Heroes || Black Hoods

The surprised cries coming from the house let Isaac know Lark had done her part and that it was safe to advance. He could hear her light footsteps coming from behind and wasn’t startled when she tapped him on the shoulder. As soon as Lark took hold of his elbow again he sped up, easily flying up the steps leading up to the porch. Whilst the gunman at the door was blind by the fog, Isaac took the opportunity to disarm him by throwing a punch his way. Isaac hit is target square in the nose causing the gunman to collapse and drop his gun. Isaac picked it up figuring it may come in handy if things went south – although he would have no intentions on actually using it. “They’re in one of the front rooms. Three gunmen in all. I’ll direct you.” He pulled Lark inside, maneuvering his way through the house, the fog not affecting him at all. He stopped abruptly when they entered the room, stopping a few steps to the left of the closest gunman. “Two steps three o’clock.” He whispered. His voice would not be auditable to the people in the room with the exception of Lark. He left his fellow hero and moved on to the second gunman knowing she could handle herself. It was easy for Isaac to advance for the man wasn’t even facing him. Isaac waited until the man turned away from the hostages before whacking him in the head with the butt of his gun. The man let out a cry of pain before crippling to the ground.

Hailey nodded in response to Luke’s answer. Although he did a good job at hiding his annoyance, she could tell the man wanted to be left alone. Hailey didn’t blame him; listening to calls wasn’t the most fun task in the world. “I’ll leave you to your listening. Just yell if I’m needed.” By needed she was referring to a civilian in trouble. Hailey walked past Luke, not bothering to use the door. Who needs them when you can just walk through them? She dissolved in her own body before casually walking through the wall and into the hall.

Jackson was hesitant as the doctors took Charlotte from him- she was seizing, his cape bubbling with her body as she convulsed violently. Should I stay, just to make sure she recovers? he thought to himself, though he didn't show anything outwardly. He was aware in a far-off sort of way that people were snapping pictures and recording video's of him, but he didn't care enough to actually do anything about it. Besides, what could he even do? The bystanders undoubtedly wanted some sort of show, but Jace knew better than to give them that. Instead, he watched as the woman he had just saved was wheeled away towards what Jackson could only assume was the Emergency Room. Without so much as a sigh, the Hero turned and briskly left the building, getting into his car with ease before pulling out, his speed taking him far away faster than anyone could have followed.
Soon enough then man had reached the house. Walking in, the first thing Jace did was go back to the bunker to change out of his Hero garb and back into the clothes he had been wearing- a blue-grey tee with blue jeans. Coming back up from the hidey-hole, Jace heaved a deep sigh, pausing just before he ran a hand through his hair- they were still stained with the blood of the woman he had saved. "Great," he murmured, walking quickly towards the near-by bathroom. He hadn't even stopped to see who else was home yet, too busy with the task at hand. Once inside of the washroom, the man instantly went about cleaning himself up, the water flowing pink at first until he had scrubbed away the last of the blood, making it clear. With a soft sigh, Jackson turned the water off and went back towards the living room, collapsing heavily onto the couch. If anyone was here, he'd see them if they passed by. Besides, he was tired and just wanted to rest for a moment.

Alex had watched Hailey enter the call room, but hadn't spoken up to answer her questions- they weren't addressed to her, and Luke had already decided to grace the girl with an answer. It seemed that Hailey didn't enjoy bugging Luke, so the woman left as easily as she had come, but Alex didn't say anything- she was feeling less female and more mixed by the moment. With the change in gender, Alex's personality, actions, daily things like the way Alex walked, even the voice used when speaking would change. Along with that, pronouns*. With a dramatic sigh and a roll of zer eyes, Alex stood from the chair, crossing zer arms at her chest. "Right, well.." ze murmured, zer eyes watching Luke for a moment before ze spoke again. "Have fun I guess. I just wanted to see how long it'd take you to get annoyed enough to tell me to leave, but it looks like it's not going to happen any time soon," ze said, zer voice no longer light and feminine, instead a sweet androgynous sound. "'Sides, the door just opened and I'm bored," ze told him, having heard the door open in another part of the house. Ze reached out to pat Luke on the shoulder, zer left had just inches away from him before ze faltered and pulled it back, deciding on a wave of zer fingers with a smile instead. "See ya 'round," ze said before turning and leaving, zer walk more masculine than when ze was a she.

Finished with classes for the day, Kayla left her college campus, deciding to walk home rather than catch a bus like she had that morning. She had a car of course, but as was her luck, it had broken down. She was still saving to pay for the parts that needed replaced, so until further notice, she was without a mode of transportation. "It's not a bad day for a walk," she said with a smile, using her fingers to lightly brush her blond hair from her eyes. Those eyes, blue and shining, looked up at the sky for a moment as her smile grew before they returned to gaze at the roads before her. There were plenty of other people walking around, so she didn't feel endangered or anything, not like she had before when she was stuck alone in her new apartment with her creepy ex-landlord. That had been an experience, she thought, grimacing slightly as she remembered the greasy man. Today was nothing like that though, she thought as her mood brightened one again.

Cole sighed, sitting back from his work for a moment to wipe his brow, a non-expression on his face. He was happy with the creation thus far, but after a little thought and a jaw-cracking yawn, he decided it would be best if he gave himself a day's break. Heading up the stairs, Cole stretched his arms above him, enjoying the rush of blood to his head that flooded him with tingling numbness for a moment. He found himself in the living room soon after stopping to grab a beer from the 'fridge, taking his seat at the right end of his couch. "Lets see what's on," he mumbled, grabbing the remote and clicking the television set on. Instantly, the news came up, playing stories about.. You guessed it, the Heroes and the daring deeds they had preformed.
"It seems that the caped crusaders were busy once again, foiling two attempted robberies in an hours time," the reporter said, her white teeth bright against the red of her lips. Cole didn't care, he didn't stay on the channel to see exactly who and what they had saved. With a grunt and a deep frown, Cole turned the tv off rather savagely before taking a deep dreg from his drink.
A short while later, Cole got kind of hungry. Walking into his kitchen, he rummaged about, set on making something until he realized that he was out of milk, a key ingredient. Rather than just using water, Cole walked out to his car with a sigh, deciding to drive to the convenience store just a few blocks down from his house. Nothing eventful happened until he had picked up his milk - 2% - and was standing at the register, next in line to be checked out. Suddenly, two people (a man and a woman) entered the store. Cole instantly knew something was up- they were way too fidgety, even for people that were as obviously strung out as they were. When a gun was pulled, he wasn't that surprised.
"All the money in the bag, now!" the man shouted, waving his piece about as he did. The woman shoved a black sack towards the cashier, thumbing her nose as she did, obviously still tweaking. "I said now, dammit!" the man yelled, obviously getting antsy. One woman took a step towards the door, and to Cole's shock, was shot twice in the stomach.
"Sh-t, Joe," the woman said, her hands gripping her hair tightly. "You shot her. You shot her!" she accused, obviously distraught. Joe looked as upset as she did, but he was only waving the gun more and more.
"Hey, take it easy," Cole found himself saying in a slow voice, his hands raising slowly above his head. He didn't flinch when Joe pointed the gun at his face. "You're okay. I just want to talk," he said, still calm. "Listen, I've got a lot of money," he said, raising a brow. "You can have all of it, and all that's in the register," he said, silencing the protests of the Asian cashier. "All that money would go a long way," he said, nodding slowly, "But you have to do something first."
"What..?" Joe asked, clearly suspicious.
"See all these people? You need to let them go, okay?" he said, smiling a little. "That little girl is terrified," he said, appealing to the woman, "They all are. You let them go, I'll stay here with you and give you all the money you can carry."
It took a few moments, but the two people finally agreed. "Fine, you all get out!" he shouted, waving the gun again. Soon, there were only four people in the store- the two junkies, Cole, and the woman moaning on the floor.
"Where's my money?" the woman demanded this time. Cole grit his teeth, slowly walking forward towards the register. He couldn't give them their money of course, but maybe there was a weapon back there..

((*So, basically this is where her gender-fluidity comes into play. If she's feeling female, I'll use female pronouns {she, her, hers, herself}. If she's feeling male, I'll use male pronouns {he, him, his, himself}. If she's feeling androgynous, which means like a mix, I'll use special pronouns {ze, zer, zers, zerself}. If she's feeling like she's none of the above, which is agender, I'll use other special pronouns {xe, xer, xers, xerself}. Just wanted to make that clear. Welcome to my world, loves. ))

Lark shot Isaac a glare that she knew he couldn't see, but could, perhaps, feel. "Oh, haha, very funny. C'mon, bat," she said with a small huff in response to his teasing. As she headed inside with him, she glanced over to see Jace sitting on the couch looking rather haggard. She quirked an eyebrow at him, but decided to give him some time to collect himself. She turned her attention back to Isaac, a faint, amused smile sliding onto her lips as he feigned offense, "I'm sure that nice old lady would have asked you out if you had given her the chance." She touched his shoulder as her way of saying goodbye, "I'm going to go talk to Luke." As Alex started to speak to him, Luke could sense her changing feelings. He said nothing of the matter, though, and the faintest hint of a smile crossed his face as she spoke about why she had stayed for so long. Other than that, he didn't acknowledge her departure. Lark gave Alex a warm smile as she walked past her and into the room, leaning down beside Luke. She plucked the earphone from his ear as she rested her elbows on the desk. "How's it going?" Lark had somehow managed to draw Luke from his shell a bit, at least when he was around her. The corner of his lips twitched up into a small smile, "Hello, Lark," he murmured, "It's going fine. I dispatched Jace to a possible kidnapping/murder." His voice hinted at something more, and Lark eyed him for a moment, but decided it better not to ask. "How was the hostage situation?" he asked with a soft voice, his eyes still on the computer screen. "It went well, mainly thanks to Isaac." Luke nodded and flipped to the next call. He sat up as a 911 call came in about a hold-up in a convenience store. Someone had been shot. As he typed the situation, Lark read it over his shoulder and murmured an "I'll take it" before she headed quickly from the room, placing her mask on her face and pulling her hood up as she did. She headed out quickly and got back into the car she had just exited. It was now dark out as she sped to the convenience store, reaching it long before the police would. She moved through the crowd of people, assessing the situation through the glass doors before she calmly, and slowly stepped inside. Her eyes flickered to the woman on the ground, and then back to the gunmen. It was at times like these that she wished she had Luke's power. She stepped toward them slowly, raising her hands to show that she was unarmed, but she also had another reason for showing her hands. "I mean you no harm." She saw Cole off to the side, knowing that he was the one mentioned in the call. He had diffused the situation greatly. "I'm here to help you," she said to the couple, and a moment later there was a small flash as lighting struck out from each of her hands, hitting the two. She had done a slightly stronger shock as she knew that they, being hopped up on who-knows-what, wouldn't react the same as a sober person. As the bolts hit them and they fell to the ground, she stepped forward briskly and snatched the gun away, releasing the clip into her hand before placing it on the counter. She glanced at Cole, easily assessing him as military, "I'm going to assume you know first aid. That woman is going to pass out soon. Think you can try and stop the bleeding? There should be first aid kits in the back. Mmm, third aisle," she said calmly as she moved over the counter and ducked down, shuffling for something. She grabbed a pair of handcuffs and then moved back over the counter, quickly cuffing the dangerous couple to each other. She then made them lay out on their stomachs, keeping a watchful eye on them as she headed over to the bleeding woman. She would stay until the cops arrived.

Charlotte had emergency surgery performed on her shattered hip, and after several hours, she was in stable condition and resting in a room. The Heroes' cloak was draped over a chair beside her bed. She was sleeping, unaware that the Hero had left it behind.

Ryder comforted the elderly couple until the police came and collected the hostage takers. He gave his statement, and once all the evidence had been gathered, the police left. He offered to stay with the couple for dinner, knowing that their nerves had been frayed. He felt the need to comfort them. He felt bad, like in some way he could have prevented the whole ordeal.

Lark knelt beside the woman as Cole tried to stop the bleeding, giving a curt nod at his instructions. She began speaking to the woman a soothing, but firm tone, knowing that a louder voice was more likely to rouse someone. As Cole began doing compressions, she took over keeping pressure on the wounds, still speaking to the woman. She glanced up as she saw him getting frustrated and moved over to help. She ignored the cameras, honestly wishing that the crowd would go away. She gently pushed Cole's hands aside and placed her hand over the woman's heart. She collected enough energy as would be similar to the shock paddles before releasing the bolt. The woman's body jumped slightly, and she did this two more times. On the third time, the woman took a breath, her eyes fluttering, but her heart failed her once more. The paramedics stepped in at that moment, and Lark stood up, moving away. Her bloodied hands were behind her cloak as she stood stalk still, watching as the EMTs were unable to rouse the woman. She had had only one other person die on her, and it had been a young boy. She would never forget his name, or his face, or his fragile voice, or her blood-soaked hands as she tried to stop the bleeding. Cole's muttered comment festered a deep anger within her belly. She knew she couldn't get emotional with their line of work, but his words were out of line. She turned to him, moving so that she was face-to-face with him, her back to the crowd outside. For all they knew, she was making out with them. Her blue eyes hardened as she glared at him. "Too late? Really? Let me let you in on little something you might not know," she said in a low, dark voice. "We only know of a situation when it gets called in. That means that we can't respond until a 911 call is made. We get it at the same time as the police, and we respond faster. Do think we do this for the publicity or something? We don't. We don't want it. We have a job to do. You're the one who calmed the situation, you did a good thing. Don't make comments like that that take away from your character." Her eyes challenged him to say something in response.

Lark stared at him with challenging eyes, gauging his reaction. She was a bit surprised at his words, but didn't show it. She continued to stare at him, studying him. That was what she did; she analyzed situations very well. However, getting angry wasn't the best solution to problems. She saw something in his eyes then, something that he was trying to keep buried deep inside. The iciness in her own eyes thawed, softening as they always did. She sighed slightly as he moved her aside, releasing the over-zealous gaggle of onlookers. As they approached her, she tilted her head to bathe her face in the shadow of her hood, pushing through the crowd. She ignored the questions and comments and pictures being taken. She didn't understand why they weren't all over Cole. He had saved several lives with his bravery. Why was it that they were crowding around her? She forced down her annoyance as she had to jerk her head back from an audacious hand that reached toward her mask, attempting to get it off. She ducked the hand and was finally through the crowd, moving more quickly than they did toward her car. She got in and started to leaving the parking lot when she caught sight of Cole walking home. She came up beside him and leaned over to open the passenger door, pulling her hood down to reveal her hazel hair in a ponytail. "Want a ride?" she offered as she glanced back over her shoulder, seeing the crowd trying to follow the car through the back windows. She sighed; their eager following really did get annoying.

Lark turned back around as Cole got in, not bothering to look at him as she took off down the street, leaving the crowd behind. She suddenly realized who was in the car with her and with a muttered "Sorry" she slowed down to a more appropriate speed, though still over the speed limit. She drove to the address he gave, in complete control of the car as she shrugged. "It happens far more often than we'd like to admit," she stated simply, still not bothering to look at him. She pulled up to the address and came to a stop just as he was thanking her for her help. She clenched the wheel slightly, staring at her bloody hands. What use was she if she couldn't even save the woman? He was right, after all. She finally turned to look at him then, "Like you said. I was "too late"," she said without a smile in response to his thanks. Two people had now died because she hadn't been able to stop them from bleeding out. "I should be thanking you for what you did. So thank you. You saved a few lives tonight." She offered him a faint smile as she waited for him to get out. She relaxed her posture slightly, "What's your name?"

Eve was resting in an armchair in the living room, reading a book about psychology of some sort. She often read books like this to help understand her power and to learn new ways to infiltrate the mind. She glanced up when Jace entered but paid him little attention, as he seemed to be tired from a recent mission. Some Heroes passed; she ignored them as well. After a while, though, she felt the need to make conversation. "Tired, are we?" she asked, not looking at him but turning a page in her book. She didn't mind the man, but she enjoyed taking good-natured passive-aggressive jabs at her fellow Heroes every once in a while. When Isaac entered, she glanced up, regarded his sandwich with a blank expression, then went back to her book.

Aaron sidled into the control room, hands casually in his pockets, throwing a boyish grin at Luke. "Hey, Luke my man," he said, leaning against the desk. "You got any jobs for me? Kidnappings? Robberies? Anything? I'm bored as hell here, dude." He was aware that Luke probably didn't like him, but he honestly didn't care. He was up for rescuing some pretty lady who would swoon over his dashing heroics. If there was nothing, though, he was up for bothering the older man a little.

Hailey had been sitting on a porch swing on the second floor painting her toes light silver. She was on her second to last nail when Luke walked out. She noticed how drained he was; listening to calls did that to you. “Hey, this spots already taken.” She teased with a soft smile. Hailey liked Luke, he was generally nice to her and she understood when he needed space. “I can leave if you want. I’m done here.” She said wiggling her freshly painted toes.

Hailey was a bit surprised he let her stay, but then again his words were true. She had been there first. “Well, I’m sure the porch is big enough for the both of us.” She offered him another smile before heading back over to the swing to finish up her toes. “Anything interesting?” She asked referring to the 911 calls that Luke had been listening to. She was sure they were probably all attempted robberies or hostages – common crimes the heroes all every day – but Hailey figured she’d make small talk so long as they were both out there; unless he didn’t want to of course. She carefully painted her last nail before blowing over it a couple times trying to help with the drying process. “Kinda’ stupid to paint them huh?” She asked more so talking aloud. She leaned back against the swing, allowing the light breeze to push it forward and back.