The Absconders: Issue 15

Welcome!!

This is the FIFTEENTH issue of our new Marvel Fanon-Made storyline called The Absconders. To read the previous issue, click here. This storyline is Role-played and made by a certain number of experienced RPers. These are our RPers, and their OCs:

• TheSuperiorOne - Trey Soniak (Earth-2025)
• Thecryingwolf3553 - Eliana Rosenheim (Earth-2025)
• PyroHunter16 - Haruto Higashikata (Earth-2025)
• Infamoussnake - Dominic Bernedicci (Earth-2025)
• Guilthegreat - Alexandre Demasque (Earth-2025)

If you want to join this RP, please ask in the comments and you will need most of our approvals to RP in here. Also, you need to have a Marvel OC (Original Character) submitted to deviantART OR this wiki and must share it with us so we know who we are RPing with. Disclaimer: Any real-life or fictional brands are used in as a parody. None of us are actually sponsored, nor do we care to be sponsored. Now let us begin the RP and enjoy :)

Key:

• Normal writing is the dialogue between the characters.
• Italic writing is a special writing type for characters with second personalities or long distance dialogue (telepathy or calls).
• Bold and italic writing are the actions that characters do.
• Writing in between the *asterisk* means that the character is talking in their heads.

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June 18th, 2026

Alex was outside of the VP, sitting on the corner of the street alone, a cigarette in his mouth and a coffee cup in his hand

Alex: *F-ck this sh-t...Coffee...I hate coffee, why do I even drink it, Oh yea...* he took a sip and a drag before taking out his phone to type in an unknown number, after a few seconds a man answered

Alex: Gideon?

Gideon: Himself

Alex: That's me, Red Mask.

Gideon: Ooooooh!!! Hello there Mr.Red, what is it that you desire that made you honor me with this call?

Alex: well it's simple

Gideon: Please tell

Alex: The squat, burn it to the ground and kill everyone in it.

Gideon: hahaha...hahah...that's some new type of dark humor right here sir aha

Alex: I'm not joking, burn it, kill everyone.

Gideon:....Sir?

Alex: just f-cking do it or you are the one I will burn to the ground!

Gideon: Al-Alright sir...But....Why?

Alex: It holds no value to me anymore...I'm going to die soon...Does it even matter?

Gideon: But sir-

Alex: Lilly died, because of some freak that came from this f-cking ret-rd Dominic! She was held there because she was involved with me and she got involved with me because of this squat... And to add to this, I'm gonna get killed in the year by *him*! First the squat, then the absconders...that's what I am going to do, burn everything that was even close to causing her demise, But I cannot burn the Absconders down...I need them.

Gideon: That's a lot of information sir

Alex: Yes Gideon, You are officially the new Red Mask now, everything you do will be under my name.

Gideon: But sir, my flames are not like yours, th-

Alex: They are flames, that's all I need. Good luck.

Gideon: Ok sir he hung off and Alex staid outside with his cigarette in the mouth *f-ck*

Dominic was about to stroll into the VP, a bit more happy go lucky than usual. Then he noticed the cigar.

Dominic: Ah Alex, I see you're waitin' for someone to get you in aren't ya'? He smiled, trying to hold back a grin, his speech patterns, general interaction, and body language seemed familiar and he had a long coat along with gloves

Alex: Yea.

Dominic opens the door, and he waits a bit inside keeping the door open.

Dominic: Come on now, can't let anybody find this place out now, can we~? He grinned and Alex could have sworn he saw a bit of Wicked.

Alex: Do I look like I want to f-cking grin? He stands up and puts his still burning cigarette in the pocket of Dominic Because I don't want to f-cking grin.

Dominic: It burns up in his pocket, and Dominic casually pats it out Hehe, just because someone from space is coming for you doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a hardass... He chuckled, trying to stifle it so that it wont ascend into laughter.

Alex: You are f-cking pissing me off....That sh-t came from your head and I couldn't even kill it, what do I f-cking do now? I move on? a red orb was starting to form in his palm I don't f-cking move on.

Dominic: Well "I don't f-cking move on.", live with it, accept it, you should have known humans are fragile, Hell you practically live the way you do due to that concept. And now you're mopey after one death? Then hurry the Hell up and make up your mind, will you keep not giving a f-ck and accept that sometimes you can't stop that OR will you start giving a f-ck and not know what to do!? Makes sense why you can't even ask for help, you're too clueless how! He makes Alex's palm go near his own chest, as his grin widened and he started laughing.

Alex: ha...clueless? I have been alive for more time than your f-cking dad and his dad too, I can kill you right here, right now, I can destroy this whole town, right here, right now, keep that in mind, But I'm not stupid enough to engage into a fight here...he retracts his palm and his fireball ...You are nothing compared to me.

Dominic: And that arrogance won't help against him now would it? And I know which him I'm referring to, so hurry up, get your sh-t together, and know, that at this point you're not alone. He walked into the VP nonchalantly...

Alex turns around in frustration before receiving a call, Name: Gideon, he answers it

Gideon: I'm right in front of the place

Alex: Kill em, what you waiting for.

Gideon: Okay. Inside the squat there was a man standing in the middle of the room, fire flying around his body, The Red Mask of Alex on his face along with a long coat, it was Gideon, people around were scared and were all trying to hide one way or another

Gideon: Hello. So first He walks around the room and a thin fire coat follows him I want to present myself, as you probably noticed he looks under a table to see a boy hiding I am not Alex he grabs the boy by the hair and drags him out from under the table and puts his left hand on the chest of the boy who screams immediately as he gets burned from the inside, without any sign of outside injure, at first his eyes explode and then his body just melts down, this horrible vision causes some to give away their hiding spot by screaming My name is Gillian Deon, also known as Gideon All the junkies start to panic and immediately try to run away but Gideon creates a literal wall of fire to block them, the fire is not burning anything in the room but anyone who is trying to go past is still getting burned Alexandre told me to slay all of you.

Junkie: What? he would never do that!? you crazy b-stard!

Gideon: Oh? the junkie that talked immediately falls on his knees and spits blood You are questioning the most loyal follower of the Red Mask? An incredible amount of steam starts to come from the eyes of the boy Well, burn. the man's body explodes in a gigantic flame I respect the Red Mask immensely, He made me who I am today all of the bodies of the junkies start to slowly burn from the inside He is what I inspire to be...

The Junkies all burned one by one and soon enough they were all dead, along with the whole squat, everything was gone, nothing was left but ashes and Gideon with his new Red Mask standing outside the building

Gideon: He is God.

June 20th, 2026

In Sacramento, a public interview was being held for Richard Gardener, son of Thomas Gardener. He was getting ready to step out and give a speech to the public who gathered around, there was a news team recording the event. Richard was consulting with his advisor, John Rivers, behind the platform in which the speech was to take place.

John: Stick to the cards, Richard. Sad faces, cracking voice when mentioning your father, don't be afraid to tear up.

Richard: Yes, I got it.

John: When you shake the Endo Corps Representative's hand, big smile, not too fake. Breathing exercises, remember?

Richard: Do I look like a damn robot? I'll improvise.

John: Fine. This is important, don't screw up, the only way to save your father's business.

Richard: Yeah, I know.

Man: Thomas Gardener's son, Richard, would like to give a speech to shed light on this whole subject. Give a round of applause for Richard Gardener, everyone! The man standing at the speech podium looked at Richard as everyone clapped. Richard stepped out to the podium and waved at everyone, many flashes of cameras were bothering him but he ignored them. He shuffled through his cards, looking what to read.

Richard: As many of you know, my father Thomas was meant to attend a charity event seven days ago for Endo Corps. As rumours have predicted, my father didn't show up to that event, due to the unexpected yet tragic a-accident, that unfortunately lead to his death... The crowd gasps, as more pictures are taken, some people raised their hands for questions but Richard ignored them. No... No this is false. My father didn't die in an accident, he was murdered, in an assassination attempt on my family. The crowd gasps even more, a lot of people start talking with each other about it. They would've killed me if I hadn't escaped on time, but my father wasn't so lucky.

John: Whispering from behind What the hell are you doing?!

Richard: He ignored him The assassin was sent by the superhero group known as the Absconders, who are active in LA. One of the Absconders, Dominic Bernedicci, was a business partner with my father, our companies were in fact competitors but is that really a reason to have my father murdered in his own home? A man who enjoyed visiting children's hospitals because it pleased him to pay for their cancer treatments and see their smile. A man who supported the superhuman population so much he offered to fund another Superhuman Centre right here in Sacramento. My father's death at the hands of the Absconders is an act of terrorism, and I will ensure justice is brought to the Absconders. No questions. He walks off and past John, walking up to one of his guards.

John: What the Hell was that? You know how bad that was for publicity?

Richard: I don't give two sh-ts about publicity, play the clip.

Guard: Yes Sir. He takes his phone out and says something, as the projector above the podium plays a looped video of Eliana in her Gemstone suit shooting Thomas Gardener in the head.

John: Your father never wanted this. You're basically declaring war on live TV!

Richard: My father also didn't want to die. But he did. And I'm sure if he was still here he would want Gemstone dead. But since my father is just rotting flesh now, it's up to me to avenge him.

John: You are making a big mistake. You father chose me to look after you as your advisor. If you turn yourself into a vigilante, you can kiss your company goodbye.

Richard: Look at Dominic Bernedicci. There's ways of juggling vigilantism and business. Don't worry I'm still going to donate to Endo Corps, do that for me while I head back home.

John: You- ugh... He face palms as Richard steps into a limo and drives off.

The Same Day, Later, South L.A

Alex was standing in front of his burnt squat, the authorities were already trying to fix everything and some investigators were on the scene along with some builders

Alex: *Well...* He took out a cigarette to lit it *What was the point I was trying to make? Eh, who cares* he sat down on the nearest bench but noticed someone walking on the street, a young boy with short hair, Alex immediately recognized him, it was the innocent boy that was telling him the password way before all of this happened

Alex:*what the?*He called for the boy who immediately came to him clearly not at ease What are ya doing here? why are you not....You are the kid who gave me the password right?

Boy:Y-yea, What happened there?

Alex:*tsk* some mad dude got in and killed everyone, it's a miracle you are alive...how did you manage to...

Boy: Oh! I'm just lucky, I stopped coming here right on time

Alex: Stopped coming?

Boy: Yea...A girl, called Lilly I think...she told me to stop before

Alex: Uh?

Boy: Yea, she talked to me for a solid hour back then, you weren't here at that time, you were with the absconder dude I think.

Alex: what did she say then?

Boy: Nothing much, she told me to stop this because she didn't want this place to become my home, she told me that for her, this place wasn't somewhere she liked, she said that she hated how she became...

Alex:...Oh

Boy: ...she talked a lot about you and how you were the only reason she was still in this garbage...

Alex:...Shu-

Boy: But she wanted it, she wanted to stay in the garbage with you, because "you transformed garbage into gold"...that's all I remember tho sorry, she seemed to respect you and believed that you had a good side, that apparently only she could see...

Alex: *f-ck* You know what...You are a good kid...but she was wrong...he turns back to look at the burnt down squat ...I don't have a good side...*if I had one I...wouldn't have done that*, ha...I get the last word again Lilly, f-ck you...I gotta go kid see ya...he stood up and walked down the street

Boy: See ya!

Alex:*f-ck, f-ck me, f-ck this, f-ck everything*he takes out his phone and calls Gideon but receives no answer *Gideon...answer you pr-ck* The Fake Red Mask finally answered

Alex: Where are you, we need to talk

Gideon: Hello dear Alex...I am in south L.A at the very moment

Alex: WHERE!?

Gideon: I am going to eliminate the ones that troubled your mind, it will be my pleasure.

Alex: w-what, who?

Gideon: The Absconders.

Same Time at the VP

Eliana rushes into the main room and sees some of the other Absconders there.

Eliana: Did you guys see the news?!

Jason: Yep. Another gorilla got shot.

Eliana: I mean what Richard Gardener said on live TV.

Jason: Oh...no. He checks his phone and reads a news article Heheh.

Eliana: It's not funny, he told the public the Absconders are a bunch of terrorists and has evidence too!

Micah: Yeah... I’ve seen the news. He walks out of the kitchen room with a glass of wine in his hand while the magic armor is empty, but walking behind him, following him. He sits on the arm rest of a couch and looks at Eliana while sipping his wine. I thought you’d make sure your assassination was completely discrete. Now we’re on the news. Plus now there’s two public members of the Absconders! He sips again and starts to think.

Eliana: I literally turned everything on that island into energy. I thought that would've destroyed all the cameras, but this video was taken by a phone, probably from a guard I didn't see... Damn it. My face isn't visible in the video, but the armour is recognisable enough, as is the hair... Oh sh-t I hope my family didn't see that! They would know it was me!

Jason: Is that so bad?

Eliana: Yes, my father hates vigilantes, he would never let me be a superhero.

Jason: So? He doesn't control you.

Eliana: Yes but I can't have my parents openly hating what I do. I need them by my side, which is why they can't know.

Jason: Well that's your problem then. Thought this whole Superhero thing was going to be fun...now it seems like a chore.

Dominic flew into the VP fast, riddled with wounds, burns, some shrapnel in his armor, and he got on a knee, panting, healing up as nanites were pushing out shrapnel, bullets, slugs, shells, metal and glass shards.

Dominic: Okay... He laughs and chuckles a bit, until it turns into a growl RICHARD GARDENER HAS OFFICIALLY GONE TO WAR ON ALL OF US! He yelled out, filled with rage, as his armor's mouth area opened up when he yelled, revealing the sharp teeth.

Micah: Yeah... Does it matter though? There’s only one of him and we’re all powerful enough to defeat him.

Dominic: I may be an honorary S.H.I.E.L.D agent, but this is hard, it's public image. And oh so coincidentally mercs started attacking me while this went on, referencing me in particular....

Micah: Well I guess for now, the rest of us stay hidden. Nobody will know we’re the Absconders.

Dominic: God, wait...Micah gimme your phone real quick.

Micah: He hands him his phone and finishes sipping his wine, setting the glass down on the table.

Dominic: He looks through contacts and sees Antonia's name Hey listen, Antonia, I know it's soon, I got you settled in your new home, you're fighting ninjas, but we have a problem...Yes it involves the latest news...I know he's an asshole, he's gonna gun for all of us, now for the sake of my company, what do you think of being head of security?...You will be paid handsomely by the day...Great, and yes you can continue your ninja business here, you pretty much are a magnet to them, which wont be a real problem...Alright, see ya' next week.

Eliana: Well that's great but, I'll deal with Richard alone. I'll focus this fight on me so it doesn't affect you guys. But now I've got to head home and make sure my family didn't...see that.

Micah: Alright Eli, best of luck. He goes back to the supercomputer room as his armor follows him.

Eliana leaves the Vanishing Point and heads into the city streets, heading home. She sees many civilians walking past, so puts her hoodie on to cover her face in fear of being recognised. On her way home she sees a little girl hiding in an alleyway, looking over the corner of the wall at Eliana as she passes by. The girl seems to be crying, so Eliana approaches her and kneels to her, taking her hood off.

Eliana: Hey, what's wrong?

Girl: My daddy is hurt, he's on the floor over there and he's not breathing!

Eliana: I'll take a look at him. She walks into the alley with the little girl and sees the man on the floor. She kneels down but pauses, then turns to the girl. She pulls her closer and places a finger on her forehead, reading her mind. Not falling for this again. Get out of here! She yells at the girl, as the girl runs off. The man on the floor pulls out a gun but Eliana was prepared so she grabbed his arm and punched him across the face. Four armed Gardener guards come out from hiding and fire at Eliana, but she generates an Amethyst shield and blocks the bullets. She throws the man up and against the wall, as he falls and hits the ground, knocking him unconscious. Eliana sends out a wave of Sapphire energy, which upon hitting the guards sends four smaller waves back at her, feeding her information.

Guard: This is definitely Gemstone, call backup!

Eliana: *Crap.* She looks at the guard who was on the floor and aims her hand at him, her hand generating black sparks, as the ground suddenly opens up and swallows him in with rocky teeth, burying him alive in a coffin under the ground, as the concrete fixes itself back over him. He starts screaming, but it is muffled by being buried alive. Woah, next...

Guard: What the Hell?! He takes cover behind a dumpster, throwing an impact grenade at Eliana. Eli gets hit by it, blasting her back out the alleyway. She gets up and runs back in, absorbing the dumpster and creating a barrel, which she kicks, rolling it at the guard as it hits him, making him fall over. Eliana read his fear was drowning, so she aims her hand at it and waves it, generating black sparks and suddenly a body of water is sucked from nowhere into the atmosphere around him and traps the guard in it. The guard is stuck drowning in a floating body of water hovering in the air, as he tries to swim around while screaming. The other two guards look up in shock, Eliana holding the water there and controlling it based on his fear, laughing in excitement as she does. The water won't stop entering the man's body, he unintentionally swallows a large amount of it as he continuously screams, drowned out by the water.

Eliana: This power... The other two guards start running, but Eliana read that one of their fears was heights, so she aims her free hand at one, and he shoots up into the sky, as if being dragged by a claw. He then starts falling down to the ground, but before hitting the ground, the air rips open, and the man falls into a blood red portal which loops over and he starts falling again from the sky. Oh my God, haha! Every time the man enters and exits the portals, he starts withering, becoming paler and more skeletal, and his screeching voice becomes less human. Eliana sees the last guard escaping, but leaves him as she enjoys messing with the guards. Enjoying your retribution? She snaps her fingers, sparks emitting. The water is sucked away, dropping the guard to the floor as he throws up dirty, bloody water and gasps for breath. The man falling is suddenly lying against the ground as if thrown back but without impact. He turns over and vomits, then passes out as he's too weak to move. Eliana walks over to the part of the ground where the last guard is buried, she can still hear him. Don't forget to tell the others he's down there. She says to the guard who nearly drowned.

Guard: You.. you're crazy...

Eliana: Richard is crazy, declaring war on me. Leave him, what is he offering you, money? Was it worth nearly drowning?

Guard: N-no... I'm out... He can keep his damn money...

Eliana: That's what I like to hear. Don't forget to tell the others which side stands a chance. She smiles at him, then walks out the alleyway, putting her hood back on and walking home. After reaching her house, she walks up to the front door, but before she opens it, it opens and Thaddeus quietly walks out the front door. What? Thaddeus? Why were you in my house?

Thad: I saw the news. Don't worry, I took care of your parents.

Eliana: You did what?!

Thad: I altered their memories, they won't trace that video back to you now. You can thank me later.

Eliana: You could've asked me, I already told you not to mess with my friends and family's heads!

Thad: They're adults, I didn't mess with Corrie don't worry. She's young, I don't know how badly my powers would affect her brain.

Eliana: Oh... But still, don't go poking around brains of people I know. I don't know how I can trust you, what if you messed around with my brain and I just don't remember?

Thad: Uh...

Eliana: Yeah, I want to trust you. So please don't?

Thad: Fine. I'm just looking out for you.

Eliana: I know. I better go inside and see the effects of what you did...

Thad: Sure. Bye.

Eliana: See ya. She enters her house, as Thaddeus goes back to his apartment building.

Meanwhile with Dominic

He groaned after a heated argument with the board members, he drove out in a new car, as while it happened, during an entire intersection, he got surrounded by SWAT like vehicles, as they all aimed at him, in fact they were aiming with RPGs, Dominic exited, controlling the car into going back to Dinomo tower. In actuality the SWAT guys were actually guards of Richard.

Guard 1: Dominic Bernedicci stand down, we're taking you in!

Dominic: You're not S.H.I.E.L.D...under what accounts?

Guard 1: For the acts of terrorism you have committed...

Dominic: Ah you're paid...listen, does it look like I go around destroying this city, does it look like the Absconders are trying to take over, if so- He was shot with a burst of a sniper rifle, and it looked like he got hit in the mouth, they loomed over him, as they were about to cuff him, but he got up, and they backed away a bit scared, and he showed he caught it with his teeth, as he got it and put it in his pocket Who shot that? He armored up going into Speed Demon, running and finding the sniper, being behind him Was it you~? He threw him off the roof, and before he hit the ground, he caught him, the guards were about to fire RPGs, but they all got disabled, as Dominic rant at them dismantling each Now, done? They ran to their vehicles to get spare weapons, but Dominic got into Widower, and restrained them using the crystallizing energy, restraining them, he was about head off, but one of them broke out, Dominic a bit surprised scanned him and saw his gauntlets EMP Carbonadium High Frequency Gauntlets? He went into a crouching stance akin to Spider-man's. The guard had a name tag on him as it said "Rumble".

Rumble: Just for you -sshole! He got into a boxing stance, Dominic unarmored, smirking, as it was a like a street fight, Dominic kept bobbing and weaving, as when Dominic fought him he was dodging just as well, soon Dominic noticed he got tuckered out and Dominic casually removed his gauntlets.

Dominic: Tired bud?

Rumble: F-F-ck...off. He panted.

Dominic: Look, it's obvious I was playing with all of you, now compare to all the things I recently did, do you think it's a good idea to fight me? He raised an eyebrow.

Rumble: Hell naw... He panted.

Dominic: Look, with how hard you were fighting this is about the other guards, so tell me who sent ya' and I'll give you guys enough money to have a great night of your lives, and forget this happened and say that I was let go of under further investigation... He showed the money, then Rumble chuckled taking it.

Rumble: You smart kid, but someday Imma wipe that sh-t eating grin off your face... He chuckled It was the Gardener kid...did that b-tch really kill his dad?

Dominic: Nah, she'd never...

He patted his shoulder, as more police arrived, soon Dominic flew off and some hours later he arranged a live interview for tv, Calling out Gardener.

Dominic: Me and my team have taken, lives, property, chances for a start, we know that and we regret it when that happens. But what we've given, always doubles by the second as we keep being ourselves, we lost an ally, our homes, our past, our families, but we never blame any of you, we're not above the law. We are not mere vigilantes, we're protectors, the moment we kill, everybody freaks out, the moment we don't they complain, you see, our action depend on the situation, but sacrificing civilians, that's not out schtick, and labeling us as terrorists? Captain America has dropped and picked up, even passed on his shield, but he always stands as he is. Now my words to Gardener. you are audacious enough to call me out, call me a terrorist, claim I have sent murder for what again? Competition, let me tell you, I would fight face to face, never sending someone else to do what I have to do, so you can take your claims, and shove it right back up your pompous ass, and take the silver spoon with you...Now, does the media have questions?

Interviewer 1: Mr. Bernedicci, are you denying the Absconders' involvement with the murder of Thomas Gardener?

Dominic: Investigation will be brought further, I will make sure of that, even if it did, there is always good reason, we don't fight for money, we bring justice or retribution, some of us do have innocent blood on our hands, even me, so I am not one who can judge without being a hypocrite.

Interviewer 2: With evidence against your claims, of a superhero in the Absconders murdering Mr Gardener in cold blood, why should we believe a word you say? Simply admitting your past crimes of destroying several city blocks, leading to dozens of civilian casualties, doesn't excuse you from justice. You claim you're not above the law, but then don't even consider yourself as needing to follow it. The crowd murmurers in agreement. The man is not a regular interviewer, he's John Rivers, Gardener's secret advisor.

Dominic: Question, why pull that question only now, as in you look Eerily familiar....anyway the point is the concept of the fifth freedom, only give by a POTUS I know, but it stands to reason, to enforce the law, you must break it sometimes...

John: Dominic Bernedicci, unlawful use of violence, spilled innocent blood to pass his own judgement in our state. Sounds exactly like what I'd call a terrorist.

Interviewer 1: With no disrespect to the Superhuman minority, but we did learn to accept your help, and allowed for a Superhuman Centre in many states all over America, but it seems a group like the Absconders working outside the law is too dangerous for this city. You're unregistered, and given the fact that the attack on the LA Centre was caused by superhumans against superhumans, we really can't predict your motives and goals.

John: Not only that, it seems Dominic here is just using his ties to Dinomo Industries to help escape the law, and allow the Absconders to do as they please. We didn't ask for you, and now we've had enough. Thomas Gardener was a good man, how many more good men have to die before the Absconders are brought down?

Dominic: Fine, you want the truth? Well let me tell you, the bombing of the Superhuman Centre in Sacramento, other super powered individual deaths, young ones I mind you, some who just do it to actually help, and of course the sudden spike in Absconder activity, we are at war with a group known as the Virtues, they attacked a train station, killed one of the Absconders, their motives are unclear, but the Absconders, we're here to stand up to big threats in this city...

Interviewer 3: We at the Daily Bugle California Division know about the Virtues. An interviewer spoke out, with a whispering snake-like accent. He was pale skinned and had a blank expression. For those of you who don't know, the Seven Virtues are an assassin company which became active only two years ago. We've interviewed two of their leaders before, and we have pictures of them performing selfless acts of heroism. You're making bold claims, they've denied all responsibility for the attack. They may call themselves assassins, but they're as much superheroes as the Absconders.

Dominic: Let me say this, the Absconders are not superheroes, or terrorists, we're people, and the fact that everybody has skeletons behind their closets, it makes you think, about how dangerous a person can be, it's not what in they do. It's what they don't do, it's why you fear the Absconders, now compare that to Thomas Gardener, look me in the eyes, tell me, that everything he has done is known to the public.

John: Every man has a private side, admittedly. But Thomas Gardener was not a superhuman, in fact he helped this city, as well as many other cities without throwing a punch. This good man turns up dead a day before he attends a charity event for superhumans, and is murdered by a superhuman, with evidence provided by his only son. His son wants justice, and now rich boy Dominic Bernedicci is saying the Absconders had good intentions when they blasted Thomas Gardener's head open. Being a superhero once, or pretending to, doesn't mean sh-t, excuse my French. It seems as if the Absconders have killed this man, and that's all that matters. The next step, is justice. He finishes off, as more people agree.

Dominic: Fine He armors up, startling some people but if we stay down, and I'm right, who will you turn to? He decides to get into his flight mode and flies off as Viv takes care of anything else.

At an apartment complex in San Diego

Now we are once more introduced to the Erratics, a group of teen villains who once fought the Absconders. Vice and Limit were the only ones at the apartment, since the other 2 were out somewhere doing their own business. The television was on and it was showing the news and the interview of Dominic Bernedicci. Limit watched quietly as the program finally finished with Dominic armoring up and flying off. Limit simply got up from his chair and shook his head as he went to turn off the television then looked at Vice.

Limit: This Virtue sh*t is aggravating... I wouldn't care if they weren't trying to kill me though. Urgh.

Vice: The Absconders says they're at war with them... Haha, I've killed stronger assassins than them.

Limit: Have you? You almost killed yourself a while back... He keeps his hood on and lays on the couch. I just want this to be over... Having someone repeatedly trying to kill me is very annoying.

Vice: For your information, I faked my death, and it worked. Virtues don't see me coming, they reported me dead, heh. Hopefully the Absconders and the Virtues kill each other then we don't have to deal with either.

Before Limit can respond, a familiar voice is heard around them.

Voice: Your wish is my command... That's when a dark vapor surrounds the room and Limit grabs his sword off the floor and gets in a ready stance.

Limit: It's Warp, Vice... I know where this is going...

Vice: Sh-t... She powers up her hands with white-grey energy.

The dark vapor around the room starts closing in as Vice and Limit hear a maniacal laughter from Warp.

Warp: Have fun with him, Erratics! The vapor closes in around them as they get transported into the building Limit was teleported into before to get killed. When Limit and Vice landed on the ground, they looked up and saw a man standing near them. He was short, wearing a fine black cloak reaching down to his knees, and had a small smile on his face. He had long shoulder length silver-blond hair and blue eyes. He was obviously a new Virtue they hadn't seen, and he nodded at Warp.

Virtue: Thank you, Warp. Your services to the Seven are greatly appreciated. Allow me to introduce myself, Limit and Vice. The man standing before you is Karl Erikson, and I am one of the seven leaders of the Virtues. His voice was monotone yet friendly Unfortunately my friend Zacharia had failed to kill you, Vice. He believed you were dead, but that was a lie. I won't fail Arnault like he did, for I am grateful for my gifts. We are so close to making our perfect world a reality, there are only a few left that stand in our way. I'm terribly sorry we have to meet at the end of a blade, but our fates aligned as such. He pulls out two twin blades from within his cloak and kneels in a fighting stance.

Limit: Great. He spins his sword in his hand and bolts to the side all around Karl, shooting huge fireballs from his mouth, then skidding to a stop as the fireballs created lots of smoke around Karl. It started to disappear as the fireballs reappeared suddenly all above Vice. Damn. He slammed his free hand on the ground as he used his transmutation to break down the terrain below into small debris, making him fall. He fell down the hole but then reappeared in the air looking down at Limit. That’s when Limit used his powers to reform the ground into pillars that shot out and extended at Karl.

Vice: Sh-t! She got hit by the fireballs which exploded on her. She arose from the flames with parts of her face and body ripped off as light grey particles of energy were floating around her. The particles connected back into her and she reformed fully, she then jumped at Karl, eyes glowing and ready to leech him, but she suddenly was teleported and slammed into a wall. She pulled herself up, not injured but annoyed. Ugh, bastard.

She ran at Karl again, but suddenly the distance between them increased, as the room appeared longer and longer the more she ran, making her unable to reach him.

Karl: My gift has made me untouchable by all manners of offense. He waved his hands at each pillar, making them teleport and punch Limit instead. Vice threw a grenade at him that attached to him, but Karl teleported to Vice and as the bomb exploded, it hit them both. The bomb used Karl's life force to power it, making the explosion huge.

Vice: Thanks for the fuel, ahahahah! She absorbed the explosion and formed a sharp blade of energy on her forearm, punching it at Karl, but he dodged it effortlessly multiple times by increasing the distance between their bodies. Stop moving! Karl slashed her back with one of his swords then kicked her, as she was suspended in the air while bleeding. Ah! Limit, help!

Karl: Your deaths don't have to be painful. I am only prolonging the fight because of your blackened souls. But if you surrender your lives to us, I shall be merciful.

Limit ignores her cry for help and stares at Karl from under his hood. He creeps to the side to get his sword as it was recently knocked back, but Karl teleports in front of him, spinning and kicking him in his chest. He gets sent flying backwards, but does a backflip and skids on his feet. He holds his hand out to his sword and concentrates as it suddenly gets teleported in his hands.

Karl: Oh?

Limit: He smirks under his hood *I just disassembled my weapon and brought the molecules to me, then reassembled...* This is when Limit bolts at him with great speeds but Karl just sighed and held out his hand as the distance between them became longer and longer. Limit concentrated as he was running and mentally grabbed onto his own molecules and sent them towards Karl like what he did with his weapon. His body disappeared and reappeared in front of Karl but Limit seemed in a huge amount of pain. He gritted his teeth and started swinging his sword with immense precision at spots Karl shouldn’t be able to dodge, but he seems to do so with his great agility. He simply grabs Limit’s neck, but his body glows and detonated, sending Karl through the air. He landed on his feet completely fine as he simply sniffed.

Karl: Was that all?

Limit: Agh... He seemed to detonate his body in a nuclear fashion but it did no harm to Karl, except some burns on his cloak. Limit got up, weak and asked. So what’s the point of all this, who’s your leader... I know you Virtues can’t be orchestrating this all by yourself. His palms glowed as some transmutation began, unknowingly to Karl...

Vice: Ah, Limit! She realised Limit wasn't going to help her, and looked yearningly at him. She then wriggled and exploded her body, reforming out of particles at a safe distance from Karl.

Karl: We are the leaders. The Seven of us. We're the ones most blessed. Soon the others will be as powerful. It's beautiful, like evolution. It's a shame superhumans are incompatible with the Eagle's Gift.

Vice: Are you going to tell us what the f-ck the Eagle's Gift is then?

Karl: It's a magnificent thing, the powers all the assassins of the Seven Virtues possess.

Vice: How did you get these powers? Aren't you guys superhuman too?

Karl: Technically, yes. A different kind, though. And as I already said, we were given them.

Vice: By who?

Karl: The Eagle Himself: Arnault.

Vice: Is he one of the Virtues?

Karl: No, no he's much more. He's the Eagle, we are his 7 Virtues.

Vice: Why hasn't that b-tch shown up by now?

Upon hearing this, Karl instantly fires a wave at her that vibrated the air, erasing everything in the space it occupies. Vice was hit by it, as she started to disintegrate, but she turned into pure energy and dashed across the room, then charged at Karl and before he could attack, she split into two energy beings and attacked him from both sides, before reforming back into one. The energy drained his stamina, as he huffed, so he teleported around the room at high speed, blitzing them.

Karl: Do not disrespect Arnault! He has sacrificed so much for the sake of the world!

Limit got hit all over the room and landed on the floor once more. He got all his breath knocked out of him with each hit, so as he caught his breathe and pushed off the ground to get up slowly, he looked up at the speeding Karl and that’s when the huge room they were in, began to explode violently. Karl was dodging these explosions but finally got bombarded with a tremendous amount of explosions around the room. It created a chain reaction which then made the whole room a continuous explosive mine. Limit made a beeline to Vice who was on the floor as he holstered his katana on his hip.

Limit: *Transmuting most of the air into here in gunpowder was difficult... But him teleporting and using friction to ignite it made this even easier. Heh...* Vice! Let’s go. As he ran to her he held out his hand and held out his other hand at a far away wall, transmuting a hole into the wall to escape.

Karl: No, I wanted this to be swift and clean. You forced my hand. He holds his hands out and claps, instantly teleporting a large group of Bronze and Silver Assassins into the room. It is I, Karl Erikson, and I have summoned you all here to kill those two superhumans who are trying to escape!

Assassins: Yes, my Virtue! They run out at Limit and Vice to attack them, overwhelming them with numbers and projectiles.

Vice: Heh, bringing more people? Big mistake. She aims her hands out and instantly drains the life from a large chunk of the Bronze assassins, as they drop dead. Vice then supercharges, grabbing Limit and turning into pure energy then blasts in one direction through the hole in the wall, outrunning all the assassins and managing to escape, using all her energy to transport them back home in short time. Woah, okay, we're home...

Limit got on the floor and coughed as he inhaled some gunpowder and needed to catch his breathe from running away.

Limit: I’ve never fought someone so strong... And there’s supposed to be Seven of those guys... He gets up and looks at Vice. I think knowing the information he gave us... We should go to the Absconders with it... *Maybe we can piggyback off of them and defeat the Virtues... together.*

Vice: What?! No, we just found out there's another guy behind the Seven, we can assassinate that dude ourselves and end the Virtues alone...

June 25th, 2026

Jason was outside of the Vanishing Point, sitting on one of the rocks and stabbing himself in the throat with a small knife, but healing nearly instantly after. He looked bored, waiting for something to happen for an hour now but then he noticed someone who was coming from the other direction.

It was Alex who was coming to the VP, his face looking somewhat worried, when he saw Jason, he signed and went to him

Alex: Heeeeeeeeeeey...uh...yooou...he looked around awkwardly

Jason: Jason. I don't remember your name, you're...one of the Absconders, right? I recognise your face. Or did you come over last month or something?

Alex: Yea, I'm new...hahaha..uh..yea, I'm here for something rather...important.

Jason: You want to get inside? Eliana still doesn't trust you for some reason. What do you want?

Alex: Well, nothing big, I just kinda destroyed everything that I had and engaged a guy who is now trying to kill the absconders on impulse, haha...

Jason: Cool. Micah is inside, talk to him about you problem since Eliana just left a bit ago. They headed inside and to the computer room

Alex: HEEEEEY!!! Micah.

Micah was typing away at one of the many super computers and turned around as his empty magic armor walked up to Alex for a handshake.

Micah: Hey Alex and Jason. What’s up? He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the keyboard as he faced them.

Alex: I'm in a mess and you guys gon' cover me, uh? he tried to smile Someone I met long ago killed hundreds of people and is trying to kill the absconders because he didn't quite understand what I was trying to communicate to him back then....that's what's up.

Micah: He just stared at Alex and burst in laughter as he threw his hand over his face. His laughing died down as he coughed and looked at Alex once more. You’re kidding right? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!

Alex: hahaha....he laughed too ...haha...no i'm not kidding. Gideon, Mutant with the crazy ability to manipulate any aspect of heat is on his way, to kill you guys.

Micah: Oh no, I believed you, I’m just laughing at how stupid you could be to let something like this happen. He shrugged and got up. You’re an Absconder, so you should deal with it too. I’ll place a protective enchantment around this place to reinforce the shields. Jason, you gonna help Alex defeat this Gideon guy?

Jason: So this guy can manipulate body heat? I can go demon mode, which would reduce my body heat... So yeah, I'll help.

Alex: Let's go out, I will try to distract him Alex ran out of the Vanishing Point and Jason followed right behind, when they finally arrived outside, they looked around to see a man standing down the street with a red mask and a long coat, Alex slowly walked to him

Alex: *I can't trigger my flames fast enough and even being intangible won't help against heat...f-ck, teleportation is the only way to get him* So...Gideon...

Gideon: he looks shocked and bows in admiration Sir...I cannot believe that you made all this effort just to see me crush those...insects...I will make you proud!!!

Alex: Gideon...nah dude.

Gideon: What do you mean?

Alex: Just nah, don't do this sh-t.

Gideon: Sir!!! You were the one who asked me to destroy the squat and eliminate the absconders!!!

Alex rapidly looked around in panick.

Alex: shhhhhhh! I retract, now gimme this mask and you won't die...alright.

Gideon: N...No...I want to be like you Sir!

Alex: You aren't me dude.

Gideon: No, NO!!! I am the Red Mask now! I am the one who is leading this town he forms a flame on his palms Don't push me to the edge Sir!

Micah came out of the base behind Jason and Alex in his magic armor and stared at Gideon.

Micah: See Alex, you were trying to get him to do your dirty work of “destroying us” and now you regret it. You can handle this yourself. He set up an enchantment in his armor that didn’t let his body heat be detected or manipulated by any source. Good luck idiot.

Alex looked at him smiling.

Alex: Woah man, Never made mistakes? f-ckass. in a flash Alex was now behind Micah That's the kind of sh-t that makes me really wanna destroy you guys, why can't you just be... he teleported out of sight again as he saw a fireball coming towards him and Micah ...Cool about it all. he was now behind a tree near Gideon

Jason: I don't mind you tried to have us killed. I'm invincible anyway... Yo Gideon, I can spit fire too. He started choking, then his chest morphed, as if about to throw up something inside him that was alive. He opened his mouth, vomiting out blood that flew through the air, then set on fire and spread out at Gideon. That's disgusting... He said, wiping his mouth.

Smokeless flames covered the figure of Gideon but soon as it was dissipating they all realized that he wasn't burnt an inch, in fact he was standing here unfazed, not even his clothes were burning and the flaming blood that was covering turned down to normal, almost as it was...cold again, Gideon looked at Jason and started to laugh

Gideon: hahahaha...you clearly aren't as smart as The Great Red Mask, heat comes in many forms the flame in his right hand turned blue too many forms actually he extended his arm and fired it at Jason

Jason was hit by it, blowing a hole in his chest. He looked down, then morphed into a shadow tiger, running at Gideon and lunging at him, biting his jugular and slamming him to the floor, before turning back into human form with a healed chest.

Jason: Alex? Want to tell your friend here to back off?

Alex was looking at the convulsing body of Gideon in confusion

Alex: Yea..that's not a nice treatment you gave him right there. the body of Gideon started to generate a lot of steam, especially from the wound in his jugular

Alex: uh-oh...well he snaps his fingers and is now sitting on a tree down the street far away from the action, he puts his hands around his mouth like they were a megaphone IT'S HOT ENOUGH TO MELT YOU DOWN! I DO NOT SUGGEST YOU STAY HERE! he then takes out a cigarette and lits it with a spark from his finger

Jason turns into a cloud of darkness and dashes away from Gideon then reforms.

Jason: Micah, wanna help?

Micah: I’m happy for you Alex! Cleaning up your own mess. He hands glow and he places his hands in the ground, as technological wires and blocks rise from the ground and pulls Gideon’s body into the ground, not letting out anymore steam. Micah looks towards Alex. So now what? Not gonna try to kill us again, right?

Alex: Nah dude, I came to the realization that I was...uh..w....wwww....wrong! I am now an absconder for real, it's not like I had anywhere else to go since Gideon burnt my house on my orders.

Micah: Ah, now that’s a good boy! He pretends to throw him a treat like to a dog and laughs as he looks back at the spot of where Gideon died and walks back to the entrance of the base.

1st July, 2026

It was a Wednesday, and in an office building owned by the Gardener Corporation Richard Gardener was communicating with his advisor John Rivers. John was sitting on a comfy chair opposite Richard's desk, wearing a white suit and scratching his greyed short brown beard. He was frustrated, clearly at Richard, who was walking around throwing an adult tantrum.

Richard Gardener.

Richard: That f-cking Dominic, who does he think he is? He can't talk sh-t about me and my father, I'll kill him for that, no, I'll kill his family, place his b-tch mother six feet under right next to his damn father!

John: Calm down, Richard. I handled it.

Richard: Handled?! No, handling it would've been firing a bullet right in his God damned face on live TV. You just spoke to him, how is that helping?!

John: You underestimate the power of the public interest. Your father knew, I helped keep his secrets. Kept him alive all those years-

Richard: But it didn't, because he was found and killed! Gemstone was her name, right? I will find her, I saw her killing my father, he was so scared, panicking, yet she still shot him! I will find her, and fire a bullet right between her eyes! How will she like it then! He punches a lamp off his desk, as his hand bleeds slightly, so he holds it in pain and growls to himself.

John: Not to be a smartass, but she's bullet proof.

Richard: There's no such thing, I bought out Pangolin Industries, a science division. I'm having carbonadium bullets produced as we f-cking speak!

John: If you think that's enough, didn't you see what she did on that island?

Richard: I know, I saw her level the entire place in seconds. I'm not an idiot, I bought out the Leon Corps, add that private mercenary army to my army and those bullets won't miss! Not only that, I have millions pumped into that science division, big ass guns being made, more guns, enough for half my damn army! I'm tearing those terrorists apart starting with that Gemstone wh*re!

John: Jesus, Richard. When did you do all this? I told you to come to me before you make any decisions such as purchasing. If you keep spending your money like this, you're going to go bankrupt.

Richard: Honestly, you're not being very supportive, John. My dad told you to look after me, you're doing a terrible job!

John: Frankly, you're a terrible business man. If you want to keep your company, you need to calm the Hell down. Richard looked at him with annoyance. I mean, not to tell you to abandon your revenge plot, but just simmer down, and think logically. I'm your advisor, and I advise you to attack the Absconders in a controlled way, a stealthy way in which the public won't link you to their downfall. Otherwise, you're going down with them, Rich...

Richard: His eyes widened, and his face turned red with rage. He walked right up to John and shouted in his face DON'T CALL ME RICH, MY FATHER CALLED ME THAT, I HATE IT, DON'T SAY IT!!! I'M NOT A DAMN CHILD!!!!!

John: He closed his eyes as he was shouted at, breathed in then out slowly, wiping spit off his face. He then stood up slowly, as Richard backed down slightly. John approached Richard and looked at him seriously, speaking calmly. Richard, you mustn't mix your emotions with your work. Control yourself. Richard nearly burst out again but John placed his hands on Richard's shoulders then said firmly Control yourself... Your father placed me as your advisor and carer, that doesn't make you a child. It makes me your ally, your friend. I am also a major shareholder of the Gardener Corporation, which means I have a say in decisions that affect the company. It also means that I want to keep this company alive, and if I have to slap you across the face to make you stay in line and lead, then I will. Richard stares at him like a child wishing someone to die For the sake of you and your company. He smiles, then pats Richard across the cheek like a father to a son, then walks back to the chair and pours them both a drink, sitting down then drinking. So, what else have you planned for the Gemstone girl behind my back?

Richard: He stares at John, but blinks hard then grabs the drink and sits on his chair at his desk, facing John who is opposite him on the other side of the desk. I made a deal with someone else, someone powerful. They promised me they'll find Gemstone and lead her to me.

John: Someone outside our usual partnerships, I presume?

Richard: Yeah. He turns the chair to look outside the office window at the streets below the skyscraper. This person has superpowers too, and said they don't want to harm my company, and didn't want payment either, just to get Gemstone killed.

John: You can trust them?

Richard: Of course not, I don't trust anyone outside the company.

John: Good. But you sometimes can't trust those in your company either, so beware of that too.

Richard: Yeah alright...

John: So, when will this "someone else" start engaging on Gemstone?

Richard: Could be now, could be a couple weeks from now. They didn't want to be rushed.

John: Right... He shakes his head in doubt, before finishing his drink.

Down on the streets below, life was an normal as it can be. The casual murmur of the public was broken when a man was throw across the street, landing into a parked car. Two more men came skidding across the floor as if they were punched, then Eliana and Thaddeus came following.

Eliana: Tell me, where's Richard Gardener?

Guard 1: I don't know!

Eliana: I will rip the information from your skull and leave nothing but emptiness if I have to.

Guard 1: Please! I wasn't told, I'm just a guard!

Eliana: Thad?

Thad: On it. He grabbed the guard and held him against the floor, squishing his face. Where's Richard Gardener?

Guard 1: I don't know!

Thad: He's telling the truth.

Eliana: Then we have no need for him. She taps the guard's head and finds his fear. She sees that it is extreme pain. You're lucky I'm out of fuel for Psycho Warping. She generates Ruby energy in her hand, darker than normal. She holds it against his face, burning his skin, she then combines it with Sapphire energy to simulate the same burning pain throughout his entire body, making him cry out in unbearable suffering. The guard screams so much, then bangs his head several times against the floor, believing he could distract himself from the pain and release it from his body. Eventually, the guard knocks himself unconscious and his screaming stops, as the other guards watch in horror. The man's unconscious body starts sizzling up with black sparks around the surface, then Eli holds her arm out as the sparks fly onto her arm and she absorbs them, her eyes briefly glowing purple with black particles hovering around them in a galaxy shape, before returning to normal.

Guard 2: Darron? No, what have you done?!

Thad: You boys better hope you know something useful, heh.

Guard 3: He doesn't know anything, we weren't hired by Gardener directly, we were paid by his assistant Mr. Rivers.

Eliana: Oh really? So he doesn't know anything, then what do you know?

Guard: I can't tell you what I know. I can't betray Richard Gardener.

Eliana: Then I'll have to beat it from you. She punches the guard as he spits blood, she then slams his head against a car and holds him, lifting him from the ground.

Guard 3: You can't beat it from me... I've been serving the Gardeners for three decades. They've been so kind to me.

Eliana: Thad?

Thad: Tell her what you know.

Guard 3: Richard Gardener is located at Gardener Tower.

Eliana: She slams his body to the floor, as his whole face is covered in his blood. Eliana whispers in his ear Point me to it.

Guard 3: He looks up in the distance and raises his hand weakly and points at a skyscraper down the street. There, he's in there. We don't know the room, please don't hurt my friends any more.

Thad: That's better.

Eliana: Your eyes have served their last purpose​. No longer shall they be used to look down scopes, you'll spend the rest of your days staring into the horrors of the Eldritch Masters. Her hand lights up with black sparks, then she jabs her index and middle fingers into the guard's eye sockets from behind, tugging on his head as he screams. No blood comes out, her fingers seem to enter them like a portal, then she removes her fingers and lets him drop to the concrete. The guard screams, sitting up and grabbing his eyes.

Guard 3: My eyes, MY EYES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!! All he sees is King Artair staring at him, as the man starts screaming, the rest of his sight is darkness, he is blinded and can only see Artair. Make it stop, PLEASE!

Eliana: If you want your eyes back- She grabs his hair and pulls him to his feet, whispering in his ear Go ask Richard.

Guard 3: Wh-why... No... She pushes him, and he starts walking forward, rubbing his eyes and crying. His eyes are now completely dark, and he heads in the direction of Gardener Tower.

Thad: Woah, what did you do to him?

Eliana: I removed his sight. Suitable punishment for a soldier.

Thad: Will going to Richard return his sight?

Eliana: Ha, no. Anyway now we know where to find him. What about the last guard?

Thad: I'll take care of him.

Guard 2: What?! No! Please! He told you what you wanted! No- Thad pulls out his gun and shoots the guard in the head.

Eliana: Wha- dude!

Thad: What?

Eliana: You can't kill him!

Thad: So you can cripple a man but killing is too far?

Eliana: He escaped his punishment, King Artair wants his student to give retribution to all, and you just removed that.

Thad: That was punishment enough.

Eliana: We could've turned him in, or I could've found his fears. There's nothing poetic or judicial about blasting a man's brains out without a second thought.

Thad: Yeah, that's crazy. You can't turn a damn security guard you've abused to the police and expect they arrest him.

Eliana: Even still, that wasn't vengeful enough. You don't understand, ugh. Let's just go find Richard.

They walk down the street in silence, and after a while Thaddeus breaks the silence, pulling out a notepad of drawings.

Thad: Hey, Eliana. With the free publicity Richard is giving you, you should find ways of hiding your identity.

Eliana: Such as? Helmets don't go with this suit, I tried.

Thad: Then it's time for a new suit. I preferred black on you, like the one I designed for you. I've got some designs if you want. He hands her the notepad which contains detailed drawings of superhero costumes for Eliana.

Eliana: These are pretty good. You should become an artist.

Thad: Hah, nah. Doesn't suit me.

Eliana: None of these really scream 'Gemstone', do they?

Thad: Well it's about time you change that name. It sounds ridiculous.

Eliana: I like it... Hey this one's good.

Thad: Yeah, that's a cool one. So you want it? I can have it made.

Eliana: No thanks, I can use my powers.

Thad: No, I want it to be a gift, for your birthday coming up!

Eliana: Oh yeah, with everything that's happened I almost forgot. That's nice, but how will you make it?

Thad: I have friends that are good at this stuff.

Eliana: I won't ask. She passed him back the notepad, as he marked the drawing. He put it away then carried on walking. They came closer to the building, down the busy street, but strangely the crowd started to clear out, leaving Thad and Eli standing in the middle of the street surrounded by civilians. What the Hell...?

Thad: Why has everyone stopped?

Eliana: I don't know, this is strange... Suddenly all the civilians around them turn to face them. They then start removing their hats, undoing their buttons and removing their clothes, wearing Virtue cloaks underneath their clothing. They all put their hoods on at the same time, revealing all civilians surrounding them to be Virtue assassins. There's many Silver Assassins and a few Gold Assassins. Oh crap...

Thad: Did they plan this? It's another ambush! We've got to leave.

Eliana: We can take them. I'm a lot more powerful now. One assassin steps out from the crowd, wearing a emerald green Virtue cloak. He's pale, with a monotone, snake-like voice and a calm face. Eliana, is that another Virtue?

Virtue: I'm so sorry to meet like this. We knew you'd come down this street.

Eliana: How?

Virtue: I've monitored your voices, I know you're planning on attacking Gardener Tower. It seems that was true, lucky for us.

Eliana: You have to stop trying to kill us, you know we're coming for you soon. We're powerful now, you won't win.

Virtue: I doubt that.

Thad: And we assume you have a name too?

Virtue: I do. It's Anthony Hale.

Eliana: Anthony Hale? I've heard that name before.

Anthony: I'm the CEO of the Daily Bugle California Division. I've been in the papers a few times, as well as on radio.

Eliana: Why are you doing this?

Anthony: Well I've hoped to ambush you and kill you.

Eliana: Yes but why?

Anthony: You and the rest of the heroes in this city need to be eliminated. It's only so we can introduce our new world of unity. It's nothing personal. I'm sorry.

Eliana: You're all a bunch of murderers, and I swear you'll all see the cruelty of justice.

Anthony: Sure. Kill them.

Thad: Eli-

Eliana: Don't worry.

The assassins ran at them both, Eliana pulled out Clio's Broach and drained Ruby energy from several assassins at once, then blasted a few away with Ruby blasts.

Thad: Stay back! He got tackled by an assassin, surprised that they didn't obey him. Several more jumped on him, as others fires elemental blasts at Eliana. Eli used psychic energy to telekinetically throw some assassins, then dodged some projectiles. A Silver assassin dashed at her, combusting into flames then bear hugged her, exploding them both with flames. Eliana gut punched him, then threw him at a building. Her Amethyst energy prevented most of the burning, the armour did the rest.

Thad: Eliana, help!

Eli sighs, then throws an Amethyst grenade at Thad, which exploded and restrained all the assassins around him to the floor. Thad got up then ran to a parked car, lifting it up then tossing it, as it rolls and crushes several assassins. A Silver assassin runs at him, generating metal armour around itself with spikes. Thad stomps the floor, creating a powerful vibration which makes the assassin fall over. Thad runs over to them, punching their head so hard their armour dents, knocking them out. He then lifts up the unconscious armoured Assassin and swings his body, hitting another assassin with it.

Eliana: This is too easy. She uses the Broach to absorb Sapphire energy, seeing some of their fears. She uses her Ruby energy to set an assassin on fire, which was his fear. She absorbs black sparks from the burning assassin, and uses it to activate her Psycho Warping. She manipulates the world around them, making the city blocks morph into darker, haunting and sinister versions of themselves. Fire bursts from the ground, and the sky turns red, she warped the area around them into Hell. Most of the assassins stop fighting, looking around in fear and confusion. Damn, this is awesome.

Anthony: Ignore it, go after her! The assassins continue attacking, Thaddeus kicks the air, sending out a crippling blast of TK that sends many assassins flying back and breaking all their bones. Eliana uses Clio's Broach to rip Ruby energy from some assaasins which knocks them out, then creates an explosion beneath her feet, blowing her high into then air. She lands, generating a large Ruby blast that knocks all the assassins over, including Thad.

Thad: Ow, Eli!

Eliana: Come on you saw that coming. She kneels down to a stunned assassin and reads his fear, seeing that it is death. *Crap, how do I do this?* Her eyes suddenly turn completely black, as she gets a vision from Artair. *Oh...so that's possible? Thanks, master... I'll save that for someone who deserves it, that's a little evil.* She punches the assassin, knocking them out. She hears Thad scream again, turning around and she's him getting attacked by more assassins. Oh great. She absorbs Sapphire energy leaking off from the assassins, then claps her hands, sending an emotion of fear into their minds and stunning their minds. She then fires Ruby bullets at them, blasting them to the ground, finishing off the last assassins as the ground is covered in unconscious bodies.

Thad: T-thanks... Are we done here?

Anthony: Impressive. If all the Absconders are this capable, we may find ourselves a challenge. He smiles, then a sound wave bursts behind him as he propels forward, striking Thaddeus in the chest with his palm and throwing him into a building. Anthony turns to Eliana and shouts at her, sending a shattering blast of sound waves which blasts her into the ground, creating a crater.

Eliana: Crap... She activates the Broach, absorbing a lot of Ruby energy from the unconscious assassins, then kicks her leg forward, sending a solid wall of Ruby plasma at Anthony. He gets burnt by it but survives, then rapidly kicks his leg forward, sending multiple sonic booms at Eli, each hitting her but her Amethyst energy protects her and lets her resist most.

Anthony: Your endeavour has lead to your end after all. He holds his hands up, absorbing sound waves from radios, TVs, cars, and people talking in the distance, then charges a powerful sonic boom, about to clap his hands. Thad comes from behind him and grabs his arms, dragging his away from Eli and to the floor.

Thad: Stay away from her! He punches Anthony, breaking his tooth, but Anthony activates the sound wave, blasting Thad in the face and dropping him to the floor. He then choke holds Thad, placing his hand over Thad's mouth and is about to extract his voice. Thad starts screaming in fear, as Eliana gets up.

Anthony: I swear I'll steal his screams, it matters not to me to take another life! If you surrender now I might let him live...

Eliana: No you won't. *God damn that idiot is always getting caught...*

Anthony: You're right. But who doesn't like a dramatic choice? He starts stealing Thaddeus's voice, as Thad's scream turns raspy and painful. Eliana runs at the Virtue, absorbing a car into Emerald energy, and creating a sword. She swings it at Anthony, who quickly holds his arm out, blocking the sword with it, generating a sound wave that shatters windows of nearby buildings. He then grabs the blade of her sword and effortlessly pulls it from her hand, throwing it away then firing a blast into Ellie's stomach knocking her back. Anthony continues leeching Thad, but Eliana releases a bunch of stored black sparks, using it to fuel her Psycho Warping. Suddenly six figures come crawling around the corner of the buildings' walls on the street, their faces deformed and choking on blood. They are dressed as the other 6 Virtues, and look like cannibalistic humanoid monsters in Virtue cloaks. Anthony sees them and drops Thad, shocked to see his friends. Wh-what is this?

Virtue 1: You failed him.

Virtue 2: You must be punished.

Anthony: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!

Eliana: *The Hell?* The Virtue zombie-like monsters start crawling upside down on the walls, surrounding Anthony. He freezes and starts shivering, looking at Eliana with a cold look. He then turns around and jumps away, the Virtues chasing him down into the distance. Eliana walks up to Thad. Get up.

Thad: F-ck... What was that?

Eliana: His fear, I guess.

Thad: Thanks for saving me... He was taking my screams away, it felt horrible...

Eliana: Whatever, let's just go back to the VP. I'm too tired to attack Richard today. They leave, heading back to the VP. Upon entering, Eliana turns to Thad.

Thad: Again, thanks for saving me back there.

Eliana: I wouldn't have to save you if you were powerful enough to save yourself. Those Silver Assassins were beating you, it's pathetic.

Thad: Well I'm sorry I'm not bowing to an Eldritch Abomination for powers, I'm just a mutant.

Eliana: At least I'm trying to get stronger, you're still as powerful as you were six months ago, whereas I could defeat a thousand versions of myself six months ago now. We need exceptionally strong people in the Absconders, and right now you're lacking.

Thad: Look, I have limits. There's a point where I can't get stronger.

Eliana: Indeed there is, but you haven't reached it yet.

Thad: The power is there, I feel it. It's just I don't know how to use it.

Eliana: My Psycho Warping just came to me, I knew how to use it without training.

Thad: You had Eldritch influence.

Eliana: And your emotions are holding you back.

Thad: I'm not sure how to handle that. We're all human, no?

Eliana: That's no excuse. The Broach can further limits, that's the magical enchantments it contains. I could probably use it on you too.

Thad: I'm pretty sure it only works on your powers.

Eliana: Well let's find out.

Thad: Wait- what? Eliana's eyes glow purple with Amethyst energy she absorbs from Clio's Broach in her hand. Her body glows a purple aura, then she jabs two fingers of her free hand into Thaddeus's eyes quickly then pulls them out. Thad stumbles back, his eyes glowing purple; he starts yelling, grabbing onto a table to hold him up. His eyes stop glowing, as he's sweating heavily.

Eliana: Well? Did it work?

Thad: He thinks for a couple seconds. No. It didn't.

Eliana: Well great. So your powers are the same, and they don't even work on Virtues. The only reason you're even here is because your powers are useful, but they're not against our primary enemy, so I don't know if it's worth having you around anymore.

Thad: Eliana, what?

Eliana: You should just go, leave the Absconders alone until you're strong enough to keep up.

Thad: Eliana-

Eliana: I don't want to hear it. We can still be friends, I'm not abandoning you. But it'd be safer for the both of us if you focus on improvement for now.

Thad: El- I understand...

Eliana: Good. I'm going to lie down. Bye.

Thad: Bye... They both walk off, but he senses Myron in the other room. Thad goes to him and sees him reading a book.

Myron: Oh, greetings Thaddeus Tanner.

Thad: What are you doing here? Eliana's gone to her room.

Myron: Just reading this book Eliana wrote about Eldritch Abominations and what she's researched about them.

Thad: Why?

Myron: To see how serious she is about this. Can I help you?

Thad: You've trained Clio, right?

Myron: Yes, why?

Thad: Did you ever train other people?

Myron: Many others. Mages, martial artists, magicians mostly.

Thad: Anyone with Psychokinesis?

Myron: One or two, I have some books on it back at the monastery.

Thad: Good to know.

Myron: Is there a reason to this conversation?

Thad: Yeah, actually. I was wondering, since Eliana's occupied her time with another master, resulting in your abundance of spare time, would you be willing to train me?

Myron: Train you?

Thad: For a fee, of course. I'd pay anything.

Myron: I don't accept payment for knowledge. I accept. We'll both learn something about your psychic abilities, it'll be a time well spent.

Thad: Uh, really? Oh, thanks, a lot. So, when do we start?

A week later

It was 9:47pm and Alyna was coming out from the gym, as she had her gym bag around her back. She went to walk back home to Melinda’s house where she stayed. She had earphones in and was trying to listen to some pop music, but she couldn’t stand it as it wasn’t normal to her ears and just plain horrible. She groaned in frustration as she took out her earphones and was beginning to stuff them in her backpack as she suddenly froze, feeling a shiver down her spine. She whipped her head back to look behind her but looked confused and skeptical, then kept walking.

Alyna: *Hnn, it feels like someone is following me...* She kept walking trying to ignore the obvious instinct, and got annoyed, deciding to turn into an abandoned park. After walking in there, she took her gym bag off of her shoulders and decided to face the person who was following her. It was pitch black dark but she heard a sudden voice before she could set her bag down on the floor.

Voice: Do not be alarmed. I do not come to you as an enemy tonight, but as a potential ally.

Alyna: She still slowly let her bag down on the floor, cautiously. And why would I just believe anything you say right off the bat? As soon as she lets the bag on the floor, she does a butterfly twist towards the voice and kicks a long, dense stream of water at the area, making the terrain crack. She sees the figure jump and have a sword in its left hand.

Voice: You’re going to make this very hard for me to bargain with you right now... His tone sounded a little frustrated but tolerant.

Alyna: Fine... Show yourself... She was on one knee in an unknown martial arts position. As the figure got up, it raised one hand, lighting it on fire, and what’s seen is a hood. She stands her ground and squints to try to see his face but he then shoots the fire at the ground around him, creating light and showing Limit in his full outfit. Alyna instantly realizes this and spins around on one knee and jumps off that knee and spins in the air, shooting multiple water bullets at him.

Limit: Tch. He holds out his right hand as his palm glows and he compresses the air molecules in front of him into an impenetrable shield. The water bullets simply bounce off, but when Alyna lands from her flip, she dashed at him forming lots of big water fists around her body, each fist connected to one of her two fists. Limit swings his sword with crazy speed, launching fire from them. Alyna blocks them all with the water fists and skids to a stop next to him. She punches at Limit, making the big water fists repeatedly bombard Limit with punches. He got hit backwards and did a backflip to catch his footing. Alyna didn’t let off the offense and used her unknown martial arts with hand to sword combat with him. Limit was shocked as she was deflecting all of his sword attacks, and managed to counter them with open palm attacks. A palm attack landed on his rib, and this sent him in a huge amount of pain, feeling his rib broken.

Alyna: Why are you here? Limit tried to hold his rib and be on the defense with his sword, but Alyna’s kicks confused him and she kicked the sword away from him, doing a tornado kick into his neck, sending him into an empty water fountain.

Limit: Urgh... He got up from the empty water fountain, rubbing his neck in annoyance and looked at his sword, then Alyna, who assumed that martial art stance once more. Like I said, I came to bargain, I swear. I’m not trying to start anything. Although I want to kill you very bad... He got out of the fountain and held his rib in pain as Alyna squinted and stood up normally.

Alyna: Well... what do you want then. She kept her guard up, glaring at him.

Limit: He sighed. The Virtues. Her ears perked up at these words. They’re also targeting us...

Alyna: Well that’s because you’re a villain, of course they’re going to try to kill you. She rolled her eyes as she turned around.

Limit: Yeah, but we want them GONE. Like you do. The Absconders.

Alyna: She stopped walking and turned around to look at Limit. What are you talking about? I’m not apart of the Absconders...

Limit: Don’t be stupid. My team fought a group of teens like the public Dominic. Come on.

Alyna: ... As she didn’t respond, Limit chuckled.

Limit: Anyway, we need your help. I know it’s probably going to be hard for you to help us, but it’ll manage.

Alyna: Who said I was going to agree with helping?

Limit: Well, I know you’d agree if I told you I have information on the leader of the Virtues... Alyna’s breathing slowed as she thought she could even feel Limit smirk.

Alyna: You’re lying... She glares at him harder, but he doesn’t let off. He walks towards her with his hands up.

Limit: I wouldn’t come to you just to lie to you. I don’t like you. I wouldn’t go this far to mess with you though.

Alyna: She looks away in deep thought and looks back at him. Okay... I’ll call a teammate. Then you tell us what you know.

Limit: Alright, you got it. He sat down on the edge of the empty fountain seeming to wait.

Alyna: She took a final look at Limit and took out her phone, calling someone, saying a few words. She hangs up afterwards, still having a serious look on her face. She went to her bag and sat down on the ground waiting for the teammate to arrive.

After a few minutes, a figure floats in over a building and slowly lands on the ground. The figure walks up and stands next to Alyna and their eyes glow. It’s revealed to be Trey Soniak in his superhero costume with the hood and mask on. His eyes are glowing dark blue for his cosmic energy, so he walks towards Limit as he stands up.

Limit: Well?

Trey: Tell me what you know. He crosses his arms.

Limit: He nods as Alyna walks up behind Trey. Limit then reveals everything he’s found out about Arnault through the space Virtue, Karl. Alyna and Trey paid close attention, as what they knew about the Virtues connected to what Limit was told.

Trey: He thinks for a minute then looks at Alyna and then Limit. Okay that matches up with what we know, but this leader seems interesting. We’ll let the team know. You got all that, Micah? He gets a response from Micah in the mic in his ear as he recorded everything, to show everyone else. Great. Anyways, thanks for the information Limit. You said you needed our help?

Limit: Yes. My team will help yours defeat the Virtues. Whether you like it not. I already gave you the information.

Trey: Tch... As much as I don’t want to do it... I guess we have to. He looks at Alyna and sighs, looking back at Limit, holding out his hand reluctantly for a handshake.

Limit: Now where do we meet. He shakes his hand firmly and teleports his sword to his hand, holstering it.

Trey: I’ll... let you know. Just give me your contact info.

Limit: Tch, fine. They exchange information. When all this is finished the truce is off. He turns around as he runs off. Trey and Alyna watch him go off as Trey turns around and hugs Alyna.

Trey: Glad you’re okay. We should go home. Talk to the Absconders about this.

Alyna: Of course. Trey picks up her stuff and they walk away together back to the Vanishing Point.

Somewhere else

Antonia had just arrived into a city, where she was you may ask for the few months which passed. She moved away, wanting to get away from her father, Taskmaster, but she had to admit, she missed it. Fighting crime, the City, watching more skills, she was the most skilled Absconder there was, as meanwhile she was riding a motorcycle heading to Dinomo Industries at night to train the security. She arrived taking off her helmet as she walked to the front, after some signing, and shaking hands, she was Dom's Head of Security. Soon she was with the security team of Dinomo tower.

Antonia: Alright boys~ I am the daughter of Taskmaster, so after this, you'll become one of the greatest fighters. Now those who were former mercenaries are excused She saw half of them leave Alright rookies, come at me. She smirked under her helmet, as the remaining half stood up, all getting into stances, and all of them went for her, but as expected, each got defeated easily, all under a minute Now, all of you here, tomorrow 3:00am, you all need to learn... They groan, Antonia goes out into the city, but while on her motorcycle, she sees four hooded figures surround her, hooded ones mind you So you weirdos are still here huh? They were all silent, as three of the assassins lunged at her, as she held onto her motorcycle with her legs, quickly got onto her hand, locked herself in place using Elemental Earth chi, as she spun a but hitting the incoming assassins with a motorcycle knocking them away, another assassin shot a fire ball at her, as she responded by throwing the motorcycle at its direction, as it exploded, and she manipulated the fire of the explosion, which the assassins were all caught off guard by. She made fire whips and lashed the, at three assassins, it managed to make her kill two, one remained which she was walking too chuckling a bit until the Pyrokinetic one came down, telling the other assassin to run, Antonia smirked, as the assassin shot out a fiery jet of flames, which Antonia countered with some Elemental Wind Chi, surrounding herself in it as it engulfed her, the assassin looked distressed, as he decided to jump up boosting himself high with fire, and came down like a meteor, Antonia used the Earth chi again, punching her fist into the ground and pulled out a knife made of stone, as she cut him, soon they were having an up close fight, punches, kicks, slashes, powers were being exchanged, Antonia then round house kicked him with some air, staggering him then when he recovered he was face to face with her gun, then she fired. She decided to go straight to the VP, taking off her helmet. Guess who's back~?

Alex was sitting in the VP looking at his phone, a cigarette in his hand when he saw Antonia coming in

Alex: uh?

Antonia: Oh...hello, um, who are you?

Alex: I ask questions here, Who are YOU?

Antonia: Antonia Masters, one of the new Absconders, left upstate for a bit, now who are you? She raised an eyebrow.

Alex: Alex, I'm Alex, a new he raised his fingers to imitate double quotes "member" of this "team" of "superheroes".

Antonia: I get it, they pick you up or you HAD to join? She asked, reading through him.

Alex: I dunno, it was weird, at first I joined, then I wanted to kill them, then now I'm forced, Long story I won't bother to tell.

Antonia: Shady past I presume?

Alex: Nah, not really.

Antonia: Well, just to tell you, you ain't the only one whose morally different on the team, nice to have someone to relate to.

Alex: Okay, So, there are a few things I gotta say before you come around me so that I don't assassinate ya; one: I don't take orders so don't give me orders, two: I don't take disrespect, I am the one who disrespects, three: If ever you had to die, I won't risk my life to save you, four: Don't touch my stuff ever and five: I am older, wiser and stronger. Got it?

Antonia: Yes, but I also have few things to say, firstly, trained for combat ever since I could see, meaning assassination is a nah. Secondly, I can take that second thing, I've got a Godfather just like that. Third, when you get in trouble don't get pissy if I wont be able to save a limb that gets lost. Fourth, we have a common ground on that. Fifth, in what cat, physically, mentally or skill wise?

Alex: Well, Physically I suck, but I can manage in all the others, at least I know I'm better than those guys that pretend to be saving the world, escaped their strongest members just like that, they have a bunch of powers for nothing but I'm getting out of topic.

Antonia: Well word of advice, never let that confidence turn into ego, my old man let that happen and he gained various embarrassing moments in his career.

Alex: he stands up I already have an ego girl, enough talking, I'm outta here, gonna take a bite.he walked out of the room

July 10th, 2026

Micah received a notification stating someone who hadn't accessed the VP in a month has just entered. He traced its energy signature, seeing it was of alien origin, something he had never seen or knew existed. He notified the other Absconders about this and went to investigate himself. What he saw shocked him greatly.

Micah: You're...

Haruto: Roleplaying on your phone sure is difficult... Haruto sat on his CBR1000RR motorcycle, heavily modified with a large cylinder on the back, at the entrance of the Vanishing Point. He was tapping away at the screen that was in front of him, integrated into the dashboard, before he looked up. Hm? Oh, hey Micah. Is everyone else busy?

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Next issue: The Absconders: Issue 16