Heroes of Silvatica City

Lola reached up and pinched one of the arms of her glasses. The little silver screw that held the arm to the frame started flashing slightly. Her and DJ's whistles were inserted into their glasses and made to look like tiny screws. Now Daniel would get a signal that would tell him where his daughter was - and so would Aaliyah... "Are they following us?" Jin hissed as they kept running. "They're like zombies," Cha commented. Lloyd shouted out when Drago grabbed her, and swung a weak fist at him. She didn't like being touched by people at the best of times, but she was stressed and she hated even more when she was being separated from her sister. She couldn't read peoples' faces well enough to be able to see that Lily was staring at them both with lifeless eyes. "Ack," Amber spluttered, quickly pushing Chloe back into her room and shutting the door behind her. She didn't know what that was about but it didn't look good. Tenpo looked panicked when Milo told her that. She turned quickly and ran off, to find her husband and a vehicle to go get her daughter.

Olivia hugged her father tight and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god. Her dad was old but he could actually fight, unlike her and her brother who only had basic MMA training. But then Olivia looked over her shoulder and saw something... Strange. "Ma?" she asked quietly. Behind them down the alley was stood their mother, but she was decked out in her full hero suit - including the Chinese-style monkey god mask that she told them she only ever wore once. She felt it was too extra and restricted her senses. But there she was, fully decked out, holding her staff behind her, just staring at them. It made Olivia feel uncomfortable. Cha cursed in Korean, and her mother scolded her. "We're almost at SHADE," Jin lamented. They had to get around these people somehow... "Oh, I know. Cha, hold onto Mia," Jin instructed. She rubbed her hands together, then threw them wide with a "wah!" sound. A large pink bubble flopped onto the ground and jiggled a bit. "Mia, jump on it!" said Jin, grabbing hold of her big friend's shoulder. Lloyd looked around when Drago got hit by something. Lily didn't react. Why? Lily was always the first to help someone who was hurt. Looking at her sister again, it finally clicked with Lloyd that Lily was not normal. Then Lily grabbed her wrist and squeezed really hard. Lloyd whimpered, managing to free herself, and went over to Drago. Amber flinched and scowled. "Looks like we're stuck in here," she said. "Chlo, you got anything that can get us out of here?" Caoimhe pointed behind her to where Will was helping to patch up some wounded people. "He's there. Milo, you gotta stay here. The more of us that go out, the more that are in danger. Tenpo'll take an elite team 'n find Sakura just fine." Having no luck finding Zeke, Tenpo had done just that and assembled a squad.

But the reason they'd called their dad with the 'only use in absolute emergencies' alarm was because the pair of them had no other way out. If he left them now to fight his zombified wife, they'd be right back to where they started. "We're kind of stuck here," Olivia protested. The twins' mother squawked in fear but their father whooped, pumping his fists. "Big girl Mia!" he cheered. "And bubble-bubble Jin!" Jin giggled slightly. Her hair had started to glow a little from using her powers. "There are too many zombies around," Cha said. "Then we'll have to bounce all the way to SHADE," said Jin. They were still falling so Jin quickly put some big bubbles around Mia's feet, giving her super legs a bouncy boost. Lloyd was very disorientated by Drago's power. Unlike Jin who was entranced by the colours of the time warp, Lloyd couldn't handle it. "Don't do that again," she grumbled, unaware that they'd probably have to do it again right away. Amber didn't want to panic Chloe, but she herself was panicked. "No sweat," she said shakily, keeping her eyes fixed on the door. "T-take your time." Caoimhe shook her head. "I understand, m'love," she said softly. "But it's dangerous out there. You need to leave it to the professionals. It'll be better for Sakura. You can stay on the comms with Tenpo's team," she suggested. Sakura had been running for the last ten minutes straight because a whole crowd was starting to chase her for some reason. She had lost a shoe and her foot was grazed and sore. Feeling her father's presence was so comforting that she couldn't help crying a little through her ragged breathing, as she hobbled inside after battling with her keys.

Olivia squawked as she held onto her brother while the spider legs propelled them up the building. Trust her father and his tech to be super extra. "Daddy!" she yelled out behind her as they scuttled away, but he was already out of sight. Aaliyah turned her head with the movement of the two children, following them with her masked eyes, but then they were gone and she turned back to Daniel. The twins held onto Mia as tightly as possible, with Cha keeping herself and Jin anchored with thick black tendrils. Very soon, they were safely within the SHADE compound. Lloyd was not very fit, as it turned out, and she dragged behind Drago despite doing her best. "We don't even need a weapon," Amber said. "Just something that'll get us somewhere safe. Like a flying device?" Caoimhe finished what she was doing and went to comfort her son, as well as manning the comms. Sakura was so distressed that she didn't clock that her father's lack of movement was suspicious. She figured that he was napping, and ran upstairs to find him.

"Sh-shut up," Olivia grumbled. She didn't need a lecture from her brother, she was just stressed out. They were clambering over buildings smoothly until one of the legs snagged on something and sent them crashing into a roof. A guy had grabbed hold of the leg as they passed over, and got thrown off the roof in the process. However he'd managed to break that leg. Aaliyah tilted her head, then raised her staff and smacked it down on the ground, making a clear metallic ringing sound. A few people nearby heard and started to approach Daniel, just as Aaliyah was starting to advance. "Mm," Jin agreed, looking around. Drago wasn't here yet, and neither were a lot of their friends. It seemed everyone was keeping an eye on things outside, and they'd just sent out a search party for Sakura. But not Drago, or any of the others. "W-we have to get back out there and find everyone," she said to her sister and Mia. "We all have active abilities, but a lot of the others still out there don't. We have to rescue them." Drago's time skipping ability would be a great help, but the others didn't have fighting or evading abilities so they would be stuck wherever they were. At least, not that she knew of. Lloyd was still out of breath, and fanned herself as she looked out from their hiding place. "If Lola did all of this, then I do not like her anymore," she said bluntly. Wow, now this was a cool ability. Amber whistled as all the metal formed a cool looking jet pack. "Will that be able to carry the two of us?" she asked. Sakura gulped and began to back up. Oh. Oh no. It had gotten to her father too? She wasn't strong enough to fend him off, and she was too tired and sore to run. All she could think to do right now was run back downstairs.

Olivia kept her arms wrapped around DJ's head to stop him getting injured either, though they both got a little smacked about by the fall. "I'm fine," she grunted when they got up. "Great. One leg breaks and the whole thing stops working? Seems kinda lame for a dad gadget. But now what?" They hadn't gotten all that far, SHADE was still a good mile away and now they were stuck up on some roof. Aaliyah took a low stance, waiting for Daniel to get close - then she made a move she'd never done before, which took Daniel completely by surprise. She spun around away from him and roundhouse kicked him in the gut, slamming him violently into the concrete wall next to him. That was a new one. She also clearly wasn't hold back as she'd used her whole force in that one. "Let's get changed," Jin said, quickly handing them their clothes from the bag and taking them over to the lady's toilets. They were in and out in a couple of minutes, Jin decked in pastel colours and Cha all in black. "We don't know exactly where anyone else is so let's go to the school," said Cha. "Right," Jin agreed. "Oh, Milo's here." She saw their friend over with his mother. "Shouldn't he come with us?" Lloyd thought it was obvious where they should go. "SHADE," she said. She looked at a street sign nearby. "It is... That way," she pointed due north. That didn't ease Amber's worries at all, but it was better than nothing. "Better get it on then," she said, as the door began to splinter behind the barricade. Sakura could only think to hide in the cupboard under the stairs. It hadn't even crossed her mind to use her powers on her father, but the time may come where she had to do it.

Olivia side stepped and stood beside her brother. "You're just as weak as me," she told him drily, squaring up to the creepy people advancing on them. She took a deep breath and then lowered her stance like their mother had taught them. "Man, when this is over I'm gonna kill Lola." Aaliyah fought back until the shock, which promptly knocked her out. Wow, that was easy. "You're probably right," said Jin. The three of them had to sneak out of SHADE quickly before their parents or anyone else tried to stop them. Thankfully they managed and were sooner on their way to the school, Mia and Jin bouncing on bubble boots and Cha rappelling with shadow strands. Lloyd harrumphed loudly and turned away. "... Fine," she said reluctantly. Amber looked back at Chloe with a 'you serious?' face, then sighed and went towards the window. "You ready? Three, two, one..." She jumped slightly out the window with Chloe behind her. Sakura ducked back and shrieked silently. Of course he would know she was here, even without his abilities it was the place she always hid when they were playing hide-and-seek.

Olivia smirked up to her brother, and was ready to fight until an act of God saved them. A God who liked cruel jokes. After the awe had passed, and it took some moments, Olivia stopped staring slacked jawed and scowled at Amadeus, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. But Daniel should not have been looking around at the city, instead he should have been paying more attention to the familiar body in his arms. He'd carried Aaliyah unconscious before and she went fully languid, whereas now she was like a tightly coiled spring. He had run about a block before Aaliyah regained herself and lashed out, using the concealed blade in her sleeve to stab Daniel hard in the gut. Lloyd kept her head down, not looking at the scary people and scary colourful lights, and pretending Drago was just a giant Lily carrying her. She hoped this ended soon. "Oh my god," Amber groaned. "I hope you're a quick runner." Sakura screamed silently and acted on reflex. Her eyes glowed pink as she looked at her father, compelling him to stop.

Olivia scowled some more, and then huffed. "Th-thanks for the save," she grumbled, not looking at Amadeus. Aaliyah hit the ground and rolled into a wall, grunting with the impact. She was clearly still incapacitated by Daniel's stun from earlier, or she would have landed that much better. She started to get up, unsteadily without the help of the staff that Daniel had left behind. Lloyd considered it. "I can," she said. "I will get help. Stay here or near here, okay?" "Let's do our best then," said Amber. When they had safely landed and got the equipment off, Amber grabbed Chloe's hand and together they ran as fast as they could. Chloe began to lag behind immediately. Sakura snivelled and quickly jumped out of the cupboard, pushing her father over even more in the process. She'd apologise for using that on him later, if there was a later. She ran out of the house, not knowing what was awaiting her outside.

The three of them turned when they suddenly heard the zombified people shrieking madly from the ground, followed by thundering footsteps. "Uh oh," said Olivia. "That doesn't sound good." Aaliyah suddenly shuddered, then howled through her mask at Daniel. Then, despite being shaky on her feet, she charged straight at Daniel. Lloyd made a small squeaking sound and took off running as fast as she could. She could barely keep ahead of them, but desperation drove her. "Whoa, shit!" Amber cursed, picking up the pace. Chloe was lagging behind even more now. Sakura fell pretty much flat on her face from the blast. She was bleeding from her head when she struggled to sit up, breathing raggedly. She began to crawl away from her house, having stars in her eyes that were blinding her. Suddenly, a car whirled around the corner and sped towards her, stopping right next to her. Her mother gracefully leapt out, a vision of pink hair, and scooped her up into her arms.

Olivia agreed too, though the hand holding did make her uncomfortable. From up in the sky they could see carnage everywhere. Whatever it was that was making Aaliyah like this was also making her not see straight, because normally she would dodge such a slow and obvious attack. Her legs were knocked out from under her and she fell pretty hard on the ground, smacking her head on the concrete. That was going to hurt later but it looked like Daniel had properly incapacitated her this time. "Drago is still out there, alone," Lloyd managed to wheeze between panting from running so hard. Her soft, nerdy body wasn't built for so much running. Just as Lloyd told them that, Jin and Cha's parents came out wailing, having realised their daughters and Mia were missing. "Like hell," Amber threw back behind her as they ran. She was not going to leave her friend defenceless with these zombies. Thinking fast, Amber pulled Chloe into an alleyway. "I have a really terrible idea," she told her. "But it's our only hope. Stay behind me." Chloe could only see the rear view of Amber, being behind her now, but she watched her shrinking slightly, and her smooth black hair become curled, then puffy. Amber was now no longer Amber - she was Lola! Tenpo quickly pulled Sakura behind her. She didn't even think about what she did next - her daughter was the most important thing in the world to her and she knew her husband would understand. She pulled out a small handgun, one she had never used before but had been given long ago just in case, and shot at Zeke's thigh.

Olivia didn't think this was a plague, but she didn't say anything. She was too in awe and horrified by what was going on around them. "Let's get to SHADE before one of these guys figures out we're up here," she advised. Could zombies use guns or anything like that? Caoimhe looked troubled, then sighed loudly. "Go get your suit," she muttered. Heroes were needed in times like this, and she herself had been in dangerous situations like this when she was young. Not quite this young but it would be a good experience for him. She would of course make sure he wasn't hurt. She went over to Honey to talk to her about what was going on, suggesting that enhanced humans who weren't under this mega hypnosis be given permission to go all out to help the city. Honey was also reluctant but agreed. Amber -Lola was sweating bullets and trembling, but she had to keep her cool. As calmly as she could, she pointed to a random place behind the zombies, hoping they would go where she mutely instructed them. That was all the extra time they needed. The pair of them got back into the car and sped off, safe in the knowledge that Zeke had been slowed down but not crippled for life.

Olivia was more concerned for his brashness than his safety when she reached out and grabbed Amadeus' sleeve. "You can't go out alone," she snapped, pulling him back. "If you get hurt, no one will know." That was the advice her parents had given them when they were younger and played make believe heroes. Caoimhe went to find Will to tell him what was happening, and to get her own suit on. Will wouldn't be able to do much super stuff but he might still want to go out with them. Amber-Lola roughly grabbed Chloe's arm and dragged her out into the open behind her, still glaring at all of the zombies and making them get out of their way. This seemed to be working?