanner going off. In an instant, I made my way over to my only connection to the world as David started to get out of his XXXXL pajamas. And once I got the info I needed, I made the call. Minutes later, I saw David off as both Wildfire and Phazer made their way to one of the most disastrous days of my life.
Derek Pov
Honestly, this is one of the few times where I felt sorry for the bad guys. If I learned anything from last year, it was never to underestimate how crazy things can get. And the only way to stop it for sure is to cut it out before it starts. All Kate had to do was give me the directions, Gargoyle, to give the timely distraction and my own 2 feet to wrap things up in less than 5 minutes. Even by my standards, they were pretty weak, but then again, the wackos start to blend after a while. Soon enough, the 3 of us stood in the center of the store, reassuring the hostages that they didn't have anything to fear. I wish I could say the same for us, but that was a lie as faster than even I can react. A massive orb of black energy enveloped us all, distorting our environment into one of the strangest sights of my entire career.
The once bloated market filled with reassured civilians was now filled with a small squadron of white-cloaked figures, the same House of Helix bastards we took out barely even a week prior. Stranger still was our location, however, as the scene now shifted into something out of an old film noir. As the figures remained nonhostile, they soon gave way to reveal their leader: a relatively skinny man with glowing white eyes and who emitted a faint black aura against his silver visor. A wide smile started to appear on his face as in excitement; he declared his introduction.
"Greetings Champions, I'm glad you could make such a speedy attendance, for we have much to discuss."
With Kate and David too bewildered to speak, I interjected.
"And you thought that the best way to have such a discussion was to hold a market hostage and kidnap us into some bootleg Felix the Cat mirror world?"
"Eccentric times call for eccentric measures Wildfire, and you may call both me and this world of mine, the same name my master gave to me: Limbo."
"Okay, Limbo, and what do you want to talk about, exactly?"
"Why revolution, of course!"
And it was at that moment I officially stopped listening as I could tell how it was going to go down. Instead, I thought of the best plan that could get us out of this mess, Scott free. I may have known nothing of limbo, but if this nutjob can really control it or even travel through it, the health benefits literally can't be any worse given the added muscle. It may also mean that it can be deactivated by either his use or continued consciousness. Either way, one thing was clear, a classic hit and run.
Using my speed, I gave my team the split-second signal as in a flash; I made a b line straight for Limbo! But I don't even know if the blow landed as once again a familiar black wave started to make my fist warp and also bend until the distortion grew too much, accumulating in a potent shockwave! The 3 of us were all sent flying into the painfully gray background. Before we even had a chance to take it all in though Limbo got back up with his now unstable aura flaring and his chest clenched, gathering just enough power for one last chilling statement.
"Fine, we'll do it the hard way."
He then flared up his powers, even more, sending all of us across the endless world of Limbo. By the time I touch the ground, I already get to work, blitzing two more cloaked men to the floor. But it seems they were also fast and prepared as their powers already took effect. Almost simultaneously, my body felt heavier and fatigued amid a blue aura with a black target symbol stained on to my right arm. In a nearly reactionary rage, I was about to question the two members, but they had vanished as suddenly as I arrived. What took their place was something far worse as from the corner of my eye, I saw something that filled me with instinctive dread. Seconds later, I found myself running harder than I ever had before, trying in vain to escape a giant orb of pulsating energy!
Kate Pov
If I learned anything from my career as a Champion, it was definitely how to get a bitter win. Too bad the only problem with such a philosophy was trying to secure a win in the first place, and I'm already at a bad start. As soon as I landed on my new battlefield, I was instantly bombarded with a barrage of blasts! Already I felt the body bruise and welt up as I embedded into the car! Next time my eyes opened up, I saw a pink-haired, green-eyed woman leading the pack, though her bare feet with radiating pink sparks drew my eye. The woman then gave off a crazed expression as she launched herself in the air with trials of pink energy.
"You should have just taken the easy way out," she said, descending even faster with an axe kick!
Calling on my power, I tried to phase through the ground to escape and regroup, but the vibrations were so wild and distinct that before I knew it, I bounced off the car like a slingshot! I was almost confused about the reaction, but a hit to the head made me realize all too clearly: different dimensions, different vibrations. So as I once again got back up, I stared down against my eight opponents, wondering what to do if I can't fight or hide.
David Pov
Ever since my transformation, I had to accept that many things from my old life were simply going to be gone forever. The subway wasn't one of them. Even with the sudden arrival, my senses already recognized it before my brain did. The violent rocking beneath my feet, the sound of dozens of nameless mechanisms all colliding and moving together, and the scent of freshly dried gum and pennies. Too bad it all came together in the form of 2 masked men, one wan almost comically short dwarf in a brown-haired man bun, the other a lanky, spiky-haired man with dirty blonde hair. The two seemed to completely ignore us, instead of focusing on their respective leg stretching and knuckle cracking. It seemed I caught the tail end of their little warm-up because as soon as they finished, they gave each other a respective nod and prepared for battle!
Before I could even get my balance across, the lanky man released an array of gray waves that give me a touch of vertigo. What came next hurt even more as the dwarf with unatural speed kicked me with enough force to snap a rail in half! In anger, I tried grabbing him, but both the vertigo was too strong and the dwarf too small instead of rebounding off the corner space to hit me once again! In desperation, I tried to call the others, if only to see where they were, but I guess the world of Limbo wasn't kind to comms, which left me nothing more than a caged beast.
Chelsea POV
Sometimes being smart sucks. It's been 30 minutes since they all blipped out of my sight. And even with all my knowledge and all my work, the only thing that I can muster up is obvious, that they were gone. Over and over again, I checked every source I could in vain, all the while hearing the familiar sound still ringing in my ear. It rang again louder and louder until it became deafening until it became all too clear that the sound of chaos reared its piercing eyes to me. It was all-encompassing, all-consuming, and it has stuck with me since this whole mess started. Yet, this time was different; I didn't turn away from the gaze in fear, I didn't close my eyes and gave in despair; instead, I faced it head-on and eye to eye, because unlike before I truly have hit rock bottom, with no future and nothing to lose. This means there is no one better to teach them how to plan for the worst in this world gone mad. I gave them every lesson I could now, it's up to them.
Derek Pov
Even before this mess started, I did my best thinking while I was running. Though 10 minutes of that haven't been doing me any favors, I'm no mathematician, but I can tell even from a very short distance that the ball was as fast as me, only it didn't seem to be getting any slower. Normally I would just hit it with a megaton punch, but then I would be a sitting duck, and I can't have that happen. Because I promised myself one thing after the Vacuum, and that was the fact that I will never let anything slow me down again, even myself. So I kept moving and kept thinking until I saw something that finally caught my attention, and just like that, my mind formed a crazy plan that just might work. Next thing I know, I'm taking a right and two lefts to a gas station with the 19 cracks on its bathroom floors (Oh my god those crazy memory games worked). And just like that, I ran through the gas station, dipping and ducking while letting the giant ball destroy everything in sight resulting in an explosion! I thank god for my heat shield as I escape with only a couple of the usual scrapes, free from both the stigma and the blue aura! But like I said before, I didn't let that slow me down as I made my way to get to the others.
David Pov
In this past couple of months, I've been shot at, stabbed, and shocked, but nothing hurt quite like this. I almost lost count of how many times I've been hit leaving me nothing more than a crumpled heap on the floor, the only thing I could see was the stars around my eyes and the whizzing sights that never seemed to stop. And the focus only shifts when the dwarf finally stops, as do the waves of vertigo. In utter weakness, I lifted my eyes to see the lanky man concentrate the gray waves into his pinky.
I didn't know what it was going to do, and I almost didn't want to find out. I think there was a part of me that wanted to give up and give in just like that night in my hometown all those months those nights ago. But these past few months, with them, gave me all the more reason not to! With the last of my strength and the proper opportunity, I jumped through the train car at full strength! Glass metal and my own body littered the concrete surface as I quickly made my way towards some of the few friends I have left.
Kate Pov
Once again, the three lessons seemed to be saving my butt, turning a death sentence into nothing more than a deadly dance of cat and mouse. Using Limbo's frequencies, I bounced off the pavement and buildings at dizzying speeds. Unfortunately, all of my opponents have both range and mobility on their side. And the pink girl just didn't give up, instead of keeping pace with me the entire way, and this proved to be my undoing, as a wild wave of pink sparks messes up my momentum just enough to send me hurtling. Yet, even with the searing pain of my back, I'm still able to counterattack with one hearty concussive blast that finally stops her. . Though this only increased my speed more, causing me to crash through a lamp post, mailbox, and fire hydrant on my way down.
While I did have plenty more bruises to add to the list, the busted lip and chipped nail annoyed me the most. Though I guess I didn't have to worry about that for long as five more houses of helixes were already on their way! Or so I thought, as almost in tandem, they were all blindsided by both Gargoyle and Wildfire! My relief replaced any regret I had as almost immediately after I gave them the biggest hug and thank you, I could muster! I wish it could have lasted just a little bit longer, but I spoke too soon as the 3 of us barely managed to dive out of the way of a giant 18-wheeler that came right out of the blue!
At first, I didn't know what had happened only to see my answer in the form of Limbo. Though he was worse for wear, his aura from earlier was now bigger than ever before with his black orbs now appearing around him with no control, and even from afar, I could feel his heated breaths. It didn't take a genius to know he was already at his limits, yet we didn't have a choice instead of taking the chance for all it's worth to end this madness! But it seemed we were already too late, as the entire world of Limbo was bathed in blacklight! And what happened next, well I wouldn't know for quite some time.
